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OK, Google: Now app offers glimpse of hands-free future of search

Google Search was already scarily good at knowing what you wanted -- sometimes before you even knew what you wanted. And now it'll talk back to you.

At Google I/O 2013, the company announced an update to its Google Now search app for Android and iOS as well as enhanced voice search for Chrome and Chrome OS.

For Google Now on Android and iOS, you'll start seeing six new card types, bringing the total to 23. Four of them seem entirely intended to sell you stuff from Google Play, displaying new music, video games, books, and TV … Read more

Google I/O: What we didn't get

The Google I/O keynote for 2013 is here and gone, but not without a fight; at nearly 4 hours, it was enough to challenge even the most rapt attention span.

Yet, Google I/O's central keynote event had precious little of the things we dreamed of and even downright expected. Instead, all most of us can seem to discuss is what we didn't get. Well, for starters:

No new Android OS: Despite a preshow rumor that Android Jelly Bean 4.3 would be unveiled, there wasn't any news. No Android 5.0, not even Android 4.… Read more

Google urges fast adoption of VP9 video compression

SAN FRANCISCO -- Google is nearly done with its VP9 video technology, and it wants the world to use it.

At its Google I/O conference Wednesday, company employees made the case for the royalty-free, open-source technology as a higher-quality alternative to today's dominant video codec, H.264. Moving to VP9 -- available now in testing on Chrome and YouTube -- will save bandwidth costs.

"If you adopt VP9, as you can very quickly, you'll have tremendous advantages over anyone else out there using H.264 or VP8, (its predecessor)," said VP9 engineer Ronald Bultje in … Read more

Galaxy S4 shot of pure Android boosts relationships, not sales

A pure Android Galaxy S4 isn't likely to drive blowout sales, but it could give Samsung and Google a boost in other ways.

Google on Wednesday at its Google I/O developer conference unveiled a special model of Samsung's flagship smartphone that runs a pure version of Android. What that means is the GS4 model won't ship with Samsung's oft-criticized TouchWiz user interface, and the device will receive Android system updates as soon as they're available.

But the device also has some drawbacks. It's pricey -- $649, to be exact -- and is only … Read more

Google I/O news roundup

CNET Update keeps it brief:

It took Google about three hours to deliver the keynote address at its I/O developers conference. But in this episode of Update, I sum up what you need to know in under three minutes.

More on the announcements from Google I/O 2013:

- Google Music adds All Access streaming music (hands-on)

- Google Play adds cloud saves, leaderboards, matchmaking

- Google+ gives photo lovers what Facebook doesn't

- Google Now voice search arriving on the desktop

- Google previews next version of Maps for Android, iOS

- Google revamps Maps with 3D, cards, social search … Read more

Google demands shutdown of Microsoft's new YouTube app

Google has sent Microsoft a cease-and-desist letter demanding Microsoft withdraw its redesigned YouTube app for Windows Phone 8 because it violates Google's Terms of Service.

The Verge first reported news of the letter, dated May 15, and included a copy of it on its Web site.

The TOS that the Microsoft YouTube app violates has to do with it blocking ads and allowing downloads of videos from Google's YouTube site.

From the letter:

"YouTube's agreements with creators give them choices inhow their content is presented and distributed, and your application takes away that control.The YouTube … Read more

Google's big push to own social starts today

Nearly two years after the launch of Google+, Google's social strategy looks like less of a joke and more of a calculated maneuver to make its social network the underlying fabric that weaves together relationships spread across desktop and mobile, Android and iOS.

Wednesday, at its annual Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco, the search company announced 41 new features for its Google+ social network, including a Pinterest-like look, auto-generated related hashtags, "Awesome" photo options, and a streamlined messaging experience.

More important than all the cosmetic changes to the stream or the flashy photo enhancements … Read more

Andreessen Horowitz raises funding for drone software

Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most prominent Silicon Valley investors, is leading an investment round in a company that's developing software for the commercial use of drones.

Called Airware, the Newport Beach, Calif., company provides several different platforms and tools for companies that want to invest in unmanned aerial systems (UAS), otherwise known as drones. Andreessen Horowitz led the funding round in the drone company, which raised $10.7 million. Google Ventures also participated in the round, according to All Things Digital, which was first to report on the news.

The key difference between Airware and the drones we … Read more

Google's 2013 I/O swag giveaway: Less is more

For Google, less is more.

That's the case with the tech giant's latest giveaway at its annual developers conference, which at face value might seem less generous than years past, though that turns out not to be the case when you do the math.

This year's haul: a Chromebook Pixel with LTE, the company's top of the line Chromebook, which sports a very high pixel density screen. Google sells it for $1,449 on its online store, though gave it away to all 6,000 I/O attendees.

All told, that adds up to $8,694,… Read more