AotA 182: The Art of Adulting Better

"April Fools! Allahu Akbar!"
Welcome to another tantalizing episode of the Attack of the Androids!  This week  Mat Lee, myself, and Joey Kelley discuss the latest Android news including the Taliban's hip, new Android app, Oracle v Google drama, and Amazon's crackdown on bad USB C cables.  All that and more this week on Attack of the Androids!
Our first story of the night is certainly a weird one.  Heard of the Taliban?  Google has, which is why it isn't much of a surprise that Google recently removed the Taliban's propaganda app from the Play Store after only one day.  Is this an issue in terms of freedom of speech or is Google right to remove the app?  At first glance, some folks could have mistaken this for an April Fools joke.  Google's own April Fools joke, the Gmail Mic Drop, didn't quite hit the mark with its user base.  It ended up causing a bunch of people to lose conversations in their inbox.  Not so much funny.
Have you heard?  Money's gonna be pretty tight these days.  Or at least that's what Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky is telling folks in regards to Pebble's 25% layoff of staff.  It is unfortunate, given that many of us on the show have enjoyed using Pebble products in the past.  It's no secret that I love the Amazon Echo.  It is a great little device that ties into many of the services I use on a daily basis.  Well, according to The Information, Google is rumored to be creating its own version of Alexa.  It's possible that this new tech will be running Brillo, Google's home automation O.S. based on Android.  It would make sense given that in well over a year since being announced we have yet to see any big hardware announcement running Brillo.
Chrome Cast?  Google Cast?  Beuhler?  If you're unsure of what to call that weird little dongle hooked up to your TV, then you're not alone!  Google is rebranding its Chromecast line as "Google Cast" at the same time as the Vizio announcement of its first TV running Google Cast technology.  Are you a Google Wallet card user?  Well, if you are, you better come up with a new way to spend your wallet balance.  Google announced that as of May 1st you will no longer be able to add money to your Wallet balance and that the wallet card will no longer work after June 30th.  Fortunately, you can still move money out of your wallet account into your bank.  Since USB C devices started hitting the market, cheap knockoff USB C cables have flooded places like eBay and Amazon.  This has resulted in damaged hardware as has been proven by Google engineer Benson Leung.  Amazon has begun clearing out these crappy cables, going so far as banning their sale on its site.
Remember Google Goggles?  The supposed Google side project seems to be inspiring further changes in the Google Camera app.  Rumors are circulating that Google is working on a new camera version which will allow for search via photos.  No word as to when we'll see the update, but perhaps it'll be an I/O announcement.  How much do you think Java in Android is worth?  Well, according to Oracle its worth about 9.3 billion dollars.  "But that's crazy!" you say.  Indeed, reader.  Indeed.  At this point Oracle will have to convince a jury of the merit of that number, while Google will need to convince them that the use of Java falls under Fair Use.  We'll continue to keep an eye on this one!  Our last story of the night is a bit fun and hackey.  The folks over at Crossover have shown Steam running on Remix OS.  While this is a far cry from having a fully functional Steam for Android, it's great to see progress!
We’re up to a lot throughout the week!  You can check out Mat’s latest musings over at Stuff Stoners Like.  He’s also just released his new album, Project LD50, so you should check that out!  Nick is also creating content on his YouTube page. Check it out!  We need to get him to 500 subscribers!   For me, just follow me over on Twitter to see what I’m up to.