Google I/O has come and gone leaving us with some answers, but even more questions. Luckily, The Verge Mobile Show is here to help you get to know the new Google, before Google gets to know you. On this weeks episode, Dieter, Vlad, and Chris talk in-depth about the buttery smooth Jelly Bean, the...
Google is getting to know you, and so are we
The UK High Court of Justice's Chancery Division has today ruled that HTC smartphones are not in violation of any of the EU patents Apple brought to the court. In addition, Judge Christopher Floyd, who presided over the case, declared three of the...
If you're itching to give Google Now a try, then, once again, xda-developers has you covered. You can now run Google's new assistant app on your Android 4.0 handset provided you're running a ROM based on the Android open-source project (AOSP). If you attempt to install Google Now on a non-AOSP ROM, you'll run into crashes and possible boot loops, so, please don't do it.
The method for...
For many of us, the most shocking revelation to come out of CERN's Higgs boson announcement today was quite unrelated to the science itself. Rather, we were blown away by the fact that a team made up of some of the most undoubtedly brilliant people in the world believe that Comic Sans is an appropriate font for such a historic occasion. While criticizing the much-maligned typeface is almost as much of a cliché as using it by now, and there could even have been worse choices, Comic Sans designer Vincent Connare seems to agree that his infamous creation isn't quite the best match for particle physics announcements. Particle physicist Brian Cox, on the other hand...
The font of all knowledge could use a better font
Google’s Nexus 7 tablet is not exactly a surprise. Nor is the fact that I’m able to work on a review of the product just hours after the device was announced. For years now, Google has had the uncanny habit of not only making big announcements at its I/O events, but then immediately sharing what it has shown off with developers and members of the press.
This year was over the top. Not only...
Fast, cheap, and out of control
If we didn't have a cacophony of credible rumors before, we certainly do now: WSJ is adding to the buzz generated by Bloomberg last night, saying that "a tablet computer with a smaller screen than the iPad" is on track for September production. Two sources told WSJ that the screen will be smaller than eight inches (Bloomberg had reported between seven and eight) and that Apple's working with...
Record companies in Japan are collectively getting rid of copy protection on the digital tracks they provide to download services, reports Nikkei. The DRM on songs from services like Mora impose limits on the number and kind of devices that can be used for playback, and the number of CDs they can be burned to. Reportedly, the decision to completely do away with DRM is backed by Victor (JVC), Avex Group, Warner Japan, and others, while EMI Japan and Universal Music will be taking a more measured approach — doing away with it a little at a time depending on the distribution service. Sony...
Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 chip is a hot seller, but unfortunately for the American company, it has had trouble producing enough of the chips to satisfy demand. The dire situation — output wasn't expected to meet demand until 2013 — has driven Qualcomm to contract Samsung and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) to manufacture the 28nm chips for them, according to a report from the Taiwan Economic News. The company has been on relying on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to build the vast majority of its products, but the manufacturer has clearly failed Qualcomm. The report cites "people familiar with the contract,"...
Rob Glaser, founder and former chief executive of RealNetworks, is returning to the company as interim CEO. He replaces Thomas Nielsen, who only took the top job last November. In a prepared statement, Glaser admits that Nielsen "wasn't the right fit," but rules out the possibility of a permanent...
A Microsoft anti-spam engineer has identified an international botnet controlling Android devices, using them to send spam on an industrial scale. Writing on his MSDN blog, Terry Zink describes how he analyzed the headers of spam samples containing the signature "Sent from Yahoo! Mail on...
PlayStation 3's virtual world, Home, will introduce player-designed housing with the release of a new system called Blueprint: Home, Sony announced on its PlayStation US Blog.
While users are currently restricted to either a generic housing...
Before the dust could settle from the battle against the Stop Online Piracy Act earlier this year, the people that helped defeat it realized they needed to do more than play whack-a-mole with bad bills from Congress. Since the January 18th SOPA blackout, a group of net...
The European Parliament has today voted to reject the controversial anti-counterfeiting trade agreement (ACTA). The vote was staggeringly one-sided, with 478 votes against, 146 abstentions, and just 39 in favor. The 'no' vote essentially ends any chance of ACTA coming into effect in either the EU...
Free mobile internet access in the UK can now be yours for the cost of a SIM card and a few minutes of your time. Samba, an MVNO that's just launched on Three's network, is offering ad-supported access that it says will amount to around 517 megabytes of monthly data in exchange for watching two and a half minutes of commercials a day. The firm offers SIM and micro-SIM cards for £4.99 each including shipping...
The Large Hadron Collider, a series of tunnels constructed deep underground on the Swiss-French border, is playing host to perhaps the most dramatic piece of scientific research of our era: the search for the Higgs boson particle. Operated by the...
YouView — a joint TV venture between the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel Five, BT, TalkTalk, and Arquiva — is launching its new set-top box later this month following successful trials. Unveiled today, the new service will bring freeview-like services to UK users without the need for a...
CERN is holding a seminar to update the world on the progress it has made searching for the elusive Higgs boson. Experiments have been conducted with the Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator...
In April, Google started selling unlocked Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphones from its own store, for $399 a pop. Six days ago, the price dropped to $349. Now, however, the phone is listed as "coming...
A skin pack for the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft is underway and will feature 40 new avatar outfits including a Covenant Grunt, 'Splosion Man, King, Creeper, and a biker from Trials HD.
The...
The ban on fracking in North Carolina has been lifted as a result of an accidentally pressed button. Democratic representative Becky Carney unwittingly hit "Aye" to vote with Republicans seeking to...
A Californian jury reached a verdict today after two days of deliberations, ruling that Toshiba is guilty of conspiring with several other...
After any major OS update, the first question on everybody's mind is naturally "When can I get it?" As Android owners know all-too-well, the answer to that question inevitably involves waiting, rumors, innuendo, leaks, and often crushing disappointment. With the announcement of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean at Google I/O, there was the same hope there is for every Google I/O: that the situation would...
The government is currently working to regulate new autonomous technologies like self-driving cars, and unmanned aircraft are no exception. Instead of leaving it to the government, the drone industry has presented its own "Code of Conduct" that it claims will promote "safe, non-intrusive" use of...
