Google is offering an audio-only option on its Duo video calls service to help users communicate using poor-quality connections. Besides, the company is also adding a feature to permit file sharing in group chats on its Allo messaging app.

The company launched Google Duo in August, providing video calls for users on Android and iOS, pitting it against Apple&#39;s FaceTime, Microsoft&#39;s video-calling app Skype and Facebook&#39;s Messenger.

Google, owned by Alphabet, said audio-only calls on Duo will be rolled out to users around the world in the coming days.

The audio-only calls will work well on all connection speeds and be data efficient, Google Vice President for Product Management Mario Queiroz said in a blog post after he announced the moves at a Google conference in Sao Paulo.

With more than 139 million people online, Brazil ranks among the top five internet populations in the world.

In response to requests from users in countries like Brazil, Google said that Android users everywhere will be able to share documents and other files (.pdf, .docs, .apk, .zip, and mp3) with friends on Allo in group chats.

It also said it is rolling out two new features for Google Photos on Android and iOS to make backup and sharing easier on low connectivity.

&quot;Now your photos will back up automatically in a lightweight preview quality that&#39;s fast on 2G connections and still looks great on a smartphone,&quot; Queiroz said in the blog post announcing the new features.

When a stronger Wi-Fi connection becomes available, backed up photos would be replaced with high-quality versions, he added.

Google also said it was adding a new location sharing feature in Google Maps to allow users to let friends and family know where they were and when they would arrive at their destination. Users can stop sharing that information at any time, Queiroz said.

(Reuters)

The new features will be rolled out to users around the world in the coming days

Google is offering an audio-only option on its Duo video calls service to help users communicate using poor-quality connections. Besides, the company is also adding a feature to permit file sharing in group chats on its Allo messaging app. The company launched Google Duo in August, providing video calls for users on Android and iOS, pitting it against Apple's FaceTime, Microsoft's video-calling app Skype and Facebook's Messenger. Google, owned by Alphabet, said audio-only calls on Duo will be rolled out to users around the world in the coming days. The audio-only calls will work well on all connection speeds and be data efficient, Google Vice President for Product Management Mario Queiroz said in a blog post after he announced the moves at a Google conference in Sao Paulo. With more than 139 million people online, Brazil ranks among the top five internet populations in the world. In response to requests from users in countries like Brazil, Google said that Android users everywhere will be able to share documents and other files (.pdf, .docs, .apk, .zip, and mp3) with friends on Allo in group chats. It also said it is rolling out two new features for Google Photos on Android and iOS to make backup and sharing easier on low connectivity. "Now your photos will back up automatically in a lightweight preview quality that's fast on 2G connections and still looks great on a smartphone," Queiroz said in the blog post announcing the new features. When a stronger Wi-Fi connection becomes available, backed up photos would be replaced with high-quality versions, he added. Google also said it was adding a new location sharing feature in Google Maps to allow users to let friends and family know where they were and when they would arrive at their destination. Users can stop sharing that information at any time, Queiroz said. (Reuters)

Google adds audio-only calls to Duo, file-sharing feature to Allo

Samsung announced that a voice-powered digital assistant named &quot;Bixby&quot; will debut with a flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone, which is set to be unveiled by the South Korean consumer electronics giant on March 29.

Bixby enters a crowded field of digital assistants powered by artificial intelligence that includes Apple&#39;s Siri, Google Assistant, Microsoft Cortana and Amazon&#39;s Alexa.

Samsung said Bixby will focus on letting people control mobile apps with spoken directives. &quot;Bixby will be our first step on a journey to completely open up new ways of interacting with your phone,&quot; Samsung Electronics head of research and development Injong Rhee said in a release.

&quot;Bixby will be a new intelligent interface on our devices.&quot;

A Galaxy S8 smartphone expected to be unveiled next week will have a set of pre-installed applications that will work with Bixby, according to Samsung.

Samsung late last year bought Viv, an artificial intelligence startup with co-founders who were part of the team that built virtual assistant Siri, which Apple bought some seven years ago.

Bixby will differ from digital aides already on the market in ways that include controlling nearly all tasks in applications instead of limited sets, and being flexible when it comes to understanding what users are saying, according to Samsung.

&quot;We do have a bold vision of revolutionizing the human-to-machine interface, but that vision won&#39;t be realized overnight,&quot; Rhee said.

Amazon, Apple, Samsung, Google and Microsoft are all vying to develop the most sophisticated connected assistant - working to give software the ability to understand what people say and even anticipate desires or needs.

Amazon virtual assistant Alexa was a star at the Consumer Electronics Show gadget gala early this year in Las Vegas but faces fierce competition.

Chinese giant Baidu also used the show to showcase virtual assistant &quot;Little Fish&quot; that it was preparing for a debut in China. Microsoft recently bought Maluuba, a Montreal startup focused on making machines able to think the way people do.

(AFP)

&nbsp;

Bixby will compete with Apple's Siri, Google Assistant, Microsoft Cortana and Amazon's Alexa

Samsung announced that a voice-powered digital assistant named "Bixby" will debut with a flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone, which is set to be unveiled by the South Korean consumer electronics giant on March 29. Bixby enters a crowded field of digital assistants powered by artificial intelligence that includes Apple's Siri, Google Assistant, Microsoft Cortana and Amazon's Alexa. Samsung said Bixby will focus on letting people control mobile apps with spoken directives. "Bixby will be our first step on a journey to completely open up new ways of interacting with your phone," Samsung Electronics head of research and development Injong Rhee said in a release. "Bixby will be a new intelligent interface on our devices." A Galaxy S8 smartphone expected to be unveiled next week will have a set of pre-installed applications that will work with Bixby, according to Samsung. Samsung late last year bought Viv, an artificial intelligence startup with co-founders who were part of the team that built virtual assistant Siri, which Apple bought some seven years ago. Bixby will differ from digital aides already on the market in ways that include controlling nearly all tasks in applications instead of limited sets, and being flexible when it comes to understanding what users are saying, according to Samsung. "We do have a bold vision of revolutionizing the human-to-machine interface, but that vision won't be realized overnight," Rhee said. Amazon, Apple, Samsung, Google and Microsoft are all vying to develop the most sophisticated connected assistant - working to give software the ability to understand what people say and even anticipate desires or needs. Amazon virtual assistant Alexa was a star at the Consumer Electronics Show gadget gala early this year in Las Vegas but faces fierce competition. Chinese giant Baidu also used the show to showcase virtual assistant "Little Fish" that it was preparing for a debut in China. Microsoft recently bought Maluuba, a Montreal startup focused on making machines able to think the way people do. (AFP)

Samsung announces new voice-assistant Bixby, to debut with Galaxy S8

Aiming to improve video-watching experience, Google has introduced a new app - Uptime - which lets users watch videos with friends and family.

Initially released for iOS, the app is <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/uptime-watch-videos-together/id1165602747?ls=1&amp;mt=8">available to download for free</a>. Currently, Uptime is an invite-only app.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Say hello to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Uptime?src=hash">#Uptime</a>! Share and watch videos together. Download now from the App Store <a href="https://t.co/Bwo7e4xCgy">https://t.co/Bwo7e4xCgy</a>. 
Use invite code: PIZZA <a href="https://t.co/w9MzqwCibi">pic.twitter.com/w9MzqwCibi</a>
&mdash; Uptime (@uptimeApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/uptimeApp/status/840689484400214016">March 11, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

&ldquo;Uptime is a place to share and watch videos together with friends. Easily share your favourite YouTube video and bring friends together to watch, chat, and have fun,&rdquo; describes the company.

Users can make comments or react with emoji while viewing a video on Uptime, and those reactions will be displayed to other users watching the video.

The app, currently doesn&rsquo;t let users record video or stream live. It only lets users share YouTube videos. It is believed that the the app is more compatible with videos shot in portrait.

Uptime is a brainchild of Area 120, Google&rsquo;s internal incubator.

(WION)

Initially released for iOS, the new video app is available to download for free

Aiming to improve video-watching experience, Google has introduced a new app - Uptime - which lets users watch videos with friends and family. Initially released for iOS, the app is available to download for free. Currently, Uptime is an invite-only app. Say hello to #Uptime! Share and watch videos together. Download now from the App Store https://t.co/Bwo7e4xCgy. Use invite code: PIZZA pic.twitter.com/w9MzqwCibi — Uptime (@uptimeApp) March 11, 2017 × “Uptime is a place to share and watch videos together with friends. Easily share your favourite YouTube video and bring friends together to watch, chat, and have fun,” describes the company. Users can make comments or react with emoji while viewing a video on Uptime, and those reactions will be displayed to other users watching the video. The app, currently doesn’t let users record video or stream live. It only lets users share YouTube videos. It is believed that the the app is more compatible with videos shot in portrait. Uptime is a brainchild of Area 120, Google’s internal incubator. (WION)

Google launches new app to let you watch YouTube videos with your friends

Tech companies must rapidly step up information-sharing to protect users from prying eyes, a security software executive said on Wednesday after WikiLeaks released a trove of data purporting to show that the CIA can hack all manner of devices.

Dozens of firms rushed to contain the damage from possible security weak points following the anti-secrecy organisation&#39;s revelations, although some said they needed far more information on what the US intelligence agency was up to before they could thwart suspected but previously hidden attacks.

Sinan Eren, vice president of Czech anti-virus software maker Avast, called on mobile software makers Apple and Google to supply security firms with privileged access to their devices to offer immediate fixes to known bugs.

&quot;We can prevent attacks in real time if we are given the hooks into the mobile operating system,&quot; Eren said in a phone interview from Silicon Valley, where he is located.

&quot;If we can drive a paradigm shift where mobile platforms don&#39;t shut off access, we&#39;ll be better able to detect when hackers are hiding in a mobile (phone)&quot;, he said.

Avast, which counts more than 400 million users of its anti-virus software worldwide, was named in the WikiLeaks documents as one of the security vendors targeted by the CIA in a leaked page labelled &quot;secret&quot; but lacking further details.

The leaks - which WikiLeaks described as the biggest in the Central Intelligence Agency&#39;s history - had enough technical details for security experts and product vendors to recognise that widespread compromises exist. However, they provided few specifics needed to offer quick fixes.

Reuters could not immediately verify the validity of the published documents, but several contractors and private cyber security experts said the materials appeared to be legitimate. The 8,761 leaked documents list a wealth of security attacks on Apple and Google Android smartphones carried by billions of consumers, as well as top computer operating systems - Windows, Linux and Apple Mac - and six of the world&#39;s main web browsers.

Apple said in a statement that nearly 80 per cent of iPhone users run its current iOS software with the latest security patches. &quot;Many of the issues leaked were already patched in the latest iOS; we will continue work to rapidly address any identified vulnerabilities,&quot; Apple said on Tuesday. The statement made no reference to attacks on its computer software.

Google declined to comment, while a Microsoft spokeswoman said: &quot;We&#39;re aware of the report and are looking into it.&quot; 
Widely-used routers from Silicon Valley-based Cisco were listed as targets, as were those supplied by Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE and Taiwanese supplier Zyxel for their devices used in China and Pakistan.

Cisco security team members said in a blog post that because WikiLeaks has not released any of the actual hacking exploits, &quot;the scope of action that can be taken by Cisco is limited&quot;.

Omar Santos, a principal engineer in Cisco&#39;s security response unit, said malware appears to be targeting whole families of Cisco devices but is designed to remain hidden so as to steal data unnoticed. He said Cisco assumes WikiLeaks will eventually disclose the hacks, allowing it to fix them.

Huawei declined to comment. ZTE and Zyxel were not immediately available to respond.

Stay of execution

Messaging apps protected by full software encryption also appear to be vulnerable to hacking of the smartphones themselves, communications app provider Telegram said in a blog post. But one positive outcome may be that device and software makers will be able to close up these holes, it said.

&quot;This is not an app issue. It is relevant on the level of devices and operating systems like iOS and Android,&quot; Telegram stated, adding: &quot;The good news is that for the moment all of this is irrelevant for the majority of Telegram users. If the CIA is not on your back, you shouldn&#39;t start worrying just yet.&quot;

The WikiLeaks collection contains a mix of copious data and empty files marked &quot;secret&quot; that promised more details to come on attacks against more than 15 security software firms.

US cyber security expert Robert Graham said WikiLeaks provided enough detail to recognise some known vulnerabilities.

&quot;One anti-virus researcher has told me that a virus they once suspected came from the Russians or Chinese can now be attributed to the CIA, as it matches the description perfectly to something in the leak,&quot; Graham said in a blog post.

Some security experts said the CIA&#39;s possible use of tools from other spy agencies raised the risk of false attribution for targeted cyber attacks by the US intelligence agency.&nbsp; He said CIA cyber spying efforts could be set back years.

The CIA and White House declined to comment. &quot;We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents,&quot; CIA spokesman Jonathan Liu said in a statement.

WikiLeaks said it aims to provoke a political and legal debate about the CIA&#39;s cyber arsenal. However, it was holding back, for now, much of the technical documentation that would allow other hackers and cyber criminals to exploit the hacks - while putting vendors on notice to expect further revelations.

The organisation said in a statement it is &quot;avoiding the distribution of &#39;armed&#39; cyber weapons until a consensus emerges on the technical and political nature of the CIA&#39;s program and how such &#39;weapons&#39; should be analysed, disarmed and published&quot;.

It described sophisticated tools for targeting the devices of individual users, in contrast to the revelations by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden of mass data collection on millions of web and phone users worldwide.

(Reuters)

Dozens of tech firms rush to contain the damage from possible security weak points following the anti-secrecy organisation's revelations

Tech companies must rapidly step up information-sharing to protect users from prying eyes, a security software executive said on Wednesday after WikiLeaks released a trove of data purporting to show that the CIA can hack all manner of devices. Dozens of firms rushed to contain the damage from possible security weak points following the anti-secrecy organisation's revelations, although some said they needed far more information on what the US intelligence agency was up to before they could thwart suspected but previously hidden attacks. Sinan Eren, vice president of Czech anti-virus software maker Avast, called on mobile software makers Apple and Google to supply security firms with privileged access to their devices to offer immediate fixes to known bugs. "We can prevent attacks in real time if we are given the hooks into the mobile operating system," Eren said in a phone interview from Silicon Valley, where he is located. "If we can drive a paradigm shift where mobile platforms don't shut off access, we'll be better able to detect when hackers are hiding in a mobile (phone)", he said. Avast, which counts more than 400 million users of its anti-virus software worldwide, was named in the WikiLeaks documents as one of the security vendors targeted by the CIA in a leaked page labelled "secret" but lacking further details. The leaks - which WikiLeaks described as the biggest in the Central Intelligence Agency's history - had enough technical details for security experts and product vendors to recognise that widespread compromises exist. However, they provided few specifics needed to offer quick fixes. Reuters could not immediately verify the validity of the published documents, but several contractors and private cyber security experts said the materials appeared to be legitimate. The 8,761 leaked documents list a wealth of security attacks on Apple and Google Android smartphones carried by billions of consumers, as well as top computer operating systems - Windows, Linux and Apple Mac - and six of the world's main web browsers. Apple said in a statement that nearly 80 per cent of iPhone users run its current iOS software with the latest security patches. "Many of the issues leaked were already patched in the latest iOS; we will continue work to rapidly address any identified vulnerabilities," Apple said on Tuesday. The statement made no reference to attacks on its computer software. Google declined to comment, while a Microsoft spokeswoman said: "We're aware of the report and are looking into it." Widely-used routers from Silicon Valley-based Cisco were listed as targets, as were those supplied by Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE and Taiwanese supplier Zyxel for their devices used in China and Pakistan. Cisco security team members said in a blog post that because WikiLeaks has not released any of the actual hacking exploits, "the scope of action that can be taken by Cisco is limited". Omar Santos, a principal engineer in Cisco's security response unit, said malware appears to be targeting whole families of Cisco devices but is designed to remain hidden so as to steal data unnoticed. He said Cisco assumes WikiLeaks will eventually disclose the hacks, allowing it to fix them. Huawei declined to comment. ZTE and Zyxel were not immediately available to respond. Stay of execution Messaging apps protected by full software encryption also appear to be vulnerable to hacking of the smartphones themselves, communications app provider Telegram said in a blog post. But one positive outcome may be that device and software makers will be able to close up these holes, it said. "This is not an app issue. It is relevant on the level of devices and operating systems like iOS and Android," Telegram stated, adding: "The good news is that for the moment all of this is irrelevant for the majority of Telegram users. If the CIA is not on your back, you shouldn't start worrying just yet." The WikiLeaks collection contains a mix of copious data and empty files marked "secret" that promised more details to come on attacks against more than 15 security software firms. US cyber security expert Robert Graham said WikiLeaks provided enough detail to recognise some known vulnerabilities. "One anti-virus researcher has told me that a virus they once suspected came from the Russians or Chinese can now be attributed to the CIA, as it matches the description perfectly to something in the leak," Graham said in a blog post. Some security experts said the CIA's possible use of tools from other spy agencies raised the risk of false attribution for targeted cyber attacks by the US intelligence agency. He said CIA cyber spying efforts could be set back years. The CIA and White House declined to comment. "We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents," CIA spokesman Jonathan Liu said in a statement. WikiLeaks said it aims to provoke a political and legal debate about the CIA's cyber arsenal. However, it was holding back, for now, much of the technical documentation that would allow other hackers and cyber criminals to exploit the hacks - while putting vendors on notice to expect further revelations. The organisation said in a statement it is "avoiding the distribution of 'armed' cyber weapons until a consensus emerges on the technical and political nature of the CIA's program and how such 'weapons' should be analysed, disarmed and published". It described sophisticated tools for targeting the devices of individual users, in contrast to the revelations by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden of mass data collection on millions of web and phone users worldwide. (Reuters)

WikiLeaks' CIA hacking revelations: How Apple, Google and other tech firms rush to protect user privacy

With the broad release of Google Assistant last week, the voice-assistant wars are in full swing, with Apple, Amazon.com , Microsoft and now Alphabet&#39;s Google all offering electronic assistants to take your commands.

Siri is the oldest of the bunch, and researchers including Oren Etzioni, chief executive officer of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Seattle, said Apple has squandered its lead when it comes to understanding speech and answering questions.

But there is at least one thing Siri can do that the other assistants cannot: speak 21 languages localised for 36 countries, a very important capability in a smartphone market where most sales are outside the United States.

Microsoft Cortana, by contrast, has eight languages tailored for 13 countries. Google&rsquo;s Assistant, which began in its Pixel phone but has moved to other Android devices, speaks four languages. Amazon&#39;s Alexa features only English and German. Siri will even soon start to learn Shanghainese, a special dialect of Wu Chinese spoken only around Shanghai.

The language issue shows the type of hurdle that digital assistants still need to clear if they are to become ubiquitous tools for operating smartphones and other devices.

Speaking languages natively is complicated for any assistant. If someone asks for a football score in Britain, for example, even though the language is English, the assistant must know to say &ldquo;two-nil&rdquo; instead of &ldquo;two-nothing.&rdquo;

At Microsoft, an editorial team of 29 people works to customise Cortana for local markets. In Mexico, for example, a published children&rsquo;s book author writes Cortana&rsquo;s lines to stand out from other Spanish-speaking countries. 
&nbsp; 
&ldquo;They really pride themselves on what&rsquo;s truly Mexican. (Cortana) has a lot of answers that are clever and funny and have to do with what it means to be Mexican,&rdquo; said Jonathan Foster, who heads the team of writers at Microsoft.

Google and Amazon said they plan to bring more languages to their assistants but declined to comment further. At Apple, the company starts working on a new language by bringing in humans to read passages in a range of accents and dialects, which are then transcribed by hand so the computer has an exact representation of the spoken text to learn from, said Alex Acero, head of the speech team at Apple. Apple also captures a range of sounds in a variety of voices. From there, a language model is built that tries to predict words sequences.

Then Apple deploys &ldquo;dictation mode,&rdquo; its text-to-speech translator, in the new language, Acero said. When customers use dictation mode, Apple captures a small percentage of the audio recordings and makes them anonymous. The recordings, complete with background noise and mumbled words, are transcribed by humans, a process that helps cut the speech recognition error rate in half.

After enough data has been gathered and a voice actor has been recorded to play Siri in a new language, Siri is released with answers to what Apple estimates will be the most common questions, Acero said. Once released, Siri learns more about what real-world users ask and is updated every two weeks with more tweaks.

But script-writing does not scale, said Charles Jolley, creator of an intelligent assistant named Ozlo. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t hire enough writers to come up with the system you&rsquo;d need in every language. You have to synthesize the answers,&rdquo; he said. That is years off, he said.

The founders of Viv, a startup founded by Siri&#39;s original creators that Samsung acquired last year, is working on just that. &quot;Viv was built to specifically address the scaling issue for intelligent assistants,&quot; said Dag Kittlaus, the CEO and co-founder of Viv. &quot;The only way to leapfrog today&#39;s limited functionality versions is to open the system up and let the world teach them.&quot;

(Reuters)

&nbsp;

Siri can speak 21 languages localised for 36 countries

With the broad release of Google Assistant last week, the voice-assistant wars are in full swing, with Apple, Amazon.com , Microsoft and now Alphabet's Google all offering electronic assistants to take your commands. Siri is the oldest of the bunch, and researchers including Oren Etzioni, chief executive officer of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Seattle, said Apple has squandered its lead when it comes to understanding speech and answering questions. But there is at least one thing Siri can do that the other assistants cannot: speak 21 languages localised for 36 countries, a very important capability in a smartphone market where most sales are outside the United States. Microsoft Cortana, by contrast, has eight languages tailored for 13 countries. Google’s Assistant, which began in its Pixel phone but has moved to other Android devices, speaks four languages. Amazon's Alexa features only English and German. Siri will even soon start to learn Shanghainese, a special dialect of Wu Chinese spoken only around Shanghai. The language issue shows the type of hurdle that digital assistants still need to clear if they are to become ubiquitous tools for operating smartphones and other devices. Speaking languages natively is complicated for any assistant. If someone asks for a football score in Britain, for example, even though the language is English, the assistant must know to say “two-nil” instead of “two-nothing.” At Microsoft, an editorial team of 29 people works to customise Cortana for local markets. In Mexico, for example, a published children’s book author writes Cortana’s lines to stand out from other Spanish-speaking countries. “They really pride themselves on what’s truly Mexican. (Cortana) has a lot of answers that are clever and funny and have to do with what it means to be Mexican,” said Jonathan Foster, who heads the team of writers at Microsoft. Google and Amazon said they plan to bring more languages to their assistants but declined to comment further. At Apple, the company starts working on a new language by bringing in humans to read passages in a range of accents and dialects, which are then transcribed by hand so the computer has an exact representation of the spoken text to learn from, said Alex Acero, head of the speech team at Apple. Apple also captures a range of sounds in a variety of voices. From there, a language model is built that tries to predict words sequences. Then Apple deploys “dictation mode,” its text-to-speech translator, in the new language, Acero said. When customers use dictation mode, Apple captures a small percentage of the audio recordings and makes them anonymous. The recordings, complete with background noise and mumbled words, are transcribed by humans, a process that helps cut the speech recognition error rate in half. After enough data has been gathered and a voice actor has been recorded to play Siri in a new language, Siri is released with answers to what Apple estimates will be the most common questions, Acero said. Once released, Siri learns more about what real-world users ask and is updated every two weeks with more tweaks. But script-writing does not scale, said Charles Jolley, creator of an intelligent assistant named Ozlo. “You can’t hire enough writers to come up with the system you’d need in every language. You have to synthesize the answers,” he said. That is years off, he said. The founders of Viv, a startup founded by Siri's original creators that Samsung acquired last year, is working on just that. "Viv was built to specifically address the scaling issue for intelligent assistants," said Dag Kittlaus, the CEO and co-founder of Viv. "The only way to leapfrog today's limited functionality versions is to open the system up and let the world teach them." (Reuters)

Apple's Siri learns Shanghainese as voice assistants race to cover languages

In a direct challenge by the Google-owned network to traditional cable and pay TV, YouTube has unveiled a streaming television service offering bundles of live channels.

YouTube TV is tailored for younger generations seeking news, films and more programs without subscribing to cable or satellite service, according to YouTube chief executive Susan Wojcicki.

The new service will allow subscribers in US markets to get access on any connected device to networks such as ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, along with &quot;sports networks and dozens of popular cable networks,&quot; according to YouTube.

Set to launch in coming months, YouTube TV will cost $35 monthly, with six user accounts allowed per subscriber, positioning itself to compete against so-called &quot;skinny bundles&quot; from Dish Network&#39;s Sling TV and AT&amp;T&#39;s DirecTV Now.

&quot;YouTube TV is designed specifically for the needs of a new generation of TV fans who want to watch what they want, when they want, how they want without commitment,&quot; Wojcicki said during a press briefing streamed from YouTube offices in Southern California.

YouTube TV will also combine user-created content from the Google-owned online video sharing service, with delivery customized for viewing screens from smartphones to big-screen televisions.

The service will launch first in major US markets where local television content can be provided, with YouTube working to quickly expand availability, according to Wojcicki.

YouTube TV will also allow limitless recording of shows on servers hosted in the internet cloud, so they can be saved for streamed viewing when convenient.

YouTube TV will be accessible on internet-linked mobile devices, and can be streamed to television screens using Google Chromecast.

YouTube certainly has the online video muscle to push a television service, but will also need focus, according to analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group.

&quot;At the end of the day, I think this is going to come down to Google&#39;s ability to maintain attention,&quot; Enderle said of YouTube TV&#39;s prospects.

&quot;Which is huge, because it seems at times that Google has the attention span of a 4-year-old on sugar.&quot;

TV channels changing

The complexity of licensing content from television or film studios has been a longtime bane for online streaming services that want to provide popular content while avoiding accusations of piracy.

&quot;We&#39;ve been on a 10 year journey with all the content providers, from being sued by quite a few around the world to embracing fingerprinting technology,&quot; YouTube chief business officer Robert Kyncl said.

&quot;We&#39;ve evolved our relationships with media companies all around the world to incredibly constructive ones.&quot; YouTube a while back implemented technology that &quot;fingerprints&quot; copyrighted shows or films so software can automatically identify unauthorized uploads to the service.

YouTube TV is also making its debut as the television industry sees a trend toward &quot;skinny bundles&quot; in which people opt for preferred selections of channels instead of paying big fees to cable providers for myriad channels, many of which they don&#39;t really want.

The pending mega-merger of AT&amp;T and Time Warner has been billed by the head of the US telecommunications giant as a way to &quot;make a different kind of competitor in the ecosystem.&quot;

At a prestigious WSJD Live conference in California late last year, AT&amp;T chief executive Randall Stephenson said that a goal of the merger is to create a competitor to cable service, and depicted a not-to-distant future in which set-top boxes are obsolete because viewers get their content directly from the internet.

He buttressed his point by highlighting a new AT&amp;T DirecTV Now streaming service in the US that costs $35 monthly, comes with unlimited streaming to mobile devices, and boasts more than 100 channels.

Along with its free videos, YouTube has a Red subscription service priced at $10 monthly. Netflix and Amazon Prime are ramping up how much they spend on original shows, investing billions of dollars in content.

Sony last year expanded its PlayStation Vue internet-based television service to the entire US market, with an aimed of luring consumers away from cable subscriptions.

The PlayStation Vue offers streamlined &quot;bundles&quot; for as little as $30 a month without long-term contracts. 
&quot;The difficult part about getting cord-cutters is getting all the channels they want,&quot; Enderle said, referring to video viewers who sever cable services in favour of watching content on the internet.

&quot;Global distribution is a nightmare; the cable companies have the networks pretty locked up right now.&quot;

(AFP)

Set to launch in coming months, YouTube TV will cost $35 monthly

In a direct challenge by the Google-owned network to traditional cable and pay TV, YouTube has unveiled a streaming television service offering bundles of live channels. YouTube TV is tailored for younger generations seeking news, films and more programs without subscribing to cable or satellite service, according to YouTube chief executive Susan Wojcicki. The new service will allow subscribers in US markets to get access on any connected device to networks such as ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, along with "sports networks and dozens of popular cable networks," according to YouTube. Set to launch in coming months, YouTube TV will cost $35 monthly, with six user accounts allowed per subscriber, positioning itself to compete against so-called "skinny bundles" from Dish Network's Sling TV and AT&T's DirecTV Now. "YouTube TV is designed specifically for the needs of a new generation of TV fans who want to watch what they want, when they want, how they want without commitment," Wojcicki said during a press briefing streamed from YouTube offices in Southern California. YouTube TV will also combine user-created content from the Google-owned online video sharing service, with delivery customized for viewing screens from smartphones to big-screen televisions. The service will launch first in major US markets where local television content can be provided, with YouTube working to quickly expand availability, according to Wojcicki. YouTube TV will also allow limitless recording of shows on servers hosted in the internet cloud, so they can be saved for streamed viewing when convenient. YouTube TV will be accessible on internet-linked mobile devices, and can be streamed to television screens using Google Chromecast. YouTube certainly has the online video muscle to push a television service, but will also need focus, according to analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group. "At the end of the day, I think this is going to come down to Google's ability to maintain attention," Enderle said of YouTube TV's prospects. "Which is huge, because it seems at times that Google has the attention span of a 4-year-old on sugar." TV channels changing The complexity of licensing content from television or film studios has been a longtime bane for online streaming services that want to provide popular content while avoiding accusations of piracy. "We've been on a 10 year journey with all the content providers, from being sued by quite a few around the world to embracing fingerprinting technology," YouTube chief business officer Robert Kyncl said. "We've evolved our relationships with media companies all around the world to incredibly constructive ones." YouTube a while back implemented technology that "fingerprints" copyrighted shows or films so software can automatically identify unauthorized uploads to the service. YouTube TV is also making its debut as the television industry sees a trend toward "skinny bundles" in which people opt for preferred selections of channels instead of paying big fees to cable providers for myriad channels, many of which they don't really want. The pending mega-merger of AT&T and Time Warner has been billed by the head of the US telecommunications giant as a way to "make a different kind of competitor in the ecosystem." At a prestigious WSJD Live conference in California late last year, AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson said that a goal of the merger is to create a competitor to cable service, and depicted a not-to-distant future in which set-top boxes are obsolete because viewers get their content directly from the internet. He buttressed his point by highlighting a new AT&T DirecTV Now streaming service in the US that costs $35 monthly, comes with unlimited streaming to mobile devices, and boasts more than 100 channels. Along with its free videos, YouTube has a Red subscription service priced at $10 monthly. Netflix and Amazon Prime are ramping up how much they spend on original shows, investing billions of dollars in content. Sony last year expanded its PlayStation Vue internet-based television service to the entire US market, with an aimed of luring consumers away from cable subscriptions. The PlayStation Vue offers streamlined "bundles" for as little as $30 a month without long-term contracts. "The difficult part about getting cord-cutters is getting all the channels they want," Enderle said, referring to video viewers who sever cable services in favour of watching content on the internet. "Global distribution is a nightmare; the cable companies have the networks pretty locked up right now." (AFP)

YouTube TV: Google challenges cable TV with its new streaming service

Alphabet Inc&#39;s Google and its subsidiary Jigsaw unveiled a new technology that will make the task of finding out who is posting abusive comments online easy.&nbsp;

The technology, called Perspective, will come in handy for news organisations and online platforms in finding the identity of those who post such comments. The technology will review comments and score them based on how similar thaey are to comments people termed as &quot;toxic&quot; or likely to make them leave a conversation.

The technology has been tested on New York Times and the companies hope to extend it to other organisations such as The Guardian and The Economist as well.

&quot;News organisations want to encourage engagement and discussion around their content, but find that sorting through millions of comments to find those that are trolling or abusive takes a lot of money, labour, and time. As a result, many sites have shut down comments altogether,&quot; Jared Cohen, President of Jigsaw, which is part of Alphabet, wrote in a blog post.

&quot;But they tell us that isn&rsquo;t the solution they want. We think technology can help,&quot; the blog post added.

Perspective reviewed comments posted by viewers online that was termed as abusive to understand how to spot potentially malicious comments. &nbsp;

Jigsaw product manager, CJ Adams, said the company was open to rolling out the technology to all platforms including Facebook and Twitter, where trolling is a major concern.&nbsp;

Perspective will not decide what to do with the commenst. The decision will rest with the publishers either to flag them or develop tools to help commenters understand the impact of theior writing.&nbsp;

Cohen said a significant portion of abusive comments came from people who were &quot;just having a bad day&quot;.

Facebook and Twitter are grappling with the menace of fake news in France, Germany and the United States. The social media platforms came under criticism for pushing fake news without any checks especially as it had a significant impact on the US presidential election. This has sparked a worldwide debate on holding the social media websites responsible for the content they host.

Jigsaw is offering the product free to publishers. It also hopes to support languages other than English soon, Cohen said. However, he said that the technology is new and could misinterpret sarcasm but it will improve soon.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from Reuters) 
&nbsp;

The technology, called Perspective, has been tested on New York Times and the companies hope to extend it to other organisations

Alphabet Inc's Google and its subsidiary Jigsaw unveiled a new technology that will make the task of finding out who is posting abusive comments online easy. The technology, called Perspective, will come in handy for news organisations and online platforms in finding the identity of those who post such comments. The technology will review comments and score them based on how similar thaey are to comments people termed as "toxic" or likely to make them leave a conversation. The technology has been tested on New York Times and the companies hope to extend it to other organisations such as The Guardian and The Economist as well. "News organisations want to encourage engagement and discussion around their content, but find that sorting through millions of comments to find those that are trolling or abusive takes a lot of money, labour, and time. As a result, many sites have shut down comments altogether," Jared Cohen, President of Jigsaw, which is part of Alphabet, wrote in a blog post. "But they tell us that isn’t the solution they want. We think technology can help," the blog post added. Perspective reviewed comments posted by viewers online that was termed as abusive to understand how to spot potentially malicious comments. Jigsaw product manager, CJ Adams, said the company was open to rolling out the technology to all platforms including Facebook and Twitter, where trolling is a major concern. Perspective will not decide what to do with the commenst. The decision will rest with the publishers either to flag them or develop tools to help commenters understand the impact of theior writing. Cohen said a significant portion of abusive comments came from people who were "just having a bad day". Facebook and Twitter are grappling with the menace of fake news in France, Germany and the United States. The social media platforms came under criticism for pushing fake news without any checks especially as it had a significant impact on the US presidential election. This has sparked a worldwide debate on holding the social media websites responsible for the content they host. Jigsaw is offering the product free to publishers. It also hopes to support languages other than English soon, Cohen said. However, he said that the technology is new and could misinterpret sarcasm but it will improve soon. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

New technology from Google to help identify trolls

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has won many hearts by replying to a letter sent by a 7-year-old girl asking for a job at Google. Chloe Bridgewater, in a handwritten letter to the &ldquo;Google boss&rdquo;, mentioned her interests and some adorable reasons she thought could get her a job at Google.

&ldquo;My dad said I can sit on bean bags, go down slides and ride go karts in a job in Google. I like computers too and have a tablet I play games on,&rdquo; <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6237725562237001728/">she scribbled in the letter, which was shared by her father Andy Bridgewater in a LinkedIn post</a>.

Here&rsquo;s the full letter addressed to Sundar Pichai:

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7-year-old writes a handwritten letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai. (WION)
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In what came as an unexpected move, Sundar Pichai replied to the girl with encouraging words and suggested her to formally apply for a job at Google when she grows up.

&quot;Thank you so much for your letter. I&#39;m glad that you like computers and robots, and hope that you will continue to learn about technology. I think that if you keep working hard and following your dreams, you can accomplish everything that you set your mind to - from working at Google to swimming in the Olympics. I look forward to receiving your job application when you are finished with school! :) All the best to you and your family,&rdquo; responded Pichai.

The full letter from Pichai is embedded below:

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Google CEO Sundar Pichai&#39;s reply to a job application filed by a 7-year-old. (WION)
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Both the letters were later shared by the girl&rsquo;s father in LinkedIn posts <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6237725562237001728/">[1]</a><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6236942567154556928/">[2]</a>. In one of the posts, her father explained as to what intrigued Chloe in working with Google and how the reply from Pichai boosted her confidence.

&ldquo;After seeing images of Google offices with their bean bags, go karts and slides, my 7 year old daughter decided to write to Google to see if they would give her a job. She lost a great deal of confidence after being knocked down by a car a couple of years ago. However, to say she is delighted after receiving this letter signed by Sundar Pichai himself is an understatement. She is now even more eager to do well at school and work for Google. Can&#39;t thank such a busy person enough to take time out to make a little girl&#39;s dream become one step closer, although not sure she&#39;s fully aware that it&#39;ll take more than riding go karts and sleeping in pods to make it with Google!,&rdquo; wrote the girl&rsquo;s father.

(WION)

This handwritten job application by a 7-year-old girl is something that can make your day

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has won many hearts by replying to a letter sent by a 7-year-old girl asking for a job at Google. Chloe Bridgewater, in a handwritten letter to the “Google boss”, mentioned her interests and some adorable reasons she thought could get her a job at Google. “My dad said I can sit on bean bags, go down slides and ride go karts in a job in Google. I like computers too and have a tablet I play games on,” she scribbled in the letter, which was shared by her father Andy Bridgewater in a LinkedIn post. Here’s the full letter addressed to Sundar Pichai: 7-year-old writes a handwritten letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai. (WION) × In what came as an unexpected move, Sundar Pichai replied to the girl with encouraging words and suggested her to formally apply for a job at Google when she grows up. "Thank you so much for your letter. I'm glad that you like computers and robots, and hope that you will continue to learn about technology. I think that if you keep working hard and following your dreams, you can accomplish everything that you set your mind to - from working at Google to swimming in the Olympics. I look forward to receiving your job application when you are finished with school! :) All the best to you and your family,” responded Pichai. The full letter from Pichai is embedded below: Google CEO Sundar Pichai's reply to a job application filed by a 7-year-old. (WION) × Both the letters were later shared by the girl’s father in LinkedIn posts [1][2]. In one of the posts, her father explained as to what intrigued Chloe in working with Google and how the reply from Pichai boosted her confidence. “After seeing images of Google offices with their bean bags, go karts and slides, my 7 year old daughter decided to write to Google to see if they would give her a job. She lost a great deal of confidence after being knocked down by a car a couple of years ago. However, to say she is delighted after receiving this letter signed by Sundar Pichai himself is an understatement. She is now even more eager to do well at school and work for Google. Can't thank such a busy person enough to take time out to make a little girl's dream become one step closer, although not sure she's fully aware that it'll take more than riding go karts and sleeping in pods to make it with Google!,” wrote the girl’s father. (WION)

Google CEO Sundar Pichai responds to job application by a 7-year-old

With VR taking a major role in the education sector, we found the ways in which VR is immensely helpful for better learning.

Virtual Reality has matured a lot since it’s inception and it seems like it has no intentions of stopping in further development. And people have realized the impact it is having, so much so that people have started taking advantage of it in the education sector. With the implementation of mobiles, tablets and various learning applications that have been made available to students these days, the latest is VR in immersive learning, and it changing the education sector for the better: Inspires Learning Virtual Reality can help merge the line of difference between education and technology. It can help students explore and learn. VR brings interactiveness in education to a whole new level, which the old methods could not. Role of Virtual Reality in Education (Others) × VR with the help of educational but fun games will help students retain their imagination. It also offers students to work together thereby promoting team-building. An Interactive Teaching-Learning Environment With the help of VR, teachers can take lectures from home or other environments. It gives them an opportunity to show the students various artifacts from around the world which they otherwise may not be able to visit and see. Some of the schools in rural areas have started to utilize VR technology, to provide their students with top class education even when they are not able to bring in teachers with high qualifications to teach. For instance, a school can get pre-recorded lessons from highly qualified teachers. The interactive session allowed the teacher to come live from her computer to answer the questions that the students were curious about. Education is more Engaging VR helps the educators to add a more interactive way of teaching in their establishments. This will help them make subjects which the students feel are difficult easy for them with the help of subject based games. Role of Virtual Reality in Education (Others) × In the recent times, companies like Google have made huge efforts to push VR in education by getting engaging educational games and lessons provided in their databases. Helps Students Perform better There are many benefits of VR to Educational Sector, one of which is that the students will be more attentive and engaged while playing educational games, getting virtual lectures, etc. This will aid them in retaining what they have learned at a greater level, which will inturn help them perform better. Conclusion With the implementation of VR in education, there are chances of students getting better grades and get equal level of knowledge from highly qualified educators. This will also help improve kids attention spans and also help them develop their imagination. Written By - Karanveer Singh Arora

Role of Virtual Reality in Education

Taking on Facebook Live, Alphabet&#39;s YouTube has rolled out a new feature that allows YouTube users with more than 10,000 subscribers to live stream from mobile devices. YouTube will roll out the new feature for other contributors soon.

&quot;Mobile live streaming has been built directly into the YouTube mobile app. All you have to do to start streaming is open YouTube, hit the capture button, and you&rsquo;re live,&quot; says YouTube in a blog post.

Streamed videos will have all the same features as regular YouTube videos. They can be searched for, found via recommendations or playlists, and protected from unauthorised use.
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Besides, YouTube has also launched Super Chat, another new feature that allows users to highlight their messages for a fee. The Super Chat feature lets any fan watching a live stream stand out from the crowd and get the creator&#39;s attention by purchasing chat messages that are highlighted in bright colours and stay pinned to the top of the chat window for up to five hours.

This new monetisation tool (available to creators in more than 20 countries and viewers in more than 40 countries) will help creators earn revenue from live streaming. &quot;Super Chat is like paying for that front-row seat in the digital age,&quot; says YouTube.

Live video is becoming a highly competitive feature on social platforms, with companies competing to stream major sports events and exclusive videos from high-profile events such as the Oscar and Grammy awards shows.

While YouTube started supporting live streaming on its website since 2011, Facebook Live, which offers streaming video in real time, was launched in 2015.

Twitter started allowing live broadcasts from its mobile app last year.

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

&nbsp;

Streamed videos will have all the same features as regular YouTube videos

Taking on Facebook Live, Alphabet's YouTube has rolled out a new feature that allows YouTube users with more than 10,000 subscribers to live stream from mobile devices. YouTube will roll out the new feature for other contributors soon. "Mobile live streaming has been built directly into the YouTube mobile app. All you have to do to start streaming is open YouTube, hit the capture button, and you’re live," says YouTube in a blog post. Streamed videos will have all the same features as regular YouTube videos. They can be searched for, found via recommendations or playlists, and protected from unauthorised use. Besides, YouTube has also launched Super Chat, another new feature that allows users to highlight their messages for a fee. The Super Chat feature lets any fan watching a live stream stand out from the crowd and get the creator's attention by purchasing chat messages that are highlighted in bright colours and stay pinned to the top of the chat window for up to five hours. This new monetisation tool (available to creators in more than 20 countries and viewers in more than 40 countries) will help creators earn revenue from live streaming. "Super Chat is like paying for that front-row seat in the digital age," says YouTube. Live video is becoming a highly competitive feature on social platforms, with companies competing to stream major sports events and exclusive videos from high-profile events such as the Oscar and Grammy awards shows. While YouTube started supporting live streaming on its website since 2011, Facebook Live, which offers streaming video in real time, was launched in 2015. Twitter started allowing live broadcasts from its mobile app last year. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

YouTube now lets users live stream from mobile

Facebook and Google joined forces with news organisations on Monday to launch new fact-checking tools designed to root out &quot;fake news&quot; stories in France ahead of the country&#39;s presidential election.

Social networks and news aggregators came under fire during the US&nbsp;presidential vote when it became clear they had inadvertently fanned false news reports.

Facebook&nbsp;said it would work with eight French news organisations, including news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), news channel BFM TV, and newspapers L&#39;Express and Le Monde to minimise the risk that false news appeared on its platform.

Facebook, the world&#39;s biggest social network, has 24 million users in France, more than a third of the country&#39;s population. It will rely on users to flag fake news on its network so that the articles can then by fact-checked by its partner organisations.

Any news report deemed to be fake by two of its partners would then be tagged with an icon to show that the content is contested, Facebook said.

Facebook is also supporting a separate initiative launched by Google dubbed &quot;CrossCheck&quot; which calls on users to submit links to contested content to a dedicated website so that it can be investigated.

Seventeen French newsrooms have joined the project, including AFP and the French public national television broadcaster.

Facebook is also taking steps against fake news in Germany, where government officials have expressed concerns that false stories and hate speech online could influence a federal election in September in which chancellor Angela Merkel will seek a fourth term in office.

In the United States, Facebook has said users would in future find it easier to flag fake articles as a hoax&nbsp;and added that it will work with organisations such as fact-checking website Snopes, ABC News and the Associated Press to check the authenticity of stories.

(Reuters)

The move comes in after social networks and news agencies came under fire during US elections for unwittingly fanning false news reports

Facebook and Google joined forces with news organisations on Monday to launch new fact-checking tools designed to root out "fake news" stories in France ahead of the country's presidential election. Social networks and news aggregators came under fire during the US presidential vote when it became clear they had inadvertently fanned false news reports. Facebook said it would work with eight French news organisations, including news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), news channel BFM TV, and newspapers L'Express and Le Monde to minimise the risk that false news appeared on its platform. Facebook, the world's biggest social network, has 24 million users in France, more than a third of the country's population. It will rely on users to flag fake news on its network so that the articles can then by fact-checked by its partner organisations. Any news report deemed to be fake by two of its partners would then be tagged with an icon to show that the content is contested, Facebook said. Facebook is also supporting a separate initiative launched by Google dubbed "CrossCheck" which calls on users to submit links to contested content to a dedicated website so that it can be investigated. Seventeen French newsrooms have joined the project, including AFP and the French public national television broadcaster. Facebook is also taking steps against fake news in Germany, where government officials have expressed concerns that false stories and hate speech online could influence a federal election in September in which chancellor Angela Merkel will seek a fourth term in office. In the United States, Facebook has said users would in future find it easier to flag fake articles as a hoax and added that it will work with organisations such as fact-checking website Snopes, ABC News and the Associated Press to check the authenticity of stories. (Reuters)

Facebook, Google join drive against fake news in France ahead of Presidential elections

Several technology giants, including Apple, Google and Microsoft have banded together to file a legal brief opposing President Donald Trump&#39;s temporary immigration ban, arguing that it &quot;inflicts significant harm on American business.&quot;

The brief, filed in the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, included other top tech firms including Facebook, Twitter and Intel, as well as non-tech companies such as Levi Strauss and Chobani. In all nearly 100 firms, including eBay, Netflix and Uber signed onto the brief.

Trump&#39;s temporary immigration ban, the most contentious policy move of his first two weeks in offices, faces crucial legal hurdles.

His administration has a deadline on Monday to justify the executive order temporarily barring immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries and the entry of refugees, after a federal judge in Seattle blocked it with a temporary restraining order on Friday.

&quot;The Order represents a significant departure from the principles of fairness and predictability that have governed the immigration system of the United States for more than fifty years,&quot; the brief stated.

&quot;The Order inflicts significant harm on American business, innovation, and growth as a result,&quot; it added.

&quot;Immigrants or their children founded more than 200 of the companies on the Fortune 500 list.&quot;

US tech firms have been among the more vocal sectors speaking out against the policy, with many of its staff made up of foreign-born nationals.

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco over the weekend denied the Trump administration&#39;s request for an immediate stay of the federal judge&#39;s temporary restraining order that blocked nationwide the implementation of key parts of the travel ban.

But the court said it would reconsider the government&#39;s request after receiving more information.

 
(Reuters)

On January 27, Trump had issued an order imposing a 90-day ban affecting citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria & Yemen

Several technology giants, including Apple, Google and Microsoft have banded together to file a legal brief opposing President Donald Trump's temporary immigration ban, arguing that it "inflicts significant harm on American business." The brief, filed in the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, included other top tech firms including Facebook, Twitter and Intel, as well as non-tech companies such as Levi Strauss and Chobani. In all nearly 100 firms, including eBay, Netflix and Uber signed onto the brief. Trump's temporary immigration ban, the most contentious policy move of his first two weeks in offices, faces crucial legal hurdles. His administration has a deadline on Monday to justify the executive order temporarily barring immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries and the entry of refugees, after a federal judge in Seattle blocked it with a temporary restraining order on Friday. "The Order represents a significant departure from the principles of fairness and predictability that have governed the immigration system of the United States for more than fifty years," the brief stated. "The Order inflicts significant harm on American business, innovation, and growth as a result," it added. "Immigrants or their children founded more than 200 of the companies on the Fortune 500 list." US tech firms have been among the more vocal sectors speaking out against the policy, with many of its staff made up of foreign-born nationals. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco over the weekend denied the Trump administration's request for an immediate stay of the federal judge's temporary restraining order that blocked nationwide the implementation of key parts of the travel ban. But the court said it would reconsider the government's request after receiving more information. (Reuters)

Apple, Facebook and other tech giants to urge Trump to alter US travel ban

Google&#39;s India-born CEO Sundar Pichai has criticised President Donald Trump&#39;s controversial immigration order against people from seven Muslim-majority countries, saying it will create &quot;barriers&quot; to bringing great talent to the US, as the Internet search giant ordered its travelling staff to return to America.

Pichai in an email to staff said the US ban on foreign nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries will hit at least 187 Google employees.

&quot;We&#39;re upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US,&quot; the Wall Street Journal quoted Pichai as saying in the email.

&quot;It is painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues,&quot; he said.

Google has recalled around 100 of its affected staff from overseas, the BBC reported.

President Trump ordered &quot;extreme vetting&quot; of people entering the US from seven Muslim-majority countries and banned the entry of Syrian refugees until further notice, as part of new measures to &quot;keep radical Islamic terrorists&quot; out of America.&nbsp;The countries impacted are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.

The controversial move, signed a week after he was sworn in as the president, fulfills the vow Trump made on the campaign trail to limit Muslim immigration to the US.

In his message to employees, 44-year-old Pichai, who grew up in India, suggested that at least 187 employees hailed from countries included in the ban.

&quot;Our first order of business is to help Googlers who are affected,&quot; he said. &quot;If you&#39;re abroad and need help please reach out to our global security team.&quot; &nbsp;&quot;We wouldn&#39;t wish this fear and uncertainty on anyone and especially not our fellow Googlers,&quot; Pichai wrote:&nbsp;&quot;In times of uncertainty, our values remain the best guide.&quot;

Immigrants make up much of the workforce in Silicon Valley, including many executive roles, and the tech industry has long advocated for more open immigration laws in the US, saying they need more skilled foreigners to fill technical jobs.&nbsp;The new restrictions will have a major impact on American technology companies that hire skilled staff from all over the world on special H1-B visas, mostly used by Indian IT firms.

&quot;There have already been reports of green card holders, who are allowed to work in the US, being prevented from getting on flights. However, green cards are not specifically mentioned in the executive order,&quot; the Wall Street Journal said.

Microsoft has also warned its shareholders that curbs on immigration could have a material impact on its business.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also criticised Trump&#39;s decision to severely limit immigrants and refugees from certain Muslim-majority countries, saying America is a nation of immigrants and should be proud of it.

&quot;Like many of you, I&#39;m concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump,&quot; Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page. &nbsp;&quot;Like many of you, I&#39;m concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump,&quot; Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page. &quot;We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat ... We should also keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help. That&#39;s who we are. Had we turned away refugees a few decades ago, Priscilla&#39;s family wouldn&#39;t be here today,&quot; he wrote of his wife, Priscilla Chan, whose family were refugees from China and Vietnam.

&quot;These issues are personal for me even beyond my family. A few years ago, I taught a class at a local middle school where some of my best students were undocumented. They are our future too. We are a nation of immigrants, and we all benefit when the best and brightest from around the world can live, work and contribute here. I hope we find the courage and compassion to bring people together and make this world a better place for everyone,&quot; he said.

&quot;Expanding the focus of law enforcement beyond people who are real threats would make all Americans less safe by diverting resources, while millions of undocumented folks who don&#39;t pose a threat will live in fear of deportation,&quot; he said.

Zuckerberg also prodded Trump to stand by earlier statements regarding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) and H1-B visas, which are of particular concern to tech companies that use the visas to hire talent from overseas. 
&nbsp;

(PTI)

Google has reportedly recalled 100 of its affected staff from overseas, according to the BBC

Google's India-born CEO Sundar Pichai has criticised President Donald Trump's controversial immigration order against people from seven Muslim-majority countries, saying it will create "barriers" to bringing great talent to the US, as the Internet search giant ordered its travelling staff to return to America. Pichai in an email to staff said the US ban on foreign nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries will hit at least 187 Google employees. "We're upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US," the Wall Street Journal quoted Pichai as saying in the email. "It is painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues," he said. Google has recalled around 100 of its affected staff from overseas, the BBC reported. President Trump ordered "extreme vetting" of people entering the US from seven Muslim-majority countries and banned the entry of Syrian refugees until further notice, as part of new measures to "keep radical Islamic terrorists" out of America. The countries impacted are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. The controversial move, signed a week after he was sworn in as the president, fulfills the vow Trump made on the campaign trail to limit Muslim immigration to the US. In his message to employees, 44-year-old Pichai, who grew up in India, suggested that at least 187 employees hailed from countries included in the ban. "Our first order of business is to help Googlers who are affected," he said. "If you're abroad and need help please reach out to our global security team." "We wouldn't wish this fear and uncertainty on anyone and especially not our fellow Googlers," Pichai wrote: "In times of uncertainty, our values remain the best guide." Immigrants make up much of the workforce in Silicon Valley, including many executive roles, and the tech industry has long advocated for more open immigration laws in the US, saying they need more skilled foreigners to fill technical jobs. The new restrictions will have a major impact on American technology companies that hire skilled staff from all over the world on special H1-B visas, mostly used by Indian IT firms. "There have already been reports of green card holders, who are allowed to work in the US, being prevented from getting on flights. However, green cards are not specifically mentioned in the executive order," the Wall Street Journal said. Microsoft has also warned its shareholders that curbs on immigration could have a material impact on its business. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also criticised Trump's decision to severely limit immigrants and refugees from certain Muslim-majority countries, saying America is a nation of immigrants and should be proud of it. "Like many of you, I'm concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump," Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page. "Like many of you, I'm concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump," Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page. "We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat ... We should also keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help. That's who we are. Had we turned away refugees a few decades ago, Priscilla's family wouldn't be here today," he wrote of his wife, Priscilla Chan, whose family were refugees from China and Vietnam. "These issues are personal for me even beyond my family. A few years ago, I taught a class at a local middle school where some of my best students were undocumented. They are our future too. We are a nation of immigrants, and we all benefit when the best and brightest from around the world can live, work and contribute here. I hope we find the courage and compassion to bring people together and make this world a better place for everyone," he said. "Expanding the focus of law enforcement beyond people who are real threats would make all Americans less safe by diverting resources, while millions of undocumented folks who don't pose a threat will live in fear of deportation," he said. Zuckerberg also prodded Trump to stand by earlier statements regarding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) and H1-B visas, which are of particular concern to tech companies that use the visas to hire talent from overseas. (PTI)

Google's Pichai, Facebook founder Zuckerberg criticise Trump's immigration order

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai who is in New Delhi currently, launched &#39;Digital Unlocked&#39;, a training program to empower small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India to enable them to bring their businesses online.

He was addressing a gathering of SMBs entrepreneurs in the capital.

&#39;Digital Unlocked&#39; is &quot;a training program to empower SMBs with digital skills to enable them to get online and start using the power of the Internet to grow their business,&quot; Google said in a press release.

According to a KPMG - Google study titled &#39;Impact of Internet and digitisation on SMBs in India&#39;, 68% of the 51 million small businesses in India are offline. The study said that increasing digital penetration of these companies could raise their contribution to the GDP by 10 percentage points.

&#39;Digital Unlocked&#39;, Google says, would ensure that every small business that wants to go digital would have access to quality online and offline training. The training program has been developed for the online, offline and mobile platforms.

Offline tutorial

The offline training would be carried out in partnership with FICCI over the next three years, conducting 5000 workshops across 40 cities in the country.

Online tutorial

The online training would have 90 self-paced video tutorials curated specifically for India and available for free. The tutorials would cover a wide range of topics including &#39;building web presence&#39; and &#39;driving online growth&#39;.

Mobile tutorial - Primer app

Google also launched a free mobile app to teach digital marketing skills on Wednesday. The app is available in the Google Play and iOS app store. The app can work offline and is available in English and Hindi. Google will make tutorials in Tamil and Telugu and Marathi versions available soon.

My Business Websites

Google also previewed My Business Websites to help small businesses create &quot;a free mobile, optimised website&quot;. My Business Websites would be available in English, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, and Malayalam.

&nbsp;

(This report first appeared in DNA)

According to a KPMG - Google study, nearly 68% of the 51 million small and medium businesses in India are currently offline

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai who is in New Delhi currently, launched 'Digital Unlocked', a training program to empower small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India to enable them to bring their businesses online. He was addressing a gathering of SMBs entrepreneurs in the capital. 'Digital Unlocked' is "a training program to empower SMBs with digital skills to enable them to get online and start using the power of the Internet to grow their business," Google said in a press release. According to a KPMG - Google study titled 'Impact of Internet and digitisation on SMBs in India', 68% of the 51 million small businesses in India are offline. The study said that increasing digital penetration of these companies could raise their contribution to the GDP by 10 percentage points. 'Digital Unlocked', Google says, would ensure that every small business that wants to go digital would have access to quality online and offline training. The training program has been developed for the online, offline and mobile platforms. Offline tutorial The offline training would be carried out in partnership with FICCI over the next three years, conducting 5000 workshops across 40 cities in the country. Online tutorial The online training would have 90 self-paced video tutorials curated specifically for India and available for free. The tutorials would cover a wide range of topics including 'building web presence' and 'driving online growth'. Mobile tutorial - Primer app Google also launched a free mobile app to teach digital marketing skills on Wednesday. The app is available in the Google Play and iOS app store. The app can work offline and is available in English and Hindi. Google will make tutorials in Tamil and Telugu and Marathi versions available soon. My Business Websites Google also previewed My Business Websites to help small businesses create "a free mobile, optimised website". My Business Websites would be available in English, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, and Malayalam. (This report first appeared in DNA)

'Digital Unlocked': Google's Sundar Pichai launches training program for small businesses in India

Alphabet&#39;s Google self-driving car project recast itself as Waymo, an independent entity within the technology giant, as executives suggested the company is close to bringing its autonomous driving to the public.

Although no deals were announced, the move signals a desire to finally monetise the company&#39;s valuable research amid fierce competition from a score of rivals all vying to be the first to launch production-ready self-driving cars.

Google&#39;s high-profile program, now in its seventh year, has been at the forefront of self-driving technology, but is now challenged by companies from Uber Technologies to Apple and traditional car companies in the fast-growing industry.

&quot;It&#39;s an indication of the maturity of our technology,&quot; John Krafcik, Waymo&#39;s chief executive, told reporters at a press conference in San Francisco. &quot;We can imagine our self-driving tech being used in all sorts of areas.&quot;

The move shows &quot;confidence that we are close to bringing this (technology) to a lot of people,&quot; Krafcik said. &quot;We&#39;ve sort of reached an inflection point.&quot;

That came in October 2015, when one of the company&#39;s self-driving cars gave the first fully autonomous ride in Austin, Texas, to a blind man with no one else in the car. Normally during testing, an engineer sits in the passenger seat to monitor the technology.
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Until now, the program has been part of secretive research unit Google X. Waymo stands for &quot;A new way forward in mobility,&quot; according to Krafcik.

Waymo would reveal when the technology will be production-ready &quot;soon&quot;, he said.

Krafcik reiterated that Waymo has no interest in producing self-driving cars, but rather in developing the technology to drive them. Possible applications would be in ride-sharing, transportation, trucking, logistics, and personal use vehicles, he said.

Fiat Chrysler, Google&#39;s first partner, teamed up with the tech company in May to work together to integrate Google&#39;s self-driving system into 100 of the carmaker&#39;s minivans.

Google&#39;s goal to perfect an autonomous vehicle that requires zero human intervention stands in contrast to that of some other automakers developing partial autonomy, which requires some driver supervision.

Google&#39;s self-driving cars have driven over 2 million miles and testing now focuses on the trickiest scenarios faced by cars on surface streets.

Google has expanded its program over the past year, hiring more engineers while doubling its testing centers from two US cities to four.

Although there have been some significant departures over the past year - chief technical officer Chris Urmson left in August after leading the project from its inception - some new hires have pointed to the program&#39;s readiness to move past its experimental stage.

In July, the project appointed its first general counsel and a month later it hired former Airbnb executive Shaun Stewart as director of the project, with a mandate to commercialise the company&#39;s self-driving technology. 
 
(Reuters)

&nbsp;

Google is close to bringing its autonomous driving to the public

Alphabet's Google self-driving car project recast itself as Waymo, an independent entity within the technology giant, as executives suggested the company is close to bringing its autonomous driving to the public. Although no deals were announced, the move signals a desire to finally monetise the company's valuable research amid fierce competition from a score of rivals all vying to be the first to launch production-ready self-driving cars. Google's high-profile program, now in its seventh year, has been at the forefront of self-driving technology, but is now challenged by companies from Uber Technologies to Apple and traditional car companies in the fast-growing industry. "It's an indication of the maturity of our technology," John Krafcik, Waymo's chief executive, told reporters at a press conference in San Francisco. "We can imagine our self-driving tech being used in all sorts of areas." The move shows "confidence that we are close to bringing this (technology) to a lot of people," Krafcik said. "We've sort of reached an inflection point." That came in October 2015, when one of the company's self-driving cars gave the first fully autonomous ride in Austin, Texas, to a blind man with no one else in the car. Normally during testing, an engineer sits in the passenger seat to monitor the technology. Until now, the program has been part of secretive research unit Google X. Waymo stands for "A new way forward in mobility," according to Krafcik. Waymo would reveal when the technology will be production-ready "soon", he said. Krafcik reiterated that Waymo has no interest in producing self-driving cars, but rather in developing the technology to drive them. Possible applications would be in ride-sharing, transportation, trucking, logistics, and personal use vehicles, he said. Fiat Chrysler, Google's first partner, teamed up with the tech company in May to work together to integrate Google's self-driving system into 100 of the carmaker's minivans. Google's goal to perfect an autonomous vehicle that requires zero human intervention stands in contrast to that of some other automakers developing partial autonomy, which requires some driver supervision. Google's self-driving cars have driven over 2 million miles and testing now focuses on the trickiest scenarios faced by cars on surface streets. Google has expanded its program over the past year, hiring more engineers while doubling its testing centers from two US cities to four. Although there have been some significant departures over the past year - chief technical officer Chris Urmson left in August after leading the project from its inception - some new hires have pointed to the program's readiness to move past its experimental stage. In July, the project appointed its first general counsel and a month later it hired former Airbnb executive Shaun Stewart as director of the project, with a mandate to commercialise the company's self-driving technology. (Reuters)

Meet Waymo, Google's new company for driverless cars

Google servers in Cuba will store content from popular sites like YouTube, allowing the content to be delivered more quickly to Cuban users

Alphabet Inc’s Google signed an agreement with the Cuban government on Monday to place computer servers on the island to speed Google services there, news agency Reuters reports. Alphabet Inc’s chairman Eric Schmidt signed the deal with Mayra Arevich Marin, president of state telecommunications monopoly ETECSA. Google servers in Cuba will store content from popular sites like YouTube, allowing the content to be delivered more quickly to Cuban users. “This deal allows ETECSA to use our technology to reduce latency by caching some of our most popular high-bandwidth content like YouTube videos at a local level," a Google statement said. "This may improve reception of cached materials, but not for example email which depends on local bandwidth,” a local telecommunications technician told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Only 5.6 per cent of Cuban homes had either intranet or internet access last year, according to a UN agency. The deal comes after the Obama administration had pressed Cuban officials to complete pending deals with US firms before President Obama leaves office next month. The Obama administration hopes such deals could help make permanent its moves to open diplomatic and commercial ties between the two countries. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Google signs internet deal with Cuba's telecommunications monopoly

Commemorating Jagdish Chandra Bose&rsquo;s 158th birth anniversary, Google has posted a doodle on its India homepage. The doodle features Bose and his invention in action.

Jagdish Chandra Bose was a master of scientific achievement with numerous accomplishments in various fields.

Born in Bangladesh in 1858, Bose was known not only for his work in biophysics, but also for his innovation in the world of radio and microwave sciences, ultimately inventing an early version of wireless telecommunication.

As a testament to his numerous contributions to the field, a moon crater was named in his honor.

Bose&rsquo;s investigations into nature included the invention of the crescograph -- an instrument that measures movement and growth in plants, by magnifying them 10,000 times.

Bose went on to demonstrate the similarities between animals and plants, particularly when it came to reactions to different environmental, electrical, and chemical influences.

He died in 1937 at the age of 79.

(WION)

&nbsp;

The doodle shows Bose and his crescograph -- an instrument that measures movement and growth in plants

Commemorating Jagdish Chandra Bose’s 158th birth anniversary, Google has posted a doodle on its India homepage. The doodle features Bose and his invention in action. Jagdish Chandra Bose was a master of scientific achievement with numerous accomplishments in various fields. Born in Bangladesh in 1858, Bose was known not only for his work in biophysics, but also for his innovation in the world of radio and microwave sciences, ultimately inventing an early version of wireless telecommunication. As a testament to his numerous contributions to the field, a moon crater was named in his honor. Bose’s investigations into nature included the invention of the crescograph -- an instrument that measures movement and growth in plants, by magnifying them 10,000 times. Bose went on to demonstrate the similarities between animals and plants, particularly when it came to reactions to different environmental, electrical, and chemical influences. He died in 1937 at the age of 79. (WION)

Google doodles scientist Jagdish Chandra Bose on 158th birthday

Alphabet&#39;s Google is facing a tougher regulatory landscape as US President-elect Donald Trump&#39;s incoming administration looks poised to reverse Obama administration policies that often favoured the internet giant in the company&#39;s battles with telecoms and cable heavyweights, analysts say.

Google had close ties with outgoing Democratic President Barack Obama&#39;s administration, and its employees donated much more to defeated Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton than to the Republican Trump.

In the most concrete sign yet that the tech policy balance may be tipping in favour of telecom firms ahead of Trump&#39;s presidency, the US Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday halted action on contentious regulatory reform measures opposed by companies such as AT&amp;T and CenturyLink.

In addition, the commission is now expected to reject FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler&#39;s high-profile proposal to open up the $20 billion market for rented pay-TV set-top boxes, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. That measure would have dealt a big blow to cable companies and created an opening for firms such as Google and Apple.

Obama had thrown his support behind the initiative, a move AT&amp;T decried as an improper intervention on behalf of what it called a &quot;Google proposal.&quot;

&quot;Google has been much more actively involved in this than Apple has,&quot; said Jan Dawson, analyst at Jackdaw Research. &quot;I&#39;m not sure it&#39;s critical to Google&#39;s business at all that it be allowed to provide these next generation set-top boxes, but there was a business opportunity there.&quot;

Cable companies have expressed concerns that rivals like Google or Apple could create devices or apps and insert their own content or advertising in cable content.

The FCC&#39;s moves came a day after Republican lawmakers urged Wheeler, a Democrat, to avoid any contested regulations in the waning days of the Obama administration, saying new rules would be subject to review by the incoming Republican-led Congress and Trump&#39;s administration and &quot;could create confusion if reversed.&quot;

&quot;The question is how far will the pendulum swing back&quot; in favour of telecom companies, said Hal Singer, senior fellow at the George Washington Institute of Public Policy. &quot;It has swung in Google&#39;s direction under the FCC and Chairman Wheeler.&quot; Among other regulations, Trump&#39;s Nov. 8 election has increased the chances that Obama&#39;s net neutrality rules, adopted by the FCC in early 2015, could be rolled back, analysts said.

Most Republicans strongly oppose net neutrality, which requires internet service providers to treat all data equally and bars them from obstructing or slowing down consumer access to web content. The rules were a victory for internet firms like Google and Netflix that have advocated an open internet.

Jimmy Schaeffler, telecom industry consultant at the Carmel Group, said that &quot;the bottom line is that things will change and there will be less optimism among and fewer opportunities&quot; for companies like Google that do not own the internet networks.

&quot;That&#39;s going to impede their success and those that rely on what they do,&quot; Schaeffler added.

Republicans in Congress or at a Republican-controlled FCC under a Trump administration could also pare back new privacy rules adopted in October that subject internet service providers to stricter rules than those faced by Google and other websites.

Since Trump&#39;s victory, Alphabet shares have fallen 2.4 percent, Netflix shares have dropped 5.9 per cent and Amazon shares are down 2 per cent. AT&amp;T and Verizon Communications shares have been relatively unchanged, while Comcast shares have soared 7.7 per cent.

Google did not respond to requests for comment.

Extensive ties

During Obama&#39;s presidency, more than 250 people moved between jobs at Google or related firms and the federal government, national political campaigns and Congress, according to a report this year by the Campaign for Accountability watchdog group&#39;s Google Transparency Project.

Eric Schmidt, Alphabet&#39;s executive chairman, was seen at Clinton&#39;s Election Night party wearing a staff badge in a widely circulated photo.

In the stolen and leaked emails of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta disclosed by WikiLeaks, an adviser wrote a memo to Clinton in 2014 that said &quot;working relationships with Google, Facebook, Apple, and other technology companies were important to us in 2012 and should be even more important to you in 2016, given their still-ascendent positions in the culture.&quot;

&quot;We have begun having discreet conversations with some of these companies to get a sense of their priorities for the coming cycle,&quot; the adviser wrote.

Telecoms and cable companies have accused Wheeler of favouring Google at the expense of cable companies. Responding to the criticism, Wheeler said in May: &quot;I hear that allegation, and I scratch my head. I don&#39;t get that charge.&quot;

&quot;Certainly the sort of cosy relationship that Google enjoyed with the Obama administration is not going to continue with Trump,&quot; Jackdaw Research&#39;s Dawson added.

Some analysts and former Google lobbyists noted that the company similarly faced a set of challenging regulatory dynamics when it opened its Washington office in 2005, with Republicans controlling the White House and both houses of Congress and the young tech firm widely perceived to have a liberal bent.

&quot;They have a tailwind (in the Obama administration), and that does end now,&quot; a former Google employee at the company&#39;s Washington office said. &quot;But I think in the long run Google is going to be just fine in Washington. In many ways, its whole operation was built just for moments like this.&quot;

(Reuters)

Google had close ties with outgoing Democratic President Barack Obama's administration

Alphabet's Google is facing a tougher regulatory landscape as US President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration looks poised to reverse Obama administration policies that often favoured the internet giant in the company's battles with telecoms and cable heavyweights, analysts say. Google had close ties with outgoing Democratic President Barack Obama's administration, and its employees donated much more to defeated Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton than to the Republican Trump. In the most concrete sign yet that the tech policy balance may be tipping in favour of telecom firms ahead of Trump's presidency, the US Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday halted action on contentious regulatory reform measures opposed by companies such as AT&T and CenturyLink. In addition, the commission is now expected to reject FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's high-profile proposal to open up the $20 billion market for rented pay-TV set-top boxes, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. That measure would have dealt a big blow to cable companies and created an opening for firms such as Google and Apple. Obama had thrown his support behind the initiative, a move AT&T decried as an improper intervention on behalf of what it called a "Google proposal." "Google has been much more actively involved in this than Apple has," said Jan Dawson, analyst at Jackdaw Research. "I'm not sure it's critical to Google's business at all that it be allowed to provide these next generation set-top boxes, but there was a business opportunity there." Cable companies have expressed concerns that rivals like Google or Apple could create devices or apps and insert their own content or advertising in cable content. The FCC's moves came a day after Republican lawmakers urged Wheeler, a Democrat, to avoid any contested regulations in the waning days of the Obama administration, saying new rules would be subject to review by the incoming Republican-led Congress and Trump's administration and "could create confusion if reversed." "The question is how far will the pendulum swing back" in favour of telecom companies, said Hal Singer, senior fellow at the George Washington Institute of Public Policy. "It has swung in Google's direction under the FCC and Chairman Wheeler." Among other regulations, Trump's Nov. 8 election has increased the chances that Obama's net neutrality rules, adopted by the FCC in early 2015, could be rolled back, analysts said. Most Republicans strongly oppose net neutrality, which requires internet service providers to treat all data equally and bars them from obstructing or slowing down consumer access to web content. The rules were a victory for internet firms like Google and Netflix that have advocated an open internet. Jimmy Schaeffler, telecom industry consultant at the Carmel Group, said that "the bottom line is that things will change and there will be less optimism among and fewer opportunities" for companies like Google that do not own the internet networks. "That's going to impede their success and those that rely on what they do," Schaeffler added. Republicans in Congress or at a Republican-controlled FCC under a Trump administration could also pare back new privacy rules adopted in October that subject internet service providers to stricter rules than those faced by Google and other websites. Since Trump's victory, Alphabet shares have fallen 2.4 percent, Netflix shares have dropped 5.9 per cent and Amazon shares are down 2 per cent. AT&T and Verizon Communications shares have been relatively unchanged, while Comcast shares have soared 7.7 per cent. Google did not respond to requests for comment. Extensive ties During Obama's presidency, more than 250 people moved between jobs at Google or related firms and the federal government, national political campaigns and Congress, according to a report this year by the Campaign for Accountability watchdog group's Google Transparency Project. Eric Schmidt, Alphabet's executive chairman, was seen at Clinton's Election Night party wearing a staff badge in a widely circulated photo. In the stolen and leaked emails of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta disclosed by WikiLeaks, an adviser wrote a memo to Clinton in 2014 that said "working relationships with Google, Facebook, Apple, and other technology companies were important to us in 2012 and should be even more important to you in 2016, given their still-ascendent positions in the culture." "We have begun having discreet conversations with some of these companies to get a sense of their priorities for the coming cycle," the adviser wrote. Telecoms and cable companies have accused Wheeler of favouring Google at the expense of cable companies. Responding to the criticism, Wheeler said in May: "I hear that allegation, and I scratch my head. I don't get that charge." "Certainly the sort of cosy relationship that Google enjoyed with the Obama administration is not going to continue with Trump," Jackdaw Research's Dawson added. Some analysts and former Google lobbyists noted that the company similarly faced a set of challenging regulatory dynamics when it opened its Washington office in 2005, with Republicans controlling the White House and both houses of Congress and the young tech firm widely perceived to have a liberal bent. "They have a tailwind (in the Obama administration), and that does end now," a former Google employee at the company's Washington office said. "But I think in the long run Google is going to be just fine in Washington. In many ways, its whole operation was built just for moments like this." (Reuters)

Google may face policy setbacks under Trump

Ever since the Indian government abolished high denomination bank notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 to crackdown on black money, there has been a panic situation across the country. People are not only facing issues in exchanging their old notes with new ones.

While the long queues outside ATMs are discouraging many to stand and wait for their turn, there are others who are not aware about where the closest ATMs are located. But there is some help now.

Google is helping people by providing them with a list of nearby ATMs. Go to the Google homepage and you will find &ldquo;Find an ATM near you&rdquo; written underneath the search bar. As you click on it, you will be taken to Google Maps with a list of ATMs near you. The results in the list update as you move.

The addition of this new tool to the Google India homepage comes as a rescue amidst times when the cash-driven economy has almost come to a halt.

It&rsquo;s not only Indian citizens who are bearing the brunt of the demonetisation move, foreign travellers have also been caught in the chaos as they are unable to find anyone to change their money into 100 rupee notes.

(WION)

&nbsp;

The addition of this new tool to the Google India homepage comes as a relief to people who are struggling to withdraw the new banknotes

Ever since the Indian government abolished high denomination bank notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 to crackdown on black money, there has been a panic situation across the country. People are not only facing issues in exchanging their old notes with new ones. While the long queues outside ATMs are discouraging many to stand and wait for their turn, there are others who are not aware about where the closest ATMs are located. But there is some help now. Google is helping people by providing them with a list of nearby ATMs. Go to the Google homepage and you will find “Find an ATM near you” written underneath the search bar. As you click on it, you will be taken to Google Maps with a list of ATMs near you. The results in the list update as you move. The addition of this new tool to the Google India homepage comes as a rescue amidst times when the cash-driven economy has almost come to a halt. It’s not only Indian citizens who are bearing the brunt of the demonetisation move, foreign travellers have also been caught in the chaos as they are unable to find anyone to change their money into 100 rupee notes. (WION)

Demonetisation: Google's 'Find an ATM near you' tool helps you find nearby ATMs

Google has introduced a new app called PhotoScan, which scans your printed photos and converts them into high-resolution digital images.

PhotoScan is a free to download app. It detects edges, straightens the image, rotates it to the correct orientation, and removes glare.

&ldquo;Scanned photos can be saved in one tap to Google Photos to be organized, searchable, shared, and safely backed up at high quality,&rdquo; said Google. 
&nbsp; 
Google PhotoScan is available for both <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.photos.scanner&amp;referrer=utm_source%3Dlanding">Android</a> and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1165525994?mt=8">iOS</a>. 
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</style>


<div class="embed-container"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MEyDt0DNjWU"></iframe></div>

&nbsp; 
Besides, Google has also rolled out three ways to edit pictures better. These features include a new and improved auto enhance, unique new looks, and advanced editing tools.

Users can simply open a photo and tap the pencil icon to start editing. First, for auto enhance, just select Auto, and see instant enhancements like balancing exposure and saturation to bring out details.

Second, as Google explains, its 12 new looks have taken style to the next level. These &quot;unique looks&quot; make edits based on the individual photo and its brightness, darkness, warmth, or saturation. All looks use machine intelligence to complement the content of photos. 
&nbsp; 
Third, the &ldquo;advanced editing controls&rdquo; for light and colour allow you to fine-tune your photos, including highlights, shadows, and warmth.

Google has started rolling out the Google Photos app with the new photo editor for Android, iOS and the web.

(WION)

Google PhotoScan is available for both Android and iOS

Google has introduced a new app called PhotoScan, which scans your printed photos and converts them into high-resolution digital images. PhotoScan is a free to download app. It detects edges, straightens the image, rotates it to the correct orientation, and removes glare. “Scanned photos can be saved in one tap to Google Photos to be organized, searchable, shared, and safely backed up at high quality,” said Google. Google PhotoScan is available for both Android and iOS. Besides, Google has also rolled out three ways to edit pictures better. These features include a new and improved auto enhance, unique new looks, and advanced editing tools. Users can simply open a photo and tap the pencil icon to start editing. First, for auto enhance, just select Auto, and see instant enhancements like balancing exposure and saturation to bring out details. Second, as Google explains, its 12 new looks have taken style to the next level. These "unique looks" make edits based on the individual photo and its brightness, darkness, warmth, or saturation. All looks use machine intelligence to complement the content of photos. Third, the “advanced editing controls” for light and colour allow you to fine-tune your photos, including highlights, shadows, and warmth. Google has started rolling out the Google Photos app with the new photo editor for Android, iOS and the web. (WION)

Google PhotoScan: A new app that converts your printed photos into high-quality digital images

With a view to help you find right music, Google has revamped its music streaming service. Google has announced an improved version of the Play Music, which, as the company explains, &ldquo;is smarter, easier to use, and much more assistive.&rdquo;

&ldquo;Google Play Music now uses machine learning to figure out what music you like and then mixes in signals like location, activity, and the weather along with hand-picked playlists to personalise music for wherever you are and whenever you want tunes,&rdquo; said Google in a blog post.

The revamped Google Play Music will be rolled out for Android, iOS and the web starting this week. The new service will be released in 62 countries. 
 
The new service is claimed to deliver personalised music based on where you are and why you are listening - relaxing at home, powering through at work, commuting, flying, exploring new cities, heading out on the town, and everything in between. 
 
As explained by Google, your workout music is front and centre as you walk into the gym and a sunset soundtrack appears just as the sky goes pink.

The new Google Play Music also comes with a new home screen, which shows your favourite music at the top of the screen.

(WION)

The redesigned Google Play Music will be rolled out for Android, iOS and the web starting this week

With a view to help you find right music, Google has revamped its music streaming service. Google has announced an improved version of the Play Music, which, as the company explains, “is smarter, easier to use, and much more assistive.” “Google Play Music now uses machine learning to figure out what music you like and then mixes in signals like location, activity, and the weather along with hand-picked playlists to personalise music for wherever you are and whenever you want tunes,” said Google in a blog post. The revamped Google Play Music will be rolled out for Android, iOS and the web starting this week. The new service will be released in 62 countries. The new service is claimed to deliver personalised music based on where you are and why you are listening - relaxing at home, powering through at work, commuting, flying, exploring new cities, heading out on the town, and everything in between. As explained by Google, your workout music is front and centre as you walk into the gym and a sunset soundtrack appears just as the sky goes pink. The new Google Play Music also comes with a new home screen, which shows your favourite music at the top of the screen. (WION)

Google Play Music: Google revamps its music streaming service

The Natural History Museum in Berlin is a leading science research institute and a world-class visitor attraction.

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It recently joined hands with Google&rsquo;s Cultural Institute to bring dinosaurs to life through virtual reality.&nbsp;The museum only has space to display 25,000 of its 80 million specimens at one time. But with virtual reality, visitors can now view 300,000 digital specimens, including fossils from dinosaurs, mammoths and the dodo.&nbsp;

The initiative comes with the motive of inspiring the next generation to think critically about sustainability and nature, while expanding the scope of scientific research.&nbsp;NHM is just one of 60 natural history museums around the world to partner with Google.

Berlin's Natural History Museum has partnered with Google to create a virtual reality experience

The Natural History Museum in Berlin is a leading science research institute and a world-class visitor attraction. It recently joined hands with Google’s Cultural Institute to bring dinosaurs to life through virtual reality. The museum only has space to display 25,000 of its 80 million specimens at one time. But with virtual reality, visitors can now view 300,000 digital specimens, including fossils from dinosaurs, mammoths and the dodo. The initiative comes with the motive of inspiring the next generation to think critically about sustainability and nature, while expanding the scope of scientific research. NHM is just one of 60 natural history museums around the world to partner with Google.

Video: Dinosaurs roar back to life through virtual reality

It will now be possible for the Indian consumers to book a ride with taxi aggregators, Ola and Uber, directly from the Google Search, Indian news agency PTI reported today.&nbsp;

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Tech giant Google had introduced a feature on Google Maps, earlier this year, that offers dedicated tab with information for cab services to the Indian users, in addition to the existing driving, public transport, or walking options. &nbsp;

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&quot;Now with this integration, commuters across the country can ask Google for directions and book ride services directly from Google Search,&quot; Google said in a statement, PTI reported.&nbsp;

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The users will get to see a tab for ride services, both Uber and Ola, with fare estimates and pick-up times if a car is available near their location, it added.

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The Google Search will not only help the user to install the applications if he/ she doesn&#39;t have it on the device but the browser will also direct the user to select a service and automatically open the app to book the ride when the user searches for the options to book the cab.&nbsp;

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&quot;Choosing the best transit option can be a task at times. Our aim is to help users simplify their everyday travel. With this, users will be able to order, explore and make quick comparisons about the best estimated taxi fare directly from Google Search results on their mobile,&quot; Google program manager Sanket Gupta has been quoted as saying.&nbsp;

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Ola, in a statement, said the move helps facilitate Ola&#39;s focus on making cab bookings more accessible and seamless for customers everywhere.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from PTI)&nbsp;

The users will get to see a tab for ride services, both Uber and Ola, with fare estimates and pick-up times if a car is available

It will now be possible for the Indian consumers to book a ride with taxi aggregators, Ola and Uber, directly from the Google Search, Indian news agency PTI reported today. Tech giant Google had introduced a feature on Google Maps, earlier this year, that offers dedicated tab with information for cab services to the Indian users, in addition to the existing driving, public transport, or walking options. "Now with this integration, commuters across the country can ask Google for directions and book ride services directly from Google Search," Google said in a statement, PTI reported. The users will get to see a tab for ride services, both Uber and Ola, with fare estimates and pick-up times if a car is available near their location, it added. The Google Search will not only help the user to install the applications if he/ she doesn't have it on the device but the browser will also direct the user to select a service and automatically open the app to book the ride when the user searches for the options to book the cab. "Choosing the best transit option can be a task at times. Our aim is to help users simplify their everyday travel. With this, users will be able to order, explore and make quick comparisons about the best estimated taxi fare directly from Google Search results on their mobile," Google program manager Sanket Gupta has been quoted as saying. Ola, in a statement, said the move helps facilitate Ola's focus on making cab bookings more accessible and seamless for customers everywhere. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Indian consumers can now book Ola, Uber through Google Search

Twitter shares dove in after-hours trades on Wednesday on the heels of a report that Google does not plan to bid for the culture-changing but unprofitable one-to-many messaging service.

The technology news website Recode cited unnamed sources close to the situation as saying Google will not be among those in the running to buy San Francisco-based Twitter.

Other sources said that Twitter should have &quot;low expectations&quot; of Apple being among those vying to buy the company, Recode reported.

Twitter shares, which had taken flight on the New York Stock Exchange early in the day and ended formal trading up nearly six per cent, dove more than nine per cent in after-market trades to $22.58.

Long-simmering speculation that Twitter is putting itself up for sale has boiled over in recent weeks, with the share price buoyed by unconfirmed talk that business-cloud software titan Salesforce, Google and other Silicon Valley titans were expected to be suitors.

Twitter and Google did not respond to AFP requests for comment.

Twitter, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, has yet to make a profit. Co-founder Jack Dorsey returned as chief executive last year but has yet to ignite growth, with the number of users stagnating at slightly more than 300 million for several quarters.

After falling to its lowest point ever earlier this year, Twitter shares were boosted recently on hopes the company will gain traction or a make a promising match with a suitor.

Twitter was expected to begin accepting bids this week.

The social messaging platform would be a big-ticket item, with its value based on the share price topping $17 billion on Wednesday, and the company likely to want a premium to be paid.

No suitors have declared interest in Twitter publicly, however.

The list of companies that may still seek to buy Twitter includes entertainment giant Disney, Microsoft, and the US telecom service Verizon.

(AFP)

The company's shares dove more than nine per cent following reports saying Google will not plan to bid for the social media app

Twitter shares dove in after-hours trades on Wednesday on the heels of a report that Google does not plan to bid for the culture-changing but unprofitable one-to-many messaging service. The technology news website Recode cited unnamed sources close to the situation as saying Google will not be among those in the running to buy San Francisco-based Twitter. Other sources said that Twitter should have "low expectations" of Apple being among those vying to buy the company, Recode reported. Twitter shares, which had taken flight on the New York Stock Exchange early in the day and ended formal trading up nearly six per cent, dove more than nine per cent in after-market trades to $22.58. Long-simmering speculation that Twitter is putting itself up for sale has boiled over in recent weeks, with the share price buoyed by unconfirmed talk that business-cloud software titan Salesforce, Google and other Silicon Valley titans were expected to be suitors. Twitter and Google did not respond to AFP requests for comment. Twitter, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, has yet to make a profit. Co-founder Jack Dorsey returned as chief executive last year but has yet to ignite growth, with the number of users stagnating at slightly more than 300 million for several quarters. After falling to its lowest point ever earlier this year, Twitter shares were boosted recently on hopes the company will gain traction or a make a promising match with a suitor. Twitter was expected to begin accepting bids this week. The social messaging platform would be a big-ticket item, with its value based on the share price topping $17 billion on Wednesday, and the company likely to want a premium to be paid. No suitors have declared interest in Twitter publicly, however. The list of companies that may still seek to buy Twitter includes entertainment giant Disney, Microsoft, and the US telecom service Verizon. (AFP)

Twitter shares dive after Google rules out bid

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