107.9 The River » Google

Keep Track of the 'Best of YouTube' Announcements

Emerald Catron — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 02:41:28 +0000

As part of their April Fool’s Day tradition, Google is running a pretty great prank on YouTube, right now. They are listing the nominees for the best of YouTube before it “shuts down.” Every video is nominated. They are listing every video on YouTube and reading their descriptions. We really hope they follow through and do this [...]

See All of Google's April Fool's Day Pranks

Emerald Catron — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 20:01:00 +0000

If you’re anything like us, you probably have no idea what day it is. Well, it’s Monday, April 1st. Yes, it’s April Fool’s Day, which means that Google is planning to pull the wool over our eyes all day long. Here are some of the pranks they’re pulling, in case you are super-gullible. Google Nose [...]

New Google – Adidas Sneaker Talks Trash To You

Joe Student — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:53:33 +0000

Adidas and Google revealed a new talking sneaker prototype at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas last weekend. The motion-sensing kicks feature a speaker on the tongue that can make commands, give encouragement and post online status updates based on what the wearer is — or isn't — doing while wearing the shoes.

Google Glasses: The Future is Now… Apply Within

Ian Delap — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 22:15:06 +0000

Internet giant Google is giving us a glimpse of the future, through our own eyes. Project Glass offers an augmented reality experience through a lightweight headset. Even though Project Glass is still in it's testing stages, some lucky enthusiasts will get the opportunity to test out these future-tech glasses for the low price of $1500, if accepted.

Did a Google Street View Car Kill This Donkey?

Mike Adams — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 04:19:53 +0000

In their high-paced efforts to document the mean streets of the world, it appears as if Google may have become cold-blooded donkey killers. In a series of shocking photographs widely circulating on Twitter, you can see the Google Street View car driving past a donkey in one shot and the brutal and dusty demise of the beast in the next.

Non-Existent Island Pops Up On Google Maps

Jeremy Taylor — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 22:12:50 +0000

There are hundreds of thousands of uninhabited islands on our planet. The South Pacific island of Sandy isn’t one of them… That’s not because there are people secretly living on the sixty-square-mile land mass. It’s because Sandy, despite appearing on Google maps, doesn’t actually exist. Researchers from the University of Sydney became confused when Sandy popped up on Google [...]

Google Steals Christmas, Deletes Entire Month of December from App

Donald Deane — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 15:30:00 +0000

Find yourself wishing the holidays were over already? Well, thanks to a bug in the latest version of Google's mobile operating system, the month of December has been canceled altogether. Is Google the new Grinch?

Siri Versus Google Voice Search — Who Wins?

Emerald Catron — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 20:56:44 +0000

We’re sure Apple fanboys will have something to say about this. In a head-to-head contest between Siri and Google Voice Search, it looks like Siri is the loser. But at least she’s friendly while she’s taking her precious time answering your questions. Truthfully, though, both are still faster than asking another person, thankfully. We are [...]

Google Glasses Can Be Yours for a Price

Jeremy Taylor — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 01:00:26 +0000

In April, Google announced to the world Project Glass, augmented reality goggles that use Google maps, GPS technology, gyroscopes, powerful mini-processors and voice recognition software to keep the wearer connected to the internet completely hands-free. Now this science fiction-like technology is available to buy. Sort of. According to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, the glasses will begin shipping [...]

Google Creates Artificial Brain That Loves Cats

Don Deane — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 15:49:26 +0000

As a way to create a simulation of the human brain, a group of researchers at Google constructed a neural network made up of 16,000 computer processors. Then, they turned their creation loose on the internet where it immediately developed a taste for cat videos. This thing is so human it’s scary!

Goodbye Android Market, Hello Google Play

Tom McCarthy — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:16:48 +0000

Google's digital marketplace for mobile applications, music, movies and books is unifying under a new name in an effort to spruce up the shopping experience.

Google Reports 70 Percent Increase in Takedown Requests by US Government

Kathy Landin — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:49:10 +0000

In an effort to highlight global censorship campaigns, Google’s biannual transparency report revealed a 70 percent increase in takedown requests by the US government and law enforcement agencies. New figures showed that Google faced demands from US law enforcement agencies earlier this year to take down YouTube videos allegedly showing incidents of police brutality. The [...]

Gumby Creator Art Clokey Honored in Nostalgic Google Doodle

Andrea Rosen — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 13:41:36 +0000

Visit the Google homepage today and you might recognize a familiar face: Gumby is in the Google Doodle spotlight. The doodle, which commemorates the 90th birthday of late Gumby creator Art Clokey (he passed in January 2010), is also animated — clicking on the colored balls of clay reveals the whole Gumby gang, including Pokey the horse and the Blockheads.

Celebrate Google's Birthday With Every Google Doodle [ART]

Jeremy Taylor — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:00:19 +0000

Google turned 13 Tuesday, and the search engine celebrated its big day the same way it has every year since 2002 — with a special anniversary doodle. This year’s effort, a staid, retro birthday party scene, doesn’t quite seem befitting of a newly-minted teenager. But, then again, 13 is pretty ancient in Internet years. It’s a testament to [...]

Freddie Mercury's Birthday Honored With Google Doodle [VIDEO]

Andrea Rosen — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:00:09 +0000

To commemorate what would have been Queen singer Freddie Mercury’s 65th birthday this weekend, Google published a Mercury-ized doodle on their homepage, along with an accompanying animated video. The clip imagines the late star (who passed away in 1991 due to AIDS complications), cavorting through a heavenscape packed with 8-bit objects and some of his most iconic outfits.

'The Google+ Song' Explains (and Parodies) the New Social Network [VIDEO]

Chip Sandalwood — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 16:30:39 +0000

If you’re not on Google+ yet, you probably know it’s a social network but not much more. What are these circles everyone’s talking about? How about hangouts? And isn’t this the same thing as Google Buzz? Though this LOL-inducing Google+ song from Break (sung to the tune of Queen’s ‘Another One Bites the Dust’) might not answer all your burning questions about the new social service, it’ll definitely get stuck in your head.

Teacher Uses Angry Birds to Explain Projectile Motion to Students

Grace Niemitalo — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:30:26 +0000

With over 200 million downloads to mobile devices, Angry Birds is a full-fledged phenomenon. Now an Atlanta teacher has found a way to use it as an educational tool as well.

Since the birds are catapulted into the sky, John Burk, a ninth-grade physics teacher, felt it was a great way to teach students the laws of projectile motion.

The Google+ Project Takes Aim at Facebook [VIDEO]

Shauna Wright — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 21:10:19 +0000

After several prior failed attempts to challenge social media behemoth Facebook, Google introduced a new service on Tuesday that it hopes will finally do the trick.

Called the Google+ project, it’s currently only available to a select group of Google users — they’ll soon be able to invite others — and it will let people share and discuss status updates, photos and links, just like they do on Facebook.

But there’s one key difference: Google+ allows you to share with select groups — like co-workers, friends or the moms in your child’s playgroup — instead of with everyone. It features what it calls “circles,” which are small groups of friends based on how you know them. Google+ also offers group text messaging and video chat.