Google Releases Full Android 3.0 Honeycomb

Google on Tuesday announced that the full SDK for Android 3.0 is now available to developers.

"The APIs are final, and you can now develop apps targeting this new platform and publish them to Android Market," Xavier Ducrohet, Android SDK tech lead, wrote in a blog post.

Along with the new platform, Google said it is releasing updates to its SDK Tools (r10) and ADT Plugin for Eclipse (10.0.0). In the ADT Plugin, Google had added: new palette with categories and rendering previews; more accurate rendering of layouts that will more faithfully reflect how layouts look on devices; selection-sensitive action bars to manipulate View properties; zoom improvements, including fit to view, persistent scale, and keyboard access; and improved support for "merge" layouts and layouts with gesture overlays.

Google also added Traceview integration for easier profiling from ADT and tools for using the Renderscript graphics engine. More details are available on the Android 3.0 Platform Highlights page.

via pcmag

Google starts up Newspaper Subscription Service to rival Apple's

Google has launched a digital newspaper and magazine subscription service less than a day after rival Apple.

Eric Schmidt, chief executive of the web search giant, yesterday said Google would take 10pc of the cash collected via its One Touch digital newsagent service, with 90pc going to publishers.

Apple's system will see it take a 30pc cut from subscriptions bought through iPad and iPhone apps.

Google will also provide publishers with the names and email addresses of readers, while Apple has refused to share customers' details.

"You've got a very publisher-friendly approach; we basically don't make any money on this," Mr Schmidt said during a speech in Berlin yesterday. "The most important thing is to get the money to people who are producing high-quality content."

Mr Schmidt said Google would not profit from the service, and explained that the company's 10pc cut was to cover costs.

The service is available now in the UK, the US, Canada, France, Spain, and Germany. It will be expanded to other countries soon. It is available via tablet devices, smartphones and PCs.

Google said publishers can charge readers as much or as little as they like and offer single issue purchases to long subscriptions. The company has been working on the project for some time, but is understood to have brought the launch forward following Apple's demand yesterday for a 30pc cut of in-app subscriptions.

 source  Go to Home

Google Launches Chrome Site Blocking Extension

Following up on action taken in January to bolster faith in its search results, Google is allowing users to block spam-filled domains.

Dogged by recent complaints about Web spam polluting its search results and the proliferation of low-quality content from so-called "content farms," Google on Monday released a tool that allows Chrome users to filter undesirable Web sites from their search results.

Personal Blocklist adds a "Block" link to Google search results. Clicking on this link prevents the blocked domain from appearing in future searches, until the block is removed by the user.

The software is not merely sweeping spam under the rug on the client side of things. It's also reporting what users block back to Google, which means it may affect sites' actual Google Web ranking.

"If installed, the extension also sends blocked site information to Google, and we will study the resulting feedback and explore using it as a potential ranking signal for our search results," explains Matt Cutts, who runs Google's Web spam team, in a blog post.

read full @ informationweek 

Google Introduces Two Step Gmail Security

 Last year, Google made Gmail access via HTTPS protocol default for all account holders to add a security layer. Now, Google has introduced another security layer upgrade with an advanced opt-in feature dubbed 2-Step Verification. This 2-Step Verification feature requires using a specific code to sign in to the Gmail account. Google either calls you (only if you are in U.S., I suppose) to give that code or sends the code via SMS or generates it via a mobile app for Android, BlackBerry or iPhone device. Gmail finally gets a bank account like security feature for sign-in.

Gmail's 2-Step Verification advanced sign-in feature is optional and would be visible to all Google account holders at Manage Account page soon. This new security feature makes your Google account more secure and most importantly Gmail out of all Google services.

The 2-Step Verification stands for its name since it requires two major credentials: your Google account password and a six digit pass code obtained using phone. This requires the user to set up the opt-in 2-Step Verification feature from the Manage Account page. During the set-up process, you'll be required to enter your phone number and also create certain backup pass codes just in case you lose your phone or it gets stolen. After completing the 2-Step Verification setup, you ll land on to an additional page once you log into your Google account using your login ID and password.

To prevent third-party sign-in or someone sneaking into your account, make the best of 2-Step Verification. Yes, it does involve an additional extra step but it certainly secures your account. Google had been testing this feature with Google apps users and it would be available to all Google account holders over a period of time.

read more @ techtree

Google to Microsoft: You're stealing our search results!

Google has accused Microsoft of copying its search results, after running a "sting operation" that indicates Redmond's Internet Explorer software is tracking what searchers find on Google and using this data to tweak results on Bing.

Microsoft indicates this is indeed happening – but on a small scale.

Google first made the accusation in a story it fed to Search Engine Land, and it's rather peeved about the situation. “I’ve spent my career in pursuit of a good search engine,” Google Fellow Amit Singhal told Search Engine Land. “I’ve got no problem with a competitor developing an innovative algorithm. But copying is not innovation, in my book.”

In a statement sent to The Register, however, Singhal – who oversees Google's search algorithm – was a bit more measured. "At Google, we strongly believe in innovation and are proud of our search quality," he said. "We look forward to competing with genuinely new search algorithms out there, from Bing and others – algorithms built on core innovation, and not on recycled search results copied from a competitor."

There's some irony at play here. Android, you might argue, was fashioned after a certain Apple handset, and Google's multibillion-dollar ad business is built atop copied content. This is the company that spent years copying entire book libraries without the approval of authors and publishers. But there's an equally enjoyable irony on Microsoft's side. And even if there weren't, the very idea of Microsoft directly pilfering Google's search results is wonderfully amusing.

When we asked Microsoft about Google's claims, it didn't deny them. And it seemed to imply that the Bing toolbar – an optional browser install – was directly tweaking Bing results in the way Google describes. "We use multiple signals and approaches in ranking search results," said Bing director Stefan Weitz. "The overarching goal is to do a better job determining the intent of the search so we can provide the most relevant answer to a given query. Opt-in programs like the toolbar help us with clickstream data, one of many input signals we and other search engines use to help rank sites."

In a blog post, Microsoft Bing vice president Harry Shum said much the same thing. Then he made light of Google's "sting".

"What we saw in today’s story was a spy-novelesque stunt to generate extreme outliers in tail query ranking," he said. "It was a creative tactic by a competitor, and we’ll take it as a back-handed compliment. But it doesn’t accurately portray how we use opt-in customer data as one of many inputs to help improve our user experience."

According to Search Engine Land, Google first suspected that Microsoft was copying its results last May when it noticed that Bing was becoming particularly adept at returning results when users misspelled their queries. Then in October, Mountain View data indicated that across Bing, Microsoft's first page of results was looking much more like Google's page, and that the two search engines were much more likely to return the same top result.

Guessing that Internet Explorer was somehow lifting Google data from users and sending it back to Bing, Mountain View launched its "sting operation". The company set up 100 faux search results pages for queries that most users were unlikely to try. Initially, these results were completely different from Microsoft's results for the same queries.

Mountain View engineers then ran these queries on Google's search engine using Internet Explorer, with Microsoft's Suggested Sites tool and the Bing Toolbar turned on, and they were instructed to always click on the top result. The test began in mid-December, and by the end of the month, Microsoft's results for those same queries had changed – at least a little. Changes appeared on less than 10 of Google's 100 manual queries.

The privacy policies for Internet Explorer, the Suggested Sites, and the Bing toolbar clearly state that Microsoft may collect your search and browsing data. But this is hardly unusual. Chrome and Google toolbar collect similar data. The Google toolbar, for instance, collects urls used to calculate Mountain View's famous PageRank.

Speaking with Search Engine Land, Singhal makes a point of saying that Microsoft is doing something Google would never do. "The PageRank feature [on the Google toolbar] sends back URLs, but we’ve never used those URLs or data to put any results on Google’s results page," he said. "We do not do that, and we will not do that".
via theregister 

Google Helps Egyptians Bypass Twitter Ban

Sets up dedicated phone lines to translate voicemail to tweets for Egyptians deprived of Internet connectivity

We have been covering the Egyptian unrest against President Hosni Mubarak 30 year regime that has taken a near-totalitarian turn in the last few weeks. Aware of the journalistic role of social networking websites like Twitter played to bypass the media blackout imposed by the Iranian regime, Egyptian government pre-emptively blocked access to Internet throughout the country. Although this couldn't daunt the technologically savvy Egyptians, the vast majority found their voices quelled by the Internet blackout.

Google has collaborated with Twitter engineers to introduce a service that allows people leave voicemail using a telephone, which is machine translated into an audio file and posted to the hashtag #egypt. This way, even those without Internet connection can report latest developments and have their say in the Egypt stream on Twitter. The service can be accessed by leaving a voicemail on the following international phone numbers: +16504194196, +390662207294, +97316199855. The same numbers can also be used to listen to the voice messages, while those with Internet connections can check the #egypt stream or visit twitter.com/speak2tweet.

After being criticised for its privacy violations, big brotherly approach, and many-a-conspiracy theories of world domination, it's great to see Google reaching out and employ one of its recent acquisitions for the good of humanity. Looks like this service will go a long way in letting a majority of Egyptian citizens express their voices and report fresh developments from the veil of censorship imposed by the government. Let's hope President Mubarak doesn't kill the phone lines.

via techtree 

Google to Launch Android 3.0 'Honeycomb' on Feb. 2

Google plans to launch Android 3.0, or "Honeycomb," at an event at its headquarters on Feb. 2, the company said.

Google sent out invitations to journalists on Friday, along with the new logo for the operating system - an Android-like honeybee. The new operating system is expected in several tablets; it isn't known whether Google will eventually bring the OS to smartphones.

Google released its Honeycomb software developers kit (SDK) on Wednesday, a good indication that the Honeycomb software was en route. Highlights of the SDK include: a UI framework for creating great apps for larger screen devices; high-performance 2D and 3D graphics; support for multicore processor architectures; rich multimedia; new types of connectivity; and enhancements for enterprise.

Honeycomb is expected to usher in a new generation of Android tablets, although how successful they will be in the face of the iPad is anybody's guess. According to a recent IDC survey, price will be the distinguishing feature of Android tablets, not the new Honeycomb OS. You can also vote in an informal poll.

Google's Mike Cleron demonstrated Honeycomb on an unnamed tablet at this year's CES, where a number of tablets either used or pledged to use Honeycomb, including the Motorola Xoom, the LG G-Slate, and Eee-branded products from Asus.

Honeycomb was originally expected to require a powerful processor, but so far there apparently is no "hard" specification for processor requirements.

via pcmag 

Google "not happy" with slow Android application sales

Despite brisk hardware sales to consumers and large numbers of apps sitting in in marketplace, Google's Android platform isn't resulting in health app sales, a problem the company is trying to solve.

Speaking to "anxious app developers" at the Inside Social Apps conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, Android platform manager Eric Chu said Google is actually "not happy" about the limited number of apps actually being purchased, according to a report by Forbes blogger Oliver Chiang.

The Plan to fix Android app sales

Chiang said Chu outlined a roadmap for Android in 2011 that the company hopes will help it drive new app sales more comparable to the outstanding results of Apple's blockbuster iOS App Store, but noted the plan is short on specifics.

"Chu used the phrase 'stay tuned' enough to make a drinking game out of it," Chiang wrote.

The overall plan includes creating an in-app payments system like the one Apple created last year as part of iOS 4, enabling developers to sell episodic content or related virtual goods.

Google also hopes to negotiate carrier billing agreements with scores of regional mobile providers, allowing users to buy apps and bill them to their mobile account. Apple doesn't need to do this because the iOS App Store in iTunes can bill users directly in most countries, far more than Google's Android Marketplace.

Wanted: app curator

Chu also wants to clean up Android Market, saying there is a team tasked with "weeding out apps that violate Android Market’s terms of service," an indication that Google's free-for-all market design is recognized to have serious drawbacks.

Many of the tens of thousands of apps in Android Market are just ringtones, wallpapers or simplistic "apps" designed just to fill space, a situation that drowns out legitimate developer's work under tons of copyright infringing junkware.

Android Market has also distributed distractive malware, a problem Google can't catch in advance because it isn't curating its catalog, and instead waiting for fires to erupt so it can put them out.

Migration toward HTML apps

The company also hopes to create algorithms to help promote the best apps, making it easier for users to discover worthwhile programs. Chu also indicated that Google planned to turn users' Address Books into a "social graph" that third party apps could tap into.

Without elaborating, Chu also commented that Google was "betting on" HTML5 as a way to create apps. Google employees have previously made it clear that the company sees the Java-like core VM of Android as a stepping stone to a future where apps are created in HTML, as soon as web tools can support sophisticated apps.

That's something that undermines rather than builds confidence in Google's commitment to Android in general. Why should Google bother to create an app store if its future is aimed at web pages? In Google's case, either can be monetized with ads, so there's no reason to build the current Android platform to be anything more than a temporary placeholder.

Chu's comments came just days after Apple celebrated its 10 billionth iOS app download and is promoting an iPad-optimized library of over 60,000 apps.

via appleinsider

Google Cloud Print for Mobile, Gmail Now Live

Lets you send a print command, manage print jobs while on the move

Google has introduced Cloud Print beta service for mobile documents and Gmail mobile web app for English language users. With this opt-in service, users can get a print of any important document or email right from their smartphones or mobiles. Google Cloud Print beta for mobile Docs and Gmail will work only on HTML5 supporting phones. Google has started pushing this service en masse just after Apple made the AirPrint technology available to the iOS devices.

Cloud Print service was announced last year in April and Google initiated its inclusion in any application meant for web, desktop or mobile. With this Cloud based printing, users can rely on Google's cloud servers to manage the prints from the desktop or mobile. Check more at http://www.google.com/cloudprint.

Google Cloud Print for mobile documents and Gmail will let you can send a print command from anywhere and a print out of the document or email would be waiting for you when you reach the printer. Sorry, you'll have to buy auto-bots to fetch you the printouts.

Tyler Odean of Google Cloud Print Team noted, "Just open a document in Google Docs or an email in Gmail in your mobile browser and choose Print from the dropdown menu in the top right corner. You can also print certain kinds of email attachments (such as .pdf or .doc) by clicking the Print link that appears next to them."

At this moment, the Google Cloud Print service for mobile platforms works only on the HTML5 supporting mobile web browsers. That's because both mobile web apps, Google Docs and Gmail, have been tweaked with HTML5 richness. Apple devices running iOS 3.0 or higher and all Android phones with Android 2.1 or higher updates will be able to make the best of Cloud Print service.

Google Cloud Print service is already available through the latest beta of Google Chrome for Windows XP, Windows 7 and Vista while Mac and Linux support is expected soon.

Google Cloud Print service would compete with Apple AirPrint but the latter needs compatible printers. However, Google hasn't started rolling out this service to everyone. Initially, English speaking users for UR region would be getting it and eventually, it would be rolled out to other users.

via techtree

Google software for the masses lands in Iran

(AFP) – Google has made mapping, photo-sharing, and Web browsing software available for the first time to people in Iran but blocked access by government computers there.

Google worked with US officials on the nuances of making Earth, Picasa and Chrome programs available for download in Iran in a way that comports with export restrictions eased early last year.

"For the first time, we are making Google Earth, Picasa and Chrome available for download in Iran," Google export compliance programs manager Neil Martin said in a blog post.

"As a condition of our export licenses from the Treasury Department, we will continue to block IP addresses associated with the Iranian government."

Martin recounted how Iranian officials deported foreign journalists, disrupted mobile phone connections, and shut down media outlets to suppress protests of the controversial presidential election results in June of 2009.
"In spite of this, the sharing of information using the Internet prevailed," Martin said.

read more at  yahoo

Google & Facebook will test IPv6

The new standard offers many trillions of new web addresses, but cannot be accessed from modems and routers that only use IPv4

Web addresses are likely to run out as soon as November and to raise public awareness Google and Facebook have decided to switch their websites to a new system for one day in June.

On June 8, a whole bunch of web giants, including Google, Facebook, Yahoo, will turn on a new way of running web addresses, reports the Telegraph.

Read Also | RIM taps Web technology to drive mobile developments

The system, called IPv6, has been designed to stop the world running out of the web addresses that underlie the locating of websites and devices.

As of now, only 0.2 per cent of web users have access to the new protocol, however. 'World IPv6' Day is designed to encourage its adoption.

Vint Cerf, one of the web's founding fathers, is leading a global campaign to encourage web service providers and IT managers to switch from the current system, IPv4, to IPv6.

Read Also | American brings in ITA Software to design passenger technology platform

The new standard offers many trillions of new web addresses, but cannot be accessed from modems and routers that only use IPv4.

It is likely, however, that most of the changes needed will take place without consumers losing access to any part of the web because they will be part of the standard software and hardware upgrade cycle.

The availability of new web addresses will, it is hoped, allow more connected devices, such as tablet computers, as well as permitting more mundane devices to gain web addresses.

via The Times of India

Google unveils instant translation application on mobiles

Google Translate can use devices running its Android operating system to allow translation of English to Spanish and vice versa

Google has unveiled a mobile phone application that allows users to translate chats instantaneously.

Google Translate can use devices running its Android operating system to allow translation of English to Spanish and vice versa.

Users will have to punch a key to activate the translation between sentences, but Google expects the service to operate in real-time within 18 months.

Read Also | Android's Rumoured Music Store a Picture Closer to Being Reality

It uses technology similar to the updated Googles application, which uses a phone's camera to snap images of sudoku puzzles and, via internet, whiz back the solution in seconds, the Daily Mail reports.

Google Translate works by recording the user's speech, sending the recorded words to the company's vast servers, which then send back an audio translation.

The 'Alpha' trial version works only in Spanish and English but Google expects to add new languages soon.

In December, an iPhone application called WordLens became an internet sensation after a video demonstrated how it uses the iPhone's inbuilt camera to recognise text that is viewed through the lens. It too only worked with Spanish and English.

Read Also | 10 apps to boost your finances using Google's Android OS

Google already has an online text translator and while early versions of it sometimes produced little more than gobbledegook, it's ever-growing database of words has now enabled it to achieve far greater accuracy.

It now covers more than 52 of the world's estimated 6,000 languages.

As with automatic text translation, Google hopes the technique will become more sophisticated with the help of millions of users around the world.

via ciol

Android's Rumoured Music Store a Picture Closer to Being Reality

Google's Android has been planning to have its own cloud based music service a la iTunes for a while now. Recently, a picture emerged showing a screen shot of a syncing list in what looks like a Gingerbread build. Among syncing contact and Picasa albums, there is also an option for syncing music. While many third party applications available in the marketplace already provide music services, this picture hints that Android will have its own music software integrated into the device.

The sync screen with the reported Gingerbread build. Photo via GizmoFusion

Even without a music store itself, the synchronization aspect could imply over the air synchronization. At Google's I/O last year, they demonstrated technology that would allow Android users to stream music from their desktop PCs directly to their phones. While most rumours point to this being a service of Gingerbread, skeptics think that Google will wait and make this service happen only in time for Ice Cream (Android 2.4).

via tech2

Technology : 10 apps to boost your finances using Google's Android OS

An application to help you save money on petrol, eating out and parking your car.

An app is short for an application that can be downloaded on to your iPhone, BlackBerry or handsets using Google's Android operating system.
Download these apps to help streamline your finances or stick to a budget.

1 Vouchercloud
Vouchercloud uses GPS technology to pinpoint offers and discounts nearest to you – wherever you are in the UK.
Just pick the offer you want by pressing the redeem button and the voucher is delivered directly to your phone screen. Just show the voucher on-screen at the store or restaurant and they will scan or input the code to make the necessary discount.

2 ATM Hunter
Never worry about finding a cash machine again with this iPhone app that uses GPS to locate the nearest. The ATM Hunter allows you to tailor your search based on what you need to do, for example, make a deposit or use your own bank to avoid paying fees.

3 British Gas Meter Reading
Say goodbye to estimated bills for good and submit your meter readings with this app for your iPhone or iPod Touch. It has an illustrated help function to help you understand how to read your gas and electricity meter and also shows British Gas emergency phone numbers.

4 Find Free Parking

Never pay for parking again. Once you have decided where you want to park, this app will take you to the destination with directions and a route map and states the parking restrictions for the area.

5 Tip-n-Spilt

Foodlovers who frequently dine out with friends need not worry about calculating each individual's share fairly again with this handy app. Simply enter the bill total, add the service charge and the number of diners and let this handy app do the maths for you.

6 CookIt
Stop wasting food and money with this app for any Google Android phone. CookIt is an online cookbook application, which allows you to search for a recipe by the ingredients you have in the cupboard.

7 Petrol Prices Pro
This app has up-to-date information on 11,000 petrol stations, just enter your postcode to reveal where to get the best deals on unleaded and diesel in your area – as well as the pumps that charge above average and are worth avoiding.

8 Shareprice (LIVE)
Track your investments with free real-time streaming Level 1 British share prices, delivered by the team at Interactive Investor. Watch multiple portfolios and synchronise with your login to the website. Real-time Apple push notifications (a text alert) help you track price movements and buy/sell at the right time.

9 Tesco Clubcard
This app can be used in place of the supermarket's popular Clubcard and is simply scanned at the till. For every £1 you spend in store, you will earn two reward points, which can be spent in store or online, or can be converted for up to four times their value with reward partners such as Pizza Express and Café Rouge.

10 Toptable Restaurant Finder
Find and book restaurants near you with this iPhone app. With thousands of special offers from top restaurants, you never need to pay the full price for food again.

via telegraph

Google intros Android 3.0 operating system 'Honeycomb'

Google made official of its new Android 3.0 OS, code-named Honeycomb, by posting a video on its site
Search engine giant Google Inc. has announced the preview of their latest Android based operating system 'Honeycomb' during the annual Consumer Electronic show at Las Vegas, USA.

"Honeycomb is the next version of the Android platform, designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes, particularly tablets," said Andy Rubin, VP of Engineering in a blog post.

It it said that the company has spent a lot of time refining the user experience in Honeycomb, and developed a brand new, truly virtual and holographic user interface.

According to the blog, the new Android operating will refine multi-tasking, elegant notifications, access to over 100,000 apps on Android Market, home screen customization with a new 3D experience and redesigned widgets that are richer and more interactive. read more at ciol