Yesterday, the bloggers that were hardy enough to endure long lines, torture by Pong, and Neverending Story length cartoon intro, were eventually subjected to rewarded with a keynote speech from Google VP Sundar Pichai. And so, let it be known, just as Pichai began uttering the first syllables of his buzzspeak speech, Google officially kicked off Google I/O, 2015.
In IT Blogwatch, bloggers usually get cardboard at Office Depot.
Today's humble blogwatcher is .
Blair Hanley Frank ditches Google+ for something less creepy:
If there's one word that summarizes why Google's new photo service works separately from Google+, it's "privacy."
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The company wanted Photos to be a "private, sacred, secure place for all of [its users'] memories, without agenda," Bradley Horowitz, Google's vice president of streams and photos, said during a press conference at Google I/O Thursday.
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That's not aligned with the current mission for Google+...[the] social network [that tried to take] on Facebook. MORE
Then Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson compresses photos:
Google wants to store every photograph you've ever taken, file them...into categories, create collages and animations...[all] for free.
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There's just one catch: the company will tweak them first.
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While all users will be offered unlimited photo storage, it is only under the condition that they let Google compress their photo files to a smaller size. MORE
But Iain Thomson prefers to wait at least four years before uploading his photos:
The photos team stressed that the [Photo app] is very much a work-in-progress [what isn't a beta at Google? – ed.] and more features will be added later, including multiple account image sharing and cleanup tools. Flickr execs (and their Yahoo! bosses) must be feeling a little nonplussed at the moment. MORE
Zach Miners also covers the smart fabric beat:
Wander around the halls of Google's I/O conference and eventually you'll bump into a large table covered with a blue cloth.
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But being I/O, this is no ordinary cloth. It's a smart fabric developed by Google's advanced technology group that could one day control your smartphone or the lights in your home. MORE
Google VP Sundar Pichai -- time compressed:
Android M is the most powerful Android release yet, with hundreds of improvements made to the platform. Among the highlights, we've improved battery life and streamlined permissions for apps.
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[As] part of M release, we're expanding Google Now to give people on-demand assistance. ... We're also making it much easier to find new apps and in-app content.
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Project Brillo is a new platform derived from Android for [IoT] devices. As part of Brillo, we're introducing a communications protocol (Weave)...a set of developer APIs...[and] a core set of schemas and a certification program to ensure device and app interoperability. MORE
Cardboard. Matt Smith managed to fold it into this list of I/O awesomeness:
Cardboard needs less folds for bigger screens.
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The cardboard VR headset has a new design that makes assembly easier and can handle phones with screens up to 6 inches. Support for iOS is being included, too, which is good news for iPhone 6 Plus users. MORE
Skynet's payment system reminds Philip Ryan of fruit:
It was tough to find anything about Android Pay that was different from Apple Pay. We are not even hearing that Google secured any of the pricing concessions Apple Pay extracted from issuing banks. Oh, wait, there is one difference: Android Pay works on Android devices. MORE
Finally, Leslie Nassar shows us the future -- and it ain't pretty:
The most Google photo ever. The future is horrible. MORE
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