ClintonFitch.com

The gulf of quality between the low end Chromebook devices and the high end Google Pixel is huge.  Most Chromebooks are under $350 but if you want a metal body device with a high end specs, you are going to have to shell out a thousand dollars for a Pixel.  That gulf has been bridged a bit today with the announcement from Google and HP for the new HP Chromebook 13 G1.  This mid-market device starts at $499 and while you can go up to $1000 for the top end, the entry level device is nicely spec’d for the price.

The Chromium team has released a security update for Google Chrome for Windows, Mac and Linux that users of the browser will want to get installed quickly.  The new build is version 50.0.2661.94 and it is already rolling out to those who use the browser.  If you have the browser installed, you can go to chrome://help and your browser will automatically start the download for you.

There is a new update that is rolling out to OnHub devices today that brings the first step in IoT and automation support.  The update is a firmware update on the device itself (although there is an update to the Android app too) that brings support for IFTTT.  IFTTT stands for If This, Then That and there is now a dedicated OnHub channel on the site so you can automate and control devices and events in your house.  It’s the first step for Google’s smart home functionality that the OnHub is built for and it is probably the first step of many in this process.

Google Photos for Android has an update rolling out in the Google Play Store right now that brings with it a lot of small but important design tweaks to improve the overall user experience.  The update you are looking for is build 1.19 for those keeping score at home and when you get it, you will notice the biggest change immediately.  Gone is the blue Search button at the bottom of the screen while a search bar, much like that in Google Play Music, is at the top of the page.