Tag Archives: Google

Five finger toe shoes are all the rage this holiday season

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Pictured above is Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin.  At last week’s Google Chrome OS announcement he made a quick appearence sporting these outrageous shoes that have a place for all five toes to take comfort.  Vibram’s Five Fingers are “ultralight running/sports shoes with separate pockets for each toe.” Though they look quite unconventional, they are apparently great running shoes and are praised by CrunchGear.  If you’re interested in a pair, they go for about $75 and are available to order here.

[Via CrunchGear]

YouTube now supports full HD (1080p) video

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This past week YouTube lifted the 720p-only upload restriction; users are now able to upload and watch full 1080p high definition videos on YouTube.  And what better way to celebrate this news than watch Heroes’ Hayden Panettiere uncork a bottle of champaign in slow motion, in reverse.  Enjoy, fellas..

There’s still more YouTube news hot off the press.  First, Google decided to shut down YouTube’s API access.  What this means is that all the set-top boxes (and other similar devices) no longer have the ability to access YouTube services.  Only YouTube-sanctioned devices like supported Blu-Ray players, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and TiVo will be able to feature a YouTube interface and provide videos to consumers.  Why is Google doing this, you ask?  Well, the unofficial reason is that Google, like any other company, wants to make as much revenue from its ads as possible and letting anyone and everyone have access to their YouTube service leaves them in a hard-to-control situation.  Come December 2 all set-top boxes and unauthorized devices will lose their ability to feature the YouTube service.

On a less somber note, Google is now allowing users to add automatic captions to their YouTube videos to make videos accessible to the deaf and hearing-impaired.  YouTube will utilize Google Voice speech-recognition technology to create automatic, on-the-fly captions for uploaded videos.  For now this service will be available to a handful of partners including PBS, National Geographic and a some universities until it is perfected.  For now, Google is implementing an “auto-timing” feature that will take written words in a user-generated text file and match the text to the words as they are spoken in the video.  Neat-o.

Oh, and there’s another (less exciting) 1080p video posted after the break.

[Via Engadget; Gizmodo, here & here; AP]

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Google announces Chrome OS; “what if your browser was your operating system?”

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Today Google revealed its take on the operating system.  And it’s called Chrome OS.  What’s that you say?  You’ve heard of Google Chrome, you are using it right now?  Google Chrome is a browser, just like Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s Firefox.  What Google has announced is an operating system (think Microsoft Windows or Apple Mac OS X) that runs in the Chrome browser skin.  The desktop and the entire workplace resides in what looks very much like the Google Chrome browser you may be using today.  The team at Google knows that when most people turn on their computer they go directly to their browser of choice to access the Internet.  Their plan is to streamline this process by making the browser the home base of your computer.

Now let’s talk hard facts.  Chrome OS is based on Linux and the current Chrome browser.  It is entirely web-based and only runs web apps.  All your storage will live in the Internet “cloud;”  this means that all of your data (documents, music, pictures, etc.) will be stored online.  Local hard drives will only be accessed to cache data and keep your computer speedy.  Think of the cloud in the same terms you think of how your email is handled.  You don’t download your email messages to your hard drive; it is all stored on the Internet, whether you use AOL Mail, Gmail, whatever.  An advantage of an OS based on the cloud: You can take your virtual space with you everywhere; all you need handy is your login information and a Chrome OS-capable computer to sign in and access all your data.  The OS itself is “light;” it will take just seconds to fully boot up your computer.  And this is  one of Google’s main goals: to get you on the Internet as fast and safe as possible.  Speaking of safety, Chrome OS will be highly resistive to viruses and malware; Google has designed a security layer based on its own binaries and the OS easily upgradable with over-the-Internet updates for the entire OS.

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Motorola Droid and HTC Droid Eris out now on Verizon Wireless

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We already know all about the Droid by Motorola.  Now you can pick it up (or order it online) for $199.99, after a $100 rebate and under the obligatory two-year commitment.  Verizon has stated that tethering (connecting your phone to your computer to gain Internet access) will be made available for Droid customers in 2010 and will add an addtional $30 to the data plan.

If that price is too steep for you VZ is giving you the option to select a similar handset with the Droid Eris by HTC.  Basically it’s a rebranded Sprint Hero (also by HTC) with a few aesthetic and UI changes.  Compared to its older and more sophisicated brother, the Droid Eris runs Android 1.5 (not 2.0), it does not have a physical keyboard, it packs a slower processor (528MHz Qualcomm), and its screen size and resolution is lowered.  It does, however, feature a 3.2-inch capacitive display, 5 megapixel camera, WiFi, 3.5mm headphone jack, 8GB microSDHC card (with expansion up to 16GB).  It will be the first Verizon phone to run HTC’s personalized user interface called HTC Sense on top of Android 1.5.  You can also pick up the Droid Eris now (or order it online) for $99.99, after a $100 rebate and under a two-year agreement.  Take a look at the Droid Eris in the gallery below and peek after the break for the full press release.

Here’s the bottom line: The Droid by Motorola is the next best phone on the market after the iPhone.  If you are in the market for a new cell phone and you are a Verizon Wireless customer, getting the Droid is a no-brainer.  If the Droid’s price and fierce looks are too much for you, saving one hundred dollars and purchasing the Droid Eris by HTC is a worthy sacrifice that can be made.  All in all, the new family of Droid phones is a win for all Verizon customers and finally brings some worthy competition to the current king of smartphones, the iPhone.

[Via Engadget, here & here; Gizmodo, here & here]

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Verizon unveils Droid by Motorola

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Today Verizon finally released solid information about the first Android 2.0-powered device, Droid by Motorola.  The Droid is a Verizon Wireless exclusive and will be made available to purchase on November 6 for $199 (with a two year contract, after a $100 mail-in rebate).  So it costs as much as an iPhone; is it worthy of its price tag?  Seeing the handset in pictures and specification on paper alone make it look like a strong competitor.  We already knew this but here are a bunch of the official specs: 3.7-inch display (854 x 480 resolution), 5 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, a bundled 16GB memory card, and a full slide out QWERTY keyboard (Verizon notes that it is the world’s thinnest slide out QWERTY), 3G, WiFi, and over-the-air Amazon MP3 downloads.  A home dock accessory will also be available to purchase.  Oh, and it’s also the first phone to support Google’s brand new Maps Navigation software.  Get learn’d and preorder Droid here.  Look after the break for the official press release and a hands-on video from Engadget.

At today’s press conference Verizon also confirmed that Droid is indeed a family of phones, though there was no mention of the oft-rumored Droid Eris by HTC.

All in all the Droid by Motorola looks great on paper and even better in pictures.  Once it releases this November it will have to face the test of real usage.  Who knows, this may be the competition the iPhone has been craving for over three years.

[Via Engadget, here & here; Gizmodo]

 

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Google intros free turn-by-turn navigation to Google Maps; nav manufacturers tremble in fear

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Today Google announced a major upgrade to its mobile Google Maps software with the introduction of Maps Navigation.  Everything you’re used to with Google Maps is still there–search (by name of business), directions, traffic data, the three views (map, satellite, hybrid), etc.  Maps Navigation brings full-blown turn-by-turn directions, including our friend the female robotic voice.  New features included: address input by text or voice; text-to-speech (reads street names aloud); Street View (when you are making a turn or getting off a highway, an intelligent satillite view of the street will appear with directional arrows embedded on top); search along a route (it can point out and direct you to gas stations or resturants that fall on your route path); hold a finger down on any point of the virtual map and it will guide you there; layers (features like traffic and points of interest are “layers;” Gizmodo acknowledges that this may hint towards Google offering developers to create their own layers on top of the map (Wiki notes, etc.)); landscape and portrait modes.  A docking station for car use was demoed.  When a compatable phone is placed in the dock, an “arm’s length away” user interface takes effect (larger icons, etc.).

One of the most distinguising features of Maps Navigation as a navigation system is that it relies on the Internet to gets its information (maps, traffic, etc.) instead of actual satillites like most other navs.  There are major advantages and some disadvantages to this.  Gizmodo appropriately labels the single most important advantage “maps that never age.”  In essense, you will never have to worry about updating your maps because the software is constantly updating itself via the carrier’s cell service.  The disadvantage?  If you happen to enter a dead zone and lose all cell service you might find yourself stuck in lost, unfamilar territory.  However, it is worthy to note that the software sort of works offline in that it will cache (or save) your route once it is entered in a cell signal area.  So if you happen to stumble upon a dead zone you may not SOL after all.

For now, Maps Navigation will only be available on Android 2.0 cell phones.  The first cell phone to feature it will be Verizon’s Doid by Motorola.  Eventually this upgraded version of Google Maps will make its way to other carriers and devices.  In fact, Gizmodo reports that Google is in close talks with Apple about porting it to the iPhone.

One final, very significant point:  Maps Navigation is f-r-e-e, that spells free.  This is going to make a heavy impact not only on other cell phone nav applications that are not free, but it is definitely going to negatively affect major companies like TomTom and Garmin (it already has) who rely on people purchasing their standalone GPS units.  If people have the choice of using a free (ad-free too, mind you) nav application on their cell phones or choosing to buy a separate typically expensive device, what do you they are going to choose?  What would you choose?  Share your opinion in the poll below.

[Via Engadget, here & here; Gizmodo]

[polldaddy poll=2182711]

Google: Happy Birthday, H.G. Wells!

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And the Google doodles have led up to this, a celebration of what would have been author H.G. Wells’ 146th birthday.  From the “unexplained phenomena” and the mysterious phrase “all your “O” belong to us,” to the “crop circles,” and now to a scene from H.G. Wells’ famous story War of the Worlds, Google has played us all.  Was the Google-plex infiltrated by aliens from another planet?  Was Google planning to unveil a new logo or a new product or service?  Were they attempting to show the general public and corporations alike the power of the Google doodle and how its changes can support advertisements for movies and so on?  NOPE.

Google has officially stated today in a blog post that all the mysterious doodles have led to up to this one event, the birthday of H.G. Wells, and all of the doodles relate to his War of the Worlds.  “Inspiration for innovation in technology and design can come from lots of places; we wanted to celebrate H.G. Wells as an author who encouraged fantastical thinking about what is possible, on this planet and beyond. And maybe have some fun while we were doing it.”  Yeah, by fun you mean having bloggers like me and crazy alien theorists like the rest of us postulate for days on end thinking about a possible explanation.  (Although things started to become clear with the second doodle; the coordinates Google posted on their Twitter page pointed to Horsell Commons, the initial place where the aliens landed in Wells’ novel.)  Google puts a cap on this solved mystery and leaves us with this: “The invasion of the logo by alien crafts and pods makes our series complete, but you’ll have to read the book to find out how Wells’ story really ends.”

Well played Google, well played.

Update:  It still doesn’t explain Google’s Street View image of these UFOs flying over London!  Muhahah….

[Via Telegraph.uk; GoogleBlog]

Google’s mystery doodle is back for more

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Enter the follow-up doodle in the series of alien-related Google doodles.  First it was the UFO-inspired doodle that searched for “unexplained phenomena.”  Now there is a crop-circle inspired doodle that searches for the keyword “crop circle.”  The first doodle’s image file name was “Go_gle.”  This image’s file name is “Goog_e.”  First the “o” was abducted, now the “l” is missing.  What this means no one knows.  On it’s Twitter page Google posted the following coordinates: 51.327629, -0.5616088.  Followers figured out that these specific coordinates reveal a location in the UK, a town called Horsell in Surrey, England, to be exact.  Interestingly this area is infamous for it’s prominent role in H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds;” it is the town where the aliens first land in the novel.

So, what does this all mean?  Unfortunately there are no solid answers…again.  Some theories include: Wells’ 143rd birthday falls on September 21; “It’s almost certainly a viral marketing campaign teasing people ahead of some launch in a week or two” (via UK Guardian); and my favorite–Google has been taken over by aliens from an unknown planet.  Just like before, all there is to do now is to continue theorizing and wait for the next doodle or a possible explanation from Google itself.

[Via CNET; Wired]

Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigns from Apple’s board

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In a not-so-surprising move, Google CEO Eric Schmidt has resigned from Apple’s Board of Directors.  A conflict of interest has come between the two corporate giants.  In recent news, Google announced their new Chrome OS; they currently run the Android OS on many cell phones, and they are expanding their search and web applications.  What it comes down to is this: Schmidt simply does not belong on the Apple BoD any longer.  With Google services starting to overlap in areas that Apple has lived in for decades, this is a smart decision for Google.  Although Google and Apple can be labeled competing companies, it would be wise for them to maintain a healthy relationship as many of Google’s services (namely, Maps & YouTube) come pre-loaded on all Apple iPhones.  As of late, though, things have become stale between the two; Apple continues to reject Google applications that too closely resemble and function like Apple apps.  The recent Google Voice rejection definitely left a bad taste in Schmidt’s mouth, I bet.  Check out the full PR release after the break.

[Via Engadget; Apple]

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