Daily Archives: August 14, 2021

Google search now has an interactive periodic table you can check out to learn a lot more about the elements. You can find it by searching for periodic table and clicking the explore elements button on the right side of the page or by navigating to it directly right here.

I wasnt the best chemistry student growing up, but Ive had a lot of fun clicking on different elements and learning about things like an elements atomic mass, melting point, and seeing a 3D model of each element, which I find particularly cool. Each element that Ive clicked on also includes a short fact like that thallium was used as the murder agent in an Agatha Christie novel, apparently

The periodic table is being announced alongside a few new features in Google Assistant designed to help families, including updates to Family Bell reminders. At launch last year, they could only play from Nest smart displays or speaker, but in several weeks, theyll be able to ring on mobile devices, too, Google says. And sometime soon, Family Bell on the Nest Hub will be able to show a checklist when a Family Bell goes off, which could be a useful way to remember a set number of tasks.

Google is also adding a way to set a routine after you turn off your alarm in the morning, which could let you check the weather and the news right after you wake up, for example. This feature is also coming soon.

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Google is adding an interactive periodic table to search - The Verge

We all know how to search Google: you pop some words into a box and hope for the best!

These tips and tricks will supercharge your searches so you can find exactly what youre looking for, even faster than ever!

Follow Rich DeMuro onInstagramfor more tech news, tips and tricks.

Want to exclude certain words from your search? Put a hyphen in front of the words you dont want in your results. For instance, [Dodgers -tickets] will bring up results that dont have anything to do with tickets to the game.

For the opposite effect, try using quotes. Put some search terms in quotes and your results will contain those exact words. For instance, [albert einstein princeton] will bring up results that include just that.

When you want to see results from just a specific website, put in your search terms and then include a colon along with the website name.

For instance [samsung site:ktla.com] would bring up just the posts Ive made on ktla.com with the term Samsung.

If youre looking for a particular file, like a PDF or PowerPoint, try adding filetype to your search!

This is handy for finding things like printable coloring sheets for the kids.

For instance, type [dinosaur coloring sheet filetype:pdf].

One of my personal favorite searches is adding the term versus. This is helpful when you want to compare one thing to another, even if you arent sure what the other thing is!

For instance, lets say youre comparing meal kit delivery companies. You can type in [hello fresh vs] and then Google will suggest searches that compare similar products.

Want to know more about an image? Try a reverse image search. Go to images.google.com and then drag and drop the photo you want to search for more information on. Google will find similar images and any web pages where that image appears.

You can also narrow down results by time. Start by doing a search, then under the search box, hit the button for Tools. Next, use the selector that appears to choose a range of time.

Looking for just results from social media sites? Type in your search terms then include an @instagram @facebook or @twitter and you should see mostly posts made on that site. For instance [pumpkin spice donut @instagram] should show Instagram posts of pumpkin spice donuts.

When you want to have a little fun, hover over Googles signature Im Feeling Lucky button and watch it change to other things like Im Feeling Trendy or Im Feeling Adventurous. Click to see where it takes you.

Finally, if you want to see how Google looked back in the day, try searching [Google in 1998] Surprisingly, not much has changed with Googles overall look and feel.

Listen to theRich on Techpodcast for answers to your tech questions.

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Use these Google tips and tricks to find exactly what youre searching for faster than ever - KTLA

Google is adding a bunch of new features to Google Meet, making it easier for users to control and direct meetings. However, exactly which controls will be available depends on whether you are using Meet as a regular user or as part of a Google Workspace team.

The main update is that all users will now be able to assign up to 25 co-hosts per meeting, who will have access to host controls. This will let them limit who can share their screen and send chat messages, as well as mute all participants with a single click, end the meeting, and control who can enter the meeting (though this last feature is only available to certain Google Workspace versions). Previously, assigning co-hosts was only available to Google Workspace for Education customers.

Google Meet is also getting new Quick Access settings if youre a Google Workspace customer. This will be enabled by default, but if its turned off, it means meetings wont be able to start until the host joins. Users can also do things like block anonymous users from joining or only let invited participants join without asking ensuring only people who are supposed to be in a meeting are actually in there.

The changes are scheduled to roll out on web and Android from August 16th and on iOS from August 30th. For full details of the changes and availability based on different Workplace versions, check out the blog post from Google here.

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Google Meet users have more options to add co-hosts, limit screen sharing, and mute others - The Verge

EFF would like to thank former intern Haley Amster for drafting this post, and former legal fellow Nathan Sobel for his assistance in editing it.

The Fourth Amendment requires authorities to target search warrants at particular places or thingslike a home, a bank deposit box, or a cell phoneand only when there is reason to believe that evidence of a crime will be found there. The Constitutions drafters put in place these essential limits on government power after suffering under British searches called general warrants that gave authorities unlimited discretion to search nearly everyone and everything for evidence of a crime.

Yet today, Google is facilitating the digital equivalent of those colonial-era general warrants. Through the use of geofence warrants (also known as reverse location warrants), federal and state law enforcement officers are routinely requesting that Google search users accounts to determine who was in a certain geographic area at a particular timeand then to track individuals outside of that initially specific area and time period.

These warrants are anathema to the Fourth Amendments core guarantee largely because, by design, they sweep up people wholly unconnected to the crime under investigation.

For example, in 2020 Florida police obtained a geofence warrant in a burglary investigation that led them to suspect a man who frequently rode his bicycle in the area. Google collected the mans location history when he used an app on his smartphone to track his rides, a scenario that ultimately led police to suspect him of the crime even though he was innocent.

Google is the linchpin in this unconstitutional scheme. Authorities send Google geofence warrants precisely because Googles devices, operating system, apps, and other products allow it to collect data from millions of users and to catalog these users locations, movements, associations, and other private details of their lives.

Although Google has sometimes pushed back in court on the breadth of some of these warrants, it has largely acquiesced to law enforcement demandsand the number of geofence warrants law enforcement sends to the company has dramatically increased in recent years. This stands in contrast to documented instances of other companies resisting law enforcement requests for user data on Fourth Amendment grounds.

Its past time for Google to stand up for its users privacy and to resist these unlawful warrants. A growing coalition of civil rights and other organizations, led by the Surveillance Technology and Oversight Project, have previously called on Google to do so. We join that coalitions call for change and further demand that Google:

As explained below, these are the minimum steps Google must take to show that it is committed to its users privacy and the Fourth Amendments protections against general warrants.

EFF calls on Google to stop complying with the geofence warrants it receives. As it stands now, Google appears to have set up an internal system that streamlines, systematizes, and encourages law enforcements use of geofence warrants. Googles practice of complying with geofence warrants despite their unconstitutionality is inconsistent with its stated promise to protect the privacy of its users by keeping your information safe, treating it responsibly, and putting you in control. As recently as October, Googles parent companys CEO, Sundar Pichai, said that [p]rivacy is one of the most important areas we invest in as a company, and in the past, Google has even gone to court to protect its users sensitive data from overreaching government legal process. However, Googles compliance with geofence warrants is incongruent with these platitudes and the companys past actions.

To live up to its promises, Google should commit to either refusing to comply with these unlawful warrants or to challenging them in court. By refusing to comply, Google would put the burden on law enforcement to demonstrate the legality of its warrant in court. Other companies, and even Google itself, have done this in the past. Google should not defer to law enforcements contention that geofence warrants are constitutional, especially given law enforcements well-documented history of trying novel surveillance and legal theories that courts later rule to be unconstitutional. And to the extent Google has refused to comply with geofence warrants, it should say so publicly.

Googles ongoing cooperation is all the more unacceptable given that other companies that collect similar location data from their users, including Microsoft and Garmin, have publicly stated that they would not comply with geofence warrants.

Even if Google were to stop complying with geofence warrants today, it still must be much more transparent about geofence warrants it has received in the past. Google must break out information and provide further details about geofence warrants in its biannual Transparency Reports.

Googles Transparency Reports currently document, among other things, the types and volume of law enforcement requests for user data the company receives, but they do not, as of now, break out information about geofence warrants or provide further details about them. With no detailed reporting from Google about the geofence warrants it has received, the public is left to learn about them via leaks to reporters or by combing through court filings.

Here are a few specific ways Google can be more transparent:

Google should disclose the following information about all geofence warrants it has received over the last five years and commit to continue doing so moving forward:

Google should also resist nondisclosure orders and litigate to ensure, if imposed, that the government has made the appropriate showing required by law. If Google is subject to such an order, or the related docket is sealed (prohibiting the company from disclosing the fact it has received some geofence warrants or from providing other details), Google should move to end those orders and to unseal those dockets so it can make details about them public as early as allowable by law.

Google should also support and seek to provide basic details about court cases and docket numbers for orders authorizing each geofence warrant and docket numbers for any related criminal prosecutions Google is aware of as a result of the geofence warrants. At minimum, Google should disclose details on the agencies seeking geofence warrants, broken down by each federal agency, state-level agencies, and local law enforcement.

Google must start telling its users when their information is caught up in a geofence warranteven if that information is de-identified. This notice to affected users should state explicitly what information Google produced, in what format, which agency requested it, which court authorized the warrant, and whether Google provided identifying information. Notice to users here is critical: if people arent aware of how they are being affected by these warrants, there cant be meaningful public debate about them.

To the extent the law requires Google to delay notice or not disclose the existence of the warrant, Google should challenge such restrictions so as to only comply with valid ones, and it should provide users with notice as soon as possible.

It does not appear that Google gives notice to every user whose data is requested by law enforcement. Some affected users have said that Google notified them that law enforcement accessed their account via a geofence warrant. But in some of the cases EFF has followed, it appears that Google has not always notified affected users who it identifies in response to these warrants, with no public explanation from Google. Googles policies state that it gives notice to users before disclosing information, but more clarity is warranted here. Google should publicly state whether its policy is being applied to all users information subject to geofence warrants, or only those who they identify to law enforcement.

Many people do not know, much less understand, how and when Google collects and stores location data. Google must do a better job of explaining its policies and practices to users, not processing user data absent opt-in consent, minimizing the amount of data it collects, deleting retained data users no longer need, and giving users the ability to easily delete their data.

Well before law enforcement ever comes calling, Google must first ensure it does not collect its users location data before obtaining meaningful consent from them. This consent should establish a fair way for users to opt into data collection, as click-through agreements which apply to dozens of services, data types, or uses at once are insufficient. As one judge in a case involving Facebook put it, the logic that merely clicking I agree indicates true consent requires everyone to pretend that users read every word of these policies before clicking their acceptance, even though we all know that virtually none of them did.

Google should also explain exactly what location data it collects from users, when that collection occurs, what purpose it is used for, and how long Google retains that data. This should be clear and understandable, not buried in dense privacy policies or terms of service.

Google should also only be collecting, retaining, and using its customers location data for a specific purpose, such as to provide directions on Google Maps or to measure road traffic congestion. Data must not be collected or used for a different purpose, such as for targeted advertising, unless users separately opt in to such use. Beyond notice and consent, Google must minimize its processing of user data, that is, only process user data as reasonably necessary to give users what they asked for. For example, user data should be deleted when it is no longer needed for the specific purpose for which it was initially collected, unless the user specifically requests that the data be saved.

Although Google allows users to manually delete their location data and to set automated deletion schedules, Google should confirm that these tools are not illusory. Recent enforcement actions by state attorneys allege that users cannot fully delete their data, much less fully opt out of having their location data collected at all.

* * *

Google holds a tremendous amount of power over law enforcements ability to use geofence warrants. Instead of keeping quiet about them and waiting for defendants in criminal cases to challenge them in court, Google needs to stand up for its users when it comes to revealing their sensitive data to law enforcement.

The rest is here:

It's Time for Google to Resist Geofence Warrants and to Stand Up for Its Affected Users - EFF

Todays smartwatch news has been dominated by Samsungs new Wear OS 3-powered wearables, but Google wants you to know it hasnt forgotten about smartwatches running Wear OS 2. Updates to Google Pay, Messages, and other third-party apps will be coming to current devices in addition to Wear OS 3, giving existing owners something to look forward to as they roll out over the coming weeks.

For starters, Google Pays support for contactless payments from smartwatches is expanding to 16 new countries: Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden, Taiwan, Ukraine, and United Arab Emirates. Its previously been possible to use Google Pay from smartphones in these countries, but not from smartwatches.

Next up, Google says that its Messages Wear OS app will have improved performance so you can easily use it without taking out your phone. The messages will sync with your paired phone so everything that happens in your wrist is still updated in your pocket.

Finally, there are also new experiences on the way from third-party apps like Calm, Komoot, Period Tracker, Sleep Cycle, Spotify, and Strava. Google says that many of these apps will include support for Tiles, Googles glanceable widgets that offer quick tidbits of information from supported apps.

As well as Googles existing Wear OS 2 operating system, these features are also coming to upcoming Wear OS 3 watches. Here, theyll be joined by a new YouTube Music app, with support for offline downloads, and a redesigned Google Maps app.

Link:

Google Pay and Messages updates are coming to existing Wear OS watches - The Verge

Google plans another campus in Silicon Valley which will include a new center for some of its hardware products, CNBC reported. Google has been buying up land in northern San Jose, California, spending more than $389 million on what preliminary plans show will include a research and development center, according to CNBC.

The campus, which it calls Midpoint, will be located between Googles current Mountain View headquarters and its mixed-use campus in San Jose. Midpoint will have five office buildings connected by a pedestrian bridge, and will be adjacent to three industrial buildings that planning documents show will serve as a hub for its hardware division, including its Nest smart home products. The documents also show that Google has been planning the Midpoint site since 2018, CNBC reported.

Google didnt immediately reply to a request for comment Saturday, but a campus that has more space dedicated to hardware makes sense, given what executives have said recently. The companys hardware chief Rick Osterloh has said Google is ready to start grabbing market share in the hardware space. As The Verges Dieter Bohn noted after a recent visit to Mountain View for a peek at the Pixel 6, Googles flagship phone has tiny market share compared to Apple and Samsung.

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Google reportedly planning a new Silicon Valley campus with a hardware center - The Verge

To some Americans, being able to work remotely is so important they're willing to take a pay cut. Just ask Google.

Since June, roughly 10,000 of the internet company's more than 135,000 workers have asked for permission either to work remotely on a full-time basis or to relocate to a different office once COVID-19 subsides. Google has so far approved 85% of the requests. The catch? Employees who choose to work from home, or even at an office in a new city or state, often must accept pay cuts.

Google said the company sets employee salaries based on where around the country they work, along with other factors such as job function and a person's qualifications.

"Our compensation packages have always been determined by location, and we always pay at the top of the local market based on where an employee works from," a Google spokesperson told CBS News.

In June, Google developed a new "Work Location Tool" to assist employees in calculating their pay. It was "developed to help employees make informed decisions about which city or state they work from and any impact on compensation, if they choose to relocate or work remotely," the spokesperson said.

Google pays top dollar for employees in competitive job markets like New York, regardless of whether they choose to work from home or from one of the search giant's offices, according to the company.

Google workers could also theoretically receive pay bumps if they move to a more expensive part of the country, based on the policy.

The 15% of relocation requests that were rejected were from workers in roles that require access to specialized equipment or require regular face-to-face interactions. Other denied requests came from members of internal teams that are committed to working from a particular hub or office.

Employees are permitted to resubmit requests to work remotely and explore other flexible work options with their managers.

Google last monthpushed back its deadline for workers to return to offices, citing spikes in coronavirus cases linked to the highly contagious Delta variant. Originally set for September, the company's voluntary work-from-home policy was extended through October 18.

In announcing the extension, Google CEO Sundar Pichai noted that "many Googlers are seeing spikes in their communities caused by the Delta variant and are concerned about retuning to the office."

Other corporate leaders have also suggested thatworkers' pay or employment status be tied to where they work and at times have been met with backlash.

Catherine Merrill, CEO of The Washingtonian, a monthly magazine focused on politics and culture, suggested in a Washington Post opinionpiecein May that people who work from home should be categorized as hourly contractors. She also said that managers have "a strong incentive" to demote employees who don't return to the office post-pandemic. In response to the piece, some senior staff at the publication promptlystaged a revolt.

Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman also recently suggested shrinking employees' pay if their living expenses declined. At an event held by the investment bank this month, he said that bankers and other personnel must operate from the firm's Times Square headquarters in Manhattan toearn their full salaries.

"If you want to get paid New York rates, you work in New York. None of this, 'I'm in Colorado ... and getting paid like I'm sitting in New York City. Sorry, that doesn't work," he said.

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Thousands of Google workers agree to pay cuts so they can work remotely - CBS News

Google is expanding the VPN service that it provides as part of its Google One subscription to seven new countries: Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy, as spotted by 9to5Google.

The company started offering VPN access to 2TB Google One cloud storage subscribers in the US late last year, as a free addition to the existing $9.99 / month plan. But todays announcement sees a marked expansion of the service.

There are a few limitations that separate Google One from more comprehensive VPN solutions. First off, youll only be able to use the service in one of the supported countries the companys support page notes that you wont be able to connect to VPN by Google One if you are traveling to an unsupported country.

And, much like Apples upcoming iCloud Plus VPN service, the Google One VPN wont enable one of the most popular uses of a VPN: accessing content from a different country or region by assigning an IP address from that area. Rather, Googles system will assign you an IP address based on your current country so that websites can show you the right content for your region, although Google notes that it still will prevent tracking to your specific city or area.

The newly expanded Google One VPN is still only available on Android devices, however. Last year, Google said that it would be expanding availability to platforms like iOS, Windows, and Mac in the coming months, but theres no news on that front yet.

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Google One VPN expands internationally to Canada, Mexico, UK, and more - The Verge

Google could cut pay for remote workers, with those with long commutes potentially hit hardest, but legal experts in Australia say bosses here would have difficulty doing the same.

Facebook and Twitter already have location-basedpackages, which reduce the salaries of workers who move to cheaper areas.

According to Reuters, Google's policy goes further, with a pay calculator that allowsemployees to see the effect movingwould have on their pay packet.

For example, a Google worker who lives an hour from New York City would be paid 15 per cent less if she worked at home, while a colleague from the same office living in New York City would see no cut from working from home, according to Reuters.

The pandemic has prompted manyAustralians with city jobs to move to the regions and work remotely.

But lawyers say bosses here who cut pay for those who work remotely all the timeface legal challenges.

"Employers in Australia are not entitled to unilaterally cut the pay of existing employees based on geographic location,"Brad Annson, an employment lawyer and partner at Gordon Legal, says.

"An employer who does sowill be exposed to a range of potential legal action."

Basically, a boss who cuts your pay without agreementwould be in breach of yourcontract or enterprise agreement.

"So much so that the employee is entitled to treat that as a termination, and therefore bring a claim for unfair dismissal," Mr Annson explains.

And, if you're covered by an award or enterprise agreement, you can't even agree to a pay cut.

"Essentially you cannot contract out of an enterprise agreement or award."

However, it's not necessarily against the law to offer location-based salary packages to new employees on private contracts.

AP: Jeff Chiu

That's more ofa grey area.

JobWatch executive director Zana Bythewaywarns that justas an employer can't cut your pay without agreement, a staff member can't permanently work from home without agreement.

"Basically, If you are required to be in Melbourne, and that's your location-based contract,you can't unilaterally vary that by going to Castlemaine," she says.

"There could be consequences to that, meaning your employment contract may be repudiated by your employer."

Ms Bytheway saysan employee who did face apay cut because of working from homecould argue that their living costs, like electricity bills, had become more expensive.

If you can't reach agreement with your boss, the contract could be terminated.

Similarprinciples apply.

"If the employer were to seek to have differential pay rates, depending on whether you worked at home regardless of your geographical location,that might bring into playa number of other complex legal questions," Mr Annson says.

"The employer could be exposed to legal action, including under anti-discrimination law."

His advice is to seek advice from a lawyer and/or union.

Google has ruled out introducing the policy for its Australian staff.

In the experience of recruitment agency directorPeter Salt, local companies are taking a different approach.

"I've got two examples of executives being employed in Dubbo and Riverina on the same salary packages as if they were based in the city," he says.

Mr Salt says the pandemic has resulted in bosses finally understanding that working remotely doesn't lead to a drop in productivity.

"It actually increases," he says.

He says a"chronicshortage" of skilled workers meansemployers are now more likely to includesweeteners to attract good talent.

"Any employer that thinks they'll get away with being stingy is going to miss out."

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Google is planning to cut people's pay for working from home. Could it happen here? - ABC News