THE ARTICLE 29 DATA PROTECTION WORKING PARTY has written to Google CEO Larry Page and reminded him that it is about time for Google to sort out its privacy policy problem, and told him how to do it.

Google and European data protection watchdogs are like oil and water, but there have been moves towards more friendly relations.

The Article 29 letter keeps things friendly, but is rather compelling. "Dear Mr Page," it begins.

"At the beginning of 2012, EU data protection authorities launched an in-depth investigation to assess the compliance of Google's privacy policy with European Data Protection legislation. This process unveiled several issues with the privacy policy and the combination of data across services.

"Procedures were conducted in 2013 and 2014 in a number of EU Member States, some of which concluded that the current privacy policy did not meet the requirements laid down in the respective national laws."

The letter says that the Working Party wants to help and has already provided Google with a set of guidelines for improvement (PDF). It suggests that now is the time for Google to start working from it.

"In order to guide Google in this compliance effort, [we] developed guidelines containing a common list of measures that your company could implement. A draft version was presented to representatives of Google on 2 July 2014, at a meeting in Paris in presence of five European Data protection authorities," it said.

"The guidelines have been elaborated in the context of this specific coordinated EU investigation into Google's privacy policy. The Article 29 Working Party may also consider issuing guidance on specific issues to the entire industry, at a later stage. The Article 29 Working Party remains open to discuss any other measures that Google would propose to address the legal requirements."

The list of guidelines (PDF) comes in an appendix and it recommends that Google create easy to access and easy to understand privacy information. This should be clearly visible across all of Google's services, it added, and should be based on correct information.

The issue dates back to 2012 and a time when Google forced all users to accept one privacy policy across all of its services. European regulators baulked at this, and in France Google was fined a shoulder shrugging €150,000 for its effort.

Google has not commented on the latest missive.

An archive containing nearly 5 million Gmail addresses and plain text passwords was posted Tuesday on an online forum, but the data is old and likely sourced from multiple data breaches according to one security firm.

A user with the online alias “tvskit” posted the archive file on a Bitcoin security forum called btcsec.com and claimed that over 60 percent of credentials found inside are valid.

“We can’t confirm that it is indeed as much as 60 percent, but a great amount of the leaked data is legitimate,” said Peter Kruse, the chief technology officer of CSIS Security Group, a Danish security company that provides cybercrime intelligence to financial institutions and law enforcement.

CSIS researchers analyzed the data and concluded that it is up to 3 years old based on correlations with past leaks.

“We believe the data doesn’t originate from Google directly,” Kruse said via email. “Instead it’s likely it comes from various sources that have been compromised.”

This means that many of the leaked passwords do not correspond to Gmail or Google accounts, but to accounts on other sites where users have used their Gmail addresses as the user name.

CSIS has confirmation that at least five of the leaked user name and password pairs were never used as log-in credentials for Gmail or Google accounts. This enforces the idea that the data comes from compromises outside Google, though it’s possible that they were all perpetrated by a single individual or group, Kruse said.

“The security of our users is of paramount importance to us,” a Google representative said Wednesday via email. “We have no evidence that our systems have been compromised, but whenever we become aware that an account has been compromised, we take steps to help our users secure their accounts.”

Even if many of the leaked credentials turn out not to be from Google, affected users might still want to change their passwords on websites where they used their Gmail address as the user name. A website called isleaked.com allows users to check if their email address is among those leaked.

Source: Internet 

The effort, which Google calls Project Wing, marks the company's latest expansion beyond its Web-based origins and could help Google break into lucrative markets such as commerce and package delivery, ratcheting up the competition with AmazonInc.

Google, the world's largest Internet search engine, said it will take years of development to create a service with multiple vehicles flying multiple deliveries per day.

An early version of the drone, which Google showcased in a video on its website, has a 1.5 meter-(yard-)wide wingspan and is capable of flying pre-programmed routes.

"These planes have much more in common with the Google self-driving car than the remote-controlled airplanes people fly in parks on weekends," Google said on its website, referring to the company's test fleet of automobiles that use sensors and radars to navigate city streets and freeways on their own.

The drone Google showed in the video Thursday was equipped with rotors to allow for vertical takeoff and landing, as well as a fixed wing for plane-like flying. The drone flew about 40 meters above the treeline, Google said, and dropped a package of chocolate bars to a farmer in Queensland, Australia.

Google spokesman Ray Gobberg said it was too soon to discuss specific business plans for the delivery drones, but the company said on its website that self-flying vehicles could offer a cheaper, faster and less wasteful way to move goods.

Google rival Amazon.com Inc announced plans last year to use aerial delivery drones for a service called "Prime Air."

"Local delivery of products is the next battlefront," said Sameet Sinha, an analyst with B. Riley & Co. "Google has had its eyes on e-commerce, basically trying to get around Amazon."

Google has partnered with local retailers in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York for its Shopping Express service, which allows consumers to order goods online and have them delivered to their doorstep on the same day.

While Google has been quietly developing its aerial drone project since late 2011, the company will now focus on teaching the vehicles to safely navigate around each other, to reduce the noise of the vehicles and to refine the delivery capability such that a package can be delivered to a spot the size of a doorstep.

Google's Gobberg said the company has briefed the Federal Aviation Administration on the project and has been updating the agency. Gobberg said Google has done some "small scale research flights" in the United States but hoped to talk more with the agency to determine specific locations for testing.

In 2012, Congress required the FAA to establish a road map for the broader use of drones. The FAA has allowed limited use of drones in the United States for surveillance, law enforcement, atmospheric research and other applications.

Video: Click Here

This bizarre alien-like shape on the moon was spotted by an eagle-eyed Google Maps user.

A mysterious figure appears to stare into the distance of the lunar landscape complete with a matching shadow behind it.

It was first uploaded in a YouTube clip by user Wowforreeel which now has over 500,000 views.

He wrote: "Looks like it could be a cast shadow from a massive standing object, or figure."

Other users were as baffled by the unusual shape, one wrote: "looks like a vulture," while another added: "It could be a walking man."

One user said: "Okay, you found me!"

The additional language support will roll out Monday in Gmail on the Web and feature-phone browsers, Google said. Users can try them out by adjusting their settings.

Changing Gmail’s display language does not change the language in which people send and receive their messages.

Google worked with linguists to make each language accurate.

The Leader of Jathika Samagi Peramuna Azad Sally has said that 3 Americans who came to open up a regional office in Sri Lanka have left as some Sri Lankan have asked for commission.

Addressing media in Colombo he said “if Google comes here, it is benefited to our country.  How many children will get employment.  There were discussions.  Then agreed, and said well done.  Then they asked how much for me?  Then the foreigners said “why should we give you? You should give us for coming here” and went back.

Google is planning to spend more than $1 billion on satellites which will reportedly be used to give internet access to parts of the planet that still have no connection to the web.

The news comes courtesy of The Wall Street Journal which claims that Google will start by building 180 small satellites in low orbit and then expanding from there because, why not.

Whilst the initial projection is $1 billion, there are some reports that the final cost of the project could be anything up to a massive $3 billion.

According to the WSJ Google has been hiring satellite engineers as well as experts in order to better fulfill their plans.

This isn't the first time Google has looked into expanding internet coverage over the globe with Project Loon proposing the idea of high-altitude balloons which would provide broadband coverage to out of reach areas.

Whilst balloons are cheap they're by no means a permanent solution, a fleet of satellites however would be able to reach much further whilst requiring very little maintenance.

Google and Facebook have both been looking at ways to bring Internet coverage to the rest of the world with Facebook's Internet.org partnership bringing together some of the tech-world's biggest players to improve web coverage globally.

Google is reportedly planning to introduce a new feature which means your phone will be constantly listening so it can respond to commands entirely hands free.

The feature was first debuted on the Moto X and works by keeping the microphone on all the time. This then allows the user to simply say 'Ok, Google' and start using the phone hands free.

According to Android Police, the new feature is condenamed 'KITT' (because of course it is), and would allow users to talk to their phones whilst driving without ever having to look at the device or touch it.

At present the feature is only available on the Moto X smartphone and has primarily been designed for simple functions like setting a reminder, or sending a text message.

This new feature however would allow users to search Google even if the phone was turned off, as long as it was charging then the phone would be listening.

With Apple Siri and Google Now both offering handsfree voice control, Google is clearly planning to take it to the next step by removing any physical buttons entirely, instead opting for a system that, one day, would be completely controlled by voice.

For now though the company's main efforts are reportedly being focused on using KITT as a feature specifically targeted to driving with the hopes of making it safer for people to use their smartphones whilst driving.

Google’s Motorola Mobility has said it will close its Fort Worth, Texas factory after its Moto X smartphone failed to appeal to consumers.

The facility – which is the only smartphone factory in the US – opened in May of last year.

At its peak, the factory employed 3,800 people, although now only 700 workers remain.

In January, Google said it was selling the Motorola Mobility unit to Lenovo for $3bn (£1.8bn; 2.2bn euros).

That deal is expected to close later this year.

Short-lived

When the Texas plant opened last year, Motorola said it was aiming to challenge the conventional wisdom that manufacturing advanced electronics products like smartphones in the US would be too expensive.

However, poor sales of the Moto X smartphone in the US – which initially retailed for $600 before the price was dropped to $399 – made it difficult to justify the higher costs of the plant.

According to research firm Strategy Analytics, the company sold 900,000 Moto X smartphones worldwide in the first three months of 2014.

Motorola says that the Moto X smartphone will still continue to be manufactured at plants in China and Brazil.

BBC

Google is to start building its own self-driving cars, rather than modifying vehicles built by other manufacturers.

The car will have a stop-go button but no controls, steering wheel or pedals.

Pictures of the Google vehicle show it looks like a city car with a “friendly” face, designed to make it seem non-threatening and help people accept self-driving technology.

Co-founder Sergey Brin revealed the plans at a conference in California.

“We’re really excited about this vehicle – it’s something that will allow us to really push the capabilities of self driving technology, and understand the limitations,” said Chris Urmson, director of the company’s self-driving project.

He added that the cars had the ability to “improve people’s lives by transforming mobility”.

But some researchers working in this field are investigating potential downsides to driverless car technology.

They believe they could make traffic and urban sprawl worse, as people accept longer commutes as they do not have to drive themselves.
Flexible windscreen

The BBC was given access to the Google team to talk about the secret project, and see early renderings of the car.

It looks almost cartoon-like, it has no traditional bonnet at the front, and the wheels are pushed to the corners.

It will seat two people, propulsion will be electric, and at the start it will be limited to 25mph (40km/h) to help ensure safety.

The most significant thing about the design is that it does not have any controls, apart from a stop/go button.

For early testing, extra controls will be fitted so one of Google’s test drivers can take over if there is a problem.

The controls will simply plug in, and Mr Urmson believes that over time, as confidence in the technology grows, they will be removed entirely.

The front end of the vehicle is designed to be safer for pedestrians, with a soft foam-like material where a traditional bumper would be, and a more flexible windscreen, which may help reduce injuries.

The vehicle will use a combination of laser and radar sensors along with camera data to drive autonomously.

It will depend on Google’s road maps, built specifically for the programme, and tested on the company’s current fleet of vehicles.

SOURCE: BBC

Google’s Gmail app has become the first standalone smartphone app to pass one billion installations on Android devices.

The milestone, announced by Sundar Pichai, Google’s head of Android, was crossed sometime last week; the Google Play Store ranks apps by downloads in different ranges and the Gmail Android app ticked over into the one to five billion bracket.

The figure excludes updates, so there is no double-counting when an update is issued. And the Google Play services app is disqualified from the counting, as it is required as part of the Google Play Store.

The Gmail app is installed by default on all Google Android devices as part of Google’s licensing, which covers most of the Android software-powered tablets, smartphones and other devices available outside China. It is updated automatically when the device connects to the Google Play store.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire range of Android devices and Microsoft’s Nokia X smartphones do not come with Gmail installed as default, nor is it possible to download the Gmail app through their app stores. Nor are there any figures for downloads of the Gmail app for Apple’s iPhone and iPad.

Several groups of apps, such as Outfit7’s range of Talking Friends apps, have already passed the one billion downloads milestone, but no one individual app has been downloaded 1bn times on its own before. The Angry Birds collection of games broke one billion downloads in 2012.

Gmail’s billion downloads reinforces data on how many Google-powered Android devices have been sold, with Google’s executives saying that more than one billion Android device activations were passed last year.

It also indicates how important Google’s agreements to have its apps installed by default are in fuelling downloads, and encouraging use of its services.

As it stands, manufacturers cannot have access to Google’s Play Store without installing Google’s suite of apps and placing them in a prominent position.

Foreign Media

"I am sitting in a panel with a number of Googlers across the world where we are refining the algorithm."

Jayaweera a "tremendous amount of data sets" in the Sinhalese language in useable fonts was needed to develop the translation algorithm.

Sinhala is spoken by the majority community in Sri Lanka and is considered to be part of the so-called Indo-Iranian language family. It uses a variation of a Pallava-style alphabet, used in India and some parts of South East Asia.

Google Translate allows writing in one language to be translated into English or any other language. It can also detect the language.

"Now that we have collected a significant amount Sinhala data - Sinhala words actually - the next challenge is alignment," Jayaweera said.

Alignment involves working on the grammar and syntax of Sinhala.

"So we are very optimistic we can launch it very soon," Jayaweera said without specifying a data.

He said even after a launch "a significant time was taken for iteration and refinement."

"It wasn't as easy where we did have millions and millions of words that we need to be able to identify and connect," Jayaweera said.

Translation allows knowledge to pass among human being very quickly, breaking nationalist barriers.