Google keeps rolling out new and shiny things, but it also has this habit of only rolling it out slowly among its users. Some people get it early and others have to wait. That was the case with the new channel pages for YouTube, for example. If you’ve been itching for the new full-screen experience for Google Maps on the web, you don’t have to wait until you get that invite.

There is a clever little trick that’s actually really easy to implement, as well as really easy to revert if you decide you like the current Google Maps web interface better. The easiest way to do this is to use Google Chrome as your web browser. Then, head over to the Chrome Web Store and download a web cookie editor extension. Android Police recommends this one.

Then, head on over to maps.google.com in your web browser and let it load normally. You can ignore that “Get the new Google Maps” box in the left sidebar, because all that’s going to do is send you to a page where you can request an invite. You don’t need that. Instead, click the button for your cookie editing extension and look for the cookie labeled as “NID.” Select the contents of that cookie and replace it with this text:

67=MzRdy0T16I7lw9REhtIF5N5lkuoSy1s7cJGFa24wZ6pRK0kRpU9SqiTWy9r_DQ4UxdmHjSeMImvsqgrVUbC0T9FhuESvl__dlkZwRBTxkzxWcdq8vDcpuvnuve6yI78LeqFFK21yc0_6Bp3cHS4Z3a6nwwBQm_fW8DfHF7lv6OrkDosmMa-GaDOLVXR2ewK5-xAk

Click submit, refresh the page, and bathe in the glory of the new Google Maps web interface. If and when you want to revert, just clear out your cookies.

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The post Get the New Web Interface for Google Maps Now appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Right now, we are at the verge of major innovations in mobile tech, robotic tech, nanotech and countless other breakthroughs. It is an exciting time, but potentially a scary time as well.

As robots and AI continue to advance, there will be some very real concerns regarding both privacy and ethics. Speaking at Google’s Big Tent conference in London this week, several knowledgeable experts in robotics came together to discuss the future of robots, particularly focusing on the moral side of things.

The group was made up of Jon Snow (moderator), Bertolt Meyer from the University of Zurich, Observer columnist Carole Cadwalladr and Noel Sharkey, part of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots and robotics and AI expert at University of Sheffield.

Some of the big questions asked were how will robotic tech further change society, and who will determine what we should and shouldn’t do.

According to Meyer:

“I visited a lab in southern California where they are creating a chip that will go in people’s brains to restore memory function in Alzheimer’s patients. Now when they put this chip in healthy rats, they got a super rat with excellent memory. I asked one of the scientists working on this for 30 years, should we be doing this with humans? He says, ‘I don’t know’. The ethical implications hadn’t occurred to him.”

While each side obviously had different opinions about the future of these advanced technologies, ultimately they all agreed that scientists are probably not the ones who should decide on the ethics of engineering autonomous robots. But then who should? A good question.

Meyer continues:

“Business people aren’t the best to answer these questions either — as soon as there’s money to be made, lots of questions you or I ask will be put aside. Now they are niche products, but if they become available to the mass market through augmenting human capabilities, it could become profitable”.

According to Sharkey, “science should be allowed to progress, but we shouldn’t be caught off-guard the way we were with the internet”.

Sharkey commented:

“It’s always humans making the decision to kill people, and it’s crucial for laws of warfare that we can separate competence and civilians. No one will be held accountable otherwise”.

Ultimately, it is about handling regulation on the governmental level. As well as just having everyday people understanding the ethics of what they should or shouldn’t do with the tech.

Robotic Tech Opens the Door to Both Good and Bad

But of course there are good and bad things about these tech advances. Meyer was talking about how he feels about his artificial hand, without wearing which he feels “super incapacitated”. With advancements in robotic limbs, devices that can help people see/hear and other enhancement tech – we have the potential to truly impact lives in a positive way.

Unfortunately, there are also negative implications here. “When it comes to enhancement, we have to worry about it ethically. Will we get a society where people are forced to [replace healthy limbs] otherwise they won’t get a job?” says Sharkely.
Then there is the idea that not everyone will be able to afford such tech, further dividing classes.

As Cadwalladr puts it:

“The tools by themselves are wonderful, but the way we use technology is not symmetrical. Those who have more money will become super mortals. When I saw Sergei Brin with his Google Glasses at a Ted conference, he went on this game with Emotiv technology that shows your mental focus. Sergei leapt to the top of the leader board. I did pretty average. Sergei is highly intelligent already, but if I put the glasses on and they won’t increase my abilities”.

Snow also seems to believe that inequality arises with the advancement of technology. Cadwalladr and Sharkey also talked about the good and bad sides of using robots as assistants in hospitals and care homes.

“They’re talking about using them as nursing assistants or elder care — but doesn’t that take away from our humanity? Isn’t it better for people to talk to people,” said Cadwalladr. Sharkey is worried about “human dignity; accountability”. There are certainly many questions about what robotics will mean for the future. There are tons of positives on the horizon, but there are real concerns as well. So how do we proceed? We need to start seriously talking and regulating now.

The future is coming, now we just need to be ready for it. What do you think about the future of robotics and AI? Who should be regulating these technologies and making the bigger ethical decisions relating to them?

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The post Killer Robots, Super AI: Who Controls the Ethics Behind Innovation? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

From now on you can use a Google Now style voice search on your chrome browser. It is now available in the latest Chrome stable version for the desktop, and all you have to do is get the new update by taking the following steps:

• Launch your Chrome browser and open the settings.
• Click on Help and after a few seconds you will be prompted to relaunch Chrome.
• After you restart Chrome, just head to Google and click the microphone icon in the search box.
• You will have to give permission for Google to use your microphone (look for the bar on top), depending on your privacy settings.
• Then you speak.

Testing it out, we can tell you this isn’t as “fancy” as was shown off at Google I/O. More than likely this is just the beginning, and a more advanced form of the search will arrive a bit down the road.

Have you started using voice search? What do you think of the changes?

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The post How To Update Your Chrome Browser To Get Google Now Voice Search appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

While some of the early Glass Explorers are more tech enthusiasts than actual developers, it is still important to realize that the glasses are in fact targeted towards developers, and not true commercial use. Because of that, they have a few special rules that come with that high $1500 buying price.

Specifically you can’t resell, transfer, give or loan Google Glass out. That’s a bit harsh though, as you paid a lot for the Glasses – and you probably have a long list of folks that want to try it out. Luckily, Google has changed its stance on the whole “loaning” part of its Google Glasses policy.

Here’s what the newly revised FAQ says about loaning:

Can I loan Glass to someone else?

A: Yes. The philosophy of the Explorer Edition is “one device for one person,” but we understand that there are situations where you might want to loan the device to a family member, friend, or colleague. Please don’t sell, rent, or otherwise make a profit off the device. That’s not allowed, nor is it in the Explorer spirit.

In other words, you can now allow friends and family members to take Glass for an extended spin, days, weeks, whatever have you… as long as you aren’t charging any dough to them, that is.

What do you think of Google Glass, hope to someday soon get your hands on it, or is it merely a fad item that will see a loss of interest in time?

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The post Google Changes Its Mind on Loaning Out Google Glasses, Now Allows It appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

It was expected by many that Google would announce the next version of Android (4.3 or 5.0), at their I/O conference. But that didn’t happen, and neither did they announce any new hardware. But, as rumored earlier, they have plans to bring out a new version of the Nexus 4 in the very near future and it will be running the new OS version.

It’s not a 32GB model that’s been talked about, but it will apparently be the same Nexus 4 that’s available now but with a white casing. The best thing is that the 16GB model will arrive running Android Jelly Bean 4.3 and the device will be released on the 10^th of June. There are no hints regarding the rumored LTE support, though that is expected to be available as well.

As for the next version of Android, nobody knows what all features it’s coming with, though many believe that it will only be a minor update. Head here if you are interested in taking a better look at the white Nexus 4.

[Source]

The post White Nexus 4 And Android 4.3 Jelly Bean Coming Next Month appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

At the Google I/O conference, the search giant unveiled their Google Play Games, a new gaming service, which will be competing against Apple’s Game Center.

With the new cross-platform service, you will be able to enjoy cloud-synced game progression, in-game achievements, leaderboards, and matchmaking. Some of the developers who have jumped in include Gameloft, Glu, Ironhide Games, and Miniclip. The service is integrated with Google+, so this could be a reason for you to finally start adding people to your circles.

And speaking of the social network, it appears like the old games that you have already been playing on Google+ will be removed on June 30. According to Google, “If you would like to continue playing a particular game, contact the game’s developer to find out if there’s a new destination site for the game“.

If you have made payments to play a game, you will be able to use your unused credits when the game will be migrated to another site, while some games will offer a grace period before shutdown.

[Source]

The post Google+ Games Retire On June 30th appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

You’ve seen special “live” events on YouTube before, such as the today’s Google I/O Conference. Up until now, these events have either come from Google, a partner or are limited to very special (rare) events. This is all changing, starting now.

As long as your channel is in good standing with 1,000 subscribers, you can now sign up for a broadcasting option that will allow you to have hold your own live programming. With this new method you can insert ads into the ‘show’, display multiple camera angles and even add closed captions.

Note that even though you can sign-up today, it will probably take a few weeks for the feature to roll out to your account. This is definitely an interesting step for Google, and could potentially open up new opportunities for those who want to do something different than the typical cat video or music video.

Imagine live improv comedies, attempts at “Saturday Night Live”-type shows and more. Things could certainly get interesting… What do you think of the idea, is YouTube wise to open up live broadcasting for its users?

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The post YouTube Opens Up Live Broadcasting to its Users appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Tech lovers everywhere should be excited about the 2013 Google I/O conference which kicks off today! So what all things are expected to be unveiled at the event? Let’s take a look.

The search giant has been rumored for quite some to be working on a music streaming service similar to Spotify. And apparently Google has already signed deals with Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group for launching a paid subscription service which will give users access to a whole library of music and not just individual songs or albums. As for the fees, they most probably will ask close to $10 per month. Spotify users are charged $9.99 a month for listening to as many songs as they like.

If Google launches their service today, it would give them a head start on Apple who themselves are reportedly trying to introduce a service similar to Pandora. But recent reports have suggested that the Mac maker’s service will be delayed due to deal making problems.

Next up is Google Glass, their high tech wearable computer. They could have plans to announce some more exciting stuff about the device. But don’t expect too much as the developers are still testing the “Explorer” edition and it will take about a year for the final product to arrive.

We might get a peek at the next version of the Android OS “Key Lime Pie”, but it is looking more likely we will instead see another version of Jelly Bean. And the Jelly Bean update could be previewed on new hardware, maybe an upgraded Nexus 7 with a much faster CPU and improved display. And if that device is also given the $199 price tag, that will be more trouble for the iPad Mini starting at $329. The iPad Mini sales are reportedly against Apple’s expectations at the moment, probably because consumers are waiting for the device’s successor.

Also expected is a possible Nexus 4 smartphone refresh. There also are quite a few gaming-related announcements planned!

What do you hope to see shown off at I/O?

[Image Source]

The post Google I/O Conference: Music Streaming Service, Google Glass, and More appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

In its current form, Google Glass is an interesting idea, but the wearable glasses still have a long ways to go until they reach their full potential. Right now, Glass Explorers are testing the tech out, while developers are just starting to play around and test out what they can accomplish with the technology.

But it’s the long-term that really has us excited. The idea of having a mobile computing solution that augments the world around of is really appealing. Right now, Google Glass doesn’t do things much differently than our smartphones – but this will change.

In the video below, Playground Inc shows us future scenarios where Google Glass could play a major roll. These tasks vary from having a GPS screen while biking, to a 911 dialer, to a guitar training program and so much more.

What do you think of the ideas in the video, any of these concept ‘features’ make you excited for Glass? Conversely, do you have any ideas of your own that you feel Glass could be useful for in the not-too-distant future?

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The post A Look At Possible Future Uses for Google Glass (Video) appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The Facebook Home app hasn’t had a solid start, but Zuckerberg and his team certainly scored by being the first social network to take over Android handsets. Twitter, on the other hand, seems focused on Google’s promise for the future, the search giant’s Glass.

Earlier, a twitter user by name of Shivster Muddler tweeted a picture (posted below) of a lemon tree. The message, which has been uploaded via “Twitter for Glass”, said “just shared a photo #throughglass”.

This guy could have been testing a new Twitter app for Google Glass. Of course this could have been made up, though it’s not nonsense to believe that the app is in the works especially since venture capitalist John Doerr hinted earlier that Twitter is working on one.

So we might see a new Twitter app for Google’s high tech specs, which may or may not be the next big thing. What other apps would you like to see on the Glass when it reaches your hands? Wanna play Angry Birds with you pupil? Hopefully, the device will allow you to do more than just launching the apps.

[Source]

The post Twitter App For Google Glass appeared first on Mobile Magazine.