Articles about Google

Google Chrome is a great web browser for many reasons. Like Firefox, it is a cross-platform program based on (mostly) open source technologies, but compared to Mozilla's offering, its development moves at a much faster pace. Google is constantly pushing the envelope, creating a largely positive web browsing experience.

Today, Google introduces a new Chrome web browser feature that highlights the search giant's forward-thinking. Called "scroll anchoring," it literally "anchors" the web page, preventing the page from scrolling to the top in certain circumstances. In other words, if the user is reading text on a page, it will prevent the page from shifting and interrupting the consumption. The brilliance of this feature is its overall impact -- this annoyance has probably been experienced by most, if not all, web surfers.

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The Android landscape is changing, albeit at a really, really slow pace. That explains why, in early-April, Google reports that Nougat is found on 4.9 percent of Android devices, while the older Marshmallow powers nearly a third -- 31.2 percent -- of the smartphones and tablets that run the most-popular mobile operating system.

Things couldn't be more different if we look at the iOS space, where iOS 10 currently holds a 79 percent share. Meanwhile, its predecessor, iOS 9, can be found on just 16 percent of the iPhones, iPads and iPod touch devices in use. Google released Nougat in mid-August, last year, while Apple introduced iOS 10 the following month, in September.

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YouTube is more than just a source of cat videos and hilariously painful-looking accidents caught on camera: for many people it is a source of extra income, or even a living. But the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) through which advertisements can be used to generate money is also open to abuse.

The Google-owned site has a plagiarism problem whereby popular content is stolen and re-uploaded to a different channel to generate money for a third party. In a bid to stop this practice, YouTube is banning channels from displaying ads until they have managed to hit 10,000 views.

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Having introduced various tools to fight fake news, the next weapon in Facebook's arsenal is education. Over the next few days a large "Tips for spotting fake news" banner will appear at the top of news feeds in 14 countries, but the approach it is taking is unlikely to have much impact on those most influenced by, and most likely to share, fake news.

Like Google, Facebook is taking steps to tackle fake news. The social network has already announced a raft of measures aimed at stamping out the problem, but now it is trying to not only educate people about how to spot fake news, but also to stem the spread of fake news, and to disincentivize the practice.

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The spread of fake news has become something of an epidemic in recent years, and there has been pressure on the likes of Google, Facebook and Twitter to do more to stem its flow. Google's Fact Check feature is not new, but today the search giant is rolling out the feature around the world.

A global rollout is important if such a tool is to have any real impact. It's all well and good to have reports fact-checked on one side of the world, but it's of little use if the same fake stories remain unquestioned and untested elsewhere. Google is doing its part by making the Fact Check label available in Google News everywhere, and spreading it into search results in all languages as well.

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It has been a while since Google announced its plans for YouTube Go, a streamlined version of its mobile app with a focus on sharing and minimizing data usage. Now the company has released the first beta on Google Play.

Designed for use in countries with less-than-reliable internet connection, such as India, YouTube Go also allows for the downloading of videos for offline viewing without buffering. The app includes a number of options to help you "maximize your fun without burning up your data," including the ability to preview videos and see the amount of data required to download different quality versions of the same file.

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Parenting can be hard -- I get it. It can be a real hassle to monitor what a child is doing 24 hours per day. Nowadays, with the internet and many connected devices, your child could be online when you aren't aware. Luckily, there are tools to help you track their activity -- up all night surfing the web? Busted!

Today, the Google Wifi router gets a new tool to help owners better manage internet access. Called "Scheduled Pause," it literally lets you pause the internet for selected devices. In other words, it could make a tablet or other device inoperable during a certain time frame -- like a bedtime. Here's the problem. What if there is an emergency, like say, a home invasion, and the child wants to use the tablet to get help? If the tragedy occurs while the internet is paused, it could be catastrophic.

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Earlier this week, Donald Trump signed an executive order that effectively killed Obama-era environmental policies. Expressing his love of "clean coal" -- despite such a substance not actually existing --  Trump wiped out Obama orders that aimed to reduce carbon production and signalled an "end to the war on coal."

The signing of the executive order was met with astonishment around the world, and many voices have spoken out against the wisdom of the move. Among those are technology companies, many of whom have said that they will stick to promises they have made to tackling climate change -- something Google is aiming to do by switching to 100 percent renewable energy this year.

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Following UK home secretary Amber Rudd's suggestion that encrypted messaging service WhatsApp was 'a secret place to hide' for terrorists, four major technology companies met with the minister to discuss the removal of extremist material from websites and social media.

Microsoft, Google, Twitter and Facebook met with Rudd amid calls from civil liberties groups for greater transparency. Following the meeting, senior executives from each company signed a statement indicating that they are ready to work with the government to tackle the problem. The matter of backdoors into encrypted apps and services, however, remained off the table.

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There has been something of a trend in recent years for phones to grow taller and slimmer. Aspect ratios are changing, and the familiar 16:9 is being met by the LG G6's 18:9 (oh, ok, 2:1) and, in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S8, 18.5:9.

Google sees these emerging aspect ratios as the start of a trend rather than obscure rarities, and it's encouraging developers to embrace them fully.

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When I first set up a Logitech Harmony hub in my home, it was life-changing. No longer did I need to have multiple remote controls littering my living room table. The one Harmony remote (or mobile app) controls my television, cable box, sound bar, and Xbox One. Once I linked it with my Amazon Echo, things got even better -- I could control my entertainment devices by voice. If I am dozing off on the couch while watching TV, for instance, and the remote is out of reach, I can simply say "Alexa, tell Harmony to turn off the TV." Like magic, the television shuts off.

Amazon Echo is not the only voice assistant device available -- Google offers its own called "Home." It is very similar to Amazon's offering, but it is not compatible with all of the same devices and services. For instance, Home did not work with Harmony. Today, this changes, as both Logitech and Google's hardware can now work together. It is not compatible with all Harmony devices, however -- only Hub-based models, such as Elite and Companion.

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It has been a long time coming. A very long time coming. But -- finally -- there is an iPad-optimized version of the Google Calendar app available. Let joy be unbounded!

It has taken a full two years for Google developers to pull their fingers out and create a version of the app that is not designed just for iPhones. Google Calendar for iPad takes full advantage of the increased screen real estate, and supports Split View.

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Like Amazon Echo, Google Home is a device that can answer your questions, play music, and control home automation tasks. It's a handy thing to have around if you don't mind Google listening to you on a regular basis.

Now the device is gaining a bit more operability. Thanks to its announced update of the Weave platform, it can now work with the Wink home automation hub.

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Last week, the US Senate voted to permit ISPs to share -- or sell -- customers' browsing histories and other data without permission. Now the House has gone ahead and voted the same way, so internet users' privacy is now up for sale.

Just as the Senate vote to overturn privacy rules was close (50 votes to 48), so was yesterday's: 215 to 205. The repeal of the FCC-approved rules had President Trump's support, and the latest vote means that all manner of personal information is now able to be sold for marketing and advertising without individuals' consent.

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Privacy-focused search engine StartPage has launched an upgraded private image search feature. With extreme concern mounting about plans for ISPs to be granted permission to sell customers' browsing histories without express permission, interest in untrackable browsing is on the increase.

Based in the Netherlands, StartPage is outside the reach of US law enforcement agencies, and it uses a secure connection so there is no way to tell what users have been searching for, and also secures click-throughs using a proxy. In addition to the private image search enhancement, StartPage has also launched Instant Answers to provide searchers with easy access to key information.

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