Google Nest Hub comes to LEGOLAND Hotels
About a year ago, we told you that Google was partnering with some hotels to have Nest Hub smart devices installed in guest rooms. Understandably, some people were concerned about having a microphone and camera in their hotel rooms.
However, those worries were unfounded. You see, Nest Hub doesn't even have a camera! Plus, Google is extremely focused on privacy, and the microphone can be totally disabled with a hardware switch. Ultimately, this hospitality partnership was simply a big win for hotel guests as they get to experience the convenience of Google Assistant when away from home.
This is Google Pixel 5a with 5G
If you are a hardcore Android user, you should buy a Pixel. Google’s smartphones may not have the best specifications, but they do offer the purest Android experience. They are the only way to truly experience Android as Google intends it -- including timely OS updates. They are free of bloat, unlocked, and often very affordable. Best of all, they offer a remarkable photography experience.
Today, Google officially announces the oft-rumored Pixel 5a with 5G. It isn’t a flagship device, but with a reasonable $449 asking price, the Android 11 smartphone looks to be a great value. The 6.34-inch OLED screen features a respectable 2400x1080 resolution, while the 12.2 MP dual-pixel and 16 MP ultrawide rear cameras should take exceptional photos. While it does get water resistance, the Pixel 5a with 5G lacks wireless charging -- you must use USB-C to charge the 4680 mAh battery.
Google Titan Security Keys ditch Bluetooth
Google's Titan Security Key dongles are a great way to secure accounts using hardware rather than only relying on software. The search giant has offered these little devices for years now with USB-A, USB-C, and Bluetooth connectivity.
Back in 2019, Google discovered a vulnerability in its Bluetooth-capable Titan Security Key that lead to a recall. With that said, it is not surprising that in 2021, the search giant is dropping that wireless connection option entirely. You see, starting tomorrow, the Google Titan Security Keys are ditching Bluetooth to instead rely on NFC -- in addition to USB, of course.
Google unveils new Nest smart home stuff
Google bought Nest more than seven years ago now, and since that acquisition, there have been many cool smart home devices to come from the search giant. Under the Nest branding, there's not just smart thermostats and cameras, but other products too such as doorbells and speakers. Ultimately, the name "Nest" has become synonymous with the smart home.
Today, Google unveils some new Nest smart home devices, and they are all camera-related. There is a new doorbell (with integrated camera) plus three new dedicated security cameras. What's notable is that the new doorbell and one of the new cameras can be run from a battery, meaning they do not require a hardwire power connection. One of the cameras features nifty floodlights too.
Is AI actually you?
This seems like a great time to ask this question, as it might not matter soon. With the direction things are heading, we may soon arrive at an intersection where the blurring of identity reality and identity fiction is so extreme that we’ll simply stop asking what is authentic personhood.
Case in point, a story out of Paris in July outlines not a dystopian future, but a troubling present reality. The piece recounts the story of computer-generated YouTube storytime videos. The genre is pretty much what it sounds like:
Google's Pixel6 and Pixel6 Pro smartphones will be powered by a Google designed chip
Google will be properly unveiling the next generation of its Pixel smartphones soon, but it’s released a sneak peek showing us what they look like, and revealing that they will be powered by a new custom-built chip.
Google will be hoping its new silicon proves as successful as Apple’s M1 chips, and it certainly looks as if could really revolutionize the Android experience.
Now you can block spam file sharing on Google Drive
Google has a spam problem -- and we're not talking about Gmail, but Google Drive. Having discovered that the file sharing functionality of the cloud storage platform could be used to harass people, spammers have been doing exactly that.
Having announced plans to do something about the problem back in May, Google has finally started the process of roiling out anti-spam measures, giving users the ability to block spammers. While many Google Drive users will be pleased at the introduction of new controls, is it enough?
Google updates search to tell you why you're seeing particular results
Google has announced a significant upgrade to it search engine that means you will now be better informed about the reasons particular results are displayed to you.
Much of the time it is apparent why a certain page has been included in results, but this is not always the case. It is with this in mind that Google is updating the About This Result panel in search results to be more informative.
Google is rolling out its unified backup service, Backup by Google One
Backing up Android data is getting a whole lot easier as Google starts the roll out of Backup by Google One. The service makes it easy to backup everything from SMS, MMS and call logs, to Wi-Fi passwords and photos.
The company has not made a great deal about the rollout, making no announcement about it. This is perhaps understandable as it is essentially a consolidation and rebranding of a previously disparate selection of settings and tools.
Google is making it easier to hide the searches you want to keep secret
Perform a search using Google, and details of your search are saved in your Google account for posterity -- unless, of course, you take action.
If you want to keep a search to yourself, you could use Incognito mode in Chrome and it will not be saved. Or you could manually delete your search history, although this does mean losing potentially useful historic information; the same is true of the auto-delete option for your online activity. But now there is new option to delete the last 15 minutes of search activity -- just enough to cover your tracks when you need to.
Privacy-focused Google makes 'My Activity' more secure with new verification options
Google tracks you. Yeah, yeah, we all know that. It is nothing new. The truth is, that tracking is both a gift and a curse. True, it isn't a nice feeling to know a company is watching your activity across its services, but at the same time, that tracking allows Google to provide you with a more personal experience. For instance, I choose to let Google track me, and my overall web experience is better as a result.
Thankfully, the search giant does empower its users by letting them limit some of the sharing. And now, Google is making "My Activity" (the page which displays much of this tracking history) more secure. You see, the company is now providing extra verification options when accessing My Activity.
The classic Symbian OS reimagined as a rival to iOS and Android
Before Android and iOS took over the mobile market, there was Symbian. Originally developed for PDAs in the late 1990s, it was the most popular mobile OS in the world for a time, powering early smartphones from Nokia, Samsung, Motorola and Sony Ericsson.
As Google and Apple’s mobile operating systems took off, Symbian OS went into an inevitable decline, and it was discontinued in 2010. But perhaps now is the time for a modern re-invention of it.
Google launches unified initiative to boost open source security reporting
One of the problems with open source vulnerability databases is that each uses its own format to describe vulnerabilities and this makes tracking and sharing of vulnerabilities between databases difficult.
To address this and boost security, the Google Open Source Security team, Go team, and the broader open-source community have been developing a simple vulnerability interchange schema for describing vulnerabilities.
Microsoft Chrome OS is an amazing alternative to Windows 11
In a couple of days’ time, Microsoft is set to take the wraps off the next version of Windows. We already know a fair bit about this, thanks to a number of leaks, including a full ISO of Windows 11 which the software giant is currently scrambling to remove from the web.
The new operating system is based partially on Windows 10X, the scrapped lightweight operating system that was designed as a rival to Google’s Chrome OS. While that creation may never properly see the light of day in its original form, we can today get an idea of what Chrome OS would look like if Microsoft had developed it instead of Google.
Google reins in the madness and brings some sanity to Chrome's address bar
Over the years Google has made sweeping changes to Chrome, introducing all manner of features and options. The constant stream of Beta, Dev and Canary builds of the browser are proof of the constant development that is going on, and some of the work has been rather controversial.
One move that was widely opposed was the decision to stop showing full URL of a web page in the address bar (or Omnibar if you want to use Google's nomenclature). Introduced almost a year ago, Google said the experiment was an attempt to help people spot spoofed URLs, but it caused widespread annoyance and confusion. Now the company has seen sense and is opting to show full addresses once again.
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