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Recommended Reading: The new and improved 'Halt and Catch Fire'
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. Hard Reboot: The Excellent Season 2 Makeover of 'Halt and Catch Fire' by Andy Greenwald Grantland Despite an interesting premise, AMC's Halt and Catch Fire never really took off during its first season. The show that chronicles the effort to reverse engineer an IBM PC in a Texas garage got a full revamp for season two, though, and Grantland's Andy Greenwald explains how the changes have drastically improved the series for version 2.0.
Google's Project Loon improves launch and range to expand its reach
Google's Project Loon internet balloons have been airborne for quite some time, and now the company is planning to take the next step with the initiative. The next phase has two parts: a 50-foot-tall launcher and sharing internet signals amongst balloons. The first piece is a so-called Autolauncher, a massive rolling apparatus referred internally as the Bird House, and its canvas sides allow a crew of four to block up to 15 MPH winds in order to launch successfully. Take-offs are now partially automated too, and the time needed to do so was cut from 45 minutes down to just 15.
Google's Now on Tap makes Android M smartphones so much smarter
In no particular order, Google's invading our living rooms, our extremities, our skies, and — curiously — our Android phones. No, really! By announcing Google Now on Tap during today's I/O keynote, the company's going all-in on the idea that a Google smartphone isn't complete without the full power of the Knowledge Graph baked into it. And you know what? I think they're right. Even after just a few moments messing around with it, I don't ever want to use an Android device that can't do what Now on Tap can.
Google Maps delivers destination info, voice directions while offline
Sometimes you still need navigation and destination info when you're offline. Google is delivering just that with offline Maps. Even when you're not connected (or in airplane mode), the app will still provide information on places in your searches. This means that you can browse hours, reviews and other important details for places like museums and restaurants. What's more, voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation is included as well for maps that you've saved for offline use. Unfortunately, there's no word on when the new tools will arrive other than a vague "later this year." Don't miss out on all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2015. Follow along at our events page.
Live from Google's 2015 I/O keynote!
The stage is set, the Moscone Center is tricked out with leopard print Androids, and Google I/O is just about to start. You know the drill here: The first order of business is an hours-long keynote address that'll show us exactly what Google's been working on behind closed doors these past few months and what we can expect to play with in the future. Android M? More insight into Android Pay? VR announcements? It seems like this year's show is really going to have it all. We've got a little more time before the keynote kicks off, so hang tight, thumb through our I/O preview for as a quick refresher, and stay tuned for more shortly. May 28, 2015 12:30:00 PM EDT Don't miss out on all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2015. Follow along at our events page.
Android Pay's arrival means a new direction for Google Wallet
As we suspected, you'll be hearing more about the new Android Pay setup -- announced a couple of months ago during Mobile World Congress -- during the Google I/O event this week. According to a New York Times report, Android Pay will let retailers take payments from inside their mobile apps, use it at brick-and-mortar retail locations, and automatically update the customer's status in store loyalty programs. Like Google, retailers are interested in using those loyalty programs to track trends among their customers, and the report goes on to claim that Apple Pay will add a similar tie-in within the next month or so. So what will become of Google Wallet? Apparently, it will be reintroduced with a focus on sending money directly between two people to go along with being preinstalled on carrier phones. The mobile payment wars are just beginning, and potential competitors like Facebook and Samsung have their own plans too -- expect more details from all sides soon. [Image credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images]
What's on tap for Google at I/O 2015
We're coming down to the wire now: Google I/O 2015 is just a few days away, and we'll be liveblogging and reporting from the ground as soon as the festivities begin. Don't let its reputation as a developer bonanza fool you, though. There's going to be no shortage of workshops and code review sessions, but I/O is also where Google takes time to update its vision of the future for the people who will ultimately help build it. Of course, it's not all starry-eyed speeches and technical breakdowns -- this is, after all, the sort of show that featured a live streaming Google Hangout with four dudes who jumped out of a zeppelin. We can't account for whatever crazy, spectacular bits the folks in Mountain View might be working on, but we do have a taste of what to expect when the show starts in earnest this Thursday.
LG and Huawei are reportedly making Google's Nexus phones this year
If you were disappointed that your only choice for a new, official Google phone last year was the gargantuan Nexus 6, you'll be glad to hear that 2015 could be very different. Android Police sources have elaborated on previous rumors with word that both LG and Huawei are working on Nexus handsets this year. The LG device, nicknamed Angler, would have a 5.2-inch screen and might borrow the G4's six-core Snapdragon 808 processor -- effectively, it'd be a modernized Nexus 5. Huawei's phone, Bullhead, would pack a bigger 5.7-inch display and could step up to a Snapdragon 810 chip. Think of it as a not-so-ungainly Nexus 6.
Android's stand-alone Photos app will give you more creative control
Wondering what will happen when Android's Photos app finally makes a clean break from Google+? You should now have a pretty good idea. Android Police has peeked at a leaked copy of a reworked Photos app, and it's clear that Google is using the service split as an incentive to shake things up. The highlight may be Assistant (below), an effective substitute for Auto Awesome that gives you more creative power -- you can produce more content yourself (such as Stories) instead of waiting for it to show up. The interface should also be more intuitive across the board, with more options for viewing your photos, a better editing interface, privacy-minded sharing and pinch-to-zoom gestures for opening pictures. There's a chance these features could change or disappear before they're official, but it won't be surprising if you see this Photos redesign on the Google I/O stage this week.
Android M might have its own fingerprint login system
Android is getting a TouchID-style system of its own with Android M, according to Buzzfeed's sources. Apparently it'll act a lot like the iOS tool too, bypassing passwords for associated apps in favor of reading your fingerprint. Given that I/O is practically right around the corner (next week!) it shouldn't be long before this all gets confirmed -- Google hasn't responded to our request for comment just yet. [Image credit: Getty Images]
Google plans to play nice with Facebook and Twitter on photos
According to Bloomberg Business, Google could soon be separating its web based photo sharing and storage service from the existing Google+ platform and offering it as a standalone. Bloomberg cites Googlers close to the project who say that the announcement could come during the upcoming Google I/O developers conference later this month. Reportedly photos stored with the new service can be posted to both Twitter and Facebook with a fraction of the hassle it takes to do so currently. These rumors have been a long time coming. Bloomberg reported a similar plan early last year and Google Senior Vice President Sundar Pichai was quoted in March stating that photos and social would be operated separately.
Bloomberg: Google improving controls for Android app permissions soon
It's always a little concerning when a battery management app needs access to your location and contacts. According to Bloomberg, Google's poised to ease that anxiety by improving control over what apps can access in Android. According to its sources, an update to the operating system -- possibly coming ant Google's I/O event this month -- would allow users to switch off access to things individually, similar to how app management in Facebook works. Features like those described were discovered in Android, hidden, as far back as 2013. If you're using one of Android's most famous forks, you've had them since 2011. Google eventually removed the hidden controls, perhaps to prevent incomplete tools from interfering with apps not primed for the change, but now it seems they're ready for prime time. How will your torch cope without knowing all your friends' names, and where you are? We'll just have to wait and see.
Android developers will get to experiment with app prices
When you make a mobile app, you usually have to find out the hard way what will sell. You can't fiddle with pricing for just a few people, for instance. All that could change very shortly in the Android world, however. Sources for The Information claim that Google is introducing a feature that lets Android developers try different versions of the same Google Play Store page. You could not only see different previews of the app, but different pricing -- the creator could charge you $2 for that hot new game, but ask $3 from others to see if they'll accept higher pricing.
Google sends a Glass-like mystery device through the FCC
Google might have just hinted at the future of its Glass headsets. The company has sent a mystery "smart BLE" (Bluetooth Low Energy) device to the FCC for approval, the A4R-CAP1, and there are a few telltale signs that it's one of Mountain View's wearables. Most notably, the product's digital FCC label (shown below) not only looks a lot like a Glass interface card, but requires that you swipe to see it -- that suggests a touchstrip, as you'd use on Google's eyepiece. Mentions of an Android-like firmware revision and a battery help, too. There's the possibility that this is another gadget that simply happens to use Glass-style navigation, but that seems less than likely. Don't be surprised if you're eventually plunking CAP1 on your head.
