Information Technology

Google  today announced  a new take on email, dubbed Inbox. The free app/service includes reminders, bundles similar messages together and highlights important messages. Inbox looks like a cross between Mailbox and Google Now. An Assists feature attaches relevant information, such as telephone numbers, opening hours and maps, to your reminders and emails. Inbox is invite-only at the moment, but you can request one from  inbox@google.com  or get one from a friend who has invites to spare. The service will be available on the Web (Chrome only), iOS 7+ and Android 4.1+. Versions for tablets and other modern browsers are also in the works. Google doesn’t intend for Inbox to replace Gmail. Actions you take in either product will show up in the other. Inbox uses your existing Gmail and Google usernames.

Do you have math homework? Are you in a hurry to finish that page of 30 algebra problems? Worry no more, check out this app –  PhotoMath . Basically, it just uses your phone’s camera to look at your math problem and BOOM. Problem sovled. It’s a really cool idea – even if it doesn’t always work perfectly. However, it shows the potential of smart phone with math homework. Soon, there will be some app (or this one) that can figure out all your homework. Not just math. I, for one, welcome that day. But won’t students just use this to cheat on their homework? Yes. Well, probably yes. I guess an instructor could make it “illegal” to use a phone on the homework, but how could they enforce this rule? Students have always been able to cheat on homework. They could get their friends to help them, they could get a tutor to give the solutions. If you type an equation into  Wolfram Alpha , it will give an excellent solution. Really, the only new thing here is that the level of effort to c

Mozilla is working on an app for Android, iOS and Firefox OS that gives smartphone users the ability to easily create and share Web apps. It’s called Webmaker, after the initiative that Mozilla created to promote Web literacy. The app is still in development and won’t be released until early 2015, but Mozilla’s  Andrew Sliwinski  gave me a short demo of the current build. The home feed offers a series of template options aimed at “personas” or particular professions, such as teachers, medics, journalists and small business owners. Users can customise any of them with Webmaker “blocks” which include text, forms, geolocations and more. “Basically, everything that you would need to build a rich, simple Web app,” Sliwinski explained. Most of Mozilla’s existing Webmaker tools are designed for desktop browsers.  X-Ray Goggles , for instance, allows anyone to “remix” their favorite sites and webpages – changing text, images and other clearly defined elements. These tools are f

Spotify has announced new plans designed for families of up to five members, which was one of its most requested features. Pretty much anyone in a family has experienced fighting over a shared account that stops playing music when someone else starts listening elsewhere, so the company is encouraging families to get an account for each family member. The new pricing is slightly cheaper than buying each family member a full subscription but still offers all the features of a premium subscription, such as offline support and no ads while allowing each family member to have their own playlists and favorited tracks. In the United States, it’ll cost $14.99 for two users, $19.99 for three users, $24.99 for four users and $29.99 for five users. Spotify Family isn’t immediately available but will be rolling out around the world over the coming weeks. It’s also worth noting here that Rdio already offers a similar family plan for up to 5 people, so it’s good to see Spotify finally br

Say hello to the new Samsung Chromebook 2 in Silver, now available with an Intel Celeron processor, 11’ inch HD screen and 100GB of free Google Drive storage. Available for pre-order in US starting today:  goo.gl/4t5kwj .

The biggest names in the technology world generally had humble beginnings – many were started in garages or basements and gradually grew into the powerhouses we know today. But with technology now one of the largest business sectors, how can the demands of finding or building ‘homes’ for fast-paced technology companies be married with the sometimes glacial pace of architectural practice and construction? One of Brazil’s hi-tech hubs. Image via  Nelson Almeida/AFP/Getty Images Whether a company is building a bespoke HQ, leasing an existing building or repurposing a different structure entirely, the only constant remains the growing need to find a way in which the speed of property provision can match the speed of the technology industry as a whole. In a boom-and-bust industry, as technology has tended to be, matching supply with demand can be a tricky task. It’s an ever-evolving question that companies are finding their way around. Much of Silicon Valley is enjoying a tech

For awhile now, there's been a number of companies trying to simplify payments for everyone. Google did so with Wallet and, most recently, Apple announced it would be doing something similar with the soon-to-be-launched Apple Pay, among others. Not surprisingly, MasterCard's, synonymous with paying for stuff, is working on a product of its own. In partnership with  Zwipe , a company that focuses on bio metric tech, MasterCard has built a charge plate  with a built-in fingerprint sensor and NFC , albeit for trial purposes. The Zwipe MasterCard,  as it is currently known , is said to be extremely secure -- all data is stored directly on the card, rather than an outside database, for example. It'll be simple to use too; you put tour thumb on the sensor, point it toward the terminal, the card makes sure it's really you  and voila,  kind of like how Apple Pay  works  using  Touch ID . Zwipe says it is already working on a standardized card, which is designed to support

Apple didn’t announce this during its  event today , but it has created a SIM that makes switching carriers as easy as a few taps without having to visit a physical carrier store. The  Apple SIM  that ships in the new iPad Air 2 just made switching carriers and traveling abroad about a hundred times easier. Instead of having to replace a SIM every time you want to connect to a new carrier, the Apple SIM lets you choose carriers in both the US and UK from the Cellular Data setting in the iPad. This is what Apple says on it’s iPad Air 2 page about the new feature: The Apple SIM gives you the flexibility to choose from a variety of short-term plans from select carriers in the U.S. and UK right on your iPad. So whenever you need it, you can choose the plan that works best for you — with no long-term commitments. And when you travel, you may also be able to choose a data plan from a local carrier for the duration of your trip. While this is great for the iPad, the Apple SIM

Representatives from the BBC and the Guardian today argued that Google should consult publishers before removing search links to stories requested under Europe’s ‘right to be forgotten.’ In a meeting  with Google’s advisory council in London, which includes company chairman Eric Schmidt, both organisations suggested that the context a publisher could provide around removal requests would be beneficial. David Jordan, director for editorial policy and standards at the BBC, said the company had its own process for dealing with such complaints and this would help to frame the requests submitted to Google under the ECJ’s ruling . “It would be desirable for publishers to be consulted before Google takes a decision on whether or not to remove a link to an online article. Publishers have the full background of the story, insight as to whether a request has come in previously, and if so why we took the decision not to comply, or if certain changes were offered/made.” He added that

Fcebook is  adding  a feature called ‘ Safety Check ‘ to help its users broadcast their health and whereabouts during natural disasters. The tool will be available on the Web, iOS, Android and feature phones. When the user is deemed inside an affected area, Facebook will send an alert or push notification asking whether they’re okay. From the Safety Check dashboard, users can then see which of their friends are in the same area and the number that have already marked themselves as safe on Facebook. Once the user has confirmed they’re out of harm’s way, a Safety Check notification will appear in other people’s feeds. Users can review the number of people in their network marked as ‘safe’ and also tick off friends and family who may not have access to Facebook, the internet or a mobile phone. Hopefully, you’ll never have to use such a tool. But natural disasters are growing in frequency and Safety Check, especially with Facebook’s user base, could prove effective – and give y

Gogle  today announced  its first Android TV device will be the Nexus Player, a set-top streaming box made in partnership with Asus. Android TV was  first announced  back in June, and is Google’s newest attempt to taking a hold of your living room, following the popular Chromecast and less successful attempts like the Nexus Q. It’s Google Cast Ready, meaning it has essentially all of Chromecast’s features minus the minuscule size, as well as additional gaming and streaming abilities. You’ll be able to play games using a real gamepad (sold separately) on your TV, and then continue playing on your phone once you leave your home. The same goes for the rest of your content, which will be synced across all your Android devices running Lollipop. As expected, the device is voice enabled, so you need just press the microphone button on the included remote and say the name of the content you’re interested in viewing or listening to make the device perform a search. It’ll go on

Dizmo , a  successfully funded Kickstarter campaign   that aims to turn any digital surface into an interactive work space, has officially launched today, opening the platform up to the public for the first time. In a nutshell, Dizmo wants to draw together all the discrete Internet of Things and other digital devices and apps in your life to be manageable from one extended work space it’s called DizmoSpace. It’s not just a device or gadget management platform though, it’s a bit like a virtual pin board for anything you like – including working on documents, general Web browsing and anything else you do while connected to the internet. “Dizmo  breaks down traditional boundaries between device, operating systems, apps and software, transforming the way users work, play and live. It supports orchestration and collaboration in an unparalleled way enabling any data to instantaneously be accessed on any surface, anywhere and made interactive,” the company said in a statement. In

Move Guides , a London startup that offers ‘talent mobility’ software in the cloud to help companies manage the relocation of their employees, has raised an $8.2 million Series A round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Existing investor Notion Capital also participated, along with individual investors Andy Leaver (ex-VP EMEA and APAC, Workday) and David Windley (ex-CHRO Yahoo!). A classic Software-as-a-Service enterprise play, Move Guides aims to disrupt incumbents, such as Cartus and SIRVA, for companies who would normally outsource their employee relocation needs, as well as be suitable for those who run their talent mobility programs in-house. It’s cloud-based solution, dubbed Talent Mobility Cloud, brings together companies, employees and global vendors (shipping, real estate, immigration, tax and more) all into a single platform, helping to solve an increasing paint-point for HR departments in which more and more employees are becoming mobile — requiring the moving

 Fcebook’s acquisition of mobile messaging giant WhatsApp is complete. After getting the green light from Europe’s antitrust regulator on Friday, the deal has formally closed in the US. Today’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also revealed that WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum is now a board member at Facebook. While few expected the buyout to be derailed by either the Europe or US authorities, these formalities do mark a milestone for the tech industry. In short, there’s no turning back for Facebook or WhatsApp. The hugely popular messaging app is now owned by Zuck’s empire and it’ll be interesting to see how, if at all, WhatsApp’s new owner influences the product.

Linus Torvalds has announced the latest stable release of the  Linux kernel, version 3.17. Announced in his typical   laissez-faire  style  in a post on the Linux Kernel Mailing List Torvalds explained: “So the past week was fairly calm, and so I have no qualms about releasing 3.17 on the normal schedule (as opposed to the optimistic “maybe I can release it one week early” schedule that was not to be).” Due to travel Linus says he won’t start merging changes for Linux 3.18 just yet: “I now have travel coming up – something I hoped to avoid when I was hoping for releasing early. Which means that while 3.17 is out, I’m not going to be merging stuff very actively next week, and the week after that is LinuxCon EU…” What’s New In Linux 3.17? As with every new release, Linux 3.17 sees the kernel loaded up on the latest improvements, hardware support, fixes and so on. These range from the bamboozling – e.g.,  memfd and file sealing patches  – to the sort of things most of u