Items tagged with Google
Ever since the Meltdown and Spectre were disclosed earlier this year, the issues surrounding the speculative execution exploits has been multi-pronged. On the one hand, there are concerns that nefarious parties taking advantage of the exploits to compromise unpatched systems. In addition, there have been concerns that the current patches to mitigate the attacks can reduce processing performance by up to 30 percent in some cases. Thankfully, Google engineers have developed a Spectre Variant 2 mitigation technique that results in a negligible impact in system performance. The mitigation...
Read more...
Anyone who pays for cable or internet service hates it when the service is out, and what you are paying for can’t be used. This is exactly what YouTube TV users had to endure this week with the service experiencing an outage for many subscribers. YouTube wants to make good on the service interruption and has sent an email to the people who were affected by the outage, telling them what the company is going do to make up for the inconvenience. YouTube TV was out last week on Tuesday and in exchange for being unable to watch during the outage, users affected are getting a free week of service....
Read more...
Google launched its Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL smartphones not long ago and we specifically had the opportunity to spend some hands-on time with the Pixel 3. We've also spent time with the camera of the Pixel 3 and found that the smartphone makes for a nice shooter, taking great shots in simple full auto mode. You can check out our full review of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL for our thoughts on the smartphones. However, an issue has surfaced for some users of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL and it's something we didn't observe in our full review. The issue is with the camera and causes some shots to fail...
Read more...
When early birds starting picking up their Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL phones from Verizon this week, they were met with befuddlement when it was discovered that the devices were carrier locked. While this might not seem all that surprising given that the Pixel 3 is a Verizon carrier-exclusive device, Verizon has traditionally sold its smartphones unlocked straight out of the box (including previous-generation Pixel phones). However, this policy changed with the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL (read the HotHardware review here). Instead, Verizon says that its smartphones have to be first...
Read more...
One aspect of smartphones that largely gets overlooked is security. For many consumers, the technical details surrounding stronger encryption just isn't as interesting as advancements in camera technology and other prominent features. For those who do care to know more, however, Google wrote a blog post describing its Titan M chip that is the backbone of security for its recently launched Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL handsets. "Last year on Pixel 2, we also included a dedicated tamper-resistant hardware security module to protect your lock screen and strengthen disk encryption. This year, with Pixel...
Read more...
Google has begun pushing out a new build of its Chrome browser, version 70.0.3538.67, to end users at large. This latest release is an official build, not a beta version, and as such should be considered stable for the general populace. One of the new features Chrome 70 brings to the table is a retooled account login system. The new feature is in reaction to complaints and concerns that the previous build was automatically signing users into their Google accounts whenever they would visit a Google website or service, such as Gmail. The featured sparked a privacy concern. Google insisted it wasn't...
Read more...
Google does some wild things in its research that sometimes turn into cool products that we can fiddle with online. Now its Magenta research arm has created an AI that can turn anyone into a piano virtuoso. The creation is called Piano Genie and it's an AI program that allows anyone to improvise on the piano by pounding on eight buttons connected to a real player piano. Piano Genie was inspired by Guitar Hero, a game that was insanely popular a few years back and simplified playing the guitar, turning playing music into a game. When team Magenta created Piano Genie, it took a different route than...
Read more...
Google's Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL handsets are both solid options in the Android space, with overall strong performance and killer cameras for taking crisp photos. Anyone who buys one of Google's new phones will hopefully never have cause to crack it open for repairs, but should the need arise, how does it fare? A new teardown analysis answers that question in detail. Both phones are powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor and 4GB of RAM. Built-in storage checks in at 64GB or 128GB, with no microSD card slot to add more. As for the cameras, there is an 8-megapixel shooter on the front for...
Read more...
Google unveiled an array of new hardware at a posh event in New York City last week, including the Pixel Slate, the Google Home Hub, and the products we’ll be showing you here, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. The Pixel Slate is an Intel-powered convertible tablet running Chrome OS, the Home Hub is a touch-screen equipped Google Home device, and the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL likely need no introduction – they are Google’s latest flagship smartphones running the recently released Android Pie. You can get a glimpse and some additional information on Google’s newest devices right...
Read more...
One of the highlights of Google's Pixel family of handsets is camera performance. If you have not done so already, check out some photos we recently took with the Pixel 3 as a preview to the full review. We like what we see so far, though like previous Pixel devices, the default camera app does not support external microphones. That's going to change very soon. The lack of support for external microphones by the default camera app is a notable omission, in part because there are third-party apps that do support them. This prompted a long running thread on Google's Pixel community forums dating...
Read more...
Last week, Google officially announced its Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL Android Pie flagships along with a couple of other hardware products. However, the Pixel 3 family is no doubt Google's most anticipated hardware launch of the year, and one of the salient features that prospective buyers will want to know is how good the main rear camera is on these news Pixel phones. Google's first- and second-generation Pixel smartphones were praised for their excellent overall photo image quality which was made possible by just a single rear camera and Google's excellent pre- and post-processing...
Read more...
The Google Home Hub was just announced last week as Google's answer to the rise in display-equipped digital assistants like the Lenovo Smart Hub. The device has a 7-inch screen, runs on the Google Cast platform, and does everything you would expect from a device that supports the Google Assistant. And priced at $149, the Google Home Hub greatly undercuts the cost of the Amazon Echo Show. Well, Home Depot is selling for the Google Home Hub right now for an amazingly low price of $99. We don't know if this is a price mistake, or just some early bird special that the retailer is running...
Read more...
This past Tuesday, Google trotted out a new round of Pixel phones, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. The latter of those two sports what is becoming a familiar notch at the top of the display, making it a target for criticism and, in the case of Samsung, some playful snark. Yes, Samsung is sometimes like those Muppets who sit in the balcony (Statler and Waldorf) and relentless heckle whoever happens to be in the spotlight. Right now it's Google that is in the spotlight, with its Pixel 3 starting at $799 and Pixel 3 XL starting at $899. Those are premium price tags for sure, but are they worth the money?...
Read more...
Google announced three new hardware products yesterday in New York City. While all have been leaked in the days and weeks leading up to the event, the devices were still impressive to behold, as we got hands-on time with the Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel Slate and Google Home Hub. Starting off with the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, these Android Pie smartphones have 5.5- and 6.3-inch displays respectively and are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processors paired with 4GB of RAM. The phones are available in 64GB or 128GB storage configurations, and a single 12.2MP rear camera (which is augmented...
Read more...
