Google’s camera app now lets you shoot in different aspect ratios
Google isn’t done getting its Android camera app up to the standards set by third-party software — not by a long shot. The company is now rolling out an update to Google Camera that lets you choose the aspect ratio for your photos, not just the resolution. If you prefer a movie-like widescreen look to all your pictures, you can crop the image to match. Fans of family portraits, meanwhile, will be glad to hear that the timer has returned; also, creative types can shoot panoramas with fisheye and wide-angle lens effects. The refresh isn’t available on every supporting Android device just yet, but we’d give it a few days — it should hopefully arrive in time for your next big photo safari.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google
Via: Android (Google+), 9to5 Google
Source: Google Play
Google to plug Play Music in UK’s first live music TV ad
Google’s run plenty of ads on UK TV over the years, but its next campaign is set to break new ground for the company and for British TV. AdAge reports that the search giant has teamed up with the UK’s Channel 4 for the first live music performance across a full ad break on UK television. On Friday night around 22:45 local time, singer Sam Smith will belt out his current single Stay With Me live from London’s iconic Roundhouse venue. Beyond Smith getting some priceless promotion for his album, Google’s using the spot to plug its Play Music download and streaming services. It’s on this very store that Google will host the live performance and exclusive tracks shortly after the ad airs. And, if you’re not a Smith fan, well at least it’s three-and-a-half minutes you didn’t have to watch tacky ads for things you don’t need.
Source: AdAge
Google uses self-aware datacenters to cut the cost of searching
Google spits out about 4 million search results per minute (among many other duties), which consumes a lot of energy. According to a recent blog, it cut its electrical bills significantly by applying the same kind of machine learning used in speech recognition and other consumer applications. A data center engineer on a 20 percent project plotted environmental factors like outside air temperature, IT load and other server-related factors. He then developed a neural network that could see the “underlying story” in the data, predicting loads 99.6 percent of the time. With a bit more work, Mountain View managed to eke out significant savings by varying cooling and other factors. It also published a white paper to share the info with other data centers and prove once again that humans are redundant.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Google
Source: Google
After drones, Google and Facebook eye satellites to expand internet access
Google and Facebook already compete on PCs, mobile devices and recently their rivalry has moved to the skies, but a new report from The Information suggests it could move even further from land. Over the last year or so, both looked at drone maker Titan Aerospace before Google acquired it, adding to a portfolio that includes its Project Loon experiments. Not to be outdone, Facebook is said to have acquired a drone maker from the UK called Ascenta. The only thing left? Space. The Information follows up on claims that Google is looking at a satellite company called Skybox Imaging by noting recent hires and investments in companies that deal with satellite-delivered internet. Craig Barratt is named as leading several teams at Google developing wireless internet technology to connect the rest of the world (white spaces, municipal WiFi, community routers for businesses etc.) while Google X teams work on the drones and balloons. Facebook’s interests in (the) space are not as well-documented, but we can only guess that the race will reach low-orbit soon, and collect a few more startups and giants as competitors. Maybe DirecTV made its deal with AT&T too soon?
Filed under: Wireless, Google, Facebook
Source: The Information
Nova Launcher 3.0 Beta 1 is now available, a bunch of new features added
I believe most of you have at least heard of Nova Launcher, one of the best and most popular Android launchers out there. It is hard not to notice such a powerful, customizable and yet optimized and smooth launcher.
Nova Launcher 3.0 Beta 1 is out now and those of you who are willing to be a beta testers can get it on your device(s). The update is apparently large, the largest we’ve seen in a while. Here’s a full changelog:
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Subgrid positioning, snap widgets/icons to half cells. Greater control of placement/size without shrinking/cropping app icons
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Support Today Calendar’s dynamic icon, also supported by icon themes from Kovdev including Domo, Lumos and Tersus and PHLASH’s new KEX theme.
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Custom label colors (desktop, dock, drawer)
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Individual drawer tab colors (tap on the tab and select Edit)
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New tab style Colorblock
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Vertical drawer scrolls under transparent navbar
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Backup/Restore using Kitkat’s Document Provider (supports ext-sdcard, Drive, Box, etc)
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Full 4×1 widget support in dock
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Individually toggle widget padding (long-press on widget and select Padding)
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Nova Action for First Item In Folder (Use with swipe/tap action of folders)
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Honeycomb style persistent searchbar available on phones
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Slight visual refresh (settings screen, menu icon, color picker)
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Fix Samsung KitKat bluetooth settings shortcut
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Fix home button action on Verizon Motorola
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Restore “Force” wallpaper scrolling for HTC KitKat
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“Show Shadows” on HTC One M8 perfectly blends from semi-transparent system bars
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Tab configuration is a bit stricter. Now one and only one All Apps tab is required, and zero or one Widgets tab can be used. These tabs can be renamed and recolored.
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All Apps tab dropdown menu no longer includes filters for New/Downloaded
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The dropdown menu indicator has been removed from the tabs, though the menu still exists (with some modification)
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Persistent Search Bar is either enabled or disabled, the landscape only option has been removed
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Persistent Search Bar style is consistent between landscape and portrait
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Icons are now centered vertically in their cells, rather than being top aligned
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Phone landscape mode fills available space horizontally, rather than reserving space for the search bar/dock even if those elements were hidden.
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Honeycomb style search bar no longer includes the menu button (which was not authentic to honeycomb anyway)
As you can see it’s a hefty changelog. It’s 3-step process if you want to become a beta tester:
- Visit this link on Google+ and become a member of Nova Launcher Beta community
- Then go here and choose to be a Google Play app beta tester
- After that just download Nova Launcher from Google Play and you’ll be ready to go.
If you feel that’s too much work, you can always sideload it by downloading it directly from TeslaCoil.
SOURCE: Phandroid
The post Nova Launcher 3.0 Beta 1 is now available, a bunch of new features added appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google whips up its own self-driving vehicles that lose the steering wheel and pedals
Google has been tweaking its self-driving car project for years, but now it’s taking another big step. Later this summer it will start testing prototype vehicles it’s designed from the ground up, instead of merely retrofitting existing vehicles. Announced tonight the the Code Conference, the new prototypes aren’t equipped with a steering wheel, mirrors, pedals or other vestiges of vehicles gone by, and for now are limited to a maximum speed of 25MPH. As explained in an early preview to Re/code, the car is driven entirely by computer, with backup automated systems for brakes and steering that would take over in case of a failure of the primary setup. So far, Google says it’s not planning to sell the vehicles itself, but is looking for “friends and partners to bring them to market. Following rumors from late last year, the automated cars could partner with a “friend” like Uber for a delivery service that runs on autopilot. Take a peek at test drives and demo videos explaining how the cars work after the break.
Developing…
The prototypes shown have a rounded, cartoonish appearance, and Google says they’re built with foam and flexible windshields that reduce the chance for injury if they do collide with anything. Before they hit the road entirely sans-drive though, Google will need to address regulations requiring a test driver inside. It expects new legislation will allow for the fully-automated vehicles soon, which we guess is bound to be better than the texting, eating or napping drivers we currently share our commutes with.
Would you buy a self-driving car powered by Google?
Filed under: Transportation, Google
Source: Google Blog, Re/code
Google cuts off Chrome extensions that don’t come from the Web Store
A while back Google said that it would stop letting Windows users install Chrome extensions that didn’t come directly from the Web Store. The company ended up delaying the plan, but there is no more fighting it. Today users of the stable channel of Chrome on Windows will no longer be able to install extensions from outside the Web Store. That won’t impact too many users thankfully, but it could make it difficult for those that like to run experimental add-ons. If you’ve already sideloaded extensions from outside of the Chrome Web Store, those will be disabled starting today; if you want to re-enable them, you’ll have to make the switch to the dev channel of the browser. The idea is to protect users from malicious extensions that haven’t made it through Google’s screening process. Of course, OS X and Linux users can continue to use all the unapproved extensions they want. Apparently only Windows users need to be protected (perhaps from themselves).
Filed under: Internet, Software, Google
Source: Google
Finally: Google Chromecast is available in Australia for $49 AUD
It looks like somebody was definitely a bit trigger happy at retailer Dick Smith. A few weeks ago, we were given our first indication that the Google Chromecast media streaming device would be made available in Australia after a listing was made on Dick Smith’s website citing availability on the 28th of May. And sure enough, Google has today officially announced that the Google Chromecast is available in Australia.
The Chromecast is slowly being made available around the world now, first making its presence in the Asia Pacific known in Korea, and now Australia. While Australia isn’t quite the hotbed of media streaming that other parts of the world are, media providers like Quickflix, Foxtel and even the ABC have promised that Chromecast capabilities are coming to their apps soon. Unfortunately, there has not yet been word from Telstra about any content being made available for Chromecast or even any bundle deals despite rumours that they were in discussions directly with Google.
If you’re hoping to pick up a Chromecast, you can hop over to the Google Chromecast site here which lists all the available retailers, or you can purchase it on Google Play itself.
Source: Google via Ninemsn, Dick Smith
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Mystery tablet shows up on Google I/O website; is this the Nexus 8?
One of the most highly anticipated devices of 2014 is the Google Nexus 8 tablet, which is expected to supersede the oft-criticized 2013 Nexus 7. While so far only existing thanks to countless rumours, including code snippets and production leaks, the case for a Nexus 8 grows dimmer with every mention of the Android Silver line of devices replacing the Nexus line. Even so, when a mystery device pops up on the Google I/O website one month ahead of the actual event, we can’t help but wonder if this is a sneak peek of the Nexus 8.
As you can see above, there is an unmarked tablet shown being used as part of an exhibit, though which manufacturer it comes from is up for discussion. It’s notable that the device seems to be running an older version of Android, given away by the coloured Wi-Fi and battery icons, so it’s not a perfect fit for the latest and greatest from Google just yet. Still, if it’s not the Nexus 8, we’d love to know what tablet that is if somebody can identify it.
What do you think about the mystery tablet in the photo? Do you think it is the Nexus 8? Let us know your opinion in the comments below.
Source: Google via Phone Arena
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How would you change the Chromebook Pixel?
What’s the point of a halo device? After all, it’s designed to grab headlines and eyeballs more than it is a device that’ll be used by consumers. We put Google’s $1,500 (yup) Chromebook Pixel through its paces and found that its limited functionality couldn’t justify the ridiculous price, even if it was beautifully made and gorgeous. But what about you? We’re faintly sure that someone out there bought one of these things, possibly as a museum piece, so why not tell us just how much you liked or hated the experience? Dive on in to Engadget’s product forums and talk us some Chromebook.
Source: Engadget Product Forums
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