Jaikumar Vijayan

Four years after launching its Cloud SQL managed MySQL database service, Google on Dec. 10 announced the beta availability of what it described as a second-generation version of the service. The updated service leverages improvements in Google’s Compute Engine hosted cloud infrastructure service and disk storage capabilities to deliver better scalability and performance per dollar, […]

Google’s Safe Browsing technology is now available by default on versions of Chrome running on Android handsets. All Android users running Version 46 or higher of Chrome should find Safe Browsing enabled in their browser, the company said Monday. Users can verify this by going to Chrome’s Settings menu and choosing the Privacy option, Google […]

Google is seeking to patent a technology that would enable the needle-less drawing of blood for the medical testing of patients with diabetes and other health conditions. The company’s patent application, published Dec. 3, described the technology as a pneumatic particle accelerator designed to shoot a micro particle through a small, hollow tube with enough […]

Google released a new API that it says will allow developers to build applications that can see and understand the content of images. Google’s Cloud Vision API is available in limited preview mode and leverages the company’s expertise in machine learning, especially with technologies such as the recently open-sourced TensorFlow. In a blog post this […]

Google has signed contracts to purchase a staggering 842 megawatts of energy over the next few years to feed its power-hungry data centers. But in keeping with the company’s commitment to environmental conservation, all of it will be in the form of renewable energy sourced through several solar and wind projects in the United States […]

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has accused Google of deceptively collecting and mining personal data of school children, a claim that Google vigorously denied Dec. 2. In a complaint filed with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission this week, the EFF said Google collects, stores and analyzes data on the Internet sites that students visit, the […]

Travel website eDreams has changed some of its display ads on Google search after European budget airline Ryanair sued both eDreams and Google earlier this week, claiming the ads were deceptive. In a statement Wednesday, Ryanair welcomed the quick response from eDreams, but said both Google and eDreams have more work to do to prevent […]

Robert Rose, one of the main engineers behind automaker Tesla’s recently launched Autopilot self-driving car technology, has joined Google. But it’s not immediately clear if Rose is part of Google’s autonomous car project, as some have speculated, or if he’s with a separate Google robotics operation that has been without a head for the past […]

Google has been granted a patent for a technology that would let an autonomous car notify pedestrians of the “intent” of the vehicle at crosswalks, stop signs and other such areas. For example, a self-driving car equipped with the technology might use an electronic sign, lights, a speaker, or robotic hands and eyes to inform […]

Google has released a new technical paper and reference implementation for organizations looking for help in extracting value from the voluminous log data generated by their cloud applications and services. Such log data can give companies valuable insights into not just how their applications might be performing but also how customers are interacting with them, […]

Google released Version 2.0 of its Android Studio integrated development environment (IDE) for developers of Android applications. The new tool is currently available in preview via the Canary Channel for Android Studio, which is the channel that Google uses to deliver the latest updates to the technology. Google introduced Android Studio in May 2013 as […]

Google has combined its Google for Work, Cloud Platform, Google Apps and other enterprise cloud businesses into an integrated unit headed by Diane Greene, founder and former CEO of VMware. The company has also acquired Bebop, an enterprise software development firm founded by Greene that was operating in stealth mode prior to Google’s purchase. Google […]