Mossberg: Google doubles down on AI and other top stories.

• Mossberg: Google doubles down on AI

  

  Welcome to Mossberg, a weekly commentary and reviews column on The Verge and Recode by veteran tech journalist Walt Mossberg, now an Executive Editor at The Verge and Editor at Large of Recode. Google announced something for everyone yesterday at its 10th annual I/O developer conference. There were more details of a new version of Android; new messaging and video-calling apps; a built-in new VR platform for Android; and a good-looking Amazon Echo-like smart speaker called Google Home. There ..

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• Today Marks the 15th Anniversary of Apple's First Two Retail Stores

  

  You mean like the new MacPro, the apple watch, 4k and 5k iMacs, [S]retina phones[/S], Retina MacBook Pros, and the incredibly thin Retina Macbook Edit: Removed the iPad and crossed out the iPhone, as I was incorrect on the timing It's sad how the people you responded to and many others take things for granted and have such rose tinted glasses. It was probably the same ones complaining about how bad Apple was for not having 3rd party apps or 3G on the OG iPhone. Or no Cut/Copy/Paste etc. Or how..

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• Facebook's Trending Topics may source more conservative news

  

  According to Rob Bluey, editor in chief of the Daily Signal, Facebook spoke on "revamping Trending Topics" during a recent meeting. A list of websites that could be included among Facebook's algorithm was presented via The Daily Signal. They included Townhall, Newsmax and the Federalist. Previously Facebook had disclosed a list of over 1,000 media outlets it uses in order to vet the stories that go up via the social networking site's "Trending Topics" menu, prompting some important discussion..

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• IMAX Plans Foray Into Virtual Reality

  

  IMAX Corp., best known for extra-large movie screens, is now betting on a far more intimate viewing format: virtual reality. The company, later this year, will begin launching VR experiences in locations such as multiplexes and malls, using its connections with movie theaters and Hollywood talent along with new partnerships in the tech community to build the new business. The plan comes as IMAX and Alphabet Inc.’s Google on...

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• For the first time, Google beat Apple in PC sales - and that's really bad news for Microsoft

  

  YouTubeGoogle CEO Sundar Pichai Today, two very important things happened for the future of the PC as we know it.  First: For the first time ever, low-cost Google Chromebook laptops outsold Apple's Macs during the most recent quarter, analyst firm IDC tells The Verge. Manufacturers including Dell, Lenovo, and HP sold over 2 million Google-powered Chromebooks combined, versus around 1.76 million Macs, IDC estimates. Second: those same Google Chromebooks are getting full access to Android's Googl..

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• Android apps are just what Chromebooks needed

  

  Google just announced that Chrome OS finally has what many people have been clamoring for almost since its introduction five years ago: true native apps. And it has a massive number of them, too. When support for them launches later this year, there will be more and better apps than you can find in the Windows Store. They just happen to all be Android apps. The Google Play Store, that massive repository of Android apps, is coming to Chrome OS. It will be available to developers in early June..

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• Google patents pedestrian flypaper for self-driving cars

  

  Google knows that its self-driving cars are going to get into accidents — maybe even accidents involving pedestrians — and so the company has patented a unique solution to minimize injuries if this happens: human flypaper. The patent, granted earlier this week, describes "an adhesive layer positioned on the front end of the vehicle" that pedestrians will simply stick to "in the event of a collision." "The adhesive bonds the pedestrian to the vehicle" "The adhesive bonds the pedestrian to the ve..

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• Google appeals French order to censor Right-to-Be-Forgotten links globally

  

  Google is appealing the French data protection regulator’s (CNIL’s) decision that Google must remove/censor “right to be forgotten” (RTBF) URLs on a global basis. Previously, Google had sought to find a compromise and enforce RTBF in Europe but preserve the content in other markets with different rules and privacy standards. CNIL did not accept that solution and asserted that to be effective, delisting had to be executed across all Google domains worldwide. Google did not fully comply, and ult..

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• Why Google's Allo messaging app is a big step backwards

  

  A year ago, when Google began to unwind Google+, it felt like a positive sign for the company’s underperforming social efforts. After sinking years into building a product overstuffed with photos, communication tools, link-sharing, and discussions, Google began to shrink them into more manageable tools. The results were largely positive. Google Photos has become a monster with 200 million monthly users, the company said during its I/O keynote. And communities evolved into a more modern take on ..

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Google's Allo runs on the same encryption tech that powers WhatsApp .	What the 'Little Lion' galaxy could tell us about the Big Bang .
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