Google’s Top 10 Best (and Worst) Innovations of the Year

Self-driving cars might seem like a thing of the future, but not anymore. In October, Google revealed that it had, in fact, developed technology for cars that can drive themselves.

The cars use video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range finder to “see” other traffic, as well as detailed maps to navigate the road. Google says its cars have logged over 140,000 miles and have traveled from its Mountain View campus to Santa Monica, across the Golden Gate bridge and even to Lake Tahoe.

If you’re eager to snatch one up, however, you’ll have to wait a while—Google says the cars aren’t yet ready for primetime.

At Google I/O this year, “a new way to think about TV” was announced: Google TV, a platform that combines TV programming and the Internet.

Here’s how it works: On your TV screen, type in what you’re looking for, and Google TV will find it by searching all your channels, recorded shows, YouTube videos and other Websites. You can save your favorite things—such as photo albums, channels, websites and more—to your home screen for easy access.

Some new TVs will have this feature built in. Otherwise, you’ll be able to purchase a separate box for the TV you own.

Google Labs: 5 New Tools to Try Now

Twitter has become the go-to source for breaking news and social commentary. Realizing the historic value of these commentaries and first-hand accounts (such as from the Haiti and Chile earthquakes), Google began archiving every tweet in what it calls Replay—a search function that presents in bar-chart-form the popularity of tweets throughout a period in time and lists associated tweets for you to browse chronologically.

Google Labs All-Stars: 8 Must-See Projects

If you work in an office, you probably spend a good chunk of time—if not all of it—at your computer. This summer, Google announced a feature that uses your computer’s microphone and speakers to call anyone with a phone right from Gmail.

Calls to the U.S. and Canada will be free through the rest of the year. Calls to other countries can be as low as $0.02 per minute.

Google Apps FAQ