Items tagged with NASDAQ:GOOG
Android 11 is being released today and it is turning the feature set “up to 11.” This new Android version has a focus of three themes: people, controls, and privacy. This update is dropping for Pixel devices from the Pixel 2 onward. As mentioned, the three themes are the most important talking points of the update. The first point, people, is all about improving conversations and discussion flow while multitasking. Notifications for conversations pop up in a dedicated space in the notifications shade. Bubbles are a new feature which allow conversation “shortcuts” to be placed on screen for easy access back to the conversation. Finally, they have consolidated keyboard...
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If you've had your eyes on the non-nonsense competence and value of the Google Pixel 4a, but want a little bit more power and 5G connectivity, then we've got some good news for you. It looks as though the upcoming Pixel 5 flagship and its cheaper Pixel 4a (5G) counterpart might be launching later this month; slightly earlier than then the October timeframe we were originally expecting. This information comes from wireless carriers Vodafone Germany, which says that both the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a (5G) will launch on September 25th. This date is also 5 days earlier than what gadget leaker Jon Prosser revealed back on August 19th. Vodafone also says that the Pixel 5 and...
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Google Maps is used by millions of people every day to make commutes easier and hopefully faster. As the saying goes, “work smarter, not harder,” but Google is looking to translate that to “drive smarter, not harder” with AI implementation into Google Maps. According to Google, over 1 billion kilometers (621371189mi) are traveled every day with Google Maps. Subsequently, a whole load of aggregate location data is collected. While this feature has been manipulated, it generally provides data on what traffic looks like immediately. Immediate information, however, does not help you plan a route when things can change spontaneously. As Google states, the gap between now and...
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Google Chrome, destroyer of RAM, is getting some updates this week that make it a little more conservative. Included in the update are “under-the-hood” performance boosts, tab grouping, mobile UI redesigns, and more. First up is the performance uplift. For quite some time, Google Chrome has been known as a bit of a resource hog. Now, Google aims to change some of that with this update and claims that you could see “Chrome tabs load up to 10 percent faster.” To do this, the Chrome team implemented two things: Profile Guided Optimization and Tab Throttling. The profile guided optimization is a way in which code is compiled and allowed to run faster for commonly run...
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According to Comparitech researchers, a database of nearly 235 million social media profiles from platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, was exposed on the internet. This could open users up to phishing and impersonation scams as well as unwanted email usage. On August 1st, Bob Diachenko, a cybersecurity researcher at Comparitech, uncovered three copies of the data on servers ultimately controlled by Hong Kong- based Social Data. Social Data is a company that sells data of social media influencers to marketers. According to hints in the database, the data was initially owned by a company called Deep Social, which is now dissolved. It is assumed that this data was collected with web...
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We've got quite a bit of news to present to you from the Google Pixel front today, as information on both the upcoming flagship Pixel 5 and its cheaper Pixel 4 (5G) sibling have leaked. The first bit of info comes in the form of a single photograph that shows the two smartphones side-by-side, but only from the back. In the image above, the Pixel 5 is allegedly the smaller device on the left, while the Pixel 4A (5G) is on the right. It's rather peculiar that the Pixel 4a (5G) is the larger of the two, but from what we can tell, both have two cameras on the rear like the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL. Unfortunately, there are no live shots of the phones from the front. However, based...
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While the Samsung Galaxy S20 and OnePlus 8/8 Pro families hogged much of the limelight during the first half of 2020 for flagship Android smartphones, Google is looking to make its mark during the back half of the year. We’re of course talking about the Pixel 5, which will be the solitary follow-up to the discontinued Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL. Thankfully, we’re getting some new renders of the device courtesy of @OnLeaks which seemingly confirm some of the physical details that we first learned about in early July. For starters, the Pixel 5 has a single hole punch in the top left corner of the display for the selfie camera – just like the mid-range Pixel 4a. This is a...
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Now that Google has pulled the wraps off its mid-range Pixel 4a smartphone, all eyes are laser-focused on the upcoming Pixel 4a (5G) and the flagship Pixel 5. We had previously seen reporting via a leak on Google’s French website that the smartphones could debut in early October, which would be in keeping with previous Pixel smartphone launches. However, gadget leaker Jon Prosser is giving us more insight into the Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5, including the fact that both smartphones are expected to debut on September 30th, which is a little over a month from now. Prosser goes on to say that the Pixel 5 will be available in both black and green colors, while the Pixel 4a (5G) will...
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Nest has announced that it's rolling out new multi-room audio controls. The company says that users can already manually group devices in order to play the same music on various speakers at the same time. The new multi-room control allows users to dynamically group multiple cast-enabled Devices such as speakers, smart displays, and Chromecasts in real-time to fill multiple rooms with music or podcasts. The multi-room control works with all of the user's favorite audio apps, including YouTube Music, Pandora, and Spotify. Users can add or remove devices throughout the home when more than one Google Assistant-enabled smart speaker or Smart Display is available by tapping the icon in the bottom left...
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Google’s new Pixel 4a mid-range smartphone has been well-received thanks to its low price ($349), excellent camera, and respectable overall performance. As a result, many are looking forward to what the flagship Pixel 5 will offer when it is released this fall. However, a new leak is alleging that the use of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G SoC won’t be the only compromise for this flagship smartphone. A respected source of previous Pixel rumors, the Pixel 5 will only have a 3,080 mAh battery. For comparison, the already-discontinued Pixel 4 XL features a much larger 3,700 mAh battery. According to the source, @ImjustSayingJC, Google thinks that it can achieve greater efficiency...
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NVIDIA has announced that its game streaming service GeForce NOW is finally adding support for Google ChromeOS devices. Users on affordable and lower power Chromebook laptops can now play high-end video games using the streaming service, joining in with their PC, Mac, Android, and SHIELD counterparts. To get started, Chromebook owners will need to sign up for a free or paid Founders GeForce NOW membership. NVIDIA currently has a deal going on memberships with a six-month Founders membership for $24.95. The membership includes a Hyper Scape Season One Battle Pass token along with exclusive Hyper Scape in-game content. Any Chromebook owner who signs up for GeForce NOW will want to connect a USB...
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Google is continuing to develop new ways to preserve the battery life of your laptop. Google’s new Battery-Savings Meta Tag would allow websites to ask that Chrome enable various battery-saving features. The Battery-Savings Meta Tag will likely make an appearance in Chrome v86 and v87. Users can currently experiment with this feature through the Origin Trials platform for developers. Some websites can be very resource-intensive, including video or video-conferencing websites that have become especially popular during the current COVID-19 health crisis. Google Chrome in particular has a reputation for being power hungry (many users will even avoid using Chrome if their device is low on battery...
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It has been a rather eventful year for Huawei, and not for good reasons. The company has been feeling the full effect of sanctions levied by the U.S. Government, which prevent Huawei from doing business with American companies over national security concerns. Complicated licensing agreements mean that Huawei is even barred from working with TSMC -- the fab that produces its flagship Kirin smartphone SoCs – Synopsis, and Cadence Design Systems. Companies like Intel can’t even provide processors for use in Huawei laptops. Now the other proverbial shoe has dropped: Huawei’s temporary general license has expired, which means that customers can no longer legally receive Android/Google...
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Epic Games is having a a rather eventful week. It recently launched an update for the iPhone and Android versions of its incredibly popular game, Fortnite, which resulted in the game getting booted from the Apple App Store and Google Play. The update that caused the axe to drop on Fortnite enabled a feature allowing users to pay Epic directly for in-app purchases instead of paying through the conventional systems on both platforms. Epic has filed suit against Google alleging violations of the Sherman Act, claiming that Google has an unlawful monopoly and is engaging in anti-competitive restraints in two markets. The two markets named in the lawsuit are for distributing mobile apps to Android...
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Updated 8/13/2020 @ 3:40pm Well, that escalated quickly. Apple has gone nuclear, kicking Fortnite out of the App Store after Epic Games decided to circumvent fees with its own payment system. We can't say that we didn't see this coming, but Apple is putting its foot own in a commanding way given that Fortnite is one of the biggest games on the planet. Here's Apple's statement in full on its decision: Today, Epic Games took the unfortunate step of violating the App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer and designed to keep the store safe for our users. As a result their Fortnite app has been removed from the store. Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed...
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Web users rely on the URL as their primary method to determine if a website is authentic, but Google admits that URLs have usability challenges. There are a number of ways attackers can manipulate URLs to confuse users about the authenticity of a website. Users being tricked by spoofed URLs can lead to phishing, social engineering, and other scams. Google points to a study its researchers conducted that found over 60% of web users were fooled when a misleading brand name was placed in a URL path. Browsers attempt to approach handling spoofed URLs via various methods, and in Chrome 86, the search giant plans to experiment with how URLs are shown in the address bar on desktop platforms. The method...
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It was reported that earlier this week that Mozilla's current Firefox default search deal with Google is set to expire in November 2020 and that no new agreement had been made. Today, it has been confirmed that Mozilla has inked a three-year deal to retain Google as the default search provider in Firefox. The news of the Google lifeline first was reported by ZDNet, which was able to confirm the news via multiple sources. Mozilla later added confirmations of the news itself by stating: Mozilla's search partnership with Google is ongoing, with Google as the default search provider in the Firefox browser in many places around the world. We've recently extended the partnership,...
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Every so often, we hear an update about Google's open-source Fuchsia operating system, just never anything on when (or if) it will actually release. That has not changed. However, Google's Fuchsia OS did reach an important milestone of sorts—it has been certified and listed with the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). Why is this an important milestone? As noted by 9To5Google, which spotted the Bluetooth SIG listing, any device or software that uses Bluetooth must first be certified before they can made available to the public. So in that regard, Fuchsia is one step closer to launching, assuming it will eventually launch (and we've seen nothing so far to definitively indicate it will...
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Earlier this month, we reported that Mozilla -- the company behind the Firefox web browser -- was starting to see some of the ill-effects of its worst fears concerning Microsoft's switch to Chromium for its Edge web browser. Microsoft announced its decision to abandon EdgeHTML for Edge in late 2018, after which Mozilla's Chris Beard decried, "Microsoft’s decision gives Google more ability to single-handedly decide what possibilities are available to each one of us. We compete with Google because the health of the internet and online life depend on competition and choice." Fast forward to the present day, roughly 7 months after the first public release of Chromium Edge, and Firefox...
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After being alerted to a "medium" security flaw in Windows 10 by Google's Project Zero team, Microsoft took a swing and a miss at fixing it through yesterday's cumulative Patch Tuesday roll out. As per Project Zero's policy, the vulnerability has now been disclosed to the public, as Microsoft failed to address it within the usual 90-day disclosure period. For anyone who is not familiar, the Project Zero team researches security issues, particularly zero-day bugs, and passes on its findings to software companies. Those companies then have 90 days to plug up the security hole before Project Zero discloses its findings. Software outfits like Microsoft can request an extension, but whether one is...
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The Chinese-owned social networking application TikTok has been the center of attention the last several weeks as President Trump has moved to ban the app and force the company to divest its United States operations. Many people sided with TikTok and were upset at President Trump for trying to take action against the social networking app. Now, however, TikTok has been busted for collecting identifiable user data from millions of Android users in direct violation of Google policies. A Wall Street Journal report found that the application was collecting unique identifiers from millions of mobile devices that allow it to track users online without giving users the ability to opt-out. Mobile security...
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Google's Pixel 4a finally launched last week after a months-long delay, and is a solid entry in the mid-range smartphone market. The Pixel 4a offers a compelling mix of an excellent camera, good display, respectable battery life and a budget-friendly price tag of $349. However, Google has yet to reveal its Pixel 5 flagship and has only confirmed that it will be coming this fall along with the Pixel 4a (5G). But that hasn't stopped the Pixel 5 from showing up at AI Benchmark, and its appearance confirms previous reporting that we've featured on the smartphone. According to the AI Benchmark listing, the Pixel 5 is rocking a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G SoC and 8GB of RAM. For...
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