Articles about Google
Google PRECOGS to pay researchers before they find software flaws
Google will pay you for bugs you haven't even found yet under a new program to help soothe frustrated researchers struggling to find flaws in ever harder software and services.
The Vulnerability Research Grants described as cash with "no strings attached" will allow security bods to apply for US$3133.70 to begin bug hunting …
Google pumps $60m into music company Kobalt
Google Ventures has pumped $60m (£39m) into London-based music tech company Kobalt Music, which helps publishers keep tabs on streaming services such as Spotify.
The company has already received a stake from Michael Dell's private investment firm MSD Capital, with the latest funding adding to the princely sum of $66m (£43m) …
STINKY nerds: Sick of horrifying chums with your terrible BO? Nosey Google wants to help
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Google has been granted a patent on a device to detect when a person stinks – to help them evade others to avoid embarrassment.
We would like to say that this is a loose interpretation of a more complicated patent, but that really is all there is to it: the web ad giant wants to tell when you flat out reek and how you can dodge …
Get off Twitter – and onto Google if you want to find TWITS and tweets
Twitter has reportedly inked a deal with Google so its tweets are once again embedded in the advertising giant's search results.
Twitter has 284 million active monthly users, apparently, and claims to have 185 billion unique views of tweets outside its website. However, slower user growth has prompted the company to look for …
EU: Competition Commissioner met Google chief Schmidt
The European Commission is remaining tight-lipped about what was said in a meeting yesterday between Google supremo Eric Schmidt and Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
A Commission spokesman would only confirm that the meeting had taken place, but would not reveal the substance. But that hasn’t stopped rampant …
Google strongly opposes plans to let ANY US COURT authorise digi-snoops
Google has strongly opposed US government plans to expand federal powers to authorise remote searches of digital data - claiming in a letter the powers will weaken citizens' fourth amendment rights.
The right is the part of the US Constitution that prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires any warrant to be …
Flash flushed: Google's AdWords to convert ads to HTML5 automatically
In the latest blow to Adobe's little-loved Flash graphics format, Google has begun nudging customers of its AdWords ad network to wean themselves off Flash by offering automatic conversion of Flash ads to HTML5.
"Over half of time spent online is now spent on mobile devices," the Google Ads team said in a Google+ post on …
End in sight for Google, Apple, Intel and Adobe wage-fixing lawsuit
An end to the four-year legal battle against Google, Apple, Intel and Adobe for alleged wage-fixing is in sight, with a judge having set a final hearing date for the proposed $415m (£270m) settlement.
Last month Google, Apple, Intel and Adobe offered to pay out $415m to make the case go away.
The companies made the new offer …
Google, Amazon 'n' pals fork out for AdBlock Plus 'unblock' – report
Internet giants Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Taboola have reportedly paid AdBlock Plus to allow their ads to pass through its filter software.
The confidential deals were confirmed by the Financial Times, the paper reported today.
Eyeo GmbH, the German startup behind Adblock Plus, said it did not wish to comment.
So far more …
OK Google: Gobble chat app Emu. OK Google, now shut down Emu
Google has confirmed that it has opened up its wallet to acquire the development team behind the mobile chat app Emu.
The web giant has not said what Emu's developers will work on at the Chocolate Factory, but we do know that the new jobs will not include maintaining any of the startup's products.
Members of the Emu team posted …
Google App Engine has THIRTY flaws, says researcher
Adam Gowdiak of Polish security consultancy and research outfit Security Explorations claims to have found myriad security holes in Google's App Engine.
Explained here, Gowdiak says he and his colleagues “discovered multiple security issues in Google App Engine that allow for a complete Java VM security sandbox escape.”
Here's …
Google rams Landfill Android into Indian Ocean folks' faces
Three new emerging nations have been added to the list of places getting Google's budget phone version of Android.
Android One will now be available in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, although the promised launch in Pakistan - planned before Christmas - has been put back.
The three new countries add an audience of 200m to the …
Google mouthpieces: 'Right to be Forgotten' should NOT apply on google.com
After much debate and a seven-city tour of Europe, Google’s self-appointed advisory board has finally published its opinion on the so-called “right to be forgotten”.
Last May, Google was ordered to remove links to “outdated or irrelevant” information about a Spanish individual by the European Court of Justice. Since then, Google …
Google reveals bug Microsoft says is mere gnat
Google has reported a local file flaw affecting Windows 7 and 8.1 32 and 64 -bit systems in the third vulnerability dropped since a spat with Microsoft erupted last week.
The vulnerability that allowed a malicious Server Message Block version 2 server to force a client to open arbitrary local files was marked high severity by …
Soz, web devs: Google snatches its Wallet off the table
If you sell digital goods on a website using Google Wallet to take payment, you have a little over three months to find an alternative.
The service is being “retired” on 2 March 2015 and will not be replaced. Google argues that there are enough alternative solutions, which might translate to mean “no one was using it”.
The …
'F*** you', exclaims Google Translate app, politely
It’s a small, yellow, earwig-like creature* that feeds on … no, wait, it’s Google’s new real-time language translation app.
Although sadly not an actual Babel fish, the Chocolate Factory’s latest upgrade to its Google Translate app does mean you can “instantly understand anything said to you in any form of language”.
From …
Google gives Microsoft office an awkward hug with new plugin
Google's given Microsoft Office an awkward hug by refreshing Drive so it plays nice with desktop applications.
Drive is Google's share 'n' sync offering and integrates tightly with its apps: drop a document into Drive and you can read or edit it in the Docs in-browser word processor. That tool's not to everyone's tastes and …
Speaking in Tech: Google takes Glass out to the wood shed
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speaking_in_tech Greg Knieriemen podcast enterprise
This episode of El Reg's talkative techcast is hosted by Greg Knieriemen, Ed Saipetch and Sarah Vela. Tuck in.
This week the team is back beating up on Google, and gloating over the end of Google Glass, or rather its "graduation" (“a bullet to the ****ing head”). It looks …
Another lick of Lollipop: Google updates latest Android to 5.0.1
Google is pushing out version 5.0.1 of Lollipop, the first update to the latest version of Android.
Users of Nexus 7 (2013 model), Nexus 9, and Nexus 10 devices can now download the update from Google.
You can also find the source for the Android Open Source Project version here.
There is no official list of changes, but users …
Google goes Dutch with new €600 MEELLION DC
Google is to splash the cash in The Netherlands to build a new €600 million (more than $US770 million) data centre behind the dike.
To be located in Eemshaven, the Chocolate Factory attributes the choice of location to the stability of Dutch energy supplies, according to Reuters.
Google already operates DCs in Ireland, Finland …
French space agency teams with Google for broadband balloons
France's space agency, the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), will team with Google to advance the Project Loon broadband balloons project.
As CNES points out, France has been messing around with balloons since the 1960s. Today the CNES has 60 staff working with balloons, the world's second-largest such program after the …
KUSHINIKIZA! Google Translate SAVES BABY in Irish roadside birth
Quick-thinking Irish paramedics turned to Google Translate to communicate with a pregnant woman who spoke Swahili, allowing her to safely give birth.
The Cork ambulance drivers were transporting a pregnant Congolese woman to a maternity hospital last week when she went into labour. Gerry McCann and Shane Mulcahy were forced to …
Google+ goes TITSUP. But WHO knew? How long? Anyone ... Hello ...
A number of Google services including Gmail, Contacts, Calendars, Chat, Drive and, er, Google+ suffered a midweek sag this morning just as Brits were downing their first cups of coffee.
The ad giant's network appeared crippled to some users within the last hour.
Register reader John told us that lots of different Google …
Google must free us from 'invisible web of our personal data' – DPA
Dutch data protection watchdogs have warned Google it will face fines of up to €15m if it doesn’t alter its privacy policy.
In 2012, the search giant “consolidated” the privacy policies for 60 of its services including Google Search, YouTube, Gmail, Picasa, Google Drive, Google Docs and Google Maps, thereby combining personal …
Google Now now SLURPS data from third party apps so YOU don't have to
Google has inked deals with 40 third party app makers, allowing the ad giant to rifle through data from the likes of Lyft and Airbnb to serve up "relevant information" to its Android users.
The firm said in a blog post on Friday that it would begin slurping the data from inside a number of apps for its Google Now service – a …
Yahoo!'s Firefox search hook-up pays off as it nicks Google's US clicks
Yahoo!’s marriage with Mozilla browser Firefox is winning the search engine clicks, according to one net tracker.
Marissa Mayer’s firm in January saw its third-place US search ranging grow to 10.9 per cent, according to StatCounter’s global stats.
Yahoo! was still third in market-share volume, but it's now in a slightly …
Google will see other clouds and raise them a PCI certification
Google has announced that it's obtained Payment Card Industry (PCI) certification for its cloud platform, chasing Microsoft and Amazon into the cloudy payment space.
The Chocolate Factory outlined the certification in this blog post, also announcing WePay as the first developer using the system.
WePay supplied the usual …
INTERNET of STUFF: Google to replace old Dropcams for $0.00
Dropcam, the home video camera company acquired by Google's Internet of Things limb Nest, is giving away new cameras to owners of its old cameras.
Dropcam's eponymous products are WiFi-connected cameras that make it easy to log on and peer at whatever it is they see over a video stream. The idea is that you'll buy a Dropcam and …
We come bearing internet: Google sends up Project Loon balloons in second test
Google is to run another test flight for its Project Loon internet-bringing balloons, this time sending up 20 new helium gas bags in Australia in partnership with Telstra.
The Australian Associated Press reported that a second trial of the moonshot project will be taking place over western Queensland in December.
Google had not …
Google signs up Sprint and T-Mobile to sell its cellphone plans – report
Google's plans to become a mobile phone operator – which we outlined earlier this month – have grown closer to reality with the news that the search giant has signed deals to run calls and data over Sprint and T-Mobile's network.
According to news reports, Google will become a virtual network operator by buying access to the two …
'Enterprise' ends ten-year mission: Choc Factory's biz services now Google for Work
Google has celebrated ten years of selling services to businesses by dumping the name Google Enterprise in favor of the touchier, feelier Google for Work.
"We never set out to create a traditional 'enterprise' business – we wanted to create a new way of doing work," said Google chairman Eric Schmidt in a blog post. "So the …
Google introduces Chromebook-control-freaking-as-a-service
Google's launched management-as-a-service for Chromebooks, as part of its ongoing efforts to make the browser-centric computers more attractive to business.
Google's announcement of the new service blends a few new items and a few previously-announced business tools. Perhaps most useful among the new bits is a single sign-on ( …
AWS Go-ing Google's way
The Go language, familiar to those working in the wonderful world of Docker, is inching its way into the Amazon Web Services environment.
In what'll be seen as a big win for the language, AWS is working on adding Go to its existing suite of SDKs – Java, C#, Ruby, Python, JavaScript, PHP and Objective C.
Created by Google …
Google may hook Kubernetes deep into own cloud
Google's Cloud Platform Live event in the USA next week may offer up some news on how The Chocolate Factory will allow developers to put Kubernetes to work in its own cloud.
Kubernetes is a tool Google developed and used to make containerisation more useful by making it possible to manage containerised applications. As explained …
Sony's super-frumpy SmartEyeglass goggles are $840 Google Glasses
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Do you like Google Glass, but wish the $1,500 headset was more cumbersome, less discreet, and a little easier on the wallet? Well, Sony has just the thing for you (and perhaps only you).
The Japanese electronics giant has announced an augmented reality headset that will ship in March. Dubbed SmartEyeglass, the nerdy-looking …
Google 'in talks' to buy THAT group, y'know, the one formerly known as ISIS
Google may be looking to buy struggling mobile payments firm Softcard, industry scuttlebutt suggests.
The Chocolate Factory is reported to have been snooping around Softcard with an eye to acquiring it for an undisclosed sum of cash that may be less than $100m.
Readers may remember Softcard as the mobile payments company …
OK Google, do I have CANCER?
Google says it is looking to develop a pill that could help detect the early stages of cancer or heart disease.
A researcher with the company's Google X project said that the Chocolate Factory's skunkworks is examining how nanoparticles could be used to detect the two potentially fatal illnesses before they get too serious. …
French minister: Hit Netflix, Google, Apple et al with bandwidth tax
France's culture minister is as keen as ever to tax tech behemoths to "level the playing field" for French TV and filmmakers.
According to news reports, Fleur Pellerin plans to introduce a new tax on "the use of bandwidth", although exactly how this will be calculated is not clear.
Back in 2013, when she was the country's …
Google dodges 'costly' legal precedent, settles Daniel Hegglin case
Google has avoided a costly legal precedent by settling out of court in an online abuse case due to be heard in the High Court today, legal experts have said.
Daniel Hegglin was seeking an injunction to force Google to block all traces in its search results of online abuse against him, following a defamatory anonymous campaign …
Google and Microsoft, sitting in a tree,
L I C E N S I N GEE!
Google has announced that Microsoft users can now deploy their licenses in its cloud.
The announcement means Windows Server, SQL Server, Exchange, SharePoint and other Microsoftery can now happily run in Google's cloud without the need for extra licenses.
The news brings Google to parity with Amazon Web Services, so this isn't …
YOU COMPLETE ME: Google and VMware in cloudy embrace
Google and VMware have forged a cloudy alliance that will see several of the former's services made available through the latter's vCloud Air service.
Google Cloud Storage; the BigQuery analytics and big data service; Cloud Datastore; and Cloud DNS will all be “tightly integrated” into vCloud Air.
The announcement about the …
Google purchases petite pollster Polar, purloined ppl punted Plus-wards
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Google will gobble up Polar, a business that specializes in polling software for phones and things.
The upstart announced on its website that it had agreed to shut itself down and join the Chocolate Factory's Google+ team. Polar's tools help websites and app-makers manage polls to be shown on desktop computers, tablets and …
Google absorbs Oxford Uni boffins in artificial intelligence boost quest
Google has hired seven academics from Oxford University and signed partnerships with the engineering and computer science facilities to help it develop its DeepMind artificial intelligence system.
"We are thrilled to welcome these extremely talented machine learning researchers to the Google DeepMind team and are excited about …
Google forced to – wah! – OBEY the LAW with privacy policy tweaks
Google has agreed to change its privacy policy to comply with the Data Protection Act following an investigation by Blighty's watchdog into the company's harvesting of personal information.
The giant ad broker was slapped by the Information Commissioner's Office back in July 2013 for being "too vague" when describing how it uses …
DAMN YOU! Microsoft blasts Google over zero-day blabgasm
Microsoft has slammed Google for disclosing a security vulnerability in Windows a mere two days before Redmond planned to fix the bug.
Google revealed the flaw on 11 January, 90 days after reporting it to Microsoft; the ad giant said the bug can elevate a user's privileges to administrator-level, thanks to some inelegant action …
Google+ GOING, GOING ... ? Newbie Gmailers no longer forced into mandatory ID slurp
Google has quietly removed mandatory signups to its unloved "network thingy" Google+, which new Gmail users had been automatically shoved into when creating accounts on the ad giant's web-based email service.
The Chocolate Factory was criticised by former employee and Digg founder Kevin Rose in January this year for linking …
NO CLASS: Judge chucks out two class-action lawsuits against Google
A California court has dismissed two class-action lawsuits, which accused Google of bad business behavior, on grounds that the plaintiffs couldn't provide sufficient evidence to support their claims.
The oldest suit of the two, which was filed by law firm Hagens Berman in May 2014, alleged that Google's habit of requiring …
Google's latest letdown: Simply not enough billions since October
Google's coffers swelled once again in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2014, with revenues hitting $18.10bn, a 15.3 per cent year-on-year increase.
The figures for the full year to December 31 were similarly encouraging. Revenues for all of fiscal 2014 amounted to $66bn, which was 18.9 per cent higher than 2013's sales. Net …
Say cheese! Europe's antitrust chief has Google boss in her sights – reports
If reports are to be believed, Google big boy Eric Schmidt is to meet Europe's new competition chief for the first time soon, in an effort to sort out the long-running court case against the Chocolate Factory and avoid a possibly substantial fine.
Reuters has quoted "sources" saying the antitrust boss would meet with Schmidt …
Google's Gmail staggers to feet in China as access partially restored
Access to Gmail in China appears to have at least been partially restored, after Google's web addresses were blocked over the weekend.
The People's Republic has consistently denied having deliberately blocked Google's services as part of its "Great Firewall" effort.
According to the Google transparency report, which displays …
