google x

Google to split mapping, commerce ops, WSJ reports

It appears that Google's "spring cleaning" is even broader than thought.

The online search giant is splitting its mapping and commerce unit into two separate businesses, The Wall Street Journal reported today, citing its sources.

Jeff Huber, who led the mapping and commerce business, is stepping aside from his role and will be moving to the Google X unit, the Journal said. That business is run by Google co-founder Sergey Brin and works on projects such as self-driving cars and Google Glass.

Google confirmed to CNET that Huber is shifting roles.

"Jeff is an extraordinary executive,&… Read more

Motorola apparently seeking product manager for 'X-Phone'

A job listing briefly posted on LinkedIn appears to confirm last month's report of an "X-Phone," now in development at Motorola, that represents Google's biggest effort to date to inject life into the struggling device maker.

The listing, first noticed by Android Headlines, advertises for a senior product manager for the X-Phone. The listing describes the project as a "next-generation smartphone platform."

The ad is now listed as "no longer active" on LinkedIn. But a companion listing on Motorola's Web site is nearly identical, with only the references to the "… Read more

Time to target those rich Mac users

Today's headline roundup will have you worried about Terminator cats targeting rich Mac users via their Facebook email addresses:

The engineers at the super secret Google X lab have created the self-driving car and the augmented reality Google glasses. This time, while trying to push the limits of technology, they may have started to create Skynet. Google engineers strung 16,000 computer processors together, and then set the network free on the Internet. The New York Times explains that the system began to learn... about cats. Google engineers never told the computer what a cat was, it just picked … Read more

Google X Labs: First Project Glass, next space elevators?

I will be probably the last person to use augmented reality specs from Google's Project Glass. But I have to applaud the company for taking on far-out concepts at Google X Labs.

Google today for the first time acknowledged Project Glass, in which an eyeglass-like frame essentially brings the Internet to a small screen above the right eye. The demonstration video shows, from the perspective of someone wearing the glasses, a person communicating with friends and looking up information just as he might use a smartphone.

Personally, I don't need any more distractions as I move through my … Read more

Will Majel voice Google's rebuttal to Apple's Siri?

Google may soon launch a new, more sophisticated voice assistant for Android devices that can respond to natural language commands, claims tech enthusiast site Android and Me.

Codenamed Majel after the late "Star Trek" actress Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, who provided the voice of the computer for all of the later versions of the popular science fiction TV series, the new voice assistant could launch as early as January or February.

If the report holds true, Majel would be an upgrade to Android's current Voice Actions app, which lets you make calls, send e-mails, search the Web, get directions, … Read more

Google X shows dogged determination for far-out research

There's a constant tension at Google between fast-moving, nimble, disruptive projects and the more plodding established business.

Sometimes the entrenched part of the business comes out ahead, as when Google canceled Google Labs. But attempts to nurture a start-up ethos within the company continue, this time with a project called Google X digging into advanced robotics and more.

Word of Google X had bubbled up in recent months, via MG Siegler, formerly of TechCrunch, and Nicholas Carlson at Business Insider. But New York Times' Clair Cain Miller and Nick Bilton have just delivered a lot more detail with a … Read more

Shoegler: Custom Google Nike shoes for geek feet

You don't have to have a pair of Marty McFly sneakers to wear your geek cred on your feet. Google co-founder Larry Page is the subject of an unusual tribute, the Google x Nike Dunk Low. This variation on the Nike Dunk Low shoe incorporates Google colors, the Google logo, and Page's signature.

To keep you on your toes, the sneakers also feature Page's face on each tongue. Two Larry Pages smiling from just under your pant legs should be a great way to freak people out.

The Google x Nike Dunk Low was designed by Evan Steinberg, Google community manager for Android and mobile. He refers to it as the "Shoegler" edition.… Read more

Contest asks kids to craft a lunar rover

The X Prize Foundation and Google are looking to whiz kids for robot ideas.

Three weeks ago, the L.A.-based prize organization announced the Google Lunar X Prize--a $20 million-plus contest to put a robot on the moon that can rove for at least 500 meters and send visuals back to Earth. As if to add heft to the unveiling, Google and X Prize executives talked about the mission and the future of space exploration while surrounded by throngs of school-aged kids from around Los Angeles.

Now, the people behind the Google Lunar X Prize are calling on middle-school … Read more