Go to Google and type this sentence to see the most awesome Star Wars Easter egg ever
The new Star Wars movie is only some weeks away and everything out there seems to be getting in the spirit (and we don’t mean the holidays). There are all kinds of Star Wars toys, clothing, collectibles accessories and decorations, among other things. Now Google has decided to join the fun with one of the coolest Easter eggs we have ever seen.
Just go into Google.com and type in “A long time ago in a galaxy far far away”, without the quotation marks, of course. It will literally seem like you have been transported to another galaxy!
You will be presented with the usual search results, but not in a traditional way. Instead, the results will scroll up like Star Wars’ most iconic intro, along with the colors and music from the movie. Just give it a go!
The page will scroll continuously, but you can always take over and scroll the results on your own. And please do turn the sound on in the top-right corner.
This is totally the coolest thing I have seen today, and I know fellow Star Wars fans will agree! By the way, reports say this doesn’t work with Firefox for some reason. Please do hit the comments to let us know if this works for you and which browser you are using!
Google’s fast mobile pages coming (with ads) in early 2016
Google revealed the “AMP” endeavor last month to accelerate mobile page-loading times, the slowness of which is a huge user bone of contention. It now says the fast-loading mobile pages will hit search results by early next year, and also gave more details about the project’s raison d’etre: ads. The list of partners supporting the effort include its own AdSense, Outbrain and AOL, Engadget‘s parent company. The AMP project will cut mobile data use and wait times, but Google’s not just being altruistic — it’s trying to curb ad-blockers, which heavily impact the company’s ad revenue. Apple recently gave ad-blockers a big boost when it revealed it would support them for Safari on iOS 9.
Via: Marketing Land
Source: Google
Black Friday foot traffic doesn’t peak when you think it does
The day that practically every retail worker loathes with a passion is almost upon us: Black Friday. To get an idea of just how much of a nightmare shopping is on the day after Thanksgiving, Google turned to foot traffic data based on aggregated, anonymized mobile location history info gathered last year. Perhaps most surprising is that stores apparently aren’t at their busiest during doorbuster deals in the wee hours, but between 2PM and 4PM — the early-bird deals are actually when store traffic is at its lowest across the board. What’s more, only certain types of stores see their traffic at their highest on that first shopping day of the holiday season: consumer electronics and cellphone stores. Malls, department stores and “superstores/discount stores” (likely places akin to Costco and Sam’s Club)? They’re typically busiest the last Saturday before Christmas.
Source: Google
74% of all Android devices can have their passcode bypassed if Google is ordered to do so
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You know that huge uproar we had about Android security a few weeks ago? Well, looks like we’re in for another round as a new report prepared by the New York District Attorney’s Office has suggested that 74% of all Android devices could have their passcode bypassed by Google if a court order is passed, allowing authorities to remotely access these devices. The reason why this number is so big is because full disk encryption is not necessarily enabled for most devices – in fact, only Android 5.0 and higher devices would be safe, and even then only if it is enabled (and in some cases, it isn’t enabled by default). This is an excerpt from the report:
“Forensic examiners are able to bypass passcodes on some of those devices using a variety of forensic techniques.
For some other types of Android devices, Google can reset the passcodes when served with a search warrant and an order instructing them to assist law enforcement to extract data from the device. This process can be done by Google remotely and allows forensic examiners to view the contents of a device.”
The 74% figure comes from the latest statistics reported by the Android Developer Dashboard, and although that number will continue to decrease as time goes on, it’s not going to disappear overnight. Note however that this number is realistically much lower as the capability to remote reset devices is only available when a device is using the Pattern security measure – PIN and Password security cannot be bypassed this way.
If you do use Pattern, that still leaves the rather confronting possibility that your device could be accessed remotely – naturally, we’re assuming that this power will only be used for good, but it wouldn’t be the first time power has been misused.
What do you think about this capability to bypass passcodes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: New York District Attorney’s Office via The Next Web
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Google will make its Accelerated Mobile Pages Project work available early next year
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The paint is still drying on the Accelerated Mobile Pages Project which was announced last month, but Google is already promising that it’s going to start rolling out sometime early next year. For those who don’t know, the Accelerated Mobile Pages Project is Google’s attempt to make mobile web pages load faster, and Google is saying that the response has been great so far with 4,500 developers following the proceedings on GitHub. There’s also a long list of headlining web content publishers who have already voiced their support:
“Thousands of publishers have expressed interest in AMP since the preview launched with the likes of the BBC, Sankei, New York Times, News Corp, Washington Post and more. Since then, many others have committed their support to the project, including R7.com and NZN Group in Brazil; CBS Interactive, AOL, Thrillist, Slate, International Business Times/Newsweek, Al Jazeera America and The Next Web in the US; El Universal and Milenio in Mexico; The Globe and Mail and Postmedia in Canada, as well as many more across the globe. The Local Media Consortium (LMC), a partnership of 70+ media companies collectively representing 1,600 local newspapers and television stations, has also voiced their support.”
There still seems like there is significant work to do on all accounts – Google isn’t committing to a more specific timeline yet – but it’s definitely got the support to make things better. This isn’t the only project that’s trying to speed up mobile webpages with similar efforts from Apple and Facebook circulating as well.
What do you think about the Accelerated Mobile Pages Project? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Accelerated Mobile Pages Project via The Verge
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Deal: buy a Nexus 5 for as low as $130!
The Nexus 5 continues to be a great device for many of our readers, and some of you have even managed to get one for a very good price lately, but no deal has compared to this one so far. If you don’t mind getting yourself a refurbished device, Expansys has a deal that is very hard to say no to. The online retailer is selling the older-generation handset for only $129.99!
And this does include the black, white or red 16 GB iterations. If that’s not enough storage space for you, the 32 GB iterations are also available for $149.99, in the same colors.
Also read:
- Google’s Nexus 5: revisited
- Nexus 6 vs Nexus 5
- Nexus 5X vs Nexus 5
- Should Google keep selling the Nexus 5?
Talk about finding the right deal! This could be great for casual users who wouldn’t mind going with an older device that still outperforms many of the current smartphones at that price point. The Nexus 5 carries a 5-inch 1080p screen, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, 2 GB of RAM, an 8 MP rear camera, a 1.3 MP front-facing shooter and a modest 2300 mAh battery.
It has been hard to find a Nexus 5 since Google stopped offering it in the Play Store, which is likely the reason why it’s going for such a low price. Retailers are probably trying to phase it out of their inventories.
It’s a win-win, so go ahead and sign up for your Nexus 5 if you are looking to get a good phone on the cheap. It might also make a great holiday gift!
Buy the 16 GB Nexus 5:
Buy the 32 GB Nexus 5:
Alphabet is cracking down on the spending of subsidiaries
Google once had many smaller projects it was working on, but all of those are now their own company under the Alphabet umbrella. However, unlike before, Alphabet will be keeping a close eye on their spending habits, and making sure they are held accountable for their spending.
Some of the “smaller” companies owned by Alphabet are Google, Google X, Fiber, Nest, Calico, Life Sciences, and more. However, all of these companies now have to pay full price to use each others resources. For example, Nest may want to use Google Cloud Platform, and will have to pay full price just like everyone else.
The main point Alphabet is trying to make is that everyone needs to be fully aware of their spending habits. Also, subsidiaries do not have to use Google and its products, but can if they are the cost effective choice. If not, use someone else.
The only problem would be will this prevent “moonshot” projects? It’s hard to say right now, but we would imagine Alphabet will allow companies like Google X project to take a little extra time before they are held accountable, while a much larger company like Google will have to pay sooner.
The move to do this was made to please Wall Street investors who were worried Alphabet was spending too much money on all these smaller, possibly not profitable, projects. However, any new changes will not be seen until a couple of months from now as Alphabet won’t share any numbers about moonshot projects until next quarter.
Source: WSJ
Come comment on this article: Alphabet is cracking down on the spending of subsidiaries
Google is trying to make Black Friday shopping smarter for consumers and advertisers
Never before has so much information been so readily at our fingertips. Data runs the advertising industry, and who has more of that than Google? This year, Google is giving advertisers unprecedented access to their mountain of location data. This will let advertisers reach buyers more effectively and with moment-to-moment agility, but it will also let buyers shop more intelligently.
In the days of yore, businesses would run aggressive television campaigns, prominently advertising their Black Friday prices. Then they would cross their fingers and hope that these messages reached interested people who would show up to take advantage of the sales.
While it’s true that this form of broadcasting is still in full swing, a much more nuanced and personalized approach to advertising has been on the rise since the dawn of the internet. Now, with the ubiquity of smartphones, we’re connected to all this information in a heartbeat. We can stand in a brick and mortar store and find a better price in an online store, place an order, and have the item arrive at home the very next day. Advertising is now narrowcasted, targeting very specific individuals based on their browsing and spending habits. This Friday, Google is looking to take this dynamic to the next level.
See also: Black Friday 2015 – best deals
Need to know if your next stop still has that item you were looking for in stock? Want to see if this location is still the best place to buy the item currently in your hand? Want to evade the crowds and still take advantage of Black Friday deals? Google wants to be there to help. In this spirit, they’ve launched a blog dedicated to helping Black Friday shoppers and sellers get the most out of their day.
Google’s stake in this is mobile advertising. By offering this degree of control and utility to sellers and shoppers, Google is hoping to draw in new mobile ad buyers.
Google is helping out people around the world this holiday season in more ways than one. The company has just announced that it will donate up to a million dollars towards special education projects in partnership with the nonprofit DonorsChoose.org. Beginning today and running until December 31st, Google will donate $1 for every purchase made with Android Pay this holiday season. What’s more, the company will double the amount of donations for every purchase made with Android Pay on Black Friday, as well. For more information on this initiative, follow the Official Android Blog source link attached below.
Every use of Android Pay will donate $1 to children with special needs
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Google is well known for its philanthropy, but it’s latest campaign hopes to donate to children with special needs as well as increase usage of their new Android Pay payment system. Available now throughout the US, Android Pay joins a long list of payment systems that are trying to take off at the same time – to make their payment option a little more attractive, Google is instituting a campaign which will donate $1 for every use of Android Pay to special needs education projects. Google collaborated on this campaign with DonorsChoose.org which helps to support the 6.4 million children with special needs in the US.
Google also says that if you use Android Pay on Black Friday, they will double their donation. All-in-all, Google is willing to donate up $1 million USD through this campaign which lasts till December 31st, a substantial donation to a cause that sees many teachers digging into their own pockets to provide the resources and care that their students need. There’s likely no better reason to start using Android Pay, so if you’re in the US and have a compatible device, make sure you spend big this Holiday season.
http://playboard.me/widgets/pb-app-box/1/pb_load_app_box.jsWhat do you think about Google’s Android Pay campaign? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
The post Every use of Android Pay will donate $1 to children with special needs appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Google will give $1 for special ed every time you use Android Pay
After Android Pay’s slow rollout throughout the US, it’s finally available to everyone — well, those with a compatible device anyway. In the spirit of giving (or trying to get more people using the service), Google has teamed up with DonorsChoose.org to support special needs children in US schools. Through December 31st, Google will donate $1 for every purchase made through Android Pay, with a total of up to $1 million. The idea is to create an interactive classroom environment so kids who struggle to engage aren’t left out. What’s more, Android Pay will double its donations for every purchase made on Black Friday. As if you needed another reason to spend big on the most insane shopping day of the year.
[Image credit: AOL]
Source: Google
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