Google Fiber hits Austin this December

It looks like AT&T’s gigabit internet is going to get some new company in Austin come December: Google Fiber. At a recent planning meeting in the Weird City, Mountain View detailed how it’ll at long last roll the service out, and, as Gigaom notes, it seems similar to what’s been in place in the Kansas City, Missouri area. Just like before, individual neighborhoods will have to commit to using the service for Google to consider putting Fiber there. If your area’s selected, you’ll have to pay a $300 “construction fee” to access the pipeline but, aside from a free 5mbps package, other pricing details haven’t been announced. Itching to sign-up and get yourself on the map? You’ll have to wait until the last month of the year for that. It feels like a lifetime ago since we first caught wind of Fiber’s Austin appearance, but surely you’ve used those 18 months to plan your first blazing-fast download, right?

[Image credit: StuSeeger/Flickr]

Filed under: Internet, Google

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Source: Gigaom

Doctors report a case of Google Glass addiction

You’ve probably heard of Google Glass owners who seemingly can’t put the wearable down, but there’s now at least one reported instance of genuinely addictive behavior. Doctors at Naval Medical Center San Diego claim that a 31-year-old Navy serviceman is the first person to be diagnosed with a Glass-related internet addiction disorder. The patient wore the head-mounted computer for up to 18 hours a day, and was so attached to it that he would instinctively reach for his right temple (to activate Glass) whenever you asked him a question, whether or not the device was there. He’s getting better after having spent 35 days in on-site treatment, according to doctors; that reflexive movement doesn’t come up so often, and the man is both less irritable and more focused.

The case certainly raises concerns about the effects of always-on wearable devices on mental health, but there’s no guarantee that you’ll get hooked. As the Medical Center notes, the patient originally checked himself in for alcohol abuse — while the Glass addiction ultimately proved more severe, the history suggests that the patient was prone to compulsive activities in general, not just when using wearables. This is also just one incident, so there’s no definite evidence that Glass is more alluring than other technologies and substances. You’re probably fine splurging on that Explorer Edition headset as a result, but you may want to hold off if you already have trouble saying “no.”

[Image credit: Angel Navarrete/Bloomberg via Getty Images]

Filed under: Wearables, Google

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Via: CNBC

Source: Addictive Behaviors (ScienceDirect)

Android Lollipop features “Factory Reset Protection” to stop thieves from wiping stolen phones

Security and device encryption are hot topics lately, and Google is staying ahead of the game by building a ton of useful new features into the latest version of Android. We already know that Lollipop will feature device encryption by default, but it looks like Google is taking an extra step towards making sure that a stolen phone can’t be wiped and re-used.

This new feature is called “Factory Reset Protection,” and it essentially prevents a thief from performing a factory reset on a stolen device. By default, Android will ask for a password before wiping itself, which will probably be the phone’s main Google account password. Couple this feature with Android remote lock feature and you can almost guarantee that a stolen phone won’t do anyone any good.

The only drawback here is waiting for devices to see an update to Lollipop, which, as we all know, can take some time depending on the phone, manufacturer, and carrier. But it’s still good to see Google implementing new security features that will eventually make their way to user devices.

source: The Verge

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