Software : Google reveals a redesigned logo, gets with the flattened times

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Google reveals a redesigned logo, gets with the flattened times Posted: The unimaginable has finally come to pass: Google has altered its iconic logo. OK, the change isn't that dramatic. But this is a noticeable, flattened redesign that will no doubt have some drawing comparisons to another steamrolled kid on the block. Like the new, more colorful icons in Apple's just-released iOS 7 update, Google's new logo is flat as a pancake, with all shades and lines that gave the illusion of 3D erased. What's left is something that looks decidedly more "with the times," as the kids say, and matches some of the other changes Google outlined today in a blog post. A streamlined experience The new Google logo matches one that popped up nearly a week ago, and closely follows the new Yahoo logo off the drawing board. "As part of this design, we've also refined the color palette and letter shapes of the Google logo," Google tech lead/manager Eddie Kessler wrote on Google's blog this afternoon. Today Google also introduced an updated Google menu bar "that streamlines your experience across products and devices." It involves a new button at the top of the Google search page (as well as on Android devices and Chromebooks) that grants access to every Google service, from Gmail and Youtube to Calendar and Maps, at a click. Kessler wrote that this update, including the new Google logo, will roll out to "most Google products over the next few weeks." It's official: Google's next version of Android will be called KitKat.

Google to keep its hands off Waze app while OFT pokes around deal Posted: if you're expecting Google to get to work integrating the recently-acquired Waze traffic app within Google Maps, then you may be waiting a little while yet. The search and mobile giant has told the Office of Fair Trading, it won't be fiddling with the community-sourced application until the regulator decides whether it has final say over the deal. Those concessions, published today on the OFT's website, include a vow it will not take action that'll "lead to the integration of the Google business with all or any part of the Waze business." Google also promised not to "impair the ability of the Google business or the Waze business to compete independently in any markets affected by the acquisition." Stuck in traffic The Israel-based start-up Waze has built up a huge community of users who provide real-time traffic, accident, and speed trap information, while also keeping customers abreast of the cheapest petrol prices. It is assumed that Google will seek to integrate this tool into its own Google Maps navigation services for iOS and Android, but the company is yet to confirm its plans. As it often does, the OFT announced last month it wished to take a closer look at whether the $1.1 billion (around £686m) deal affected the ability of other platforms to compete with a Google/Waze double act. Regulators in the United States are also taking a closer look at the deal. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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