Google

When Google announced this past Monday that the company would be releasing App Inventor, an app development tool requiring zero programming knowledge, a number of questions arose around the tech sphere. Would this lead to an explosion of Android apps? And if so, how are we supposed to filter through all the 'crapps' that are sure to enter the marketplace (Attention, World, I invented a word: crap+apps=crapps). Does this mark a turning point where programmers start to become obsolete? Read More

Audi is offering the option of a factory-installed WLAN hotspot on its new A8. The system will enable front and rear seat passengers to tap into Internet access at up to 7.2 Mbit/s by dropping a data-capable SIM card into the car's Bluetooth phone or by pairing your existing phone. Read More

Google's front page today pays tribute to the iconic video game, Pacman. It's just 30 years ago today since Pacman was first released in Japan, indicating the warp speed at which gaming has become part of the global social fabric. Fittingly for such a landmark date for a landmark game, Google's front page is more than just an idle tribute – it is actually a fully playable game of Pacman and will be seen around 3 billion times during this 24 hour period. Read More

Google has claimed 30% and 35% improvement using the V8 and SunSpider benchmarks with its latest Chrome beta release. Chrome launched in September 2008 and Google says the overall improvement since the first beta is as much as 213% and 305% using these benchmarks. The company has also come up with some novel (read thoroughly unscientific but a bit of fun) ways to test the latest release against some "real life" speed benchmarks. So is it faster than a potato gun? Read More

If you are trying to search the web using a language other than English and you don't have the correct keyboard handy, well, there's bound to be a problem. Google has come up with a solution by integrating virtual keyboards into its search engine. Now up and running in 35 languages, the on-screen keyboards allow input in a local language script without any additional software and no matter what computer you are using. Read More

Android Market is the online software store for Android devices – it's Google's answer to Apple's Appstore on iTunes and for much of its short life (born 22 October 2008), it has been but a pale imitation of the all-conquering iPhone's biggest strength. Just 12 months ago Android Market held less than 3000 apps compared to the AppStore's 35,000 but the marketplace is now beginning to roll, and developers are responding, and with 8,000 + apps added in each of the last two months, the Android Market now holds 50,000 apps and should pass 100,000 by the end of the year. Read More

Google has launched a new open-source project for its Chrome browser that will enhance 3D graphics rendering capabilities without the need for users to download additional drivers. Dubbed ANGLE (Almost Native Graphics Layer Engine), the project aims to allow Windows users to run WebGL content without having the traditionally necessary OpenGL drivers installed. Read More

Google plans to roll-out an experimental trial of an ultra high-speed 1 gigabit per second (1Gbps) fiber-to-the-home (FFTH) broadband service that is around 100 times faster than most Americans experience today. Google says the service will be delivered to a number of cities or communities – 50,000 to 500,000 residents - somewhere of its choosing in the USA in a effort to investigate new ways of making Internet access better and faster for everyone. Read More

Google has ripped the camera rig off one of its Street View cars and slung it on a snowmobile to bring slope view to Google Maps. Now web skiers will be able to experience some of the runs the world’s best skiers will be racing down when the Winter Olympics kicks off this week. The slope-level imagery complements new aerial imagery of the Vancouver-Whistler area to give sports fans a different perspective of competition venues and courses. Read More

When reconnaissance pilots brought back precious surveillance photos during World War II (WWII) they could not have imagined that they would one day be comparable with the cityscape seen from satellite 50 years into the future, and available around the world at the touch of a button. Google has made this possible with new functionality for Google Earth - historical WWII imagery - giving people a unique opportunity to see the effect of past events using today's mapping technology. Read More