UPDATED 11:50 EST / AUGUST 07 2013

Google Highlights Not Just for Hair & The Dumbest App Ever – SiliconANGLE News Roundup

Condescending To Your Most Capable Customers…

 

In the past, Google hasn’t been very clear about Chrome’s password security, and their lack of attention to the problem has increasingly drawn more criticism from security experts.

Everyday, millions of Chrome users save their login passwords in chrome. What the vast majority of them don’t know is that typing in a specific address into chrome can reveal all of the user’s passwords for each website they visit.

In a post responding to the complaints, Chrome’s head of security, Justin Shaa, commented in what many consider to be a condescending tone, saying, “I appreciate how this appears to a novice, but we’ve literally spent years evaluating it and have quite a bit of data to inform our position. And while you’re certainly well intentioned, what you’re proposing is that we make users less safe than they are today by providing them a false sense of security and encouraging dangerous behavior. That’s just not how we approach security on Chrome.”

Until we hear otherwise, it looks like there won’t be any changes to Google’s non-existent saved login credential security.

High-Lights From Goo-jell

 

Continuing on with Google, the world’s-leading search engine has decided to improve their search results by highlighting in-depth articles related to your queries.

Google will begin rolling out the new feature that directs users to high-quality and in-depth content in their search results. Though the visual changes will be minimal for Google, the added functionality will provide users with high-quality content to help explore a various subjects more deeply.

The search giant wants publishers to ensure that articles continue to follow its general guidelines for longer stories, and with the new changes, Google can begin to reward stories that provide background information and go beyond basic facts. Over the last few months, most of the new features Google introduced for Search focused on giving users answers without too many clicks.

By contrast, today’s launch is all about finding quick sources, rather than quick answers.

Patently False Swipe Patents

 

In more news from Google’s R&D department, the United States Patent office granted the tech giant exclusive rights to a new idea that could bring some innovative utility to the unlock feature on Android phones.

The now-patented technique lets Android owners create and store multiple swiping patterns to launch specific apps, such as the camera or dialer.

For example, swiping the unlock pattern would open the phone to the home screen, but by swiping the unlock pattern with an additional gesture at the end, Android could open the phone to a specified app. Although Google now owns the patent for this novel approach to app shortcuts, there’s no guarantee that it will find its way into the Android OS.

Search Your Drive For Websites?

 

Even more improvements are coming from Google’s famous Mountain View campus today as the company has decided to add a new search field for users who want to link websites and documents in Drive.

Now, instead of needing the exact address for a site, you can just search from within the Docs and Slides applications. Even better, Drive will automatically search for relevant sites and documents based on the text you’re highlighting.

There’s no word yet from Google on whether or not this integrated search functionality will be included in additional Google Docs applications.

Intel Inside…Your Classroom

 

Intel is planning to take over classrooms across the country with new tablets designed specifically for schools.

Called the Intel Education Tablet, the devices come in both seven and ten inch forms, and are built upon an Atom-based Android frame, designed particularly for use in schools.

The smaller of the two comes with eight giga-bytes of storage, standard hardware options like speakers, mics, and dual cameras, and a sealed battery that should last through eight hours of usage – more than enough for an entire day at school. The larger of the two tablets will be slightly more powerful, but all the added power means the battery will only last about six and a half hours.

Both devices will also come with accessories that should be useful in class, including a temperature probe, and a magnification lens that snaps on to the rear camera.

To sweeten the deal for learners, tons of educational software will come bundled with the tablets, including an e-reader, a notes applications, painting tools, laboratory experiments, and even management software that will allowing teachers to control class activities. Intel has not yet given a price or release date, but chances are that the tablets will be sold directly to schools in bulk, meaning normal consumers won’t be able to buy one any time soon.

Samsung Moves INTO THE THIRD DIMENSION!!

 

In some surprising news, Samsung Electronics announced yesterday that they will be mass producing chips that could likely to become the flash technology of the future.

The chips stack layers of silicon creating a microscopic-like skyscraper. The move lets Samsung boast an industry first, 3D, vertical, flash memory that breaks through current 2D scaling limits. Also known as NAND, the 3D logic gates will immediately provide up to ten times the reliability and twice the performance, according to Samsung.

The actual limits of the technology are currently unknown, but using the new vertical structure, Samsung can enable higher density memory without having to make parts much bigger, which has become incredibly difficult to achieve. Despite the potential, all technology comes with its limits, and according to experts, we may reach this chip’s capacity limit by the end of this decade.

Don’t Drop It

 

Want to test your hand-eye coordination, and live dangerously at the same time?

Well, adventurous Android owners can do both by downloading a new app called S.M.T.H (Send Me to Heaven). The app works by challenging you to throw your phone as high as you can to score points. Created by Norwegian developer CarrotPop, S.M.T.H uses your phone’s accelerometer to measure how high the phone has traveled from your hand.

Catching it, of course, is recommended, but technically optional. Once measured, your ‘high’ score will join the scores of fellow idiots on a worldwide leaderboard. This insane and genius app is available on Android only.

And that’s all the news we have for today. If you want to keep up with these stories and more, be sure to join us every weekday morning on NewsDesk with Kristin Feledy.

photo credit: Evan Sims via photopin cc
photo credit: wallyg via photopin cc
photo credit: IntelFreePress via photopin cc
photo credit: PuyoDead via photopin cc

A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU