Google plans to play nice with Facebook and Twitter on photos
According to Bloomberg Business, Google could soon be separating its web based photo sharing and storage service from the existing Google+ platform and offering it as a standalone. Bloomberg cites Googlers close to the project who say that the announcement could come during the upcoming Google I/O developers conference later this month. Reportedly photos stored with the new service can be posted to both Twitter and Facebook with a fraction of the hassle it takes to do so currently. These rumors have been a long time coming. Bloomberg reported a similar plan early last year and Google Senior Vice President Sundar Pichai was quoted in March stating that photos and social would be operated separately.
Source: Bloomberg Business
Android Wear 5.1.1 update now beginning to roll out to compatible devices
Google has just taken to its product forums to announce that Android Wear 5.1.1 is just now beginning to roll out to all Android Wear devices. We’ve already seen the 5.1.1 update on the LG Watch Urbane, but up until now, the only other watch that’s received the update is the Asus ZenWatch.
Read more: Android Wear vs Apple Watch software comparison
Announced about a month ago, Android Wear 5.1.1 brings a slew of new handy features to the wearable platform, such as the ability to set always-on applications, new gestures for scrolling through Google Now cards, and a much more refined contacts/app menu. One of the more exciting features present in this update is Wi-Fi support, allowing your Android Wear device to receive notifications, as long as your watch and your phone are both connected to a Wi-Fi network. Google says that Wi-Fi support will only be available on the Motorola Moto 360, Sony Smartwatch 3 and Samsung Gear Live.
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The update will be rolling out over the next few days and weeks, so it may be a little while before it makes its way to your device. Have you received Android Wear 5.1.1 yet? If so, let us know how you like it!
Google Maps app suddenly shows up on an Android Wear watch
After updating his phone to Google Maps version 9.9, an Android Central writer made a surprising discovery: a near-fully functional Google Maps app had suddenly appeared on his Wear watch as well. The app reportedly works much like the standard mobile phone or tablet version (ie pinch to zoom, swipe to navigate) and even opens with the “Ok Google” voice command. But it’s not perfect however. For example, launching the app on your watch apparently causes it to also launch on the phone. Plus the watch app could only be closed by physically pressing the LG Watch Urbane’s side button. While it’s nice that Android Wear now mirrors the Maps functionality that Apple Watch wearers enjoy, the watch app’s overall bugginess is likely enough to make you just keep fishing out your phone for directions.
Filed under: Wearables, Internet, Apple, Google, LG
Source: AndroidCentral
Google will reportedly launch its photo sharing service sometime soon
According to a new report from Bloomberg, Google is very close to taking the wraps off of its new photo sharing and storage service. According to the publication’s unnamed sources, the new photo tool, which will be an entirely separate service from the Google+ Photos feature, will likely be unveiled at Google I/O 2015.
According to past rumors, the new photo service will allow users to upload photos to the cloud and share them to Facebook, Twitter, and more. Obviously since this service is coming from Google, there is potential that it will come with some of the great photo editing features found in Google+, like Auto Awesome, Highlights and Stories.
Although details beyond that are scarce, we may learn more when Google I/O takes place on May 28th and 29th.
This year’s developer conference is shaping up to be quite interesting. We may get our first look at the next version of Android, and Google may also unveil new voice action controls, more granular app permissions, and its “Designed for Families” version of the Play Store.
Mobile Google searches now show real-time tweets
Google and Twitter announced a new service today that will allow US mobile users to receive live Tweets — now that the social network’s firehose is connected once again — in their web searches. For example if you search for Golden State Warriors, Danger 5 or Game of Thrones on your cell phone, their most recent tweets pop up at the top of your search results. Users can also search specifically for, say, “NASA Twitter” to find everything that the space agency has recently tweeted. According to the official Twitter Blog, this feature will be landing on the desktop soon as well as expanding to other countries.
.@google We’re feeling lucky. 👊 Tweets will now show up in Google Search: https://t.co/3zMZ3OoAfu pic.twitter.com/NJI5oYkZS1
– Twitter (@twitter) May 19, 2015
Filed under: Networking, Google
Tweets now appear in Google Search results on mobile
Results when using Google Search are going to look a little different starting today. Google has worked with Twitter to bring tweets to the search engine’s results on mobile devices. Most searches will have tweets appear organically, but users can force them to appear by attaching “twitter” to entries. Tweets come from both official accounts and users discussing the searched topic.
Google plans to bring support to desktop and additional languages over time.
Source: Google
Come comment on this article: Tweets now appear in Google Search results on mobile
Google will now show real-time tweets in Google Search results on mobile
Google is now making it a little easier for users to get real-time information through their smartphones. Starting today, Google will begin showing you relevant tweets in Google Search results on your mobile phone or tablet about the topic in which you’re interested. For example, if you’re interested in seeing what Taylor Swift is up to at the moment (and who isn’t?), simply perform a Google Search with her name, and her most recent tweets will show up in the results feed.
Additionally, if you were to search for Malcolm X (since today is his birthday), Google will show you tweets from folks around the world who are currently tweeting about him.
Google is gradually rolling this feature out in English in the Google app on both Android and iOS and on mobile browsers. The company is working on adding support for more languages and bringing it to the desktop, so stay tuned for more information in the future.
Coalition of tech companies, others urge Obama to reject encrypted data backdoors
Leading tech companies like Apple and Google, along with a host of cryptologists and other advisors, have penned a letter to President Obama urging him to protect privacy rights from attempts by law enforcement agencies to create backdoors to encrypted phone data. The move is in response to several months of statements from officials like FBI Director James Comey who have criticized tech companies for building encryption into their devices possibly at the expense of public safety. Against that fear, the letter notes that “strong encryption is the cornerstone of the modern information economy’s security.”
Both the FBI and the Justice Department have stated that they support the use of encryption. However, they want law enforcement officials to be able to access encrypted data, even against the wishes of the person that encrypted the data in the first place. Comey has suggested that companies who resist the availability of a backdoor for law enforcement are creating tools that “allow people to place themselves beyond the law.”
Beyond potential privacy concerns, many people in the technology field believe the creation of a backdoor, even if meant only for the U.S. government, will result in a vulnerability that will eventually be exploited by hackers or foreign governments. Ronald Rivest, one of the inventors of the RSA encryption algorithm, notes that “great damage to our security infrastructure” will come about if a method for law enforcement officials to access encrypted data is created.
The organizer of the letter, Kevin Bankston, hopes that the letter will help Obama “put an end to these dangerous suggestions that we should deliberately weaken the cybersecurity of American’s products and services.”
source: The Washington Post
Come comment on this article: Coalition of tech companies, others urge Obama to reject encrypted data backdoors
Literata is the elegant new typeface of Google Play Books, get it here
Google Play Books 3.4.5 brings a change that typography aficionados will appreciate: a new default typeface called Literata.
Literata, which was officially introduced yesterday on Twitter, is an elegant serif typeface that Google commissioned from type foundry Type-Together in April 2014, designed to replace Droid Serif as the default typeface of Play Books. (For a discussion about the difference between font and typeface, read this Fast Co Design article.)
Literate delivers, according to Type-Together, “outstanding reading experience on a whole range of devices and high resolution screens.” It’s also meant to “establish a recognizable visual identity for Google’s native eBook App and stylistically distinguish itself from other eReader competitors.” In other words, Literata is a branding exercise, not just a stylistic choice.
That explains some of the quirks of Literata, including a non-slanted italic variant that’s supposed to make it “unique, recognizable and easy to remember,” as well as a number of other smaller but delightful flourishes.
The name of the typeface suggests Literata will remain exclusive to Play Books, with the Droid family staying on as the default typeface for Android and Google apps.
If you’d like to try out Literata on your PC, you can download it from here. It’s currently my default font in Word, and it’s a pleasure to use.
Apple and Google push Obama to prevent encryption backdoors
Apple, Google and other major tech companies have urged President Obama not to give the FBI backdoor access to smartphone data, according to the Washington Post. The publication obtained a letter signed by no less than 140 major tech players, security specialists and privacy groups stating that “strong encryption is the cornerstone of the modern information economy’s security.” All of the players feel that it’s impossible to build a backdoor for governments in email, cellphone encryption and other communications without creating vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers or hostile nations. Obama previously said that while he’s in favor of stronger encryption, “the only concern is our law enforcement is expected to stop every (terrorist) plot.”
The letter is a direct response to FBI Director James B. Comey, who demanded access to user data after Google and Apple said they were going to create unbreakable encryption. He said, “there’s no doubt that all of us should care passionately about privacy, but we should also care passionately about protecting innocent people.” He added that the FBI and DoJ support encryption, as long as officials also get access to communications. However, the letter is also signed by three out of five members of an Obama-appointed review group, one of whom declared “if they couldn’t pull it (backdoor access) off at the end of the Cold War, they sure as hell aren’t going to pull it off now.”
If they couldn’t pull (backdoor access) off at the end of the Cold War, they sure as hell aren’t going to pull it off now.
Paul Rosenzweig is another letter signatory and normally a national security stalwart, according to the Post. But he said “if I actually thought there was a way to build a US-government-only backdoor, then I might be persuaded. But that’s just not reality.” Ronald L. Rivest, the ‘R’ in RSA encryption, feels that while standards can be tweaked for law enforcement, “you’ve done great damage to our security infrastructure if you do that.” Instead, the privacy activist who organized the letter, Kevin Bankston, said “it’s time for America to lead the world toward a more secure future rather than a digital ecosystem riddled with vulnerabilities of our own making.”
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet
Source: Washington Post
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