It's Good To Work At Google

Google have gotten some MetroNap Energy Pods for their employee's to take naps in should they get a little tired from all their googling.

Hands up, who wants a job in Google, meeeee

Source via 

Woman Sues Google Because Of GPS Route

A Utah woman is suing Google over walking directions she received from Google Maps on her Blackberry. The directions lead her to a highway which she tried to cross but was subsequently hit by a car, she is suing for $100K, the walking instructions come with a warning :

"Walking directions are in beta. Use caution – This route may be missing sidewalks or pedestrian paths"

So I'm not sure how far she will get with this case.

To be honest the woman was a little "stupid" shall I a say, I mean if the GPS told her to walk through a  flooded road, would she have walked through it, unlikely, common sense must be used and road sense when using GPS.

Source 

Android 2.2 'Froyo' beta hands-on: Flash 10.1, WiFi hotspots

A great hands on preview of the new Android Os Froyo over at Engadget here

Check out some pictures after the break.

Google Wave Available To Public

Google Wave has now opened its doors to the public via Google Labs, this time last year I would have sold my wife to get an invite and then when I did get one, what a let down.

I dont think it was Wave's fault, it just wasn't what I needed in my day to day life.

Wave is open now to the public at http://wave.google.com and to Apps users in the next few hours or possibly tomorrow.

Enjoy !!

Source

Android 2.2 will invite you to visit 'Flash-enabled' sites, rub Apple's nose in it

TechCrunch is reporting that the latest version of Android, the one with the 450 percent performance improvement and smooth Flash playback,  will, upon updating, guide you to visit a selection of Flash-enabled websites. Countering Apple's list of iPad-ready (aka Flash-free) websites, this is clearly intended as a showcase of the Adobe software's capabilities. Still, a sizable number of the sites on the list are "mobile optimized," meaning you won't be hitting their full desktop versions (which doesn't quite mesh with the idea of "the full web experience"), but it's still likely to cause some consternation over in Cupertino. All I'm wondering now is how much Adobe had to pay up to ensnare such a prominent promo position, but things like that don't stay secret for long.


Source

Google Updated

There's a new look Google to ogle, coming to a computer near you soon.

The look and feel of search results have changed thanks to a handful of tweaks - a few major, some minor.

Google says today’s metamorphosis responds to the increasing richness of the web and the increasing power of search — revealing search tools on the left and updating the visual look and feel throughout.

There are apparently some colour changes - although you might have to look hard to spot them.

In true nerd-speak the big G says these 

"changes are slight, keeping our page minimalist and whimsical, but make our overall look more modern."

The big new feature comes down the left hand side of your page of search results.

There is added contextually relevant, left-hand navigation - the new side panel highlights the most relevant search tools and refinements for your query.

The top section of the new left-hand panel builds suggests the most relevant genres of results for your query and lets you seamlessly switch to these different types of results.

Underneath - in a Google Labs powered 'Something Different' section - there's a list of other entities that are related to your query - so you can explore other related topics.

A Google search for Rolling Stones could deliver information in the left-hand toolbar about other classic rock bands from the1960s and 1970s including Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix, according to a Google.

Google says: 

"We want to ensure that the Google you use today is better than the one you used yesterday, and these latest changes open up many possibilities for future features and enhancements."

The new look is being rolled out from today across all countries.

The Spring clean isn't going to cause a web sensation - indeed some tech bloggers are already writing that they hate the changes.

But we all need to evolve. Even the giants of the world.

Nexus One Coming To Vodafone

Google's Nexus One HTC built handset is arriving on UK shores this Friday, sure an Irish release date cant be too far off.

Alternatively just pop over the boarder and pick one up

Official Press Release Below:

GOOGLE NEXUS ONE LAUNCHES ON VODAFONE UK

· Nexus One™ available to Vodafone customers in the UK on April 30
· Pre-order from today on the UK's best network
· Great value - free on £35 price plan
· Available through Vodafone retail, online and telesales

From today, Vodafone UK customers can order the Nexus One, the new superphone from Google™, at vodafone.co.uk/nexusone.

Vodafone is the first European mobile operator to offer Nexus One. Customers who pre-order online will be the first to get a Nexus One for free on a £35 monthly price plan (24 month), on April 30. The Nexus One will also be available via Vodafone stores and telesales, with Vodafone providing direct support to customers with the superphone when they need it.

Nexus One will be available on a range of great value Vodafone price plans, on both 18 and 24 month contracts. Price plans start from £25 a month on a 24 month contract.

Vodafone UK customers with the Nexus One can use up to 1GB of mobile data as part of their price plan as well as take advantage of unlimited access to Wi-Fi in the home and free, publicly available services throughout the country. Customers using Wi-Fi can also use an additional 1GB of data at premium BT Openzone hotspots throughout the UK.

Nexus One features the latest in Google innovation including Google Maps™ Navigation (Beta), which offers satnav-style turn-by-turn driving directions with voice output and Street View. Also included are other favourites like Google Mail, YouTube and access to Android Market™ with more than 40,000 applications.

Google Maps Navigation is an Internet-connected GPS navigation system that provides turn-by-turn voice guidance as a free feature of Google Maps for Android™. Key features include Google Search and Search by voice to find your destination, the most recent maps, businesses and live traffic from Google Maps, and street and satellite views.

Vodafone UK customers now have a wide choice of Android phones, truly establishing Vodafone as the home of the Smartphone.

Nexus One Hardware Features

* Display: 3.7" AMOLED 480x800 WVGA display
* Thinness: 11.5mm; Weight: 130g
* Processor/Speed: Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 3G QSD8250 chipset, delivering speeds up to 1GHz
* Camera: 5 megapixel auto focus with flash and geo tagging
* Onboard memory: 512MB Flash, 512MB RAM
* Expandable memory: 4GB removable SD Card (expandable to 32GB)
* Noise Suppression: Dynamic noise suppression from Audience, Inc.
* Ports: 3.5mm stereo headphone jack with four contacts for inline voice and remote control
* Battery: Removable 1400 mAh
* Personalized laser engraving: Up to 50 characters on the back of the phone
* Trackball: Tri-colour notification LED, alerts when new emails, chats, text messages arrive