Daily Archives: December 3, 2023

LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Google (GOOGL.O) has called on Britains antitrust regulator to take action against Microsoft (MSFT.O), claiming its business practices had left rivals at a significant disadvantage, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Microsoft and Amazon (AMZN.O) have faced mounting scrutiny around the world over their dominance of the cloud computing industry, with regulators in Britain, the European Union, and the U.S. probing their market power.

The CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) launched an investigation into Britains cloud computing industry in October, following a referral from media regulator Ofcom which highlighted Amazon and Microsofts dominance of the market.

In 2022, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft's Azure had a combined 70-80% share of Britain's public cloud infrastructure services market, Ofcom said. Googles cloud division was their closest competitor, at around 5-10%.

In a letter submitted to the CMA, Google said Microsofts licensing practices unfairly discouraged customers from using competitor services, even as a secondary provider alongside Azure.

With Microsofts licensing restrictions in particular, UK customers are left with no economically reasonable alternative but to use Azure as their cloud services provider, even if they prefer the prices, quality, security, innovations, and features of rivals, Google said in its letter to the CMA.

Such practices directly harmed customers, and were the only significant barrier to competition in Britains cloud computing market, the company said.

The CMA declined to comment.

Microsoft last year updated its licensing rules to address such concerns and promote competition, though the changes did not satisfy rivals.

A Microsoft spokesperson said the company had worked with independent cloud providers to address concerns and provide opportunity and that more than 100 worldwide had taken advantage of the changes.

"As the latest independent data shows, competition between cloud hyperscalers remains healthy. In the second quarter of 2023 Microsoft and Google made equally small gains on AWS, which continues to remain the global market leader by a significant margin," the Microsoft spokesperson said.

Speaking to Reuters, Google Cloud Vice President Amit Zavery criticised Microsofts practices, and said his company was committed to a multi-cloud approach, in which customers could easily move between providers depending on their needs.

"A lot of our software and cloud services interoperate, and can run on AWS or on Azure as well, so you're not restricted," he said. "If you don't fix this, eventually you will have fewer cloud providers, and then innovation will not really happen, and investments will start shrinking."

At issue was Microsoft's decision to update the terms for when customers wanted to use their Windows or other software licenses in the cloud, effectively resulting in higher costs if they used Google or AWS instead of Microsoft's Azure.

Asked why Amazon, which boasts a larger share of the cloud market than Microsoft, did not pose a similarly anticompetitive risk, Zavery said AWS consumers were not facing the same restrictions.

There are some issues, in terms of cloud interoperability, but we can fix that. That's a discussion between providers, which is much understood, and customers are forcing that conversation, he said.

The problem we run into with Microsoft is that there's no technical issue, but you have licensing restrictions which means we are now being prevented from competing.

Google made six recommendations to the CMA, including forcing Microsoft to improve interoperability for customers using Azure and alongside other cloud services, and banning it from withholding security updates from those that switch.

Reporting by Martin Coulter in London; additional reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in New York; editing by Kenneth Li, Lincoln Feast and Edwina Gibbs

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Exclusive: Google pushes for antitrust action against Microsoft in UK ... - Reuters.com

December 1, 2023, 5:00 AM UTC

Alphabet Inc. Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai likes to tell the world that Google is an AI-first company in large part because its search results benefit from clever artificial intelligence algorithms. But hes also grappling with AI tools being deployed on the other side, as more people use ChatGPT, Midjourney and others to flood the web with machine-generated text and images.

The most worrying examples of fake material getting through Googles net are images, which can powerfully twist emotions and stick in peoples minds.

This week, Wharton professor Ethan Mollick noted on X that photorealistic AI images were now topping Googles search results for Israel Kamakawiwoole, the Hawaiian singer who died in 1997, instead of real photos. AI-generated images from Gaza showing bloodied, abandoned infants recently went viral, playing havoc with Googles ranking algorithms and creating a warped view of the Israeli conflict. And Google recently showcased an AI-made selfie of Chinas historically anonymous Tank Man.

Fake AI images of Israel Kamakawiwoole laughing and playing the guitar lead Googles search results for the Hawaiian singer. Source: Screengrab on Nov. 30, 2023

Googles battle to discern real from fake threatens to blur the lines for billions of people seeking facts, and puts its own role as the worlds organizer of information in uncertain territory.

To illustrate how convincing such images can be, take the quiz below to see if you can tell genuine images of historic figures apart from AI-generated ones.

1 of 10

Which one is a real photograph of Muhammad Ali/Cassius Clay: A or B?

2 of 10

Which one is a real photograph of Maya Angelou: A or B?

3 of 10

Which one is an image of a real painting of Joan of Arc: A or B?

4 of 10

Which one is an image of a real painting of Napoleon Bonaparte: A or B?

5 of 10

Which one is a real photograph of Charlie Chaplin: A or B?

6 of 10

Which one is a real photograph of Winston Churchill: A or B?

7 of 10

Which one is a real photograph of Abraham Lincoln: A or B?

8 of 10

Which one is a real photograph of Marilyn Monroe: A or B?

9 of 10

Which one is a real photograph of Eleanor Roosevelt: A or B?

10 of 10

Which one is a real photograph of Margaret Thatcher: A or B?

Google admits that its grappling with the problem. Given the scale of the open web its possible that our systems might not always select the best images regardless of how those images are produced, AI-generated or not, a Google spokesman said. He added that the best way to thwart misleading information was to rank reliable content at the top of its results.

Yet plenty of AI knockoffs have already infiltrated those top results, distorting peoples view of reality.

In September, Googles algorithms inadvertently made an AI-generated selfie its lead image for searches of Tank Man, the Chinese man who stood before tanks leaving Tiananmen Square in 1989. Google took that image down, but for a moment in time the image had rewritten history: Tank Man now had a face, and he was middle-aged.

In reality, Tank Man was never identified and some reports described him as being a 19-year-old student.

Kamakawiwoole, similarly, was best known for his cover of the song, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, playing the ukulele and not smiling very often in photos. Yet Google now paints a different picture of the singer: a bubbly, extroverted man known for playing the guitar. (At the time of writing, the faked photos still topped Googles results.)

Google also put AI-generated imitations at the top of its search results for painters Edward Hopper and Johannes Vermeer, the latter showing a glossy, cartoonish version of The Girl With a Pearl Earring.

One hallmark of AI-generated images is how slick they are; even historic figures sport Hollywood grins and look like theyre in a Vogue cover shoot. The result is an idealized version of real life more reflective of what people think history should look like than the gritty reality of what it actually does.

For Google, this is just the latest battle in a lengthy war. For at least a decade it has grappled with the rise of SEO optimization, in which websites stuff themselves with keywords to rank higher in search results, making it harder to trust those results.

Little wonder that Google has recently focused on adding features like metadata analysis to help people determine where images come from and how credible they are. It is, in other words, putting the onus on us to spot the fakes.

If the worlds best-resourced AI company is still struggling to distinguish fake from real over the next two to three years, we wont necessarily become better online sleuths. Well more likely be forced to adopt a more adversarial view of the Internet, mistrusting most things by default.

George Orwell sounds increasingly prescient in his book 1984, in which he described a world where facts were fudged and rewritten in order to suit anothers purpose. And so it was with every class of recorded fact, great or small. Everything faded away into a shadow-world in which, finally, even the date of the year had become uncertain.

That uncertainty will become a problem for us as much as for Google if its capabilities dont improve.

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Google Can't Catch All the AI Images. Can You? - Bloomberg

With Google making Profiles in Messages official yesterday, one thing youll notice is how those images will replace any contact photos you have manually set.

Profiles let you specify what name and image other users see in a conversation. If the person youre talking to has set up a Profile, that is the photo youll see inside Google Messages going forward. The company confirmed to us yesterday that this will replace any previously set photo, like those that you have manually added through the Google Contacts app.

However, Google will not override the contact name you have set.

Some might not like this behavior as it overrides something you purposefully curated. For comparison, iMessage will ask before changing a profile picture and you have the ability to reject the update. That said, other messaging services dont provide this option.

One argument in defense is that most people dont meticulously maintain contact photos, with many conversations just seeing initials as the image, and that Profiles will be a vast improvement. Google said this new feature addresses the problem of receiving messages from phone numbers not saved in your contacts.

The announcement also pointed to Profiles being particularly useful in group chats so that you know who all the other participants in the group are.

Meanwhile, the color you set for Custom Bubbles appears for both you and the recipient, which is how it works on other services, like Meta/Facebook Messenger.

Profiles started rolling out in mid-November, and is not yet widely available for beta users.

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New Google Messages Profile images will replace contact photos - 9to5Google

One of the big new features Google is preparing for the Pixel 8 Pro is Video Boost, which promises to greatly improve video quality through post-processing on Googles servers. While theres no firm release date for that just yet, the Google Photos app is setting the foundation.

About APK Insight: In this APK Insight post, weve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), were able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. Well try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how theyll look in case that they do ship. With that in mind, read on.

In the most recent versions of the Google Photos app for Android (versions 6.61 and 6.63), there are quite a few strings that show Google is working to bring Video Boost to Pixel 8 Pro owners.

From the initial strings, which appeared almost a month ago in version 6.61, we get a little bit of insight into how Video Boost will work on Pixel 8 Pro. Some of the notices and dialog that will show in the app say:

To boost your videos, turn on backup in settings, or back up this individual video

To use Video Boost, you need to back up this video, which requires signing in with your Google Account

Waiting to back up video

Backing up for Video Boost. This may take some time. A notification will be sent when your video is ready.

Boosting video quality. This may take some time. A notification will be sent when your video is ready.

This may take some time depending on video length, internet speed, and battery status. A notification will be sent when your video is ready.

Boosting your video wont affect your phones battery life or performance, but it may take some time. A notification will be sent when your video is ready.

From that, we can gather a couple of things.

For one, Google is by no means being shy about the fact that Video Boost takes time. Something else that seems rather obvious, but is good to have confirmed, is that users will indeed need a Google account to use this feature. That makes sense, as it requires videos to be backed up to Google Photos.

Beyond that, the newer Google Photos v6.63, which is rolling out this week, adds a few more lines about Video Boost ahead of its debut on Pixel 8 Pro.

Specifically, this version tells us that Photos will allow users to export a boosted video as an AVC or HEVC file for local playback on the device and that this results in the best quality.

Download video for best quality

AVC

Export

HEVC

Export as

Preparing video

Video exported

We also found strings that point to Google Photos giving users the option to select which video they want to keep as the main option in their library, as well as an option to keep best videos only.

Presumably, this all refers mainly to library management, as Video Boost creates two copies of each video shot with the feature enabled.

Export this video only

Keep best videos only

Keep this video only

Set as main video

Show all videos (%d)

Show best videos only (%d)

Google originally said that this feature was due by the end of the year, so were right on track.

Thanks to JEB Decompiler, from which some APK Insight teardowns benefit.

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Google Photos reveals how Pixel 8 Pro 'Video Boost' feature will ... - 9to5Google

Fans draft: assembling the ultimate NFL team based on Google search data

When it comes to the NFL, football fans are eager to tout their favorite players and argue a case for why their team is the best. And since no one team has a monopoly on the best players, this begs the question what would the ultimate NFL line up look like?

Sports betting experts atBettingtop10 Canadaanalyzed search data over the past year for all 2,421 current players in the NFL, to find the nations most Googled players, in order to create their Dream Team roster.

From quarterbacks to defensive backs, heres the lineup that America has been Googling the most:

Americas NFL dream team:

Offensive Lineup: Skill players

Quarterback (QB):

New York Jets quarterbackAaron Rodgers was revealed to be the most searched for quarterback in Americaand receives an average of 2.5 million searches every month nationwide. The high number of searches is partly due to public interest in his torn Achilles tendon received during the September game against the Buffalo Bills.

Running back (RB):

New England PatriotsEzekiel Elliott is the most searched for running back in the nationand receives around 587,000 searches every month, securing his place as running back on Americas football dream team.

San Francisco 49ersChristian McCaffrey is the second most searched running back in Americaand receives around 566,000 searches each month, earning him a place in the squad. Part of this search traffic may be due to McCaffrey recently breaking the 49ers record for most consecutive touchdowns in an NFL game, with 13. The record was previously held by Jerry Rice in 1987.

Wide receiver (WR):

Baltimore RavensOdell Beckham Jr.is themost searched wide receiver in America,receiving 826,000 Google searches each month and securing his place as one of the two running backs on Americas NFL dream team. Its important to note that a proportion of this traffic may result from rumors of Beckham Jr. being linked to Kim Kardashian romantically.

Tennessee TitansDeAndre Hopkins is the nations second most searched for wide receiver.He amasses more than 650,000 Google searches nationwide each month, earning his place as the second wide receiver in Americas NFL dream team.

Tight end (TE):

Kansas City ChiefsTravis Kelce is the most searched for tight end in the NFL,with more than 1 million dedicated searches each month across the nation. For this reason, he earns his spot as tight end on Americas NFL dream team.

Its important to note that part of his search traffic comes from his rumoredromance with American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who has appeared at multiple Chiefs games this season.

Offensive skill players are directly involved in ball handling and play-making, including quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends. Theyre central to executing and advancing offensive plays.

Offensive Lineup: Offensive Line

Offensive tackle (OT):

Cincinnati BengalsOrlando Brown Jr. is the nations most searched for offensive tackleand receives an average of 277,000 Google searches each month, securing him the first offensive position on Americas NFL dream team. Brown Jr. is the currenthighest-paid left tacklein the NFL.

San Francisco 49ersTrent Williams is Americas second most searched for offensive tackle.The left tackle from Texas secured his place on Americas NFL dream team by receiving more than 96,000 Google searches each month.

Offensive guard (OG):

Washington CommandersChris Paul is the most searched for offensive guard in America,and his 576,000 Google searches each month have earned him the first offensive guard position on Americas NFL dream team.

Seattle SeahawksDamien Lewis is Americas second most searched for offensive guard.He receives more than 109,000 Google searches each month, awarding him the second offensive guard position on Americas NFL dream team.

Center (C):

Philadelphia EaglesJason Kelce is the most popular center in America, receiving more than 420,000 dedicated Google searches every month, resulting in his placement on Americas NFL dream team. A high proportion of these Google searches may be due to his brothers recently rumored romance with Taylor Swift.

Comprising the center, offensive guards, and offensive tackles, the offensive lines main job is to protect the quarterback and make way for running backs. Theyre the foundational support for offensive plays.

Defensive lineup: Defensive front

Defensive tackle (DT):

Philadelphia EaglesJalen Carter is Americas most searched defensive tackleand receives around 243,000 Google searches each month, securing his place on Americas NFL dream team.

Los Angeles RamsAaron Donald is the second most searched for defensive tackle in Americaand is responsible for around 197,000 Google searches each month, earning his place on the team.

Defensive ends (DE):

San Francisco 49ersNick Bosa, who receives more than 309,000 Google searches monthly,is Americas most popular defensive endand earns a place on Americas NFL dream team.Bosa receives a cash salary of $51.01 million, making him the highest-paid defender in the NFL.

Cleveland BrownsMyles Garrett is the second most searched for NFL defensive end in America,generating more than 144,000 Google searches monthly and finalizing his place on Americas NFL dream team.

Linebacker (LB):

Dallas CowboysMicah Parsons is the most searched for linebacker in America,with 263,000 monthly searches securing his placement on Americas NFL dream team.

Buffalo BillsVon Miller is Americas second most searched for linebacker,amassing more than 195,000 monthly searches on Google and securing his place on the dream team.

Pittsburgh SteelersT.J. Watt is Americas third most searched for linebacker, with fans typing his name into Google more than 169,000 times each month, driving his inclusion into the team.

Known as the front seven, the defensive front includes defensive tackles, defensive ends, and linebackers. Their primary role is to resist the opposing teams offensive advances and disrupt their plays.

Defensive lineup: Defensive back

Defensive back (DB):Buffalo BillsDamar Hamlin is the most searched for defensive back in Americaand receives more searches each month than any other NFL player, with his name being Googled more than 7.1 million times each month.

Hamlin recently completed his first regular season game after returning from a cardiac arrest that saw the 25-year-old collapse mid-game on January 2nd. This event was undoubtedly contributed somewhat to the number of Google searches he received.

Miami DolphinsJalen Ramsey receives the second highest number of Google searchesfor a defensive linebacker, with more than 238,000 searches per month, securing his inclusion in Americas NFL dream team.

Dallas CowboysTrevon Diggs is the third most searched for defensive back in America,earning his space as a linebacker in Americas NFL dream team. The cornerback receives more than 141,000 Google searches each month.

New York Jets cornerbackBryce Hall is the fourth highest searched defensive back in America, receiving more than 116,000 Google searches each month and earning his place among the defensive back lineup dream team.

The defensive secondary lineup, also known as the defensive back, is the last line of defense for the team and includes cornerbacks and safeties. They are tasked with preventing long passes, covering wide receivers, and making interceptions. They protect against deep offensive threats.

Speaking on the study, a spokesperson fromBettingtop10 Canadasaid:

Americas fascination with NFL players frequently extends beyond their on-field performance, with injuries, romances and rumors of their personal life, influencing who the nation searches for the most.

The NFL Dream Team aims to showcase the players who have captured the nations attention the most over the past year, in order to create the perfect team line up.

Methodology:

The study analyzed average monthly search data over the past year for 2,421 NFL players. The obtained data determined the most searched players in each position. The roster of 48 active players was selected based on a typical lineup, with specific names removed due to clashes with famous figures.

Removed names:

The following players search traffic was either affected by famous cultural personalities or shared names with other players in the NFL, making it difficult to provide precise search result volume: Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan, Chris Evans, Bill Murray, Bobby Brown, Isaiah Thomas, Anthony Johnson, Michael Thomas.

Sources:

NFL, Google Keyword Planner

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2023 OnFocus Central Wisconsin Football Conference Standings: Links to Area Conferences

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Fans Draft: Assembling the Ultimate NFL Team Based on Google ... - OnFocus

The Amazon Alexa app is getting a long-awaited redesign, and the new look is nearly identical to the Google Home app.

In a post today, Amazon has officially revealed the new Alexa app for Android and iOS. The revamped app introduces a completely new look for users which also includes new features.

The homepage now has a customizable Favorites section with quick controls for smart home devices as well as live previews of cameras, as well as a section at the top with commonly used types of devices such as smart lighting.

Amazon further notes a Home Shortcuts feature which can include shopping lists, alarms, routines, and more, all of which can be customized by users. Amazon explains:

A new Shortcuts bar on the Home page organizes devices by category, and shows popular Alexa features like shopping lists, alarms, and Routines. You can customize what you see in the rotating carousel at the top of the Home page. Plus, you can now see the state of your connected deviceslike how many lights are on or the temperature in your living roomdirectly from Shortcuts.

Theres also a Devices tab which contains a list of all of your smart home devices with filters to quickly find the one you want, as well as groups to find all devices in say, a bedroom or the kitchen.

The new app also has a dedicated button for Alexa, and there are also returning features such as the Map View which shows your devices as they are located in your homes floorplan, though that feature only works on iOS.

The new design, however, is rolling out now to both Android and iOS.

And, if it looks familiar, theres probably a reason for that. From the home tabs favorites to the list of devices, the new Alexa app bears a striking resemblance to the new Google Home app. Google launched its major redesign in late 2022 before widely rolling it out early this year, so its maybe not a coincidence seeing Amazon pick up on the same ideas so quickly.

Its also worth noting that Amazon explains the new design similarly to Google, saying that the aim was make it easier to manage a large smart home as millions of customers have more than 20 devices connected to Alexa.

Google, when it launched the new Home app, cited that the average US household has25 connected devices and that the goal of the new design was to keep things easy to navigate while [reflecting] the unique needs of your home.

There is definitely one thing Amazon is still doing differently, though, and thats splattering ads through the Alexa app. As The Verge shows in screenshots, the More tab isnt shy about advertising Amazons products. To be fair, Google sort of does this too, as the Home app sent users a notification advertising the Pixel Tablet earlier this year, but thats not an ever-present deal.

The new Amazon Alexa app is widely available on Android and iOS starting today.

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New Amazon Alexa app is here and looks like Google Home - 9to5Google