• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

Google Services: Chrome, Voice, Wave, TV, Hangouts

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
Upvote 0
What Is Google TV?
It's a software platform...

 You know how the Nexus One is a piece of hardware by HTC that runs Android, a piece of software by Google? That's how Google TV will work. At its heart, Google TV is a platform. It's software. Hardware makers will need to step up to use it in their devices.

...that Logitech, Sony and DISH will support...

Right now, there are three places we'll see Google TV: a set top box by Logitech, Sony televisions (and one Blu-ray player) and an upcoming DISH box.
Click to expand...
...that works with your existing cable/satellite box...

Equipped with an IR blaster to change channels, Google TV can sit on top of your existing infrastructure. So while new hardware is in the works, it should be compatible with whatever you're using now—cable or satellite boxes, with all relevant subscriptions.



...that works just like a Google search...

When you start any Google TV device, you're greeted by a simple search bar. You type what you'd like to watch. That can be a television station, allowing you to select and tune that channel. Or it can be a show, which will point you to places you can find the show—be that through a cable subscription channel, Netflix or somewhere on the web.
Click to expand...
...that combines the web with TV...
...that combines your TV with your phone...
...that runs apps...
...that supports Flash...
...that still has some tricks up its sleeve...
As of yet, Google has barely scratched the surface of what this seemingly unparalleled integration of TV and web can do, but they demoed one wow-worthy function: firing closed captioning through Google Translate—translating a program in real time. Just try to tell us that's not neat
Click to expand...
...that is not Chrome OS.
Click to expand...
Logitech's Google TV Box Will Have Special Powers
The unique thing about Logitech's Google TV box—the size of a squished Apple TV, rendered in glossy black plastic—is that it'll have the full powers of Logitech's Harmony remotes and ecosystem.


Click to expand...
Boxee Is Working on a GoogleTV Android App
This is exactly the sort of thing we hoped would happen when Google announced GoogleTV: according to The Candler Blog, Boxee, beloved makers of Home Theater PC software, is working on an Android app.
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
Was a "Rogue Engineer" Responsible For Google's Wi-Fi Snooping?
When it first came to light that Google Street View cars were collecting reams of Wi-Fi network data, Google said it was a mistake. Then came evidence that the sniffing was actually deliberate. But what did Google's internal audit find? The Google-sponsored third party analysis of the code in question suggests that there may have been criminal intent, according to privacy watchdog Privacy International. And while Google had chalked it up to a lone engineer's coding error, PI claims some parts of the audit reveal something far more systemic:
The code was written in such a way that encrypted data was separated out and dumped, leaving vulnerable unencrypted data to be stored on the Google hard drives. This action goes well beyond the "mistake" promoted by Google. It is a criminal act commissioned with intent to breach the privacy of communications. The communications law of nearly all countries permits the interception and recording of content of communications only if a police or judicial warrant is issued. All other interception is deemed unlawful.
Click to expand...
It's worth noting here the gslite code made no attempt to actually parse the data it collected from the unencrypted networks it passed, but it did collect numerical identifiers of the kit associated with the network.
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
Make Free Phone Calls from Gmail

Gmail added a long-awaited feature: making phone calls. If you install the voice and video chat plug-in, you can call phones in the US and Canada for free. You can also call in other countries, but you'll have to pay. Fortunately, Google's rates are really low and the service is cheaper than Skype.

"Calls to the U.S. and Canada will be free for at least the rest of the year and calls to other countries will be billed at our very low rates. We worked hard to make these rates really cheap with calls to the U.K., France, Germany, China, Japan — and many more countries — for as little as $0.02 per minute," informs Google.
Click to expand...

If you have a Google Voice phone number (anyone in the US can get one), you can also receive phone calls in Gmail. Now that Google Voice integrates with Gmail, a lot more people will use it.
Click to expand...

Living overseas, this is fan-fucking-tastic!
 
Upvote 0
Google Cloud Connect Syncs Microsoft Office With Google Docs

Love the awesomeness of Google Docs, with real-time collaboration and never worrying about your hard drive exploding, taking down all of your documents, but stuck using Microsoft Office? They just got together with Google Cloud Connect.

A simple plug-in from Google launching today effectively turns Microsoft Office into a front-end for Google Docs (aptly named "Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office plug-in"). So everything you type in Word, every number you punch in Excel or spreadsheet you whip up in Powerpoint is perfectly synced and backed up to your Google Docs account—and you can collaborate with other Google Docs users.

The catch? Right now it only works for Office on Windows, because the APIs aren't there for Office on Mac.


Combined with editing for mobile devices, Google Docs just got a lot more awesome.

...cont'd
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
Google maps finally got over themselves and re-added familiar locations. For the past year or so, the autocomplete pulled from its entire world directory of addresses rather than remembering the ones you type in.
 
Upvote 0
Google+... thoughts?

http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/28/google-plus/

To me it looks like Google's best attempt yet at "social", though I don't know if it's enough to get traction. It seems like it looks and acts just like Facebook - only less byzantine, better integration with useful Google services and with no parents, grandparents or church people from back home following you around yet.

On the other hand though, there's not really that much about it that seems like it might be actually useful that isn't already on Facebook. Also, it's probably the latest beta version of Skynet.

All in all, it's interesting enough to check out, but I don't know if I'll actually want to use it. Then again, I thought the same thing back in 2005 when I signed up for Facebook but didn't think I'd ever have reason to switch from Myspace.
 
Upvote 0
Businesses Have to Fight to Stay Open on Google
As the New York Times reports, the scenario outlined above is surprisingly—and disappointingly—common, and likely the dirty work of competitors looking for a quicker buck. For a store or business to be listed as closes, all one needed to do is report it to Google on Google Place's "Report a Problem" section. Then, after a seemingly nonexistent vetting process, Google will list you as"Permanently Closed" for all to see. Even if you have a special coming up on Belgian waffles. Not cool.
Meanwhile, businesses will often have no idea this happened unless they check themselves. Some have had luck fixing the issue. Others haven't. According to the NYT:
The owner of a closed business, and customers who know better, can click on a button marked "not true," which appears by all "reportedly closed" and "permanently closed" listings. In some instances, owners say, a business will "open" shortly thereafter. But other owners, like [Charlene Cowan, who owns and operates Macademia Meadows Farm, a bed-and-breakfast in Naalehu, Hawaii], say that the button doesn't work, or that it takes a week to have any effect. Still others say that immediately after clicking the "not true" button, their business is immediately "closed" again.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
...
comments said:


Full size
xlarge_closed.jpg


google
By Kwame Opam Sep 6, 2011 11:20 AM
3,596
rightbar.flame.png
16
rightbar.comment.png







Businesses Have to Fight to Stay Open on Google

You're a coffeeshop barista, and today you're ready for the rush. Apron on, you open the doors to welcome the deluge of customers. Except today, it's a trickle. But why? Maybe because Google says you've gone out of business.
As the New York Times reports, the scenario outlined above is surprisingly—and disappointingly—common, and likely the dirty work of competitors looking for a quicker buck. For a store or business to be listed as closes, all one needed to do is report it to Google on Google Place's "Report a Problem" section. Then, after a seemingly nonexistent vetting process, Google will list you as"Permanently Closed" for all to see. Even if you have a special coming up on Belgian waffles. Not cool.
Meanwhile, businesses will often have no idea this happened unless they check themselves. Some have had luck fixing the issue. Others haven't. According to the NYT:
The owner of a closed business, and customers who know better, can click on a button marked "not true," which appears by all "reportedly closed" and "permanently closed" listings. In some instances, owners say, a business will "open" shortly thereafter. But other owners, like [Charlene Cowan, who owns and operates Macademia Meadows Farm, a bed-and-breakfast in Naalehu, Hawaii], say that the button doesn't work, or that it takes a week to have any effect. Still others say that immediately after clicking the "not true" button, their business is immediately "closed" again.
​
Google has responded recently by alerting owners if their businesses have been permanently closed on Google Places. It shouldn't have been this easy to shut down a shop in the first place. [NYT]
Image Credit: Steve Byland/Shutterstock

Related Stories





Discussion Threads

hntergren
Tue 06 Sep 2011 11:29 AM

hmmm...ok new plan:

Phase 1: List every Apple store permanently closed on Google Places.

Phase 2: Watch chaos ensue as rumors of Apple closing all stores quickly spread.

Phase 3:Use blogs to contiue campaign of misinformation and watch the stock market go crazy over rumors of major problems with Apple.

Phase 4: Buy Apple stock as price falls.

Phase 5: Sell Apple stock once people realize it was all a hoax.

MuahHAHAH MMMUUAHHHAHAHA
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top