Androids Returned More Than Other Gadgets

Just how high are return rates for the platform? One source stirs the pot.

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Anxious To Get Google's New Mobile Payment System?

If payment systems that use your phone take off, having to carry cash or credit cards around may soon be a thing of the past. Consider the risks first though.

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Reduce Your Android Security Risks

Threats against Google's mobile platform have increased 400% in the last year, but common sense will protect users against many of the attacks.

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The End Of Wireless Tether For Android

Google is stopping customers of certain wireless networks from downloading apps for Android devices that allows them to tether other devices.

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iPad2: A Reflection Of Jobsian Philosophy

It's hard not to love a week in which we are graced with two holidays. On Tuesday we had National Pancake Day, an unabashed marketing creation by the likes of IHOP to rekindle America's love affair with flapjacks. On Wednesday we celebrated National iPod Day, an equally-scripted spectacle by those maestros of tech marketing at Apple to fan the flames of tablet lust. The iPad 2 has been covered like a blanket this week, so by now most technophiles already know the essential new features and how it compares both with last year's model and this year's competition, but the key to Apple's success in this market can be found in the closing remarks of Jobs' keynote (see the stream here). Under his leadership, Apple has evolved a very different way of looking at technology; a viewpoint that sees tablets as a wholly new category, with uses and users distinctly unlike those of the PC. Truly, the rest of the technology industry is from Mars, while Apple is from Venus.

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Can BlackBerry Survive?

The recent euphoria over Verizon finally prying the iPhone from AT&T's exclusive grasp, along with the almost weekly announcement of new Android products, has probably left smartphone pioneer RIM feeling awfully neglected. While the BlackBerry is merely the latest in a long line of technology products that can lay claim to the honorary Mark Twain "Reports of My Death Are Greatly Exaggerated" award, if not outright dying, the BlackBerry may be slowly creeping to irrelevance.

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Codec Wars: What About Mobile Devices And Content Sites

Last week I commented about Google's decision to eliminate support for the H.264 video codec standard from Chrome and while I initially focused on the implications for PC users, given the growing use of mobile browsers, I wondered if the ramifications could be even more significant for them. Well, on further reflection, I'm not too worried, at least yet.

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Google's Video Announcement Creates More Heat Than Light

Google created quite the Internet buzz last week with their announcement dropping support for the H.264 video codec standard as the default HTML5 video player in Chrome, opting instead to use technology from the open source WebM project. Although H.264 is an ITU standard for high definition video and is already widely used on Blu-ray discs, apparently it's not open enough, or perhaps as easily manipulable, for Google's liking. Since their original announcement was woefully short on specifics, using vague arguments like "the open and community-driven development model is a key factor in [the Web's] rapid evolution and ubiquitous adoption" -- something presumably missing from an ITU standard -- it opened the door to widespread speculation on ulterior motives.

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FUD Strikes Chrome OS

Chrome OS is one of those rare Google products that's accompanied by almost universal skepticism. In fact, their Cr-48 laptop proof-of-concept was on the received a fair amount of opprobrium. Admittedly the hardware isn't close to the elegance of a MacBook Air, but the objections primarily focus on Chrome's operating model, not the device. The complaints fall into four categories:

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Google's Office Trojan Horse

It's no secret that Google has been eying Microsoft's lucrative Office application franchise since the release of the premium, supported version of Google Apps a couple years ago.

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Google v. US: More Than Competitive Sniping

The conventional wisdom is that Google's lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Interior is just an indirect shot at Microsoft. But there are larger issues at play.

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The Autonomy of Google And Facebook Services

At last week's TechCrunch Disrupt, Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg both touted a new technology that will be key to the growth of both companies. This technology is autonomous search, which lets sites and services know what you're looking for before you even search for it.

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Unsolicited Advice For Adobe, Apple, Google, and Microsoft

Adobe, you really need to get your act together. A person who knows you recently told me that you're shifting a number development jobs overseas and that some engineers are polishing their resumes in anticipation of the worst.

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Google To Warn Admins Of Malware Infestations

It's been made very clear that one of the greatest threats to Web safety is reputable Web sites getting nailed with malware - and their web masters don't even know it. That malware then infects users - who also go unaware that they've been pwned. This week, Google is taking steps to try to turn that tide.

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Google's Twelve Boring And Indispensable Years

So this month Google officially turns twelve years old. Looking back over that time, three concepts stick out when I think of the many Google services I've seen and used; utilitarian, unexciting, can't live without them.

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Mobile Platforms: Who's On Third?

If you made mobile development tools, which platform would be the third you supported? The first two choices are easy. The next one, not so much.

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Google Doubles Down On Security

While Google Apps has proven to be an attractive option for many small businesses and start-ups, many other businesses (especially those with higher security requirements) have shied away from the service. But a new security feature may address these issues, and in the end make Google's services more secure for all users.

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Google Me? Meh.

Details are starting to emerge about Google Me, the company's rumored Facebook-killing initiative that is beginning to sound like Google Buzz Harder. Google is apparently planning to enhance its existing services with social features rather than building a version of Orkut that appeals to people in the U.S. Frankly, I don't know why Google is bothering.

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Google Celebrates With Chrome 6

On the day that their web browser turned two years old, Google decided to celebrate by releasing a new version of Chrome. And Chrome 6 continues the tradition of mainly small changes and updates to the Google web browser.

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Google Knows What You're Thinking, Sometimes

Google's mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible is so ambitious and fraught with social and political risks that the company's actions and services are easy targets for satire, ridicule, or criticism. Sometimes the complaints have some merit, as in the case of the company's unintentional collection of WiFi data. More often than not, fear of Google is overstated. And occasionally, Google does something that straddles the line between cool and creepy, like Google Scribe.

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Watching The TV Wars

Very soon, the Internet and the TV will merge and technology companies will force media companies to adopt a more reasonable pricing scheme for entertainment content.

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Gmail Is Calling

With new features recently added to Google's Gmail, the application now has the ability to freely make calls to phones anywhere. And while, feature-wise, it is well behind competitors like Skype, its integration in Gmail makes it a serious option.

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Viacom Appeals YouTube Copyright Ruling

Viacom last week fulfilled its promise and appealed the summary judgment granted to YouTube in June. If Viacom wins, companies allowing users to submit content could be forced to take a more active role in watching out for copyright infringement.

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Street View Privacy Fix Turns People To Ghosts

Some people believe that they're entitled to privacy when in public. To such people, Google's Street View cars, which drive around taking pictures of public streets, represent a privacy threat. Now two UC San Diego computer scientists believe they have a way to conceal individuals from Google's prying lenses.

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Google Promises More Crashes With 'Chrome Canary Build'

Google has long maintained three distribution channels for its Chrome Web browser: A stable channel, a beta channel, and a developer channel, representing points on the continuum of code stability. Convinced that its developer channel isn't sufficiently buggy, Google is introducing the Google Chrome Canary Build, for those who really want to live on the edge.

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