Latest Gear Live Videos
Google Maps fail: Looking for MapQuest?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Internet,
One of our readers sent us this screenshot of a typical Google search, and we agreed that it was worth a chuckle. As you can see, rather than giving Google Maps results, Google instead served results pointing to the MapQuest map of the address. Funny.
[Thanks, Buddy!]
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SXSW 2010: Twitter and an Airline: A story
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Editorial, Features, Google, Internet, Transportation, Wireless / WiFi,
My friend Jeff Pulver commandeered a room on the 4th floor at SXSW and had several people who he has met around the world present what they believed were success stories about the Twitter service. This goes hand in hand with the 140 Conferences that he is throwing around the world. One such speaker, Bowen Payson, was from the airline Virgin America that has been using Twitter to outreach to their customers.
Bowen began his session by speaking about the differences in their airline from a physical experience. From the black leather Recaro seats, to the mood lighting. Their on-demand in flight entertainment is just as high tech as their communication strategy. The Twitter story began without a strategy and unfolded and matured into more than
60,000 followers as I write this. Their main social contact, Nick Schwartz is the voice of the airline and loves social networking, partially because of his age. They try to keep a consumer centric voice and mind set, and work to make the experience better incrementally.
Click to continue reading SXSW 2010: Twitter and an Airline: A story
Nexus One coming to Sprint
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Google, Handhelds,
Just yesterday we let you know that the Nexus One had made it to AT&T and Rogers Wireless, and that it would be hitting Verizon this Spring. Well, Sprint, not wanted to be left out of the party, announced today that the Nexus One would be coming to their network as well! They have no price, nor a release date, but hey - at least now we know that Google’s flagship device will be available soon on all four major US wireless carriers. That’s gotta count for something, right?
Read More 
| Sprint
Nexus One now compatible with AT&T and Rogers Wireless!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Google, Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi,
Looks like Google is finally ready to be serious with the Nexus One. As of today, the device is fully compatible with AT&T 3G, as well as Canada’s Rogers Wireless 3G bands. Previously, you could use the Nexus One with those carriers, but you wouldn’t be able to get 3G speeds, so you were relegated to the much slower EDGE network. You can purchase the new model, which is the same as the upcoming Verizon and currently available T-Mobile Nexus One units in every other way, as an unlocked device without a service plan, directly from Google for $529.
Read More | Nexus One product page
Steve Jobs hates Google CEO Eric Schmidt?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Google, Rumors, Videos,
Those are some strong words, but if CNBC journalists and analysts are to be believed, the relationship between Apple and Google is so strained as they both compete to win in the mobile space that it has come to a point where “Steve Jobs simply hates Eric Schmidt.” Hey, if that hared fuels the fire of innovation and competition, then it’s the consumers who will walk away the winners in this battle. Amiright?
Google: China Hackers Stole Valuable Source Code
Posted by Finnian Durkan Categories: Google, Internet,
According to McAffee CTO George Kurtz the cyber-attacks that occurred in January targed a small number of employees who controlled source code management systems. These source code management systems handle the myriad changes that developers make as they write software, the breach of which can have a cascade effect across multiple levels of Google and as many as 30 other business targeted in the January attacks. Aside from being awesome and using ‘cyber-attack’ in a sentence, I also have some valuable source-code for sale at rock-bottom prices; check out my store at ‘CyberNinjaAssassinCassanova138’ on eBay.
Read More | ComputerUser
What is Google Voice? A video explanation
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Internet, Videos,
Google Voice, formerly GrandCentral before Google acquired it, has been around for a few years, but the company is really just now starting to push the product hard. They’ve put together a great channel on YouTube that describes each major feature (like voicemail transcription, personalized greetings, SMS to email, the mobile app, and more) individually, but we figured we’d throw the Google Voice overview up there so give you a taste of what we mean. Hit up the Google Voice YouTube channel to check out the rest of the video series, and to request an invite to the service.
Google Chrome for Mac and Linux picks up extension support, bookmark sync
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Internet, Software, Videos,
For all of you running the Google Chrome browser on Mac and Linux platforms, you’ll wanna update to the latest version of the beta, which includes support for extensions, as well as bookmark syncing. There are already over 2,200 extensions available in the Chrome Extensions Gallery, so you can get a bunch more functionality in your browser, dare we say, a more Firefox-like experience, just by updating. Seriously, go do it. Oh, and if you need to see how it all works visually, hit the demo video above that Google put together.
Read More | Google Chrome
Google looking to test fiber Internet at gigabit speeds for up to 500,000 people
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Google, Internet,
Oh, hello there, crazy drool-worthy and inexpensive ultra high-speed Internet from Google! Yeah, that’s right, Google is looking to launch an experimental, ultra high-speed broadband network in a small number of trial locations across the United States. We are talking about Gigiabit fiber to the home speeds here. The only thing that currently comes close is Verizon FiOS, and their current download speed tops out at 50 megabits per second. Gigabit would be 1000 megabits (or, 128 MB) per second, which is just insultingly fast. Even better? They want to launch it at inexpensive prices in the launch/test cities. So, why would they do this, and what would be the benefit?
First, competition. Google wants to bring the price down while bringing the service level up, and they are putting their money where their mouth is and challenging other ISPs right on their home turf. If you had a choice between crazy-fast Google Internet and sucky Comcast, you’d likely end up going with Google in a heartbeat, since it’s like 200x faster, and less expensive. Second, Google is getting into the web apps business hard. It would be ideal for them for web applications and native desktop applications to have no difference in speed, and you can bet that they’d be deploying these tests to optimize the hell out of their web app products. Make no mistake, they want Google Docs to run just as fast in your browser as Microsoft Word runs when you launch it on your local machine.
We love this, and despite having a 50/20 FiOS connection, we want it badly. Google, bring this to Seattle, k?
Read More | Google Fiber for Communities
Google Buzz announced
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Internet,
Google just announced their latest product, called Google Buzz. Buzz will be integrated into Gmail, similar to the way video and chat had been integrated into Gmail. Buzz is akin to Twitter, but uses the Gmail UI. They’ve incorporated auto-following of those in your contacts list, a rich UI, and options for public and private sharing. Alongside Google Buzz, the company has also introduced a new mobile homepage, a mobile Buzz web application, and a new version of Google Maps for Symbian, Android, and Windows Mobile (with other platforms to be updated soon, apparently) to incorporate Buzz features.
