Google’s data suggests that more users are finally on Android 4.0 or better but is that really the case? Tell us in this simple poll which Android version you run and if you still see fragmentation as a big Android challenge. Read more »
Amazon’s GovCloud targets U.S. state, federal and local government workloads. Here’s betting AWS will replicate that model abroad. Read more »
The Meebo bar, the noted product from the social media publishing company founded in 2005, will be discontinued on Thursday as the team focuses its full attention on Google+ products. Meebo was acquired by Google in June 2012. Read more »
Google Glass isn’t aimed at the masses. But since its release, the divide between would-be users and everyone else seems to widening. Read more »
In court on Wednesday, Amazon executive Russ Grandinetti argued that publishers’ switch to the agency model was intended to “slow down the success of the Kindle,” while Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy said Apple did not force publishers to enact agency contracts with Amazon and other retailers. Read more at paidContent »
Russia’s leading search provider has introduced a new feature that lets webmasters embed interactive functionality – think hotel booking or flight check-ins – directly into their search results listings. Read more »
MBaaS player Kinvey says new integration will make it a snap for mobile developers to develop on Kinvey and deploy on Google App Engine, or vice versa. Read more »
Google Glass will now see you better, even if you’re lurking in the shadows. A software update adds HDR photo support to improve the camera in both low and bright light settings. Read more »
Google executive Eric Schmidt believes the world needs a platform for data about us in aggregate, even as companies are still trying to decide if they want to expose data externally. Read more »
Is there still a fragmenation issue with Android? Not so much based on the lastest figures from Google. Thank phone upgrades in conjunction with the smart Android strategy shown off at Google I/O. Read more »
Google’s latest clean power play takes the search engine giant all the way to a Swedish wind farm, which will eventually crank out and pump clean power across the country to a data center in Finland. Read more »
Innovation activity is growing across many more markets than in the past and at the same time forming narrower markets. Narrow innovation leads to what we call systematic innovation. This report defines that terms, discusses how it is a key driver of innovation for large companies, and offers advice on how to manage ideas. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Google has announced a new service called Mobile Backend Starter that lets Android developers create and launch mobile apps on Google’s cloud with just a few clicks. Read more »
At TechEd, Microsoft will keep pitching that Azure running in Microsoft data centers and Windows Server and Systems Center running at customer sites is the best of the hybrid cloud universe. Read more »
Argue all you want about the relative merits of web vs native apps, but the market is the ultimate decider. And, according to one previously stalwart web proponent, for now that means going native. Read more »
While our data might have value, companies and governments disagree on what should happen to it after we die. Read more »
The current $249 Samsung Chromebook appears due for a refresh: A new model using Samsung’s octo-core chip is reportedly in the works, which will boost performance without hurting battery life. Read more »
Germany, South Africa, North Dakota—Google is investing in clean energy projects all over. Take a look at our map of where, what and how much. Read more »
Android is complicated. Sundar Pichai, the new head of Android, has to navigate a lot of tricky relationships in order to do his job, especially as Google-owned Motorola gears up for a reboot. Read more »
Google’s huge clean power investing project now includes Africa for the first time — a large solar panel farm being built in South Africa. Read more »
Motorola’s rumored Moto X phone is real: it’s coming later this year and will be built in Texas, CEO Dennis Woodside has confirmed. Read more »
Google’s Nexus 7 is nearly a year old and likely due for a refresh but didn’t make an appearance at Google I/O. Based on a Bluetooth certification this week, it looks like a new Nexus 7 with Android 4.3 is on the way. Read more »
Can you play a game with a Chromebook and iPhone without installing a thing? Yes, you can and we explain how on this week’s podcast. Also some tips for Pixel owners and our extension of the week: Turn off the lights. Read more »
If you’re a developer, chances are you use Amazon Web Services for something. Now if you want to authenticate Google and Facebook users for your app, you can do so. Read more »
All of the nifty features I’ve been using on the developer channel of Chrome OS are now available to the risk averse: Google updated the Chrome OS Beta channel. Here’s why it makes the experience better. Read more »
Have Microsoft shareholders finally hit the tipping point when it comes to share price and strategic direction? Nomura Securities analyst Rick Sherlund seems to think so. Read more »
Yes, there’s a new Nexus 4, but don’t get that excited just yet. The only difference is a fresh coat of paint: LG announced the Nexus 4 White, which loses the black back and side. Read more »
The European Commission is “almost 100 percent” likely to tell Google to improve its antitrust settlement proposals, Joaquin Almunia has told the European Parliament. The proposals would settle an investigation over alleged search bias. Read more »
Cloud vendors have a tough row to hoe convincing enterprise accounts to put mission critical data or apps on their infrastructure. A new U.S. government report may not help things. Read more »
Adtech has made great strides but is in a period of transition. The most pressing concern for publishers? The need for a soup-to-nuts provider that isn’t also a competitor like Google. Read more at paidContent »
Rockstar designer Paul Adams has ditched Facebook for startup Intercom. Before Facebook, Adam’s design work was integral with Google+ and circles. He’s not the first designer to leave Facebook after a 2 year stint. Read more »
Reports that Google has entered a bidding war with Facebook over the social-mapping service Waze may be just a gambit by the company to force a better deal, but there are compelling reasons why Google should make a bid. Read more »
Don’t like the cost of your cloud datastore? Wait a second, it’ll probably go down. Watch for rivals to jump in. Read more »
Voice search will be available as part of an update to Chrome for iOS “in the coming days,” Google announced Wednesday. It’s yet another part of Google’s broader effort to create a layer on top of its chief competitor’s mobile OS. Read more »
Are you ready for Google to take over the desktop? You’d better be if you use Chrome. With it, Google is making a play to rule the computing world as a back door to a new app economy. Read more »
Google’s moonshot lab Google X is buying up Makani Power, a startup that makes a kite-like wind power device. It’s probably the best place for the long shot, big idea that is high altitude wind. Read more »
An article from Data Center Knowledge points to things robots can do to increase efficiency in data centers. But hurdles lie ahead, and data centers will still need administrators, the article suggests. Read more »
Chrome was up front and center at Google I/O, but most of the developments were in services and APIs. If you add them all together, you get a nice vision of how Google plans to dominate the computing world through Chrome. Read more »
Roughly half a dozen new mobile operating systems will come to market over the next 6 to 12 months. Many of these look to be more sophisticated than the older ones controlled by Apple and Google, for whom serious competition could be just around the corner. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Fans of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer say she shouldn’t be blamed for the company’s history of failed acquisitions — but there are plenty of other reasons to be skeptical about Yahoo’s $1.1-billion Tumblr deal. Read more »
