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YouTube Music is about to get a lot better
YouTube Music launched in May to mixed reviews. Even though its song catalog matches Apple Music and Spotify's (in addition to millions of videos pulled from YouTube) it arrived missing some essential features. Something as simple as sorting out your saved albums alphabetically, for example, isn't an option. You also can't browse by genre or easily see new albums from the week. But Google, which will replace Play Music with YouTube Music, is aware of these shortcomings and plans to address them soon.
Google searches omitted key US presidential candidates (update: bug)
Google has been a rich, impartial resource for US election info so far, but it's apparently not perfect. NBC notes that certain searches for would-be Presidents (such as "presidential candidates" or "US president candidates") weren't turning up major candidates in the list of active campaigns, including Republican nominee Donald Trump and Libertarian pick Gary Johnson. Moreover, they still included Bernie Sanders -- odd when his party has nominated Hillary Clinton.
Google adds some visual flair to Android app searches
Google has transformed Android search for apps and now displays the results in a pictorial, grid-like fashion. For instance, searching for "music apps" (either in Now or a browser) brings up the above grid, and clicking on a given app will take you straight to Google Play, as you'd expect. The feature, spotted by Android Police, appears to have rolled out over the last few days. Regular search results are still displayed below, but the grid images take up the entire first page, in much the same way as Google's Knowledge Graph. It only works on Android, so far -- doing a similar search on iOS yields a regular app list with the option to install.
Google search starts linking directly to event tickets
Just can't wait to snag some tickets for a big concert, but don't want to wade through the band's site (or the ticket shop's page) to make sure you get a good seat? You won't have to after today. Google has forged deals with AXS, Ticketfly and Ticketmaster that link you directly to tickets when you search for a specific venue on the web or in Google Maps. If you search for a band, you'll also get tour schedules.
Google's putting song lyrics right into your search results
Despite what your ears may tell you, The Ramones wanted to be sedated (not "a piece of bacon"). There probably isn't one among us who hasn't turned to the oracles of the web to vanquish a pesky mondegreen, and Google's starting to make that process just a little easier. If you search for a song's lyrics on Google, you might see those words will appear atop the rest of those results without so much as a single extra click needed. Just like that, Google has started sticking it to all those terribly obnoxious, ad-laden lyrics sites gumming up the web. Oh happy day. Catch is, Google's pulling that info straight from the Play Store... or rather, the handful of Play Store song listings that have lyrics associated with them. That means the vast majority of songs you search for won't return lyrics -- most of The Rolling Stones' discography didn't turn up more informative results, while searches for MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This" and Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby" yielded paydirt. Looks like the folks in Mountain View really have their musical priorities straight. [Photo credit: Mark Levine/ABC via Getty Images]
Google's 'Knowledge Vault' seeks the answer to life, the universe and everything
Google's Knowledge Graph is pretty good at telling you who was the 37th president of the US, or what the square root of 342345 is. Ask it more complex questions, like "why does the sun set at night?" and it'll still send you off to find the answer yourself. Next week in New York, Google researchers will present a paper on its "Knowledge Vault," which Kevin Murphy of Google Research, describes as "the largest repository of automatically extracted structured knowledge on the planet." Knowledge Vault applies machine learning (unlike Knowledge Graph which is an extension of community supported tools) to automatically trawl webpages, assimilating their facts, information and connections therein. Not only does this mean it's faster, it can continually grow and update itself. The net result will be a huge database of knowledge, the likes of which would have been unimaginable just years ago.
Google Maps now offers 'quick facts' about the world's biggest tourist destinations
Google Maps just got a new and pretty useful info card that takes data right out of the company's Knowledge Graph. This expandable window called "Quick facts" lists, well, bite-sized factoids about some of most famous locations around the globe, including Angkor Wat, the Golden Gate Bridge and Taj Mahal, as you can see above. The feature's only available on Google Maps for desktop (and it doesn't work for every tourist spot out there), so it'll be a while before you can use it to plan your yearly vacations.
Google wants you to know what you're clicking on
Google knows a lot, both about its users and about the internet in general. Today, the team in Mountain View has found a new way to share more of its vast knowledge of the web with us by providing background info on sites that show up in search results. You see, site information is gleaned from Google's Knowledge Graph, and for every site we've checked thus far, that means the data's coming from Wikipedia -- so don't go thinking that this new cursory background check is 100-percent accurate. Google's not providing the extra info about all sites, either, just those that are "widely recognized as notable online" according to the company's blog post announcing the new capability. Still, it's a nifty addition that should give netizens some peace of mind before clicking search-provided links, and Google's promising that as the Knowledge Graph grows, so too will the amount of information this new feature can provide.
Google Knowledge Graph now helps your car shopping with prices and stats
Many car shoppers use Google for research well before they set foot into a dealership. It only makes sense, then, that the company has just rolled vehicle stats into its Knowledge Graph. Look for a new ride and you'll get basic specifications, pricing and alternatives based on search results. The savvier car shopping is only available in the US today; for now, those in other countries will have to visit dedicated sites.
Google brings nutrition information for more than 1,000 food items to search
Google can already answer plenty of questions for you without requiring you to delve into the actual search results, and you can now add yet one more category to its knowledge base. The company's today announced that it can answer a range of nutrition-related questions for over 1,000 different food items -- everything from the amount of protein in a particular fruit or vegetable to the number of calories in a given dish. That naturally works in both mobile and desktop search, but it will remain confined to the US (and English answers only) for the time being. Google says you can expect it to roll out over the next ten days, and promises that it will be adding "more features, foods, and languages" over time.
Google reportedly acquires natural language processing startup Wavii
Word that Google has snapped up natural language processing startup Wavii first came from TechCrunch, and now the Wall Street Journal is chiming in with its own sources claiming the deal has in fact been struck, and that an announcement is imminent. In its current form, Wavii parses a personalized news feed and distills text into a summary for the top stories, similar to Yahoo's recently-purchased Summly. TechCrunch reports that Apple and Google were locked in a bidding war for the outfit, but the web titan ultimately won with a bid in the neighborhood of $30 million. According to the WSJ, the fledgling firm's talent will join Page and Co.'s web search team, which means the language detection technology may bolster its Knowledge Graph, giving users better results (and direct answers) for their queries. As language recognition permeates Page and Co.'s projects, Google Now and Google Glass could potentially benefit from the acquisition as well. Mountain View has yet to acknowledge the reported purchase, but if the tea leaves are being read correctly, expect that to happen soon.
Google promises better Knowledge Graph answers for more countries and languages
Google has been rolling out a fair number of additions to its so-called Knowledge Graph as of late, but the search engine enhancement has tended to be a bit less useful for those looking for results in something other than US English. The company says that's now set to change, however, with it announcing today that it's begun to roll out new improvements that promise to deliver "smarter answers" in Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Japanese, Russian, and Italian. What's more, it will also now take your location into account even if you're searching in English -- it gives the example of "football" delivering different results depending on whether you're in the US or Europe. You can expect to see those changes appear over the "next few days."
Google adds medication to the Knowledge Graph, might ease our minds through search
It's no secret that many of us turn to Google searches for medical advice, much to the chagrin of doctors who have to contend with periodic bad attempts at self-diagnosis. Google might not have a cure for hypochondriacs, but it can stop all of us from taking risks at the pharmacy: it's adding medicine to the Knowledge Graph. Search for medication and the side results panel will bring up data from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the FDA and the National Library of Medicine. Apart from a very top-level summary of a drug's role, the Knowledge Graph will show alternative names, related drugs and (most importantly) risks. The search firm is quick to warn that it's not giving us a license to prescribe our own treatment -- we'll want to talk to someone who swore the Hippocratic Oath, if there's more than a headache. The depth of Google's new search tool could still do more to assuage worried patients than a pill bottle label.
Google redesigns search to make space for more info, kick the sidebar to the curb
Google loves to tweak its search results whether or not it's something we'd ever notice. Even the most casual of visitors might notice its latest change, though. The Mountain View crew has dropped the sidebar on the desktop in favor of moving everything to drop-down menus up above. It's ostensibly a reflection of the company's tweaks to its mobile page that should scale elegantly through different screen sizes, although a key goal is to fit in richer results: images, the Knowledge Graph and more all have extra room to breathe with the update. Americans tracking down election results will be the first to see the extra-wide view, and they should be followed by everyone else as soon as Google can flick the switch. We'll be content enough knowing that the company isn't spreading sidebars everywhere.
Google Knowledge Graph explains related content, finds the six degrees with less Bacon
We had a bit of a laugh with Google's Kevin Bacon calculator. Not everyone needs to tie their searches to the star of Footloose, though, which is partly why Google is pushing out an update to its Knowledge Graph that explains how searches turn up related items. The effort is starting with actors, celebrities and their links to any movies and TV shows they've starred in. Looking for Orson Welles and mousing over Rita Hayworth's portrait reminds us that the two luminaries were married for years, for example. We won't know when the more intelligent searches will expand, but at least we won't be quite so confused if the animated Transformers movie appears next to Citizen Kane.
Bing one-ups knowledge graph, hires Encyclopaedia Britannica to supply results
It may have retired from the cut-throat world of print, but Encyclopaedia Britannica is enjoying a renaissance by supplying results to Bing. Search for a topic and a Knowledge Graph-esque box will offer supplementary information to help you on your way. If it's a topic that the Britannica editors haven't gotten around to covering (Jersey Shore, for example) then the search engine will instead pull the information from Wikipedia, Freebase and Qwicki. Now we're just hoping Bing doesn't plan to revive those door-to-door booksellers, we're a sucker for a good sales pitch.