End-to-end video streaming and monetization platform Anvato announced recently that it has been acquired by Google, and that it will be joining the Google Cloud Platform team.

Anvato is a video processing software solution, offering encoding, editing, publishing and distribution of videos on various platforms. The company’s clients include NBCUniversal, MSNBC, CBS, Univision, HGTV, Bravo and Fox Sports, and they use their services to power live streams, to edit videos directly in the cloud, and insert ads.

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In Part one of this series of columns we learned about data and how computers can be used for finding meaning in large data sets. We even saw a hint of what we might call Big Data at Amazon.com in the mid-1990s, as that company stretched technology to observe and record in real time everything its tens of thousands of simultaneous users were doing. Pretty impressive, but not really Big Data, more like Bigish Data.

The real Big Data of that era was already being gathered by outfits like the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) -- spy operations that were recording digital communications even though they had no easy way to decode and find meaning in it. Government tape libraries were being filled to overflowing with meaningless gibberish.

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Google has announced that it is be acquiring French startup Moodstocks, which has developed technology that aids smartphones in identifying the objects captured by their cameras.

In 2012, the startup introduced on-device image recognition and has spent its time since working on object recognition through the use of machine learning and computer vision. This is what initially intrigued Google about the company as it, along with many other companies in Silicon Valley, has invested in teaching computers to better see and understand the world.

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Earlier this year Google announced that Family Library -- previously only available in Google Play Music -- was making its way to the Play Store. Now the rollout is underway, meaning that it is now possible to share your purchased apps and games with members of your family.

This new feature means that a family need only buy one copy of an app rather than several if they all want to use it. It also means that there is no longer a need to create a shared 'family account' through which to download apps and games that need to be shared.

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If you've been using a browser extension to add a casting option to Chrome, you could think about uninstalling it. Google is currently rolling out an update to the desktop version of its web browser.

The feature is making its way to Chrome 51 and can be accessed by right clicking either an open tab or the browser's hamburger menu. Should you ditch the extension, though? It really depends on your needs...

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Embracing diversity is just one of the latest passions of the technology world. Companies involved in the web and messaging do things like releasing diverse emoji, while games like the Sims 4 implement changes that reflect dissolving gender and sexuality boundaries.

But key tech players such as Microsoft, Facebook, and Google have also been keen to demonstrate how diverse their respective workforces are. Google has just released its latest diversity report -- including, for the first time, details of black and Hispanic intake -- and it shows that while the company is becoming less white and less male, progress remains slow.

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As the Windows 10 insider preview program has demonstrated, people love to get their hands on pre-release software. While it's easy to install beta software on a desktop computer, it has not been as straightforward for Android users. Until now.

Google has added an Early Access section to Google Play which -- you've guessed it -- features not-quite-ready-for-prime-time apps in beta form. The new section makes installing beta apps as simple as installing any other app and, after rolling out to a few users this week, the option is now available to everyone.

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Japan’s Internet is set for a large speed boost as Google’s 9,000km undersea Internet cable that connects the country to the United States is now officially up and running.

In 2014, the company announced that it would lay an undersea cable connecting the two countries that would have a 60 terabits per second capacity. Google’s senior vice president of technical infrastructure, Urs Hölzle, said the cable has a capacity that is "more than any active subsea cable" and is "10 million times faster than your cable modem".

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The developer previews of Android N have been available for a little while now, giving a tantalizing taste of what’s to come. But one thing has been missing: the name.

After months of teasing and misdirection -- there can't be many people who weren't expecting to see Android Nutella -- Google has officially announced that Android 7 (probably) will be known as Android Nougat.

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Google Maps has long been helping walkers, drivers and cyclists get from A to B. But for far too long, the desktop version of the navigation tool has been more powerful than the mobile version -- which is silly, really, as the mobile app is the one you're going to use while, you know, traveling.

Today, Google is rolling out an important new feature to the mobile app -- the ability to configure a route with multiple stop-off points along the way. Getting from A to B is great, but sometimes you need to go via X and Y. Now you can.

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That Google gathers data about you is not news. If you use Google products, it's something you've decided to put up with -- either that, or you live in blissful ignorance of. Whether you're using Gmail and YouTube online, Google keyboard on your Android smartphone, Chrome across platforms, or whatever, being a Google user means handing over an awful lot of personal information.

But just how much does Google know about you? If you use the voice-activated "OK, Google" feature of your phone, there are probably lots of recordings of you stored online; what about everything else? Google has now launched My Activity, a portal which reveals everything the company knows about you. Every search you’ve made, the apps you've used, the videos you've watched, and everything in between.

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Online ads aren’t going away anytime soon, and that'll keep the likes of Adblock Plus in business for the foreseeable future. But if you choose not to use an ad blocker and are therefore going to be bombarded with ads, they might as well be ads that are relevant to you, right?

Google is rolling out a new feature that enables users to choose the topics they are interested in so the ads they see will be more appropriate to them. But as well as improving the ad experience for users, the new scheme means that advertisers are handed even more information about people that can be exploited for financial gain. It also enables Google to use information it gathers about users to tailor ads.

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I tend to look back fondly at the technology that has left a mark on me throughout the years. Memorable trips down memory lane involve things that have been a part of my digital lifestyle for many, many years. Google+ is one of them. As a longtime member, I should be reminiscing now as today the social network turns five. But, for some reason, the only thing that I can think about is knowing from the get go that it would never be the next big thing. It looks like I was onto something.

Google+ is one of the largest social networks, but if you are an active user like me you are probably wondering what all those other members are up to because few of them seem to share new things these days. As time goes by, it feels like Google+ is shrinking to a small crowd of enthusiasts. Few people seem to care about it lately, and I am slowly joining the ranks of those who can't be bothered anymore.

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"Son and heir", not "sun and air". Excuse me while I "kiss the sky", not "this guy". If you've ever struggled to interpret the lyrics to a song, you've probably scurried online to look up what is actually being sung. By teaming up with LyricFind, Google just made this much quicker and easier.

No more jumping from site to site. No more ad barrages. Now Google will display song lyrics directly in search results from the world’s largest lyric licensing service. As well as making things easier for searchers, the deal means that artists get paid royalties as their lyrics are viewed.

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When Google Earth was first released, it was life-changing. While people take it for granted now, seeing aerial views of the entire planet -- including something as mundane as your neighbor's roof -- was something many folks never thought possible. This satellite imagery is now used in other mapping solutions, such as the ubiquitous Google Maps, giving us the ability to see the world from the comfort of our homes.

Google's satellite imagery looks great, but as those in the tech world know, there is no such thing as "good enough". Better is always just around the corner, and today, the search giant announces that its imagery has been improved.

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