Over the weekend Google has announced that their Google Sky Map which was launched for Android smartphones back in 2009 and was created by a number of Googlers from the Pittsburgh office during their 20% development time. Will now be moving into the community of open source in a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University who will further development Sky Map in a series of student projects.

Google’s Sky Map’s development will now be driven by the Carnegie Mellon University students, with Google engineers remaining closely involved as advisors. In addition Google has also open-sourced the app so that other astronomy enthusiasts can take the code and augment it as they wish.

Today Google has rolled out a new fun feature to its Google+ social network that now allows users to add text to images. Enabling them to create their very own Memes directly within Google+.

Google has made it extremely easy to add text to a images. Simply drop an image in to the "Sharebox” on Google+, then click the "Add text” and your away. If you a Google+ user brace yourself for a tidal wave of images covered in text trying to be the next global meme.

Google explains:

... Read more »

Google already produces flagship models of its smartphones when it release a major new version of Android, which have been released under the Nexus name, with the latest one being the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which was released with Android 4.0.

Now it would appear that Google is considering doing a same thing with its Google TV platform, and it is reported to be in talks with LG who would produce the Google ‘Nexus’ TV for the release of Google TV 3.0.

The device may or may not use Google’s Nexus brand, but Google are reported to be developing a similar strategy for Google TV as it has done with Android, every time the release a major new version of Google TV, they will choose one manufacturing partner to build a flagship Google TV device for them.

LG recently showed off a number of Google TV device at this years CES, which came with the companies new voice controlled Magic R ... Read more »

Google has launched a new feature for developers of its Android apps, a new website called Android Design, and Google are looking to improve the design of third party applications for Android.

The website is designed to help developers make their applications look better, and it has lots of information on how apps can be integrated with Android 4.0 ICS, as well as information on how to design better user interfaces.

The Android User Experience Team is committed to helping you design amazing apps that people love, and this is just the beginning. In the coming months, we’ll expand Android Design with more in-depth content. And watch this blog for a series of posts about design, and invitations to Google+ hangouts on the topics you care about most.

You can find out mode details about Android Design over at the ... Read more »

Using the provided Google Android Market search feature is great if you know roughly what you are looking for. But if you prefer to have a good rummage around in the Android Market. The new Appgravity Android Market web application might well be worth more investigation.

The Appgravity Android Market search engine provides you with additional search filters making it easier to find exactly what you looking for. Or if you don’t will provide a good list of apps that meet your search criteria.

Appgravity’s Dustin Dickens explains how the search service works:

”We, along with a few other companies and developers, have effectively reverse engineered the Android Market’s public API,” – "Google is cool with (Appgravity) – all roads still lead back to their Market and we sell AdSense ads, but they aren’t making it easy on us by publishing the API do ... Read more »

Google has this week started rolling out new features for its Blogger platform that will enable users to easily add Google+ functionality to their sites. Back in October Google start allowing users to display their Google+ profile with their blog, in preference to their Blogger profile. Now the additional features allow you to share your posts on Google+. Once you have connected Google+ with your Blogger account.

Even though the features are relatively small at the moment the services will become more and more linked to each other over the coming months. If you haven’t already switched over to using your Google+ profile within Blogger, jump over here to setup the link now.

Source: ... Read more »

As well as the twelve fold out computer stations, which are spread out across two rooms,  there are also two large TVs with various game consoles, and when not in use the computer stations can be easily hidden.

Each of the computer stations are made up of a 27 inch Asus Monitor, and various Intel Core I5 PCs, you can find out more information about this awesome LAN party house over at Kenton Varda’s Blog.

Google’s StreetView seems to get everywhere, and we are sure Google are trying to map every single part of the planet, and now Google has taken their StreetView inside the Google HQ.

This is probably as close as most of us will get to seeing isde the Google Headquarters, and you can no use StreetView to see around the Google Campus, and even inside parts of the offices.

You can find out more details about Google StreetView and its tour of the Google headquarters over at Sociable.

Source The Next Web

Google has this week announced via a blog post that it is enabling, forward secrecy by default on its Gmail service. Which will make sure that any emails you have written today will stay as safe in the future when faster and more powerful machines will become available that might be able to decrypt the security.

Google explains that initially, only Chrome and Firefox will use the new forward secrecy by default, when using Google services, as at the moment Microsoft’s Internet Explorer doesn’t support the combination of ECDHE and RC4. But Google do hope to be able to support Internet Explorer in the future.

Google explains:

"Most major sites supporting HTTPS operate in a non-forward secret fashion, which runs the risk of retrospective decryption. In other words, an encrypted, unreadable email could be recorded while being delivered to your c ... Read more »

Google has announced that it will be merging its two payment options into one with Google Checkout now becoming a part of Google Wallet. Enabling user who are currently using Google Wallet to be able to make purchases on Google Checkout enabled websites.

If you are a current user of Google Checkout you account will automatically be merged by Google into Google Wallet the next time you login or make a purchase.

Google has also stated that it will be making Google Wallet a payment method for purchasing applications on the Android Market. All Google Checkout and Google Wallet users can now access online purchase history and payment information at the Google Wallet website.

Source: ... Read more »