Todd R. Weiss

Google has joined the Open Invention Network (OIN), which was created in 2005 as an intellectual-property company that works to promote, protect and openly share Linux patents among its members and the open-source community. Google’s move to join the OIN was announced by Chris DiBona, Google’s director of open source, in a Dec. 18 post […]

Apple’s iTunes store wants to give its members some presents this holiday season to thank them for their purchases all year by unveiling its “12 Days of Gifts” program, which will feature a free downloadable product each day. The 12 Days of Gifts will run from Dec. 26 through Jan. 6, 2014, and will feature […]

Overheating power chargers for some Hewlett-Packard Chromebook 11 machines has spurred a recall of the chargers after some owners reported problems with the units. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued the recall Dec. 17 and is advising Chromebook 11 owners to immediately contact HP and Google for a free replacement charging unit. The […]

Nelson Mandela topped Google’s 13th annual Zeitgeist list for 2013 as the most popular trending search for the year, followed by searches for the actor Paul Walker and the Apple iPhone 5S. Google releases the Zeitgeist, or “Spirit of the Times,” lists and an accompanying Year in Review video each December to highlight the top […]

Google has purchased Boston Dynamics, adding to the search giant’s recent string of robotics company acquisitions that it’s been making in the second half of 2013. The Boston Dynamics purchase was first reported Dec. 14 by The New York Times, giving Google its eighth robotics company acquisition since June as it expands its presence in […]

The Google Maps team just made a significant hire, bringing in Blaise Agüera y Arcas from Microsoft, where he had helped develop Microsoft’s Bing Maps. The move to Google by Agüera y Arcas was unveiled in a Dec. 15 blog post in The New York Times, which noted that he will work on machine learning […]

Google has released some useful new development features for game apps developers, including the ability to add realistic physics actions to their games for fans. The new capabilities were unveiled in a Dec. 11 post on the Android Developers Blog. “In this mobile world, games aren’t just for the hardcore MMOG fan anymore, they’re for […]

Google is now making its feature-laden Chrome Apps offerings available to Apple Macintosh desktop users, delivering them to Mac users after first debuting them to Chrome and Windows users. “A few months ago we announced Chrome Apps which bring the best of productivity, games and more to your desktop,” wrote Google software engineers Trent Apted […]

Some 80,000 residents in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood will be getting free public outdoor WiFi service by the middle of 2014 under a new initiative announced by the city. The project will cover some 95 blocks in Harlem and is being paid for by a donation from the Fuhrman Family Foundation, according to an […]

Google Translate, which helps people communicate with others using non-native languages, has just added nine more languages—including five in Africa–to its offerings, which now provides translations for 80 languages. The milestone was announced by Arne Mauser, a Translate software engineer, in a Dec. 10 post on the Google Translate Blog. “Whether you’re trekking to a […]