plus

Google+ offers Hangouts on the go

Gone is the dashboard of icons that once greeted you upon opening Google+ for Android. Now, you can zip around the app with a drop-down navigation ribbon on the left of the screen. This gives you easier access to your Stream, Profile, Messenger, Hangout, Photos, and Circles. As a whole, the app is easy to use and just as intuitive as its desktop counterpart.

Stream Stream is really the lifeblood of Google+. Your primary view will probably be All Circles, but you can also swipe left or right to view other feeds like What's Hot (trending posts on the … Read more

How to schedule Google+ posts in Chrome

If you're a fan of services like HootSuite which let you schedule tweets, Facebook posts, and even LinkedIn notes, then you'll probably like Do Share for Google Chrome, as well. Unfortunately, sites like HootSuite haven't rolled out the ability to schedule posts on Google+ to all of their users. So if you're interested in scheduling a notice about a product launch, a reminder to a friend, or just your random thoughts, Do Share can help you out. 

This browser extension is very simple to install, and even easier to use. Here's how to … Read more

Bing pings Facebook

In today's show, we're Binging our friends, casting spells in Kindle's library, and bracing ourselves for the return of the browser wars:

Microsoft's Bing search engine now includes Facebook integration. When you search for something on Bing, a side panel will pop up and show which of your friends might help you with your search. So for example, if you search for hotels in Chicago, Bing will point out which of your friends live in Chicago.

Microsoft is also in the news today for stirring up the browser wars again. According to Mozilla, Microsoft is preventing … Read more

Google+ for iPhone

Google+ for iPhone is a clean and intuitive mobile app that has all of the powers of its desktop counterpart, save for the games and a few other minor features. The latest update to the app (as reported by Josh Lowensohn) adds a newly redesigned visual interface for Stream and other notable enhancements.

The Google+ app opens up to the redesigned Stream interface, but a button at the top left takes you to a dashboard of icons leading to the different sections of the service: Stream, Messenger, Photos, Profile, and Circles. Despite the new look, the interface works much like … Read more

Google+ comments to appear in Gmail

Google announced today that it's bringing "a better Google+ notification experience in e-mail" -- one that, among other things, will drop various commenting features directly into your in-box.

The "notification experience" entails a bunch of changes that makes Gmail "completely interactive" with the social network. The updates include being able to view, comment on, and +1 posts from inside Gmail's in-box, seeing comments appear in the Google+ stream in real time in a sidebar, and seeing responses from others "instantly appear" in Gmail as part of the notification message.

"… Read more

Hangout live with the world on G+

In today's show, it's time to Hangout with the world, seek out new smartphones and take a ride on the Yahoo drama train:

Your Google+ Hangout video chat sessions can now broadcast live to the world. Google made it easy to share the live stream of a Hangout on your Google+ page, or embed it on another Web site. You can see how many people are watching, and once the live show is done it can be uploaded to YouTube.

Google has been working with some television shows to broadcast their Hangouts live. If you want to check it out, … Read more

Liar, Liar: Shareholders demand firing of Yahoo CEO

In today's show, Microsoft makes things more difficult, jurors wrestle over Java, and the CEO of Yahoo has his pants on fire:

Yahoo's CEO Scott Thompson is being accused of lying about his college degree for years, and shareholders demand he's fired by Monday... or else.

The FBI says in this age of Internet communication, the department needs the power to wiretap into online chat and video services to find the evil-doers. CNET has learned that the FBI is talking to Internet companies like Facebook and Google, asking them to work with the FBI to build backdoors … Read more

Google News gets the addition of Google+ comments

In the continued omnipresent integration of Google+ into all of Google's products, the Web giant announced some new features to its U.S. edition of Google News today. In addition to larger images on the main page and real-time news coverage, the tech company is also adding "relevant" Google+ posts to its news pages.

Google News product manager Scott Zuccarino wrote in a blog post today:

Many news stories inspire vibrant discussions on Google+, and today we're starting to add this content to both the News homepage, and the realtime coverage pages. This way you can … Read more

Building a better beer tap with Android and Arduino

Drinking beer requires a certain amount of supervision. Regardless if the experience is self-monitored or kept in check by our peers, keeping a close eye on the proceedings is usually a good idea. While a free-flowing fount of beer may seem like a good idea (because it is), sometimes it's probably best to be kept under lock and key. Or in this case, under an NFC reader.

Google employee and home-brewer Paul Carff designed the KegDroid as a novel way to dispense beer. Users gain access into the system by using their own individual NFC tag or badge. Using … Read more