Google is shutting down Picasa in favor of Photos

Google has been steadily migrating its resources towards the Photos ecosystem since the company first announced it at last year’s I/O developers conference. It’s already shut down Google+ photos in lieu of the newer service and linked Photos to your phone’s native camera app. Today Google announced that it will shut down Picasa. The move will occur over the next several months, beginning on May 1, 2016. Take note, however, that the Picasa desktop application won’t work after March 1st. Current Picasa users simply have to log into Photos — all of their content has already been moved over.

Source: Google (Picasa Blog)

Android N features: everything confirmed, rumored and expected

With Google I/O 2016 fast approaching, the new Android N release is not far away either. As confirmed at last year’s I/O, Google will now release major new Android updates yearly, following the path established with Lollipop. So for this year, we know we’ll see the Android N developer preview at I/O, followed by monthly(ish) updates until the full Android 7.0 release in October. Here are all the confirmed, rumored and expected Android N features.

Confirmed Android N features

Android N release date

As mentioned above, we already know that the Android N release date will be May 18, during Google’s annual developer conference, Google I/O 2016. The Android N developer preview will be shown off during Sundar Pichai’s keynote lecture on day one of the conference and the factory images will be made available later in the day.

The Android N release date will be May 18, after the Google I/O 2016 keynote.

The final Android 7.0 release date will coincide with the launch of the next-gen Nexus releases at the end of October or early November. This Android 7 release will be limited to Nexus devices at first and make its way to all other manufacturer devices and carriers networks over the next six months or so.

Multi-window mode

The first Android N feature to be confirmed was multi-window mode, with the confirmation coming, obscurely enough, via a Reddit AMA with the Pixel C team. During the discussion, Andrew Bowers confirmed that “split screen is in the works”. Of course, you can already get a version of stock multi-window mode in Android Marshmallow, but it’s far from polished.

Better tablet support

During the same Reddit AMA, Pixel C team member Glen Murphy came right out and confessed: “we’re working hard on a range of enhancements for this form factor.” While he didn’t go any further, these Android N tablet features could include: more functional multi-tasking (and I’m not just talking about multi-window here), a real push for tablet-optimized apps (rather than just blown-up phone apps), customizable nav buttons, DPI switcher, stock floating mini-apps and tablet-specific System UI Tuner features.

Moving to OpenJDK from Java APIs

Following a sticky situation with Oracle over “rewritten” Java APIs , Google will officially be making the switch to OpenJDK in Android N. It’s still Oracle code, but OpenJDK is, as the name, suggests, part of the open-source Java Development Kit. As Google confirmed: “we plan to move Android’s Java language libraries to an OpenJDK-based approach, creating a common code base for developers to build apps and services.” The change should make development for Android N that much simpler and external changes will be negligible.

Rumored Android N features

Android N name

The Android N name is the biggest game of the year, even more so than “who will make the 2016 Nexus?” You don’t need to have a sophisticated knowledge of the Android ecosystem or market to have a horse in this race, simply pick your favorite dessert that starts with an “n” and place your bets. The firm favorite currently is Android 7.0 Nutella, with Nougat coming a close second and a variety of indian desserts also being bandied about. Sundar Pichai even said he’d ask his mother or let fans vote for the official Android N name.

Sundar Pichai said he’d ask his mother or let fans vote for the official Android N name.

Stock stylus support

As we recently reported, Samsung may have hinted at stock stylus support in Android N by planning to retire several of the main S Pen features from its Look API. The Samsung developers page makes the notation that these features “will be deprecated in Android N” – a term used to describe a soon-to-be-obsolete feature. The natural assumption is that these stylus features will appear in stock Android 7.0. The same thing happened with battery saving in Lollipop and fingerprint support in Marshmallow.

ChromeOS integration

This one is a peculiar one. Last year The Wall Street Journal “confirmed” that Android and Chrome OS would be merged, only to have Google set the record straight soon after. While the initial report claimed that Chrome OS would be killed off, Google responded by saying it was fully committed to Chrome OS and the platform was “here to stay” but that it is looking at “ways to bring together the best of both operating systems.” It’s highly likely that we’ll see at least some implementation of Chrome OS and Android compatibility in Android N.

New messaging app

There’s a rumor doing the rounds that Google will be introducing an all-new messaging app with Android N to replace the largely unpopular Hangouts SMS/MMs integration. The new app will be based on the Rich Communications Services (RCS) platform, which allows for much more than just talk and text to be shuttled around, including video chat, file sharing and instant messaging. Google has publicly admitted its commitment to the RSC standard, but there’s no telling yet if it’s anywhere near ready for inclusion in Android N.

Expected Android N features

Return of the Dark Theme

The Dark Theme that appeared temporarily in the Android M preview builds vanished again to widespread dismay and still hasn’t made it back into an official Android Marshmallow update. Considering it’s such a popular feature request and AMOLED displays look set to take over the display market, we can only assume it will sneak back in as an Android N feature much like stock multi-window mode. Stock theme support would also be nice, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves too much.

Improved Smart Lock for Passwords

Android Marshmallow introduced Smart Lock for Passwords, a basic Google password manager that can store your app passwords so that any time you re-install an app you will be automatically logged in. Combined with Android’s revitalised app backup, the idea is that the whole process of setting up a new device is seamless. The only problem is that not that many apps support Smart Lock for passwords yet so its value is still largely underutilized. With any luck, Android N will see a lot more apps supporting the feature.

MOAR battery optimization

Battery optimization is and always will be one of the most important aspects of any Android release. Lollipop introduced a stock Battery Saver Mode and Marshmallow introduced Doze Mode and App Standby. Android N will likely refine these features – and hopefully allow Doze to work even when it’s in your pocket, much like Greenify’s new hibernation features do – and tweak Battery Saver in ways that make the default state of your phone a power-conservation mode.

Enhanced security and app stability

With the appearance of granular app permissions in Marshmallow, Google took a major step in the right direction: allowing users to choose the app permissions they were comfortable with on an app-by-app basis and reject those they felt were unreasonable. Because it was such early days, some apps that weren’t updated to allow such user-facing control tended to behave erratically. By the time Android N rolls out, Google should have committed devs to updating their apps to provide the same level of stability with or without certain non-critical permissions allowed.

Did we miss anything? Let us know what Android N features you’re expecting or looking forward to in the comments.

Read next: All the MWC 2016 announcements you can expect!

X Labs looking for auto manufacturer expertise

Last year Google’s X Labs hired a former Hyundai and TrueCar executive to take the wheel of Google’s self-driving car project. John Krafcik brings not only automotive industry experience to the mix, he has a background in mechanical engineering for some technical expertise as well. Based on a review of Google’s human resources recruiting efforts, it appears X Labs is working on surrounding Krafcik with more auto industry expertise, which has people wondering whether the company may intend to produce driver-less cars themselves.

Some of the job postings listed on Google’s site include positions like a Manufacturing Process Engineer. As the description indicates, this position helps “develop and/or approve manufacturing process flows (assembly + test)” for products. Other positions are more closely related to developing systems that would be manufactured and used in actual vehicles, like a Mechatronics Engineer who would work on “a sensor enclosure cleaning system.”

The various jobs appears to point to an outcome where Google is producing their driver-less cars themselves as opposed to providing specifications and technical information for others to implement. If Google does make this move, this would be a significant change in their position from a year ago when they were working on partnerships with existing auto manufacturers to be able to produce self-driving cars.

source: Google
via: Engadget

Come comment on this article: X Labs looking for auto manufacturer expertise

Google’s Clock application adds a much-needed feature in its latest update

If you noticed that the clock widget on your homescreen changed in size recently, you’re not alone. Google pushed out a minor update to its Clock application yesterday bringing some fixes and adjustments.

Other than a few minor tweaks and bug fixes, there’s only one change in the new update for Google’s Clock application. It has to do with widgets. If you update apps regularly and have a widget for Google’s Clock app on your homescreen like me, you might have noticed a small adjustment. Google’s analog and digital clock widgets are now resizable. It’s hard to believe that this update just went into place now, but it’s the truth. When altering the size of the widget, the clock will now get bigger in size instead of just changing the alignment. You might also spot a new drop shadow, which has been added to the digital clock widget.

Version 4.3 of Google’s Clock application is now live in the Play Store. Grab it at the link below.

Play Store Download Link

Come comment on this article: Google’s Clock application adds a much-needed feature in its latest update

Google’s Clock application adds a much-needed feature in its latest update

If you noticed that the clock widget on your homescreen changed in size recently, you’re not alone. Google pushed out a minor update to its Clock application yesterday bringing some fixes and adjustments.

Other than a few minor tweaks and bug fixes, there’s only one change in the new update for Google’s Clock application. It has to do with widgets. If you update apps regularly and have a widget for Google’s Clock app on your homescreen like me, you might have noticed a small adjustment. Google’s analog and digital clock widgets are now resizable. It’s hard to believe that this update just went into place now, but it’s the truth. When altering the size of the widget, the clock will now get bigger in size instead of just changing the alignment. You might also spot a new drop shadow, which has been added to the digital clock widget.

Version 4.3 of Google’s Clock application is now live in the Play Store. Grab it at the link below.

Play Store Download Link

Come comment on this article: Google’s Clock application adds a much-needed feature in its latest update

Google’s Clock application adds a much-needed feature in its latest update

If you noticed that the clock widget on your homescreen changed in size recently, you’re not alone. Google pushed out a minor update to its Clock application yesterday bringing some fixes and adjustments.

Other than a few minor tweaks and bug fixes, there’s only one change in the new update for Google’s Clock application. It has to do with widgets. If you update apps regularly and have a widget for Google’s Clock app on your homescreen like me, you might have noticed a small adjustment. Google’s analog and digital clock widgets are now resizable. It’s hard to believe that this update just went into place now, but it’s the truth. When altering the size of the widget, the clock will now get bigger in size instead of just changing the alignment. You might also spot a new drop shadow, which has been added to the digital clock widget.

Version 4.3 of Google’s Clock application is now live in the Play Store. Grab it at the link below.

Play Store Download Link

Come comment on this article: Google’s Clock application adds a much-needed feature in its latest update

I left my Nexus 7 for a younger model

Dear Nexus 7,

We need to talk. We’ve been together for nearly four years now and have had some good times, haven’t we? I mean, you were my first tablet. I’d never met any device like you before. You were gorgeous. I’m still not sure how you managed to slip that ample touch screen of yours into a Poetic slimline case, but you made it look effortless.

We were inseparable, you and I. You were my streaming-content remote, my internet radio and my guide through some of the kinkiest porn sites the web had to offer. We used to go everywhere together. Remember the trips to NYC and Las Vegas? Or the weekend getaways to our cabin in Tahoe? I didn’t even need internet access there, all I needed was you. Those were some of the happiest times of my life, and I’ll never forget them. But, baby, you’ve changed.

Somewhere along the way, we started to grow apart. You slowly became less and less responsive to my needs, you’d ignore my touch and sometimes freeze me out entirely. I thought that if I held your power button until you fell asleep, let you rest until the morning, you might forgive whatever I did to upset you. Once I even factory reset our relationship and tried to start over with a clean slate. But no matter how many times I tried to rebuild our relationship, no matter how well we got along for the few weeks after resets, you’d invariably shut me out again.

For the longest time, I stood by you, despite your increasingly cold demeanor. But it’s time to move on. For both our sakes. You see, I’ve met something new. It’s a Nexus, like you, just… a bit smaller and faster. Look, don’t take your frustrations out on the 6P. It isn’t as endowed as you are in the screen department, but with a fingerprint scanner, faster processor, better memory and cellular call capabilities, it does things I never imagined a device could do. That’s not your fault; you’re beautiful just the way you are.

I hate to use the cliche of “it’s not you, it’s me,” but this time it’s true. I’ve discovered there are things I want from my mobile device that you simply can’t provide. And it’s not like we’re never going to see each other again — you’ll still live in my computer bag, and I promise, every time I fly, you’ll be the one I download movies onto to watch during the flight. So please, if you ever loved me as much as I loved you, just try to be happy for me. I will always remember you as you were.

Sincerely,

AT

Do you have fond memories of your first tech love or maybe a gut-wrenching tale of gadget heartbreak? Share them using #LoveAtFirstByte