Google’s secret lab and retro Yahoo!: top tech stories you should read

If you could work at Google, chances are you’d like to join Google X: the secret lab that’s responsible for futuristic tech like Glass. But while some of its projects may seem far fetched, so did the idea of a web of connected computers, back before the father of the internet began his work. His invention allows people around the world to study online — but are those digital educations really a substitute for a brick-and-mortar university with real-life professors?

These are some of the topics covered by the articles which feature in our round up of some of the top tech stories on the web.

Inside Google’s secret lab

Ah, Google X: that secret division of Google that spends its time working on ‘moonshot’ projects like self-driving cars and Google Glass. Bloomberg Business Week tells the story of the lab, from its founding in 2010 to its daily operations, eventual aims and why a search company is so interested in making crazy ideas a reality.

Online classes can be enlightening, edifying, and engaging — but they’re not college

Despite all the hype around Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and the potential for serious learning that they can offer people around the world, there is a persistant question being asked by universities, graduates and potential students: are they really a substitute for flesh-and-blood classes with a real life lecturer? In this thoughtful piece, Maria Bustillos tries to answer that question by sharing her experiences of a seven week online course.

Marissa Mayer is bringing back the internet portal. Here’s why

In an age of closed-off apps and specialties, why is Yahoo! becoming reflective and broadening its interests? The answer lies, it seems, in data.

Bowling with God: Vint Cerf talks time travel, porn, and web addiction

If you went bowling with the man generally credited as one of the fathers of the internet, what would you ask him? In this Q&A, Vint Cerf discusses everything from the origins of his work to global warming, whether he Googles himself and what he’d like to work on in the future.

‘The Internship,’ now starring … Google

The upcoming movie ‘The Internship’ may have passed on to another level of product placement – Google products are not just included in the comedy, but the company’s campus is the main location for much of the film. But will it show them in a good light, especially when it’s premiering at a time when many are questioning Google’s tax practices and treatment of users’ privacy?