Articles about Google

Apple traditionally enjoys very strong iPhone sales after it launches new smartphones. And this is certainly true of the three months ending November 2016, when the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus topped the sales charts in US and helped iOS close in on Android in Great Britain.

In US, it is actually an all-iPhone podium, with the iPhone 6s joining the newer models in the top three, according to a new Kantar Worldpanel ComTech report. Apple saw its share rise to 43.5 percent, while Google's Android dropped to 55.3 percent of the market.

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Greenpeace has crowned Apple the most environmentally-friendly tech company for the third year in a row. The Cupertino, Calif.-based giant is well ahead of most of the big players in the field, being one of just three companies to get an "A" grade from the NGO, alongside Facebook and Google.

With a score of 83 percent, Apple has the highest clear energy index, using little natural gas, coal and nuclear energy. Facebook comes second with 67 percent while Google takes the last place on the podium with a score of 56 percent. Both companies rely more on natural gas, coal and nuclear energy than Apple.

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Augmented reality has a big future in consumer electronics. While much of the hardware -- such as Google's Tango and Microsoft's HoloLens -- are not yet ready for the mainstream, we are slowly getting there.

Today, Google announces that it is enhancing the museum-going experience with its Tango technology by way of the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro Android smartphone. Attendees can request one of the devices before touring the Detroit Institute of Arts, allowing them to interact with some of the exhibits in exciting new ways.

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Google is retiring the Hangouts API, meaning that apps relying on it will stop working. The announcement was made very quietly via email and an updated FAQ, and the change takes effect before the end of April.

The official cut-off date is 25 April, and after this date apps that use the API will cease to function -- most of them, at least. With immediate effect, it is no longer possible to create new apps that use the API. While Google does not say as much, the move is likely part of its push of Duo as a replacement for Google+ Hangouts.

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Google Doodles are fun little additions to Google search that highlight major events in history, important birthdays and so on. Unless you make a point of hitting Google every day, you could easily miss one of the many animations, images and games that are added throughout the year. Until now.

While there is more than one way to find out if there is a new Google Doodle -- as well as checking the Google homepage, you can also follow the Google Doodles Twitter account -- Google has only just got round to providing notifications. Here's how to receive a message on your phone when a new Doodle is posted.

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Chrome OS is a very polarizing Linux distribution. While some people very wrongly call the operating system nothing other than a glorified web browser, in reality, it is actually very secure and capable. Many home users do all of their computing in a web browser nowadays, making Google's desktop OS an excellent choice.

Laptops running the Linux-based OS are called "Chromebooks". For many consumers, these computers are attractive for no other reason than cost -- they incorrectly think the platform is all about being inexpensive and low quality. Unfortunately, many manufacturers perpetuate that stereotype. As Google's wildly expensive Chromebook Pixel showed, however, Chrome OS devices can be elegant. Today, Samsung is taking aim at elegance with the all-new Chromebook Pro and Plus.

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When it comes to mobile operating systems, apps still reign supreme. To highlight which ones were most popular in 2016, Nielsen conducted a study of Android and iPhone smartphone users.

Not surprisingly, two major players in the mobile space -- Facebook and Google -- lead the pack.

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As the evenings get darker and the countdown to the New Year starts, the abundance of 2017 technology predictions begins. But what was predicted to take off in 2016?

Let's take a look at the trends and services that didn't take off quite go mainstream last year and whether this year could see them come to fruition.

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Chromebooks are very interesting laptops. They run neither Windows nor macOS, but instead, a Linux-based operating system called Chrome OS that puts a web browser on the front stage. It is not just any browser, but Google's Chrome. In other words, most apps are web-based and no other browser other than the search giant's own can be used. It makes for an easy-to use and secure platform, but it can be very limited. They definitely have their place, however.

If you have been looking for a new Chromebook with some modern specifications and features, I have some good news. An all-new convertible touchscreen ASUS Chromebook has hit Newegg. Apparently, the company has not yet announced the laptop, making it quite the surprise. Called "C302CA-DHM4", it has solid specifications, looks great, and best of all, it is reasonably priced.

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Today is Christmas Eve, meaning Santa Claus aka Kris Kringle will be making his global journey from the North Pole. The jolly man will be boarding his magic sleigh and delivering gifts to good boys and girls all over the world. I hope for Santa's sake that none of the reindeer have flatulence issues this year -- that could make for a very long night for the man.

As is the case in the Internet age, you can once again follow Santa Claus' journey using Google's 'Santa Tracker'. If you have children, this can be a really fun and rewarding activity to do with them.

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We've already learned what people have been using Google to search for in 2016, and now it's the turn of Quora. The Q&A site has just published details of what its users have been asking throughout 2016, and while there are some obvious entries, there are also a few surprises.

Quora's "Year in Questions" stats show that Brexit ("how does Brexit affect Europe?") and the US election ("How did Donald Trump win the 2016 US Presidential Election?") were both subjects that "captivated" the US. While topics such as Pokémon had hotspots of popularity through the year, Donald Trump sparked the most discussion. Interestingly, people also turned to Quora for relationship advice.

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Google search's autocomplete function is an interesting feature; as well as helping to save time, it can also be very revealing of the zeitgeist. The feature has been in the headlines recently for reasons that probably didn’t make Google particularly happy, but autocomplete can also be the source of some amusement.

Marketing company WebpageFX has come up with an entertaining lookback at the most popular searches in the US, broken down by state. This fairly simple piece of research shows that people are asking questions such as "does Idaho exist?", "does Florida have zika?", and "does Arizona have pee in it?" (yep... we're lost too...*). Some searches are serious, some silly, some weird. Here's how they break down.

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Say what you want about Google, but the company is clearly a major proponent of open source ideology. Some people criticize the search giant for making billions on the back of open source (such as with Android), but Google is a code contributor too. You know what? If a company can have success using open source code, that is a good thing -- as long as it is properly licensed, of course.

Today, Google announces that it has joined the Cloud Foundry Foundation as a gold member. This is yet another example of the search giant's open source focus. Google joins some other respected companies at this membership level, such as Verizon, GE Digital, and Huawei to name a few. For whatever reason, the search giant stopped short of committing as the highest-level platinum member, however.

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A few days ago, one of my Google+ followers, Steve Kluver, commented on an August 2014 share: "I am shopping for some more Chromebooks this Holiday Season, and found this post via G+ hashtag #chromebook search. How current is your ebook now?" He refers to Chromebook Reviews, which is available from Amazon for sale or for free reading with Kindle Unlimited. I apologized that the tome, published more than two years ago, is "way out of date". If I'm not going to revise, I really should remove the title.

I offered to give him buying advice, which got me to thinking about Chromebook as a concept and computing edifice. While a big fan, and owner of both generations of Google-made Chromebook Pixel, my primary laptop was a MacBook Pro for most of 2016. Measure of commitment: I bought the new 15.4-inch Touch Bar model just a few weeks ago. I've moved on, and got to thinking about why in crafting my response.

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The fact that Google scans the contents of emails sent and received through Gmail has been known for some time now. It's just one of the ways in which the company gathers information about users to help deliver targeted advertising. Faced with a lawsuit over the privacy implications of this technique, Google has agreed to change its scanning systems.

Before you check to see whether hell has indeed frozen over, this is hardly a dramatic change of heart for Google. The change is only very slight, and in practice it will make little -- if any difference -- to end users.

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