Daily Archives: January 18, 2024

Google will let global Android smartphone users search for content in other applications without having to exit them, a move aimed at boosting its search engine business and driving engagement for app developers.

The company's new Circle to Search feature, to be rolled out gradually from January 31 on some premium Android smartphones, will allow users to select text, images or videos in any other apps, and have Google search them within the apps, the US technology giant said on Thursday.

For example, users will be able to search for details on what a content creator is wearing in a video by circling or tapping on the items, after they activate the Circle to Search function by long-pressing their Android phones home button or navigation bar, the company said.

The feature will enable quick access to information without having to leave the app, potentially driving engagement for apps and the content displayed, it said.

Apple gets deeper into Chinas smartphone price wars with broad iPhone discounts

Early testing showed that users typically return to the app theyre using after activating the feature, according to Google.

The company did not disclose when the function will be available on iPhones, with a representative telling the South China Morning Post that it looks forward to bringing this powerful new capability to more people over time.

Android handsets that will feature the new function will include Samsung Electronics new Galaxy S24 Series, it said.

Google parent Alphabets revenue in the three months ending September 30 rose 11 per cent from the same period a year before, which the company attributed to meaningful growth in search and YouTube, according to its earnings report published in October. Advertising revenue grew 9.5 per cent year on year to US$59.6 billion.

The company is still facing uncertainties in Hong Kong, where the government is seeking to have the US technology giant remove the protest song Glory to Hong Kong, which became popular during anti-government unrest in the city in 2019.

Google has expressed unwillingness to ban the song from its search engine without a court order.

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Google to let global Android users search for content within other apps - South China Morning Post

Mirroring Meta, Google announced a series of layoffs impacting the augmented reality (AR) hardware, Google Assistant, and core engineering divisions, last week (Jan. 10).

A Google representative explained to Android Central that these changes were geared towards enhancing efficiency and aligning resources with the company's major product priorities.

However, according to an internal memo obtained by The Verge, Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees on Wednesday (Jan. 17) that the layoffs this year focused on removing layers to simplify execution and drive velocity in some areas.

We have ambitious goals and will be investing in our big priorities this year, Pichai wrote.

The reality is that to create the capacity for this investment, we have to make tough choices."

He acknowledged the changes faced by several teams and hinted that more layoffs were making their way.

However, Pichai assured his employees that these role eliminations are not at last year's scale of reductions and will not impact every team.

Google's parent company, Alphabet, laid off 12,000 jobs, 6% of its employees, in January 2023 because they over-hired people to match and fuel two years of dramatic growth.

"But I know it's difficult to see colleagues and teams impacted," Pichai noted in the memo.

It is speculated that these layoffs are occurring due to Google's recent shift towards AI. Google toldSemafor, "restructuring would help improve Google Assistant as it explores integrating newer artificial intelligence technology into its products."

According to the Alphabet Workers Union, Google laid off nearly 15,000 employees over the past year.

"Many of these changes are already announced, though to be upfront, some teams will continue to make specific resource allocation decisions throughout the year where needed, and some roles may be impacted," Pichai added.

Not much was said about which departments would be impacted or when the layoffs were expected to happen.

Google has assured affected employees of its support and urged them to seek new opportunities within the company. Nevertheless, given the recent layoffs and more anticipated, prospects of rehiring seem bleak.

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More job cuts on the horizon for Google says CEO Sundar Pichai - Android Central

Microsoft and Google have teamed up to make the default Edge web browser in Windows 11 feel a lot faster and smoother to use and the tech used could benefit Chrome users as well.

As the Winbuzzer website has noticed, this is all thanks to Windows 11s Application Launch Prefetch range (APLF), which has been expanded, potentially boosting its performance.

APLF comes with a parameter known as /prefetch which instructs how Windows 11 optimizes and loads applications. In short, this means Windows 11 can prioritize certain programs and dedicate more processing power or memory to the app and that could mean Edge will load faster when you start it up, display websites (especially image-heavy ones) more smoothly, and just generally feel a lot quicker.

While it wont magically make your internet connection faster, it could still make the process of browsing the web in Edge feel a lot snappier and responsive. The increased range of the /prefetch parameter, highlighted in a code submission to the Chromium project, will allow for better process separation, especially for renderers, and utility processes, so Windows 11 will be better at optimizing resources for Edge.

The fact that Google has been lending a hand to improve the performance of Microsofts Edge browser may seem a little bit odd since the search giant has its own rival browser Chrome.

However, this collaboration makes a lot more sense if you take into account that both Edge and Chrome run on the same underlying Chromium code so by helping improve Edge performance in Windows 11, Google should also see those improvements coming to Chrome as well.

This is the beauty of big companies like Google and Microsoft working on open-source projects like Chromium, as it means those projects can get the benefit of features and fixes from teams that have the resources, training, and experience that might otherwise be kept in-house.

At the moment, improved Prefetch compatibility is included in the latest Edge Canary build, which is an early version used by developers to test out new features. If it works as expected, it should then be included in an update for the Edge browser everyone uses.

APLF is also slated to be made available for any application that runs in Windows 11, so this work wont just benefit Chrome, Edge, and other Chromium-based browsers either. Exciting stuff!

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Microsoft Edge gets a speed boost in Windows 11 with a little help from Google - TechRadar

There were some huge AI announcements at CES 2024 in Las Vegas last week, but it was Google killing off over a dozen features of its Assistant that stuck with me well after the show. The company deems this action necessary to streamline its workflow and free up resources going towards maintaining "underutilized" services. I'm seeing a more worrisome picture. With more than hundreds of recent layoffs in Google's voice assistant and hardware divisions, Google Assistant appears to be in a rocky place.

I say that as someone who has been using the platform almost daily since the 2016 release of the original Google Home smart speaker. Although my hardware has evolved to include the latest Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) and Pixel Tablet, I've noticed a gradual decline in Google Assistant's speed and voice command accuracy over time. It's not just an issue on my end (I've troubleshot my network and speak clearly) pop over to threads on social platforms like Reddit or X and you'll see others complain and even post memes about common mishaps.

Between declining performance and Google removing core features like the ability to set an alarm to music or send an email by voice, Assistant is painting itself into a corner of becoming less useful. All 17 features being removed are listed below and can also be found on Google's support site.

These changes hit especially hard in light of Amazon Alexa's growing functionality. Amazon debuted its open Matter casting protocol which isn't locked to specific hardware. Unlike Google's Chromecast you'll be able to beam content up to even more displays and devices going forward. Alexa's new generative AI-powered experiences allow for apps like Character.AIwhich lets you have full-on conversations and get advice from profiles that range from life coaches to historical figures. And if you have an Alexa-controlled smart home you can use Map View to create a 3D floorplan of it and place your devices on the map as interactive pins. This lets you instantly tap on and control a device without sorting through a list like in Google Home which lacks a competing visual interface.

All of these capabilities only make up what's brand new. The Alexa platform has been steadily improving over time. In addition to performance refinements, Amazon has added new triggers like the "listen for beep" function that made it easy to turn my old washing machine smart. I'm not repeating commands anywhere near as frequently as I am with Google. Plus my Alexa devices can still show me step-by-step recipes, play my Kindle audiobooks, and set media alarms just fine.

Theres speculation that Google Assistant's feature cuts may be a potential first step for the tech giant to implement better AI across its platform. At its Pixel 8 event late last year, the company announced plans to launchan upgraded Google Assistant with Bard. Bard is the brand's generative AI that can create personalized answers based on events, dates, and conversations stored on your devices and Google account. Beyond voice commands, Google Assistant with Bard's contextual awareness can take actions like sort through and summarize your emails or even make you dinner reservations. However, Google didn't say if that version has anything to do with the impacts on current Assistant functionality.

Google Assistant is powerful with more contextual knowledge and a great UI (both visual and voice), but worse than not making headway with the addition of major features or improving upon the experience as others have, it's actively regressing. Should Google expand its features with an upgraded generative AI assistant it can earn back a spot in my main living areas which are dominated by Alexa. For now, its smart displays sit in my bedroom and office.

Unfortunately, the functions being cut are a big part of why those devices ended up in these spots. I use the Nest in my bedroom because it doesn't have a built-in camera, can track my sleep without a wearable, and wake me up to music on its alarm. So much for the sleep summaries and media alarm. And in my office, I occasionally use the Assistant with my personal Gmail account. After next month they'll mainly just be fancy clocks.

Today's best Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) deals

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Google just gave me 17 more reasons why I'm sticking with Alexa - Tom's Guide

SUNNYVALE, Calif, and PARIS LA DFENSE, France, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --Worldline (Euronext: WLN), a global leader in payment services, and Google announced today a strategic partnership designed to leverage cutting-edge cloud-based technologies from Google Cloud to take Worldline's digital transformation further. As part of the partnership, Google will also work with Worldline to facilitate seamless online payments for Google's customers in Europe. In addition, both partners will jointly address go-to-market opportunities, and provide new and enhanced digital customer experiences for merchants and financial institutions.

Accelerating digital transformation with the cloud sustainablySince 2022, Worldline has initiated a "Move to Cloud" program that includes using the cloud to accelerate its digital transformation into a global premium paytech company. Accelerating its trajectory, Worldline now plans to leverage Google Cloud's secure, high-performance, and low-latency infrastructure, enhancing its operational efficiency, optimizing costs, and improving its strategic positioning.

Worldline will also tap into Google Cloud's data analytics and AI capabilities to draw benefits from its own data, and consequently develop new payment products and services. The choice of Google Cloud also results from Worldline's long-lasting focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the low-carbon options Google Cloud offers, as a leader in sustainability.

Google strengthens its partnership withWorldline to facilitate seamless payments for its customers in Europe

As part of the expanded partnership, Worldline will also serve as one of Google's key payment providers in Europe and across a selection of countries. Worldline aims to provide Google customers with more advanced payment options, support for more payment networks, improved cross-border conversion, and a more streamlined customer experience.

Combining expertise to benefit merchants and financial institutions worldwide

The strategic partnership between Google and Worldline will ultimately create a powerful ecosystem of improved product offerings, delivering added value to merchants and banks, and setting a faster pace for continued innovation. By combining their expertise and their specialized knowledge and resources, Google and Worldline will be able to deliver improved payment experiences for their respective customers, and accelerate time-to-market.

"Our partnership with Worldline underscores the wide range of opportunities that secure and reliable cloud technology, data analytics, and AI can bring to merchants and financial institutions. By bringing together the strengths of our two companies, we can accelerate innovation in the payment industry," said Thomas Kurian, Google Cloud CEO.

"Innovation and advanced technology are at the core of Worldline's DNA. To trailblaze changing payment environments and not only meet but anticipate customer expectations, it is key to couple our Paytech DNA with the technological capabilities of a true market leader. We are very proud to expand and strengthen our partnership as a payment provider for Google in Europe. Our deep market infrastructure understanding, combined with Google Cloud's technology expertise and scale, will accelerate our time-to-market and drive tangible success for our customers and markets," said Gilles Grapinet, CEO of Worldline.

About WorldlineWorldline [Euronext: WLN] is a global leader in the payments industry and the technology partner of choice for merchants, banks and acquirers. Powered by 18,000 employees in more than 40 countries, Worldline provides its clients with sustainable, trusted and innovative solutions fostering their growth. Services offered by Worldline include instore and online commercial acquiring, highly secure payment transaction processing and numerous digital services. In 2022 Worldline generated a revenue close to 4.4 billion euros. worldline.com

Read our 2022 Integrated Report

Worldline's corporate purpose ("raison d'tre") is to design and operate leading digital payment and transactional solutions that enable sustainable economic growth and reinforce trust and security in our societies. Worldline makes them environmentally friendly, widely accessible, and supports social transformation.

About Google CloudGoogle Cloud provides organizations with leading infrastructure, platform capabilities and industry solutions. We deliver enterprise-grade cloud solutions that leverage Google's cutting-edge technology to help companies operate more efficiently and adapt to changing needs, giving customers a foundation for the future. Customers in more than 150 countries turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to solve their most critical business problems.

SOURCE Google Inc.

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Worldline and Google Announce Strategic Partnership to Enhance Digital Payments Experiences with Cloud-Based ... - PR Newswire

Following Google's recent rounds of layoffs affecting over a thousand jobs, CEO Sundar Pichai has reportedly told remaining employees to expect further downsizing later this year. According to The Verge, Pichai sent out an internal memo on Wednesday, in which he stated that "to be upfront, some teams will continue to make specific resource allocation decisions throughout the year where needed, and some roles may be impacted." Google confirmed to Engadget that this email was sent out.

The exec explained that the latest "role eliminations" are about "removing layers to simplify execution and drive velocity in some areas." which is just another way of packaging the situation. What's a little more reassuring, perhaps, is Pichai saying that these won't match the scale of some 12,000 job cuts around this time last year, and that not every team will be affected. But numbers are all relative, of course.

Google isn't the only notable tech company that has already made redundancies at the beginning of 2024. Earlier this month, the industry also saw Discord, Meta, Amazon, Twitch, Humane AI, Unity and Duolingo making similar moves at various scales. Here's hoping that LinkedIn's timely launch of its AI-powered "Job Collections" feature will help those impacted quickly land a new post.

Update, January 18 2024, 10:27AM ET: This story has been updated with Google's response.

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Google CEO says more layoffs expected 'throughout the year' in internal memo - Engadget

AI chatbots Google Bard and ChatGPT have shared insight on which cryptocurrency, between Shiba Inu (SHIB) and XRP, could generate more profit this year.

The prospects of raking in profits from crypto tokens remain a key motivation behind investing in general. While the crypto world is replete with volatile and uncertain moves, getting an inclination on how assets will perform can help influence investors strategies overall.

As two of the most popular digital currencies, the prospects of both Shiba Inu and XRP as they relate to potential gains over time remain a subject of discussion. Google Bard and ChatGPT helped with deep insights on what to watch out for this year.

When we asked Google Bard about the prospects of which token among Shiba Inu and XRP will rake in more profit in the next 12 months, the AI chatbot was reluctant at first, owing to how speculative the subject is.

However, when pressed further to give a more direct answer, Google Bard boldly declared it expects XRP to outperform Shiba Inu in the next year. The chatbot named XRPs established position in the market and real-world use case as a basis for the projection.

The chatbot recognizes the growing embrace of XRP by financial institutions for cross-border payments. Also, the latest court ruling that has declared XRP to be a non-security is considered a major boost for cryptocurrency.

Google Bard posits that Shiba Inus memecoin status and high-risk tendencies make it too speculative to bank on as a sustainable investment asset.

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The independence in algorithm between these chatbots was properly showcased as ChatGPT took a completely different stance from Google Bard. The OpenAI-backed application tipped Shiba Inu to outperform XRP in the short term.

ChatGPT noted that despite the speculative nature of Shiba Inu, it has the potential for rapid gains that might give it an edge over XRP. The chatbot acknowledged how established XRP is and noted that it can guarantee stability and gradual growth over time.

These projections from Google Bard and ChatGPT underscore how divergent the market is and how different fundamentals and strategies can be applied to similar assets.

Overall, personal investment in these tokens should come with adequate research and proper risk management strategies to prevent any potential losses.

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Disclaimer: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basics opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.

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Shiba Inu or XRP: Google Bard and ChatGPT Tell Which Will Generate More Profits - The Crypto Basic