Todd R. Weiss

The latest Version 35 of Google’s Chrome Web browser has been moved to the stable release channel and is being distributed automatically as an update to users’ computers. Also moving to stable Version 35 releases and moving out in automatic updates are Google’s Chrome OS and Chrome for Android products. The updates were announced in […]

Google Maps is working with first responders and municipal officials around the world to help them be better prepared for natural disasters and other emergencies by using map visualizations to track problems and plan recovery scenarios. The flexibility and potential benefits of using Google Maps when disasters strike was raised by Jay Remley, director of […]

Google just bought mobile device management vendor Divide, adding to its recent acquisition streak that’s seen Google buy at least four other companies since April alone. The Divide purchase was announced by the mobile device management company in a post this week on its blog. The price for the transaction was not disclosed. “We’re thrilled […]

Google Play customers who want to buy apps and digital content through the online store can now use PayPal to pay for their online purchases, giving them yet another option for faster, easier payments for the content they want to get onto their devices. The new PayPal payment option was announced by Ibrahim Elbouchikhi, the […]

Google is celebrating the 40th birthday of the Rubik’s Cube puzzle by introducing a series of Google Chrome Experiments that give puzzle lovers new ways of playing, experimenting and succumbing to the challenging 3-D puzzle. The new Chrome Experiments based on Rubik’s Cube were unveiled May 19 by Richard The, a designer in Google’s Creative […]

Apple and Google’s former Motorola Mobility unit have ended their ongoing legal battles with each over smartphone patents by filing a joint motion with a U.S. District Court of Appeals to dismiss their lawsuits against each other. The motion was filed May 16 by the companies, which had sued each other over smartphone patents dating […]

YouTube is about to acquire video-game streaming vendor Twitch, which was formerly known as Justin.tv, for more than $1 billion, according to a report by Variety. The pending acquisition is based on anonymous sources, according to the report. The Twitch gaming community serves more than 45 million visitors per month who broadcast, watch and chat […]

Opponents of Google’s recent practice of scanning Gmail messages to help target advertisements to Gmail users continue to pressure the search giant on the issue. The latest salvo comes from Jeff Gould, the president of industry group SafeGov.org, who launched an angry attack on Google in a May 15 blog post after Google described its […]

Google has just unveiled a new version of its Google Search app for Apple iOS devices, featuring a raft of new capabilities that provide instant information, helpful reminders and more. The updated app, now in Version 4, is available to users immediately through the Apple iTunes store for iPhones and iPads. Among the key updates […]

Google Glass Explorers now have three more travel apps to use with their Glass devices while they explore and expand their horizons around the world. The new Glassware apps, announced May 15 in a post by the Glass team on the product’s Google+ page, are available through the special MyGlass portal, which can be accessed […]

Taking a Google Street View Time Warp Trip Through the Past by Todd R. Weiss Freedom Tower, New York City In this image from September 2007, the planned Freedom Tower—the 104-story, 1,776-foot-tall structure being built near the footprints of the original World Trade Center towers—begins construction with site work (foreground) in lower Manhattan. Tower Taking […]

A court decision in the European Union that could force Google to remove offensive information in searches at the request of individuals is receiving harsh criticism from IT analysts who say that such a policy could ultimately diffuse the credibility of the Internet itself. The decision, announced May 13 by the Court of Justice of […]