Articles about Google

June is Pride month, and two of the biggest names in tech are getting involved in the celebrations. Google and Facebook are both showing their support for LGBTQ communities around the world.

Facebook has introduced a new, temporary, "reaction" in the form of a rainbow flag, while Google Maps is highlighting Pride events in cities around the world -- so you can either navigate to them to take part, or avoid the crowds if you're heading elsewhere.

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On the tenth anniversary of the arrival of reCAPTCHA, Google announces the first reCAPTCHA Android API as part of Google Play Services. The API makes it easier for reCAPTCHA to differentiate between humans and bots.

Just as reCAPTCHA has evolved over the years into Invisible reCAPTCHA, the aim with reCAPTCHA Android API is to cut down on spam and abuse in as unintrusive a way as possible.

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To celebrate the launch of Apple's new 10.5-inch iPad Pro, I ordered Pixel C, which arrived three days ago. Worst case, the tablet can be returned for refund during the buyer's remorse period; there ain't any regrets so far—just the opposite. To my pleasant surprise, the tab is much more enjoyable than I remember, because Nougat is so pretty, efficient, and buttery smooth than was Marshmallow on the device. The screen scorches any available iPad, Pro or otherwise, and the performance is shockingly nimble. My Pixel C shipped with Android 7.1.1 and quickly updated to 7.1.2. I will soon install Android O; Google released Developer Preview 3 yesterday.

There's a certain insanity to the purchase, which I am sure flaming commenters will just love. I reviewed Google's Android slate 15 months ago; that makes the thang ancient as measured in computing years. But Big G still sells the tab, and there must be a reason, right? I got another because a college student took possession of my first Pixel C in early 2016. With keyboard cover, the tablet makes a helluva handy carry-along on campus.

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The European Union is seeking ways to make it easier for law enforcement agencies to gather evidence from US tech firms. The European Commission has three proposals that could form the basis of future legislation, and one of them involves granting direct access to individuals' data stored in the cloud.

While the proposals are unlikely to prove popular with the public -- particularly when the UK is already subject to the invasive Investigatory Powers Act -- they are being pushed as a tool in the fight against terrorism.

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Google has taken various steps over the years to try to combat dangerous apps in the Play Store, but this is far from being the only problem Google Play suffers from. There is also the ongoing issue of fake app reviews, incentivized activity, and other means of user manipulation.

Having already put in place some measures to crack down on such activities, Google is now updating its Developer Program Policies. It warns developers that they must "not attempt to manipulate the placement of any apps in the Store" and while banning the bribing of users is nothing new, here Google is aiming to provide additional clarity.

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Google has developed an educational program with the aim of helping children make better use of the internet. It's a drive to "help kids learn how to be smart, positive and kind online, just like we teach them to be offline" and it's called Be Internet Awesome.

Pavni Diwanji, vice president of Engineering For Kids and Families at Google says: "We need to provide guidance as they learn to make their own smart decisions online." The program has been developed with a number of key online safety experts and includes an educational game called Interland.

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Google has started to push out updates to the latest version of its web browser -- Chrome 59 for Windows, Linux and macOS. The update includes a number of important security fixes, but also sees the arrival of Google's Material Design on the desktop.

The Material look is one that will be very familiar to Android users, as well as anyone who uses Google's various online services. But Google is not quite ready to give its desktop browser a full makeover yet.

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What happens when a digital assistant decides it no longer wants to help you? In what is either a case of a sentient digital uprising, or just a software bug that Google is scrambling to fix, owners of a Google Home smart speaker may be waking up today to realize their daily dose of traffic conditions and weather updates are not being delivered to them on a cloud-based silver platter as usual.

First brought to attention by a user on the official Google Home Help Forum a few days ago, many users are discovering that every single "OK, Google" request they make to the digital speaker is being met with an automated error message.

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Following the attacks on London over the weekend, prime minister Theresa May made calls for further regulation of the internet -- despite having already ushered in the snooper's charter, one of the most invasive pieces of online legislation in the world.

Speaking about the attacks, May said: "We cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed. Yet that is precisely what the internet, and the big companies that provide internet-based services provide." Google, Facebook and Twitter have all lashed out, saying they already do a great deal to combat terrorist and extremist content on their networks.

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It has been a few weeks since advertisers started to pull out of YouTube after concern about the placement of ads. Since then, the company has been scrambling to earn back trust and it says it has "held thousands of productive conversations with advertisers, and implemented additional controls to restore advertiser confidence."

Now YouTube has set out what it classifies as hate speech, and says that any content that falls into this category will not be eligible for monetization. It's a move that's designed to calm the fears of advertisers, but there is concern that the rules being put in place are now too strict and could affect the incomes of large numbers of YouTubers.

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It's not really the time of year for spring cleaning, but Google is turbo-charging the Archive option in Google Photos with the added power of artificial intelligence. Archiving is only a recent addition to Google Photos, making it possible to clear out the clutter from your timeline, and now it has been boosted by AI.

The idea acknowledges the fact that while we might take a photo of something -- such as snapping a poster to save writing down dates and times of an upcoming event -- this isn’t something we necessarily need to see after it has served its purpose.

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Google has updated Gmail with a number of new security features aimed at businesses that require better protection against malware and phishing scams.

The company announced today that it is bringing early phishing detection to its email service by using machine learning along with click-time warnings for malicious links found in emails as well as unintended external reply warnings.

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Starting early next year, Chrome users will benefit from an ad blocker built into the web browser. As part of its work with the Coalition for Better Ads, Google is looking to clamp down on intrusive ads that web users find most irritating.

Google is a company whose business model is built largely on advertising, and it is keen for the experience of being subjected to ads to be as painless as possible for people. But rather than block all ads -- killing revenue streams for many websites -- Google wants to block only those that do not comply with Better Ads Standards.

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If you have automatic updates enabled on your Android phone, your index fingers and your brain may have hit a moment of panic and confusion as you realized everything was rejiggered from top to bottom, literally.

Par for the course with Google, you will now have to get used to a new interface, different placement of on-screen buttons, and more confusing navigation streams to get to the menu you want. That is, until you get used to it all, at which point you'll appreciate that they were all actual improvements after all.

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We are currently in the the Muslim holy month of Ramadan (May 26 - June 24). This is an important time for Muslims all over the world. They will be fasting during daylight -- a very arduous task indeed. In fact, not only do Muslims abstain from food during these hours, but beverages too -- including water! To our Muslim readers, we say Ramadan Mubarak and Ramadan Kareem!

To mark this wonderful time in the Islamic community, Google is offering some special websites and notifications in its services. This includes Maps, YouTube, Google Play, and more.

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