Dark themes are all over the place, with people requesting the ability to switch between the two as they see fit. And it looks like Google has listened to these requests. An Android user chimed in using the Android P Developer Preview issue tracker and asked that the Android team add the ability to manually switch between a light or dark theme. Right now, the software will automatically switch between either one depending on the style of wallpaper you have equipped....

Google has silently updated the Google Play developer console to enable support for promotional codes on the Play Store. This will allow app developers to generate promo codes for their paid apps or IAPs, which can then be redeemed by a user for free. However, Google has put up a restriction of up to 500 promo codes per quarter that a developer can generate for his apps. This number includes codes for both a paid app and any kind of IAP....

Google has confirmed to 9to5Google that the Pixel pre-order demand has “exceeded” the company’s expectations. While Google did ship out Pixel units to customers who pre-ordered the handsets, many customers are still waiting for their credit card to be even charged. Customers who had an estimated shipping date of early this week have seen their order status change to ‘Pre-ordered’ or ‘Pending’. Due to the delay, Pixel pre-orders for quite a few customers will now be delivered in November....

With organisations worldwide digitally transforming their business, including those in Singapore and Malaysia, the US cloud vendor is keen to figure out how its technology and infrastructure can facilitate their efforts. Data, specifically, will prove critical in enabling companies to tap new opportunities in a digital economy, said Google Cloud’s Singapore and Malaysia country director, Sherie Ng, in an interview with ZDNET. She said businesses would need to figure out how to leverage data to better understand and serve customers as well as to reduce inefficiencies and improve work processes....

The folks at Business Insider got an inside look at how Samsung tests its Galaxy devices before they reach the market. Needless to say, it’s a pretty lengthy and detailed process which involves several tests to give the buyers their money’s worth. Given that smartphone radiation has been attributed to several major illnesses, manufacturers look to reduce emissions from their devices to a bare minimum. Some of Samsung’s tests make sure that the handset doesn’t output radiations beyond the threshold of human consumption....

Preparing to go to the Moon is about as intense as you would expect: NASA’s team of 42 astronauts and 10 astronaut candidates are going through rigorous training that involves landing Army helicopters, studying rocky terrain in areas like Iceland, spending extended periods at the bottom of a pool and training in VR simulations. NASA has yet to decide which astronauts will travel to the Moon. However, the agency said Friday’s it’s aiming to launch the Artemis II mission in 2024 – that mission will send astronauts on a lunar flyby test, making it the first crewed mission to go beyond low Earth orbit since 1972....

To jog your memory, a couple of months back, Google teased an image of the alleged Pixel 4 on Twitter, which gleamed light on the possibility of the presence of a Soli Chip on the device. For the uninitiated, Soli Chip is a part of Project Soli and comes from Google’s ATAP group. It uses radar to enable various types of touchless interactions and allow users to perform actions like change tracks, navigate screens, snooze alarms etc....

Well, we also get to hear some of the formal policy, announced over the intercom before a flight’s takeoff. Like buckle your seat belts, move the seats forward and then we hear the phrase “Turn off your electronic devices” Well, have you ever wondered what would happen if you didn’t put your electronic devices like laptops, smartphones on Airplane mode when you are up in the air? Well, there are many people who feel it’s totally worthless to switch on the airplane mode during flight....

The fifth generation of wireless internet is about more than speed, but it starts there. It’s estimated that 5G will be many times faster than the 4G technology powering your smartphone. With 5G, you will probably be able to create a 3D image of yourself and virtually walk through real-life environments that you can’t now, and it will be done wirelessly. Just imagine driving through a smart city where all the traffic lights are communicating with each other, and with your smart car, to speed you through green lights right to your destination....

Google is well known for its potential security implementation on every online service, and Google Forms, one of its well-known and used services, is not kept apart. Although it is highly protected with superb class security, the users would also require to prevent their data. But as Google Forms are either available to be accessed by the whole of the public or many people, you won’t remain sure about whether or not the newly filled form is spam or not....

Flat is in Following in the footsteps of ndows one iOS 7, the new Android home screen is flatter displays larger icons that almost dem to be poked. The dock at the bottom of the screen has gone translucent seems to flow into the software navigation buttons on the Nexus 5. The search bar at the top of the screen is a permanent fixture: It shows up on all of your home screens takes a page out of the Moto X’s book by allowing you to dictate comms....

The Chromecast 3 looks pretty similar to its predecessor with a circular design and built-in HDMI cable. The Chromecast 2 had apparently some WiFi related issues which Google has fixed on Chromecast 3. It comes with Dual Band 802.11ac WiFi. For the uninitiated, Chromecast is used to make your dumb TV smart. In addition to the support for streaming apps like Netflix, YouTube, Hotstar, SonyLiv and others, Chromecast 3 can be used to control your TV from your Android/iOS device....

Google today posted the January 2017 Security Bulletin for Android whilst also uploading the factory images and OTA files for its Pixel and Nexus devices. The latest build of Android 7.1.1 featuring the January security patch carries the build number NMF26U/V for the Pixels. Like with previous months, the January security bulletin is divided into two patch levels to provide OEMs with the most flexibility in quickly rolling out updates to fix the security exploits....

Apple has iTunes, Microsoft has XBOX Music, and hell, even Nokia has their own music service. This is why Google launched “Play Music All Access” this year. One flat monthly fee, consume as much as you want. Oddly enough, YouTube, which is absolutely a part of Google, but technically their own separate division, plans to launch their own music service as well. The latest version of the YouTube app for Android actually confirms that, with hidden text strings that clearly call the service out....

“If large quantum computers are built so they could be able to break the asymmetric cryptographic primitives that are currently used in TLS, the security protocol HTTPS behind”, explains Matt Braithwaite, who is an engineer at Google. Matt Braithwaite, an engineer at Google also added that “Such quantum computers would be able to retrospectively decrypt any Internet communication that was registered today so that certain information must remain confidential for decades....

Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month began in 1978 as a 10-day observance with a Congressional resolution. Congress expanded the observance to a full month in 1992. May is significant for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The first Japanese immigrants arrived in the US in early May of 1843. And some 25 years later, Chinese immigrants played a key role in the laborious construction of the transcontinental railroad. Completed in May 1869, the rail line linked the Midwest and Eastern US with the Pacific coast....

Under the Network Enforcement Act, which was in the October 2016 it was related to tackling all the hate comments and activities, the social media giants wee told to tackle all these hate and abusive comments but they didn’t comply on that as a result the German parliament is ready to sue the social media giants which would be $57 million. Companies are given a week of time to monitor their activities and change the system and if that wouldn’t be done then the German parliament would sue them....

During Alphabet’s recent earnings call, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that there will be 11 Daydream VR compatible handsets on sale by the end of this year. Pichai did not reveal the name of any devices, though 11 is not a particularly huge number as well. As of now, there are already around five Daydream compatible smartphones in the market, including the Pixel, Moto Z, and Huawei’s Mate 9 Pro....

Parallel Downloads is expected to mark its presence in the Chrome 64, and the new feature will create three parallel jobs in order to speed up the download process. The parallel download feature is automatically activated for all the downloads which take longer than two seconds. The feature will be available for all the Chrome browser channels including Chrome Canary, Chrome Dev and also the nightly Chrome build. However, if you are in the Chrome Beta and are interested to try out the feature right away, copy and paste the code below in your address bar, Alternatively, you can also type “chrome://flags” in the address bar and search for “parallel-download....

Google has rolled out a major update for Inbox for Android that helps in managing your inbox easier. The company has worked with Trello and GitHub to offer improved email notifications. Now, if you get an email from Trello, you will be automatically provided with a summary of what’s new. Similarly, GitHub emails will provide you with a summary of code changes and filed issues for each repository. This way, you will not have to painstakingly go through each and every email from GitHub or Trello that lands in your inbox to stay on top of things....