Trying to claw back its reputation of not being evil, and riding the wave of public interest in the surveillance activities of the government, Google releases some additional details about the government data requests it has received. Just last week, the Department of Justice announced that companies would be permitted to reveal more information about the requests made of them. Google has now updated its Transparency Report to include statistics about Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) requests.

Until recently, Google and other companies had been blocked from revealing any information about FISA data requests, causing them to group together to file a lawsuit in a bid to overturn this barrier. Today's report released by Google follows on from last week's agreement with the DoJ and includes details of requests made under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. For advocates of government transparency this sounds like a victory for freedom of information, but sadly it amounts to very little.

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Today, Google launches the developer preview of Google Cast SDK, allowing for the development of apps for the company's plug-in-and-forget-about-it streaming unit. In a post on the Chromium Blog, Engineering Manager John Affaki, explains that developers will find it easy to make existing mobile and web apps ready for use with Chromecast as the SDK allows for easy integration. In addition to the Chrome extension, the SDK is also available for Android and iOS.

The lack of new and exciting apps that offer Chromecast support has partly contributed to the fact that Google's streaming device has not really caused the explosion of excitement that it should have done. Google will be hoping that by making the SDK available, developers will start to integrate the API into existing apps that are suitable for taking advantage of second screen casting.

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When I was a young man, there were only a handful of holidays that we celebrated. They were based on your faith, your country or to celebrate an exemplary figure like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. However, the internet has made it so that every day can be a holiday, as anyone can proclaim it to be so. Quite frankly, it is a bit silly to celebrate something like "Talk Like a Pirate Day", but apparently people like to do it. According to www.daysoftheyear.com, today is Carrot Cake Day. I love carrot cake, but come on now...

Google apparently wants to get in on the fun, but with real holidays -- based on national holidays from around the world. Yes, Google announces it is expanding the available holidays for Gmail users.

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Phew! Well it seems that 2014 is finally in full swing -- the past seven days have been the busiest in a while. It was a busy week for security. A piece of malware came to light that was using Windows computers as a means of infecting the Android devices connected to them. Yet another security breach meant that the credit card details of Michaels customers were compromised.

While the computing world worries about whether or not the NSA is reading their email or recording their phone calls, school children in Britain learned that their computing activities are being monitored in the classroom. There was celebration as companies such as Microsoft and Google won a lawsuit that means they are now able to reveal more information about US Government data requests.

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When Google Chrome first came on the scene, it did not support plugins like Firefox. It was not until later that extensions were introduced. Recently, it was discovered that rogue extensions are capable of compromising the security of the web browser. While not all extensions are malicious, it does call into question the feasibility of an open extension market.

Sadly, that is not the only negative aspect of Google's browser. In addition, the settings can be hijacked by malicious software. Fear not though, according to a new blog post, Google is here to help.

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Nexus smartphones and tablets have developed a cult following among enthusiasts mainly due to Google's ability to deliver updates to the latest versions of Android in a timely manner. The software also has little to no customizations over the code that is available in AOSP, unlike that of many devices that have been offered throughout the years by Android vendors, such as HTC and Samsung. Android enthusiasts often refer to Google's distributions as "pure Android", even though that is no longer the case exactly with the new Nexus 5, that has introduced a launcher not officially found on any of its siblings (or available in AOSP for that matter).

Nexus devices were also supposed to usher Android vendors into releasing smartphones and tablets that adhere to the design guidelines established by Google. This is one area where the search giant's brand has failed to become a trendsetter, as the likes of HTC, LG and Samsung continue to apply their own vision on how their Android handsets should look at the software and hardware levels. Remember how physical buttons were supposed to go away from the front of Android devices? Well, they are still alive and kicking even in 2014 and even on tablets (even though there were clear signs pointing to slates only adopting on-screen keys). It could, therefore, be argued that the Nexus ethos has already ran its course and it is time for Google to move on. So should Google move on?

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Like lots of other people, overnight I pondered Google's surprise sale of Motorola to Lenovo. The timing sure seems odd. Conspiracy theories abound. Among tech bloggers, Samsung ranks as top reason, given the timing, just days after the American and South Korean companies cut a lofty cross-patent deal that also turns way down the extent of Android customization. Certainly the latter agreement is important to Google, for reasons I laid out two years ago in post "Google has lost control of Android".

Some conspiracy theorists contend that Google always planned to sell Motorola and rebuilt the brand only to gain leverage against Samsung, which arguably exercises more direct influence over Android than does Google -- at least from a user experience perspective. But I disagree. The Motorola unloading is a lot more about the search and information giant's acquisition of Nest than anything Samsung does. My reasoning follows.

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When Google bought Motorola Mobility, I immediately questioned if it was ethical. You see, the search-giant maintains the Android operating system -- something many manufacturers license, including Motorola. Owning one of the manufacturers could be seen as a conflict of interest. In other words, Motorola could get preferential treatment such as quicker access to updates and trade secrets. This could cause animosity amongst Android handset makers.

Today however, balance was restored to the Android world as Google sells Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91 billion. This is shocking because the search-giant bought the company in 2011 for a staggering $12.5 billion. Wow, what a deal Google!

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Google has identified a nasty bug in Gmail that may have led to the accidental deletion of some messages in your inbox, as well as incorrectly labeling others as spam.

The severity of the bug has caused the search giant to issue an Important Notice which appears at the top of Gmail when some users -- myself included -- log into the webmail service through the web or iOS app. Although the problem has now been fixed, Google suggests you take a look in your Trash and Spam folders. I’ve just done so now, and there are indeed messages in both that shouldn’t be there.

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Startup company Adspert is aiming to change the way firms approach online advertising.

It's launching a product called The Big Bang Machine which automates Google AdWords to ensure an advert reaches its target audience.

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I was a massive fan of LEGO as a child, and now that I’m a parent I get to play with the interlocking plastic bricks all over again, even though they’re a lot more advanced than they were back in my day. LEGO Group has done a fantastic job of keeping its product modern, with video games like LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Hobbit, and there’s even a fantastic looking LEGO Movie to look forward to later in the year.

If you fancy playing with some LEGO, but don’t want to buy a set, the great news is Google has announced a new Chrome experiment that lets you build fantastic virtual LEGO creations on a Google Map. Just find a spare plot of land (or build in the sea if you prefer) and start your construction.

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Patent litigation seems to have become part and parcel of handset and tablet releases recently, but at least one battle appears to be coming to an end. Samsung and Google have signed a patent agreement, ending years of legal wrangling. An announcement on the Samsung Tomorrow blog goes into little detail about what the deal entails but a global patent cross-license agreement has been signed which covers both existing patents and those filed over the coming decade.

Allen Lo, Deputy General Counsel for Patents at Google said: "We're pleased to enter into a cross-license with our partner Samsung. By working together on agreements like this, companies can reduce the potential for litigation and focus instead on innovation". While both companies will undoubtedly be pleased that a deal has been struck, ultimately it is consumers who will benefit from what should turn into more collaborative ventures in the future, with both side gaining access to the other's technologies.

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There is something to be said for the cloud and web-based services. However, when you rely on these things, sometimes it goes a bit wrong. That's not as bad as it sounds. It can go very wrong with your home computer and network as well. Today, Google is experiencing one of those "glitches".

As of this writing, the Gmail service seems to be restored for all users, and I've inquired with writer friends around the US and the world to verify that. However, there is a rather bizarre side-effect, but it's only affecting one poor user. Sadly, that person is getting the bulk of the email being sent since the outage relented.

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While the Terminator films were make-believe, there was definitely some real knowledge mixed in with Arnold's "Hasta La Vista" one-liners. The greatest take-away is machinery replacing humans. While I don't think my toaster will ever become self aware and kill me, the possibility of humans losing jobs to machines is very real and already happening.

I was recently invited to Detroit by Ford Motor Company, where I had the opportunity to tour the factory where the F150 truck is made. While much of the work is done by humans, I was taken aback by some of the quality inspection being done by robotic arms. Surely, that had been a human's role at some point and it made me a bit sad. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, warns that IT will suffer a similar fate as the automotive industry. In other words, there is a war brewing between humans and machines.

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When I think of road trips, I think of traveling with friends or family to far-out destinations. I usually do not associate it with sitting in my house, talking to the President of the United States over a webcam.

However, one thing is for sure, a chat with President Obama trumps a car trip to see the Grand Canyon with my family. Thanks to Google, a chat with the president may be a reality for some lucky people. You see, the search giant is making Obama available on Google+ Hangouts, for what it calls "the first-ever Presidential Hangout Road Trip".

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