hangouts

Google says its messaging service Hangouts will close by November. Users who want to download past conversations may need to act sooner than that. Google Hangouts launched in 2013 and was designed to be a simple form of instant messaging that worked ... regardless of what operating system or platform the users were on. That simplicity was somewhat undermined by Google's chopping and changing as it developed various services. (Source: arstechnica.com ) Google originally had two messaging tools: Messenger as part of the ill-fated and Google+ Messenger social network, and Talk. It then merged ... (view more)

It appears that Google is getting ready to introduce a whole new user interface (UI) for its Gmail cloud-based email service. Leaked screenshots suggest the overhaul is substantial, meaning current Gmail users could face a significant challenge ... adjusting to the changes. If the screenshots are in fact legitimate, Google is hoping to meld its desktop version of Gmail closer to the mobile version, which is accessible through tablets and smartphones. In that way, it's similar to Microsoft's use of the touch-friendly interface that made its way onto desktop PCs when Windows 8 was released ... (view more)