Google - AppNewser

Open Source Google Reader Replacement Released

Jason Boog — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:23:16 +0000

As the shutdown of Google Reader nears, one reader has created a simple and free tool to replace Google’s soon-to-be discontinued tool.

You can explore the demo online or visit the simple sign-up page. CommaFeed inclues an easy organizational structure and simple settings. The interface will be easy for most Google Reader users to pick up quickly. Here’s more about the free app:

When Google announced Reader shutdown, I started to work on a clone. It is now available. It’s simple, bloat-free, and it’s open-source. Say hello to CommaFeed … CommaFeed is a bloat-free feed reader. It aims to replace Google Reader while keeping things simple.

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Google Plus Now Uses Artificial Intelligence to Automatically Sort and Modify Photos

Phi Tran — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:00:59 +0000

Google’s latest vision for Google Plus is focused on images – and the use of artificial intelligence. Imagine a team of Google robots meticulously fixing your wrinkles, making everyone smile in photos they didn’t actually smile in, and changing the sky to make it a tad more perfect. Am I the only one who thinks it’s borderline creepy?

Let’s take a closer look at the major changes coming to Google Plus Photos.

Auto Backup

Google is expanding its free data storage and that’s a great thing. Just like Gmail, the company is using its vast supply of servers to maintain your data for you, and if you are comfortable with that, you can get it 15GB for free (with free backup). Given the increase in resolution of new phone cameras and digital cameras, 15GB might not be a lot for serious photographers. continued…

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Google Finally Brings Chats and Free Video Hangout to Mobile iOS

Phi Tran — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:06:08 +0000

Users on iOS devices can finally start using a Google app for Google Chats. Google’s new chat app, appropriately call Hangouts, allows you to do what you’ve always done with Gmail’s desktop experience: text friends, start videos, and share photos in seamless conversations across multiple devices.

Google took note of an important aspect about notifications when creating this app – you only get one alert per new item that’s synced across all of your devices. If your notifications get too noisy, you can turn them off and check back later. Perhaps the company has heard complaints about Google Plus notifications. continued…

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Google Launches New Music Service for $9.99/Month

Phi Tran — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:53:23 +0000

Now that Twitter Music has slowly slipped away from the collective consciousness, Google is introducing its own radio and music discovery program. It’s call All Access and it costs $9.99 per month. At first glimpse it seems revolutionary and comprehensive.

Google’s radio allows you to do what most other radio services don’t – easily change the order of songs, easily remove songs, and add songs to personal libraries. There’s a lot of customization built in, but the most important key to digital radio isn’t necessarily the usability of the service, but the quality of the music itself. All Access is launching today so I did a quick search for my favorite new album, Vampire Weekend’s Modern Vampires of the City and it wasn’t available. Sure, I have it in my personal library, but what’s the use of paying for a music service that doesn’t have the music I want to pay for? continued…

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Google Introduces App Store Front For Educators

Dianna Dilworth — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:10:00 +0000

Google announced Google Play for Education at the Google I/O conference this morning. This new section of the Android app store which sells apps aimed at schools and teachers.

Google Play will let teachers and schools buy multiple copies of an app in bulk. When a teacher buys an app it will automatically download on their own device, as well as onto the devices of all of their students. In addition, schools can make credit cards available to teachers, so that a teacher doesn’t have to use their personal credit card to buy an app for students.

Google will begin accepting K-12 app submissions for this educational category this summer. Follow this link to get details on how to submit your app for this category.

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Twitter #MothersDay PSA: Don’t Tweet, Call Your Mom

Phi Tran — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:00:03 +0000

Mother’s Day is Sunday and the least you should do is call your mother - said Twitter. The social media site issued a witty public service announcement boasting about Twitter’s sharing platform quickly after Google’s Mother’s Day tribute this week.

Hopefully moms everywhere will enjoy breakfast in bed, a steady stream of thank-you’s and family fun. While moms are enjoying these and many other Mother’s Day traditions, it’s a safe bet they’ll also sneak a peek at Twitter. After all, moms (and moms-to-be) are doing everything from securing Twitter accounts for their babies to live-tweeting their C-sections to sharing funny motherhood experiences.

But even as much as moms love Twitter, we know that mom loves you the most.

While Google opted for a sweet, syrupy promotion for Google Plus, Twitter opted to tell users that social media doesn’t replace everything. That said, if you don’t have time to visit your Mom this Sunday, video hangouts with her on Google Plus is pretty great every day. Click here to compare the two ads. continued…

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Google Timelapse Shows Changes to Earth’s Terrain in Past 25 Years

Phi Tran — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:00:35 +0000

Google’s latest project with NASA, Times and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) allows you to view time lapses of aerial photos – it’s a pretty animated, interactive time-lapse. The joint venture started in 2009 to cover every inch of the earth. In the process, the team ” sifted through 2,068,467 images—a total of 909 terabytes of data” and the results are high quality images devoid of clouds whenever possible.

Built from millions of satellite images and trillions of pixels, you can explore this global, zoomable time-lapse map as part of TIME’s new Timelapse project. View stunning phenomena such as the sprouting of Dubai’s artificial Palm Islands, the retreat of Alaska’s Columbia Glacier, the deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon and urban growth in Las Vegas from 1984 to 2012.

continued…

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Google and PayPal wants to Eliminate Passwords

Phi Tran — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:00:13 +0000

Google, PayPal, and Lenovo have all joined technology consortium, FIDO Alliance, whose mission is to use devices as security authentication. This feature would mean laptops, phones, and even Google Glass having voice, eye, or fingerprint matching capabilities in a security chip specific to each user.

The Mission of the FIDO Alliance is to change the nature of online authentication by:

Developing technical specifications that define an open, scalable, interoperable set of mechanisms that reduce the reliance on passwords to authenticate users.

continued…

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Google iOS Update Adds Personal Assistant-Like Tool

Dianna Dilworth — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:40:54 +0000

Google has updated its iOS app, adding Google Now, a virtual tool that works a little bit like Siri.

Googlers can speak to the app to ask questions prepare and the app will do a Google search to respond. For example, a users can speak “What’s the weather like in San Francisco,” to get an update on weather conditions or they can say, “who won the Giants game last night” to find out details about the latest sports news. Users looking for directions can ask Google Now and the tool will make a map for the user.

Google’s Now tool is the same feature that lets you make an estate plan for your Internet data for after you die.

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Google Play Has 2x Paid App Downloads of Amazon Appstore: Distimo

Dianna Dilworth — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:18:40 +0000

The number of paid app downloads in Google Play is 2x that in the Amazon Appstore , according to Distimo AppIQ data.

The latest research compares the trends in app downloads between Amazon and Google during March 2013. Check it out: “The Amazon Appstore competes aggressively with Google Play in terms of the top 1000 paid applications: the number of paid downloads is roughly twice the size in Google Play.”

The research also revealed that across both app stores, the top 200 free apps had a total of 16 million downloads during the month and the most category was games. In addition, Temple Run 2 was the most downloaded free app in both of the stores. Fruit Ninja also did well during March, when it had 2.3 million installs from Google Play and 250,000 downloads from the Amazon Appstore. According to Distimo, Rovio Entertainment was the top publisher in March. Its app The Croods ranked well.

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Google Has Acquired Wavii, a Company Whose Mission is to “Make Facebook out of Google”

Dianna Dilworth — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:05:46 +0000

Google has reportedly acquired Wavii, a technology company dedicated to processing natural language. According to TechCrunch, Google paid more than $30 million in the transaction. Apparently Apple was also interested in the company, but Google won out.

The company has an iOS app that describes itself as a place to discover news on any topic. The company claims that its goal is to “make Facebook out of Google.” Here is more from their site:

We do it by teaching computers to read everything that is reported or shared on the internet, and automatically produce interesting social content about it. The science dates back to years of natural language research at universities and private research institutions, to which we’re applying a unique approach.

The news comes a week after news broke that Amazon acquired Evi, a company that offers a Siri-like voice-activated personal assistant, for $26 million.

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Google One App Aims to ‘Do a Little. Change a Lot’

Dianna Dilworth — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 11:15:58 +0000

Google has introduced a new app that wants to help change the world. With the tagline, “Do a little. Change a lot,” Google One aims to connect nonprofits with people who are are asked to donate $1 to a cause.

Users can search the app for projects that they would like to fund. Every day the app features new projects and users are encouraged to donate a $1 to a project that inspires them, and of course, to share these projects with their friends. Current projects aim to protect rhinos, plant trees in Kenya, teach school children empathy and train villagers in rural Nicaragua to design and build sustainable projects. Nonprofits can sign up their projects to help fundraising efforts.

The app is currently available in a limited pilot version to Android users in the U.S., but you can sign up to get an update when it becomes more widely available and on other devices.

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Help Boston Marathon Attendees Find a Place To Stay

Jason Boog — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:29:23 +0000

Thanks to a simple Google Drive form, Boston residents can offer shelter for Boston Marathon attendees stranded in the city following the horrific explosions yesterday.

If you need a place to stay in Boston, sign up at this link.

If you have a place to offer someone on Boston, sign up at this link.

You can see all the responses collected in this Google Doc. Here’s more: “If you’re in town for the Marathon and need a place to stay, please fill out this information. Here’s a list of people who have a place to offer, but please fill this out first”

continued…

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First Batch of Google Glass Arrives For Select Few

Dianna Dilworth — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:39:07 +0000

Google sent out an email today to people who expressed interest in Google Glass early on confirming that its new web-enabled eyewear is almost ready to ship.

“We’ve been working hard on the Glass Explorer Edition and we have great news: the hardware and software are now ready for you,” reads the email. “We’re seeing the first few devices come off the production line right now.”

Only a portion of the devices are available today, but Google will be letting people know as their device comes off of the production line.

Here is more about how the glasses work from Google: “Information on Google Glass is separated into items on a timeline. The timeline contains items or “cards” that display information to the user. Users navigate through their timeline by swiping backwards and forwards on Glass, revealing cards in the past and future.”

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Locate Loved Ones in Boston With Google Person Finder

Dianna Dilworth — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:14:58 +0000

Do you have a friend or family member who was at the Boston marathon today? Or do you have information about someone who is there? Then you’d better go to Google Person Finder.

The tool will help you check up on the whereabouts of a loved one, as well as share information about someone’s location. Here is more from the page: “All data entered will be available to the public and viewable and usable by anyone. Google does not review or verify the accuracy of this data.”

If you have collected information on your site and you’d like to combine it with Google’s data, you can download and upload data from Google Person Finder. Follow this link to find out more.

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