Review The most amazing thing about Google’s inaugural Chromebooks is that they come with a file manager. It’s not much of a file manager, but it’s relatively easy to find, and it gives you relatively quick access to the files you’ve download or screenshots you’ve taken or documents on a thumb drive you’ve plugged into the USB port.
This may seem like the most fundamental of tools. But in December, when Google released its beta Chromebook, the Cr-48, there was no file manager. And Mountain View was adamant that such a basic piece of software was beside the point.
Running Google’s Chrome OS operating system, Chromebooks seek to move everything you do onto the interwebs. Chrome OS is essentially a modified Linux kernel that runs only one native application: Google’s Chrome browser. You can install plug-ins and extensions, but otherwise, every application you use must be a web application. Rather than run a local copy of Microsoft Office, you use Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Calendar. Rather than iTunes, you use Pandora or maybe the “cloud” music services offered by Google and Amazon. Read the rest of this entry »
On the 8 June, it’ll be World IPv6 Day – a coordinated effort by major services on the internet, including Google and Facebook, to provide their services using the new version of the Internet Protocol. It’s part of the plans to cope with internet addresses ‘running out’. But just what is IPv6 – and what does it mean for most users?
At its most simple, IPv6 is the successor to IPv4 which has become the de facto standard for both local and global connectivity. It includes many extra features, including processing speed-ups, and enhancements to security and to quality of service, but the one that’s really driving the need to change is that there are many more internet addresses available with IPv6.
Global testbed: World IPv6 Day takes place next month
Most Reg Hardware readers will be familiar with the look of an IPv4 address: it’s 32 bits long, and typically written as a series of four eight-bit decimal numbers, separated by full stops, like 10.0.0.1. Read the rest of this entry »
Android App of the Week Three years after Android first stuck its head over the parapet, Google has at long last graced its smartphone OS with an official app for Documents, the third leg of the Google Trinity after Gmail and Maps.
The UI (left) is twit-proof, but you can only create documents online (right)
The front end consists of a simple set of icons to read or create documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Different view options let you see all the files in your account, or just the documents, starred items or folders. You can also view uploaded images, though you can’t add new ones. Read the rest of this entry »
The flourishing Android operating system has appeared on phones made by Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, LG and HTC. Now Google has launched its own handset, though it’s actually made by HTC, which has made the bulk of Android handsets so far.
Nexus One: hardware by HTC, software by Google
The thing about Android is that manufacturers can change the OS to taste. This has been a great bonus for Motorola, a company known for stylish, appealing phones but which has always had a dog of an operating system. Motorola has been able to tweak Android effectively to add social media smarts. Read the rest of this entry »
The US Federal Communications Commission wants Google to explain how its voice service application blocks costly calls to rural areas.
The commission sent a letter to the Mountain View company on Friday, asking for details by October 28 on its much-discussed Google Voice web application. The query comes two weeks after telecom giant AT&T accused Google of violating FCC open-internet policies with Google Voice.
At issue are FCC rules that let the country’s rural phone companies charge long-distance providers exorbitant fees to access their local landlines. The law was originally designed to help local phone firms survive despite low call volumes.
While long-distance outfits like AT&T are required to connect to these local markets, Google Voice blocks the calls and avoids the extra expenses. Google argues the FCC rules apply only to broadband carriers and not the creators of web-based software applications.
The FCC today told Google it must provide information on how Google Voice calls are routed, how its restrictions are implemented, and how it identifies the telephone numbers to which it restricts calls.
In a length statement to Google’s telecom and media counsel in Washington, Richard Whitt, FCC wireline bureau’s chief Sharon Gillet wrote: “In light of pending commission proceedings regarding concern about so-called ‘access simulation,’ the commission’s prohibition on call blocking by carriers, as well as the commission’s interest in ensuring that ‘broadband networks are widely deployed, open, affordable, and accessible to all consumers,’ we are interested in gathering facts that can provide a more complete understanding of the situation.” Read the rest of this entry »
