Jaikumar Vijayan

The general response to Google’s move to test black links in search results instead of the usual blue is a reminder of why it’s almost never a good idea to fix things that aren’t broken. Google this week, for reasons it hasn’t fully explained, began testing the use of black links in search results for […]

Starting this week, regular readers of Google News stories should start seeing a new “Local Source” tag highlighting local coverage of major news stories. The tag is designed to ensure that the work done by local news outlets in discovering and researching stories affecting their communities is not overshadowed if the story were to be […]

Google has integrated its BigQuery data warehouse technology for large-scale data analytics with Google Drive. Starting this week, businesses using BigQuery will be able to save their query results directly from the data warehouse user interface to Google Sheets. The integration will let BigQuery users query files from Google Drive, without having to load the […]

Users of Google’s slide presentation application now have an option to make presentations a more interactive experience for their audience. The company this week rolled out an update to Google Slides that it says gives users a way to collect real-time feedback from people who are watching a slide presentation. The new Slides Q&A feature […]

By the year’s end, Google hopes to have on the road the first few of what will eventually be about 100 new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans featuring the company’s self-driving car technology. As a first step in that direction, Google has entered into a collaborative agreement with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) under which the […]

Google has updated its Android keyboard application with several new features designed to improve usability and accessibility. The new Google Keyboard 5.0 represents a major overhaul of the application. It features changes to the keyboard user interface, layout and manner in which users can interact with it and input data using the application. The new […]

Google has acquired Synergyse, the developer of an interactive training app for customers of Google Apps for Work. In a statement May 2, Google did not disclose details of the acquisition but said that Synergyse’s virtual coach for Google Apps will now be available for free to all customers of Google Apps for Work and […]

The people most at risk of downloading Android malware on their mobile devices are those who install apps from unofficial third-party mobile application stores. But that doesn’t mean that those who download apps from Google’s official Google Play store are completely immune to malicious software. PhishLabs, a company that provides anti-phishing services, this week said […]

Machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities of the sort displayed by Google DeepMind’s AlphaGo system, which recently beat one of the world’s top professionals at the ancient Chinese game of Go, will play a key role in Google’s future. That’s the view of CEO Sundar Pichai, who on April 28 shared the company’s high-level vision […]

Campaign for Accountability (CfA), a Washington-based watchdog group focused on exposing undue corporate influence in government, has turned its attention to Google. The group this week launched a Google Transparency Project in a bid to shine a light on the Internet giant’s alleged influence on public policies, on the government and on consumers in general. […]

Google has extended an incentive program it has in place for businesses that currently might have contracts with other vendors to switch over to the company’s Google Apps cloud productivity suite for free. Google launched the incentive program last October in a bid to get more organizations to try Google Apps. Since then, more than […]

As it does relatively frequently with other topics, Google recently released a set of guidelines to help organizations ensure that any payment processing applications of theirs running on top of Google’s cloud platform comply fully with the requirements of the PCI DSS. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard refers to a set of security […]