YouTube Turns the Lights Off - Earth Day

Google has enabled the ability to turn off the "lights" on Youtube. When you turn the lights off everything turns to a darker colour instead of the original white colour.

Personally I would prefer having it dark ALL of the time. It's easy on the eyes and even saves a little bit of power!

Google Plans to Build 1000 Satellite Dishes

Google is asking the FCC for permission to build 4.5 meter satellite dishes on 1000 acres of land next to Google`s data center in Iowa.

The land where the satellite dishes would be built can easily be seen on Google Maps, right beside Google`s $600 million data center.

This would be a huge step for Google since it wants to expand its uber-fast network around the U.S..

The Google fiber isn`t available to many people currently. Hopefully is will spread to all of North America!

Department of Justice Approves Google's Purchase of Motorola Mobility

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) approved Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility which took place today.

Google's Vice President said on his blog, "the combination of Google and Motorola Mobility will help supercharge Android".

Google now will be able to purchase Motorola Mobility. This will greatly help Google with its mobile operating system, Android.

Google Tests Mystery Product in Employees' Homes

Google is testing a mystery product in employees' homes for 7 months.

Google applied for a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) experimental licence to test this product. Not much is known about this product except that it will use wireless to connect to the Internet and Bluetooth to connect to other devices.

Google's will be testing the mystery product from January 17th 2012 to July 17th 2012.

“From this testing we hope to modify the design in order to maximize product robustness and user experience,” the application --- Utilizing the requested number of units will allow testing of real world network performance and its impact on applications running on the device, so that any problems can be discovered and addressed promptly." - Richard Whitt, Google’s director and managing counsel for Telecom and Media, submits.

Hopefully in the future Google will release more information on this mystery Google product. So Google, what are you hiding?

Google Starts Country Specific Censorship for Blogger Blogs

Blogger, Google's blogging service, will begin redirecting your blogs domain name to country specific ones.

If you don't have a personal domain name which you purchased and are using Google's default domain it may be redirected to a country specific one.

For example if a domain was located in Australia the domain would be changed:

ex. unknownware.blogspot.com ----> unknownware.blogspot.com.au

The domain will be changed by your IP address.

“Over the coming weeks you might notice that the URL of a blog you’re reading has been redirected to a country-code top level domain, or “ccTLD.” For example, if you’re in Australia and viewing [blogname].blogspot.com, you might be redirected [blogname].blogspot.com.au. A ccTLD, when it appears, corresponds with the country of the reader’s current location.” Google explains.

Google is doing this to have specific censorship in certain countries.

Google Changes Privacy Policy in March

Google has announced it will be changing its privacy policy. This new privacy policy will merge most of the Google products into one privacy policy.

The new privacy policy will treat the user as one instead of separate on all products. There are 70 individual privacy polices for all of Google's products. That will be cut down to just one privacy policy.

The new privacy policy has sparked concerns for privacy. The new privacy policy will allow Google to track all of your moves when using Google products such as Gmail, Calendar, Docs, and Youtube. However, this tracking will help Google help you when searching and advertising. Google also claims that it may be able to remind you if you are late for an appointment since Google tracks your Calendar and Gmail.

Certain Google products won't be merged such as Google Wallet, Google Books, and Google's web browser.

The new privacy policy will be released on March 1st 2012.

Google+ Reaches Ninety Million Users

Google+ has finally reached ninety million users. Google+ continues to climb the user count.

Google+ doubled its user count compared to last quarter. Over sixty percent of users are active daily and over eighty percent of users are active weekly.

Some sources are complaining about Google+'s personnel search. Twitter and other social networks say it is unfair that Google promotes its social network using its popular search engine.

Google+ has grown steadily but will need time to get anywhere near Facebook. Like I've said in another post Facebook has a lot of fake accounts so the numbers are closer than they appear.

Google Introduces Search Plus Your World

Google announced the release of Search Plus Your World yesterday. Search Plus Your World includes personnel results, profiles in search, and profiles and pages when you search.

Search Plus enables personnel content from Google+ to affect your searches. Your personnel results include photos and posts which then end up in your searches. For example if you were to search your favourite dog and you just so happened to have posted a picture of it on your Google+ account it would end up in your search results. This also includes people in your circles. If they also had pictures of your favourite dog they would also end up in your search results.

You do have the option to turn off these personnel searches if you don't want it.

Twitter has raised a concern on Google's new feature. Twitter claims it will be harder to find timely Twitter posts about news from protesters in Egypt and Syria.

The problem with Twitter raising this concern is that it didn't renew its search result agreement with Google in July. So a lot of Twitter's data has been walled off.

This new feature is a neat thing to use but sometimes you just aren't searching for personnel content. Luckily you can simply turn Search Plus off at anytime you want. When you want to use Google Search for personnel searching you can simply turn it on.

Google and Mozilla Sign New Firefox Search Deal

Google and Mozilla have signed a new search deal.

The new deal extends Google and Mozilla's search relationship for another three years. Firefox will continue to use Google as the default search engine.

This deal in the past has earned over 84% of Mozilla's profits. That's $103 million out of $123 million.

News in the past questioned if the contract would be renewed. Some thought the contract wouldn't be renewed because of Google Chrome. Since it has, Mozilla is in good hands for the next three years.

Get a Free Windows Phone - Microsoft Uses Androids Problems

Microsoft is offering five free Windows Phones to five Android users that have the worst malware stories.

This deal is to promote the Windows Phone while Android is dealing with malicious apps on its store. In other words Microsoft is using another companies problem to its advantage.

This deal was announced on Twitter by Microsoft's Windows Phone promoter, Ben Rudolph. It was then shared on Microsoft's official Twitter feed.

Microsoft has done this in the the past when webOS was being discontinued. Microsoft offered free Windows Phones to webOS developers.

This style of marketing is genius but dark. Using another companies problems to your advantage is a smart idea. But the public might not be too happy with your deal. Some Twitter users complained about the deal saying it was a harsh way to promote the Windows Phone.

Call Free with Gmail for Another Year

Google has extended free Gmail calling for one more year instead of ending it this year as intended.

Gmail lets desktop users call anyone in Canada and the United States for free. This free calling period was supposed to last for one year but has been extended for another year.

The reason for this extension is unknown. Google hasn't given a reason yet.

I think Gmail calling has been doing very well and Google thought it would be best to attract even more customers and then stop free calling. This way they will have more customers hooked on Gmail calling which will earn more profit when you have to pay to call when 2013 begins.

Google+ Facial Recognition Lets You Choose

Google+ now has a facial recognition feature available. You have the ability to choose to use it or not.

The new feature has been liked by Google+ users. One of the reasons was you could choose to use it or not. Facebook's facial recognition feature doesn't allow you to choose. This has been a bonus to Google+ recently because of this.


The facial recognition feature helps tag people in photos. But it could also be considered an invasion of privacy. Since Google+ lets you choose, it isn't a problem for the users who don't want it.

This one thing which is different from Facebook's facial recognition makes Google+'s much better for the user. Google+ gives you options instead of making you agree to things you might not want.

Google Chrome is the Most Secure Browser - Reports Say

A recent report by security firm Accuvant revealed that Google Chrome is the most secure browser. It came first out of Internet Explorer and Firefox.

Firefox's security lags behind Chrome's and Internet Explorer's due to it not having JIT hardening. Internet Explorer came in second due to it lacking in sandboxing implementation and JIT hardening.

Google Chrome also had the fastest patches. Chrome with an average of 53 days, Firefox with an average of 158 days, and Internet Explorer with an average of 214 days.

Google Chrome is really proving to be the better browser. The only question is if they can keep it up.

Android Reaches 10 Billion App Downloads - 10 Cent Apps for 10 Days

The Android market has reached 10 billion downloads! With this achievement comes 10 cent apps. For 10 days you can purchase certain apps for only 10 cents.

Check out the Android store now to start shopping. You can also check out Google's blog describing this awesome deal you can be part of.

Today's new apps you can download for 10 cents are:

Fruit Ninja
BB - Bedtime Battle
AirSync by doubleTwist
Flick Golf!
Star Chart
Reckless Racing
Reckless Racing PLAY
Christmas HD
NFL Rivals
Beautiful Widgets
Read It Later Pro

You can find all of these apps here.

The Android Market has been booming this year. The market reached 10 billion downloads from 1 billion in just a little more than a year.

The Android Market continues to grow rapidly. Android is looking good for the future to come. Make sure to get this deal while it lasts!

Google Chrome Threatens Firefox's Future

Firefox has faced a rough year in 2011. Google Chrome took over Firefox as the second most popular browser, and now Google might not renew its contract with Mozilla.

This time was bound to come due to StatCounter showing Google Chrome rising as others were falling. Mozilla's and Google's contract isn't doomed though. Recent reports claim that their contract probably is going to be renewed.

Since this news occurred Mozilla has released a video explaining Firefox's story on how it has helped shape the web.

Firefox isn't doomed though. They are just declining like other browsers. Google Chrome is possibly the future, right now it sure looks like that. But Firefox will still be around and loved by its community.

Youtube Gets a New Look - Access Everything with One Click

Youtube recently has had a makeover. Instead of seeing just videos, lots of white space, and the top bar, you are greeted with a gray page featuring your subscriptions, recommendations, and much more on one page.

This new look is supposed to make Youtube easier to use since everything is on one page. You can access everything much quicker and easier.

In Youtube's new layout you have a dark grey bar on the side. This bar features your subscriptions, suggested channels, trending videos, popular videos, and much more. Clicking on these changes the center content based on what you clicked such as popular videos. On the right side are recommended videos.

Make sure to watch Youtube's tour of the new layout:

The new layout is quite convenient. You can easily access everything you want with less clicks. I only find the new look a little crowding. I don't want to see recommended videos because I never use it. That space could be used to see more videos that I'm subscribed too. Do you like the new look?

Google Chrome Surpasses Firefox

Google Chrome has surpassed Firefox according to StatCounter. Firefox has finally fallen under Chrome.

Chrome has reached 25.69% this month compared to Firefox which was only at 25.23%. Internet Explorer is still the leading browser however with 40.63%. Chrome seems to be rising while Firefox and IE are slowly falling lower and lower. Other browsers such as Safari and Opera are staying fairly steady.

Since Google Chrome is known for its speed and reliability it has been able to make a stand against other browsers. If Chrome keeps it up they could be the number one browser. They sure seem like they are going to get there eventually.

Google Introduces the New Google Bar - An Easier way to Navigate

Google has introduced the new Google bar. Instead of having the grey Google bar, the bar will be build into all of the Google products. This will create more space for the user. 

The Google Menu opens on roll-over and provides you with links from the navigation bar. You can access everything with just one click.

Using Google will be much easier and easier to access. You can access everything very easily with the Google Menu since all you have to do is roll-over and voila, you can choose what you want. 

Check out the video that says it all! 

Google's History and Evolution of Search

Google recently uploaded a video which describes its history and evolution of search.

This video starts from when Google first started and works its way up to present day. The video talks about Google's history and how it came to be what it is today.

One of the main advancements of Google is advertisements and Universal Search. Check out this video, it's quite interesting to learn about how Google came to be what it is today.

Google Modifies its HTTPS Encryption Method for its Services

Google has modified its HTTPS for its services which use it. This was done for the future when technologies can decrypt general HTTPS.

Instead of just giving the user a private security key. Google's modified HTTPS will delete and create new private keys so they are never the same.

What this will do is stop the attacker from getting anywhere. If they get one key they won't have much because new keys are made. They won't get much data. Even the server admin won't be able to decrypt the HTTPS after its set. Google had to design an extension to support this method since SSL doesn't support it.

Google's modified HTTPS doesn't work in IE. It currently only works in Chrome and Firefox. Google is planning on making it work on IE in the future.

This new HTTPS is very interesting. I think it could make security much stronger. Google just needs to make sure their new method can't be countered.