Google Cloud’s long-awaited price cuts have finally been announced with various new features coming as part of the decreases that follow earlier cuts by its two main competitors in the space in Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.

The search giant cut some products by almost 80 percent and added direct peering, container scheduling and a new container engine built on Google’s Kubernetes technology.

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The basketball season is freshly underway in the US and NBA fans are waiting to see how their respective teams do. While many have a general idea of which will be good and which may just not pan out, there are always surprises.

For those NBA fans who are eying an Android TV device like the Nexus Player then Google has sweetened the offerings a bit. Folks will now get access to live basketball games on the set-top box, though a subscription is obviously required.

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With the increased popularity of the cloud, lines are becoming blurred between what is local and what is stored online. One of my favorite cloud services is Google Drive, as it integrates perfectly with Chrome OS, while also working well with both Windows and OS X.

It can be problematic though, when I am navigating Drive in the browser, and want to open a file. Sure, I can save the file locally, but this is tedious and messy -- my desktop is full of such files. Today, Google blurs the lines even further, allowing both Windows and OS X programs to be launched directly from the Chrome web browser with an extension.

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Working in conjunction with Google, Canonical is launching a public beta of Ubuntu for Google Cloud Platform. These are part of the Certified Public Cloud (CPC) programme which means that the cloud versions of Ubuntu will be updated just about as quickly as the regular ground-tethered versions. Images for Utopic Unicorn, TrustyTahr, and Precise Pangolin releases are now available on Google Compute Engine.

The Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, 12.04 LTS releases benefit from the regular five years of maintenance and security updates, while 14.10 has a shorter shelf-life. Taking Ubuntu to the cloud serves as an alternative to the likes of Azure for anyone looking to venture into cloud platforms without breaking the bank.

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Another day, another streaming media box. Quite frankly, the idea of testing yet another such device would normally bore me, but this one is different. You see, it carries the Nexus name. If you aren't familiar, "Nexus" is synonymous with a pure Google experience. What does this mean? Well, it is Android the way the search-giant envisions it.

Amazon for instance, uses Android as a base for its Fire OS found on the Fire TV; however, it is very customized and doesn't have access to the Play Store. The Nexus Player is Google's retort -- showing device manufacturers how Android TV should be done. How does the Nexus Player compare to the competition? Read on for more.

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My first-ever tablet was the first-generation iPad. I loved Apple's tablet very much, but ended up selling it to buy the Nexus 7. My decision made sense, as the iPad was nearing end of life, while Google's tablet was just beginning.

The Nexus 7 was awesome, but it lacked the same magic as Apple's tablet. Yes, I am using the word magic to describe the iPad, a much maligned word for Apple's detractors. To explain, the "magic" I speak of, was the emotional connection that I had with iPad; something that did not exist with both Nexus 7 models. Don't get me wrong, both Nexus 7 tablets were great and functional, but also cold and smartphone-like. Now Google releases the Nexus 9 and it finally has the feature I desire most -- magic.

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Google has just announced the Nexus Player, bringing the extensive Play store content to the living room. But Google's new set-top box isn't the only device on the market. There is plenty of competition in the arena from Apple, Roku and Amazon, to name only three. Now it appears Google intends to compete with itself in this crowded space.

Roku, perhaps the leader in this area, is announcing that it will now include the Play store for video content. "Today, we're thrilled to announce that Google Play Movies & TV has been added to our expansive Channel Store in the US, UK, Ireland and Canada. With the addition of Google Play Movies & TV, you now have more options than ever to watch the entertainment you love on your Roku player", the company states.

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When I was a younger man, it was all the rage to replace the stock stereo and speakers in your car with better, third-party options. This enabled you to have more features and increased volume. If you did not have something like an Alpine or JVC deck, you and you car were lame. However, as time marched on, car manufacturers slowly began to improve the stock offerings, and, today, many people are content with the factory audio.

Two tech companies are looking to shake-up the car audio industry -- Apple and Google. Yes, the smartphone wars are advancing from your homes and pockets to your automobiles. Google has Android Auto, while Apple has CarPlay. Even though Android has handily become the dominant force in smartphones, according to a new study, the war for your car is still either company's to win.

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Way back in January, Google announced plans to sell Motorola to Lenovo for $2.91 billion. Today that deal has completed. The acquisition sees control of Moto X, Moto G, Moto E and the DROID product ranges moving out of Google's hands as Motorola operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary under Lenovo. Google's CEO is happy with the outcome: "Motorola is in great hands with Lenovo, a company that's all-in on making great devices".

Lenovo takes a total of 3,500 employees under its wing, and becomes the third largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. Practically speaking, at least in the immediate future, little should change. Motorola will remain headquartered in Chicago, and Rick Osterloh will stay on as COO.

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Bookmarks implementations have remained pretty static over the lifetime of the Internet. Google is changing that with 'Bookmark Manager' (formerly called Stars). An extension available in the Chrome Store, it promises to bring your bookmarks into the future with a new design, better search, smart organization, and sharing.

The first thing you will notice is the design, and nice, subtle animations. It feels like Google Drive, with a 'New' button on the left with the navigation under it. Each bookmark is given an image and description in a 'card-like' UI. Bookmarking pages is also a nicer experience. Adding the bookmark to a folder is more intuitive, and you can create a new folder easily. One of my favorite features is that you can include a quick note, reminding yourself why you saved the page.

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You haven't exercised in a while. It's OK, we know. We can see you getting winded when playing Wii. Who can blame you? I mean, nowadays, there is such incredible technology, that it is hard to be impressed by real life. It is easier to sit on the couch with your precious Nexus 7 watching Law and Order than going for a walk. Hell, maybe you are a Brony and you watch My Little Pony; whatever, it is your life. No judgement. Well, a little judgement -- you are fat and need to get in shape. Your parents are worried about you.

Don't worry, Google is going to motivate you. No, the company is not going to dangle an Inbox invite on a string in front of you and have you chase it around the yard, although that would probably work. Today, the company releases an app called "Fit" that is aimed at getting you off the couch and moving. Sure, it is ironic that technology is being used to motivate sedentary Android fans, since technology has contributed to their lazy ways. But hey, whatever works, right?

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As my colleague Brian Fagioli said yesterday when reporting on the launch of Amazon’s new Fire TV Stick, there’s no shortage of streaming devices available to choose from, and knowing which to go for can be tricky.

If you use Chrome, have an Android phone, and love YouTube, then Chromecast is probably for you. If, on the other hand, you are an Amazon Prime member, then the Fire TV Stick is a good choice, especially as it can currently be had for just $19. The Roku Streaming Stick has over a thousand channels to choose from and loads of options. Still not sure which to go for? Let’s take a look at what they all have to offer.

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With every passing day, Microsoft's enterprise competition gets a bit stronger. Between OS X, Chrome OS and Linux distributions, Windows is under constant attack; however, the true threat to Microsoft is competing office suites and cloud solutions. While the business world will not largely be transitioning from Windows anytime soon, software like Google Docs and Drive are legitimate options.

Today, Google announces a new agreement with a company called PwC, which will bring Google's solutions, like Gmail, Hangouts, and Docs, to the company. Believe it or not, PwC has over 45,000 employees in both the USA and Australia which is a huge win for Google. In the grand scheme of things, it is not a huge number of users, but slowly and steadily, Google is accumulating these relationships and they add up. Should Microsoft be worried?

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The other day my colleague Brian Fagioli posted a story about Cortana advancements for the Windows Phone crowd. It got me thinking because he stated that "quite frankly, Google Now is so good at learning about you, that at first, it can seem a bit creepy". He isn't far off the mark, as it is creepy, but it works. And it works to an almost scarily good degree, when it comes to figuring its user out. TV? Travel? Packages ordered? It will have you covered. But is all of this a good or bad thing?

The answer will depend on the person, as I know the privacy advocates will chime in and disagree with my assessment. Am I worried about this invasion to my personal life? The answer is a resounding NO. Google Now alerts me to all sorts of events, some are just useful, some are things I'd likely have forgot without the help of the search giant.

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For a significant number of users a computer session starts, and ends with Chrome. Google continued to reinforce this with Chrome Apps, which are apps that run on the desktop, outside of the browser and can be pinned to your taskbar.

You will soon be able to open files from the Windows file explorer directly in Chrome Apps. Chrome apps will be able to specify the file types they handle, and for those file types, you will see the Chrome App listed in 'open with' when you right click a file. If the Chrome App is the only app installed which handles that file type, it will be set to default (so simply double clicking will open the file in the Chrome App). This will essentially remove all distinction of Chrome apps and desktop programs you have installed on Windows.

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