GOogle

The latest Google Hangouts update removed the ability for users to make outbound phone calls, the company said Monday.

Nikhyl Singhal, a director of real-time communication products for Google, posted on Google+ that the company is working on adding outbound calls for the Web and the Chrome extension. Hangouts currently only supports incoming calls for users with Google Voice numbers. Users who still want to make phone calls can use Gmail's Google Talk while they wait for Google to make the function available again in Hangouts.

"Hangouts is designed to be the future of Google Voice, and making/… Read more

The redesigned Google+ has a plethora of new features, including a new look to its stream. Check out the tips below to help you get a head start navigating the new Google+ stream.

Keyboard shortcuts:

j: next post k: previous post o: expand or collapse current post n: next comment of current post p: previous comment of current post l: load new posts /: search ?: show shortcuts list left arrow: show list of pages right arrow: hide list of pages

Display three columns. Most Web browsers will display the new multicolumn stream as two columns. However, you can actually go up … Read more

Will Google Glass replace our smartphones? Or is it destined to become the biggest failure in Google's history?

Only one thing is for sure: Google Glass is in for a bumpy ride.

Unlike some journalists, I believe that Glass has great potential, especially when developers build more apps for it. Google faces an uphill battle of Everest proportions spurring mass adoption for the device, though. Just because it's "the future" doesn't mean it will be embraced by the public (see: Segway).

I believe Google Glass faces big obstacles in four key areas: privacy, style, usability, … Read more

Congress is a dog that won't go for a walk.

We can tug at its leash as hard as we want, but it sits in the middle of the sidewalk, barking a defiant "no." It's not a purposeful no. It's just a refusal for the sake of it, couched in principle.

Then along comes America's most ambitious politician.

No, it's not Paul Ryan or Elizabeth Warren. It's Larry Page.

The man who is Google stood at last week's I/O 2013 conference and made his own types believe that he was … Read more

commentary I suppose it was inevitable. The debate about Google Glass has extended into the bathroom. For those who've never experienced the joys of a men's restroom -- generally the women of the world -- here's how Glass might change our glorious experience.

Nick Bilton of The New York Times penned a great piece about how "the future came crashing down" on him as he stood at a urinal next to a Google Glass wearer at the Google I/O conference. I immediately identified, having had a similar close encounter at Google I/O.

In … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO -- Google Translate provides a billion translations a day for 200 million users, the company revealed here Friday at its Google I/O show for developers.

Google doesn't often share details about the scale on which it operates, but Josh Estelle, leader for Google Translate's front-end and mobile engineering, had a few statistics to share about the service during a talk about it.

Estelle, who's worked on Google Translate for seven years, also said 92 percent of the usage is from people outside the United States. The Internet is famously English-centric, but it's expanding … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO -- Google's expensive Chromebook giveaway here at its I/O 2013 conference can't handle connecting to digital cameras, but that's just one of many problems the laptop causes for its owners.

Chromebooks, which run Chrome OS (read review), are a perpetual work in progress. Updated every six weeks or thereabouts, just like the browser they're based on, Chromebooks rely on the promise of the modern Web.

But getting browsers to talk to commonplace hardware like USB ports, Webcams, and microphones is no easy task. Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC), a plugin-free way to stream video, … Read more

Mixed in with all of the announcements and releases from Google I/O earlier this week, the Google Play Books service received an important update. Google Play Books users can now upload personal PDFs and e-books they currently own to the service.

To upload a document to the service, you can visit Play.Google.com and click on the My Books section heading, or you can go to the My Books section directly by using this link.

You will see a new "Uploads" option on the left-hand side; when you click on it you'll be prompted to … Read more

As I sat through the last half hour of a nearly 4-hour keynote, sweat pouring through my shirt, my attention waned. Most people's did. Where were the gadgets? Last year, Google seemed like the hottest (or, most conversation-starting) hardware company around. This year, the only hardware mentioned was the 3-month-old Chromebook Pixel. I wanted new, weird products: watches, new evolutions of Glass, crazy convertible tablets. I wanted to see what Google's next products are.

Yet, you can see the message. In the people wearing Glass -- of which I was one, sheepish, awkward. In the customized, personalized Maps. … Read more