Google fires employee who criticized its diversity policies
The senior software engineer who penned the now-infamous anti-diversity manifesto has been fired by Google. James Damore confirmed that he was fired for "perpetuating gender stereotypes," but says that he is "currently exploring all possible legal remedies."
Damore says that he has now been in touch with the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), pointing out that it is "illegal to retaliate against an NLRB charge." The "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber" memo written by the now-former employee went viral internally at Google before leaking to the internet shortly afterwards.
Google makes it easier to share that hot new Jake Paul or Nick Crompton YouTube video
There are many discussions nowadays as to who is the best YouTuber. Many people stand by PewDiePie, but Jake Paul and his Team 10 squad are quickly becoming a force to recon with. Heck, even Jake's brother, Logan Paul, is delivering some amazing content lately. OK, before you get too mad, please know that I am being facetious. The Paul brothers are probably the worst thing on YouTube these days, but I'll confess that the drama surrounding them keeps me on the edge of my seat. Seeing Killa' Keemstar report on the latest foolishness by Jake and Logan on Drama Alert is pure gold.
If you want to share the latest videos by Jake, Logan, or any other YouTuber, Google has a new solution that you may appreciate. Rather than just send a link, you can share and discuss the video from within the YouTube app itself. Very cool.
Google Pixel and Pixel XL get big discounts
The Pixel and Pixel XL are among the best flagship smartphones that you can buy today. And, since they're rapidly approaching their one-year anniversary, they are now offered with some serious discounts direct from Google, making them an even more attractive proposition in the high-end market.
Google is offering the Pixel and Pixel XL with discounts of up to $200 on its online store, and, to sweeten the deal even further, you can also grab a VR headset for free.
HBO calls in FBI over Game of Thrones hack as Indian distributor admits it is the source of S07E04 leak
Season seven of Game of Thrones has been something of a disaster for HBO. Not in terms of interest or viewing figures, of course, but in terms of hacking, leaks, spoilers and piracy.
Last night saw the official airing of episode four of season seven but this particular episode, The Spoils of War, leaked some days ago. Distribution partner Star India has admitted the leak came from its website, and HBO has called in the FBI to investigate the hack that lead to a number of episode and script leaks.
Google employee's anti-diversity manifesto goes viral as the company dismisses the diatribe
A document entitled "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber" in which an employee strongly criticizes the company's efforts towards diversity and equality has gone viral. The opinionated article was written by an unnamed senior software engineer, and it accuses Google of political bias while calling for great "ideological diversity."
The document has been dubbed a "manifesto" and it went viral within Google. It was shared internally on a mailing list, and several Google employees tweeted about its existence. It did not take long for the rant -- which attributes the gender gap in technology to biological differences between the sexes -- to go public, and for Google to attempt to distance itself from the contents.
YouTube Music gets a proper offline mode for songs, albums and playlists
The arrival of offline mode to YouTube Music may not seem like news, but the reality is that the "mixtape" option that was available was very limited. Now YouTube has made it possible to download playlists, songs and albums for offline listening.
As before, you need to be a YouTube Red member to take advantage of the feature, and the update means that users now have far more control over their offline listening rather than relying on YouTube to select tracks based on listening history.
Lenovo smartphones will all feature stock Android from now on
Starting with the K8 Note, all of Lenovo's smartphones will come with stock Android installed. The company is dropping its customized Vibe Pure UI in favour of an (almost) untouched version of Android.
The Lenovo K8 Note will come with Android 7.1.1 Nougat installed, and the company is making only minor additions in the form of Dolby Atmos and TheaterMax -- gone is the bloatware that irks users so much.
Google Play now promotes apps that crash less and offer better battery life
There are many metrics by which to measure how good an app is, and Google is starting to use a few more when it ranks Android apps and games in the Play Store. The latest app-ranking algorithm now takes into account app stability, performance and battery usage.
As well as improving the relevance of listings for people downloading apps, Google is also using this change to push developers to improve their apps.
Google now permits Android apps that facilitate gambling with real money
Google has relaxed its rules surrounding real-money gambling apps in Google Play -- in some countries, at least. There has been a ban on apps and games that allow users to gamble with real money since 2013, but that has now changed.
While there was previously a ban in place due to the difficulty in policing ages and complying with different gambling laws around the world, real-money gambling apps are now permitted in the UK, France and Ireland.
Updated Google Earth arrives on iOS
It has been a number of months since Google Earth received a makeover on Android and the web, and now the update is making its way to iOS. The latest version of the 3D world-exploration tool has been overhauled, bringing a number of new features to iPhone and iPad users.
These features include 360-degree videos, guided tours, and the interactive Voyager option for traveling virtually to major cities of the world.
Apple and Google pull binary trading apps from their stores after financial scams
A recent investigation by The Independent uncovered a financial scam that was placing thousands of people at risk. An increasing number of binary trading options have proved to be fraudulent, and in the UK they fall outside the control of financial regulators.
Binary option scams have been described as "possibly the biggest financial scam in the world," and Apple and Google have cleared hundreds of trading apps from the App Store and Google Play after a review by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC).
Google announces Nearby Connections 2.0 complete with offline communication
The second iteration of Nearby Connections -- called, funnily enough, Nearby Connections 2.0 -- is upon us. Google has released the API to Android developers, giving them access to greater bandwidth, reduced latency, and -- most excitingly -- offline functionality.
Working over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, Nearby Connections 2.0 makes it possible for devices to communicate with each other without the need for an internet connection. The API is supported by Android devices running Google Play services 11.0 and above, and it is essentially a peer-to-peer system that works much like a next-generation version of NFC.
Google improves Gboard keyboard for iPhone with YouTube and Maps support
When Apple added support for third-party keyboards on iOS, many users were excited. To be honest, I was not, however. While I appreciate having the choice, I much prefer privacy. You see, when you add a third-party keyboard, the developer can potentially intercept your keystrokes. If you are OK with that, more power to you. Me? I'll stick to the stock variant, thank you very much.
But OK, let's say you don't like Apple's keyboard and trust Google with your entries. If that is the case, the search giant's Gboard is a very impressive offering. It is more than just a keyboard, as it adds the ability to easily insert things like gifs, plus do Google searches. It even offers swipe-style typing, meaning you can glide from letter to letter rather than peck. Today, Gboard gets even better thanks to new Maps and YouTube functionality. Google has also added support for drawing, plus three additional languages -- Arabic, Farsi, and Hebrew.
Don't buy Android if you care about mobile photography, says former Google SVP
Flagships like the Apple iPhone 7 Plus, Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy S8 all have such great cameras that it can be really hard to definitively say which one is the best option for mobile photographers. Reviews, comparisons and blind tests all point to different winners, but, more often that not, you will usually find an Android smartphone at the top.
Vic Gundotra, who lead Google's mobile efforts for a couple of years, helped create Google+ and is an avid photographer, has a rather different opinion, claiming that Android is actually "a few years behind" the iPhone for mobile photography, and that, if you really care about photography, you should get an iPhone 7 Plus.
Microsoft updates Cortana for Android with new look and new features
The Android version of Cortana has been getting some attention from Microsoft recently, and today the company has released another update to its virtual assistant. With Cortana 2.9, Microsoft not only introduces something of an interface makeover, but also adds new features.
While the redesign is nothing major, it is a move for the better, with Settings now easier to access and the interface is reduced to two tabs rather than three -- and they are now labelled too! But it doesn’t end there.
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