Google News

Starting next year, consumers will be able to buy smart home devices — like thermostats, lighting systems and kitchen appliances — that can talk to one another through a new connectivity standard called Matter. Why it matters: Interoperability of home devices has long been a distant dream, but big boys like Amazon, Google and Apple have coalesced around Matter, hoping it will become a common brand name governing the Internet of Things (IoT). How it works: Sometime in 2022, companies… Source link

Google Cloud is having some success when it comes to landing ad tech companies as new customers, but the companies that choose Google to manage their computing infrastructure are making a tricky bargain.  Google recently struck deals with 33Across, a publisher monetization company, and a crypto-marketing startup, Permission.io, to help power their businesses. In this way they are relying on the No. 1 internet ad company, while also competing in areas that overlap. This dynamic… Source link

A Pixel 6 vs Pixel 5a comparison is just what you need if you’re trying to figure out which new Pixel phone may be right for you this fall. The budget-friendly Pixel 5a is already available to buy, and it ranks as one of the best Android phones you can buy. That’s not a surprise — the Pixel 5a has a lot going for it, including offering the best camera experience under $500. But the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are in the wings, waiting to take the Pixel line to a whole new level. From improved… Source link

After it ended free unlimited storage for Google Photos in June, many Google users had figure out how to store images and other data in the Google accounts. They could keep their Google account stored data under 15GB, or pay for a Google One plan. Options included a 100GB plan for $1.99 per month, a 200GB plan for $2.99 a month, a 2TB plan for $9.99 a month, or a plan with 10TB of storage for $49.99 per month. 20TB and 30TB plans are also available, for $99.99 and $149.99 per month,… Source link

Google provided some user data to the government of Hong Kong last year, despite promising it would not process such data requests from authorities, according to the Hong Kong Free Press. The company told the news outlet it “produced some data” in response to three of the 43 requests it received from Hong Kong’s government. Two of the requests had to do with investigations into human trafficking and included search warrants, and a third was an emergency disclosure as part of a… Source link

Image: Google The last year or so hasn’t been great for Stadia, Google’s game streaming service. And now its Director of Games is leaving to join a different part of Google. This follows other high-profile exits from Stadia earlier this year and seems to signal that Google is truly done making or funding exclusive games for its fledgling game service. As reported by ZDNet, Jack Buser is leaving Google Stadia on September 13. He was the streaming service’s Director of Games, having… Source link

Corporate America is making a new kind of climate pledge. In recent months, multiple tech giants have pledged to use their reach and resources to join the fight for water conservation. Facebook made an announcement at the end of August declaring their efforts to “be water positive by 2030.” And just this week, Google made a similar announcement to make its data centers more efficient and support water security in the communities it operates in.  Google, Facebook, and Source link

Google Chrome has too much scale and power. With over 2 billion users, the Chrome browser dwarfs even its closest rivals, despite being owned by one of the most-data hungry companies in the world. There has long been a movement to ditch Google Chrome, but many people end up going back to the browser, simply because it functions well and many apps are optimised for it. But recent moves by Google—such as the delayed but widely believed to be privacy-infringing FLoC update—are… Source link

When it comes to cloud photo storage, Google Photos leads the pack—four trillion photos and videos across more than a billion users. Millions of Apple users have Google Photos on their iPhones, iPads And Macs, but Apple has just flagged a serious warning about Google’s platform and given its users a reason to delete their apps. This has been a dreadful few weeks for Apple on the privacy front—not what the iPhone maker needs in the run up to the launch of iPhone 13 and iOS 15. A… Source link

What if I were to tell you that there’s big money to be made from hacking Facebook and Google, but not necessarily in the way you might imagine? So far this year, Google hackers have earned more than $3.5 million doing just that. As for Facebook, it made payments of just under $2 million last year. Yes, I’m talking about security vulnerabilities and the money available for those who can find them. Bug bounty platforms are the legal route to a profitable hacking career. Both Facebook… Source link