Tesla is hiring engineers to develop self-driving vehicles

When you’re Elon Musk, co-founding PayPal, founding of SpaceX and creating an empire of electric-powered vehicles under the Tesla banner simply isn’t enough. The aspiring entrepreneur is now looking to hire someone to fill the role of advanced driver assistance systems controls engineer – or in layman’s terms, someone to build a self-driving car.

Bing gets a makeover complete with new features and redesigned logo

Microsoft has given its Bing search engine a cosmetic makeover complete with new features, a redesigned logo and a modern design. The changes are expected to help Microsoft better compete with the likes of Google and Yahoo, the latter of which also revealed a redesigned homepage and a new logo over the past several months.

Google knows every single Android user's WiFi password

New privacy issues have come to light surrounding Google's Android mobile OS. Experts on the matter are claiming that back up tools in the operating system make it so that a copy of every person's WiFi password (or the password of other networks you log onto) is being stored on Google's servers. Unfortunately, this might mean that Google could be legally forced to hand over the data at the government's request for one reason or another.

In Android 4.2, the back up service under Settings, lists WiFi passwords as part of the data that will be included, where as earlier versions of the OS did not specifically mention that. Although the feature can be turned off, users lose other, helpful functionality like bookmarks etc.

The main problem here is beyond the fact that Google is storing the passwords. The company is storing them in such a way that means it can read the passwords if it wants to. This is clear to see by the way new Android devices can suck in old passwords, login data and device settings from Google servers, once you have setup your Gmail address and new password.

Obviously, this functionality has its up sides, we can easily manage passwords for several devices and services this way, but it certainly leaves the networks we use in a much less secure state than we may have originally thought. Although this isn't shocking in the least, it is surprising that Google would leave these passwords in a readable form as well as opening itself up for an almost guaranteed public back lash if the government ever does strong arm them for that data.

Chrome 29 for iOS availble now, brings enahanced voice search features

Google has just recently released a small but useful update to its iOS Chrome app. The now available Chrome 29 for your iPhone or iPad boasts a few new interesting features.

The app's main new additions come in the way of new search, data management and voice search features. The new search feature will allow users to get back to their search results faster: Once you do a search, click a result and then find out its not what you wanted, when you hit back "your search results will instantly appear, ready for you to choose the next one," Google's Chrome for iOS update post read.

Chrome 29 will also come with an interesting voice search enhancement. Now you can request follow up searches by using pronouns. So for example, your initial search could be “Who is the president of the United States?” and now with the new pronoun recognition, you could follow up with, “Who is his wife?”

Lastly, Google has also given users the ability to view their data savings in Bandwidth Management Settings. At this point, the feature is being rolled out slowly, but according to Google will be available to "all users over time." Other additions coming along with the update include general improvements with security and Single Sign On. You can grab Chrome 29 for free through the App Store now.

Before sale to Microsoft, Nokia was testing Android on Lumia phones

While Nokia has made a name for itself with its wide range of Lumia smartphones running Windows Phone, a report from The New York Times has revealed that Nokia was interested in Android. "Well before" discussions between Microsoft and Nokia lead to the former company buying the latter, Nokia was reportedly testing Android on their Lumia smartphones, having managed to get it running on prototype devices.

Microsoft apparently knew about Nokia's testing of Android, although it didn't form any part of discussions between the companies during the acquisition stage. Nokia had arranged a deal with Microsoft in 2011 to solely produce Windows Phones, although the deal expired in 2014, meaning Android Lumia phones might have made it to the market in under a year's time.

If Nokia had produced a Lumia-like device running Android, with features we've come to love such as 41-megapixel PureView cameras, it might have been the death of Windows Phone. Nokia makes almost all the Windows Phone devices currently available, and commands an impressive 87% share of the Windows Phone market; without them, Microsoft's small share of smartphone sales would begin to dwindle.

Nokia has had to face a large amount of criticism for choosing Windows Phone over Android. The Finnish company had a 30% of the smartphone market in 2010, before that dropped away to the 3% it is now. Smartphone buyers have also often wished that Lumia phones would run Android rather than Windows Phone, citing the weak ecosystem as a reason against purchasing their devices.

Whether or not a switch to Android would have considerably boosted Lumia sales will forever remain unknown, with the company set to produce Windows Phones from here on out.

Build Raspberry Pi web apps in your browser with Google Coder

The versatile (and inexpensive) Raspberry Pi serves as an excellent platform to build all sorts of neat gadgets. There are resources available on the web to steer you in the right direction if you aren’t the greatest coder in the world but even still, it’s entirely plausible that you’ll eventually run out of ideas.

That’s where Google’s Creative Lab comes in. Working with a small team in New York, Google employees Jason Striegel and Jeff Baxter have been working on a new project called Coder. It allows users to turn the tiny machine into a simple web server complete with a web-based development environment.

It takes less than 10 minutes to install Coder. After downloading the installer, simply load it onto an SD card, plug it into the machine and point your browser to coder.local. You’ll have everything you need at your disposal to build CSS, HTML and JavaScript-based apps.

It was designed to give educators and parents a private environment in which to build and test web programs. Even if you already know how to write code, it could serve as a solid sandbox for which to debug projects or experiment with fresh ideas.

The original plan was to polish Coder to make it a more complete offering but the idea of getting the open source platform in the hands of developers ASAP was a more attractive proposition. This will give the team valuable feedback on how individuals might use it.

Google blocks local video playback with Chromecast software update

Google hasn't made any clear indication on whether or not it will eventually allow users to stream local videos through Chromecast. At this point we know the company doesn't want third party app developers adding this functionality, likely due to legal reasons and the negative effect it could present with prospective future content partnerships.

Moto X's unique design choice earns a 7 out of 10 repairability score

Teardown specialist iFixit had their hands full on Friday as Motorola’s latest smartphone – the Moto X – finally hit retail. First impressions were generally good as the team found the device to be slightly smaller than the Galaxy S 4 and they were impressed with the contoured back shell although a defect next to the SIM card tray is hopefully an isolated incident.

Getting inside the Moto X proved a bit difficult as Motorola not only clipped the rear shell in place, they also used a bit of adhesive. Multiple steps (and tools) later, the team finally breached the interior only to find Motorola’s X8 Mobile Computing System front and center. The brains of the phone, this bundle includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, a natural language processor and a contextual computing processor.

Google optimizes Chrome for Retina display, adds new API support

Google’s latest stable release of Chrome now supports Apple’s new high resolution screen on the MacBook Pro with Retina display. In addition to supporting the 2,880 x 1,800 resolution (220 pixels per inch) panel, Google has added a few other features to Chrome to bolster their browser offering.

If you recall from our recent review of the MacBook Pro with Retina display, Apple had to employ some pretty impressive software tricks to make the display perform in a practical manner. Having the screen show content at a 1:1 scale for things like text just isn’t practical because the text would be too small to comfortably view.

Instead, Apple uses four pixels to create a single “viewable” pixel. This allows them to keep the same visual appearance of a 1,440 x 900 resolution display with a much sharper image. The problem with this, at least early on in the MacBook Pro’s life, is that apps must support the Retina resolution. If they don’t, you end up with a pretty blurry and pixilated image like we saw in Firefox during our review.

Google noted in a blog post in June that they were committed to polishing Chrome (no pun intended) until it performed flawlessly on Apple’s new flagship portable. That time has come and now Chrome looks just as nice as Safari. We suspect it’s only a matter of time before Mozilla and others update their browsers with Retina support.

Google also added support for the getUserMedia API which lets you grant web apps access to your webcam and microphone without the need for a plug-in. There’s also deeper Cloud Print integration and expanded support for gamepads.

Google upgrades Gmail video chat with Google+ Hangouts

Gmail’s video chat capabilities are set to get a major revamp, with Google announcing that they’re replacing the current implementation with the option to start ‘Hangouts’ right from users’ inboxes. This is arguably the standout feature of Google+ and now Gmail users will also be able to video chat with up to nine people at once, watch YouTube videos together, collaborate on Google documents and share their screens.

Google notes that users participating in Hangouts need to have Google+ accounts for all of these features to work in Gmail, although standard one-to-one video calls will presumably work the same as before.

The company says users can expect better reliability and enhanced quality compared to Gmail's old peer-to-peer video chats. They’ll also get the option to reach contacts not only when they are using Gmail but also if they are on Google+ in the browser or on their Android or iOS devices.

Hangouts in Gmail will begin rolling out today and then gradually over the coming weeks. It’s an interesting addition to an already-handy service and comes hot on the heels of their Sparrow acquisition, which some believe could result in an official Gmail client for the desktop eventually.

Google launches 1Gbps Fiber network in Kansas City, unveils TV service

Google has officially flipped the switch on its first self-built, high-speed citywide network today. Lucky residents of Kansas City on both sides of the Kansas - Missouri state line are now able to get 1,000 Mbps download and upload speeds with no monthly bandwidth caps and no overages. The service also includes 1TB of cloud storage, access to a new Google Fiber Television service, and a few other goodies.

Google’s TV service includes traditional channels from major broadcast networks, "hundreds of fiber channels”, on-demand content from services such as Netflix and YouTube, and optional premium movie channels for an additional fee. It offers a fully searchable interface and DVR functionality for up to 500 hours of HD content.

Several TVs within the home can tune in at the same time by hooking each of them up to a small set-top box that also acts as a wireless hotspot. Additionally each home installation requires a Network Box, which offers gigabit routing, Wi-Fi, four ethernet ports, and "simple network management,” and an identical looking Storage Box with 2TB of space to serve as the DVR for all devices in the house.

Google is also making a remote app for iOS and Android tablets that will support video streaming in an upcoming version, and they’re even throwing in a Nexus 7 at no extra charge with every TV package.

There’s an initial $300 construction fee to get the fiber installed at your house but Google is currently waiving it and offering three different packages: Gigabit Internet + TV for $120 a month, an Internet-only plan for $70 a month, and the option to pay the $300 construction fee and get 5Mbps internet access for free for "at least" seven years. Key institutions are getting the full gigabit access for free as well.

Google will deploy the fiber network in areas where there is most interest first. Kansas City residents can vote on where the next rollout should be by paying a $10 fee to preregister.

Google estimated to earn $15 for every Nexus 7 tablet sold

It’s generally a rule of thumb for a company to produce a product that could be profitable but if you are already one of the wealthiest and most respected in the industry, that metric isn’t always required. Case in point is Google’s upcoming Nexus 7 tablet, a device that the search giant is putting out primarily to compete with Amazon’s Kindle Fire and the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet. The $199 price tag will certainly make it competitive but is Google going to make enough profit from each sale to be worth their while?

Research firm UBM TechInsights believes it is costing Google $184 to manufacture each Nexus 7, leaving a sparse $15 profit margin at the end of the day. In contrast, it is believed that Amazon makes $46 per Kindle Fire sold while Apple generates a profit of around $170 per iPad, so why would Google even bother with such a low margin product?

There are a couple of compelling reasons, actually. First, if consumers shopping in this price range are buying the Nexus 7, that means money isn’t being sent directly to their competitors for their tablets. It could be as simple as that, but CNET also points out that Google is probably hoping to generate additional revenue streams based on tablet use. The majority of this revenue is likely to come from advertising, the publication says.

Google is expected to launch the Nexus 7 tablet within a couple of weeks. Be sure to check out our hands-on review later this evening for a full evaluation.

Google summer cleaning ends iGoogle, Google Video and others

Google is performing some belated spring cleaning, according to an announcement made on the Google Blog. The maestro of search has decided to annihilate a handful of its projects in order to refocus efforts on ones it deems more important to the company and its users.

On Google's kill list this summer is iGoogle, a customizable web page which provides quick access search, chosen RSS feeds and a variety of HTML gadgets which perform unique functions (e.g. local weather, calendar and so on). Users will get 16 months to transition away from iGoogle to something else, whatever that may be. For those looking for an iGoogle-like alternative,Netvibes is one of the most appropriate replacements I've spotted.

Next on the chopping block is Google Video. Unsurprisingly, Google has continued to garrote its own video service into digital oblivion. After the company's acquisition of YouTube in late 2006, it's easy to imagine that Google Video has become a less-than-necessary property for the search giant. In 2009, Google actually stopped allowing users to upload videos to the service. Beginning August 20, Google will finally put it to rest and transition its stagnant library of videos to YouTube.

Google is no stranger when it comes to burying languishing projects. Within the time span of nearly a year, Google has laid to rest or combined over 30 products and services. Some of the most recent casualties are found in the social networking realm: Wave, Knol, Buzz and Google Friend Connect. It also doesn't seem that long ago since Google retired Google Gears, Aardvark and the Linux version of Picasa.

Other Google products to be shelved this summer include Google Talk Chatback, Symbian Search App and Google Mini, an aging enterprise product which has since been replaced by the Google Search Appliance.

Google: Android 4.0 on 11% of devices, Gingerbread still on top

Google has updated its Android Developer site with data about the percentage of active devices running a given version of its mobile operating system. The good news is that Ice Cream Sandwich is finally picking up some speed, with its share of active Android devices jumping 3.8% over the last month. The bad news is that more than eight months since its release that’s still just 10.9% of all Android devices.

The gain comes as device manufacturers continue to roll out their ICS updates and flagship Android 4.0 devices including HTC’s One X and Samsung’s Galaxy S III launch worldwide.

Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” remains the single most-popular Android version at 63.6%, followed by Android 2.2 “Froyo” with 17.3%. Their installed base is slowly decreasing, dropping 1-2 percentage points over the month, but even today low-end devices are still being shipped and used with Gingerbread.

The data is based on the number of Android devices that have accessed Google Play within a 14-day period ending July 2nd and is provided to developers so they can decide how to prioritize the development of their applications’ features for the devices currently in the hands of users.

With carriers and OEMs taking this long to get Ice Cream Sandwich on a tenth of Android devices in the market, things are not looking too promising for the newly announced Jelly Bean. Google hopes to improve roll out times with the release of a Platform Developer Kit (PDK) for Android device partners, but only said the Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, and Motorola Xoom will be getting the update in July. Beyond that, manufacturers including Acer, Asus, and HTC remain tight-lipped about their Android 4.1 update plans.

Nokia says Nexus 7 tablet infringes on their patents

Google announced the long-rumored Nexus 7 tablet during their I/O Conference last week. The device won’t be available until mid-July but that isn’t stopping Nokia from claiming the slate infringes on some of their patents with regards to Wi-Fi technology.

The Inquirer believes that the patents in question have to do with the IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi standard. In a message to the publication, a Nokia spokesperson said they have more than 40 licensees under their standards essential patent portfolio which includes most mobile phone device makers. The problem is that neither Google nor Asus are licensed under this patent portfolio. The spokesperson said that companies who have not licensed up should simply approach them and sign up for licensing rights.

Google’s $199 tablet features a 7-inch backlit IPS display operating at 1,280 x 800 and is powered by a quad-core Tegra 3 processor with 12 GPU cores. 1GB of RAM comes standard while users can choose between 8GB or 16GB of onboard storage. The device will ship with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the latest Google OS revision highlighted by Project Butter. This initiative is said to improve overall system performance and reduce lag at virtually every avenue.

It is believed that Nokia will simply seek to have either Google or Asus sign up for licensing rather than try to impose legal injunctions against the tablet. For their part, Asus has refused to comment on the matter for now. No word yet on Google’s response.

Google's Nexus 7 tablet gets iFixit teardown, scores well on repairability scale

The folks over at iFixit have posted another of their popular teardowns for adventurous tinkerers who like to take their gadgets apart and fix them when things go wrong. Their latest victim: Google’s new Nexus 7 tablet. The device is only a millimeter thicker than Apple’s iPad, but that makes all the difference in the world when it comes to repairability according to iFixit, which gave it a score of 7 out of 10.

By comparison, Apple's tablet received a repairability score of two out of 10 on the iFixit scale, while the Amazon Kindle Fire scored an eight and the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet got a six.

"That's the difference between being able to open a device and service all of its internals, and not. That's the negligible difference between extending the life of your device through repair, as opposed to tossing it in a landfill. And most of all, nobody will complain about that one millimeter difference in day-to-day use, but the user-serviceability it brings will make all the difference when the device breaks," iFixit said in its report.

Their teardowns are certainly informative for those of us who like to know about the hardware that power our gadgets, although I wonder how often tablet owners are actually in a position that they need or want to tear open their devices for repair. If that need arises, however, iFixit has you covered with the required tools.

In all it took 21 steps to take the Nexus 7 apart. Here are some of iFixit’s findings:

• The 7-inch, 1280x800 HD display is manufactured by Hydis and designated model HV070WX2. The LCD is fused to the Corning glass so it’s unclear if it uses Gorilla Glass or Gorilla Glass 2.
• The L-shaped motherboard is “littered with connectors and screws”. On one side you’ll find an Nvidia T30L Tegra 3 processor, 1 GB of Hynix H5TC2G83CFR DDR3 RAM (same as Retina MacBook Pro), Max 77612A inverting switching regulator, AzureWave AW-NH665 wireless module, Broadcom BCM4751 integrated monolithic GPS receiver and Invensense MPU-6050 gyro and accelerometer.
• The back side of the motherboard holds the Kingston KE44B-26BN/8GB 8GB flash for storage.
• The 4326 mAh battery is easily replaceable without soldering or even a screwdriver.
• The official Nexus page stated there is one “speaker” in the back, but iFixit spotted a pair of drivers.

You can check out the full teardown of the Google Nexus 7 over at iFixit.

Google contributed 80 billion to US economy in 2011

Google’s VP of Americas Sales Margo Georgiadis has authored a post on the company’s official blogthat reinforces the idea that the Internet is where business is done and jobs are created. To back up this claim, Google provided $80 billion of economic activity directly to advertisers, website publishers and nonprofit organizations across the US last year.

The post highlights the fact that 97 percent of Americans use Internet search to find local goods and services both on computers and mobile devices. And while some believe that technology is driving people to shop online rather than locally, this isn’t always the case.

Boston Consulting Group shows that US citizens who researched products online in 2011 actually spent about $2,000 to buy those goods in-store rather than online. Google says that’s nearly $500 billion in revenue that was spent on local retail.

Georgiadis cites multiple examples of how Google and the Internet is helping several businesses expand. New England baking company King Authur Flour recently took to the web and has since become an internationally-renowned business. Bornstein Sons, a home maintenance and repair contracting business based in New Jersey, now receives 25 percent of new customers from the web. Oriental Trading Company now sells four out of five of their products online.

The search giant is facing pressure from the US government for allegedly abusing their position in search and advertising. Mountain View reportedly holds an estimated 65 percent market share.

Nokia says Nexus 7 tablet infringes on their patents

Google announced the long-rumored Nexus 7 tablet during their I/O Conference last week. The device won’t be available until mid-July but that isn’t stopping Nokia from claiming the slate infringes on some of their patents with regards to Wi-Fi technology.

The Inquirer believes that the patents in question have to do with the IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi standard. In a message to the publication, a Nokia spokesperson said they have more than 40 licensees under their standards essential patent portfolio which includes most mobile phone device makers. The problem is that neither Google nor Asus are licensed under this patent portfolio. The spokesperson said that companies who have not licensed up should simply approach them and sign up for licensing rights.

Google’s $199 tablet features a 7-inch backlit IPS display operating at 1,280 x 800 and is powered by a quad-core Tegra 3 processor with 12 GPU cores. 1GB of RAM comes standard while users can choose between 8GB or 16GB of onboard storage. The device will ship with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the latest Google OS revision highlighted by Project Butter. This initiative is said to improve overall system performance and reduce lag at virtually every avenue.

It is believed that Nokia will simply seek to have either Google or Asus sign up for licensing rather than try to impose legal injunctions against the tablet. For their part, Asus has refused to comment on the matter for now. No word yet on Google’s response.

Google Chrome causing new MacBook Air to crash

Owners of Apple's newly released MacBook Air have been experiencing persistent kernel panics on their systems, causing the laptop to freeze and crash.

The issue generated a lot of discussion on Apple's support communities among frustrated users and earlier this weekGizmodo reported that the general consensus pointed towards Google’s Chrome browser as the culprit.

Now a spokesperson for Google has finally come forward with an official statement acknowledging that it had found a "leak of graphics resources in the Chrome browser" and this had been causing the new MacBook Airs to crash. The company said it is working to fix the root of the leak, but in the meantime it has issued an auto-update release that will temporarily disable GPU acceleration features in Chrome.

We have identified a leak of graphics resources in the Chrome browser related to the drawing of plugins on Mac OS X. Work is proceeding to find and fix the root cause of the leak. The resource leak is causing a kernel panic on Mac hardware containing the Intel HD 4000 graphics chip (e.g. the new Macbook Airs). Radar bug number 11762608 has been filed with Apple regarding the kernel panics, since it should not be possible for an application to trigger such behavior.

While the root cause of the leak is being fixed, we are temporarily disabling some of Chrome's GPU acceleration features on the affected hardware via an auto-updated release that went out this afternoon (Thursday June 28). We anticipate further fixes in the coming days which will re-enable many or all of these features on this hardware.

Google’s response suggests that while Chrome may be inducing the crash, ultimately is an issue with Apple's drivers that allows for the kernel panic to be triggered. Apple hasn’t officially commented on the matter as far as we know, but according to one poster on Apple's support forums, a store employee told him that the company was aware of the problem and plans to release a patch soon.

Sony launches Google TV powered set-top box, fails to impress

First unveiled at CES 2012, Sony has now officially announced the NSZ-GS7, the company’s first ever Google TV powered set-top box. For Google TV in general this is an important launch after experiencing a rocky first year, to put it mildly, with founding partner Logitech abandoning the platform altogether and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt’s unfulfilled promises that the system would ship with "most TVs" by this summer.

Sony’s Google TV powered set-top box is already up for pre-order priced at $200 and will be available in the US and UK, with a ship date of July 9 followed by in-store availability on July 22. The NSZ-GS7 should also launch in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico and Netherlands later this year.

The device itself has a clean design that will blend with the rest of your entertainment gear. In terms of ports and connectivity you get HDMI in and out, built-in Wi-Fi, digital optical out for audio, an IR blaster, Ethernet, two USB, and an AC connection for the power cable, which thankfully doesn't need a bulky power brick.

Inside is a dual-core Marvell chip, 8GB of built-in storage, and Android 3.2 Honeycomb running the show. The unit ships with a double-sided remote, featuring a touch pad on one side and full keyboard on the other.

Unfortunately, at least looking at early reviews, it doesn’t seem that Google will be conquering people’s living rooms any time soon. Most agree that the concept behind Google TV is compelling and the hardware in question — for the most part — lives up to Sony’s quality standards. But the Google TV software still doesn’t feel polished enough. In Cnet’s words, “It's buggy, true DVR integration really only works for Dish Network subscribers, and it still lacks dedicated apps for services like Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant, and MLB.TV.”

Reviewers also took issue with the remote, which is a step up from the one that shipped with the Logitech Revue, but is still overly complicated, more than any other home theater remote.