The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is gearing up to launch a cloud storage service similar to Dropbox and Box.net. It will be called Google Drive (or simply Drive), and offer both free and paid space for consumers who want to store files online for retrieving on the go with multiple web-connected mobile devices. Compatible file types will include videos, photos and documents.

Insiders close to Google Drive said that users will have the ability to shoot video from their smartphone and upload the file to their virtual locker through Google’s Drive mobile app. They will then be able to email friends and family a link back to the video, eliminating the need to send a bulky file. What’s unknown at this point is the capacities in which Google will offer, but will likely provide 2 to 5 GB for free to consumers and businesses. Insiders state that Google will charge a fee for those who want to store large amounts of files for a cheaper price than what Dropbox currently requires.

By comparison, Dropbox offers 2 GB of free online storage. However for 50 GB, customers are required to pay $9.99 USD per month. 100 GB of virtual storage costs $19.99 USD per month, and Dropbox even offers larger storage capacities with plans starting at $795 for 5 users. But unlike Google, Dropbox relies on Amazon’s Web Services which maintains a network of computers for storing data online. Amazon leases out this space to the likes of Dropbox, Netflix and even Zynga.

Google already offers online storage for free via Google Music and Google Docs. Consumers can store up to 20,000 songs in their virtual music locker. Songs purchased through Android Market can be shared on Google+ — those uploaded or received for free via Google do not have a sharing option. On Google Docs, users can create documents, store them indefinitely, and either share them via an email link, or email them directly as an actual file.

Additionally, Google customers can shoot photos with their smartphone and upload them to Google+ and Picasa — sharing simply means sending a link to friends and family. Videos can be uploaded and shared using YouTube with options of going public or remaining private. That said, Google Drive may actually combine at least three of the search engine giant’s services on a storage level — or simply provide a standalone virtual locker for consumers who don’t typically use Google+, Google Docs and YouTube.

Sources told the Wall Street Journal that Google Drive is expected to be added to the search engine giant’s Google Apps software that’s sold to businesses. The service, for both consumers and businesses, should launch within the next couple of weeks or months.

In a post its official blog, Microsoft confirmed on Tuesday an official change to its policy on licensing of industry standard patents

“The international standards system works well,” the statement says, “because firms that contribute to standards promise to make their essential patents available to others on fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms.” The statement also seems to call Apple to account, noting that “[c]onsumers and the entire industry will suffer if, in disregard of this promise, firms seek to block others from shipping products on the basis of such standard essential patents.”

As part of the new policy, Microsoft has vowed to “always adhere” to promises made to standards organizations. The Redmond, WA-based company has vowed not to sue or seek injunctions against companies using “those essential patents,” and to make licenses available without quid pro quo sharing of patents from a licensing company, except when those patents are “essential to the same industry standard”.

While this move could be interpreted as intended to avoid worldwide courtroom fights like the ongoing conflict between Apple and Samsung, it is also intended to force the hand of its competitors. Google announced on the same day its own policy regarding the licensing of industry standard patents, one directly at odds with Microsoft’s. Google intends to retain the option to seek an injunction should patent negotiations fail. As Microsoft’s new policy also states they will not license patents to companies whose policies are not in lockstep with their own, it would seem the disagreement over Google’s supposed cribbing of elements from Windows in the creation of Android will continue apace.

For further reading, Dave Heiner, the head of Microsoft’s Corporate Standards Group & Antitrust Group, elaborated the new policy in a lengthy post to Technet. The company has recently-inked patent sharing deals with Quanta, Samsung, Acer, and ViewSonic.

SOURCE via Bloomberg

We first head rumors that Google was working on a pair of Android-powered HUD glasses back in December. The New York Times started things off with a report that both Apple and Google are working on wearable technology, with the ultimate goal being to shift more smartphones. Following this report, other websites chimed in to fill in the gaps, with 9to5Google claiming the Mountain View Company was working on a pair of HUD glasses. Today, 9to5Google is back with another report. This time, the website is claiming that their source has seen the glasses.

The site’s source says the prototype glasses look similar to Oakley Thumps (pictured) and that they have a front facing camera with flash to gather information and potentially aid augmented reality apps. This camera is said to be ‘extremely small’ and it’s likely will only have a few megapixels. The HUD aspect of the glasses will be restricted to one side and one eye and, despite previous rumors, is not transparent nor does it support dual 3D configurations. As far as specs are concerned, the device is supposedly based on generation-old Android smartphone hardware, so expect 1GHz of processing power, along with 8GB of storage and possibly 256 of RAM. One feature highlighted by 9to5Google as impressive is the navigation system. At the moment, it utilizes a head-tiling scroll and click that is apparently quite intuitive and, once learned, becomes almost indistinguishable to outside users.

After all of that, you’re probably wondering when you can get a pair, right? Well, Google is said to be unsure of the mass market appeal of these specs. For this reason, the company is considering launching them in a similar manner to the Cr-42 Chrome notebooks — that is, a pilot program. Would you purchase a pair of these glasses? How much would you be willing to pay?

The glasses aren’t even nearly finished, but we could hear something from Google soon, so stay tuned!

Security hounds over at zvelo have discovered a vulnerability in Google Wallet that means your precious PIN can be “easily revealed.” Digging through the app’s code and using Google’s open resources to reveal its contents, they uncovered a piratical treasure trove of data: unique user IDs, Google account information, and the PIN stored as a SHA256 hex-encoded string. Since this string is known to carry four digits, it only takes a “trivial” brute-force attack involving a maximum of 10,000 calculations to decode it. To prove their point, the researchers made a Wallet Cracker app — demoed after the break — that does the job quicker than you can say “unexpected overdraft.”

Google has been receptive to these findings, but its attempts at a fix have so far been hampered by the need to coordinate with the banks, since changing the way the PIN is stored could also change which agency is responsible for its security. In the meantime, zvelo advises that there are some measures users can take themselves, aside from putting a protective hand over their pockets: refrain from rooting your phone, enable your lock screen, disable USB debugging, enable Full Disk Encryption and keep your handset up-to-date.

Google has responded by emphasizing that it’s only users of rooted devices who are at risk. In a statement to TNW it said: “We strongly encourage people to not install Google Wallet on rooted devices and to always set up a screen lock as an additional layer of security for their phone.”

Read more…

It’s been almost a year since we last wrote about the BMW i8 being winter-tested and here it is again — this time in production prototype form — doing donuts (!) in the snow. This plug-in gasoline electric hybrid vehicle started life as the Vision EfficientDynamics, promising sub five-second 0 – 60mph times while still achieving an impressive 87mpg (2.7 liters per 100km). We last saw the i8 concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show but the sporty coupé with the funky gullwing-like doors isn’t expected in BMW showrooms until sometime in 2014. So for now just sit back, relax and check out the video above.

Some of you thought it would never happen. You thought that these two mortal enemies would spend the rest of their multinational corporate lives alternately at each other throats and eyeing the other with suspicion from across the boardroom. After dropping some claims and winning others, Rambus has signed an agreement with NVIDIA that puts to rest their remaining legal disputes. The deal will allow NVIDIA to use patented Rambus tech in its products for the next five years, without fear of legal action — though, neither side will say how much that privilege cost. Now that the battle between the two, which began way back in 2008, has finally come to a close we can all finally get back to the very important business of forgetting who or what Rambus is.

SOURCE via PC World

The latest update for Sony’s PlayStation 3 is live and available for download from via your PlayStation Netw…oops, Sony Entertainment Network account. While we get used to the new branding (nothing we could see in the system UI has actually changed at all), there’s a few tweaks included in v4.10, like some sorely needed upgrades for the web browser and the ability to set the time and date automatically upon each sign-in.

A scan of the forums reveals a few who noticed problems with Netflix post-update (which may or may not be update related, deleting Netflix data from the Game Data utility section and/or installing the newest version seems to fix the issue), however most are just seeing significantly better scores in browser benchmarks like Acid3 and HTML5 Test, better compatibility with most webpages and improved YouTube playback (still 240p).

SOURCE via Playstation Blog