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The Google Search 4.1 update added some cool new features to Google Now, but there’s a lot more lurking underneath the hood.
Android Police tore into the APK, finding evidence that Google has even bigger ambitions for its digital assistant. While there is no guarantee that any of the discoveries will make it into a future update, it provides a hint at how Google wants to bring even more of its machine learning prowess into Android.
Why this matters: Google Now is one of Android’s best features because it more deeply ties you to Google services, turning your phone into a more useful tool. It’s Android’s main trump card over iOS, putting key information right on your home screen, instead of keeping it locked away inside separate applications.

A smarter Google Now

One interesting find is something called Project Hera. The best we know about it so far is that it’s part of Google’s continuing effort to more deeply tie together the web, Android, and Search. Think of it as the next step in Material Design, which has been used to bring a unified look across all of Google’s products (think how Inbox looks the same on mobile or the web). If Google can more deeply tie your search data, messages, and other info to interact between the web  and Android it makes the latter just that more powerful.
The code hints at more direct social network sharing capabilities. The icons are similar to those used on Google Glass, so all those news alerts, TV suggestions, and other cards that pop up could one day be quickly shared to your favorite network.
The lock screen also gets attention, with some kind of interaction for headsets, devices like Glass, or just more voice commands. You can already use the “Okay Google” command without unlocking the phone, but Google clearly has plans for building in more capabilities here. The code indicates that similar to how the Moto X reads aloud information, your phone may be able to read to you key notifications.
One feature that’s already in place is the way the Google Now Launcher will now hang around in the foreground when you’re interacting with certain apps. This could vary, of course, depending on your specific device’s user interface. But it’s a better visual cue for what task you were working on.
Another item I’m rooting for is the capability to copy text over from your browser to your phone. Pushbullet recently added a feature like this, but it would be great to have it as a native Android feature. The code Android Police found offers some good evidence, so let’s hope it shows up eventually.

No matter which of these pan out, you’re likely to see a lot more Google Now interaction in the future of Android. We’ll keep an eye out for such features should they ever materialize.

Source: www.pcworld.com

If you use Google+ and Gmail, Google is about to open your email account to a whole new level of spam. A new feature rolling out over the next couple of days makes it possible for any Google+ user to email you, as long as they follow you on Google+—they don’t need to know your actual email address, and you don’t even have to follow them back. And to make it even worse, Google took the Facebook approach by turning on the new feature by default.
Fun, right? Not so much. I’ve already got this new “feature” in my inbox and the first thing I did was turn it off. Today, I’m going to show you how to do the same thing.
But first, let’s cover the basics about how this new “email via Google+” feature works.

The good news

Even though any Google+ user can crowd your inbox now, they won’t know your actual email address unless you reply to their message. Plus, Google+ users who aren’t in your Circles (read: you aren’t following) can only email you once without your approval. When someone from your Circles emails you, it shows up in your Gmail’s “Primary” inbox tab. If the message is from some random Google+ stranger, the email gets filtered into your “Social” inbox tab.
The other good thing is that if you want to keep the “email via Google+” feature, you can restrict Google+ emails to just people in your Circles or your extended Circles (which functions like Facebook’s friends of friends).
Got it? Good. Let’s get down to business.

Stop the email madness

To prevent Google+ users from emailing you, simply click on the settings cog in the upper right-hand corner of your Gmail inbox and select Settings from the drop down menu.
When the Settings panel opens, scroll down the “General” tab until you see “Email via Google+” label. (If you don’t see the new setting in your Gmail account, check back over the next few days, as the feature is still rolling out to all Gmail users.) Click on the drop-down menu and choose the setting that you’re most comfortable with. Remember, by default Google is letting anyone from Google+ send you unsolicited mail. I chose to stop Google+ emails completely by selecting “No one,” as you can see below.
Once you’ve picked your setting, scroll down to the bottom and click on “Save Changes.”
After that, Gmail kicks you back to your inbox. Congratulations, you’ve beaten back a potentially serious case of Google+ spam.

Source: www.macworld.com