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Google Teams Up with Ford to Build a Fleet of Autonomous Cars

According to anonymous sources, Ford and Google inked a deal to develop a fleet of driverless cars.

According to people familiar with the matter, Google teams up with Ford to build a fleet of autonomous cars in a bid to kickstart the world’s first automated ride sharing business.

The sources also disclosed that the partnership would be made public by the American automaker at the next edition of CES, in January.

Ford would benefit from the deal since Google has a wide expertise in self-driving technology. But Ford is not new in the business. It has its own fleet of driverless cars, which the automaker plans to start testing on California’s streets.

Google is already testing a fleet of more than 50 autonomous cars on the roads of California and Texas with the final goal of 1.3 miles. Google’s recent move will help the internet search giant save billions of dollars and years of research to develop its own division of car manufacturing.

The company said earlier this year that it was interested in partnerships with carmakers that could integrate its self-driving systems in their cars.

Sources also said that Ford would be protected from liability concerns as Google would separate the partnership on paper from the Michigan-based automaker. Taking responsibility for accidents generated by driverless cars on public streets sparked hot debates in recent years.

Volvo said that it would not dodge liability when it comes to car crashes in the driverless mode. Mercedes-Benz and Google Inc. soon followed suit.

Although we do not have the full specifics of the deal, we understood that it would not be exclusive. Google can negotiate and ink other similar partnerships with automakers both in the U.S. and abroad.

But most carmakers are already designing their own driverless systems over concerns that partnering with tech giants such as Google or Apple could expose their manufacturing know-how to competitors.

Volvo and Mercedes-Benz among others pledged to bring their own driverless cars to the showrooms by 2020.

Google declined to confirm the partnership. Ford, on the other hand, admitted its division that develops autonomous technology works with many tech companies. But the company would rather keep the partnerships secret for ‘obvious competitive reasons,’ a Ford spokesperson recently said. The automaker also declined to provide comments on ‘speculation.’

This month, Google announced that it would revamp its driverless car business to create a fleet of fully automated vehicles that would rival Uber and other ride-sharing and taxi-app-based companies. So far, Google’s fleet of retrofitted Lexus SUVs logged over 1 million miles of driverless driving.
Image Source: Wikimedia

Google Life Sciences Gets an Antiquated Moniker: Verily

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According to an announcement made Monday, the web search giant’s research arm into health and medicine Google Life Sciences gets an antiquated moniker: Verily.

The new word, which means ‘truly,’ features in 13th Century English literature including William Shakespeare’s Henry VIII play. ‘Verily,’ however, is still present in King James version of the Bible in our days.

The move may come as a surprise because a future-oriented division gets an outdated name. But chief executive Andy Conrad explained that the new name marks a shift from conventional approach of medicine also known as intervention to a more proactive approach which focuses on prevention.

Conrad also believes that only the truth would help us defeat nature.

Branding experts, however, said that in our times the antiquated new moniker could be associated with the Bible alone. Yet, the new name may mean that customers can trust Verily team and their research, if Google delivers its promises.

Kristen Pembroke, a branding expert from an Oakland-based company, believes that the new word is more approachable than Google Life Sciences and easier to pronounce. On the other hand, people may find the new brand name at least bizarre because ‘verily’ rhymes with ‘merrily,’ for example.

Verily is a research department that focuses on health and disease prevention. Its team consists in engineers, biochemists, doctors, and even a philosopher, because the why-s behind people behavior is as important to prevention as medical research is.

Google Life Sciences team was behind the contact lens that can track glucose levels in diabetics’ tears. The division also conducts research on health conditions that affect quality of life of millions of people in the developed world such as cancer, heart disease, obesity and mental health issues.

It currently plans to design other wearables that can assist patients and make their lives easier such as a tool that uses nanoparticles to diagnose cancer in its earliest stages.

Dr. Jessica Mega of Verily team explained that the department runs data mining projects to boost prevention. Verily thinks that disease can be prevented if we understand human behavior, family history, genes, and biological markers. The final goal is to create customized treatments that meet every patient’s needs.

Although the ambitions are high, Verily team is not that large – about a few hundred people work for the department, but they also collaborate with fellow researchers form big pharma companies and universities. For instance, Verily recently closed a deal with Novartis to monetize the recently released contact lens.
Image Source: Flickr

Google’s Android Auto Doesn’t Phone Sensitive Car Data Back Home

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According to a recent report, Google’s Android Auto doesn’t phone sensitive car data back home as an automobile magazine said in a recent review of Porsche’s forthcoming 911/2 models.

The review piece said that the German car maker decided to use Apple’s CarPlay instead after learning that Android Auto collects sensitive data on the car including speed, oil and coolant temperature, gas pedal position, and engine revs while the system is on.

Google recently said that the company is focused on protecting user data and that it doesn’t collect all the data the car magazine claimed that it did in the article. For instance, Android Auto does not record oil and coolant temp or gas pedal position. Additionally, each user of the system needs to opt in which data will be shared with the tech company when they first connect to Android Car.

The data collection is made for safety reasons and to improve user experience. For instance, the system helps drivers be hands free while driving and can guide them through the vehicle’s GPS.

Android Auto has many other useful features for drivers. The system can share info with the connected device on GPS position since the vehicle’s system can tell more precisely the GPS location than a smartphone. Android Auto also restricts typing and allows only voice recognition when the car is not in park, so that the driver doesn’t get distracted.

But the car magazine cited off-the-record sources in its “13 Cool Facts About the 2017 Porsche 911.” Despite Google’s Liz Markman’s statements that Google’s Android Auto doesn’t phone sensitive car data back home, i.e. to Mountain View headquarters, sources claim that the tech company does just that.

The article also say that Porsche took the decision not to include Android Car in two models of its popular 911, slated to be released in 2017, on ethical grounds. The article’s editor said that the tech giant wants a “complete OBD2” every time the driver uses the system.

Google denied such claims but declined to provide a list on the data that its car system did collect. It is still unclear why Volkswagen – the parent company of Porsche – opted for Android Car. And why 35 more OEMs did it as well including Audi.

Yet, many companies are concerned about their car data safety and delivering it for free to a tech giant that has its own line of (autonomous) cars in testing. According to other reports, Google agreed with auto makers to collect fewer data than it initially requested.

Image Source: Wikimedia

NASA and IBM Plan To Solve Earth’s Problems

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NASA has requested scientists, developers, engineers and artists from all around the he world to design apps for some futuristic ideas. The challenge was launched during the space agency’s annual space apps hackathon, which will take place this weekend.

The event lasted three days and was organized in more than 135 locations around the world, while the global competition is hosted by New York City.

What started out as easy road for NASA to gather innovative ideas from the outside has become an important platform for the agency, but also for technology companies and academic institutions to scout global tech talent.

This year’s edition marks a collaboration between IBM and NASA to provide cloud services to all those participating at the hackathon, the company announced Tuesday.

Participants will be offered access to IBM’s Bluemix platform, but also to other signature tools developed by the company, like some of the features of supercomputer Watson which is used to crunch NASA data. IBM specialists will provide technical support during the event.

Google, Intel, Microsoft and other tech giants are among dozens of partners and associates on the competition.

“We want to provide developers access to the top technology trends to spur innovation,” said Sandy Carter, general manager of the IBM’s cloud division. The decision to team up with NASA is a three-fold strategy to raise awareness about Bluemix, encourage interest in technology careers, but also connect with the developer community and.

The company held a similar project at Washington’s Howard University in March, offering supercomputer Bluemix as a development platform to computer science and engineering students. Only last week. IBM announced it would invest around $3 billion in a new business unit called Internet of Things.

For the NASA hackathon, IBM wants to award $120,000 worth of Bluemix services to 30 winners who came up the most creative and innovative apps.

These awards are in addition to NASA’s own prizes, which will be offered by judges in five categories, among them “best use of data,” and “most inspiring.” The winners could have their apps used during NASA projects.

NASA’s robotics challenge, but also also the space exploration, human health and earth science areas are also represented at the event. The agency needs apps to track asteroids, print space food, improve crop growing practices, but also measure and improve astronaut health.

The event will be held April 10-12 and participants can register on the NASA Web site.

Image Source: Tech News Today

Google Is Setting Up A Gmail Bill Payment System

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According to some reports, Google is setting up a new Gmail tool that would allow account holders to pay their bills from directly within the famous e-mail service.

A a document published by Recode website, the new service will be called dubbed Pony Express. Ti would enable Gmail users to pay service providers and other bills without ever leaving the inbox page of the Google web-mail service.

The initiative would require Gmail users to sign up using their real name, social security number, phone number and payment information. Google would use a third-party financial company to ease payment on behalf of the service provider and after that to make the transaction with your money.
After providing the credentials, the user would have the option to connect the bank account to Pony Express. Currently, this can’t be done with Google Wallet, so it’s possible that Google will broaden the Wallet service to encricle linking of bank accounts.

Pony Express would save users the trouble of logging into their respective accounts each time they wish to pay a bill. All the bills would also be sent to a special folder within the Gmail account, which will greatly help users to keep record of payments that are due.

The report states the service will also give users the option to split bills with other Gmail users, a neat feature that would be very helpful for members who live in the same space and all use a particular service.

According to the document, Google is planning a late-2015 launch for the service, which would stretch Gmail’s reach further. The company is already consolidating Gmail information, such as appointments and travel schedules into Google Searches. Also, the new Gmail Inbox app is showing prevalent information such as incoming shipments.

It’s also possible the IT giant could use this scheme as part of its plans to further expand the Google Wallet mobile payments platform. It’s not yet known if this will be a paid feature, but Google would try to monetize it at some point. The new Google service will require a few days to make sure payments arrive on time, and offers an will offer a accelerated delivery for the bill payments.

According to other reports Google is also developing a service which would allow users to authenticate mobile payments nu simply typing their initials.

Image Source: Mashable

Hot 2015 Technology Trends to Watch For

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Although there were numerous technological advances in 2014, experts agree that 2015 will be an even more advanced and exciting year across several markets. This will become even more evident at this year’s Las Vegas-based International Consumer Electronics Show where enough gadgets to fill 35 football fields will be on display.

The event will bring in anywhere from 150,000 to 160,000 professionals who between January 6 and January 8 will unveil all types of technological items. However, there are a number of specific technology trends that consumers, as well as competitors should keep an eye on.

Connected / Smart Cars – One of the fastest growing markets specific to technology is the automobile industry. At this year’s Electronics Show, 10 automakers will provide information and demonstrations on what are being called “connected” or “smart” cars. For instance, BMW plans to unveil a car that can park minus a driver using a smart-watch controlled, laser guided i3. Examples of other automakers with technologically advanced vehicles include Ford, Audi, General Motors, and Mercedes Benz.

Wearable Devices – Wearable technology was a huge hit in 2014 and for this year, this area is expected to expand. Although the Apple does not participate in this annual event and the Apple Watch will not be on display, there will be more than 100 booths specific to wearable accessories for devices manufactured by this company. Other devices at the event will include smart watches from other makers, fitness trackers, and even headwear similar to the ever popular Google Glass.

4K Televisions – Another huge trend that consumers are excited about is the high-definition television. However, the new 4K televisions are unique in that they offer four times the resolution of traditional TV’s with high-definition. In all, more than 100 models of these televisions that come in a wide range of sizes and styles will be on display from dozens of companies.

Internet Connection – Probably one of the biggest attractions at this year’s event has to do with the internet. A number of devices will be unveiled designed to connect to the internet, as well as other devices. One area includes home automation systems such as smart door locks, lighting, thermostats, and even beds capable of collecting information as to how an individual sleeps.

3D Printers – Another hot technological trend for 2015 is the 3D printer. As the price for this type of printer begins to decline, sales are going up. Even though additional innovative hardware and software is needed to bring the cost of 3D printers down to about $1,500 or lower, many experts believe this will become a reality sometime this year.

Robotics – There will also be a special section at the event specifically for consumer robotics. This is something that has been marketed for years but thanks to technological advances, it is quickly become a more affordable and realistic option. For instance, the iRobot by Roomba is an industry leader.

Prototype For Self Driving Car Revealed By Google

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Google is trying to astound the world again, this time by unveiling its new prototype for a working self-driving car. The completed version of the prototype was shown for the first time at the company’s test track in northern California. Google expects to bring the vehicle to market within five years with help from partners in the automotive industry. The engineers at Google will continue to fine tune and refine the vehicle in the meantime to have all of the kinks worked out before the car is brought to market.

The project is becoming more and more of a reality with each day that passes. Google recently announced its search for partners in the car industry that could help Google bring its vision of mass-market self-driving cars to fruition. Back in May, Google gave the world the first glimpse of its innovative ideas for the car with a non-working mock-up version of the vehicle. This mockup was missing many of the essential parts to make the vehicle actually work, including the steering wheel, accelerator or brakes. On the completed model, all of these components are present and working.

The new prototype is fully functional and a number of its capabilities were on display during the unveiling event. The company believes that its innovative design could transform mobility for the masses by a significant degree. The company wants the vehicle to be basic and easy to use, transporting people to where they want to go with a push of a button. Internally, the vehicle contains little more than a few buttons and a screen for displaying your route. The online components of the vehicle are expected to run on the Android operating system.

The biggest concern with a self-driving car is the safety of the vehicle. The prototype uses a grid of 64 lasers that scan across 360 degrees in connection with a camera and GPS data to create an electronic image of what is around the vehicle. The vehicle has sensors that remove blind spots and can detect objects as far as 200 yards away in all directions. Built-in software models for the vehicle are designed to react to both predictable and unpredictable scenarios. The speed of the prototype is currently capped at about 25 miles per hour.

Google’s Vice President Sets Skydiving Record

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Yesterday, Alan Eustace, vice president of Google, broke the skydiving record for the world’s highest parachute jump. The record was previously set by Felix Baumgartner in 2012 but plunging 135,890 feet from the atmosphere while wearing a specialized suit, 57-year-old Eustace set a new record.

Just after dawn yesterday morning, Eustace was lifted up from an abandoned runway at an airport in Roswell, New Mexico while tethered to a high-altitude helium balloon. After reaching the jump point more than 25 miles up in the stratosphere, he spent roughly 30 minutes just taking in the view before making the descent.

Eustace shared that while descending he hugged onto the equipment module tightly, tucked his legs, and held his heading.

The free fall that hurtled Eustace toward the ground at a speed of 822 miles per hour took approximately 15 minutes to complete. Just 90 seconds into the fall, a small sonic boom was set off as the sound barrier was broken. Then around 18,000 feet, he opened his parachute, ultimately landing 70 miles from the point of takeoff.

Even though Eustace topped the previously set record for height, Austrian Baumgartner’s fall hit a greater speed of 843.6 miles per hour at the fastest point.

Once safely back on the ground, Eustace told the New York Times that the experience was amazing and beautiful. He said the darkness of space could be seen, as well as actual layers of the atmosphere.

It took three years of training for Eustace to get ready for yesterday’s free fall. Even though he set a new world record, the fanfare surrounding his jump was relatively moderate compared to the publicity around Baumgartner’s jump. However, aviation experts gave Eustace praise for the amazing accomplishment.

According to Mark Kelly, former astronaut, it is incredibly significant to break an aviation record. Kelly also stated that something like this comes with a tremendous amount of risk and to set a new world record safety speaks volumes for the people involved with the endeavor.

The Paragon Space Development Corporation was responsible for orchestrating Eustace’s jump, which has a solid reputation for leading a variety of projects designed to explore the stratosphere and for some time has been trying to develop a self-contained spaceship that one day could be sold commercially.

Differences in the Two Free Falls

Both free falls were incredible yet different in several ways.

Baumgartner reached the stratosphere in a capsule rigged with multiple cameras that allowed people back home to watch things in real-time whereas Eustace reached his jump-off point via helium balloon and a GoPro camera strapped onto his suit

Baumgartner was able to complete several test runs while Eustace took just one shot

Baumgartner had tremendous financial support from his Red Bull sponsor while all expenses for Eustace’s jump were paid for out of his pocket

Baumgartner attempted to promote Red Bull whereas Eustace focused on the promotion of future human exploration of the upper atmosphere

Google’s Reinvented Inbox Email System Launches

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Google launched a new inbox email system that is not intended to replace Gmail but rather focus on the most important things in email folders. This system is similar to both Gmail and Google Now yet loaded with exciting new features.

Simply called “Inbox”, the application expands on categories that were introduced last year for Gmail. However, according to Google, Inbox makes it easier to handle similar types of email simultaneously. By choosing specific emails to group, Inbox can be trained whereby it becomes adaptable to the way a person works.

Key information is highlighted from important messages to include event information, flight itineraries, documents, and photos emailed by family members and friends. Inbox will also display valuable information from the internet not originally part of the email such as package delivery schedules and real-time flight status.

As reported by Google, Bundles and Highlights work in tandem to provide exact information a person needs but at a glance. Focusing on priorities is much easier, by allowing users to add Reminders for daily tasks. Regardless of what the reminder is for, this application becomes a centralized location for monitoring things that need to be followed up on.

Inbox features snooze emails and reminders that if not read immediately will get a reminder to resend but at a better time and location. The application also makes it possible to obtain archived emails with a quick swipe to the right. When swiping to the left, a dialog box is pulled up whereby a user can send an email back to the inbox if not responded to within a specific time. This ensures emails are not forgotten but also makes scheduling of future emails more efficient.

Inbox works with Gmail Priority Inbox, which most testers feel is the best feature. As an algorithm for Gmail users, messages as “important” and “everything” else are automatically categorized. With just a few weeks of training, Gmail’s artificial intelligence becomes nearly flawless at detecting important messages versus those of a low-priority nature.

The application has the ability to choose numerous messages at a time to set reminders or archive and when conducting a search for specific subject matters or people, it pulls up associated contact information, as well as all recent emails.

On the downside, testers wish Inbox offered preset reminders and had better alert settings. However, besides just a few things, Google’s new Inbox is an amazing application that hopefully will become available for everyone in the near future.

As of now, Inbox is available by invitation only and as to how Google selects those who will try it first, no information has been released. Apparently, Inbox is in beta mode at this point but if it does what it is supposed to and is received as Google anticipates, it could quickly replace the currently popular email system Gmail.

With Inbox, time spent on various tasks is cut dramatically. Even though there are still a few glitches and not all of the features have been implemented, Google believes this application will quickly become users’ favorite. Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman with Google, has a philosophy of “Be responsive”, which seems to be the very thing Inbox is built around.

Google Unveils Nexus 9 Tablet, 6 Phone, and TV Player

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The battle among technology companies continues as Google unveils the new Nexus 9 tablet, Nexus 6 phone, and an android TV player. All of these products will serve as showcase devices for the newest version of Google’s Android mobile operating system, fondly Lollipop or Android “L” for short.

The Nexus 9 tablet with a wide 8.9-inch display screen was manufactured by HTC, a Taiwanese hardware maker while the Nexus 6 smartphone was produced by Motorola Mobility and boasts a 6-inch display. For the Android player by Asus, this streaming media device is the first to run on Android TV.

Both the Nexus 9 and Nexus Player can be preordered starting October 17 although the products will be available in stores November 3. This player to include remote control will run $99 although an optional controller is available for an additional cost of $40. The Nexus 9 with 16GB will sell for $399, the 32GB version for $479, and the 32GB version with LTE, $599.

As far as the Nexus 6, this can be preordered on October 29 and sometime in November, it will be sold through carriers like US Cellular, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile in the US only. The 32GB version of this device unlocked will run $649 while the 64GB version is only slightly higher at $699.

Included with the Lollipop launch are different user accounts, guest user mode, and the ability to choose between different security measures to include a PIN, pattern, password, and linking to a secure device.

Google is making its way into the phablet market by offering the larger screen phone of the Nexus 9, similar to a hybrid phone and tablet. Reportedly, the Nexus 6 will have the code name “Shamu” and features a larger screen than Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus with a 5.5-inch display and the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 with a 5.7-inch screen.

In addition, Google wants to create devices that run on a pure Android experience, meaning that hardware manufacturers like HTC, Motorola, and Asus cannot tweak the user interface thereby changing preloading custom apps or the software. Currently, Nexus products are the closest thing to this, which create a lot of attention among Android fans.

Today’s announcement comes before the scheduled press event for Apple on Thursday. Google is trying to gain more control of Android, which is the most widely used operating system in the entire world specific to smartphones and tablets whereas Apple’s iOS powers iPhones and iPads.

According to Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Ancroid, Chrome, and apps for Google, Lollipop is designed for a world where people are required to interact with different screens throughout the day associated with phones, tablets, and even televisions.

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