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Liveblog: Tim Cook talks biz at Box conference

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Apple chief Tim Cook (that's not him in the photo) will talk iOS 9 and the future of work at the BoxWorks conference today in San Francisco.
Apple chief Tim Cook (that's not him in the photo) will talk iOS 9 and the future of work at the BoxWorks conference today in San Francisco.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

SAN FRANCISCO — Will Tim Cook do anything to steal Google’s thunder?

The Apple CEO is back at the Moscone Center, this time for BoxWorks 2105, the annual gathering of customers and developers for enterprise cloud storage company Box.

It’s a rare speaking gig for Cook, who tends to limit his engagements to just a few high-profile events a year. While big and successful, Box’s conference is hardly one of the marquee events on the tech calendar. Unless it falls on the same exact day Google is announcing new products at its big Nexus media event.

“He’s f****ing with Google,” said one analyst in the press room when asked why Cook chose this event.

Cook is likely to talk up the new iPad Pro and Apple’s enterprise efforts, which include partnering with IBM and Cisco. Read on to see what he says. We’re liveblogging the event. Cook will be onstage at 9 a.m. Pacific.

Liveblog: Get the scoop on Google’s new Nexus, Chromecast and more

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Google's Nexus event is starting soon! Photo: Google
Google’s Nexus event is starting soon! Photo: Google

After months of leaks and speculation, Google’s new Nexus smartphones are almost here. In just one hour, the company will kick off its big keynote in San Francisco to announce the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P — and maybe even more.

You can follow the whole thing in our liveblog right here starting at 9 a.m. Pacific.

Android vs. iOS: Do adoption figures mean anything?

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Is it fair to compare (adoption rates)?
Is it fair to compare (adoption rates)?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iOS 9 has been out for two days, and it’s already running on more than 20 percent of compatible devices, according to the latest data. In comparison, Google’s latest Android release, version 5.1 Lollipop, is running on just 5.1 percent of devices ten months after it made its public debut.

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2These figures highlight the staggering difference between updates on Android and iOS. But is it fair to compare adoption figures between these two platforms, and do users really care?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over this very topic!

Google takes the fight to Apple Pay today

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Get ready for Android Pay.
Photo: Google
Get ready for Android Pay. Photo: Google
Get ready for Android Pay. Photo: Google

Android Pay has begun rolling out to users with support at more than 1 million locations throughout the U.S.

The Apple Pay competitor, which was first unveiled at Google I/O back in May, is available on NFC-equipped smartphones running Android 4.4 KitKat and above, and it’s compatible with a whole host of banks and credit card providers.

Samsung could make its new Gear S2 watch iPhone-friendly

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Samsung's new smartwatch could hit Apple Watch where it really hurts.
Photo: Samsung
Samsung's new smartwatch could hit Apple Watch where it really hurts. Photo: Samsung
Samsung’s new smartwatch could hit Apple Watch where it really hurts. Photo: Samsung

Samsung’s new Gear S2 smartwatch is its first to support third-party Android devices, and the South Korean company is reportedly looking extend its reach even further by supporting rival platforms, too.

According to one report, the Gear S2 and Gear S2 classic could soon play nicely with iPhone.

Google is as sick of app-install prompts as you are

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More and more these days, mobile websites will pop up a prompt to download an app associated with the site. This “app install interstitial” hides most of the actual web page and bugs users to essentially stop browsing the web and head to an app store and install an app. App install prompts suck.

“Our analysis shows that it is not a good search experience,” Google asserts in a new blog post, “and can be frustrating for users because they are expecting to see the content of the web page.”

As of Tuesday, web masters can use Google’s updated Mobile-Friendly Test page or Google’s mobile usability tools to find out if they have any offending pages.

Google forgot to search for ‘sophisticated logo design’

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The new Google logo is simpler than ever. Photo: Google
The new Google logo is simpler than ever. Photo: Google

Google revealed it’s getting a new logo today that ditches its rough edges for a more simplified (some would say childish) design. The change comes just a month after the company announced it was being restructured with Sundar Pichai taking the CEO reigns of the company now owned by Alphabet.

The new logo was introduced this morning on a blog post from Google’s VP of product management, Tamar Yehoshua, and UX director Bobby Nath, who justified their kiddie logo, saying it’s supposed to reflect the many platforms users interact with Google on throughout the day.

Google tells devs how to bypass iOS 9 app security features

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An image of the Google beta logo with the rainbow Apple logo in place of the first O
Google sure loves it ads.
Photo: Google/Apple

Google relies on ads for its revenue, which is why it’s no surprise that it’s undermining Apple by telling developers how to bypass some of the security settings Apple is implementing with iOS 9.

The App Transport Security (ATS) settings requires content which arrives on your iPhone to use the “https” encryption settings — making sure that third parties can’t track what users are doing on their iPhones.

Are Apple fans irrationally loyal to their brand?

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How deep is your love for Apple?
How deep is your love for Apple?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple fans have good reason to love the Cupertino company, which continues to revolutionize new product categories and deliver hugely successful products year after year. But how far should that love go?

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2Some might say there is a group of fans who are irrationally loyal to the Apple brand, devoted to buying its latest products just because they sport the Apple logo, and dismissing all competitors just because they don’t. But is there really a “Cult of Apple?”

Join us as we battle it out over that very question in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac.

Chrome for Mac is about to get a lot faster

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Chrome for iOS  just got faster.
Chrome for iOS just got faster.
Photo: Google

If you’ve been using Google’s Chrome browser on Mac, you’ve been missing out on some serious performance gains made by Apple with its Safari browser: Not only is Cupertino’s favorite browser faster than Chrome, it also saves battery power.

But Chrome is looking to catch up with a coming update that some Mac users are raving about.

Google robots can now chase you like a Terminator

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Google's robots are starting to look more an more like the Terminator.
Google's robots are starting to look more an more like the Terminator.
Photo: Boston Dynamics

Google-owned Boston Dynamics scared the bejesus out of us earlier this year with its hive-mind 160-pound robot dogs that can run on almost any terrain. Now the company is taking things to an all-new level with new video of its humanoid robot, which is the closest thing to a real-life Terminator we’ve ever seen.

Apple vs. Google: Which titan will crumble first?

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Who's your money on?
Who is your money on?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Like every other company, Apple and Google have had their share of highs and lows in the past — but one thing that’s for sure is that neither of them can keep going from strength-to-strength indefinitely; they’ll both stumble at some point in the future.

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2But which will be the first to take a tumble?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over that very question!

Sorry, Google, BMW already owns ‘Alphabet’ and they don’t want to sell

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sorry-google-bmw-already-owns-alphabet-and-they-dont-want-to-sell-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201508alphabet1-jpg
Why didn't they just...Google it?  Photo: Alphabet/Google
Why didn’t they just…Google it?
Photo: Alphabet/Google

When Google reorganized itself into a subsidiary of a new over-arching company, Alphabet, you’d think that they’d have checked to see if anyone else was doing a similar business with the name.

In fact, BMW also does business as Alphabet, and they own the trademark and the .com URL to boot.

BMW makes cars, and Google is working on a self-driving car. That seems like possible grounds for a trademark infringement suit, right?

Vulkan is Google’s answer to Apple Metal for Android games

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Vulkan will bring better games to Android.
Photo: Samsung
Vulkan is coming to Android. Photo: Samsung
Vulkan is coming to Android. Photo: Samsung

Apple Metal, introduced at last year’s WWDC, gives developers low-level access to the GPU to maximize the graphics and performance potential of their games. Now Android gamers are going to get a taste of that, too.

No, Apple isn’t bringing Metal to Android — but Google is adopting an alternative called Vulkan.

Google now a subsidiary of a new company: Alphabet

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Larry Page announced a whole new company, Alphabet, and it now owns Google.
Photo: Alphabet
alphabet
Larry Page announced a whole new company, Alphabet, and it now owns Google. Photo: Alphabet

Google just dropped a bombshell announcement that the operating structure of the company is getting seriously shaken up. To start, co-founder Larry Page broke the news of Alphabet: a new holding company which Google will operate under moving forward. Page will operate as the CEO with Sergey Brin as President effective immediately.

Are Android security scares really as bad as they seem?

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It's that time of the week again!
It's that time of the week again!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

After the discovery of several dangerous flaws in a few short weeks, Android’s security — or lack thereof — has been big news. Google has acted quickly to eliminate the Stagefright flaw that left 95% of Android devices vulnerable to attack, but others have since wormed their way out of the woodwork.

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2Now fans are asking how these flaws made their way into public Android releases, compromising the security of more than 1 billion users worldwide. Could Google be doing more to prevent it? And are its hardware partners doing all they can to patch holes in their own software?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we fight it out over these questions and more!

Apple pledges support for massive climate change pledge

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Apple Store
Apple's shelling out billions to go green.
Photo: Apple

Apple executives are joining top brass from 12 other major U.S. corporations at the White House today to announce a $140 billion pledge in new investments to decrease their carbon footprints.

The 13 companies which also includes Microsoft and Google, are joining the Obama Administration’s push to lead the effort against climate change ahead of the the United Nations climate-change summit in Paris later this year by launching the American Business Act on Climate Pledge.

Siri vs. Google Now: Who wins the AI cat fight?

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Fight!
Fight!

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2Every mobile platform now ships with its very own virtual assistant, and while they all offer a similar set of basic features, Google Now and Siri are way ahead of their rivals. Google Now knows what you want and when you want it, but Siri has sass and personality, and is about to get a whole lot better with the help of Proactive.

If you were to pit the two against each other in a virtual ring, which one would come out wearing the belt? Join us as we find out in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac!

Google Maps loses its cool when asked, ‘Are we there yet?’

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If you have young children, the last question you want to hear on any long journey is, “Are we there yet?” It’s never asked just once; it’s asked again and again and again until you angrily threaten to turn around and go home, or you plow into a tree.

The question is so infuriating that even Google Maps can’t take it. Ask the maddening question a few times while navigating and you’ll get the angry response you deserve.