Google

Gmail now searches for text inside your email attachments. Good news for disorganized people everywhere. [GOS]

How Many Buttons Do You Need on Your Phone?

Most phones—non-iPhones, of course—have a row of dedicated ‘hardware buttons’ that typically include some combination of home, search, menu and a back button. They make for convenient, quick-access commands! But do you really need them all? Our friends at BuzzFeed FWD argue that the dedicated back button should die because its unclear where pressing that…

Could Nokia Win the Map Battle?

Nokia is to be part of a big mapping tie-in with the enterprise giant Oracle. Given the current map furore, and bearing in mind that Nokia Maps is actually good, this could be the Fins’ big chance: maybe, just maybe, Nokia could sneak through the backdoor and claim a victory. https://gizmodo.com/microsoft-boots-bing-maps-for-nokia-in-windows-phone-8-5919930 The Nokia-Oracle deal, to…

If You’re Going To Buy a Nexus 7, You Should Do It Right Now

So maybe you’ve been sitting back, waiting to see what tablets the world has in store. That’s not a bad idea, but if you’ve been leaning towards the Nexus 7, you should just pull the trigger right now. Why? Because it still comes with a $25 Google Play credit, but only until tomorrow. Of course,…

Google Autocomplete Tells Us That Women Are Crazy and Should Not Wear Pants

The Internet is a terribly sexist place and nothing proves that more than Google Autocomplete, which autocompletes potential searches with terms people often use on Google. Case in point: Start typing in ‘women’ in Google and see the weird and wild Autocomplete suggestions you get. BuzzFeed Shift decided to have a little fun with Google…

Google Maps Adds New High-Res Satellite Images and (Basically) Flyover for a Bunch of Cities

This sort of seems like piling on. Google just added a bunch of new high res images to its maps. That means its overhead satellite data should be even more up to date, and its 45-degree Flyover-like images will be more abundant. Fifty one new cities got the update to 45-degree images, which show cities…

This $50 Stick Turns Any HDTV Into an Android-Powered Smart TV

If you’re wondering how you can breathe life into that old TV set, the FAVI SmartStick might be what you’re looking for. For $50, you get a dongle that provides your TV with Android and access to streaming movies and music. The stick, which runs Jelly Bean and packs 4GB of storage, plugs into any…

You can now watch official movie trailers direct from Google search results. Look out for the “trailer” button. [Google]

Google Field Trip: Explore the Hidden History in Your Own City

Between the pizza joint on your corner and the very building you live in, your block could be full of history and you could be completely unaware. Google Field Trip will inform you of all those hidden facts you never knew as you walk the streets. What does it do? Runs in the background of…

Would You Ride in a Self-Driving Car?

I still can’t get over the fact that self-driving cars are legal. If, sometime in the next few years, someone gave you the opportunity to ride in one, alone, would you do it? As a cheerleader of all things future, I should say that I’d oblige. But I’m not so sure I would.

A Brief History of Google Employees Being Arrested in Foreign Countries

Google executives get held in foreign countries that have a beef with Google. Fairly often, it seems. Google Brazil boss Fabio Jose Silva Coelho was detained by Brazilian police this week, and several other executives are still fighting court cases stemming from their ties to Google. Coelho was being held because YouTube posted videos that…

Google launches underwater Street View, blows everyone’s goddamn mind

Google has rolled out some damn impressive additions to its ouvre of street-viewable locales over the last few months, including Kennedy Space Center, the Amazon Rainforest and Antarctica, but this may be the most spectacular of them yet. Working in collaboration with The Catlin Seaview Survey, the company has released a collection of underwater panoramic…

Google Street View’s Coming Back to the iPhone

After iPhone users lost Street View thanks to the Apple Maps mess, it’s coming back, and Apple can’t stop it even if it wanted to. While an official Google Maps app might be miles off, that’s not stopping big G slapping Street View into its web app. It should be here within two weeks. [NYT…

Google Workers Make Hilarious Internal Memes for Their Inside Jokes at Google

Google has an internal meme generator for all the inside jokes that Google employees have with each other. Which makes total complete sense. Of course Google would! The memes are pretty hilarious too—good guy Eric Schmidt, Missing Marissa Mayer, making fun of Facebook, cracks on Google benefits and more. BuzzFeed scored a gallery of internal…

Cheap Goodies on Google Play for the Next Five Days

Google just crossed the rather staggering 25 billion apps downloaded mark, and to celebrate it’s offering some heavy discounts. For the next five days you can download apps from top developers (Game Loft, EA, Rovio, and others) for just 25 cents a pop. And that’s just the app side. There’s also going to be steep…

Etsy’s ponied up $250,000 to give free Google Shopping advertising to its US sellers. Can’t make that at home. [Etsy]

NYT: Google Will Release Google Maps for iOS By the End of the Year

Corroborating an earlier report, the New York Times is reporting that Google is currently developing Google Maps for iOS and hopes to finish it by the end of the year. So iPhone owners running iOS 6, get used to the mixed up world of Apple Maps for the next couple of months. https://gizmodo.com/apple-didnt-have-to-make-apple-maps-yet-it-still-had-a-5946435 Why the…

Apple Didn’t Have to Make Apple Maps Yet—It Still Had a Year Left on Its Google Maps Contract

Why did Apple kill Google Maps from iOS and make its own maps? The logical thinking was some combination of getting Google off iOS and Apple and Google’s Google Maps contract agreement being over. That’s only half true. Apple still could’ve used Google maps for another year under their current agreement, Apple just decided to…

Holy Crap, Self-Driving Cars Are Now Legal in California

Just moments ago, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into effect SB1298, effectively paving the way for driverless cars in California. For a state that relies more heavily on cars than any other, this is hugely significant when it comes to traffic and road congestion. “Today we’re looking at science-fiction becoming tomorrow’s reality,” said the governor.…

Security Bug Can Wipe Out Your Android Phone By Visiting a Web Page (Update 3)

Beware, Samsung customers! If you have a Samsung Android-based phone running their TouchWiz user interface, your telephone can be wiped out by going to any web page that contains the code “tel:*2767*3855%23” in an HTML frame. Important update: It’s not only Samsung with TouchWiz. Apparently it’s happening with other Android phones too. The vulnerability has…