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News

• Google tests $2 custom Gmail addresses

  Say goodbye to that long, hard-to-remember and unprofessional Gmail address; Google is testing a $2-a-month service that lets you ditch your @Gmail addresses for custom addresses. However, custom Gmail addresses are nothing new for Google Apps for Work customers, and for just $3 a month more more (or $2.16 on annual plans) you get many more advanced features in addition to the custom addresses. In other words, Google Apps for Work plans make more sense than the new paid "Gmail for work" service for most businesses.

• New York judge rules against Facebook in search warrant case

  A New York judge ruled Tuesday that Facebook has no legal standing to challenge the constitutionality of search warrants served on its users, highlighting the limits to online companies' abilities to protect user privacy.

• In Q2, Yahoo spent a pretty penny to achieve unusual growth

  Yahoo has reported an uncharacteristic rise in revenue for the second quarter, but it came with a hefty sum spent on boosting its search traffic.

• Nokia Here said to be snatched up by Audi, BMW and Daimler for US$2.7B

  Audi, BMW and Daimler will jointly purchase Nokia's Here digital mapping service for roughly $2.7 billion, and they plan to invite other auto makers to take a stake in the company as well, according to reports published on Tuesday.

• Google grabs Pixate to improve its apps, and others

  Google has acquired Pixate, whose app-prototyping service could help Google make better apps of its own.

• After losing Photos, is Google+ circling the drain?

  If shutting down Google+ Photos isn't the death knell for the social network, it at least indicates that Google is losing interest in the site.

• Some sharks have become social media stars

  When news of a shark attack on professional surfer Mick Fanning reached Costa Rica and 9-year-old Ella Strickland Sunday, she grabbed her mother's smartphone to see if the great white was one of the sharks she knows.

• Google to begin closing Google+ Photos on Aug. 1

  The end is near for Google+ Photos, the photo sharing service that's part of the company's social network.

• Airbnb sharpens its focus on businesses with new software suite

  More than 250 companies have signed on with Airbnb’s Business Travel program since its launch a year ago, but on Monday the home-sharing service launched a new product suite in the hopes of growing that customer segment further.

• Report: Microsoft paying $320m for Cloud security provider Adallom

  Microsoft is said to be paying $320 million to acquire Adallom, a Cloud security provider whose services might help Microsoft in its new push toward becoming a "Cloud-first" company.

• Massachusetts examining how Uber, Lyft cater to the disabled

  The Massachusetts attorney general's office has launched an examination into how Uber and Lyft cater to people with disabilities, potentially creating more regulatory problems for the ride-hailing companies.

• Homejoy's loss could be Google's gain

  Homejoy, the at-home cleaning service that's one of a new breed of startups serving as a broker of on-demand services, is shutting down, as companies in that category face legal challenges aimed at forcing them to classify freelancers as employees.

• The average mobile YouTube session is now 40 minutes, Google says

  Why stop your video for a snack, or when nature calls, when you've got a smartphone?

• Reddit to crack down on objectionable content

  Reddit, the self-appointed "front page of the Internet" and one of the Web's most popular sites, is planning to crack down on objectionable content -- at least in public areas of the site.

• Facebook's Internet.org could face regulation in India

  Facebook's Internet.org could face regulation in India after a government-appointed committee on net neutrality said that content and application providers cannot be allowed to act as gatekeepers to the Internet.