Items tagged with NASDAQ:GOOG
Google once again finds itself having to explain that it takes user privacy seriously. This time it is in regards to its Nest Secure system. While it was never previously mentioned that the Nest Guard keypad in that system has a built-in microphone, Google says it was never supposed to be a secret, and it was a simple error that kept that tidbit out of the listed specifications. That has since been corrected—a visit to the Nest Secure's product page now reveals there is a microphone, under the 'Audio and Lights' category in the specs tab—but it should have been there all along. "The...
Read more...
Google has sent out invites to an event happening at the annual Game Developers Conference or GDC. The event will be on March 19 at 10am PST, and the focus of the keynote is expected to be the unveiling of all the details on Google's game streaming service. Rumors suggest that Google is working on a subscription-based streaming service that could be distributed via a Chromecast device or a console made directly by Google. Google's invite gives up no detail about the topic of the event, it's simply a bright light at the end of the hallway with the tagline "Gather around." Google has been working...
Read more...
I recently upgraded to an iPhone XS Max (and spent way too much doing so), and much to my surprise, I don't miss the home button like I thought I would. It hasn't taken long to get used to system-wide gesture controls. Interestingly enough, Android may be making a major change as well—a pre-release build of Android Q suggests the back button may go the way of the dodo bird, in favor of gestures. Android is not without gesture controls already, of course. In Android 9 Pie, Google replaced the three-button navigation system with a two-button scheme, with the recent apps button getting the axe....
Read more...
Could YouTube partly be responsible for the increase in “flat earthers”? Researchers have discovered that many flat earthers were persuaded by YouTube videos. Many of these videos had been recommended or promoted by YouTube’s algorithm. A “flat earther” is a person who believes that the earth is a flat plane or disc instead of a sphere. Many ancient civilizations including the Greeks, Egyptians, and Mesopotamians held this belief and incorporated the theory into their cosmology. Although modern scientists have concluded that the earth is a sphere, the flat earth theory...
Read more...
If you are a Chrome user, you have probably fired up its Incognito Mode a time or two, whether out of curiosity or to hide your online activities—you know, like when you're birthday shopping, right? Suuuuure. Anyway, we're not judging when or why you might use a private browsing session. We are just here to tell you that Google is making Incognito Mode in Chrome better than it already is. As you might already know, going Incognito means Chrome will not save your browsing history, cookies and site data, or any information you enter into online forms. It will keep any files you download and...
Read more...
Some Nest users have been having problems of late with people gaining access to their accounts and spying on them, using their own security cameras, according to reports. The reason for this in some instances is that the Nest users chose passwords that were ineffective or left at default. Google has sent out emails that were very vague warning users that someone else having their credentials could cause the issues that some other Nest users have reported. That email tried to get users to choose better passwords, but most people didn't bother and chose to ignore the Nest team's guidance. Nest's...
Read more...
In somewhat of a surprise announcement, Google is pulling in the reins of its Android Things platform and will now focus solely on smart speakers and smart displays, as opposed to the Internet of Things (IoT) category as a whole. The reason it is a bit of a surprise is because the IoT market is rather larger, and growing. Devices are getting smarter and more functional by the day, as a result of baking in Internet connectivity and related features. That is part of the reason why Samsung last year announced a $22 billion investment AI, 5G, automotive component ,and biopharmaceutical technologies....
Read more...
Google is currently offering its Pixel 3 smartphones with a special offer. If you are buying just one smartphone, this deal will not help you, but you if you are in the market for two of these smartphones you can pick up the second device with up to a 50% discount. As a quick recap, Google's Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL smartphones come equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 SoC that has eight CPU cores and an Adreno 630 graphics processor. These smartphones also have 4GB of RAM and they come with either 64GB or 128GB of storage. The phones differ in size with the Pixel 3 XL being somewhat larger. The...
Read more...
Google has already given its popular Gmail service a visual and functional overhaul, having refreshed the design in April of last year. It's also steadily been adding new features, such as Smart Compose and a native offline mode. Perhaps even better, Google is adding more options to the right-click context menu in Gmail. This is going to impact all G Suite users, who will have access to a wealth of more options with right-click on a Gmail message. Users will be able to reply to or forward an email with a single click from the main page, search for all emails from a particular sender, search for...
Read more...
Huawei released its Mate 20 series of smartphones late last year, consisting of the Mate 20 Pro, Mate 20, and Mate 20 Lite. The Lite and Pro versions are the base and flagship models, respectively, while the Mate 20 we're looking at here today is the middle child. When comparing the Mate 20 to the Mate 20 Pro you can see Huawei has omitted some of the high-end features, such as an in-screen finger print reader and OLED display. However, you still get a large 6.53" IPS display with a 88% screen to bezel ratio (thanks to its small teardrop top notch) a large 4000mAH battery, and a camera...
Read more...
One way to cut costs and increase margins is to design as much technology as possible in-house for the products you sell. This fact is not lost on Google. Over the past several months, Google has hired a bunch of chip engineers in Bengaluru, India, including ones who have previously worked for companies like Broadcom, Intel, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm. This is not an entirely new venture for Google. The company has been designing semiconductors for the past five years, primarily for its data centers, but also image processing chips for its Pixel family of smartphones. It is not clear if the unannounced...
Read more...
We're still roughly six months away from the launch of the Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, but that isn't stopping the leaks from making their way to the internet. This latest news surrounding the Pixel 4 family is with respect to its cellular capabilities, which should be a boon for international travelers. The current Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL technically support dual SIM functionality; however, both SIMs (one physical SIM, one eSIM) cannot be used simultaneously. That means that it is mainly used as a convenience feature, saving you from having to pull out the SIM card tray to swap cards when you...
Read more...
At last year's Google I/O conference, there was much talk about augmented reality (AR) enhancements that would be coming to the huge popular Google Maps navigation app. We haven't heard much else since the feature was first talked up, but Google is now letting a select few testers see how AR navigation works in the real world. In this case, The Wall Street Journal was given early access to a test build, which uses a combination of your phone's current location (pinpointed via GPS) and your smartphone's camera to get a "live view" of the environment around you. The upper two-thirds of...
Read more...
Google announced that Chrome OS 72 is ready and rolling out to Chromebooks and other devices right now. This latest update to Google's popular operating system brings with it a number of feature enhancements including support for Android 9 Pie. A key goal of the Android 9 Pie design was to utilize AI software to a higher degree. Using AI, an adaptive battery function helps to extend battery life, and an improved adaptive brightness feature learns how you like the brightness set on your device in different situations and automatically adjusts itself for your convenience. Both of these features help...
Read more...
