google

It still hasn't been officially announced, but already people are lining up to get their hands on the iPhone 6, which Apple is expected to unveil in a press event on Tuesday, September 9. The question is, will the new iPhone 6 have a significant ... impact on Apple's market share? In the fourth quarter of 2013, Apple's share of the mobile phone market sat at 12.9%, with Android-based systems at a record high 81%. While its share has declined substantially over the years, it's reported that Apple rakes in 56% of all the profit, which is more money than all of its competitors combined. (Source ... (view more)

Google is teaming up with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers to try to make " green energy " more practical. It's running a million dollar contest called " Little Box Challenge " to try and reduce the size of a key component in ... bringing renewable power to homes and businesses. The competition is based around the fact that electricity comes in two forms: alternating current (AC), and direct current (DC). Alternating power is used in homes and offices, with its flow of electrical charge changing direction continuously. On the other hand, direct current ... (view more)

A web developer has started a site which displays Google censored links, enforced by the " right to be forgotten " rules in Europe. It's another example of how such censorship rules aren't working as well as planned. The new rules came into force ... earlier this year after the European Court of Justice made a final ruling in a long-running case involving Google and a Spanish man . The man wanted Google to remove a link to a news article from the 1990s about his property being repossessed. The man said it was unfair that people who searched for his name online would see that ... (view more)

Microsoft is drastically expanding the amount of cloud storage available to both its OneDrive users (formerly SkyDrive), and Office 365 software suite: from 7GB to 15GB, and from 25GB to 1TB respectively. The changes are likely made to increase ... awareness of Office 365, and slated to take effect some time next month. If you want to synchronize data across multiple devices for free, this is a great opportunity to experiment with cloud-based storage. Typical usage includes data backup and sharing documents or pictures. Microsoft OneDrive is available to the general public (for free), so long as ... (view more)

If you could control the majority of your home and appliances with a smartphone, which devices would you want to control? Google has pondered that very question, and has recently announced plans to open up its 'Nest' technology to independent ... developers, so that household gadgets can easily communicate with one another. Nest, which Google bought for $3.2 billion in this past January, made its name with an "intelligent" thermostat system. The system automatically learns your patterns of activities in the home with preferred heating and cooling levels. It then automatically develops a ... (view more)

Facebook has altered its privacy policy and it's unlikely the change will be popular with the social network's 1+ billion members. In the next few weeks, Facebook will begin tracking user activity outside of it's own web site, so that it can ... generate 'more appropriate' advertisements tailored towards its members. In the past, Facebook kept close tabs on what its users posted to their profiles in an effort to bring forth more relevant advertisements. But the social network only monitored user activity on the Facebook website itself, including the pages they liked and the links they clicked ... (view more)

Amazon has unveiled its very first smartphone and it's bringing a whole new approach to high-tech mobile. Rather than concentrating on building a smartphone that looks better than the competition, Amazon is offering consumers a device that could ... potentially make shopping -- both online and off -- easier than ever before. Amazon chief executive officer Jeff Bezos unveiled the Amazon Fire Phone in Seattle, Washington, this past Wednesday. The device is priced similarly to Apple's iPhone 5S and Samsung's S5. The 32 gigabyte version of the Amazon Fire Phone will retail for $199 with a ... (view more)

Google has spent half a billion dollars purchasing Skybox, a firm that operates a suite of specialized satellites. It says it will use the satellites to improve its mapping services, offer Internet access to remote areas, and help in disaster ... relief. The move, however, has prompted speculation that the technology might used to gather highly confidential data, and could even find itself commandeered by US government. Skybox Satellite Technology Offers Real Time Insight Skybox is open about the fact that its satellites are designed more for gathering data, rather than communications. It says ... (view more)

A senior executive at Google thinks his company has a serious racial diversity problem. Recent statistics released by the high-profile technology firm, which reveal that just 2 per cent of Google's workforce is black, appear to support that claim. ... Google Overwhelmingly Male, White, Stats Show Earlier this week Google released diversity numbers which show that 61 per cent of the company's workforce is white while 30 per cent are Asian. Only 2 and 3 per cent of Google's employees are black and Hispanic, respectively. Google is also overwhelmingly male, with men making up 70 per cent ... (view more)

Google is set to build its own fleet of self-driving cars from scratch. The new autonomous cars will have no steering wheel, which will present significant legal hurdles in order to get them on the streets. To date, Google has been working with ... traditional auto-makers to make what are effectively modified versions of existing vehicles, retrofitted with autonomous technology. The cars, which have been tested on public roads, have the usual steering wheel and pedals; pressing an emergency button allows the driver to take over the controls from the computer instantly. How the Self-driving Cars ... (view more)