Tim put his faith in Google. He ordered up a Chromecast video streaming device and a Nexus 4 smartphone from the Google Play store, canceling his existing cell phone plan before a planned move. Then his package from Google didn’t come. The Chromecast was backordered, but his phone wasn’t. Still the package didn’t come, even though the phone was supposed to ship separately. [More]
Siri Is Apparently Working Through Her Issues With Google Glass
By 8.26.13
So there’s Siri, holding court in the cafeteria and straight up lovin’ it: Everyone’s asking her questions, and how to do stuff and being like, “But what do you think about this, Siri?” Suddenly everyone is buzzing about the new kid, this Google Glass guy who says he knows a thing or two about this and that. And Siri, apparently, is not taking to sharing the virtual assistant throne well. Or rather she’s taking it with just a grain of sass. Glass sass. [More]
Google Blocks Third-Party Streaming App For Chromecast
By 8.26.13
While Google’s Chromecast video-streaming dongle works just fine with Netflix, YouTube and Google Play content, users who have wanted to stream files that fall outside those approved services have had to use unapproved third-party apps. Given the relative openness of Google’s Android operating system, one might think the company would encourage such apps, but it now appears to be the complete opposite. [More]
New Google Service Lets You Play Expert While Charging People For Your Help
By 8.21.13
Are your friends always asking you for help fixing their air conditioners? Do people marvel at your pancakes? Maybe you’re a needlework ninja. Whatever your area of expertise, Google is launching a video chat service that, for a price, matches people with questions and “experts” with answers. [More]
Google: Of Course We’re Going To See What’s In Emails Sent To Gmail Addresses, Don’t Be Silly
By 8.15.13
Raise your hand if you use Gmail. Now look around at your pals, who are ostensibly reading this with you and are perhaps one of 425 million Gmail users. Anyone sending email to those people apparently have no “reasonable expectation” that those communications are confidential, according to a court filing submitted by Google. [More]
Software Update Turns Nexus 4 Into Expensive, Slippery Paperweight
By 8.2.13
There was nothing earth-shattering or all that new about the newest update to the Android mobile operating system, Jelly Bean 4.3. However, some owners of the device that Google itself designed and sells directly, the Nexus 4 smartphone, report that the update turned their phones into glossy paperweights, and it’s not clear why. [More]
Google’s U.S. Moto Factory Makes The Customized Wood Veneer Phone Of Your Dreams Possible
By 8.2.13
There it is. Your phone. Sitting there, all boring and like, silver or black or white. YAWN. It doesn’t have any… pizzazz. If you’re the type who needs to feel like your phone is an extension of your personal style, Google’s U.S. factory allows for customization of the Moto X up the whatsit. [More]
Starbucks Dumps AT&T And Picks Google To Be Its New Wi-Fi Partner
By 7.31.13
Because business relationships are totally exactly like high school releationships, we’re pretty sure Starbucks had the following conversation when dumping AT&T: “It’s not about you. It’s about me. Well and also, actually, it’s about you because see, Google says it’ll give me faster Wi-Fi speeds, so… I need that T-shirt of mine back and the Journey CD I loaned you.” [More]
Google Has Already Ended Netflix/Chromecast Promotion
By 7.26.13
One of the major selling points for Google’s new Chromecast streaming video dongle was that it initially came with three months of free Netflix service, which saves the customer $21 in monthly fees. But only a day after beginning to take orders, Google has already put an end to that promotion. [More]
Is Google’s Chromecast Streaming Video Dongle Worth Its $35 Price Tag?
By 7.24.13 — Updated: 7.26.13
Earlier today, Google announced its new Chromecast device, an HDMI dongle that allows users to wirelessly stream video from a computer or wireless device straight to their TV. For some people it may be a low-cost godsend, for others it might be a redundant waste of money. [More]
Apple, Google, Facebook & Other Tech Giants Pen Letter Asking For NSA Transparency
By 7.18.13
In the wake of that whole thing where the National Security Agency is reportedly snooping on people, a whole bunch of tech industry giants have banded together with privacy advocates to send a letter to the lawmakers and President Barack Obama asking for some transparency when it comes to government surveillance. [More]
Report: Google Interested In Providing Cable TV On Internet Channels, But It Won’t Be Easy
By 7.17.13
The still waters of the cable TV industry might run deep, but if companies like Google keep splashing around in them, we might see an alternative to the traditional bundling model — but it ain’t gonna be easy. A new report says Google is entertaining the idea of possibly offering cable channels over broadband Internet connections, something that would likely meet with a major pushback from cable and satellite providers. [More]
What Does It Look Like When Google Hands Your Email Data Over To The Government?
By 7.8.13
When Google looks at your email data, some might picture a scenario out of a romantic comedy starring Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grantjackman. You know, a bunch of employees hovered around a computer screen, laughing and pointing: “Oh god, she emailed him again two minutes later? And she promised she wasn’t crazy? This is good stuff.” The reality is a lot less juicy, but still worth knowing about. [More]
State AGs To Google: How Much Ad Moolah Do You Make Off Videos Promoting Illicit Activities?
By 7.3.13
Don’t you hate waiting that entire five seconds of a YouTube ad before you can skip to the video promoting use of oxycontin without a prescription or a guide on how to forge a passport? Even if those aren’t the kinds of videos you watch (fingers crossed) the attorneys general for Nebraska and Oklahoma still do not like the fact one bit that Google is allegedly profiting off such advertising. [More]
Facebook To Pull Ads From Pages With “Violent, Graphic Or Sexual Content”
By 6.28.13
A day after Google alerted Blogger users that they could keep publishing explicit content but they won’t be able to profit from it, Facebook has told advertisers that they will no longer need to worry about their ads showing up on pages with content that might get them into hot water by association. [More]
FTC To Search Engines: Do A Better Job Of Labeling Paid Search Results As Ads
By 6.26.13
A decade ago, the Federal Trade Commission told the major Internet search engines that they should be more transparent about search results that received premium placement because the advertiser paid for it. The companies eventually obliged, but the FTC says that search engines have backslid and begun being less-than-transparent again, and that they could still do more to distinguish between ads and organic search results. [More]
How Much Does A Songwriter Earn When Pandora Plays His Song 1.16 Million Times? Hint: It’s Not Much
By 6.24.13
The music industry has experienced multiple earth-shifting changes in the last 15 years. Widespread Internet use brought us the era of free-for-all sharing with Napster and LimeWire. Then Apple’s iTunes legitimized digital music downloads as a viable distribution model, but also showed that record companies are not always needed to have a hit. Streaming services like Pandora now give users free access to virtually every available song, but at what cost to both the artist and the webcaster? [More]
Microsoft To Offer Ad-Free Version Of Bing For Schools
By 6.24.13
While both Google and Microsoft’s Bing search engines have “safe search” options intended to let younger school children research reports on things like “backyard drilling” without getting results that might require a lot of awkward explanations from their parents, neither had offered an ad-free version. But in the fall, Microsoft will launch “Bing for Schools,” which promises not to invade our schools’ libraries with advertising. [More]
