Author: purifyhd

Report: Google building Amazon Echo competitor

Everywhere, there has been a lot of great reviews and a lot of news about the Amazon Echo, the in-home voice assistant. According to The Information, Google is working on a new product that is similar to the Amazon Echo, but they have not offered any of thep [potential] product’s features, pricing, looks, release time, or anything. This little tidbit of information comes from a report from Nest, which was acquired by Google in 2014. It is part of a report that says that Nest has “stalled” innovation. Currently, they offer two major products, the Nest Protect, Nest Thermostat, and Nest Dropcam.

According to The Information, Nest has requested to be part of this project, but it appears that it was turned away by the team at Google leading this effort. Nest’s product line has slowed to an almost halt since the ownership of Google.  The report says that Tony Fadell’s oversight of the company can be to blame. He tends to apply constant pressure to rework features and make designs better.

Amazon Echo has been a huge success for Amazon, earning spectacular reviews and outstanding sales. This device is still getting new features and more advanced things through new firmware.

It is not likely, but it could be announced at this year’s I/O conference coming up in May.

 

Header image thanks to The Verge

Apple’s iPad Pro mini will reportedly cost $599

We are now a few days out from the ‘iPhone 5SE’ event. Apple is expected to be unveling a new iPhone, a 9.7 inch iPad Pro, and potentially some new Watch stuffs. This will become the new “base” model. It is expected to baseline at 32GB but is also rumoured to have a 128GB option. This new iPad is not an iPad Air 2 replacement, and you should not expect a price drop in the current one.

Continue reading Apple’s iPad Pro mini will reportedly cost $599

Apple’s iCloud reported to be partially powered by Google’s Cloud Platform

Written by Lance Nickel

According to a few sources, iCloud will be partially powered by Google Cloud. Apple seems to be cutting their spending costs with Amazon. A move on this level is a huge achievement for Google’s flourishing cloud enterprise.

It has never been made official, but it is reported that iCloud is currently powered by Amazon Web Services and Microsoft’s Azure. Apple is reportedly paying Google between $400 and $600 million for this deal. Apple is not planning on dropping Amazon completely, but they are starting to cut back on that service to save money. (Because of all companies… Apple is the one that needs to save money).

At the writing of this article, Google is #3 when it comes to enterprise cloud services. They recently hired VMWare co-founder Dianne Greene to lead their cloud services. They are planning on making the service more affordable in the years to come.

Google is often more affordable because of their extensive fibre networks that connects their data centers at high bandwidth, and low costs. A while ago, Spotify made the announcement that they will be using Google’s Cloud Platform for their music.

It will take just about a year for iCloud to be completely running on Google’s servers, but it will eventually happen.

header image thanks go globaldots

Material Design guidelines now include “Bottom Nav” guidelines

Written by Lance Nickel

Google has added some things to their Material Design guidelines. These guidelines are rules and tips for designers looking to design apps on Android, to make the ecosystem consistent. The design is based of off “quantum paper”, which means that many elements use life-like shadows, physics, and other things, while still being smart like a computer.

As you know, Google Photos received an update, which added a bottom bar. Google Plus has had this for a while (Android versions), and they seem to be different. Maybe Google will update them?

The thing that kind of annoys me about Material Design is that Google themselves do not adhere to these rules as much. As nice as this system is, it could be a lot more consistent across Android, let alone Google’s own suite of Apps.

Here are some guidelines for the bottom navs:

  • It should only be used if there are 3-5 top level views
  • Less than 3 views? Use a tab bar.
  • More than 5? Use a slide-out nav.
  • It should be fixed and not scrollable.
  • Web based apps can use them as a sidebar, rather than a large bottom bar.
header image thanks to Google

Android N factory images are ready to install

Written by Lance Nickel

If you happen to own a Nexus 6P, 5X, 6, and 9, or you happen to own a Pixel C, you are in luck.

Today, Google released the developer version of Android N. You can download if you are a developer via their developer website. This is actually a surprise, because Google usually releases these previews during their I/O keynote, but that is not coming for another few months.

Some new features that developers are able to play around with (and make their apps compatible with) are some new native split screen technology. They also have a new notification system that they can take advantage of, as well as quick replies from the notifications.

Of course, with all of the updates, they will have performance improvements in this version, and this time were are expecting to see some new battery saving features.

For most people, the [soon to be released] beta program will be the easiest method. This method will install this version like any over the air (OTA) update. For those of you who like to use a computer to flash your phone, that is already up and available for download.

header image thanks to Google (Android)

How to turn your old PC into a Chromebook (for free)

Written by Lance Nickel

The funny part about the cloud computing era is that the top of the line new notebooks (Chromebooks at least) tend to be less powerful than an older PC. That is because everything is handled by the servers that you use your products with.

No need for storage, Google Drive has that covered. No need for fast processors, server end coding has that covered.

This company called Neverware created an installer that dual boots your old PC or Mac with Chromium OS. Because these systems are lightweight, they will run this without a problem. Most likely faster than most modern Chromebooks. These are meant for applications in school buildings with older computers, and usually not the budget to replace them.

But, this company also offers a free download to anybody who stumbles upon their website. Which means that anybody can turn their old computers into a Chromebook.

The software works off a version of Chrome OS called Chromium. It is an open source version of Google Chrome OS, and is run by Google and many other people. Since it is open source, you can use it without an extra cost, you can modify it without any ramifications, and you can surely share it with your friends.

This is perfect for somebody who wants a basic operating system for their older computers just to do email or some other things without paying for a new one.

And where it can really shine is in the developer market. People can download it for free and get a feel for the Chrome OS environment in an almost carbon copy of Chrome OS.

header image thanks to TechRadar

Marshmallow comes to the Verizon Note 5

Written by Lance Nickel

Verizon’s variant of the Note 5 was the first from Samsung to get the update in the US. And to make it even better, it has been updated to 6.0.1 build MMB29K, the latest version.

The updated started to roll out on March 4 as version VRU2BPB2, so if you can’t get it tonight, do not worry. To check for the update, go to settings, tap About Device > Software Updates > Check for Updates.

Verizon’s changlog has some new features such as Google Now on Tap, Doze, WiFi Calling, Live Broadcast improvements, and some UI tweaks to make it look more like the recently released Galaxy S7.

https://youtu.be/cL6XykstOHs