Google

Google Classroom app lands on iPhone and iPad

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Google today launched mobile apps on iOS and Android for its Classroom initiative. The service, which has seen 30+ million assignments submitted since its debut last summer, aims to help teachers save time, paper, and improve communication with students.

The app adds even more efficiency, allowing teachers to issue and track assignments from their phone or tablet. Students will enjoy it as well, as it lets them view and work on homework, with the ability to import from other apps, and live chat with classmates.

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Apple, Google reach new deal to end employee poaching suit

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe have reached an agreement that would settle their long-standing antitrust class action lawsuit with Silicon Valley employees, reports Reuters. The suit, filed in 2011, accused the 4 tech giants of conspiring to avoid poaching each other's employees in an effort to keep a lid on salaries.

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Google releases Chrome Remote Desktop app for iOS

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Google released its long-rumored remote desktop app for iOS today. Dubbed Chrome Remote Desktop, it's available now in the App Store for both the iPhone and iPad, allowing you to securely access your computers from either device.

Setup falls in line with other remote desktop applications. You'll obviously need Chrome installed on your computer (PC, Mac and Linux), the desktop client, and the aforementioned iOS app, and then you simply follow the instructions.

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Apple ranked #11 among top patent recipients in 2014

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple was awarded just over 2,000 patents by the US Patent and Trademark Office in 2014, according to data compiled by IFI Claims Patent Services. That amount is good for a 13% boost over 2013, and enough to rank it #11 among top patent recipients for the year.

A total of 19 US-based companies appear on the 2014 IFI Claims Top 50 list. IBM finished in first, with 7,534 patents awarded in 2014, keeping its 22-year streak alive. Samsung came in second with just under 5000 patents, followed by Canon, Sony and Microsoft.

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Smart driving assistant Automatic now connects your car and home with Nest

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 11, 2017

First preview at CES 2015 a week ago, Automatic, makers of the popular connected car adapter, today officially announced a new feature to connect your car and home with Nest, the smart thermostat from Google.

The integration enables communication between your car and home through intelligently chosen rules that give the Nest thermostat a more timely understanding of when heating or cooling is needed and more importantly, when it's not.

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Google Hangouts gains smart location sharing, statuses, deeper Voice integration and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 6, 2015

Google on Tuesday added new features to its Hangouts app for the iPhone and iPad, namely deeper integration with its Voice telephony service, a pretty smart way to share your location with others, the ability to tell your friends what you're up to via status messages and more.

Today's refresh follows last month's Android app update which introduced a similar set of enhancements. These newly introduced features are available on iOS right now so go ahead and download Hangouts free in the App Store and take the app for a spin.

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Google Cast can now stream music to wireless speakers, sound bars and receivers

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 5, 2015

Google on Monday made another effort to take on AirPlay, a wireless media streaming technology from Apple, with the introduction of Google Cast for audio, The Verge is reporting.

Basically an update to the Google Cast SDK, it lets you stream your music from mobile devices to Cast-ready speakers, sound bars and receivers, some of which are already on the way. Cast technology is already used in Chromecast, a $35 HDMI dongle available in 27 countries.

An accompanying Cast SDK allows programmers to create multi-screen experiences which let users send and control content like video from a smartphone, tablet or laptop to a display device such as a large screen television set.

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Google+ gains iPhone 6 support, iOS 8 Share extension and polls

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 22, 2014

Google's official iOS client for the company's social network, Google+, has finally received a refresh for the new iPhones, more than three months after the handsets have hit stores.

In addition to native support for the new 1,334-by-750 and 1,920-by-1,080 screen resolutions of the new iPhones, the updated software brings a useful Share extension allowing you to send stuff to Google+ from other apps, the ability to vote on polls embedded in Google+ posts and bug fixes.

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Google wants to be the standard to power your car infotainment system, no smartphone needed

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Google has plans to release a new version of Android that will be directly built into cars, getting rid of the need to pair the car's infotainment system with a smartphone for a user to access features, reports Reuters. This is a big move from Google's current Android Auto and Apple's CarPlay, which require a phone to be connected to stream music, access maps, and more. 

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Waze updated with Notification Center widget and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated June 21, 2018

The Google-owned Waze updated its iOS app today, bringing the crowdsourced mapping software to version 3.9.2. Don't let that build number fool you, however, as the update brings about some significant changes.

Perhaps the most notable addition is the new Waze Today Widget for iOS 8 devices. The widget allows you to quickly view your ETA for Home or Work, navigate with one tap, and easily send your current drive & ETA.

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