Google Products & Services: Discussions

[Nairrk]

Google launches Meet video conferencing hardware 'Series One'

Google has expanded its Meet universe to a large extent since the pandemic. The company has looked at its product line up and figured that Meet is best positioned to compete with the likes of Zoom. They have also slowly started integrating Meet into consumer products. And now, Google has come up with a hardware series that purely works in tandem with Meet.

The product called Series One, which as per Google, is the first meeting room hardware. You have an 8-channel speaker with noise cancellation, a Next Hub Max for controlling the activities. And a webcam to make video meetings possible. Google will be powering this device using its expansive set of capabilities. And without a doubt, the company believes that businesses are now keen on getting a product that enhances workplace meetings.

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[Nairrk]

Google Drive will start permanently deleting trashed files after 30 days starting October 13

Just like Gmail, Google will now keep your trashed files in its Drive platform for only 30 days and start deleting those once the deadline is crossed, starting October 13. Currently, Google Drive keeps all files, including the trashed ones, indefinitely.

"Starting October 13, 2020, we're changing the retention policies for items in the Trash in Google Drive. With this new policy, any file that is put into a Google Drive trash will be automatically deleted after 30 days," Google said in a statement.

Previously, trashed items would be retained indefinitely until the trash was emptied by the user.

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[Nairrk]

New feature in Google Maps will show landmarks

Google has announced improvements for Google Maps which is a widely used app for navigation. Last year, the company introduced a Live View feature for Google Maps based on augmented reality. Live View makes use of a smartphone's camera and GPS to give visual cues.

As Google blog post noted, "Arrows and directions are placed in the real world to guide your way, helping you identify exactly where to make those tricky turns or which way to start your walking journey."

With new updates in Google Maps, Live View AR directions will also identify landmarks so to give users an idea of where they are in a city. The landmarks could be popular buildings, iconic places, or easily spotted parks.

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[Nairrk]

Google app’s dark mode goes even darker on Android

The Google app on Android may be getting even darker on dark mode as a new shade for the app’s background is currently being tested. The color isn’t really pitch black but is still darker than the usual dark grey and also looks to be having a warmer tone.

The change reflects on the search bar too on the Discover page of the app, although the bottom tab retains the lighter grey color. Search results look largely unaltered though and the same goes for the Snapshot page as well.

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[Nairrk]

Google Pay launches Tap to Pay for UPI

Digital payment is all set to be a breeze with Google Pay’s new ‘Tap to Pay’ feature for UPI-based transactions. Under the recently-launched feature, users wishing to make online payment, instead of scanning a QR code or entering a UPI-linked number, will just have to tap their phone on the POS terminal and authenticate the payment from their phone by punching in their UPI PIN.

The ‘Tap to Pay’ feature so far was only offered by debit and credit cards. Google Pay has launched the new feature in collaboration with Pine Labs.

The feature will be available to UPI users who wish to use their NFC-enabled Android smartphone to transact using Pine Labs Android POS terminals.

The feature which was launched on a pilot basis with Reliance Retail will be now made available to other merchants across the country.

“Tap to Pay for UPI has profound implications for high traffic retail outlets, with queue management hassles poised to be greatly reduced, and taking digital payments at POS well beyond cards,” Sajith Sivanandan, business head Google Pay told Money Control.

“We are delighted to witness the popular Tap and Pay technology being pioneered for UPI. With the growing adoption of UPI, this first-of-its-kind functionality with Google Pay and Pine Labs will augment the customer experience and pave the way for a smarter and faster payment experience. Interoperability has always been a winning proposition for UPI, and this will be a step ahead in transforming the way real-time digital transactions are conducted especially in retain merchants,” Nalin Bansal, chief of corporate and fintech relationships and key initiatives, NPCI told TOI.

 

[Nairrk]

Google will now remove your phone number and other info from search results

Google is now allowing people to remove their personal contact information — phone numbers, physical addresses and email addresses — from its search results. The Alphabet-owned search giant said on Wednesday that it is making the change to protect users from "unwanted direct contact or even physical harm."

Google said it had previously allowed people to request the removal of some specific types of info, but that the new policy represents a broader attempt to help protect personal data for users. Prior to the new policy, people could ask for more specific information to be removed, such as bank account or credit card numbers.

The change comes amid a surge in online fraud. The Federal Trade Commission reporting that consumers lost $5.8 billion to scammers last year, a jump of 70% from the previous year. Much of that fraud is perpetrated through online scams, such as romance swindles, as well as though telephone solicitations and identity theft.

"[T]he internet is always evolving – with information popping up in unexpected places and being used in new ways — so our policies and protections need to evolve, too," Michelle Chang, global policy lead for search at Google, said in a blog post about the new policy.

Google noted that removing the information can also protect people from doxxing, which is when personal info like emails or addresses are shared publicly with malicious intent, such as to encourage online harassment.

The company said that it also recently rolled out a new policy that allows teens and children under the age of 18 or their parents or guardians to request that Google remove images of them from its search results.

Visit this Google site to start the process. The page will ask you to provide the website addresses that include the information that you want removed from Google's search results.

You will get an automated response confirming that it received your request. Next, the search platform will review the request and may ask for more information. For instance, if the request is missing a web address, it will ask you to fix that and resubmit the application. Next, Google will let you know if it takes action. For instance, it could remove site addresses from all search queries, or it could remove them from specific queries that include your name or other personal data.

Google will evaluate all requests to make sure that it's not limiting broadly useful content, such as news articles. It will also examine if the content is part of the public record, such as government files. In that case, Google says it also won't remove the data from search results.

Google cautions that removing content from its search result does not mean that it is off the wider internet. To ensure all information is scrubbed, you'll also want to contact any hosting site where your info appears and ask that company to remove it.

CBS News

 

[Nairrk]

Google to merge Meet and Duo into a single platform

Google announced a new change that affects two of its video calling apps. The company is planning on merging both the Meet and Duo apps on smartphones into a single platform that will be called Meet.

The Search Engine giant said that it will be make the two mobile apps into a single video streaming platform that will be used on both iOS and Android. After merging Duo and Meet, the brand will also take down the Duo app completely, leaving just the Meet app in the future.

Javier Soltero, the head of Google Workspace stated that “What’s been really important is understanding how people make the choice as to what tool they’re going to use, for what purpose, in what circumstance.” Both apps were based around video streaming and even had quite a similar structure as well, but while one was built to accommodate one on one interactions, the other was built for larger number of members.
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[Nairrk]

Google Maps to show air quality updates around you

Google Maps has introduced a new feature, which will let you see the air quality of a place. You can check out the air quality layer on Google Maps for both Android and iOS.

The feature is currently limited to Google Maps users in the United Stated and the company has not yet revealed whether it will be available for other markets as well.

The feature will help you make more informed decisions about whether it’s safe to go on a hike or other outdoor adventures. You’ll see Air Quality Index (AQI), a measure of how healthy (or unhealthy) the air is, along with guidance for outdoor activities, when the information was last updated, and links to learn more.

According to Google, the air quality layer shows trusted data from government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. In addition to governmental agencies, the air quality information will also be shown from PurpleAir, a low-cost sensor network which gives a more hyperlocal view of conditions.
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[Nairrk]

Google Hangouts to be discontinued: Things you should know

Google is known for sunsetting a lot of its popular services in the past and it is now time for Google Hangouts to face the same fate. Google has announced that it is shutting down its Hangouts chat service for free, personal users. The company says people who still use the Hangouts mobile app will see a prompt to move to Chat.

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[Nairrk]

Google Chromecast with Google TV launched in India

The new Chromecast with Google TV comes with Google TV OS which the name already specifies. Google TV is a new and revamped version of Android TV. There is a totally different UI which is much similar to Roku and FireTV devices.

The new Chromecast comes with a USB Type-C power adapter on the dongle and has support for 4K HDR up to 60fps, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos, DTSX, Dolby Vision, h.256 streams and also HDR 10+. The device also has Bluetooth connectivity and comes with dual-band wifi support.

Coming to the new remote, the remote has a 4-way D-Pad for navigation and the remote comes with a dedicated Netflix and YouTube button. There’s also a button for Google Assistant. The remote can also be linked to the TV with the CEC feature so you can control the volume of the TV with the remote.

It can easily connect via HDMI to a TV and delivers 4K HDR output. It offers a frame rate of 60fps. Further, the device also supports Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos and more. It is priced at Rs 6,399/-
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[Nairrk]

Google Maps launches Street View in India after 11-year wait

Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google Maps on Wednesday launched its panoramic Street View service in 10 Indian cities in partnership with Tech Mahindra and Genesys, 11 years after a first attempt ran into regulatory troubles.

The feature, which offers 360-degree views of streets around the world using photos taken by cruising vehicles, has faced privacy complaints and regulatory scrutiny in many countries.

The Indian launch comes after Google was denied permission at least twice in the last decade by the government over security concerns.

Company executives said on Wednesday it was able to meet the regulatory requirements thanks to a new geospatial policy from India last year, which allows foreign map operators to provide panoramic imagery by licensing the data from local partners.

Data collection was entirely done by Tech Mahindra and Genesys, Google said, adding the service would be available in over 50 Indian cities by the end of this year.

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[Nairrk]

Google announces new features for Android and Wear OS

Add holiday cheer to your photos and messages

Google Photos recently brought styles to collage editor so you can create shareable collages of your favorite snaps to share with friends and family. Lastly, the company added two new artists — Australian husband-and-wife visual duo DABSMYLA and renowned watercolor artist Yao Cheng Design. Just pick your photos, select your design and rearrange the layout with simple drag-and-drop controls.

Emoji Kitchen also has new emojis
Emoji Kitchen also has new emoji you can mash up into creative sticker combos via Gboard. Add some extra holiday ⛄️flair ❄️to your messages with compatible emoji.

New reading mode on Android
Catch up on your favorite content, your way. The new Reading mode on Android creates an accessible reading experience that can be helpful for people who are blind, low vision or dyslexic. Once installed to your settings, it adds customizable display options — including contrast, font type and size — and a text-to-speech function with speed control.

New YouTube Home screen Search widget
You can also easily access content with YouTube’s new Home screen Search widget. With a quick tap from your Home screen, you can dive right into your library of videos, Shorts or subscriptions.

Cast videos directly from the Google TV
Sometimes it’s easier to look for something to watch on your phone than on your TV. The Google TV app already makes it easy to use your phone to discover movies and shows from across your streaming services. And starting next week, you can cast directly from the Google TV app to your compatible TV with a single tap. You can keep browsing other options while you’re watching and use your device as a remote control, too.

Digital Car Key sharing
With digital car key, you can lock, unlock and turn on a compatible car using just your phone. And now, you can share your compatible digital car key with friends and family across Pixel and iPhones (coming soon to select phones with Android versions 12 and up). You can view and change who has access to your car in your phone’s digital wallet app.

New Wear OS features
As we use our smartwatches to get more done, Wear OS tiles make it easy to see important information at a glance. You can already use the Google Maps tile to start navigating to your home or office from anywhere. And now, Google is adding new tiles to help you get more things done from your watch. Like getting in touch with your favorite contacts and viewing sunrise and sunset times to plan your day.

The company also updated the Google Keep app on Wear OS so your notes and to-dos written on your phone will look just as good on your watch. View labels and collaborators to stay organized. Custom backgrounds, photos and drawings make it easy to see what’s important to you, whether you’re checking your notes on your phone or your watch.

Morever, over the next week you can use Google Assistant to have the the adidas Running app track your physical activity (up to 30 different types of exercise). Say, “Hey Google, start a run with adidas Running” and the app will open and start tracking your speed, distance, and heart rate on your smartwatch.

Gizmochina

 

[Nairrk]

Google Chrome will automatically play YouTube videos in PiP if you switch tabs

• Google Chrome is introducing an automatic picture-in-picture (PiP) mode for YouTube and other videos.
• The auto PiP mode is designed to enhance multitasking. For instance, if a user is watching a YouTube tutorial and needs to switch tabs, the video will move to a corner, ensuring no disruption in the viewing experience.
• Besides the PiP feature, Google Chrome is undergoing several improvements, including a more discreet incognito mode and a consolidated “Tracking Protection” section for all privacy-related settings.

Google Chrome is getting a new feature that automatically plays YouTube and other videos in picture-in-picture mode (PiP) when you switch tabs or windows. Chrome’s new PiP feature is coming to desktops, including Windows 11, Windows 10, macOS and ChromeOS.

If you’re watching a video on Chrome and decide to hop over to another tab, the browser will automatically place your video into a handy Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode. This new feature is similar to the “Automatically turn on picture in picture for video sites” option in Microsoft Edge Canary.

In Chrome, you can turn this feature on or off via the “Site settings” section. In a Chromium bug report spotted by Windows Latest, Google noted that it is working on a new UI feature to let you choose whether they’d like this automatic PiP feature to kick in when you switch tabs or windows.

The feature comes into play for any document in PiP mode if the associated Blink functionality for AutoPiP is turned on.

“This CL adds a draft of the allow / block content setting UI for AutoPiP windows. It doesn’t try to match any UI mocks; it just adds some scaffolding to use while we build out the functionality and the UI itself,” a Google developer noted.

Chrome’s auto PiP mode may be a good feature for many users.

For example, when you’re deep into a long YouTube tutorial, you need to switch tabs to jot down some notes or pull up related content. With this feature, the video would smoothly shift to a corner, allowing you to multitask without missing out on any part of the video.

It’s all about making your browsing experience more seamless and convenient.

Chrome to get more features, including better incognito and tracking protection

Google has been working on several improvements for Chrome on Windows and other platforms.

As recently reported by us, Chrome is on a new incognito experience where the browser will try to hide your viewing of media content while in Incognito mode. This means Chrome won’t display sensitive or media content (metadata) in the operating system’s media control.

In other words, Google won’t reveal the information on the media paying in Chrome.

Another new feature is support for “Tracking Protection” in the browser. According to Chromium Gerrit, Google’s Chromium open-source project, the search engine also plans to bring all privacy and tracking-related features under one page called Tracking Protection.

Google’s updates go beyond new features as the company is also working on a new design for the browser using Material theme.

Windowslatest

 

[Nairrk]

New features announced for Google Search, Google Bard: Know what they are

Google has been constantly updating it’s Google Search function and its generative AI chatbot, Bard, with new features and there are some new additions that have been announced. Google Search can now show you how a hair colour would look on you via Augmented Reality, while Bard on the other hand, can now summarise Emails for you. Read on to know more details about the new features.

One of the new features Google announced earlier this year is called ‘About this image’ and this feature is now rolling out to English language users globally in Google Search. About this image gives people an easy way to check the credibility and context of images they see online.

Users will be able to see when an image or similar images may have first been seen by Google Search, and whether it was previously published much earlier on other webpages. Google explains that this can be helpful if an image is being taken out of context and shared in relation to a current event, but is actually much older.

For better authenticity of the image, you can see how an image is used on other pages, and what other sources, like news and fact checking sites, are describing it. Further, you’ll be able to see metadata that image creators and publishers have added to an image (if any), including fields that may indicate that it has been generated or enhanced by AI.

You can access this tool by clicking on the three dots on an image in Google Images results, or by clicking “more about this page” in the About this result tool on search results.

Fact Check Explorer with image searching
Earlier this summer, Google announced feature for its Fact Checker tool which lets you upload or copy the URL of any image into the Fact Check Explorer and see if it has been featured anywhere in an existing fact check. Now, it is announcing a beta of Image Search functionality in FactCheck Claim Search API. Soon, approved journalists and fact checkers will be able to search the fact-check image corpus on Fact Check Explorer via an API and integrate the knowledge into their own solutions.

Digging more information about sources via SGE
Google rolled out the Search Generative Experiences a while back and now, those who are opted-into Search Generative Experience (SGE) through Search Labs, will now be able to see AI-generated descriptions of some sources, supported by information on high-quality sites that talk about that website.

These AI-generated descriptions of the source will show up in the “more about this page” section of About this result for some sources where there isn’t an existing overview from Wikipedia or the Google Knowledge Graph. The aim is to lessen the amount of time people spend on digging information about a particular source, say a relatively new seller from whom they want to buy a product.

Google Bard: Ability to summarise Emails
With the latest update, Bard can now summarize more emails at a time. It can also better understand when you ask for recent emails. This is enables via the Extension support which was rolled out to Bard a few months back. In addition, when you share a conversation that has an image as part of the prompt, the image will now also be visible.

Themobileindian

 

[Nairrk]

New Google Maps feature will automatically add personalised landmarks

Google has patented a new feature that will help users to navigate familiar territory easily by tracking regularly visited places and incorporating it into navigation.

The app currently supports the personalisation of favourite landmarks and frequently visited locations. But with the patented feature, Google Maps can use these landmarks to help you navigate your way around already territories.

An example could be that once a supermarket that you regularly visit is added as a personalised landmark, the location can be integrated into your navigation instructions with the software saying things like “turn left after the supermarket”. While this additional feature will be able to aid with orientation while navigating, it will only really be useful in places that you already have visited or are already familiar with.

Earlier this year, Google updated Android Auto to allow for web browsing and the support of apps like Amazon Prime Video and Zoom, among others.

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