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Get a preview of the new YouTube
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Design, Google, Internet,
YouTube is offering a preview of a possible redesign, and if you wanna get in on the action to check it out now, you can enable it yourself right now. They're calling is Cosmic Panda, and it definitely brings much more focus to the actual video content across the site, giving much more real estate to the video content (which is what you're there for, right?) and highlighting related content as well. Head on over to the link below to enable the Cosmic Panda design for yourself, and be sure to subscribe to Gear Live's YouTube while you're at it, kay?
The YouTube redesign follows two other Google property redesigns that we saw last week with Gmail and Google Calendar.
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| YouTube Cosmic Panda
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Will Google+ survive its own hype?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Editorial, Features, Google, Internet,
Google+, the presumptive Facebook killer, shows tremendous potential. As someone who warms up to any social network with the alacrity of a Galápagos tortoise, this, for me, is saying something.
Yes, I'm one of the lucky ones who got a pre-over-capacity invite. I've tried to share a couple, but new Google+ users are only gaining entrance at a halting pace.
The service, which initially stuck me as a blatant Facebook rip-off, actually has many of its own charms, not the least of which is the useful, somewhat addictive Circles. I know this topic divides Google+ users. Some people do not like to spend time organizing their social contacts. I'm not sure I do either, but the method that Circles employs for discovery and organization (dragging and dropping people into actual circle graphics, for instance) is addictive and easily blows away anything Facebook ever developed.
Click to continue reading Will Google+ survive its own hype?
Google in talks to buy Hulu
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Home Entertainment, Internet,
Google is now in preliminary talks to buy Hulu, the Internet video powerhouse that allows you to watch ad-supported television and movies, according to the LA Times. This is in addition to other companies like Microsoft and Yahoo, who've also met with Hulu about a potential acquisition. Interestingly enough, Google has been hard at work on finding a way to get the content that you typically find on Hulu over to YouTube to make the video sharing site a bigger competitor in the media space (not to mention a bigger money-maker as well.) The rights that Hulu has to current season television shows is obviously a valuable asset, and they've got over 600 advertisers as well. In fact, this year Hulu expects to earn over $500 million in ad revenue. The point here isn't to buy Hulu's technology--it's all about the content deals. The big question, though, is how long before those deals expire, and what happens then? This will be an interesting one to watch.
Read More | LA Times
People having a tough time getting a Google+ invite
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Internet,
When Google announced its "field trial" of Google+ this week, many wondered if the search giant had finally crafted a successful social tool or whether it would fizzle like Buzz and Wave. That remains to be seen, but at this point, it appears that many tech-savvy early adopters are at least eager to try it out: invites are now closed.
"We've shut down invite mechanism for the night. Insane demand. We need to do this carefully, and in a controlled way. Thank you all for your interest!" Vic Gundotra, Google's senior vice president of engineering, wrote in Wednesday night post.
Google+ made its debut on Tuesday and aims to connect people via specific friendship circles, interests, location, and more. Those visiting the plus.google.com Web site are currently met with a notice that says Google is "testing with a small number of people," but those who want access can sign up to get an email when it opens to a larger group.
Even those who have been invited, however, are having trouble getting access. "Already invited? We've temporarily exceeded our capacity. Please try again soon," reads a note on the site.
Click to continue reading People having a tough time getting a Google+ invite
Google Calendar picks up new Google+ inspired minimalist design
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Design, Google, Internet,
Looks like Google Calendar is also getting a new redesign to put it in line with Google+, similar to the redesign that Gmail is getting. You should be seeing the new design live in Google Calendar now, but know that there aren't any new features to go along with it. It's purely cosmetic. Do you like it?
Get a preview of the new Gmail design right now
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Internet,
Gmail is set to get a redesign that brings it in line with the the visual UI of Google+. While the final redesign hasn't been pushed out yet, you can still apply it to your current Gmail setup using a theme that Google has made available. Simply log in to Gmail and go into your theme settings and choose either "Preview" or "Preview (Dense)" to apply the new hotness. What do you think of the new layout?
Oh, and it looks like Google Calendar picks up the redesign as well.
Hands-on with Google’s Google+ social network
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Internet, Product Reviews,
Google's new Google+ social network, currently in a "field trial," can't quite avoid the stereotype that the company's products sacrifice usability for new features. Put simply, Google+ is a social network for geeks.
Unfortunately, Google can't help exposing numerous options to share, hide, protect, and discover photos, friends, videos, posts, and all of the other minutiae that make up today's online social interactions.
Underneath, however, there are some rather elegant features, including a lovely "Circles" interface to add friends, and a "Hangout" group video chat feature that holds promise.
But users used to Facebook's minimalist interface may find Google+ jarring. And, sad to say, Google's "field trial" suffered from overcapacity, an issue which may or may not have rippled into our evaluation on Tuesday afternoon. I and other staffers experienced numerous annoyances, which resulted from either poor design decisions, alpha glitches, or the overcapacity issue - I don't know which. Read on for our full hands-on with Google+.
Click to continue reading Hands-on with Google’s Google+ social network
Google looking to bring simplicity to Android with Nexus Prime
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Rumors, Software,
Following up on a report from last week, Boy Genius Report has added some key new details about Google's next Nexus phone, codenamed "Nexus Prime."
On Tuesday BGR editor Jonathan Geller said Samsung will once again manufacture the next pure Android cell phone, as it did with the recent Nexus S 4G.
"Nexus Prime" will be a flagship device for Android 4.0, aka Ice Cream Sandwich. Furthermore, the screen will use Samsung's "Super AMOLED HD" glass and come with a 1.5-GHz, dual-core OMAP4460 chip from Texas Instruments.
Notably, Geller also said "Nexus Prime" will lack carrier bloatware or manufacturer customization, much like Google's first Nexus phone, the Nexus One.
Click to continue reading Google looking to bring simplicity to Android with Nexus Prime
Google takes aim at Facebook with Google+
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: News, Social Networks,
Google on Tuesday took another leap into the social space with Google+, which aims to connect people via specific friendship circles, interests, location, and more.
Google+, which is currently operating via a "field trial," has four main components: Circles, Sparks, Hangouts, and Mobile.
"We'd like to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to software. We want to make Google better by including you, your relationships, and your interests. And so begins the Google+ project," Google said in a blog post.
Google+ begins with Circles, which helps compartmentalize all the people in your life. Google took a swipe at Facebook, arguing that putting everyone under the "friends" label hurts the ability to share. It becomes sloppy, scary, and insensitive, the search giant said.
"From close family to foodies, we found that people already use real-life circles to express themselves, and to share with precisely the right folks. So we did the only thing that made sense: we brought Circles to software," Google said. "Just make a circle, add your people, and share what's new—just like any other day."
Click to continue reading Google takes aim at Facebook with Google+
What does the Samsung Chromebook cost to produce?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, PC / Laptop,
How much does that Samsung Chromebook really cost? According to an iSuppli teardown, the device's bill of materials comes to $322.12.
With the manufacturing cost throw in, the Chromebook costs $334.32 to produce. Despite Google's emphasis on the software, meanwhile, iSuppli finds that it's the hardware that really makes the Chromebook sing.
"As much as Google would like to de-emphasize the role of user hardware, it is the hardware, in fact, that defines the Chromebook and will determine the success of the platform," Wayne Lam, a senior analyst at IHS, said in a statement.
The Chromebook includes "some advanced hardware features not typically found in low-cost notebooks," iSuppli said.
The motherboard is the most expensive part of Samsung's Chromebook, at $86.37, or 26 percent of the total bill of materials. The motherboard includes a 2GB Double Data Rate 3 (DDR) SDRAM, as well as a dual-core Intel Atom N570 processor and a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) for computing security from Infineon Technologies, which is most commonly found on enterprise-level computers, iSuppli said.
Click to continue reading What does the Samsung Chromebook cost to produce?
