Google recently announced it was getting rid of its “20% policy,” which has given us products like Gmail, Google Talk and more. This policy let Google employees work on their own side projects one day a week, whatever they may be. The policy was so popular that many other Silicon Valley companies followed suit and Continue Reading →
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Google sent an email on Monday to third-party Android developers regarding a significant change to its Google Play Developer Program Policies. The changes affect both apps and the advertising practices that many apps use. The company explained that all apps and updates to apps published from here on out are “immediately subject” to the latest Continue Reading →
Apple’s virtual personal assistant Siri has been known to have a quirky personality for a long time, offering off the cuff responses to a variety of unconventional requests. Now it appears that Siri is eager to take some jabs at Google Glass, as it responds with subtle and not-so-subtle putdowns on the product when you Continue Reading →
Google Inc., which has been working on software to help major automakers build self-driving cars, also is quietly going around them by designing and developing a full-fledged self-driving car, according to people familiar with the matter. In recent months, Google has held talks with contract manufacturers to build new cars to Google’s specifications, said the Continue Reading →
According to a Delaware filing by Uber Technologies, it has sold stock in the fast-growing privately held transportation service to private equity giant TPG. In addition, according to sources who have seen other stock documents, Uber has also taken a major investment from Google Ventures. The overall valuation for the San Francisco company, according to Continue Reading →
Here’s a fun combination to ponder: The world’s most powerful media company and America’s most popular sport. That could happen if Google buys the rights to the NFL’s Sunday Ticket package, the all-you-can-eat subscription-TV service currently owned by DirecTV. As I’ve noted before, the DirecTV deal ends at the end of the 2014 NFL season, Continue Reading →
The latest numbers from comScore’s Web rankings pegged Yahoo as the top US Web property in terms of unique visitors for the month of July, beating out long-time rival Google. The victory is strong vindication of CEO Marissa Mayer’s turnaround at Yahoo. The company had an estimated 197 million unique visitors for the month, compared Continue Reading →
Traffic and weather updates are great, but Google Now never shines better than when you’re on vacation. To that end, Mountain View has taught the feature a few new tricks, equipping it with cards for keeping track of car rental and concert tickets. Not traveling? No problem, Google also updated Now’s public transit cards to Continue Reading →
Google has quietly launched a website for “Google Helpouts,” a new p2p video chat helpline service. Anyone can sign up to receive or provide help, and providers can make money off chat sessions. While Helpouts has yet to launch, a good deal of information can be gained from the support site. Anyone can sign up Continue Reading →
When Google lifted the lid on its new flavor of Android in October 2012, one feature in particular stood out. With Android 4.2, users were at last able to set up individual user accounts – much like a PC – so that mum, dad and all the kids could create their own little personalized worlds Continue Reading →