Google

Google Glass update improves battery life, removes video calls ahead of one-day sale

As reported on The Verge. By Rich McCormick Tomorrow, for one day only, anyone in the United States will be able to purchase Google Glass. Where previously interested parties usually had to sign up to waiting lists or get referred by a friend, the company is making a limited supply of its wearable product available for $1,500 from 9AM ET on April 15th. Ahead of the sale, Google has detailed the next round of updates for its device set…

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Automotive

100 Tesla Model S Convertibles Are Headed To China

As reported on TechCrunch. by Matt Burns Hold on to your hat. The Tesla Model S is about to get more breezy thanks to a drop-top conversion by Newport Convertible Engineering. Both hard and soft top conversions are now available — they don’t come cheap, though. A soft-top conversion costs $29K and a hard-top $49K. Plus, the buyer has to supply the Tesla Model S. But, once converted, there’s no question that you’ll have the raddest…

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Google

Google Acquires Titan Aerospace, The Drone Company Pursued By Facebook

As reported on TechCrunch. by Darrell Etherington Google has acquired Titan Aerospace, the drone startup that makes high-flying robots which was previously scoped by Facebook as a potential acquisition target (as first reported by TechCrunch), the WSJ reports. The details of the purchase weren’t disclosed, but the deal comes after Facebook disclosed its own purchase of a Titan Aerospace competitor in U.K.-based Ascenta for its globe-spanning Internet plans. Both Ascenta and Titan Aerospace are in the business of high…

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Google

Google’s new terms of service tell you that it’s scanning email for ads

As reported on Engadget. BY JON FINGAS Many Gmail users know that the service scans email looking for ad keywords, but some have been upset that Google hasn’t spelled this out — enough so that there are several privacy lawsuits underway. The company may have just headed off future trouble, though, by updating its terms of service to clearly state what’s taking place. Read through the giant text and you’ll see that the company now explicitly warns that “automated systems…

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Government Security

There’ll be no escape from the FBI’s new facial recognition system

As reported on Engadget. BY DANIEL COOPER If you thought that the NSA wanted too much personal information, just wait a few months. The EFF is reporting that the FBI’s new facial recognition database, containing data for almost a third of the US population, will be ready to launch this summer. Codenamed NGI, the system combines the bureau’s 100 million-strong fingerprint database with palm prints, iris scans and mugshots. Naturally, this has alarmed privacy advocates, since it’s not just felons whose…

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