prediction

Google says it can predict movie hits based on search data

Curious about how well "The Lone Ranger" will fair at the box office? How about whether "Star Trek Into Darkness" will do alright overall?

This is information that Google now says it can predict with up to 94 percent accuracy.

The Web giant released a study (pdf) on Thursday that examines the correlation between Google searches and box-office performance. And, with people using search at an increasing rate (56 percent more in 2012 than 2011), it seems that Google's predictions will only get better.

"Moviegoers are now more actively discovering and exploring their film … Read more

Microsoft's game plan for E3 2013: Damage control

Microsoft's pre-E3 Xbox One reveal event in Redmond, Wash., wasn't a presentation targeted at gamers. In fact, most gamers hated it. Why? Because Microsoft used the opportunity to boast about the Xbox One's live TV integration and the seamless experience it will supposedly provide.

That mantra won't fly at E3 2013 in Los Angeles, where the priority is always games. The company teased with some details about what the Xbox One's gaming future will look like, but as of now it's still mostly unknown.

Here's a preview of what Microsoft needs to accomplish … Read more

Is Grokr Apple's foray into predictive search?

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced last week that Apple had acquired nine startups since October. And, Cult of Mac's Mike Elgan believes one of these companies could be the predictive search app Grokr.

While neither Apple nor Grokr has given any signals that this is the case, such an acquisition would indeed make sense for the tech giant.

Grokr is an app that can be used with iOS. Like Google search, it uses a type of knowledge graph that takes bits of information from across the Web and synthesizes it for users. In a sense, Grokr works a bit … Read more

Google smacks down reports that Now for iOS drains batteries

Hot on the heels of Google adding Now to its iOS app, a handful of users began complaining that the app update made their iPhone and iPad batteries drain more quickly. Questions arose, was Google Now slurping too much juice?

Google has responded that iOS battery life doesn't have anything to do with Google Now. The Web giant sent a statement to CNET giving a bit more explanation as to why the battery draining allegations were false.

Reports that Google Now on iOS drains battery life are incorrect. We understand people's concern about seeing the Location Services icon … Read more

Schmidt predicts entire world online by 2020. Is he right?

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt predicted that the world's entire population will be on the Internet by 2020.

"For every person online, there are two who are not," Schmidt said on Google+ last night. "By the end of the decade, everyone on Earth will be connected."

Certainly the number of people online is expanding dramatically, in particular with the spread of mobile phones. But the entire world?

That's a bold claim, given persistent poverty in many parts of the world and the difficulty of bringing even wireless networking to large swaths of thinly populated … Read more

Sherpa treks into view as new answer to Google Now on iOS

The launch of Google Now last year pointed a new way forward for search, as Google could begin predicting the information its users sought before they even thought to type a query. Traffic, weather, sports scores and more began materializing on phones running Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and above, with the company promising that many more kinds of information are on the way.

To date, there has been no iOS equivalent -- which prompted a war of words between Google and Apple last week, after Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt suggested that Apple was holding up the app in … Read more

Your Facebook Likes may reveal more than you probably like

Facebook users' Likes on the social network may be unintentionally revealing their personality traits, sexual orientation, and intelligence, according to a study published today.

By studying the Likes of 58,000 Facebook users on the social network, researchers at the University of Cambridge say they were able to determine users' IQ, gender, sexual orientation, political and religious beliefs, and even substance use, with an accuracy rate of more than 80 percent

Expressions of approval on the social network for things such as photos, friends' status updates, as well as pages for sports, musicians, and books, were analyzed by researchers employing … Read more

Predictions for MWC 2013

We are just one month away from the 2013 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, where the biggest names in the mobile industry will unveil new products.

We're having a difficult time containing our anticipation, especially since CES offered relatively few smartphone announcements. Year by year as the mobile industry grows, so to does the scope and importance of Mobile World Congress.

So what are our CNET editors expecting to see when they touch down in Barcelona next month? Well, I quizzed Senior editors Jessica Dolcourt and Brian Bennett on their predictions and used them as the basis of … Read more

Friday Poll: Which prediction will most likely come true?

I have a bone to pick with predictions. I was supposed to have my own personal jetpack by the year 2000. I'm still waiting. That's why I'm just a little skeptical about this BBC Future infographic that looks ahead a century and a half.

As we reported earlier this week, the infographic is packed with predictions ranging from "most likely" to "least likely" from 2013 until 150 years into the future.

For this year, the BBC is giving us pretty good chances that the Great Firewall of China will fall and that doctors … Read more