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One week with Microsoft Cortana
"Never mind it. Never mind," I cursed, looking down on the poorly formed monstrosity that gazed back at me with a singular pulsing eye. No, not at me -- through me. This was not my trusty Google Assistant, with whom I shared a deep logistical and day-planning-based bond. This thing barely looked like the AI to which I was accustomed and -- even then -- only in passing. This alien program appears to have eaten my digital assistant and started wearing its skin -- and I'm about to spend the next week having it organize my life.
Andrew Tarantola08.25.2017
Twitter fires a VR manager after his past comes to light
Yesterday, news leaked that Twitter had hired the former CEO of AngelHack Gregory Gopman as a contracted VR program manager. TechCrunch wasted no time reminding the Internet about his 2013 rant against San Francisco's homeless, and just like that, it seems the social media company sent him packing. At 11 AM ET this morning, Gopman allegedly posted on Facebook that he was fired thanks to that post.
David Lumb10.19.2016
Google explains how it fights piracy in search results
The anti-piracy road hasn't played out easy for Google, to the point where past claims have stated that the company's efforts simply aren't working. But Google says it's doing everything it can to combat piracy across its services, of which Search is likely the most important one -- at least to copyright holders. With this in mind, the technology giant has released an updated version of its document "How Google Fights Piracy," in which it dives into detail about what steps it's taking to crack down on pirated content. Google says this includes new ad formats in search results, such as what's pictured above; improved downranking of known delinquent sites; and removing more autocomplete predictions based on DMCA takedown notices. Part of it is also pointing people to trusted sources when searching for music or movies, including services like the Play store or Spotify -- Google plans to do this only in the US for now, but the idea is to make it a global feature at some point in the future.
Edgar Alvarez10.17.2014
Google Search app Easter egg is finger-flicking fun
There's nothing better than finding a good Easter egg in an app, and that's what Buster Hein over at Cult of Mac did. If you have the Google Search app on your iOS device -- it's the app icon with the white lowercase "g" on a blue background -- then you can have all sorts of fun. Just go to the colorful Google logo and flick any of the letters, and they'll move on the screen. Tilt your device, and they'll bounce and fall as if they're "real" physical letters stuck behind the glass touchscreen. Check out the video below!
Steve Sande07.19.2014
'OK Google' voice commands are now available inside apps and from the lockscreen
"OK Google." The phrase is slowly working its way across Google's mobile and web services, but the touchless control is about to get even better for many Android users. Previously limited to just the homescreen on Android 4.4 KitKat devices and anywhere on the Moto X (thanks to its always-on listening chip), the voice-activated command will soon be enabled on any screen, including the lockscreen, on your smartphone or tablet. That's not all, either: Google's also including a new Audio History feature that learns the sound of your voice to increase the accuracy of your searches.
Matt Brian06.26.2014
Living in a Google world: Why Android L means you'll never have to disconnect
The biggest news to come out of Google's developer-focused I/O conference isn't Android TV or even the several new Android Wear smartwatches; it's that Android is about to become much more than a mobile operating system. It's about to consume your life. With the introduction of the Android L platform (as the next version of that operating system's tentatively being called), Google wants to be a part of everything you do -- with technology, at least. Whether it's swiping through Google Now on your smartphone, dismissing notifications on your smartwatch, using voice search to find a movie on Android TV or searching for a cafe on your in-car display, Android will follow you everywhere. And while features like universal sync across devices and voice commands will likely make your life easier, Google's getting something pretty significant in return: access to nonstop streams of your personal data and search history. In short, it's pretty clear that the "L" stands for "Life."
Sarah Silbert06.25.2014
Google Search for iOS gets smarter with conversational voice search
Google's just updated its search app on iOS, and in doing so it's made the voice search feature much more useful. With Google Search version 4.0, using voice becomes conversational -- you can ask follow-up questions in addition to simple queries like, "What's the weather?" Once you know it will be sunny with a high of 95 tomorrow, you can ask Google "How about this weekend?" and get more info. As Google's voice assistant competes with Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana, more sophisticated, context-specific features like this are definitely important.
Sarah Silbert05.13.2014
Google Search: A visual history
"To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." That was one of the primary goals Larry Page and Sergey Brin set when they launched Google in 1998 as a privately owned search company. Since then, the Mountain View-based outfit has branched out, creating a mobile operating system, mapping service, cloud-based productivity apps, branded devices and, now, smart thermostats. All of those offshoots, however, always point back to the company's original aim: search. That baseline service is something Google's been making refinements to ever since its inception. A practice that continues to this day, with the company constantly improving upon the usability and design of its search-based offerings. This means cleaning up a UI when needed, and launching new features that serve up that much-lauded universal accessibility in short order. What may come across as a small box centered in a vast expanse of white is, as you'll see, actually something that's constantly evolved since '98.
Billy Steele04.26.2014
This one weird Siri feature turned me into a Bing user
Even Spider-Man couldn't make Bing cool. So when Apple introduced Bing integration into its Siri voice assistant for iOS 7, I wasn't exactly thrilled by the change. Bing is basically the search engine equivalent of the sixth Doctor, loud clothes and all. Sure, Apple included a Google workaround for Siri for die-hards. If you wanted to use Google to search for specific terms, you can Google those phrases. For example, you say "Siri, Google fezzes." It's pretty unsatisfying. This just tells Siri to open a new Safari window with a Google search. You lose the cool (and I use that term in its proper bow tie sense) integrated result on the Siri dialog screen. Now, after months of using the latest Siri, I'm publicly outting myself. I like those integrated results and I don't care that Bing, saddle shoes and all, has joined Wolfram Alpha and Wikipedia as a primary Siri information source. Bing's results are... just fine. Sure, I'm not so far gone to reason that I am using Bing as a verb (which you can do; just say "Siri, Bing TARDIS") because there are, after all, standards. But I'm enjoying the slick new integration with web results tied directly into the dialog. If one weren't a search engine snob, one probably wouldn't even notice that those results involved Bing at all. (I specifically exclude the Duck Duck Go die-hards from this write-up. The DDG folk are basically the rabid libertarians of the search engine world. That's an entirely different creature from Google snobbery.) Bing is doing my searches, and it's doing them well. And, as shocking as it is to discover, Siri has made me a regular Bing user. Whodathought? Steven Sande and Erica Sadun have been working on the third edition of Talking to Siri, the book that covers all the ins and outs of everyone's favorite digital assistant.
Erica Sadun01.03.2014
Google Search app for iOS gets "OK Google" voice search, more
Google has updated its Google Search app for iOS with several new features and improvements. For starters, users can now use the "OK Google" voice command to conduct hands-free searches via the app. Another major improvement is the addition of Notifications and Reminders, both of which have long since been staples of the Android version of the app. Now the app will present both notifications and reminders to users instead of them having to perform a search calling them up. Google has also added support for a number of new Cards in the app, including cards for movies, bording passes, car rentals, train warnings, and local events. The updated app also offers a simpler UI and some additional gestures. Here's the full release notes: What's New in Version 3.1.0 Google Now gets even better with: • Notifications – Get notified when it's time to go • Reminders – Never forget to put out the trash • New cards – See tickets, boarding passes, & more • Handsfree voice – Just say "OK Google" to search* * requires iPhone 4s or later Notifications deliver info before you open the app: • When to leave for your next appointment or event • If your flight is running late • How to catch the last train home Ask Google to remember things for you. Just say • "Remind me to buy coffee beans at Starbucks," or • "Remind me to check out the fair this weekend" and Google will remind you at the right time or place. You can also ask to be reminded when your favorite: • Musicians release a new album • TV show has a new episode • Actors star in a new movie • Celebrities and politicians make headlines Just search and press the "remind me" button. New cards organize the info you care about: • Tickets for movies, concerts and events • Boarding passes for your flights • Reservation confirmations for car rentals • Warnings when your last train home leaves • Lists of upcoming local events And finally, search is better than ever with: • A redesigned and simplified homepage • Gestures to zoom or throw away images • One touch sign in if you use other Google apps • Improved voiceover accessibility Google Search is a free download.
Michael Grothaus11.05.2013
Google Maps for iOS, Andriod gets real-time incident tracking
Back in June, Google acquired the social-navigation app Waze. Now, about nine weeks later, Google has already begun integrating some of Waze's functionality into Google Maps for both iOS and Android. In a blog entry posted earlier today, Google's Maps team relayed that users of Google's mobile Maps app will now be able to interface with incident reports from Waze users. Users of Google Maps for Mobile will now benefit from real time incident reports from Waze users. This means when Wazers report accidents, construction, road closures and more on Waze, the updates will also appear on the Google Maps app for Android and iOS in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Switzerland, UK and the US. Google also notes that Waze users, or "Wazers" as Google affectionately calls them, can now access Google search results from within the Waze app.
Yoni Heisler08.20.2013
Google Now added to search app on iPhone, iPad
Google has updated its search app for iOS to version 3, adding a tool that until this point was available only on devices running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean or better -- Google Now. Now adds some impressive features to your device. As Google notes, it adds "the right information, at just the right time" to your iPhone or iPad. Back in March, a very official-looking promo video for Google Now on iOS leaked out. The same video is prominently featured in the new version of Google's app, so it seems that it was legit. To enable Google Now, update or install the Google Search app, sign in and then swipe up from the bottom of the display screen. Google includes a short video explaining how the app works, providing "cards" full of contexual information where and when you need it. If you're about to drive to work, the app can tell you how long it's going to take to get there and route you around traffic. If you're near a public transit station, you may get information on when the next train leaves, and if you're heading out on a trip you may well see your flight info displayed in a card. Google's powering Now by looking into your data on other Google services (calendar, search, contacts and maps among them) so if this sort of oversight makes you twitchy, you can choose not to turn the Now capability on in the search app. %Gallery-187052% Voice search has improved in the new app. Previously, users could tap a microphone icon to enter search terms; not that exciting, really. Now you can pretty much ask Google Now anything and get responses almost immediately -- the service both seems to understand your requests better and responds faster than Apple's own Siri, so it will be a great addition to the iPhone for those of us who like to carry on conversations with our handheld devices.
Steve Sande04.29.2013
Google's Tamar Yehoshua backstage at Expand (video)
Tamar Yehoshua has led Google's efforts to optimize Search across platforms, devices and languages and earlier this afternoon she took to the Expand stage to discuss how the discovery process has changed. Following her talk, Brian Heater caught up with Tamar to chat about the evolution of search and the company's focus on voice. Check out our video after break for the interview in its entirety. Follow all of Engadget's Expand coverage live from San Francisco right here!
Christopher Trout03.16.2013
Google quietly removed search warning message in China in early December 2012
Google's search engine has a turbulent history in China, from search results being censored to temporary shutdowns. The company's most recent effort to serve mainland China with unfiltered search results met with an untimely end back in early December, Google confirms -- a warning previously told mainlanders when the search term they were using had met with issues (read: Chinese government intrusion causing lengthy connection times) for other users. GreatFire discovered that said message no longer popped up when searching for various censored terms on Google Search in China, and while Google's confirming that fact, it's unclear what the exact reasoning is. Given the rocky history between Google and China, it seems likely that China responded in turn to Google's efforts with its own -- or as The Guardian puts it, "Google concedes defeat in China censorship battle." Whether that's the case or not remains to be seen, but Chinese Google searchers should beware that your experience may result in some unfortunate connection issues from time to time (as much as 90 seconds), per China's censorship policies.
Ben Gilbert01.04.2013
Google improves local web search for iPad users in US
Google quietly added a new feature to local web searches on the iPad yesterday. According to our sister site Engadget, the new feature displays a virtual carousel displaying reviews and photos of local businesses appears. Users can swipe the carousel to see additional results, and tapping one of the image cards displays all sorts of information including a map. The TUAW staff is wondering if this feature is being rolled out by region, as none of us were able to get the carousel to appear. The card, with its list of reviews and map, worked as described in the original Google post. Let us know in the comments if that photo carousel is showing up for you.
Steve Sande12.05.2012
VPN for the rest of us: Interview with WiTopia
VPN, aka Virtual Private Network, is a technology that lets you securely share data across public networks. For the most part, when I think VPN, I typically imagine work-related corporate or federal government accounts, or people accessing the net in countries with excessive government surveillance. But there's a lot more that VPN can do. For example, it's an essential technology for sports fans who must shift the geographic location of their IP addresses so they can watch blacked-out sports from their broadcast region. It's also popular with travelers and coffee-shop-based tech workers who regularly access shared WiFi networks. Nothing harshes your caffeine buzz like having your passwords stolen from your over-the-air traffic. Many people use VPN because it's a work requirement. Others purchase a private account for one of the four reasons here: Security. They share public WiFI hotspots and want to protect their data at cafes, airports and hotels. They'd rather not share their personal credentials with identity thieves. Censorship. They need an end-run around corporate (no playing at the office) or government censorship (think China), so they can access services and websites that they'd otherwise be cut off from. Privacy. They want to avoid oversight, tracking and other privacy infringement by websites like Google. Region Shifting. They're looking to shift locations to access georestricted resources like local blacked-out football games or Hulu from outside the US. I recently had an opportunity to sit down with Bill Bullock, CEO of WiTopia, a personal VPN services provider, to chat about the technology. WiTopia has a good reputation at TUAW and several of our bloggers are customers. Its focus is on providing privacy and security for general users rather than aiming at the total-anonymity user base. WiTopia is practically a geriatric, old-age pensioner in this field, having been founded back in 2005. Bullock told me, "Before us, VPN was really thought to be mostly a corporate and government product. We were one of the first to put out a consumer market VPN." Bullock talked to me about security issues and why home users might want to invest in a VPN account. "Our VPN works over any connection across wires or Wi-Fi." Many consumers don't consider how vulnerable shared wired connections can be, but at hotels, users will still be sharing the same network. "If someone's in another room, they may be able to sniff your traffic." People often feel more secure on a wire, but their data is just as exposed. Sniffing your data, or monitoring the traffic eminating from your computer, is a potential problem at public hotspots. "There are a number of tools available that people with little technical knowledge can use. There's one called FireSheep that works right out of the Firefox browser. It could take over a person's Facebook account, Twitter account, etc. You could hijack a session and log into those services. It's an example of a very easy to use tool that a kid could use." Bullock described a number of other attacks such as one called an "evil twin" attack, where a hacker mimics a local hotspot, encouraging unsuspecting users to connect. It's a kind of WiFi phishing you might encounter at a coffee shop or airport. "You go to see what available wireless networks there are, one might be called FREE WIFI. This is a common thing that bad guys use, where someone advertises their laptop as a WiFi network. You're actually logging on to that laptop. At airports, there are lots of people with a laptop, so they blend in. You still get Internet access because they're hooked up to let you do that but all your data is going through their computer and can be seen and captured." By using a VPN connection to encrypt the traffic from your device, it protects you against these kinds of attacks. Even if you end up moving through a dishonest WiFi broker, they can't read your data. "If you're on public WiFi, you should be using VPN," Bullock said. "It's a matter of education. People used to leave their doors unlocked, but now they don't. Does that mean someone will break in the house? We hope not but WiFi is just radio, just like a radio station. Someone with a little bit of knowledge can capture all your data. They compromise your data and can steal your identity. We don't wish to spread paranoia but it only takes one time to really mess up your life." VPN can also be valuable to those who aren't on the move. When at home or at the office, privacy is the major driver to VPN services. "When you connect to the VPN, we assign you one of our IP addresses, so there's a level of personal privacy. Even if you do a Google search, where there will still be cookies, it gives you a level of personal privacy." Bullock explained that many sites track users by IP addresses. What's more, these addresses don't change as often as you might think they do. "Even with dynamically assigned IPs, I've kept the same Verizon IP address for over a year. If I don't have the VPN on, every search I do is tagged to this IP address and stored. "We all do searches on personally identifiable information. Most people don't want to think about it, but likely every search you have ever done in your entire life is stored on a server somewhere and mapped to a handful of IP addresses that can be identified as you. VPNs give you the ability to opt-out of this information gathering." With VPN you join a group of shared IP addresses that essentially anonymize you into a crowd. "We have thousands of addresses. It's a WiTopia address that's shared among many, many, many people. You get to be lost in the crowd; your ID is cloaked. All traces back to you stop at the Witopia gateway." Because of privacy and security, nearly everyone might consider a personal VPN account. The service works on Macs and Windows, as well as on mobile devices. "Apple has done a really good job of supporting VPN protocols. It's very easy to use on an iPhone or an iPad. You set it up once and after that just slide to ON in Settings. Two, three seconds later, you're ready to use the public WiFi hotspot at Starbucks." WiTopia's basic service costs US$50/year with unlimited data and city switching (in case you want to try out iPlayer or watch Hulu). If you don't like the service within 30 days, you can cancel for a full money-back guarantee. So, how does VPN work in real life? I'll discuss my experiences testing the service in my next post, where I go hands on with WiTopia. It wasn't all smooth going, but it gave me a lot to think about.
Erica Sadun12.03.2012
Google Search app gets expanded voice features
Not content to let Siri be the only big name in voice-assisted search on iOS, the Google Search app has been updated with voice recognition features that bring it almost in line with Apple's own offering. The new search feature lets you verbally request information like weather reports, sports scores and even driving directions -- using Google Maps, of course. The info you request is then spoken back to you automatically. Google's Chrome web browser for iOS has supported voice recognition for some time already, but the feature remains limited to simply filling in the search bar, with no "smart" abilities of any kind. The Google Search app surpasses Chrome in pretty much every way, but still falls short of Siri, which can perform OS-level tasks like scheduling reminders and composing text messages. However, if you're using an iPhone 4 or earlier device without the built-in voice assistant at your fingertips, Google's newly refreshed app could be the next best thing.
Mike Wehner10.30.2012
Google Search app for iOS updated with new voice search functionality, iPhone 5 compatibility (video)
Google just released an updated version of its Search app for Android devices yesterday, and it's now (as promised) also delivered a fairly big update to iOS users. That brings with it iPhone 5 compatibility, but the bigger news is the expanded voice search functionality, which promises "faster and significantly improved voice recognition," with spoken responses à la Google Now provided alongside the search results. Those additions also extend to iPad users in addition to the iPhone and iPod touch -- hit the App Store or the link below to take it for a spin yourself.
Donald Melanson10.30.2012
Google's Voter Information Tool hopes to make Election Day a little easier
It's election season and Google is doing its part to help you "rock the vote." No, the search kingpin isn't endorsing a specific candidate, instead it's doing what it does best -- help people search the internet for information. The company's open source Voter Information Tool is designed to help people research candidates and locate polling places. In an effort to reach the masses, Google is partnering with companies such as Foursquare and AT&T. Election Day can be a chaotic event to say the least. Hopefully this powerful new web-based tool will make things run a little smoother for frantic voters trying to beat the clock.
Mark Hearn10.30.2012
Google Search updated with Now improvements, available on Play store for Jelly Bean devices
Adding to the flurry of Mountain View-born announcements today, Google's just released an updated version of Search to the Play store. Available for devices running Jelly Bean 4.1 and up, this boost in functionality adds Gmail integration to the prescient Android software, in addition to tracking info related to flights, reservations for hotels and restaurants, scheduled events and even the delivery of packages. The company also bundled in a host of new cards for nearby attractions, movie openings, as well as expanded voice control that'll allow users to launch applications, check the calendar and set up future meetings. It's live now, so click on the source below to start your download.
Joseph Volpe10.29.2012