Google Android discussion - Page 26

On June 26 2014 03:19 SixStrings wrote:
Well, I don't know why I figured this i/o thing would be interesting to the general public.

They didn't talk about anything of interest for anyone who isn't a software developer.
No Project Loon, no Google X, no AI, no self driving cars, none of the fancy and futuristic stuff I thought they would talk about.

Major letdown...

On June 26 2014 04:06 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
I'm still confused what Android TV actually is, so it's a software that partners will create hardware for or what?

On June 26 2014 04:01 andyrau wrote:

uh
it's called google i/o for a reason

anyhow, I found the developments from the conference very interesting. seems Google wants to hop on the minimalism train with their new UI, and the new 'material design' seems to ape elements from both WP8 and iOS7.

I was a huge detractor of Apple's new direction in scheme for iOS7 and it was one of the primary reasons I switched off the iPhone, but I find Google's new changes to be tiny bit more warranted and easier to accept. The new design language is much more utilitarian and mature compared to iOS, but still a step in the wrong direction I feel.
I'm also not a fan of the tiles either - it seems like a muted, subtle version of WP8. I also hate the retarded trend in transforming all the well-known shapes into text/ambiguous shapes. Why change an icon of the home button into a fucking circle? Seems extremely counterintuitive and contrived only for the sake of minimalism.

Also, android tv looks nice, but the wearables are still pretty gimmicky in my opinion. the One, rumored to be the Silver project looks very enticing as well.

On June 26 2014 04:16 skyR wrote:


I'm a fan of the triangle, circle, square but I can see how it could be confusing for some people.

From my understanding, Android One is for developing nations. The Android Silver program has yet to be announced, I'm guessing they are leaving that for Fall when they fully unveil L.

The colors used in a gadget UI often seem like an aesthetic choice alone. But for those with color blindness, it can mean the difference between being able to operate a device normally and having a frustrating time using a phone or tablet. Fortunately the next version of Android after KitKat, currently known as Android L, includes new display modes to help users with color vision deficiency to see things more clearly.

During yesterday’s I/O keynote, Google announced a rather fantastic new feature coming to the Chromecast: soon, your friends won’t need to be connected to your WiFi to be able to send things to your TV. As long as they’re in the same room, it should just work.

But how?

While Google’s Rishi Chandra mentioned yesterday that the new WiFi-less pairing system used a “variety of technologies” to determine when you’re near a Chromecast unit, he didn’t really breakdown what those technologies might be. Bluetooth? Some proprietary protocol that Google had cooked up? Magic?

Turns out, it’s closest to that last one — or at least, it’ll probably seem like magic to anyone without superhuman hearing.

Thanks to a post-Keynote presentation, we now have a better idea of how it’ll work: ultrasonic soundwaves, inaudible to the human ear.

Once you’ve configured your Chromecast to allow nearby devices to connect, the Chromecast will push a uniquely generated ultrasonic sound through your TV’s speakers. Encoded in that soundwave is everything a phone needs to know to get paired up. You can’t hear these sounds, but your phone can.

On June 28 2014 06:24 mikkmagro wrote:
I'm wondering whether I should wait for/if Nexus 8 to be released, or just buy a Nexus 7 :X

On June 28 2014 06:43 SixStrings wrote:


Wait for the 8, it's supposed to be iPad-esque in quality and aspect ration, but run stock Android.

Google has just purchased music streaming service Songza and, while the exact terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed, it reportedly involves what financial experts refer to as "a boat load of money." Apple boosted its streaming music presence by picking up Beats. So it only makes sense that Google would have to fire back with an acquisition of its own. Like Beats, Songza relies pretty heavily on actual human curation to build playlists. The newest member of the Mountain View family uses contextual data about you to decide the best playlist for you at any given time. These lists are put together by DJs, musicians and music critics rather than some algorithm that looks at meta data like genre or BPM. These lists can get you pumped for a work out or just get you through a slow work day, but what they're not is a Pandora style infinite radio station.

Stock KitKat and Android L already casting, other supported devices waiting for Chromecast app update

Google today dropped word that we should soon be able to mirror our device screens via Chromecast. The feature has been hinted at for months now, was officially announced at Google I/O a few weeks ago, is in beta use now — and is already working on our stock Android devices running KitKat and Android L. For other devices, we'll have to await version 1.7 of the Chromecast app, which Google says is coming "over the next few days."