Category: News

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Silicon Wadi Attracts Richard Meier Designed Tower

WP_20140609_18_51_59_ProSilicon Wadi (Hebrew for “Valley”) attracts some the largest players in the tech industry. Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Google and other large players keep offices and facilities in and around Tel Aviv, Israel. With that kind of tech talent on tap, it should come as no surprise that it’s also one of the hottest markets for tech start ups, second only behind Silicon Valley in the United States.

That kind of talent and money also attracts ambitious land development. Unveiled at an event in Beverly Hills, the John Aaroe group showed off their tower nearing completion in Tel Aviv. While I often don’t blog about architecture and real estate, the Meier on Rothschild tower was designed by none other than Richard Meier who gave us the amazing Getty Center in Los Angeles, which happens to be one of my favorite places on the planet.

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What could be more appropriate than a white tower in The White City, designed by the same man who gave us The Getty Center?

$50 million Apartment in Meier-on-Rothschild Tower Still Awaits for BuyerOf course this kind of gorgeous design doesn’t come cheap, and a penthouse view from this forty-two story tower, which is only minutes away from the Mediterranean Sea, will run you in the ballpark of around $50 Million dollars.

However, if you just sold Waze to Google, that might not be too steep a price tag…

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Portland City Council Unanimously Approves Google Fiber Franchise

Google-Fiber1It’s a critical first step to offering up Gigabit to the citizens of Portland Oregon.

The Oregonian is reporting that Portland’s City Council has approved Google’s franchise agreement. Google is looking to roll out gigabit broadband in the city and surrounding suburbs. Google will have until year’s end to decide whether it wants to start offering the service to residents, and that could depend on the other cities near Portland where Google also wants to offer Fiber.

Interestingly enough, part of the Franchise agreement depended on a joint Portland+Google legal defense strategy if other ISP’s get cranky about potential preferential treatment.

After that, Fiber could still be delayed by zoning and licensing issues, but it’s an encouraging step in the right direction for folks wanting more broadband competition.

(Via Oregon Live)

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First Google Voice App update in 9 Months Brings No Updates or Improvements

google voice updateWell now you’re just teasing us Google.

Google’s telephony service Voice is seeing its first update in months, and what new awesome features or improvements can we look forward to?

Well… None actually…

No seriously. Firing up the app just brings a new pop up about how international rates will be announced before calls. I guess that’s… Cool?

Voice is starting to feel a little neglected. When Android 4.4.2 was released, it changed how Android handles defaults, and Voice can no longer be selected as the default SMS app. This is supremely frustrating for those of us who have been using Voice as our primary phone number.

default sms apps android kitkatWe can be pretty sure that Voice will get swallowed up by the Hangouts app eventually, but there are no indications of this transition happening in this new Voice update.

Kind of a bummer. The update should be rolling out over the next couple days on Google Play, but it’s really no big deal if you get it anytime soon.

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Google Buying Satellite Manufacturer Skybox Imaging for $500 Million

Google_logoAP breaking news today that Google is pushing into the space business.

Skybox-ImagingTheir purchase of Skybox Imaging for $500 million will first be utilized for improving map data in Google Maps and Earth. Eventually however, we could be looking at numerous satellites being used to provide data and broadband services around the globe.

Google’s optioned drone manufacturers, consumer and home automation products, location and in-door mapping services, they’re working on AI, and now they’re launching into space. I’m avoiding making the obvious dystopian sci-fi joke here….

Full AP story below: Continue reading “Google Buying Satellite Manufacturer Skybox Imaging for $500 Million”

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Netflix to End “Network Congestion” Warnings Following Verizon Cease and Desist

netflix-logoNo company has been working harder to illustrate streaming performance on different ISP’s networks than Netflix, and they’ve collected years worth of data on which companies are actually living up to their “high speed” claims.

This month’s speed report from the video service is chock full of all kinds of inside baseball info on what the relationship is like between companies like Netflix and ISP’s like Verizon. Following a controversial deal in which Netflix agreed to pay Verizon for more stable streaming service, we’ve actually seen speeds on Verizon’s networks dip, with their FiOS service now slotting in behind two DSL carriers. What exactly is Netflix getting here for their “Fastlane” money?

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Starting out as a test platform, Netflix started broadcasting “congestion” warnings, alerting customers that Verizon’s network was having difficulty streaming high quality video. This prompted a cease and desist from Verizon, and Netflix countered with this letter.

To ensure that these customers get the level of service they pay you for, it is your responsibility to make sure your network, including your interconnection points, have sufficient capacity to accommodate the data requests made by those customers. To try to shift the blame to us for performance issues arising from interconnection congestion is like blaming drivers on a bridge for traffic jams when you’re the one who decided to leave three lanes closed during rush hour.

Continue reading “Netflix to End “Network Congestion” Warnings Following Verizon Cease and Desist”

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Post-Play Netflix Streaming Comes to Android – Chromecast to Follow

netflix post play android updateOh happy day for folks who like to binge watch their shows on Netflix.

Announced on the Netflix blog, Android devices will receive an update allowing phones and tablets to Post-Play, which is a fancy way of saying that when you finish one episode, the next episode of your show will automatically start playing.

Best of all, we also have word that this functionality will be coming to Chromecast “in a couple months”. Now that most Android phones now have the ability to act like a universal remote, I might never need to leave my couch ever again.

Read the full PR below.

Continue reading “Post-Play Netflix Streaming Comes to Android – Chromecast to Follow”

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Native Wikipedia BETA App for Android Hits Play Store

wikipedia app android beta somegadgetguyWikipedia is going native for Android users!

Previous versions of the app have essentially been web browsers wrapped in a candy coated app-like shell. With a proper app, Wikimedia boasts a new UI, more responsive design, and better tools for editing articles.

The design of the app is super clean and simple, befitting the look and feel of the desktop version of the service. Plus, as you can see in the picture for this article, searching Wikipedia for the term “Wikipedia” will not actually break the internet.

Wikipedia BETA (on Google Play)

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Android Youtube App Updated – Allows User to Control Streaming Quality

youtube android app streaming quality screenshot somegadgetguyQuick update for Youtube from Google!

It always bothers me when I can’t control streaming video quality (Netflix I’m looking in your general direction). On desktop browsers we can set the quality for Youtube. The user can make a choice between the speed and stability of a stream and a higher resolution.

Well now we can do the same on our mobile devices, which should have been a no-brainer feature when you think about how many of us are on some kind of metered plan, and fast 3G and 4G networks can be kind of spotty at times.

When playing a video in the app, tap the three-dot menu button, and you see an option of a gear icon. Tap on that, and you’ll get a menu where you can select what quality you would like to stream the video at. Interestingly enough, Android apparently only supports streaming up to 720p. Good to know.

This updated Youtube app (build 5.7.36) should all ready be rolling out now, so hit the Google Play Store to see if you’ve gotten it!

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