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Google’s iOS app gets an Android-like makeover

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Google Search for iOS gets a Material Design make over. Photo: Google
Google Search for iOS gets a Material Design make over. Photo: Google

First debuted with Android L, Material Design is Google’s new in-house unified design ethos, Material Design. Boiled down, it’s a series of UI/UX tricks that makes Google’s web properties not feel unified with one another, but like digital paper, folding and unfolding underneath your fingertips no matter what device you use.

Android L, of course, has already seen a Material Design revamp, but now we’re starting to see Material Design creep to Google’s iOS app.

Searching for Mac SEO tools? Put SEO PowerSuite in your tool chest

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Photo: SEO PowerSuite
SEO PowerSuite delivers an easy-to-use set of Mac SEO tools. Photo: SEO PowerSuite

This post is brought to you by SEO PowerSuite.

These days, Google is clearly heading toward delivering more helpful search results, which makes some people believe that search engine optimization has become a thing of the past. The reality is quite the opposite, though: It has never been more important to understand best SEO practices and get your hands on accurate data to maintain a stable online presence.

If you don’t want to hire professionals to fix up your site, SEO PowerSuite is your DIY alternative.

SEO PowerSuite is an all-in-one suite of Mac SEO tools that, according to the company, is reportedly used by every third SEO professional in the world. To find out how to use SEO PowerSuite to optimize your website, read on.

Chromecast and Roku are crushing Apple TV

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The next version of Apple TV may allow you to take your viewing with you wherever you go. Photo: Apple
Apple TV is in desperate need of an update. Photo: Apple

It’s been over two and a half years since Apple TV was updated, and while Apple’s been happy resting on its laurels, its biggest competitors are passing it by.

Google’s Chromecast is now more popular than Apple TV, reports Parks Associates, which says streaming media players become more popular than ever in the first three quarters of 2014, as 10 percent of U.S. households bought at least one new streaming device.

Apple is getting ready to ditch Google as search engine for iOS and OS X

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An image of the Google beta logo with the rainbow Apple logo in place of the first O
For a brief moment, there was a report of Google buying Apple.
Photo: Google/Apple

Apple has spent a great deal of time distancing itself from Google ever since its erstwhile partner launched Android back in 2008. Google Maps and YouTube haven’t been bundled as default apps on iPhones or iPads for years, and rumors keep swirling that Apple will kill its partnership with Google as a default search engine in Safari on both iOS and OS X.

But now? Now it looks like Apple might finally pull the trigger, ending all of its Google partnerships for good.

Apple-backed patent consortium settles lawsuit with Google

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googleiOSsearcheasteregg

The patent-holding consortium Rockstar — which includes Apple among its members, alongside Microsoft, BlackBerry and others — has reached a settlement with Google.

In a lawsuit filed last October, Rockstar alleged that Google was infringing on 7 different search-related patents, which had been acquired by Rockstar in 2011 following the bankruptcy of networking products supplier Nortel.

Rockstar outbid Google to acquire the patents, for which it paid $4.5 billion. Some reports put Apple’s contribution as high as $2.6 billion.

How to access Google’s killer Inbox service on Safari

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Google Inbox is now on the Mac. Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac
Google Inbox is now works in Safari. Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

Google’s new Inbox app is a godsend for people like me who seem to teeter on the brink of inbox bankruptcy weekly, but there’s one problem with the killer Gmail manager: it’s not only available on iOS, Chrome, and Android.

The Inbox team might not be in a hurry to bring its service to Safari, but if you want don’t want to defect to Chrome just manage play with Inbox, our friend Rishi at Zinx has discovered how to access Inbox from Safari.

Here’s how to do it:

Android founder quits Google to build robots

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post-301733-image-ff9e34d0f11685ddaa2ce31d29ecf6bc-jpg
/Flickr CC

Andy Rubin, co-founder and former head of Android, has left Google to start up a hardware incubator dedicated to building robots.

Rubin helped establish Android as the world’s most widely-used mobile operating system after it was bought by Google in 2005, before switching to run Google’s robotics business last year.

Here’s how to get into the Inbox by Gmail beta, no invite required

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You don't need an invite to get into Inbox with this nifty trick. Photo: Google
You don't need an invite to get into Inbox with this nifty trick. Photo: Google

Are you interested in Inbox, Google’s innovative new attempt to “fix” email, but haven’t gotten an invitation into the beta?

Good news: as long as you have a real-world friend who is already part of Inbox’s invite-only beta, you can easily get in, no invite required. Here’s how.

Nest buys home-automation rival Revolv to shut it down

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Revolv was snapped up by Nest -- although it doesn't look like it'll remain revolving for long. Photo: Revolv
Revolv was snapped up by Nest -- although it doesn't look like it'll remain revolving for long. Photo: Revolv

Nest has acquired Revolv, the Colarado-based startup which allowed users to control their smart home devices from a single interface using their smartphone.

No price has yet been announced for the purchase, which follows Nest’s $555 million Dropcam purchase back in June, and Nest’s own acquisition by Google for a massive $3.2 billion earlier this year.

Apple spends less than Google and other tech giants on lobbying fees

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Photo: imelda/Flickr CC
Photo: imelda/Flickr CC

Apple may be out-earning its rivals, but there’s one place it’s lagging behind: political lobbying.

While companies like Google and Facebook continued to pour millions of dollars into influencing U.S. lawmakers during Q3, Apple spent a fraction of this sum.

According to recently published data, between July and September Google spent $3.94 million on lobbying, while Facebook spent $2.45 million. Apple, for its part, spent just over $1 million — mainly pushing issues related to consumer health legislation, transportation of lithium ion batteries, international taxes, e-books, medical devices, and copyright.

Apple and Google reignite mediation talks in wage-fixing lawsuit

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Apple can afford to lose some marketshare because of how profitable it is.
Illustration: Cult of Mac

Apple and Google have resumed mediation talks with tech workers who are suing Silicon Valley’s top tech firms for an alleged anti-hiring agreement orchestrated by Steve Jobs.

Court filings indicate that Intel and Adobe are also participating in the talks as the companies attempt to reach a new settlement for the class action case, after U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh rejected the companies’ proposed settlement of $324.5 million last month.

Apple tweaks HealthKit policy to shield your most personal data

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New IBM cloud has the potential to take Health data to the next level. Photo: Apple
Apple has modified HealthKit's privacy policy to ensure that your data is safe from advertisers.

Apple may view its mobile health push as a “moral obligation,” but for it to really become the tech leader in this area it’s going to need to ensure that it has user trust on its side.

That may help explain why — ahead of the September 9 event many predict will see the unveiling of the long-awaited iWatch — Apple has taken the opportunity to update its HealthKit privacy policy to ensure that developers keep user data away from advertisers and data brokers.

Google completes its iOS productivity suite with new Slides app

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iOS_shots_forBlog

Until today, Google had free apps for making documents and spreadsheets on iOS: Google Docs and Google Sheets. To complete the trifecta, Google Slides has been released in the App Store for creating Powerpoint-like presentations.

Google is gunning hard at Apple’s iWork apps and Microsoft’s Office 365 suite. Docs, Sheets and Slides are not only completely free, but they have offline mode and the ability to convert and edit Microsoft Office files.

Google & HP are in talks to create an enterprise version of Siri

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Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

Apple’s mega deal with IBM could give it a death grip on the enterprise market, but according to a report from The Information, Google’s Android team has been deep in talks with HP on ways it can push Android deeper into enterprise itself.

Using Google Now’s voice-search powers, the Android unit and HP have been discussing the potential of creating a mobile search product nicknamed “Enterprise Siri,” that could access financial data, product inventory, and more to become the perfect Siri-like tool for enterprise customers.

Google Chrome beta finally goes 64-bit for OS X

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Google today rolled out a new Chrome beta for OS X — officially dubbed Chrome Canary — which finally takes advantage of the 64-bit processors built into the latest Macs. The change should mean better performance when browsing the web, but it isn’t quite ready to become your daily driver just yet.

iOS Easter egg lets you go thermonuclear on Google’s logo

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googleiOSsearcheasteregg

Google Search for iOS has got a new Easter that allows Android-hatin’ fanboys – or anyone else who just likes destroying things – to tear apart the GOOG’s childish logo, one letter at a time.

To find the Google Search easter egg just open the app to the main search screen and you’ll be able to drag, flick and drop letters from the Google logo anywhere on the screen. Titling right and left makes the letters float or fall based on your tilt, and if you want to restore order, each letter can be put back in its proper place.

If your app still has the Nelson Mandela logo you’ll have to wait for an update, but in the meantime, checkout the easter egg in action in the quick video below:

Apple employees are least attractive among top tech firms

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Apple and Google may reign supreme as the top two tech companies in the U.S., but when it comes to attractiveness, Amazon and Microsoft employees are absolutely slaying them.

After crunching the numbers from its social-networking app for professionals, Hinge found that employees from Amazon are the most sought-after on network, topping both Google, Facebook and Microsoft, with Apple’s young professionals coming in dead last.

How video upstarts can thrive in YouTube’s shadow

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Talkin' 'bout m-m-my generation.
Talkin' 'bout my g-g-generation. Photo: Jonas Bengtsson/Flickr CC

When I wanted to learn how to knit, I went to YouTube. Anytime I need to learn a guitar solo for a cover song my band is working on, I head to YouTube. I’m not alone in my use of the video portal, either. According to Nielsen, YouTube reaches more U.S. adults in the 18-34 age range than any cable network.

These types of everyday queries have made YouTube the No. 2 search engine in the world, second only to Google (which just happens to be the video site’s parent company). More than 1 billion unique users head to YouTube every month, and more than 6 billion hours of video — almost an hour of video for each person on the planet — get watched in the same time period.

If you’re a new site, trying to capture enough mind share and traffic to create a successful user-created video content business, how could you ever compete with such a giant?