<p>Leading audio equipment company Bose has announced the launch of its iconic headphones QC35 II.</p>

<p>The product will be the first headphone to offer seamless voice access to one&#39;s Google Assistant.</p>

<p>The QC35 II noise-cancelling headphones have all the performance and features of the original QC35.</p>

<p>Supporting and delivering the same industry-defining noise cancellation, audio performance, and up to 20 hours of battery life, the headphones come with settings to control the external noise.</p>

<p>The controls on the right earcups are similar to the original QC35, which include an audio volume button, and the multi-function button for incoming calls and accessing Siri.</p>

<p>The new action button on the left earcup to connect to one&#39;s Google Assistant, without having to grab one&#39;s phone and finding the app.</p>

<p>&quot;The QC35 is already the world&#39;s most celebrated wireless headphone, and a survival tool for modern life,&quot; said Director, Bose on-the-go products, Brian Maguire.</p>

<p>&quot;We didn&#39;t change anything that people already love with Google Assistant built-in, and new choices for what you hear, we made it better,&quot; added Maguire.</p>

<p>Bose and Google worked together on the exclusive experience in the QC35 II, making it the first integration of Google Assistant in a headphone.</p>

<p>All one needs to do is press and hold the action button, and their own personal Google will be ready to help - no waiting, looking, swiping, or typing.</p>

<p>The personal assistant will help one manage their music and get things done; like play a playlist or a favourite song by a favourite artist, and add appointments to Google calendar.</p>

<p>It can also help one stay connected; from simple things like making a call, to notification about incoming messages, events and reminders.</p>

<p>Moreover, the gadget can also answer questions and find information; the latest headlines, whether one&#39;s flight is on time, and the list of movies playing downtown, etc.</p>

<p>Bose&#39;s proprietary microphone system picks-up voices with remarkable accuracy, so that commands are understood. And in a fraction of a millisecond, Bose active noise cancellation dramatically eliminates unwanted sounds.</p>

<p>Like its predecessor, the QC35 II&#39;s noise cancellation is fully activated when the headphone is on, but the Bose Connect App now also lets one choose to keep it high, turn it down low, or disable it completely off.</p>

<p>The Connect App lets one change the action button&#39;s functionality, so one can control the noise settings from the earcup when they want, and switch back to their Google Assistant when they want.</p>

<p>The QC35 II noise cancelling headphones will be available in black and silver, priced at Rs. 29,363.</p>

<p>The headphones will be sold at Bose retail stores, Boseindia.com and authorised Bose dealers.</p>


First headphone from Bose to offer seamless voice access to one's Google Assistant.

Leading audio equipment company Bose has announced the launch of its iconic headphones QC35 II. The product will be the first headphone to offer seamless voice access to one's Google Assistant. The QC35 II noise-cancelling headphones have all the performance and features of the original QC35. Supporting and delivering the same industry-defining noise cancellation, audio performance, and up to 20 hours of battery life, the headphones come with settings to control the external noise. The controls on the right earcups are similar to the original QC35, which include an audio volume button, and the multi-function button for incoming calls and accessing Siri. The new action button on the left earcup to connect to one's Google Assistant, without having to grab one's phone and finding the app. "The QC35 is already the world's most celebrated wireless headphone, and a survival tool for modern life," said Director, Bose on-the-go products, Brian Maguire. "We didn't change anything that people already love with Google Assistant built-in, and new choices for what you hear, we made it better," added Maguire. Bose and Google worked together on the exclusive experience in the QC35 II, making it the first integration of Google Assistant in a headphone. All one needs to do is press and hold the action button, and their own personal Google will be ready to help - no waiting, looking, swiping, or typing. The personal assistant will help one manage their music and get things done; like play a playlist or a favourite song by a favourite artist, and add appointments to Google calendar. It can also help one stay connected; from simple things like making a call, to notification about incoming messages, events and reminders. Moreover, the gadget can also answer questions and find information; the latest headlines, whether one's flight is on time, and the list of movies playing downtown, etc. Bose's proprietary microphone system picks-up voices with remarkable accuracy, so that commands are understood. And in a fraction of a millisecond, Bose active noise cancellation dramatically eliminates unwanted sounds. Like its predecessor, the QC35 II's noise cancellation is fully activated when the headphone is on, but the Bose Connect App now also lets one choose to keep it high, turn it down low, or disable it completely off. The Connect App lets one change the action button's functionality, so one can control the noise settings from the earcup when they want, and switch back to their Google Assistant when they want. The QC35 II noise cancelling headphones will be available in black and silver, priced at Rs. 29,363. The headphones will be sold at Bose retail stores, Boseindia.com and authorised Bose dealers.

Bose launches Google Assistant enabled earphones for gizmo freaks

<p>Japan&#39;s Sony Corp said on Wednesday it has brought back AIBO more than a decade since it last made the robotic dog, as the electronics and entertainment firm seeks to rebuild its reputation for innovation after years of restructuring.</p>

<p>The announcement comes a day after Sony confirmed its renaissance by forecasting its highest-ever profit this financial year, sending its shares surging to a nine-year high.</p>

<p>AIBO is billed as a pet that behaves like a real dog using artificial intelligence (AI) to learn and interact with its owner and surroundings. The upgrade sees AIBO equipped with new sensing and movement technologies as well as far more advanced AI backed by cloud computing to develop the dog&#39;s personality.</p>

<p>Sales begin in Japan in January for 198,000 yen ($1,739).</p>

<p>Sony pioneered entertainment robots with AIBO in 1999. It sold about 150,000 dogs in Japan before ceasing production seven years later when its core consumer electronics business struggled in price wars with emerging Asian rivals.</p>

<p>&#39;It was a difficult decision to stop the project in 2006, but we continued development in AI and robotics.&#39; Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai said at a news briefing.</p>

<p>&#39;I asked our engineers a year and a half ago to develop (new) AIBO because I strongly believe robots capable of building loving relationships with people help realise Sony&#39;s mission (to inspire).&#39;</p>

<p>The reborn AIBO features new actuator technology allowing it move more smoothly and naturally like a real dog. With sensing and AI technologies, AIBO can run toward its owner and detect smiles and words of praise, and can remember what actions please the owner. Its eyes are made of organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays making it capable of diverse expressions.</p>

<p>Sony said it aims to sell at least as many new AIBO as the original, without giving a time frame. It also said it is considering overseas sales.</p>

<p>The firm sees AI as a future pillar of growth, hoping to catch up with major technology companies such as Facebook Inc, Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc&#39;s Google.</p>

<p>It invested an undisclosed sum last year in Cogitai, a U.S. AI start-up focusing on technology that allows machines to learn continually and autonomously from interaction in the real world. It also established a venture capital fund to build partnerships with researchers and start-up companies in AI and robotics.</p>

<p>Earlier this year, Sony Education launched its first product, Koov, which aims to teach children coding through building and programming robots using plastic blocks.</p>


The reborn AIBO features new actuator technology allowing it move more smoothly and naturally like a real dog.

Japan's Sony Corp said on Wednesday it has brought back AIBO more than a decade since it last made the robotic dog, as the electronics and entertainment firm seeks to rebuild its reputation for innovation after years of restructuring. The announcement comes a day after Sony confirmed its renaissance by forecasting its highest-ever profit this financial year, sending its shares surging to a nine-year high. AIBO is billed as a pet that behaves like a real dog using artificial intelligence (AI) to learn and interact with its owner and surroundings. The upgrade sees AIBO equipped with new sensing and movement technologies as well as far more advanced AI backed by cloud computing to develop the dog's personality. Sales begin in Japan in January for 198,000 yen ($1,739). Sony pioneered entertainment robots with AIBO in 1999. It sold about 150,000 dogs in Japan before ceasing production seven years later when its core consumer electronics business struggled in price wars with emerging Asian rivals. 'It was a difficult decision to stop the project in 2006, but we continued development in AI and robotics.' Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai said at a news briefing. 'I asked our engineers a year and a half ago to develop (new) AIBO because I strongly believe robots capable of building loving relationships with people help realise Sony's mission (to inspire).' The reborn AIBO features new actuator technology allowing it move more smoothly and naturally like a real dog. With sensing and AI technologies, AIBO can run toward its owner and detect smiles and words of praise, and can remember what actions please the owner. Its eyes are made of organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays making it capable of diverse expressions. Sony said it aims to sell at least as many new AIBO as the original, without giving a time frame. It also said it is considering overseas sales. The firm sees AI as a future pillar of growth, hoping to catch up with major technology companies such as Facebook Inc, Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google. It invested an undisclosed sum last year in Cogitai, a U.S. AI start-up focusing on technology that allows machines to learn continually and autonomously from interaction in the real world. It also established a venture capital fund to build partnerships with researchers and start-up companies in AI and robotics. Earlier this year, Sony Education launched its first product, Koov, which aims to teach children coding through building and programming robots using plastic blocks.

Sony revives pet AI project with updated AIBO robot dog

<p>Thomas Baekdal, author-writer-publisher and a media analyst recently called for a discussion on the &quot;burger emoji&quot;.</p>

<p>In a Twitter post, the author said his confusion was about how Google&#39;s burger emoji places the cheese underneath the burger while Apple on the top.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I think we need to have a discussion about how Google&#39;s burger emoji is placing the cheese underneath the burger, while Apple puts it on top <a href="https://t.co/PgXmCkY3Yc">pic.twitter.com/PgXmCkY3Yc</a></p>
&mdash; Thomas Baekdal (@baekdal) <a href="https://twitter.com/baekdal/status/924312294439444480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>His tweet, which was retweeted over five thousand times, created a trail of discussion on&nbsp;social media.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Twitterati shared their knowledge&nbsp;of the correct order for cheese and lettuce.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Obviously, cheese must be on top of meat. But lettuce must be insulated by the tomato - so both are in the wrong.</p>
&mdash; Tero Kuittinen (@teroterotero) <a href="https://twitter.com/teroterotero/status/924316787319164929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">lettuce under meat keeps the bottom bun from getting (as) soggy with meat juice.</p>
&mdash; ??DARK ALEX RISING?? (@alex_insist) <a href="https://twitter.com/alex_insist/status/924381410059722752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">basically this <a href="https://t.co/nTimOlvbay">pic.twitter.com/nTimOlvbay</a></p>
&mdash; Saikyo Ninja KeiyosX (@KeiyosX) <a href="https://twitter.com/KeiyosX/status/924506569005522944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">They had ALL better make sure the ROLL OF TOILET PAPER <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/emoji?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#emoji</a> has the loose sheet to the front or there will be hell to pay.</p>
&mdash; Michael Everson (@Evertype) <a href="https://twitter.com/Evertype/status/924379444436926466?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">They&#39;re both wrong. Google&#39;s cheese is wrong, Apple&#39;s lettuce is wrong. The correct order, from bottom up, is burger - cheese - toppings <a href="https://t.co/lF1AUu64ht">pic.twitter.com/lF1AUu64ht</a></p>
&mdash; Mark Goodge ???? (@MarkGoodge) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkGoodge/status/924337663456501760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/bhaggs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@bhaggs</a> seriously dude!!?? Lettuce next to cheese? Just tell me it is a soy burger and kill me now <a href="https://t.co/rYT2jeYMx7">pic.twitter.com/rYT2jeYMx7</a></p>
&mdash; md (@manuel) <a href="https://twitter.com/manuel/status/924493564637200384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Some even advised to replace&nbsp;it with the Maharashtrian snack&nbsp;<em>Vada Pav</em>.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Vadapav ?? we need this emoji ?? especially Indian people will love this..</p>
&mdash; Venkatesh (@venky8694) <a href="https://twitter.com/venky8694/status/924569210809827328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Dear <a href="https://twitter.com/Google?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Google</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/sundarpichai?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sundarpichai</a>, In India. its should be like this... feels nostalgic. ?? <a href="https://t.co/J4vk6z8hI9">pic.twitter.com/J4vk6z8hI9</a></p>
&mdash; ...?? ???? (@prashume) <a href="https://twitter.com/prashume/status/924584458753159168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Clearly HTC win for doubling up <a href="https://t.co/ZRUMZfzYuc">pic.twitter.com/ZRUMZfzYuc</a></p>
&mdash; Anthony Thomas (@ant_thomas) <a href="https://twitter.com/ant_thomas/status/924334254418530304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Mozilla solved the problem by totally avoiding the lettuce and tomato. ?? <a href="https://t.co/o5oUiu9Zcw">pic.twitter.com/o5oUiu9Zcw</a></p>
&mdash; Daniel Lo Nigro (@Daniel15) <a href="https://twitter.com/Daniel15/status/924430955175014401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Google isn&rsquo;t being faithful to its &ldquo;Do no harm&rdquo; motto</p>
&mdash; Sandra Oldfield (@SandraOldfield) <a href="https://twitter.com/SandraOldfield/status/924492639537213440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Twitterati certainly loved debating on the correct order of the cheese in the burger.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">With your tweet, You have brought sudden excitement into people&#39;s lives! I Cannot believe the depth of the discussion here??????????</p>
&mdash; Gaurav Kutemate (@G_thinktank) <a href="https://twitter.com/G_thinktank/status/924547044739551232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>And the &quot;depth of the discussion&quot; increased when Google CEO Sunder Pichai assured to drop everything else just to address the matter on Monday.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Will drop everything else we are doing and address on Monday:) if folks can agree on the correct way to do this! <a href="https://t.co/dXRuZnX1Ag">https://t.co/dXRuZnX1Ag</a></p>
&mdash; Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) <a href="https://twitter.com/sundarpichai/status/924487551372615680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>His tweet attracted 12 thousand likes and was retweeted over five thousand times.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Oof. These burger puns are going to ketchup with you in a bad way.</p>
&mdash; Paul Reynolds (@MugOfPaul) <a href="https://twitter.com/MugOfPaul/status/924492410289233920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">If Sundar says they&#39;ll do it, then consider it bun</p>
&mdash; ????&zwj;?????? (@hunterwalk) <a href="https://twitter.com/hunterwalk/status/924491434157154310?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Personally I relish this sort of discussion</p>
&mdash; Ina Fried (@inafried) <a href="https://twitter.com/inafried/status/924499024060616706?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/sundarpichai?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sundarpichai</a> while you&#39;re at it can you get a veggie burger emoji in place as well???</p>
&mdash; Nirav Sheth (@nsheth_ahimsa) <a href="https://twitter.com/nsheth_ahimsa/status/924497926113521664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">That earnings call has got you feeling pretty good, I see??</p>
&mdash; Tim Abraham (@timabe) <a href="https://twitter.com/timabe/status/924489922496491521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Mr. Sundar we want felafel emoji please</p>
&mdash; Hussein Adel Fahmy (@7usfahmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/7usfahmy/status/924566657418387456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">That&rsquo;s why in India we go for Vadapav instead. No confusion.</p>
&mdash; Dvijen Trivedi (@DvijenT) <a href="https://twitter.com/DvijenT/status/924488032585052160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Goes on top Mr. Pichai. Do the right thing sir.</p>
&mdash; Kazushi Nethery (@sakurabruh) <a href="https://twitter.com/sakurabruh/status/924488518193180672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Please add coming up with emoji design that doesn&#39;t seem like a badly drawn cartoon. You know, to blend with my beautiful Pixel 2 XL ??</p>
&mdash; Jaime Rivera (@Jaime_Rivera) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jaime_Rivera/status/924556281691512832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="und"><a href="https://t.co/9WILFD0QJU">pic.twitter.com/9WILFD0QJU</a></p>
&mdash; Stephanie MacConnell (@stephmacc) <a href="https://twitter.com/stephmacc/status/924503772835057664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The Google CEO responded to a tweet by Thomas Baekdal, asking for a discussion over the order of cheese in Apple and Google's 'burger emoji'

Thomas Baekdal, author-writer-publisher and a media analyst recently called for a discussion on the "burger emoji". In a Twitter post, the author said his confusion was about how Google's burger emoji places the cheese underneath the burger while Apple on the top. I think we need to have a discussion about how Google's burger emoji is placing the cheese underneath the burger, while Apple puts it on top pic.twitter.com/PgXmCkY3Yc — Thomas Baekdal (@baekdal) October 28, 2017 × His tweet, which was retweeted over five thousand times, created a trail of discussion on social media. Twitterati shared their knowledge of the correct order for cheese and lettuce. Obviously, cheese must be on top of meat. But lettuce must be insulated by the tomato - so both are in the wrong. — Tero Kuittinen (@teroterotero) October 28, 2017 × lettuce under meat keeps the bottom bun from getting (as) soggy with meat juice. — ??DARK ALEX RISING?? (@alex_insist) October 28, 2017 × basically this pic.twitter.com/nTimOlvbay — Saikyo Ninja KeiyosX (@KeiyosX) October 29, 2017 × They had ALL better make sure the ROLL OF TOILET PAPER #emoji has the loose sheet to the front or there will be hell to pay. — Michael Everson (@Evertype) October 28, 2017 × They're both wrong. Google's cheese is wrong, Apple's lettuce is wrong. The correct order, from bottom up, is burger - cheese - toppings pic.twitter.com/lF1AUu64ht — Mark Goodge ???? (@MarkGoodge) October 28, 2017 × @bhaggs seriously dude!!?? Lettuce next to cheese? Just tell me it is a soy burger and kill me now pic.twitter.com/rYT2jeYMx7 — md (@manuel) October 29, 2017 × Some even advised to replace it with the Maharashtrian snack Vada Pav. Vadapav ?? we need this emoji ?? especially Indian people will love this.. — Venkatesh (@venky8694) October 29, 2017 × Dear @Google @sundarpichai, In India. its should be like this... feels nostalgic. ?? pic.twitter.com/J4vk6z8hI9 — ...?? ???? (@prashume) October 29, 2017 × Clearly HTC win for doubling up pic.twitter.com/ZRUMZfzYuc — Anthony Thomas (@ant_thomas) October 28, 2017 × Mozilla solved the problem by totally avoiding the lettuce and tomato. ?? pic.twitter.com/o5oUiu9Zcw — Daniel Lo Nigro (@Daniel15) October 29, 2017 × Google isn’t being faithful to its “Do no harm” motto — Sandra Oldfield (@SandraOldfield) October 29, 2017 × Twitterati certainly loved debating on the correct order of the cheese in the burger. With your tweet, You have brought sudden excitement into people's lives! I Cannot believe the depth of the discussion here?????????? — Gaurav Kutemate (@G_thinktank) October 29, 2017 × And the "depth of the discussion" increased when Google CEO Sunder Pichai assured to drop everything else just to address the matter on Monday. Will drop everything else we are doing and address on Monday:) if folks can agree on the correct way to do this! https://t.co/dXRuZnX1Ag — Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) October 29, 2017 × His tweet attracted 12 thousand likes and was retweeted over five thousand times. Oof. These burger puns are going to ketchup with you in a bad way. — Paul Reynolds (@MugOfPaul) October 29, 2017 × If Sundar says they'll do it, then consider it bun — ????‍?????? (@hunterwalk) October 29, 2017 × Personally I relish this sort of discussion — Ina Fried (@inafried) October 29, 2017 × @sundarpichai while you're at it can you get a veggie burger emoji in place as well??? — Nirav Sheth (@nsheth_ahimsa) October 29, 2017 × That earnings call has got you feeling pretty good, I see?? — Tim Abraham (@timabe) October 29, 2017 × Mr. Sundar we want felafel emoji please — Hussein Adel Fahmy (@7usfahmy) October 29, 2017 × That’s why in India we go for Vadapav instead. No confusion. — Dvijen Trivedi (@DvijenT) October 29, 2017 × Goes on top Mr. Pichai. Do the right thing sir. — Kazushi Nethery (@sakurabruh) October 29, 2017 × Please add coming up with emoji design that doesn't seem like a badly drawn cartoon. You know, to blend with my beautiful Pixel 2 XL ?? — Jaime Rivera (@Jaime_Rivera) October 29, 2017 × pic.twitter.com/9WILFD0QJU — Stephanie MacConnell (@stephmacc) October 29, 2017 ×

First things first: Sundar Pichai wants to address order of cheese in burger

<p>Days after <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/google-unveils-pixel-smartphone-to-rival-apples-iphone-7110" target="_blank">Google marked its entry into the smartphone market with the launch of Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL</a>, the company is now experiencing problems with its new handset.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Reports have indicated &quot;burn in&quot; on the display of the new Google handset, Pixel 2 XL.</p>

<p>The defect creates &quot;ghost icons&quot; burned on the screen and occurs when the display is used for a very long time.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It also gives a &quot;muddy&quot; discolouration on the screen.</p>

<p>The issue was first reported by Alex Dobie, editor of Android Central.&nbsp; He tweeted a picture of a burn-in on the display which he claimed had emerged after seven days of full-time use.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">That&#39;s some pretty wild OLED burn-in on the Pixel 2 XL after maybe 7 days of full-time use <a href="https://t.co/EPJTs6D0Kg">pic.twitter.com/EPJTs6D0Kg</a></p>
&mdash; Alex Dobie (@alexdobie) <a href="https://twitter.com/alexdobie/status/922060857659547648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Don&#39;t remember the last time I saw burn-in this bad, this quickly on a flagship phone.</p>
&mdash; Alex Dobie (@alexdobie) <a href="https://twitter.com/alexdobie/status/922061383876927488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>He also cleared that he did not find any such issue with the other <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/google-launches-new-phones-speakers-in-hardware-push-21014" target="_blank">Google handset, Pixel 2</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">To be clear: no such issue w/ baby Pixel 2 that I&#39;ve been using for about the same length of time</p>
&mdash; Alex Dobie (@alexdobie) <a href="https://twitter.com/alexdobie/status/922069584441692160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Google responded to the issue and said it was investigating the matter which it took &quot;very seriously&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


The defect creates "ghost icons" burned on the screen and occurs when the display is used for a very long time

Days after Google marked its entry into the smartphone market with the launch of Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, the company is now experiencing problems with its new handset. Reports have indicated "burn in" on the display of the new Google handset, Pixel 2 XL. The defect creates "ghost icons" burned on the screen and occurs when the display is used for a very long time. It also gives a "muddy" discolouration on the screen. The issue was first reported by Alex Dobie, editor of Android Central. He tweeted a picture of a burn-in on the display which he claimed had emerged after seven days of full-time use. That's some pretty wild OLED burn-in on the Pixel 2 XL after maybe 7 days of full-time use pic.twitter.com/EPJTs6D0Kg — Alex Dobie (@alexdobie) October 22, 2017 × Don't remember the last time I saw burn-in this bad, this quickly on a flagship phone. — Alex Dobie (@alexdobie) October 22, 2017 × He also cleared that he did not find any such issue with the other Google handset, Pixel 2. To be clear: no such issue w/ baby Pixel 2 that I've been using for about the same length of time — Alex Dobie (@alexdobie) October 22, 2017 × Google responded to the issue and said it was investigating the matter which it took "very seriously".

Google's smartphone Pixel 2 XL reports 'screen burn'

<p>Alphabet Inc&#39;s <a href="http://www.wionews.com/science-tech/google-io-2017-heres-everything-announced-at-the-annual-conference-15717" target="_blank">Google on Wednesday unveiled the second generation of its Pixel smartphone</a> along with new voice-enabled home speakers, redoubling its commitment to the hardware business as it competes with a surge of devices from Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/google-aids-1-million-flood-relief-fund-to-india-nepal-bangladesh-19756" target="_blank">Google&#39;s new products</a>, including a Pixelbook laptop, wireless earbuds and a small GoPro-like camera, showcase Google-developed operating systems and services, notably the voice assistant. That means usage of those devices should stoke the company&#39;s core ad sales business as buyers of the hardware using Google services like search and maps.</p>

<p>Speaking at the launch in San Francisco, Google hardware chief Rick Osterloh said the new products &quot;perfectly demonstrate our strategy of re-imagining hardware from the inside out.&quot;</p>

<p>The Pixel 2 smartphone comes in two sizes, with comparable features, including aluminium bodies and no traditional jacks for headphones. Prices for the base model start at $649, while the high-end version starts at $849. The phones will be available October 19.</p>

<p>The Pixel phones lack the brand lustre and market share of similarly priced smartphones such as the Apple iPhone or Samsung Electronics Co&#39;s Galaxy S and Galaxy Note smartphones. Still, the original Pixel&#39;s camera and software drew acclaim from reviewers, many of whom expect the line to become a robust competitor at the high end of the Android smartphone market.</p>

<p>Pixelbook, priced at $999, is the first laptop powered by Google Assistant and will support Snap Inc&#39;s Snapchat, the company said. The keyboard folds behind the screen to turn the 12.3-inch touchscreen into a tablet. It will be available in stores from October 31.</p>

<p>Google Home Mini, one of the new speakers, is priced at $49 in the United States and would rival Amazon.com Inc&#39;s popular Echo Dot. It will be available October 19. The Home Max, with dual woofers for more powerful sound, is priced at $399 and with availability by the end of the year.</p>

<p>The Pixel Buds, which are priced at $149, arrive in November. Clips, which is a pocket-sized camera with object detection and automatic recording capabilities, &quot;soon&quot; goes on sale for $249, Google said. Videos last only a few seconds and do not contain audio.</p>

<p>The Pixel smartphone debuted a year ago, with analysts estimating sales of more than 2 million, pushing Google to record amounts of non-advertising revenue.</p>

<p>Google&#39;s &quot;other&quot; revenue category, which includes both hardware and sales of online storage services, accounted for about 12 percent of overall sales in its most recent quarter.</p>

<p>Last month, Google expanded its hardware development capabilities by picking up a 2,000-person smartphone engineering team at HTC for $1.1 billion.</p>

<p>&quot;It&rsquo;s pretty clear Google is serious about hardware,&quot; said Avi Greengart, research director at consumer data firm GlobalData.</p>

<p>&quot;Given that there is a Pixel 2, and given the financial investment, there must be a longer-term strategic intent.&quot;</p>

<p>Google moved into smartphones five years ago with the $12.5-billion purchase of Motorola Mobility.</p>

<p>But Motorola&#39;s hardware team, under Osterloh, and Google&#39;s Android mobile operating system division remained independent. Google wanted to avoid giving it a special advantage and protect its relationships with Samsung, LG and other distributors of Android. The company later sold the Motorola smartphone business.</p>

<p>Osterloh, now working inside Google, moved to bring in-house the HTC team Google contracted to design the Pixel. He enjoys a strong relationship with Hiroshi Lockheimer, the Android division head. The pair has been friends since working together for several years at Good Technology in the early 2000s.</p>

<p>Protecting relationships with others in the Android ecosystem has become less of a concern. Samsung ratchet down the rivalry with Google after the firms agreed to a major patent licensing deal in early 2014. Other vendors have seen their market share dip.</p>

<p>Google&#39;s eye is now on Apple, whose iPhone has become the smartphone to beat.</p>

<p>The first Pixel debuted a year ago with a significant marketing push: during the last three months of the year, Google spent an estimated $110 million to air 12 Pixel-related commercials, according to data from advertising measurement firm iSpot.tv.</p>

<p>Apple spent $147 million during the same span, iSpot.tv said. Apple has sustained its TV time throughout the last year, while Google&#39;s efforts have tapered off.</p>

<p>In the speakers market, Google&#39;s personal-assistant lags Amazon&#39;s Echo devices in market share, according to investment bank Cowen &amp; Co. Last week, Amazon released several new models of the Echo, including one with a display as it tried to find a place in every niche.</p>

<p>Rishi Chandra, vice president of product management for Google&#39;s Home hardware unit, said in an interview that Google was being &quot;a little bit more thoughtful&quot; than the online shopping company.</p>

<p>&quot;Amazon is taking a broad approach,&quot; Chandra said. &quot;We&#39;re going to iterate until we have a good product story to tell.&quot;</p>


Alphabet Inc's Google unveiled the second generation of its Pixel smartphone along with new voice-enabled home speakers

Alphabet Inc's Google on Wednesday unveiled the second generation of its Pixel smartphone along with new voice-enabled home speakers, redoubling its commitment to the hardware business as it competes with a surge of devices from Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc. Google's new products, including a Pixelbook laptop, wireless earbuds and a small GoPro-like camera, showcase Google-developed operating systems and services, notably the voice assistant. That means usage of those devices should stoke the company's core ad sales business as buyers of the hardware using Google services like search and maps. Speaking at the launch in San Francisco, Google hardware chief Rick Osterloh said the new products "perfectly demonstrate our strategy of re-imagining hardware from the inside out." The Pixel 2 smartphone comes in two sizes, with comparable features, including aluminium bodies and no traditional jacks for headphones. Prices for the base model start at $649, while the high-end version starts at $849. The phones will be available October 19. The Pixel phones lack the brand lustre and market share of similarly priced smartphones such as the Apple iPhone or Samsung Electronics Co's Galaxy S and Galaxy Note smartphones. Still, the original Pixel's camera and software drew acclaim from reviewers, many of whom expect the line to become a robust competitor at the high end of the Android smartphone market. Pixelbook, priced at $999, is the first laptop powered by Google Assistant and will support Snap Inc's Snapchat, the company said. The keyboard folds behind the screen to turn the 12.3-inch touchscreen into a tablet. It will be available in stores from October 31. Google Home Mini, one of the new speakers, is priced at $49 in the United States and would rival Amazon.com Inc's popular Echo Dot. It will be available October 19. The Home Max, with dual woofers for more powerful sound, is priced at $399 and with availability by the end of the year. The Pixel Buds, which are priced at $149, arrive in November. Clips, which is a pocket-sized camera with object detection and automatic recording capabilities, "soon" goes on sale for $249, Google said. Videos last only a few seconds and do not contain audio. The Pixel smartphone debuted a year ago, with analysts estimating sales of more than 2 million, pushing Google to record amounts of non-advertising revenue. Google's "other" revenue category, which includes both hardware and sales of online storage services, accounted for about 12 percent of overall sales in its most recent quarter. Last month, Google expanded its hardware development capabilities by picking up a 2,000-person smartphone engineering team at HTC for $1.1 billion. "It’s pretty clear Google is serious about hardware," said Avi Greengart, research director at consumer data firm GlobalData. "Given that there is a Pixel 2, and given the financial investment, there must be a longer-term strategic intent." Google moved into smartphones five years ago with the $12.5-billion purchase of Motorola Mobility. But Motorola's hardware team, under Osterloh, and Google's Android mobile operating system division remained independent. Google wanted to avoid giving it a special advantage and protect its relationships with Samsung, LG and other distributors of Android. The company later sold the Motorola smartphone business. Osterloh, now working inside Google, moved to bring in-house the HTC team Google contracted to design the Pixel. He enjoys a strong relationship with Hiroshi Lockheimer, the Android division head. The pair has been friends since working together for several years at Good Technology in the early 2000s. Protecting relationships with others in the Android ecosystem has become less of a concern. Samsung ratchet down the rivalry with Google after the firms agreed to a major patent licensing deal in early 2014. Other vendors have seen their market share dip. Google's eye is now on Apple, whose iPhone has become the smartphone to beat. The first Pixel debuted a year ago with a significant marketing push: during the last three months of the year, Google spent an estimated $110 million to air 12 Pixel-related commercials, according to data from advertising measurement firm iSpot.tv. Apple spent $147 million during the same span, iSpot.tv said. Apple has sustained its TV time throughout the last year, while Google's efforts have tapered off. In the speakers market, Google's personal-assistant lags Amazon's Echo devices in market share, according to investment bank Cowen & Co. Last week, Amazon released several new models of the Echo, including one with a display as it tried to find a place in every niche. Rishi Chandra, vice president of product management for Google's Home hardware unit, said in an interview that Google was being "a little bit more thoughtful" than the online shopping company. "Amazon is taking a broad approach," Chandra said. "We're going to iterate until we have a good product story to tell."

Google unveils Pixel 2 phone priced @ $649

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/science-tech/google-to-stop-scanning-gmail-for-creating-targeted-ads-17270" target="_blank">Google</a> announced on Sunday that subscription news websites would no longer have to provide users three free articles per day or faceless prominence in search results, relaxing its rules following complaints from media giants like News Corp that their sales were suffering.</p>

<p>For the last decade, Google&#39;s &quot;first click free&quot; policy helped ensure that non-subscribers wouldn&#39;t be stifled by paywalls when they clicked on news articles from searches.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/science-tech/google-opens-up-digital-assistant-to-iphone-15700" target="_blank">Google, the largest component of Alphabet Inc</a>, had contended that free samples would lead to increased subscriptions.</p>

<p>But apart from a few publications, online subscriptions haven&#39;t taken off as intended, and media companies such as Wall Street Journal parent News Corp. increasingly complained that freeloading users were cutting into sales.</p>

<p>This year, the Wall Street Journal stopped abiding by Google&#39;s policy, corresponding to a drop in search rankings but an increase in subscriptions.</p>

<p>&quot;Over the last year, we got clear indications that, yes, it was going to be important for publishers to grow subscription revenues,&quot; said Richard Gingras, Google&#39;s vice president for news.</p>

<p>He said the number of news outlets with paywalls had reached a critical mass in the last year, to the point that it made sense for Google to start developing tools for them.</p>

<p>Google is now counting on the relaxed rules and subscription software that is under development to stop the Wall Street Journal and other publishers from holding back valuable content.</p>

<p>From here on, publishers will be able to choose how many, if any, free articles they want to offer to Google searchers.</p>

<p>Google also plans to launch free software in the coming months for publishers that enable users to pay for content with credit card information that they&#39;ve previously supplied to the search giant.</p>

<p>The goal is to facilitate fast purchases that could take as little as a single click, Gingras said. Customers&#39; names and emails would be shared with the publishers.</p>

<p>A separate tool would give publishers data on how to maximize signups with personalized offers. Gingras said Google hasn&#39;t determined whether it may charge a fee to recoup costs of that program.</p>

<p>&quot;Google search is valuable because there&#39;s a rich ecosystem out there,&quot; Gingras said. &quot;To the extent the web is healthy, that&#39;s very good for our core business. Our objective is not for this to be a new line of business.&quot;</p>

<p>Facebook, Alphabet&#39;s top rival in online advertising, is working on similar subscriber registration tools. Apple released support for subscriptions within its News app last year.</p>


For the last decade, Google's 'first click free' policy helped ensure that non-subscribers wouldn't be stifled by paywalls when they clicked on news articles from searches

Google announced on Sunday that subscription news websites would no longer have to provide users three free articles per day or faceless prominence in search results, relaxing its rules following complaints from media giants like News Corp that their sales were suffering. For the last decade, Google's "first click free" policy helped ensure that non-subscribers wouldn't be stifled by paywalls when they clicked on news articles from searches. Google, the largest component of Alphabet Inc, had contended that free samples would lead to increased subscriptions. But apart from a few publications, online subscriptions haven't taken off as intended, and media companies such as Wall Street Journal parent News Corp. increasingly complained that freeloading users were cutting into sales. This year, the Wall Street Journal stopped abiding by Google's policy, corresponding to a drop in search rankings but an increase in subscriptions. "Over the last year, we got clear indications that, yes, it was going to be important for publishers to grow subscription revenues," said Richard Gingras, Google's vice president for news. He said the number of news outlets with paywalls had reached a critical mass in the last year, to the point that it made sense for Google to start developing tools for them. Google is now counting on the relaxed rules and subscription software that is under development to stop the Wall Street Journal and other publishers from holding back valuable content. From here on, publishers will be able to choose how many, if any, free articles they want to offer to Google searchers. Google also plans to launch free software in the coming months for publishers that enable users to pay for content with credit card information that they've previously supplied to the search giant. The goal is to facilitate fast purchases that could take as little as a single click, Gingras said. Customers' names and emails would be shared with the publishers. A separate tool would give publishers data on how to maximize signups with personalized offers. Gingras said Google hasn't determined whether it may charge a fee to recoup costs of that program. "Google search is valuable because there's a rich ecosystem out there," Gingras said. "To the extent the web is healthy, that's very good for our core business. Our objective is not for this to be a new line of business." Facebook, Alphabet's top rival in online advertising, is working on similar subscriber registration tools. Apple released support for subscriptions within its News app last year.

Google relaxes rules on free news stories, plans subscription tools

<p>Levi Strauss this week begins selling a denim jacket with touch controls woven into the fabric in the first fashion offering stitched from a collaboration with Google.</p>

<p>The iconic California clothing maker, which has a legacy reaching back to Gold Rush in the mid-1800s, will mine the mobile internet boom with a &quot;Trucker Jacket with Jacquard.&quot;</p>

<p>The denim jacket aimed at bicyclists has a sleeve cuff made of special Jacquard fabric that synchronizes wirelessly with smartphones, enabling a limited set of commands using swipes or taps, a video posted at YouTube by Levi Strauss showed.</p>

<p>&quot;As we see it, this isn&#39;t just about technology for technology&#39;s sake &ndash; it&#39;s about addressing a real need for our consumers on the go,&quot; said Levi vice president of global product innovation Paul Dillinger.</p>

<p>&quot;This garment allows cyclists to literally navigate their rides, and manage other simple tasks, while never having to take their eyes off the road.&quot;</p>

<p>Google engineer Ivan Poupyrev said in a blog post that first and foremost, &quot;it&#39;s a jacket. Like any regular denim jacket, you can wash it (just remove the snap tag), it&#39;s durable, designed to be comfortable for cycling and it&#39;ll keep you warm on and off the bike.&quot;</p>

<p>Poupyrev said the garment enables users to &quot;perform common digital tasks -- like starting or stopping music, getting directions or reading incoming text messages -- by simply swiping or tapping the jacket sleeve.&quot;</p>

<p>The Levi&#39;s Commuter Trucker jackets will be priced at $350 when they become available in select US shops beginning Wednesday and at the levi.com website on October 2.</p>

<p>Slightly more than two years ago, Google used its annual developer&#39;s conference in San Francisco to reveal Project Jacquard and to spotlight Levi Strauss as its first partner.</p>

<p>Named after a Frenchman who invented a type of loom, Project Jacquard is in the hands of a small Google team called Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP).</p>

<p>Conductive threads can be woven into a wide array of fabrics, and be made to visually stand out or go unnoticed depending on designers&#39; wishes.</p>


The garment enables users to perform common digital tasks -- like starting or stopping music, getting directions or reading incoming text messages -- by simply swiping or tapping the jacket sleeve

Levi Strauss this week begins selling a denim jacket with touch controls woven into the fabric in the first fashion offering stitched from a collaboration with Google. The iconic California clothing maker, which has a legacy reaching back to Gold Rush in the mid-1800s, will mine the mobile internet boom with a "Trucker Jacket with Jacquard." The denim jacket aimed at bicyclists has a sleeve cuff made of special Jacquard fabric that synchronizes wirelessly with smartphones, enabling a limited set of commands using swipes or taps, a video posted at YouTube by Levi Strauss showed. "As we see it, this isn't just about technology for technology's sake – it's about addressing a real need for our consumers on the go," said Levi vice president of global product innovation Paul Dillinger. "This garment allows cyclists to literally navigate their rides, and manage other simple tasks, while never having to take their eyes off the road." Google engineer Ivan Poupyrev said in a blog post that first and foremost, "it's a jacket. Like any regular denim jacket, you can wash it (just remove the snap tag), it's durable, designed to be comfortable for cycling and it'll keep you warm on and off the bike." Poupyrev said the garment enables users to "perform common digital tasks -- like starting or stopping music, getting directions or reading incoming text messages -- by simply swiping or tapping the jacket sleeve." The Levi's Commuter Trucker jackets will be priced at $350 when they become available in select US shops beginning Wednesday and at the levi.com website on October 2. Slightly more than two years ago, Google used its annual developer's conference in San Francisco to reveal Project Jacquard and to spotlight Levi Strauss as its first partner. Named after a Frenchman who invented a type of loom, Project Jacquard is in the hands of a small Google team called Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP). Conductive threads can be woven into a wide array of fabrics, and be made to visually stand out or go unnoticed depending on designers' wishes.

Google weaves touch controls into Levi Strauss jacket

<p>Google launched an appeal against <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/eu-slams-google-with-record-242-billion-euro-fine-for-alleged-biased-search-results-17330" target="_blank">2.4-billion fine imposed by European anti-trust authorities</a>&nbsp;which imposed a fine on the tech giant accusing it of&nbsp;favouring&nbsp;its online shopping centres in search results.</p>

<p>Googled lodged its appeal at the EU court in Luxembourg. A Google spokesperson confirmed the appeal filed but denied making any further comments.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The EU had earlier slammed Google in June with a fine of 2.4-billion euro for illegally favoring its shopping centers in the search results. It had given the American tech company&nbsp;90 days to act in accordance to the appeal.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The appeal lodged by Google will not help it to suspend the fine, however, it can put the money in a blocked account until the final decision. Last week, Google also notified the EU that it would attempt to meet the demands of the EU decision.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A spokesperson of the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed to AFP about the appeal submitted by Google.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The battle between the EU and Google extends over a seven-year period including a failed effort to settle the case.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The fine on&nbsp;Google broke the previous record of EU monopoly case against US chip maker Intel of 1.06 billion euros in 2009.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Brussels had&nbsp;accused Google of giving more preference to its own services in the search results to the determinant of other price comparison sites, such as TripAdvisor and Expedia.&nbsp;</p>

<p>EU is expected to decide another case against Google over abusing its dominance of internet search to impose its Andriod mobile operating system.</p>


The EU gave 90 days to the company to comply to the appeal

Google launched an appeal against 2.4-billion fine imposed by European anti-trust authorities which imposed a fine on the tech giant accusing it of favouring its online shopping centres in search results. Googled lodged its appeal at the EU court in Luxembourg. A Google spokesperson confirmed the appeal filed but denied making any further comments. The EU had earlier slammed Google in June with a fine of 2.4-billion euro for illegally favoring its shopping centers in the search results. It had given the American tech company 90 days to act in accordance to the appeal. The appeal lodged by Google will not help it to suspend the fine, however, it can put the money in a blocked account until the final decision. Last week, Google also notified the EU that it would attempt to meet the demands of the EU decision. A spokesperson of the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed to AFP about the appeal submitted by Google. The battle between the EU and Google extends over a seven-year period including a failed effort to settle the case. The fine on Google broke the previous record of EU monopoly case against US chip maker Intel of 1.06 billion euros in 2009. Brussels had accused Google of giving more preference to its own services in the search results to the determinant of other price comparison sites, such as TripAdvisor and Expedia. EU is expected to decide another case against Google over abusing its dominance of internet search to impose its Andriod mobile operating system.

Google appeals against 2.4-billion euro fine in EU court

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/rahul-gandhi-leaves-for-norway-to-skip-rjds-bjp-bhagao-desh-bachao-rally-19518">Rahul Gandhi, who has just returned from Norway</a> is now heading for&nbsp;another foreign visit.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This time the Congress vice-president will be visiting Silicon Valley in the United States to groom his Artificial Intelligence skills.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Party sources say&nbsp;Rahul Gandhi wants India to excel in Artificial Intelligence and added that he is going to the US to &quot;expand his thoughts about artificial intelligence&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Artificial Intelligence, the science of creating intelligent machines that think like human brains, is still in its nascent&nbsp;phase in India. However many other countries including China have already invested in the field.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Chinese government had long ago&nbsp;realised the importance of Artificial Intelligence for boosting its economy. The country has already devised plans to emerge as the world&#39;s premier AI innovation hub by 2030.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Despite the<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/second-academic-journal-pressed-to-censor-china-content-19309"> strict censorship in China</a>, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/game-of-tech-apple-google-facebook-who-will-win-392">Google</a> is striving to utilise the intelligent technology resource and engineering talent&nbsp;from China. The US tech giant is looking for AI experts from the country.</p>

<p>The growth of artificial intelligence in China has moved Google to establish its own AI research team in the country, which it&nbsp;indicated during its&nbsp;May AI summit held near Shanghai.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Google&#39;s search engine has been <a href="http://www.wionews.com/science-tech/apple-abstains-its-chinese-users-from-accessing-vpn-18430">blocked in China</a> since 2010, however, the company is making efforts to maintain a strong foot hold in the country.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Google recently entered into a partnership with the local government on the AI summit in the town of Wuzhen.</p>

<p>The US giant has also relaunched Google Translate mobile app in Chinese language. &nbsp;Recently Google initiated building artificial&nbsp;intelligence team in the country.</p>


Recently Google has initiated for building artificial team in the country. As part of its AI research It is looking for expert qualified human resources for its machine learning programme

Rahul Gandhi, who has just returned from Norway is now heading for another foreign visit. This time the Congress vice-president will be visiting Silicon Valley in the United States to groom his Artificial Intelligence skills. Party sources say Rahul Gandhi wants India to excel in Artificial Intelligence and added that he is going to the US to "expand his thoughts about artificial intelligence". Artificial Intelligence, the science of creating intelligent machines that think like human brains, is still in its nascent phase in India. However many other countries including China have already invested in the field. The Chinese government had long ago realised the importance of Artificial Intelligence for boosting its economy. The country has already devised plans to emerge as the world's premier AI innovation hub by 2030. Despite the strict censorship in China, Google is striving to utilise the intelligent technology resource and engineering talent from China. The US tech giant is looking for AI experts from the country. The growth of artificial intelligence in China has moved Google to establish its own AI research team in the country, which it indicated during its May AI summit held near Shanghai. Google's search engine has been blocked in China since 2010, however, the company is making efforts to maintain a strong foot hold in the country. Google recently entered into a partnership with the local government on the AI summit in the town of Wuzhen. The US giant has also relaunched Google Translate mobile app in Chinese language. Recently Google initiated building artificial intelligence team in the country.

Rahul Gandhi to visit Silicon Valley to study Artificial Intelligence

<p>South Asian countries- India, Nepal and Bangladesh which have recently been the victim of the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/infographic-the-19677">deadly&nbsp;flood</a>, will be getting aid from the American multinational technology company- Google.</p>

<p>Google has diverted $1 million relief fund to the flood affected areas of <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/uttar-pradesh-flood-death-toll-rises-to-103-19695">India</a>,<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/16-million-people-in-south-asia-affected-by-floods-red-cross-19205"> Nepal</a> and <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/at-least-221-dead-in-india-bangladesh-nepal-floods-19016">Bangladesh</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The funds that are generated from Google.org and Google employees will be provided to organisations working in favour of the relief work.</p>

<p>&quot;We are committing $1 million from Google.org and Google employees to Goonj and Save the Children for their relief efforts,&quot; Rajan Anandan, Vice-President, South East Asia and India, wrote in a blog post.</p>

<p>Save the Children organisation is providing food, water, temporary shelter and hygiene items to the victims. Besides the basic amenities, the organisation will also provide educational materials to the flood affected children by setting child-friendly spaces.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The organisation is providing livelihood support to flood victims from three countries and aims to expand to around 1,60,000 people.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The other organisation working with Google, Goonj, is an NGO that plans to provide a helping hand to over 75,000 flood affected families from rural India. In addition to the basic amenities- food, mats, blankets and hygiene items they will also be rebuilding the destroyed roads, bridges and schools.</p>

<p>Google&#39;s Crises Response team has also activated an &quot;SOS Alert&quot; for the floods in India, Nepal, Bangladesh.</p>

<p>The <a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/mumbai-revives-back-430">flood</a> in these countries has claimed over 1200 lives and uprooted million of people from their homes.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


The funds that are generated from Google.org and Google employees will be provided to organisations working in favour of the relief work

South Asian countries- India, Nepal and Bangladesh which have recently been the victim of the deadly flood, will be getting aid from the American multinational technology company- Google. Google has diverted $1 million relief fund to the flood affected areas of India, Nepal and Bangladesh. The funds that are generated from Google.org and Google employees will be provided to organisations working in favour of the relief work. "We are committing $1 million from Google.org and Google employees to Goonj and Save the Children for their relief efforts," Rajan Anandan, Vice-President, South East Asia and India, wrote in a blog post. Save the Children organisation is providing food, water, temporary shelter and hygiene items to the victims. Besides the basic amenities, the organisation will also provide educational materials to the flood affected children by setting child-friendly spaces. The organisation is providing livelihood support to flood victims from three countries and aims to expand to around 1,60,000 people. The other organisation working with Google, Goonj, is an NGO that plans to provide a helping hand to over 75,000 flood affected families from rural India. In addition to the basic amenities- food, mats, blankets and hygiene items they will also be rebuilding the destroyed roads, bridges and schools. Google's Crises Response team has also activated an "SOS Alert" for the floods in India, Nepal, Bangladesh. The flood in these countries has claimed over 1200 lives and uprooted million of people from their homes.

Google to give $1 million flood relief fund to India, Nepal, Bangladesh

<p>Alphabet&#39;s Google on Wednesday unveiled tools to make augmented reality apps for mobile devices using the Android operating system, setting up its latest showdown with Apple&nbsp;iPhone over next-generation smartphone features.</p>

<p>Phone-based augmented reality (AR), in which digital objects are superimposed onto the real world on screen, got a huge boost from the popularity of the Pok&eacute;mon Go game. The game, launched in the United States in July last year, sent players into city streets, offices, parks and restaurants to search for colourful animated characters.</p>

<p>Analysts expected the game to make $3 billion for Apple over two years as gamers buy &quot;Pok&eacute;Coins&quot; from its app store.</p>

<p>Google&#39;s take on the technology will first be available on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Google&#39;s own Pixel phone. The company said in a blog post that it hoped to make the system, called ARCore, available to at least 100 million users, but did not set a date for a broad release.</p>

<p>Apple in June announced a similar system called ARKit that it plans to release this fall on &quot;hundreds of millions&quot; of devices.</p>

<p>Google and Apple will jockey for the attention of customers and software developers who will build the games, walking guides and other applications that would make AR a compelling feature.</p>

<p>Many tech industry leaders envision a future in which eyeglasses, car windshields, and other surfaces can overlay digital information on the real world. Google and Microsoft&nbsp;have already experimented with AR glasses.</p>

<p>&quot;AR is big and profound,&quot; Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook told investors earlier in August. &quot;And this is one of those huge things that we&#39;ll look back at and marvel on the start of it.&quot;</p>

<p>Apple and Google have had to make compromises to bring the technology to market.</p>

<p>In Apple&#39;s case, the Cupertino, California-based company decided to make its AR system work with devices capable of running iOS 11, its next-generation operating system due out this fall.</p>

<p>This means it will work on phones going back to the iPhone 6s, which have a single camera at the back and standard motion sensors, rather than a dual camera system found on newer models such as the iPhone 7 Plus or special depth-sensing chips in competing phones. That limits the range of images that can be displayed.</p>

<p>Google initially aimed to solve this problem with an AR system called Tango that uses a special depth-sensor, but only two phone makers so far support it. With ARCore, Google changed course to work on phones without depth sensors.</p>

<p>But the fragmentation of the Android ecosystem presents challenges. To spread its AR system beyond the Galaxy S8 and Pixel phone, Google will have to figure out how to account for the wide variety of Android phone cameras or require phone makers to use specific parts.</p>

<p>Apple, however, is able to make its system work well because it knows exactly which hardware and software are on the iPhone and calibrates them tightly.</p>

<p>Michael Valdsgaard, a developer with the furniture chain IKEA, called the system &quot;rock solid,&quot; noting that it could estimate the size of virtual furniture placed in a room with 98 per cent accuracy, despite lacking special sensors.</p>

<p>&quot;This is a classic example of where Apple&#39;s ownership of the whole widget including both hardware and software is a huge advantage over device vendors dependent on Android and the broader value chain of component vendors,&quot; said Jan Dawson, founder and chief analyst of Jackdaw Research.</p>


Alphabet's Google on Wednesday unveiled tools to make augmented reality apps for mobile devices using the Android operating system, setting up its latest showdown with Apple?iPhone over next-generation smartphone features

Alphabet's Google on Wednesday unveiled tools to make augmented reality apps for mobile devices using the Android operating system, setting up its latest showdown with Apple iPhone over next-generation smartphone features. Phone-based augmented reality (AR), in which digital objects are superimposed onto the real world on screen, got a huge boost from the popularity of the Pokémon Go game. The game, launched in the United States in July last year, sent players into city streets, offices, parks and restaurants to search for colourful animated characters. Analysts expected the game to make $3 billion for Apple over two years as gamers buy "PokéCoins" from its app store. Google's take on the technology will first be available on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Google's own Pixel phone. The company said in a blog post that it hoped to make the system, called ARCore, available to at least 100 million users, but did not set a date for a broad release. Apple in June announced a similar system called ARKit that it plans to release this fall on "hundreds of millions" of devices. Google and Apple will jockey for the attention of customers and software developers who will build the games, walking guides and other applications that would make AR a compelling feature. Many tech industry leaders envision a future in which eyeglasses, car windshields, and other surfaces can overlay digital information on the real world. Google and Microsoft have already experimented with AR glasses. "AR is big and profound," Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook told investors earlier in August. "And this is one of those huge things that we'll look back at and marvel on the start of it." Apple and Google have had to make compromises to bring the technology to market. In Apple's case, the Cupertino, California-based company decided to make its AR system work with devices capable of running iOS 11, its next-generation operating system due out this fall. This means it will work on phones going back to the iPhone 6s, which have a single camera at the back and standard motion sensors, rather than a dual camera system found on newer models such as the iPhone 7 Plus or special depth-sensing chips in competing phones. That limits the range of images that can be displayed. Google initially aimed to solve this problem with an AR system called Tango that uses a special depth-sensor, but only two phone makers so far support it. With ARCore, Google changed course to work on phones without depth sensors. But the fragmentation of the Android ecosystem presents challenges. To spread its AR system beyond the Galaxy S8 and Pixel phone, Google will have to figure out how to account for the wide variety of Android phone cameras or require phone makers to use specific parts. Apple, however, is able to make its system work well because it knows exactly which hardware and software are on the iPhone and calibrates them tightly. Michael Valdsgaard, a developer with the furniture chain IKEA, called the system "rock solid," noting that it could estimate the size of virtual furniture placed in a room with 98 per cent accuracy, despite lacking special sensors. "This is a classic example of where Apple's ownership of the whole widget including both hardware and software is a huge advantage over device vendors dependent on Android and the broader value chain of component vendors," said Jan Dawson, founder and chief analyst of Jackdaw Research.

Google, Apple face off over augmented reality technology

<p>The Indian&nbsp;government has directed internet majors - Google, Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, Microsoft and Yahoo - to immediately remove the links of the dangerous online game Blue Whale Challenge, which led children in India and other countries to commit suicide.</p>

<p>&quot;Instances of children committing suicide while Blue Whale Challenge have been reported in India...You are hereby requested to ensure that any such link of this deadly game in its own name or similar game is immediately removed from your platform,&quot; Ministry of Electronics and IT(Meity) said in a letter dated August 11 to the internet majors.</p>

<p>The letter was issued following instructions from Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, an official source said.</p>

<p>The Blue Whale challenge is reportedly a suicide game in which the player is given certain tasks to complete for a period of 50 days and the final task leads to suicide. The player is also asked to share photos after finishing the challenge.</p>

<p>Expressing concern over the availability of such a deadly game on the internet, Meity said, &quot;It is understood that an administrator of the game uses the social media platform to invite/incite children to play this game, which may eventually lead them to take extreme steps for self-inflicting injuries including suicide&quot;.</p>

<p>Mumbai and West Midnapore district have reported deaths linked to this game. Meity said the proponent of Blue Whale Challenge should be reported to law enforcement agencies.</p>


The government has directed social media giants - Google, Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, Microsoft and Yahoo - to immediately remove the links to the dangerous online game

The Indian government has directed internet majors - Google, Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, Microsoft and Yahoo - to immediately remove the links of the dangerous online game Blue Whale Challenge, which led children in India and other countries to commit suicide. "Instances of children committing suicide while Blue Whale Challenge have been reported in India...You are hereby requested to ensure that any such link of this deadly game in its own name or similar game is immediately removed from your platform," Ministry of Electronics and IT(Meity) said in a letter dated August 11 to the internet majors. The letter was issued following instructions from Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, an official source said. The Blue Whale challenge is reportedly a suicide game in which the player is given certain tasks to complete for a period of 50 days and the final task leads to suicide. The player is also asked to share photos after finishing the challenge. Expressing concern over the availability of such a deadly game on the internet, Meity said, "It is understood that an administrator of the game uses the social media platform to invite/incite children to play this game, which may eventually lead them to take extreme steps for self-inflicting injuries including suicide". Mumbai and West Midnapore district have reported deaths linked to this game. Meity said the proponent of Blue Whale Challenge should be reported to law enforcement agencies.

Govt asks Google, Facebook to remove links to Blue Whale Challenge

<p>Google&rsquo;s recent <a href="https://www.recode.net/2017/8/7/16110696/firing-google-ceo-employee-penned-controversial-memo-on-women-has-violated-its-code-of-conduct">sacking</a> of James Damore for circulating a <a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3914586/Googles-Ideological-Echo-Chamber.pdf">memo</a> will do the tech giant more harm than good. Not only has the memo been incorrectly dubbed &ldquo;anti-diversity&rdquo;, but a majority of Google employees surveyed in a recent poll <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/many-google-employees-dont-think-james-damore-should-have-been-fired-2017-8?r=US&amp;IR=T">disagreed</a> with the decision to fire Damore.</p>

<p>A more productive response to the memo would have been to setup an official channel for employees to air these kinds of issues. This way employees feel their views are heard and the company can take into account different points of view while formulating policy.</p>

<p>Google&rsquo;s chief executive, Sundar Pichai, <a href="https://www.blog.google/topics/diversity/note-employees-ceo-sundar-pichai/">wrote</a> to all Google employees saying that Damore&rsquo;s memo had crossed the line by &ldquo;advancing harmful gender stereotypes in the workplace&rdquo;. It might have been more advantageous to have a full and frank discussion of Google&rsquo;s diversity policies and what they are intended to achieve.</p>

<p><strong>Is it too dangerous to talk about diversity?</strong></p>

<p>Although painted as &ldquo;<a href="http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/06/technology/culture/google-diversity/index.html">anti-diversity</a>&rdquo;, the memo itself raises issues of the alienation of conservative views at Google and the need to be able to discuss diversity more openly. In other words, diversity shouldn&rsquo;t be a concept that people are scared to discuss openly for fear of being vilified or shamed.</p>

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<h5>Damore&rsquo;s memo suggests that those with differing views on diversity are dismissed and vilified.</h5>
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<p><a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3914586/Googles-Ideological-Echo-Chamber.pdf">Damore&rsquo;s memo</a> suggests that those with differing views on diversity are dismissed and vilified. The response to his memo seems to prove his point. This might in fact be the heart of the problem - fear of saying something politically incorrect might in fact be holding people back from understanding the need for diversity measures.</p>

<p>One <a href="http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/faculty_scholarship/2340/">study</a> found that American corporate directors thought board diversity (in racial, ethnic and gender terms) was an important goal worth pursuing. But they seemed unable to substantiate this opinion with examples of how board diversity might help the company. The authors of the study concluded that diversity seemed to be a &ldquo;dangerous&rdquo; subject to talk about.</p>

<p>Shutting down differing views on the matter is antithetical to the idea of diversity. &ldquo;Inner diversity&rdquo;, meaning diversity of viewpoints and opinions, is as important as &ldquo;outer diversity&rdquo;, in terms of gender and ethnicity etc.</p>

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<p>A Canadian report on women on company boards <a href="http://utsc.utoronto.ca/%7Ephanira/WebResearchMethods/women-bod&amp;fp-conference%20board.pdf">found</a> that boards with more women surpass all male boards in their attention to audit and risk oversight and control. It also highlights that outer diversity (such as having more women on the board) is a proxy for inner diversity - it is a sign of different &ldquo;gifts, skills, experiences, and perspectives&rdquo;. If a company focuses singularly on outer diversity while discouraging diverse viewpoints it won&rsquo;t realise the real benefits of diversity in the first place.</p>

<p><strong>Rationales for diversity</strong></p>

<p>The rationale for measures promoting diversity is twofold. Women and minority groups have to overcome many barriers including selection bias while being recruited. And diversity, particularly in problem-solving groups, is <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-racism-and-a-lack-of-diversity-can-harm-productivity-in-our-workplaces-73119">ultimately good for business</a>.</p>

<p>Diversity measures seek to reduce (if not eliminate) <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/04/why-is-silicon-valley-so-awful-to-women/517788/">biases</a> by expanding or diversifying the pool of candidates being considered for each position. For example, programs where female candidates are given mentors opens up new opportunities.</p>

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<h5>Recent neuroscience research shows there is not enough evidence to conclude that there are significant differences in the male and female brain.</h5>
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<p><a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3914586/Googles-Ideological-Echo-Chamber.pdf">Damore&rsquo;s memo</a> argues the biological differences between men and women might be one of the reasons for the low number of women in the tech industry. However, <a href="http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&amp;context=learning_processes">recent neuroscience research</a> shows there is not enough evidence to conclude that there are significant differences in the male and female brain. So while Damore&rsquo;s view is not unequivocal, this perception could impede the effectiveness of diversity measures.</p>

<p>Other <a href="http://www.aei.org/publication/why-cant-a-woman-be-more-like-a-man-3/">research</a> shows that more men than women study computer science, engineering, physics and mathematics in the US. This could account for some of the gender disparity in tech companies. However, this is not true in all countries.</p>

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<h5>Women make up nearly half of computer science and computer engineering students in India.</h5>
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<p>For instance, women make up <a href="https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2015/5/186026-decoding-femininity-in-computer-science-in-india/abstract">nearly half</a> of computer science and computer engineering students in India. It might be interesting to study what factors deter women in the US from studying these subjects.</p>

<p>But in order to address these issues it is necessary to be able to discuss them, and then assess what a diversity policy is intended to fix. To that end, companies must create forums and events to discuss the rationales for diversity policies and also allow employees to voice their views in this regard.</p>

<p><img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/82318/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1" />A starting point could be to have employees fill out anonymous surveys to gauge perception of diversity policies. Based on this, appropriate discussions can be encouraged. Companies could also consider making the rationale for the diversity policy available along with the policy itself. This process will result in more informed policy choices and perhaps a more inclusive work culture.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-memo-to-google-firing-employees-with-conservative-views-is-anti-diversity-82318">original article</a>.</p>


Damore?s memo argues the biological differences between men and women might be one of the reasons for the low number of women in the tech industry.

Google’s recent sacking of James Damore for circulating a memo will do the tech giant more harm than good. Not only has the memo been incorrectly dubbed “anti-diversity”, but a majority of Google employees surveyed in a recent poll disagreed with the decision to fire Damore. A more productive response to the memo would have been to setup an official channel for employees to air these kinds of issues. This way employees feel their views are heard and the company can take into account different points of view while formulating policy. Google’s chief executive, Sundar Pichai, wrote to all Google employees saying that Damore’s memo had crossed the line by “advancing harmful gender stereotypes in the workplace”. It might have been more advantageous to have a full and frank discussion of Google’s diversity policies and what they are intended to achieve. Is it too dangerous to talk about diversity? Although painted as “anti-diversity”, the memo itself raises issues of the alienation of conservative views at Google and the need to be able to discuss diversity more openly. In other words, diversity shouldn’t be a concept that people are scared to discuss openly for fear of being vilified or shamed. Damore’s memo suggests that those with differing views on diversity are dismissed and vilified. × Damore’s memo suggests that those with differing views on diversity are dismissed and vilified. The response to his memo seems to prove his point. This might in fact be the heart of the problem - fear of saying something politically incorrect might in fact be holding people back from understanding the need for diversity measures. One study found that American corporate directors thought board diversity (in racial, ethnic and gender terms) was an important goal worth pursuing. But they seemed unable to substantiate this opinion with examples of how board diversity might help the company. The authors of the study concluded that diversity seemed to be a “dangerous” subject to talk about. Shutting down differing views on the matter is antithetical to the idea of diversity. “Inner diversity”, meaning diversity of viewpoints and opinions, is as important as “outer diversity”, in terms of gender and ethnicity etc. A Canadian report on women on company boards found that boards with more women surpass all male boards in their attention to audit and risk oversight and control. × A Canadian report on women on company boards found that boards with more women surpass all male boards in their attention to audit and risk oversight and control. It also highlights that outer diversity (such as having more women on the board) is a proxy for inner diversity - it is a sign of different “gifts, skills, experiences, and perspectives”. If a company focuses singularly on outer diversity while discouraging diverse viewpoints it won’t realise the real benefits of diversity in the first place. Rationales for diversity The rationale for measures promoting diversity is twofold. Women and minority groups have to overcome many barriers including selection bias while being recruited. And diversity, particularly in problem-solving groups, is ultimately good for business. Diversity measures seek to reduce (if not eliminate) biases by expanding or diversifying the pool of candidates being considered for each position. For example, programs where female candidates are given mentors opens up new opportunities. Recent neuroscience research shows there is not enough evidence to conclude that there are significant differences in the male and female brain. × Damore’s memo argues the biological differences between men and women might be one of the reasons for the low number of women in the tech industry. However, recent neuroscience research shows there is not enough evidence to conclude that there are significant differences in the male and female brain. So while Damore’s view is not unequivocal, this perception could impede the effectiveness of diversity measures. Other research shows that more men than women study computer science, engineering, physics and mathematics in the US. This could account for some of the gender disparity in tech companies. However, this is not true in all countries. Women make up nearly half of computer science and computer engineering students in India. × For instance, women make up nearly half of computer science and computer engineering students in India. It might be interesting to study what factors deter women in the US from studying these subjects. But in order to address these issues it is necessary to be able to discuss them, and then assess what a diversity policy is intended to fix. To that end, companies must create forums and events to discuss the rationales for diversity policies and also allow employees to voice their views in this regard. A starting point could be to have employees fill out anonymous surveys to gauge perception of diversity policies. Based on this, appropriate discussions can be encouraged. Companies could also consider making the rationale for the diversity policy available along with the policy itself. This process will result in more informed policy choices and perhaps a more inclusive work culture. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Firing workers with conservative views is anti-diversity, says majority of Google employees

<p>Five years ago, Silicon Valley was rocked by a wave of &ldquo;<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/04/silicon-valley-brogrammer-culture-sexist-sxsw/">brogrammer</a>&rdquo; bad behavior, when overfunded, highly entitled, mostly white and male startup founders did things that were juvenile, out of line and just plain stupid. Most of these activities &ndash; such as putting pornography into PowerPoint slides &ndash; revolved around the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/07/tech/web/brogrammers/index.html">explicit or implied devaluation and harassment</a> of women and the assumption that heterosexual men&rsquo;s privilege could or should define the workplace. The recent &ldquo;<a href="https://gizmodo.com/exclusive-heres-the-full-10-page-anti-diversity-screed-1797564320">memo</a>&rdquo; scandal out of Google shows how far we have yet to go.</p>

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<p>It may be that more established and successful companies don&rsquo;t make job applicants deal with <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/04/silicon-valley-brogrammer-culture-sexist-sxsw/">&ldquo;bikini shots&rdquo; and &ldquo;gangbang interviews.&rdquo;</a> But even the tech giants foster an environment where heteronormativity and male privilege is so rampant that an engineer could feel comfortable <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3914586-Googles-Ideological-Echo-Chamber.html">writing and distributing a screed</a> that effectively harassed all of his women co-workers en masse.</p>

<p>This is a pity, because tech companies say they want to change this culture. This summer, I gave a talk at Google UK about my work as a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/memo-to-the-google-memo-writer-women-were-foundational-to-the-field-of-computing/2017/08/09/76da1886-7d0e-11e7-a669-b400c5c7e1cc_story.html">historian of technology and gender</a>. I thought my talk might help change people&rsquo;s minds about women in computing, and might even help women and <a href="http://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-is-non-binary-gender">nonbinary</a> folks working at Google now. Still, the irony was strong: I was visiting a multibillion-dollar tech company to talk about how women are undervalued in tech, for free.</p>

<p><strong>Facing common fears</strong></p>

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<p>I went to Google UK with significant trepidation. I was going to talk about the subject of my upcoming book, &ldquo;<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/programmed-inequality" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Programmed Inequality</a>,&rdquo; about how <a href="http://listen.datasociety.net/care-failure-british-computing-industry/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">women got pushed out of computing</a> in the U.K. In the 1940s through the early 1960s, most British <a href="http://gender.stanford.edu/news/2011/researcher-reveals-how-%E2%80%9Ccomputer-geeks%E2%80%9D-replaced-%E2%80%9Ccomputergirls%E2%80%9D" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">computer workers were women</a>, but over the course of the &rsquo;60&rsquo;s and &rsquo;70&rsquo;s their numbers dropped as women were subjected to <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/blog/hidden-figures-british-computer-industry" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">intentional structural discrimination</a> designed to push them out of the field. That didn&rsquo;t just hurt the women, either &ndash; it <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/memo-to-the-google-memo-writer-women-were-foundational-to-the-field-of-computing/2017/08/09/76da1886-7d0e-11e7-a669-b400c5c7e1cc_story.html" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">torpedoed</a> the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2003/may/29/onlinesupplement.columnists" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">once-promising British computing industry</a>.</p>

<p>In the worst-case scenario, I imagined my talk would end with a question-and-answer period in which I would be asked to face exactly the points the Google manifesto made. It&rsquo;s happened before &ndash; <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/anita-sarkeesian-gamergate-interview-20141017">and not just to me</a> &ndash; so I have years of practice dealing with harsh critics and tough audiences, both <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/fionarutherford/people-are-fighting-against-stereotypes-in-academia-with-ilo">in the classroom and outside of it</a>.</p>

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<p>As a result of that experience, I know how to handle situations like that. But it&rsquo;s more than just disheartening to have my work misunderstood. I have felt firsthand the damage the phenomenon called &ldquo;<a href="http://www.apa.org/research/action/stereotype.aspx">stereotype threat</a>&rdquo; can wreak on women: Being assumed to be inferior can make a person not only feel inferior, but actually <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/opinion/sunday/intelligence-and-the-stereotype-threat.html">subconsciously do things</a> that confirm their own supposed lesser worth. For instance, women students <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1131100">do measurably worse on math exams</a> after reading articles that suggest women are ill-suited to study math. (A related phenomenon, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/your-money/learning-to-deal-with-the-impostor-syndrome.html?_r=0">impostor syndrome</a>, <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/features/why-do-some-academics-feel-like-frauds/2010238.article">runs rampant through academia</a>.)</p>

<p><strong>A surprising reaction</strong></p>

<p>As it happened, the audience was familiar with, and interested in, my work. I was impressed and delighted with the caliber and thoughtfulness of the questions I got. But one question stood out. It seemed like the perfect example of how the culture of the tech industry is so badly broken today that it destroys or significantly hinders much of its talent pool, inflicting stereotype threat on them in large numbers.</p>

<p>A Google engineer asked if I thought that women&rsquo;s biological differences made them innately less likely to be good engineers. I replied in the negative, firmly stating that this kind of pseudoscientific evolutional psychology has been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0277(76)90019-6">proven incorrect</a> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2017/08/08/the-ugly-pseudoscientific-history-behind-that-sexist-google-manifesto/">at every turn</a> by history, and that biological determinism was a dangerous cudgel that had been used to deprive <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/books/review/a-history-of-race-and-racism-in-america-in-24-chapters.html?_r=0">black people</a>, <a href="http://www.nwhp.org/resources/womens-rights-movement/detailed-timeline/">women</a> and <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/assault/roots/overview.html">many others</a> of their civil rights &ndash; and even their lives &ndash; for centuries.</p>

<p>The engineer posing this question was a woman. She said she felt she was unusual because she thought she had less <a href="http://www.danielgoleman.info/topics/emotional-intelligence/">emotional intelligence</a> and more intellectual intelligence than most other women, and those abilities let her do her job better. She wondered if most women were doomed to fail. She spoke with the uncertainty of someone who has been <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/08/04/429362127/sexist-reactions-to-an-ad-spark-ilooklikeanengineer-campaign">told repeatedly</a> that &ldquo;normal&rdquo; women aren&rsquo;t supposed to do what she does, or be who she is.</p>

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<p>I tried to empathize with her, and to make my answer firm but not dismissive. This is how <a href="http://s3.computerhistory.org/core/core-2016.pdf#page=30">structural discrimination</a> works: It seeps into all of us, and we are barely conscious of it. If we do not constantly guard ourselves against its insidious effects &ndash; if we do not have the tools to do so, the courage to speak out, and the ability to understand when it is explained to us &ndash; it can turn us into ever worse versions of ourselves. We can become the versions that the negative stereotypes expect. But the bigger problem is that it doesn&rsquo;t end at the level of the individual.</p>

<p><strong>A problem of structure</strong></p>

<p>These misapprehensions bleed into every aspect of our institutions, which then in turn nurture and (often unwittingly) propagate them further. That was what happened when <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3914586-Googles-Ideological-Echo-Chamber.html">the Google manifesto emerged</a>, and in the media frenzy that followed.</p>

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<p>That the manifesto was taken as a potentially interesting or illustrative opinion says something not just about Silicon Valley, but about the political moment in which we find ourselves. The media is complicit too: Some media treated it as noteworthy <a href="https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/08/09/dreadful_people_the_google_manifesto_pulled_out_of_woodwork/?page=3">only for its shock value</a>. And others, rather than identifying the screed as an example of the writer&rsquo;s misogyny, lack of historical understanding, and indeed &ndash; as <a href="https://medium.com/@yonatanzunger/so-about-this-googlers-manifesto-1e3773ed1788">some computer professionals have pointed out</a> &ndash; lack of understanding of the field of engineering, handled the document as a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/09/google-fired-engineer-gender-sexism-conservative-reaction">think piece deserving consideration and discussion</a>.</p>

<p>The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/heres-why-im-not-reading-the-google-employees-anti_us_598a05f5e4b08a4c247f262d">many people</a> who said openly and loudly that it was <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2143285-memo-to-all-tech-bros-sexism-not-biology-holds-women-back/">nothing of the sort</a> are to be commended. But the fact that they had to waste time even addressing it shows how much <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/programmed-inequality">damage casual, unreflective sexism and misogyny</a> do to every aspect of our society and our economy.</p>

<p><strong>The corporate response</strong></p>

<p>Google, for its part, has now <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2017/08/07/a-googlers-manifesto-is-the-hr-departments-worst-nightmare/">fired the writer</a>, an expected move after the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2017/08/08/techs-sexism-doesnt-stay-in-silicon-valley-its-in-the-products-you-use/">bad publicity</a> he has helped rain down on the company. But Google has also &ndash; and in the very same week that I gave my talk there &ndash; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/apr/07/google-pay-disparities-women-labor-department-lawsuit">refused to comply</a> with a U.S. Department of Justice order to <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/04/dol-google-pay-discrimination/522411/">provide statistics on how it paid its women workers</a> in comparison to men. The company claims that it might cost an estimated US$100,000 to compile that data, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/26/google-gender-discrimination-case-salary-records">complains</a> that it&rsquo;s too high a cost for their multibillion dollar corporation to bear.</p>

<p>The company will not expend a pittance &ndash; especially in relation to <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alphabet-earnings-keep-google-investors-in-dark-2017-07-24">its earnings</a> &ndash; to work to correct allegedly egregious gender-biased salary disparities. Is it any surprise that some of its employees &ndash; both men and women &ndash; view women&rsquo;s contributions, and their very identities, as being <a href="http://fortune.com/2017/08/08/google-gender-struggle-tech/">somehow less inherently valuable</a> or well suited to tech? Or that <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/04/why-is-silicon-valley-so-awful-to-women/517788/">many more silently believe it</a>, almost in spite of themselves?</p>

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<p><img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/82236/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1" />People take cues from our institutions. Our governments, corporations, universities and news media <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/MAHC.2013.3">shape our understandings and expectations of ourselves</a> in ways we can only partially understand without intense and sustained self-reflection. For the U.K. in the 20th century, that collective, institutional self-awareness <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/books/review-programmed-inequality-marie-hicks-mit-press">came far too late to save its tech sector</a>. Let&rsquo;s hope the U.S. in the 21st century learns something from that history. At a time when technology and governance are increasingly converging to define who we are as a nation, we are living through a perfect &ndash; if terrifying &ndash; teachable moment.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-google-gender-manifesto-really-says-about-silicon-valley-82236">original article</a>.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Today tech industry is significantly destroying its talent pool by sidelining women.

Five years ago, Silicon Valley was rocked by a wave of “brogrammer” bad behavior, when overfunded, highly entitled, mostly white and male startup founders did things that were juvenile, out of line and just plain stupid. Most of these activities – such as putting pornography into PowerPoint slides – revolved around the explicit or implied devaluation and harassment of women and the assumption that heterosexual men’s privilege could or should define the workplace. The recent “memo” scandal out of Google shows how far we have yet to go. The tech giants foster an environment where heteronormativity and male privilege is so rampant that an engineer could feel comfortable writing and distributing a screed that effectively harassed all of his women co-workers en masse. × It may be that more established and successful companies don’t make job applicants deal with “bikini shots” and “gangbang interviews.” But even the tech giants foster an environment where heteronormativity and male privilege is so rampant that an engineer could feel comfortable writing and distributing a screed that effectively harassed all of his women co-workers en masse. This is a pity, because tech companies say they want to change this culture. This summer, I gave a talk at Google UK about my work as a historian of technology and gender. I thought my talk might help change people’s minds about women in computing, and might even help women and nonbinary folks working at Google now. Still, the irony was strong: I was visiting a multibillion-dollar tech company to talk about how women are undervalued in tech, for free. Facing common fears In the 1940s through the early 1960s, most British computer workers were women, but over the course of the ’60’s and ’70’s their numbers dropped as women were subjected to intentional structural discrimination designed to push them out of the field. × I went to Google UK with significant trepidation. I was going to talk about the subject of my upcoming book, “Programmed Inequality,” about how women got pushed out of computing in the U.K. In the 1940s through the early 1960s, most British computer workers were women, but over the course of the ’60’s and ’70’s their numbers dropped as women were subjected to intentional structural discrimination designed to push them out of the field. That didn’t just hurt the women, either – it torpedoed the once-promising British computing industry. In the worst-case scenario, I imagined my talk would end with a question-and-answer period in which I would be asked to face exactly the points the Google manifesto made. It’s happened before – and not just to me – so I have years of practice dealing with harsh critics and tough audiences, both in the classroom and outside of it. Being assumed to be inferior can make a person not only feel inferior, but actually subconsciously do things that confirm their own supposed lesser worth. × As a result of that experience, I know how to handle situations like that. But it’s more than just disheartening to have my work misunderstood. I have felt firsthand the damage the phenomenon called “stereotype threat” can wreak on women: Being assumed to be inferior can make a person not only feel inferior, but actually subconsciously do things that confirm their own supposed lesser worth. For instance, women students do measurably worse on math exams after reading articles that suggest women are ill-suited to study math. (A related phenomenon, impostor syndrome, runs rampant through academia.) A surprising reaction As it happened, the audience was familiar with, and interested in, my work. I was impressed and delighted with the caliber and thoughtfulness of the questions I got. But one question stood out. It seemed like the perfect example of how the culture of the tech industry is so badly broken today that it destroys or significantly hinders much of its talent pool, inflicting stereotype threat on them in large numbers. A Google engineer asked if I thought that women’s biological differences made them innately less likely to be good engineers. I replied in the negative, firmly stating that this kind of pseudoscientific evolutional psychology has been proven incorrect at every turn by history, and that biological determinism was a dangerous cudgel that had been used to deprive black people, women and many others of their civil rights – and even their lives – for centuries. The engineer posing this question was a woman. She said she felt she was unusual because she thought she had less emotional intelligence and more intellectual intelligence than most other women, and those abilities let her do her job better. She wondered if most women were doomed to fail. She spoke with the uncertainty of someone who has been told repeatedly that “normal” women aren’t supposed to do what she does, or be who she is. This is how structural discrimination works: It seeps into all of us, and we are barely conscious of it. × I tried to empathize with her, and to make my answer firm but not dismissive. This is how structural discrimination works: It seeps into all of us, and we are barely conscious of it. If we do not constantly guard ourselves against its insidious effects – if we do not have the tools to do so, the courage to speak out, and the ability to understand when it is explained to us – it can turn us into ever worse versions of ourselves. We can become the versions that the negative stereotypes expect. But the bigger problem is that it doesn’t end at the level of the individual. A problem of structure These misapprehensions bleed into every aspect of our institutions, which then in turn nurture and (often unwittingly) propagate them further. That was what happened when the Google manifesto emerged, and in the media frenzy that followed. Illustrative opinion says something not just about Silicon Valley, but about the political moment in which we find ourselves. × That the manifesto was taken as a potentially interesting or illustrative opinion says something not just about Silicon Valley, but about the political moment in which we find ourselves. The media is complicit too: Some media treated it as noteworthy only for its shock value. And others, rather than identifying the screed as an example of the writer’s misogyny, lack of historical understanding, and indeed – as some computer professionals have pointed out – lack of understanding of the field of engineering, handled the document as a think piece deserving consideration and discussion. The many people who said openly and loudly that it was nothing of the sort are to be commended. But the fact that they had to waste time even addressing it shows how much damage casual, unreflective sexism and misogyny do to every aspect of our society and our economy. The corporate response Google, for its part, has now fired the writer, an expected move after the bad publicity he has helped rain down on the company. But Google has also – and in the very same week that I gave my talk there – refused to comply with a U.S. Department of Justice order to provide statistics on how it paid its women workers in comparison to men. The company claims that it might cost an estimated US$100,000 to compile that data, and complains that it’s too high a cost for their multibillion dollar corporation to bear. The company will not expend a pittance – especially in relation to its earnings – to work to correct allegedly egregious gender-biased salary disparities. Is it any surprise that some of its employees – both men and women – view women’s contributions, and their very identities, as being somehow less inherently valuable or well suited to tech? Or that many more silently believe it, almost in spite of themselves? At a time when technology and governance are increasingly converging to define who we are as a nation, we are living through a perfect – if terrifying – teachable moment. × People take cues from our institutions. Our governments, corporations, universities and news media shape our understandings and expectations of ourselves in ways we can only partially understand without intense and sustained self-reflection. For the U.K. in the 20th century, that collective, institutional self-awareness came far too late to save its tech sector. Let’s hope the U.S. in the 21st century learns something from that history. At a time when technology and governance are increasingly converging to define who we are as a nation, we are living through a perfect – if terrifying – teachable moment. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

What the Google gender 'manifesto' really says about Silicon Valley

<p>Google on Thursday canceled a Town Hall intended to air viewpoints on diversity, sexism and free speech, citing worker safety concerns.</p>

<p>&quot;We&#39;ll find a better way to help our employees connect and discuss these important issues further,&quot; said a Google spokesperson.</p>

<p>The employee gathering was scheduled to air viewpoints swirling in after the dismissal of a Google engineer over a memo defending the Silicon Valley gender gap.</p>

<p>The &quot;manifesto&quot; published as an internal memo by James Damore claimed, &quot;biological differences&quot; were a key factor in the low percentage of women in technology jobs and sparked an outcry from those claiming it perpetuated stereotypes and discrimination.</p>

<p>Then Damore was fired -- according to media reports and his own email to the far-right news website Breitbart -- which ignited backlash from those claiming Google was stifling free speech and politically conservative viewpoints.</p>

<p>News of the Town Hall cancelation was sent to employees in a memo from chief executive Sundar Pichai, who apologized to them for giving late notice.</p>

<p>Questions being posed internally by &quot;Googlers,&quot; along with some of their names, began appearing on outside websites, prompting safety concerns.</p>

<p>&quot;We had hoped to have a frank, open discussion today as we always do to bring us together and move forward,&quot; Pichai said in the memo.</p>

<p>&quot;Googlers are writing in, concerned about their safety and worried they may be &#39;outed&#39; publicly for asking a question in the Town Hall.&quot;</p>

<p>He said Google intends a series of internal forums in coming days to give people chances to speak freely without fear.</p>

<p>Pichai said that he has met with many people at Google about the controversy, with the vast majority supporting the decision to fire the author of the manifesto.</p>

<p>The company has not officially identified the engineer at issue, citing employee privacy.</p>

<p>The fresh controversy comes with Silicon Valley struggling in the face of accusations of rampant sexual harassment and discrimination affecting startups like Uber and venture capital firms investing in the sector.</p>

<p>Earlier this week, Pichai said employees have a right to express themselves but that the memo appeared to &quot;cross the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace.&quot;</p>

<p>&quot;To suggest a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK,&quot; Pichai said in his email to employees.</p>

<p>Damore&#39;s firing made him a hero to the far right and those claiming political correctness has gone too far.</p>


The employee gathering was scheduled to air viewpoints swirling in after the dismissal of a Google engineer over a memo defending the Silicon Valley gender gap

Google on Thursday canceled a Town Hall intended to air viewpoints on diversity, sexism and free speech, citing worker safety concerns. "We'll find a better way to help our employees connect and discuss these important issues further," said a Google spokesperson. The employee gathering was scheduled to air viewpoints swirling in after the dismissal of a Google engineer over a memo defending the Silicon Valley gender gap. The "manifesto" published as an internal memo by James Damore claimed, "biological differences" were a key factor in the low percentage of women in technology jobs and sparked an outcry from those claiming it perpetuated stereotypes and discrimination. Then Damore was fired -- according to media reports and his own email to the far-right news website Breitbart -- which ignited backlash from those claiming Google was stifling free speech and politically conservative viewpoints. News of the Town Hall cancelation was sent to employees in a memo from chief executive Sundar Pichai, who apologized to them for giving late notice. Questions being posed internally by "Googlers," along with some of their names, began appearing on outside websites, prompting safety concerns. "We had hoped to have a frank, open discussion today as we always do to bring us together and move forward," Pichai said in the memo. "Googlers are writing in, concerned about their safety and worried they may be 'outed' publicly for asking a question in the Town Hall." He said Google intends a series of internal forums in coming days to give people chances to speak freely without fear. Pichai said that he has met with many people at Google about the controversy, with the vast majority supporting the decision to fire the author of the manifesto. The company has not officially identified the engineer at issue, citing employee privacy. The fresh controversy comes with Silicon Valley struggling in the face of accusations of rampant sexual harassment and discrimination affecting startups like Uber and venture capital firms investing in the sector. Earlier this week, Pichai said employees have a right to express themselves but that the memo appeared to "cross the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace." "To suggest a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK," Pichai said in his email to employees. Damore's firing made him a hero to the far right and those claiming political correctness has gone too far.

Google cancels diversity Town Hall

<p>A Silicon Valley culture war pitting liberal-leaning tech firms against a small conservative cohort took on new intensity on Tuesday after <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/google-fires-employee-who-wrote-anti-diversity-memo-18690">Google fired a male engineer</a> for a memo that decried the company&#39;s commitment to hiring women.</p>

<p>Memo author James Damore, 28, received jeers, cheers and a couple of job offers, while the debate raged on social media and some tech firms took steps to prevent similar episodes from embroiling their companies.</p>

<p>Damore confirmed his dismissal from Alphabet&#39;s Google on Monday, after he wrote a 10-page memo that said the company was hostile to conservative viewpoints and that women on average have more neuroticism.</p>

<p>Many in Silicon Valley found his views, which argued that men, in general, may be biologically more suited to coding jobs than women, offensive and destructive. The manifesto was embraced by some, particularly on the political right, who branded him a brave truth-teller.</p>

<p>The episode recalled past examples of the wide gulf between US conservative activists and the tech sector.</p>

<p>In 2014, Brendan Eich was forced out as Mozilla&#39;s chief executive after his opposition to gay marriage became public. Most technology executives held the opposite view, and tech companies often gave benefits to same-sex couples well before gay marriage was legalised.</p>

<p>&quot;Anyone who deviates from the talking points of the liberal left is shunned, shamed and forced out,&quot; Andrew Torba, chief executive of the social network Gab, said in an interview.</p>

<p>Torba, whose company is popular among conservatives, said Damore could work for him.</p>

<p>WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange, whose group released hacked emails that helped the campaign of Republican US President Donald Trump, also offered Damore a job, writing on Twitter that &quot;censorship is for losers.&quot;</p>

<p>Firing Damore was too extreme and Google should have put him through training instead, said Aaron Ginn, co-founder of the Lincoln Network, a group of libertarian-leaning tech workers and investors.</p>

<p>&quot;You&#39;re going to make him a martyr. In this hyper-tribal political day, we are in, I think you&#39;d want to try to avoid making him a martyr,&quot; Ginn said.</p>

<p>Intense political feelings recently divided two board members of Facebook, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. Last August, Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, warned investor Peter Thiel in an email that Thiel&#39;s support for Trump showed &quot;catastrophically bad judgment,&quot; the newspaper reported.</p>

<p>The outcome of that dispute is not known. Hastings and Thiel remain on Facebook&#39;s board. Facebook declined to comment.</p>

<p>More generally, Silicon Valley tech companies have been under mounting criticism for not doing enough to promote gender equality and stamp out sexual harassment.</p>

<p>Claims of persistent sexual harassment in the ranks of Uber Technologies&nbsp;and of several venture capital firms have led to management shake-ups.</p>

<p>The US Labor Department is investigating Google to see whether the firm has unlawfully paid women less than men. Google denies that it does.</p>

<p><strong>Code of Conduct</strong></p>

<p>Google, which has used the motto &quot;Don&#39;t be evil,&quot; received accolades from many quarters for treating Damore&#39;s memo as a threat to its corporate culture.</p>

<p>&quot;What he wrote is extremely toxic to the tech community we are trying to support. He&#39;s categorising us in a way that makes us seem weak or incompetent,&quot; said Adriana Gascoigne, founder of the San Francisco nonprofit Girls in Tech.</p>

<p>Josh Reeves, chief executive at Gusto, a software company, said he expected the topic would come up at its all-staff meeting on Wednesday.</p>

<p>Gusto&#39;s code of conduct &quot;specifically prohibits a memo like Damore&#39;s,&quot; Reeves said, if the memo would be offensive to individuals in a protected group.</p>

<p>Damore, who could not be reached for comment on Tuesday, said in an email to <em>Reuters</em> on Monday that he was exploring a possible legal challenge to his dismissal.</p>

<p>His case would likely be weak, employment lawyers said, and some lawyers said Google could have faced lawsuits if it had not acted against him.</p>

<p>Google said it could not talk about individual employee cases.</p>

<p>US&nbsp;companies have broad latitude to restrict the speech of employees in private workplaces, where First Amendment protections against government censorship do not apply.</p>

<p>Damore&#39;s title at Google was software engineer and he had worked at the company since December 2013, according to a profile on LinkedIn.</p>

<p>The LinkedIn page also says Damore received a PhD in systems biology from Harvard University in 2013. Harvard said on Tuesday he completed a master&#39;s degree in the subject, not a PhD.</p>

<p>Industry experts note that in the early days of tech it was mostly women who held the then-unglamorous jobs of coding. But as the value of top-notch programming became clear, men came to dominate the field.</p>

<p>Other tech companies on Tuesday were closely watching the controversy at Google unfold, and grateful they were not the ones caught in another debate over gender and diversity.</p>

<p>&quot;Every large organisation has a James Damore, but at tech companies, they&#39;re more liberated to share their personal views,&quot; an executive at one major Silicon Valley firm said, speaking on condition of anonymity.</p>

<p>Tech firms have an abundance of &quot;smart, confident people who think they have an obligation to share their wisdom with their coworkers,&quot; the executive said.</p>


Memo author James Damore, 28, received jeers, cheers and a couple of job offers, while the debate raged on social media and some tech firms took steps to prevent similar episodes from embroiling their companies

A Silicon Valley culture war pitting liberal-leaning tech firms against a small conservative cohort took on new intensity on Tuesday after Google fired a male engineer for a memo that decried the company's commitment to hiring women. Memo author James Damore, 28, received jeers, cheers and a couple of job offers, while the debate raged on social media and some tech firms took steps to prevent similar episodes from embroiling their companies. Damore confirmed his dismissal from Alphabet's Google on Monday, after he wrote a 10-page memo that said the company was hostile to conservative viewpoints and that women on average have more neuroticism. Many in Silicon Valley found his views, which argued that men, in general, may be biologically more suited to coding jobs than women, offensive and destructive. The manifesto was embraced by some, particularly on the political right, who branded him a brave truth-teller. The episode recalled past examples of the wide gulf between US conservative activists and the tech sector. In 2014, Brendan Eich was forced out as Mozilla's chief executive after his opposition to gay marriage became public. Most technology executives held the opposite view, and tech companies often gave benefits to same-sex couples well before gay marriage was legalised. "Anyone who deviates from the talking points of the liberal left is shunned, shamed and forced out," Andrew Torba, chief executive of the social network Gab, said in an interview. Torba, whose company is popular among conservatives, said Damore could work for him. WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange, whose group released hacked emails that helped the campaign of Republican US President Donald Trump, also offered Damore a job, writing on Twitter that "censorship is for losers." Firing Damore was too extreme and Google should have put him through training instead, said Aaron Ginn, co-founder of the Lincoln Network, a group of libertarian-leaning tech workers and investors. "You're going to make him a martyr. In this hyper-tribal political day, we are in, I think you'd want to try to avoid making him a martyr," Ginn said. Intense political feelings recently divided two board members of Facebook, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. Last August, Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, warned investor Peter Thiel in an email that Thiel's support for Trump showed "catastrophically bad judgment," the newspaper reported. The outcome of that dispute is not known. Hastings and Thiel remain on Facebook's board. Facebook declined to comment. More generally, Silicon Valley tech companies have been under mounting criticism for not doing enough to promote gender equality and stamp out sexual harassment. Claims of persistent sexual harassment in the ranks of Uber Technologies and of several venture capital firms have led to management shake-ups. The US Labor Department is investigating Google to see whether the firm has unlawfully paid women less than men. Google denies that it does. Code of Conduct Google, which has used the motto "Don't be evil," received accolades from many quarters for treating Damore's memo as a threat to its corporate culture. "What he wrote is extremely toxic to the tech community we are trying to support. He's categorising us in a way that makes us seem weak or incompetent," said Adriana Gascoigne, founder of the San Francisco nonprofit Girls in Tech. Josh Reeves, chief executive at Gusto, a software company, said he expected the topic would come up at its all-staff meeting on Wednesday. Gusto's code of conduct "specifically prohibits a memo like Damore's," Reeves said, if the memo would be offensive to individuals in a protected group. Damore, who could not be reached for comment on Tuesday, said in an email to Reuters on Monday that he was exploring a possible legal challenge to his dismissal. His case would likely be weak, employment lawyers said, and some lawyers said Google could have faced lawsuits if it had not acted against him. Google said it could not talk about individual employee cases. US companies have broad latitude to restrict the speech of employees in private workplaces, where First Amendment protections against government censorship do not apply. Damore's title at Google was software engineer and he had worked at the company since December 2013, according to a profile on LinkedIn. The LinkedIn page also says Damore received a PhD in systems biology from Harvard University in 2013. Harvard said on Tuesday he completed a master's degree in the subject, not a PhD. Industry experts note that in the early days of tech it was mostly women who held the then-unglamorous jobs of coding. But as the value of top-notch programming became clear, men came to dominate the field. Other tech companies on Tuesday were closely watching the controversy at Google unfold, and grateful they were not the ones caught in another debate over gender and diversity. "Every large organisation has a James Damore, but at tech companies, they're more liberated to share their personal views," an executive at one major Silicon Valley firm said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Tech firms have an abundance of "smart, confident people who think they have an obligation to share their wisdom with their coworkers," the executive said.

Liberal tech firms align with engineer fired by Google

<p>Alphabet Inc&#39;s Google has fired an employee who wrote an internal memo that ascribed gender inequality in the technology industry to biological differences.</p>

<p>James Damore, the engineer who wrote the memo, confirmed his dismissal saying that he had been fired for &quot;perpetuating gender stereotypes,&quot; in an email to Reuters on Monday.</p>

<p>Damore said he is exploring all possible legal remedies.</p>

<p>Google said it could not talk about individual employee cases.</p>

<p>&quot;Distribution of preferences and abilities of men and women differ in part due to biological causes and that these differences may explain why we don&#39;t see equal representation of women in tech and leadership,&quot; James wrote in an internal company memo last week.</p>

<p>&quot;Portions of the memo violate our Code of Conduct and cross the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace,&quot; Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said in an internal email viewed by Reuters on Monday.</p>

<p>The memo stoked a heated debate over treatment of women in the male-dominated Silicon Valley that has boiled for months following sexual harassment scandals at Uber Technologies Inc and several venture capital firms.</p>

<p>Google&#39;s vice president of diversity, Danielle Brown, sent a memo in response to the furor, saying the engineer&#39;s essay &quot;advanced incorrect assumptions about gender.&quot;</p>


James Damore had written an internal memo that ascribed gender inequality in the technology industry to biological differences

Alphabet Inc's Google has fired an employee who wrote an internal memo that ascribed gender inequality in the technology industry to biological differences. James Damore, the engineer who wrote the memo, confirmed his dismissal saying that he had been fired for "perpetuating gender stereotypes," in an email to Reuters on Monday. Damore said he is exploring all possible legal remedies. Google said it could not talk about individual employee cases. "Distribution of preferences and abilities of men and women differ in part due to biological causes and that these differences may explain why we don't see equal representation of women in tech and leadership," James wrote in an internal company memo last week. "Portions of the memo violate our Code of Conduct and cross the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace," Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said in an internal email viewed by Reuters on Monday. The memo stoked a heated debate over treatment of women in the male-dominated Silicon Valley that has boiled for months following sexual harassment scandals at Uber Technologies Inc and several venture capital firms. Google's vice president of diversity, Danielle Brown, sent a memo in response to the furor, saying the engineer's essay "advanced incorrect assumptions about gender."

Google fires employee who wrote anti-diversity memo

<p>Several reports reveal Google&#39;s planned to buy Snapchat for $30 billion in May, 2016 before Snap&#39;s last funding round, according to Business Insider Alex Health.&nbsp;</p>

<p>However, Snap&#39;s CEO Evan Spiegel declined the Google&#39;s offer even after Snap&#39;s market cap slipped to around $15 billion from $30 billion. According to a report in TechCrunch, Snapchat invalidated the information about the offer calling it &quot;false rumours &quot;. Several media reports had speculated&nbsp;talks of a buyout before Snap went public with their IPO in March this year.</p>

<p>The news of <a href="http://www.wionews.com/science-tech/google-redesigns-mobile-search-app-with-personalised-feed-18114">Google&#39;</a>s offer to Snapchat has benefited the latter as it increased its share price to 2.3% but lately Snap had been experiencing a downfall in its share price due to the strong growth of Instagram&#39;s stories and Whatsapp clones of Snapchat.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/science-tech/snapchat-upgrades-its-messaging-app-with-multi-snap-recording-feature-18080">Snapchat, a multimedia mobile application</a>, was launched in 2011 by former Stanford University students - Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>The multimedia app is the upgraded version of Picaboo, that was launched only for iOS App Store. The founders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy later reintroduced the app as <a href="http://www.wionews.com/science-tech/snachat-makes-copying-difficult-for-its-rivals-18227">Snapchat</a> with enhanced features. Since then the app has undergone several technological innovations.</p>

<p>Snapchat for Android was launched in October 2012.&nbsp;Snapchat has evolved from being a simple start-up with not many users to millions of daily active users worldwide.&nbsp;Inspired by&nbsp;the multimedia app, Facebook and Instagram have also added Snapchat&#39;s clones in their app.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Snap has often been criticised by tech experts for the disappearance of photos, videos and text messages after they are viewed once which is Snap&#39;s main feature.</p>

<p>&nbsp;Besides the messaging features, Snapchat offers the popular &#39;Snapchat stories&#39;, &#39;Memories&#39; and stickers. Snapchat stories can be replayed for 24 hours while Memories are saved pictures that can be shared later.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


The offer was declined by Snap's CEO Evan Spiegel even after Snap's market cap slipped to around $15 billion from $30 billion

Several reports reveal Google's planned to buy Snapchat for $30 billion in May, 2016 before Snap's last funding round, according to Business Insider Alex Health. However, Snap's CEO Evan Spiegel declined the Google's offer even after Snap's market cap slipped to around $15 billion from $30 billion. According to a report in TechCrunch, Snapchat invalidated the information about the offer calling it "false rumours ". Several media reports had speculated talks of a buyout before Snap went public with their IPO in March this year. The news of Google's offer to Snapchat has benefited the latter as it increased its share price to 2.3% but lately Snap had been experiencing a downfall in its share price due to the strong growth of Instagram's stories and Whatsapp clones of Snapchat. Snapchat, a multimedia mobile application, was launched in 2011 by former Stanford University students - Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy. The multimedia app is the upgraded version of Picaboo, that was launched only for iOS App Store. The founders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy later reintroduced the app as Snapchat with enhanced features. Since then the app has undergone several technological innovations. Snapchat for Android was launched in October 2012. Snapchat has evolved from being a simple start-up with not many users to millions of daily active users worldwide. Inspired by the multimedia app, Facebook and Instagram have also added Snapchat's clones in their app. Snap has often been criticised by tech experts for the disappearance of photos, videos and text messages after they are viewed once which is Snap's main feature. Besides the messaging features, Snapchat offers the popular 'Snapchat stories', 'Memories' and stickers. Snapchat stories can be replayed for 24 hours while Memories are saved pictures that can be shared later.

Snapchat declined Google's $30 billion offer

<p>&nbsp;Alphabet said it appointed the chief executive of its Google unit, Sundar Pichai, to its board.</p>

<p>The company&#39;s board also includes founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.</p>

<p>Alphabet is set to report second quarter earnings on Monday after markets close.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


The company's board also includes founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin

Alphabet said it appointed the chief executive of its Google unit, Sundar Pichai, to its board. The company's board also includes founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Alphabet is set to report second quarter earnings on Monday after markets close.

Alphabet appoints Google CEO Pichai to board

<p>Google can now help in quick detection of dengue fever in less developed countries. &nbsp;An analytical tool has been designed that uses Google search data to&nbsp;track&nbsp;the disease.&nbsp;</p>

<p><br />
The research is inspired by a method that the&nbsp;US has been using to track influenza.&nbsp;</p>

<p><br />
Dengue infects over 390 million people worldwide each year and is difficult to monitor with traditional methods. However, it may now be possible to tackle the problem with the new Google research methodology.</p>


An analytical tool has been designed that uses Google search data for tracking the disease

Google can now help in quick detection of dengue fever in less developed countries. An analytical tool has been designed that uses Google search data to track the disease. The research is inspired by a method that the US has been using to track influenza. Dengue infects over 390 million people worldwide each year and is difficult to monitor with traditional methods. However, it may now be possible to tackle the problem with the new Google research methodology.

Now, Google methodology will detect dengue

<p>Last year Google launched &#39;Motion Stills&#39; for iOS. The app allowed iPhone users to stabilise live photos and convert them into looping GIFs and videos.These Gifs and videos could be shared later on.</p>

<p>Google has claimed that the app was well received by iPhone users, and was in great demand by Android users as well. Google has now introduced a similar app with advanced features for Android users also. The new app called &#39;Motion Stills&#39; is designed for Android 5.1 and later series.</p>

<p>&quot;From its initial release, the community has been asking us to also make Motion Stills available for Android. We listened to your feedback and today, we&#39;re excited to announce that we&rsquo;re bringing this technology, and more, to devices running Android 5.1 and later!&quot; Google stated.</p>

<p>Motion Stills on Android will transfer everything you capture with a single tap into short clips.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Android app is designed with a new feature called &#39;Fast Forward&#39; which condenses a longer recording into a Fast Forward video of one minute. The users can adjust the speed of the video accordingly.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<p>The new &#39;Fast Forward&#39; feature condenses a longer recording into a Fast Forward video (Others)</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>It also has an improved trimming algorithm which will guard against any camera shake or pocket shots.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Google has upgraded the iOS version and redesigned the video processing pipeline. The upgraded feature will process each frame of the video as it is being recorded. This will give instant results immediately after recording without exhausting your battery.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The app does not offer to import and edit any of your existing videos. The videos from Motion Stills can be shared easily.</p>

<p>The motion Stills does not require an internet connection to run.</p>


Last year Google launched 'Motion Stills' for iOS. The app allowed iPhone users to stabilise live photos and convert them into looping GIFs and videos.

Last year Google launched 'Motion Stills' for iOS. The app allowed iPhone users to stabilise live photos and convert them into looping GIFs and videos.These Gifs and videos could be shared later on. Google has claimed that the app was well received by iPhone users, and was in great demand by Android users as well. Google has now introduced a similar app with advanced features for Android users also. The new app called 'Motion Stills' is designed for Android 5.1 and later series. "From its initial release, the community has been asking us to also make Motion Stills available for Android. We listened to your feedback and today, we're excited to announce that we’re bringing this technology, and more, to devices running Android 5.1 and later!" Google stated. Motion Stills on Android will transfer everything you capture with a single tap into short clips. The Android app is designed with a new feature called 'Fast Forward' which condenses a longer recording into a Fast Forward video of one minute. The users can adjust the speed of the video accordingly. The new 'Fast Forward' feature condenses a longer recording into a Fast Forward video (Others) × It also has an improved trimming algorithm which will guard against any camera shake or pocket shots. Google has upgraded the iOS version and redesigned the video processing pipeline. The upgraded feature will process each frame of the video as it is being recorded. This will give instant results immediately after recording without exhausting your battery. The app does not offer to import and edit any of your existing videos. The videos from Motion Stills can be shared easily. The motion Stills does not require an internet connection to run.

Google releases upgraded 'Motion Still' for Android

<p>Google announced an overhaul of its search app on mobile phones to include a personalised feed of links about hobbies, travel, sports, and other topics, a move that puts the search company into more direct competition with social networks such as Facebook.</p>

<p>Google, the world&#39;s largest search engine and a unit of Alphabet, said the changes would begin rolling out in the United States on Wednesday and other countries in the coming weeks.</p>

<p>The new offering is called &quot;Google&nbsp;Feed,&quot; a name that may conjure comparisons to Facebook&#39;s &quot;News Feed,&quot; a feature on Facebook used to browse updates from friends, family, and other sources.</p>

<p>Google&nbsp;said, however, that it was not trying to duplicate Facebook, the world&#39;s largest social network. Instead, the company said it wanted to create another place to see a stream of relevant search results.</p>

<p>&quot;This feed is really about your interests ... It&#39;s not really about what your friends are interested in,&quot; Ben Gomes, a&nbsp;Google&nbsp;vice president of engineering, said in a briefing with reporters.</p>

<p>Typical updates might include a link to a website with tips about an upcoming vacation spot, or a link to a page about cycling or another hobby, the company said.</p>

<p>Facebook and&nbsp;Google&nbsp;are jockeying for attention online and by extension, for advertising revenue based on those eyeballs. The two Silicon Valley companies are expected to take in some 50 per cent of overall online ad spending in 2018, according to research firm eMarketer.</p>

<p>There were no immediate plans to include advertising in&nbsp;Google&nbsp;Feed, Gomes said.</p>

<p>Google&nbsp;Feed will suggest links based on a user&#39;s&nbsp;Google&nbsp;search history as well as data from other&nbsp;Google&nbsp;services, such as YouTube, Gmail, and&nbsp;Google&nbsp;Calendar, the company said.</p>

<p>In addition to putting&nbsp;Google&nbsp;Feed on mobile apps, the company is looking at attaching it to web browsers in some form, Shashi Thakur, a second&nbsp;Google&nbsp;vice president for engineering, said during the briefing.</p>


Google announced an overhaul of its search app on mobile phones to include a personalised feed of links about hobbies, travel, sports, and other topics

Google announced an overhaul of its search app on mobile phones to include a personalised feed of links about hobbies, travel, sports, and other topics, a move that puts the search company into more direct competition with social networks such as Facebook. Google, the world's largest search engine and a unit of Alphabet, said the changes would begin rolling out in the United States on Wednesday and other countries in the coming weeks. The new offering is called "Google Feed," a name that may conjure comparisons to Facebook's "News Feed," a feature on Facebook used to browse updates from friends, family, and other sources. Google said, however, that it was not trying to duplicate Facebook, the world's largest social network. Instead, the company said it wanted to create another place to see a stream of relevant search results. "This feed is really about your interests ... It's not really about what your friends are interested in," Ben Gomes, a Google vice president of engineering, said in a briefing with reporters. Typical updates might include a link to a website with tips about an upcoming vacation spot, or a link to a page about cycling or another hobby, the company said. Facebook and Google are jockeying for attention online and by extension, for advertising revenue based on those eyeballs. The two Silicon Valley companies are expected to take in some 50 per cent of overall online ad spending in 2018, according to research firm eMarketer. There were no immediate plans to include advertising in Google Feed, Gomes said. Google Feed will suggest links based on a user's Google search history as well as data from other Google services, such as YouTube, Gmail, and Google Calendar, the company said. In addition to putting Google Feed on mobile apps, the company is looking at attaching it to web browsers in some form, Shashi Thakur, a second Google vice president for engineering, said during the briefing.

Google redesigns mobile search app with personalised 'feed'

<p>It seems that the dark clouds of controversies are hovering over Google relentlessly. After recently being slapped with a fine of record 2.7 billion US dollars by European antitrust regulators for favouring its own shopping service, Google has now been accused of funding academic research in the US and Europe - with the intention to influence decisions on matters of public policy.</p>

<p>US-based Campaign for Accountability (CfA) has come out with a <a href="http://googletransparencyproject.org/articles/google-academics-inc">report called &ldquo;Google Academics&rdquo;</a>, alleging the US tech giant of funding 329 research papers (with 179 directly-funded and 150 indirectly-funded) since 2005 on issues related to antitrust, net neutrality, copyright and anti-piracy, to protect its business interests.</p>

<p>CfA executive director Daniel Stevens has even gone on to state that the company has used its position and wealth to influence policy makers. &ldquo;Google uses its immense wealth and power to attempt to influence policy makers at every level.&rdquo; Because the fact of the matter is that policy makers and regulators often rely on research papers and academic work for a lot of policy decisions. And if the report was true - in entirety or in parts, this could mean that most of the decisions by policy makers must have inadvertently been taken in favour of Google.</p>

<p>Calling the report &ldquo;highly misleading&rdquo;, Google, however, has outrightly rejected all the allegations, but there are a few observations that can&rsquo;t go unnoticed. Take a look at the graph below to understand some interesting insights.</p>

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<p>Year-wise representation of Google-funded studies on antitrust issues. (Others)</p>
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<p>This is an year-wise representation of Google-funded studies on antitrust cases. As you see, the largest number of Google-funded studies were published in 2012, which coincided with the time when a plethora of antitrust investigations were made to scrutinise the company&rsquo;s practices by the Federal Trade Commission and European regulators. And as the CfA&rsquo;s report claims, 50 Google-funded studies on antitrust issues were published between 2011 and 2013.</p>

<p>But that spike came down by 2013 - which happened to be the same time during which the Federal Trade Commission shut its investigation. But interestingly, the studies on antitrust issues saw an upward shift in 2015. And it was the time when the European Commission pressed Google with formal antitrust charges. If the data is to be believed, more than a third (113) of the Google-funded studies centre around antitrust issues.</p>

<p>Another graph here highlights that it was just not antitrust, but research papers around copyright issues were also properly timed by Google.</p>

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<p>Google-funded copyright papers surged as the company battled anti-piracy bills. (Reuters)</p>
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<p>&quot;Google-funded studies on copyright issues also surged in 2012, as the company fought anti-piracy bills in Congress. They peaked the following year amid continuing battles over whether it could be held responsible for distributing pirated books, music or movies,&quot; says the report.</p>

<p>And as the data from the report highlights, 329 Google-funded research papers identified have been cited nearly 6,000 times in over 4,700 unique articles.</p>

<p>It has been further reported that all these Google-funded studies in question were authored by academics and economic consultants from some of the prominent schools and universities, including Stanford, MIT, Harvard, and University of California Berkeley.</p>

<p>While Google may not be the only company to have engaged in such unfair practices to advance policy goals, but insights from the report and antitrust charges slapped in the past hint at the company&rsquo;s involvement in unscrupulous business practices.</p>

<p><strong>Google retorts to CfA&rsquo;s report</strong></p>

<p>Responding to allegations made by the CfA, Google has called the report &ldquo;highly misleading.&rdquo; Expressing disappointment, Google mentions that the CfA has even attributed Google for the work supported by organisations to which Google donated money to.</p>

<p>Google further points out that many of the academics listed by the Campaign for Accountability have condemned the company, their approach and policy positions on a wide range of topics.</p>

<p>But what is ironic here is that Google in return goes on to ask the CfA to reveal their funders. Taking potshots at the CfA in its snooty <a href="https://www.blog.google/topics/public-policy/responding-campaign-accountability-report-academic-research/">blog post</a>, Google highlights that this group has consistently refused to name its corporate funders. And without mincing its words, Google has directly named Oracle as one of the CfA&rsquo;s funders - something it says the world already knows about.</p>

<p>As Google claims, Oracle &quot;is running a well-documented lobbying campaign against us. In its own name and through proxies, Oracle has funded many hundreds of articles, research papers, symposia and reports.&quot;</p>

<p>While Google has clearly dismissed the report, the data and statistics listed in the CfA report put forth a scenario, which, if proven true, could be damaging to the industry and the academic world at large.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


?Google uses its immense wealth and power to attempt to influence policy makers at every level,? says CfA executive director Daniel Stevens

It seems that the dark clouds of controversies are hovering over Google relentlessly. After recently being slapped with a fine of record 2.7 billion US dollars by European antitrust regulators for favouring its own shopping service, Google has now been accused of funding academic research in the US and Europe - with the intention to influence decisions on matters of public policy. US-based Campaign for Accountability (CfA) has come out with a report called “Google Academics”, alleging the US tech giant of funding 329 research papers (with 179 directly-funded and 150 indirectly-funded) since 2005 on issues related to antitrust, net neutrality, copyright and anti-piracy, to protect its business interests. CfA executive director Daniel Stevens has even gone on to state that the company has used its position and wealth to influence policy makers. “Google uses its immense wealth and power to attempt to influence policy makers at every level.” Because the fact of the matter is that policy makers and regulators often rely on research papers and academic work for a lot of policy decisions. And if the report was true - in entirety or in parts, this could mean that most of the decisions by policy makers must have inadvertently been taken in favour of Google. Calling the report “highly misleading”, Google, however, has outrightly rejected all the allegations, but there are a few observations that can’t go unnoticed. Take a look at the graph below to understand some interesting insights. Year-wise representation of Google-funded studies on antitrust issues. (Others) × This is an year-wise representation of Google-funded studies on antitrust cases. As you see, the largest number of Google-funded studies were published in 2012, which coincided with the time when a plethora of antitrust investigations were made to scrutinise the company’s practices by the Federal Trade Commission and European regulators. And as the CfA’s report claims, 50 Google-funded studies on antitrust issues were published between 2011 and 2013. But that spike came down by 2013 - which happened to be the same time during which the Federal Trade Commission shut its investigation. But interestingly, the studies on antitrust issues saw an upward shift in 2015. And it was the time when the European Commission pressed Google with formal antitrust charges. If the data is to be believed, more than a third (113) of the Google-funded studies centre around antitrust issues. Another graph here highlights that it was just not antitrust, but research papers around copyright issues were also properly timed by Google. Google-funded copyright papers surged as the company battled anti-piracy bills. (Reuters) × "Google-funded studies on copyright issues also surged in 2012, as the company fought anti-piracy bills in Congress. They peaked the following year amid continuing battles over whether it could be held responsible for distributing pirated books, music or movies," says the report. And as the data from the report highlights, 329 Google-funded research papers identified have been cited nearly 6,000 times in over 4,700 unique articles. It has been further reported that all these Google-funded studies in question were authored by academics and economic consultants from some of the prominent schools and universities, including Stanford, MIT, Harvard, and University of California Berkeley. While Google may not be the only company to have engaged in such unfair practices to advance policy goals, but insights from the report and antitrust charges slapped in the past hint at the company’s involvement in unscrupulous business practices. Google retorts to CfA’s report Responding to allegations made by the CfA, Google has called the report “highly misleading.” Expressing disappointment, Google mentions that the CfA has even attributed Google for the work supported by organisations to which Google donated money to. Google further points out that many of the academics listed by the Campaign for Accountability have condemned the company, their approach and policy positions on a wide range of topics. But what is ironic here is that Google in return goes on to ask the CfA to reveal their funders. Taking potshots at the CfA in its snooty blog post, Google highlights that this group has consistently refused to name its corporate funders. And without mincing its words, Google has directly named Oracle as one of the CfA’s funders - something it says the world already knows about. As Google claims, Oracle "is running a well-documented lobbying campaign against us. In its own name and through proxies, Oracle has funded many hundreds of articles, research papers, symposia and reports." While Google has clearly dismissed the report, the data and statistics listed in the CfA report put forth a scenario, which, if proven true, could be damaging to the industry and the academic world at large.

Is Google funding academics to protect its business interests?

<p>Alphabet wants users to post millions of stories, video, and photos on its&nbsp;Google&nbsp;Earth&nbsp;platform in the next few years, the program chief said at a launch event in Brazil for content focused on showcasing the Amazon rainforest.</p>

<p>The &quot;Voyager&quot; tool allows internet surfers to take interactive tours of exotic destinations on Google&nbsp;Earth&nbsp;led by the likes of primatologist Jane Goodall, with photos, information, and maps.</p>

<p>However, regular users will be able to create their own unedited content for private or public use within two to three years,&nbsp;Google&nbsp;Earth&nbsp;Director Rebecca Moore said. &quot;The story of your family history, the story of your favourite hiking trip, it could be anything. It doesn&#39;t have to be profound,&quot; she said at the event in Sao Paulo.</p>

<p>Moore took the stage at an event in Sao Paulo to unveil the &quot;I am the Amazon&quot; project, which has mapped 11 sites to document the relationship between the rainforest and its people, touching on topics like food, water and cultural origins.</p>

<p>To tell the stories of communities such as the Yanomami people, Cinta Larga and the Boa Vista Quilombola,&nbsp;Google&nbsp;and partners used tools like 3D cameras to accompany satellite images with videos and text.</p>

<p>Moore did not reveal the budget for the project but she ruled out the idea of advertising on the platform and said it is not&nbsp;Google&#39;s intention to turn a profit from the venture. &quot;Google&nbsp;Earth&nbsp;is our gift to the world,&quot; she said. &quot;In terms of budget,&nbsp;Google&nbsp;has nice revenue from advertising, and not everything&nbsp;Google&nbsp;does has to make money.&quot;</p>


Regular users will be able to create their own unedited content for private or public use within two to three years

Alphabet wants users to post millions of stories, video, and photos on its Google Earth platform in the next few years, the program chief said at a launch event in Brazil for content focused on showcasing the Amazon rainforest. The "Voyager" tool allows internet surfers to take interactive tours of exotic destinations on Google Earth led by the likes of primatologist Jane Goodall, with photos, information, and maps. However, regular users will be able to create their own unedited content for private or public use within two to three years, Google Earth Director Rebecca Moore said. "The story of your family history, the story of your favourite hiking trip, it could be anything. It doesn't have to be profound," she said at the event in Sao Paulo. Moore took the stage at an event in Sao Paulo to unveil the "I am the Amazon" project, which has mapped 11 sites to document the relationship between the rainforest and its people, touching on topics like food, water and cultural origins. To tell the stories of communities such as the Yanomami people, Cinta Larga and the Boa Vista Quilombola, Google and partners used tools like 3D cameras to accompany satellite images with videos and text. Moore did not reveal the budget for the project but she ruled out the idea of advertising on the platform and said it is not Google's intention to turn a profit from the venture. "Google Earth is our gift to the world," she said. "In terms of budget, Google has nice revenue from advertising, and not everything Google does has to make money."

Google Earth to let users post stories, photos in coming years

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