In an effort to soften the European Commission's inquiry into business practices, Google has claimed that those bringing charges against it do not fully understand antitrust law.

Kent Walker, senior VP and general counsel, took to the company's corporate blog to respond to the commission's concerns over how it has prevented rival sites and services from competing in the areas of online advertising and sales. In his blog post, Walker was quick to point out that the Commission had failed to acknowledge the role that Amazon plays in how consumers shop online.

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It's quite some time since Google launched Android Auto -- around two years, in fact -- but adoption has been hampered by one little niggle: you needed a compatible car to take advantage of it. Today that changes.

Starting today, Android Auto is available as a stand-alone phone app that can be used to bring the tool to any car via an Android device. This means that older vehicles can now feel the benefits of Android Auto and use it to get directions, listen to music, and much more.

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Having recently said that it will show different search results to mobile and desktop users, Google now has another search related announcement. Reacting to the fact that most searches are conducted from mobile devices, search results will be ranked according to sites' mobile content.

Google says that it has "begun experiments to make [its] index mobile-first", and it's a move that essentially says that mobile searchers are more important than the rest. In light of the recent splitting of mobile and desktop indexing, the announcement is hardly a bolt out of the blue, but it's still something that many site owners will need to take action about.

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A student and security researcher from Pakistan has found a serious issue with Gmail that makes it possible for a hacker to take over any email address.

The vulnerability relates to the way Google handles the linking of a primary Gmail account to another email address for the purposes of message forwarding. In just a few steps it was -- before Google fixed the problem -- possible to take over ownership of an email address by tricking the system into sending out the necessary verification code.

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Google is actively pushing websites to embrace HTTPS, going as far as to warn Chrome users when they visit a page that can transmit sensitive data over the unsecured HTTP protocol. The search giant hopes that this will speed up HTTPS adoption, and to help us keep track of how things evolve it has updated its Transparency Report to reveal how HTTPS usage is increasing among Chrome users.

Google says that the majority of pages that Chrome users access on desktops are now loaded via HTTPS, and two thirds of their time is spent on pages loading the secure communications protocol. The platform with the highest rate is Chrome OS, which is approaching the 75 percent mark.

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Have to keep track of something like a to-do list, shopping list or other items? There are multiple apps that will handle this for you and sync across platforms, allowing your lists to go on the road with you. That ability is one of the keys to choosing a good note-taking app, but things such as easy sign-in are also important for most users.

You are, perhaps, used to seeing options that allow you to bypass entering a username and password and instead click a button that will log you in automatically.

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If you visit Google Play on your computer, you can install apps to any of the Android devices you own. All you need to do is click the Install button and you'll then be presented with a list of your phones and tablets to choose from.

Over the years, you've probably owed a number of Android devices, and it's possible that this list has become a bit unwieldy. Why should you be forced to make a selection when you only have one phone? Here's how to clear up the list and make your life a little easier.

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Microsoft says that a vulnerability in Windows made public by Google has been exploited by a hacking group with links to Russia. The group -- known variously as Strontium, Fancy Bear, and APT 28 -- has executed several spear phishing attacks, the company says.

Google was criticized for publicizing the vulnerability before Microsoft has released a patch. A fix for the security hole is not due to be released until Tuesday, 8 November -- voting day in the US election.

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In an effort to demonstrate how AI could be used to boost encryption, researchers at Google taught two neural networks how to communicate with one another while keeping their conversation secret from a third.

Researchers at the company's deep learning initiative, Google Brain, have successfully taught two neural networks, given the nicknames "Alice" and "Bob", to secretly communicate with one another while keeping the details of their conversations hidden from one called "Eve". Last week, the team behind this endeavor published a paper detailing the process of the experiment and its results.

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Amazon Web Services is the undisputed leader in the public cloud market, with a market share larger than the next three competitors -- Microsoft, Google and IBM -- combined, according to a new report from Synergy Research Group.

In Q3 2016, AWS had a share of around 45 percent in the public IaaS (infrastructure as a service) market, while Microsoft's Azure, Google's Cloud and IBM's cloud did not even get past the 20 percent mark.

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Google has shared details of a 0-day vulnerability in Windows a mere 10 days after informing Microsoft of the problem. In Google's own words, "this vulnerability is particularly serious because we know it is being actively exploited", but the company is accused of putting users at risk.

Microsoft is yet to produce a patch for the security problem, and it's not clear when one will be released.

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As the big (or dreaded) day of November 8th draws ever closer, many states have now opened early voting. The process is pretty simple, but we've seen long lines in some locations. It's an interesting approach, given that new stories and revelations hit the news cycle on an almost daily basis.

Not every state has early voting available, and it opens on various days depending on your location. So how do you find out when and where to head to the polls?

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It's that time of year again when the pumpkins are glowing, the kids are out trick or treating, and things start to go bump in the night. To celebrate Halloween 2016, Google has launched a new game as today's doodle.

You're invited to go ghostbusting. You must help your feline companion to defeat ghouls and ghost with a little spellcasting -- with a doodly twist, of course.

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That's the question to ask if you're considering ordering the new MacBook Pro unveiled last week or wondering whether or not to cancel an already placed purchase before it ships. For fervent fanboys who drink Apple Kool-Aid like water, "treat" can be the only answer. But for the thinking public, the response depends on several factors, such as budget and whether or not buyers believe that the fruit-logo company advocates a rational design ethic.

Let's start with the latter. Apple is finger-obsessed and has been since before the first Mac shipped, as I explained in March 2010 post: "What 1984 Macintosh marketing reveals about iPad". The company lags behind Google getting to the next user interface, which is more contextual and immediately responsive: Voice, meaning touchless interaction, rather than touch, supported by artificial intelligence. By contrast, Apple isn't ready to abandon the finger-first motif, as Touch Bar makes so obviously apparent.

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Businesses can never go wrong choosing Microsoft. Between Windows, SharePoint, and Office, a company should see much success in both productivity and collaboration. One place where Microsoft was pretty much unchallenged in the enterprise was with Surface Hub -- its big-screen collaboration device running the wonderful Windows 10. Today, however, this changes, as Google unveils something of a Surface Hub competitor.

Called "Jamboard", the search-giant's digital whiteboard features a beautiful 55-inch 4K display, HD camera, and integrated speakers. Yeah, it seems very impressive. With that said, Google services like G Suite are unproven in the enterprise; an IT decision-maker would be taking a huge risk by spending company funds on Jamboard. After all, it costs $6,000.

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