ClayBavor
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Your phone probably won't be Daydream VR-certified
If you can't wait to get your hands on Daydream, Google's new mobile VR platform, then there's some bad news coming. The company's Clay Bavor has conceded to RoadToVR that you'll probably have to buy a new handset for it to work. He says that existing handsets, even high-spec flagships, won't be marked as compatible with the new standard. While the firm has told developers to use the Nexus 6P as the platform to work for, it seems clear that not even the handset that's used to build Daydream apps will be certified. Then again, we give it a week before someone finds that it'll work on current devices anyway.
Google renews focus on VR with new leadership
When Google first introduced its Cardboard VR viewer two years ago, it was mostly just a fun side project that many didn't take too seriously. But it's grown substantially since then to be a bonafide division within the company, with plenty of new updates and features as Google attempts to evangelize the idea that VR can be made accessible for everybody. Now, it's getting even more serious about VR than ever thanks to a new leadership team that plans to make virtual reality an even bigger focus.
Google offering Google+ for businesses, free until the end of 2013
Google is bringing the enterprise-friendly elements of its Apps platform into Google+ in order to help businesses collaborate on projects online. The company's been using the service internally, but feels it's time to launch, in Google tradition, a "full preview" with a free and open beta that'll run until the end of 2013. The feature set includes private sharing, admin tools and, most impressively, hangouts directly integrated into Calendar, Gmail and Docs -- letting you video chat with multiple colleagues while you draft that project proposal, or resignation letter. Apps chief Clay Bavor hasn't mentioned how much the service will cost when the preview period finishes, but we'd be surprised if it was much more than what it currently charges if it's trying to snare the Yammer and Salesforce crowds.
