Category Archives: Google

Google is on its way to eliminating cookies. A web browser staple since the early days of the internet almost 30 years ago, cookies are an integral part of the internet and the infrastructure on which companies like Google, Meta, and others have built their extensive data collection systems. Now, Google is taking practical steps to eliminate them. Last Thursday, the company initiated a pilot for 1% of Chrome users, in which the browser stops supporting third-party cookies. This is with the goal of ending the use of cookies for all Chrome users in the second half of the year.

Mozilla Firefox and Apple's Safari already eliminated support for cookies four years ago, but with a global market share of almost 65%, only if Chrome stops using them will they disappear entirely. Don't celebrate too soon: experts caution that the alternative presented by Google for personalized advertising is expected to tighten its grip on the digital advertising market.

Cookies are small pieces of information stored on a computer while using a browser. They have many legitimate uses, such as allowing websites to identify returning visitors and preventing the need to enter a username and password each time for services like Netflix, Amazon, or Gmail. However, third-party entities, like advertising networks, can also implant cookies during browsing, using them to create sophisticated user profiles for personalized ad targeting during website visits.

This usage has faced significant criticism from privacy advocates and users. In 2020, browsers like Safari and Firefox blocked third-party cookies by default. The impact of these changes on the digital advertising market was relatively limited, as Google Chrome dominates almost two-thirds of the global browser market. Until now, Google refrained from blocking third-party cookies, stating an intention to do so responsibly. Cynical observers argued that Google's responsibility was not towards users but rather towards its revenue stream, which was significantly impacted by blocking third-party cookies without providing an alternative for monitoring browsing habits.

Now, after developing and implementing such an alternative called Privacy Sandbox, Google has begun a wide-scale pilot for its testing, aiming to completely part ways with third-party cookies by the end of 2024. According to the company's December announcement, this decision is in response to regulators' concerns about antitrust issues.

These concerns are related to Privacy Sandbox which moves the monitoring of user browsing activity from the websites the user visits to the browser itself. The browser locally generates a list of interests or topics for advertising purposes, sharing only these with the site and its advertising network during the user's visit. Google started incorporating this alternative into Chrome in September and the move received widespread criticism, among them that it concentrates more power in the company's hands, potentially harming competition in the digital advertising market. While third-party cookies allow any player in the market to create a user profile and tailor ads, Privacy Sandbox generates this profile solely through a tool under Google's complete control. There's no certainty that it offers a better alternative for user privacy protection.

In fact, not everyone understands the need for a tool that monitors user activity. "It's a terrible idea," argued the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a digital rights organization. "Google is framing it under the false assumption that we have to choose between 'old monitoring' and 'new monitoring.' It's not either-or. Instead of reinventing the monitoring wheel, we need to imagine a better world without the various problems of targeted advertising."

Critics within the industry question the timing of the move, claiming that Google is not ready for the change. Anthony Katsur, CEO of IAB Tech Lab, told The Wall Street Journal that Google needs to give companies more time to test technological alternatives before it removes cookies and that aiming to complete the move in the fourth quarter of 2024 will be a severe blow to the industry. The timing remains poor. Launching it during the industrys greatest revenue-generating part of the year is just a terrible decision."

Others argue that the expected change will boost Google's own revenue from displaying ads in Google Search, which doesn't require a detailed personal profile to tailor ads to users and thus may become a preferred destination for advertisers, especially during the transition from third-party cookies. "Privacy Sandbox likely has very few winners outside of Google, if there are any at all," said Bill Simmons, vice president of product at Trade Desk, a digital ad-buyer platform. He wrote that Googles elimination of cookies would reduce the overall value of the digital advertising industry.

In light of potential difficulties for advertisers and websites to target users, causing a decline in ad prices, digital advertising company Criteo found in 2022 that third-party cookies are up to five times more effective in targeting users compared to Google's alternative. Advertising agency Havas Media discovered that a mix of alternatives can provide similar or better results than cookies, but found it challenging to estimate how well these alternatives will perform at significantly higher activity levels.

Google has dismissed the criticism, claiming that the change will improve user privacy while providing as much value as possible to advertisers. "The ecosystem contains thousands of companies, and theyll continue to adapt and optimize over time," said Anthony Chavez, Google's Deputy President leading the transition from third-party cookies to Privacy Sandbox. "Were confident in the ability for the industry to navigate the transition.

Continued here:

Bite-sized ads: Google's cookie farewell makes advertisers nibble on alternatives - CTech

By: sam doak& January 10 2024

A map of the Gaza Strip and Israel. (Source: Wikimedia commons.)

Since October 7, the focus of fact-checkers, news outlets, and researchers has been squarely set on the violence unfolding across the Gaza Strip and Israel. While the skills required to monitor, research, and investigate conflicts from afar are numerous, the ability to accurately geolocate images and footage is vital to any individual or organization seeking to verify content from the field.

While the ability to geolocate has been increasingly valued by organizations in recent years, attempts to apply such skills to coverage of events in Gaza and Israel have highlighted how a challenge it can be.

The reasons that geolocation is particularly difficult in this region are numerous. Due to concerns relating to Israeli security, American companies were until 2020 under tight legal restrictions regarding the quality of satellite imagery showing Israel and Gaza they were allowed to make publicly available. While these obligations have been lifted for some time, leading providers such as Google and Apple have since failed to update their imagery to a quality comparable with that depicting other regions. Services such as street view are likewise not available.

Paid services, such as those offered by Planet Labs, could constitute a useful alternative to open platforms like Google Maps, but providers have chosen to withhold high-resolution imagery relating to Gaza on occasion in recent months.

While the lack of high-quality satellite imagery alone is enough to complicate geolocation efforts, the devastation caused by aerial warfare in densely urbanized areas presents a compounding difficulty. Put simply, areas across much of Gaza are likely to have changed significantly from the time at which they were photographed by satellite, due to targeting by Israeli forces.

Highlighting this reality, Chris Osieck, a researcher who has worked extensively on geolocating footage from Gaza and the surrounding region, told Logically Facts The bombardments have caused the Gaza Strip to even become unrecognizable, which sometimes asks you to look at touring and walking videos from travel bloggers on YouTube to see how things were before.

While these issues may seem daunting, there are methods and resources that can help with geolocation in areas with poor-quality satellite imagery, and lack of street view. While not all are applicable to Gaza, they can greatly expand the capabilities of those seeking to geolocate media recorded in such environments.

Frequently, those seeking to geolocate an image or video may know or suspect it was recorded within a specific area. In cases such as these, image libraries such as Getty Images and Reuters Pictures are valuable resources. Searching the name of the location will often reveal high-quality photographs that can be matched with footage, and provide additional visual information.

These resources are particularly useful in contexts that attract a high level of media coverage, as they raise the likelihood that a photographer will be on the ground.

(Source: Gaza Damage Proxy Map/Screenshot)

Released by Ollie Ballinger, a Lecturer at UCLs Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, the Gaza Damage Proxy Map is a tool that indicates the likelihood that locations have changed significantly since October 10, 2023. It compares recent Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery with data captured on October 10. As significant damage to a structure will change how it reflects microwaves, these results provide a valuable indicator in areas inaccessible to journalists and researchers.

In the context of geolocation, this can help narrow down search areas. If a scene in a video or image shows heavily damaged buildings or other significant destruction, there is a likelihood it will be an area highlighted by the tool. Handily, the tool allows users to easily check if footage has been geolocated to a highlighted location, reducing the risk of time wastage.

(Source: Screenshot/Google Earth)

Every map, on and offline, will contain a varying level of detail. With satellite maps in particular different providers will often have imagery that varies in quality and recency. A way to address this difficulty is to download map overlays on Google Earth. This allows users to quickly toggle between different maps of the same location in a manner much easier than switching between platforms.

This can be particularly useful in Gaza, where online maps and satellite imagery can be of low quality, and contain sparse levels of information concerning a given area.

A video comparing Gaza before and after October 7, 2023. (Source: YouTube)

Often areas will have been filmed from above by aircraft or drone. Usually easily searchable on platforms such as YouTube, these videos can offer a highly detailed birds-eye view of an area and will make visible details that are unclear on satellite maps.

The existence of relevant footage of this nature is particularly likely when it concerns urban environments, culturally significant locations, and visually striking areas.

As events have unfolded in Gaza, journalists and researchers have increasingly relied upon publicly available livestreams to follow developments on the ground. Made available by a range of individuals and organizations, these can provide useful visual information for those trying to trace the origin of images and footage once a search area has been narrowed down.

To find a range of resources, one can simply search on a platform such as YouTube, or check more specialized sites such as Windy. Handily, YouTube archives old livestreams, allowing users to view locations streamed previously.

(Source: Screenshot/Peakvisor)

Initially developed for use by the mountaineering community, Peakvisor is a tool that has been embraced by OSINT professionals as a resource to aid in geolocation. It allows users to view the topography of an area, and in many cases match ridgelines and other features to images and video.

While Gaza is not particularly mountainous, it does have topography in areas that can be matched with the imagery available through Peakvisor. This is particularly useful given the poor quality of Google Earth imagery in the region.

Read the original here:

Beyond Google Maps: Geolocating media from Gaza and other challenging environments - logicallyfacts.com

Last updated: January 10th, 2024 at 09:18 UTC+01:00

At CES 2024, Google announced new features for Android Auto and Google Built-in that are mainly related to Google Maps and electric vehicles (EVs). Along with that, the company has released new applications for Google Built-in. Lets take a look.

Electric vehicles that feature Android Auto will be able to share real-time battery information with Google Maps. Based on that, Google Maps will be able to show you the amount of battery that will be left in your vehicle when you arrive at a destination. Along with that, it can use real-time battery information to suggest charging stops along the route and estimate the amount of time it will take to charge the battery.

The new functionality will make it easier and more convenient for people to plan trips in their electric vehicles using Google Maps. The company will roll out this feature in the coming months and Mustang Mach-E and Ford F-150 Lightning will be the first models to get it. Theres no info about which other cars will get this feature.

If your vehicle has Google Built-in, you will be able to send a trip from Google Maps on Android and iOS to Google Maps on your vehicle. This will enable you to quickly set up the same navigation on your cars infotainment display that you had finalized on your smartphone. This feature is starting to roll out today.

Google has announced the Google Chrome app for Google Built-in, which allows people in the car to browse the web and keep themselves entertained. However, if you are the one driving the car, make sure that you use it only when the car is parked to avoid distraction while driving. The app is rolling out today to select Volvo and Polestar cars.

Along with that, Google has also announced that The Weather Channel app is now available for Google Built-in, allowing you to stay up-to-date on changing weather conditions with hourly forecasts, follow-me, alerting and Trip View radar right from your dashboard.

Read more:

Google announces new apps and features for Android Auto and Google Built-in at CES 2024 - SamMobile - Samsung news

Here are some predictions that I doubt will happen in 2024 or the near future (and why I think so). Midjourney

2023 was the year of AI. Every month, weve seen new AI tools being launched, advancements in the field, upgrades, and more things that kept the field of AI moving.

Overhyped AI predictions werent missing in 2023 either. Throughout the year we heard things like AGI was (or will soon be) achieved or AI will take everyones job.

Heres why I think theyre overhyped and doubt theyll happen in the next years.

Almost every month theres a new ChatGPT killer at least thats what we see on the media. The latest ChatGPT killer (by consensus) was Gemini Ultra, a tool that beat GPT-4 in the benchmarks but isnt available yet to the public.

Even if Gemini Ultra is slightly superior to GPT-4, tech superiority doesnt always translate to market dominance and Google knows that (probably thats why they created too much hype with their demo).

I checked some articles and videos that claim Google will kill ChatGPT to find out how they came to such conclusions. Here are some of the arguments I found.

I don't think any of these arguments are enough to claim that Google will indeed kill ChatGPT.

Why? Well, #2 is not a good metric to say whether a product will kill its competitor. Recently, Google shares sank following reports that some of their AI Gemini Ultra demo was faked. This doesnt mean Gemini Ultra is a bad model or that it cant compete with GPT-4 but shows the consequences of Google overhyping its own product.

On the other hand, even if #1 is true, its not enough. Google might have the resources to create a tool to compete

Read the original here:

Google Will Kill ChatGPT and Other Overhyped AI Predictions We Heard In 2023 - Medium

Google has released yet another year-end list, and this time, the tech giant goes over what it thinks are the best Chrome extensions for 2023.

Its similar to the 10 best Android app awards from last month; however instead of highlighting different kinds of software, the company is focusing on extensions that help you with work or navigating the internet. It didnt really touch upon any entertainment plugin.

The first group pertains to AI-powered software that aims to get tasks done faster. You have Scribe which utilizes artificial intelligence to document your workflows, then create step-by-step instructions for other people to follow. DeepL Translate does as the name suggests: translate web pages for you on the fly. It can even instantly change the language of your writing without having to run it through Google Translate. Sider is one of the more interesting suggestions as it lets you access ChatGPT through a sidebar.

QuillBot helps you write emails or summarize news articles in front of you. And Teal lets you bookmark job listings on online boards as well as track applications in a single location.

From here, we start to see the accessibility tools such as Transkriptor to record audio meetings into text for later reference. Google also recommends installing Equalizer onto Chrome to add better audio controls for media. It lets you create a unique listening experience just by moving the sliders up or down.

If youre having trouble with (or just dont feel like) perusing emails or PDFs, users can download Speechify to have a natural-sounding AI voice read it out loud for you. This one is pretty amusing because Snoop Dogg is one of the voices and its a very surreal experience hearing him read something you wrote on Google Docs. There isnt much in the way of customization extensions apart from Bonjourr transforming homepages into a minimalistic centerpiece by removing the search bar and widgets.

Google caps off the list with a trio of miscellaneous extensions: Coupert helps people find promo codes online, Boxel 3D adds a mini platformer game for whenever you want to take a break, and BTRoblox introduces new features to the Roblox website.

Whats particularly funny about this list is that there isnt a single adblocker anywhere. If you at other best Chrome extension roundups, you will almost always find an adblocker on there just like our old one from 2022. Its not super surprising this is the case. Google has been at war against ad-blockers for the past several months, seeking to remove them from Chrome and YouTube altogether.

It makes sense the company wouldn't want to highlight something theyre not a fan of, but we certainly will because we know you're fans of them. Be sure to check out TechRadars list of the best ad blockers for 2023.

See the original post:

Google names the best Chrome extensions of 2023 with a glaring omission - TechRadar

A publisher took to Twitter to share their reaction to what they felt was essentially a theft of their content for the benefit Google with what they felt was little to no benefit to the publisher.

Googles response was surprising and probably not what publishers and SEOs expected.

The publisher showed a screenshot of a branded site:search for things to do in Denver with content directly from their site.

The publisher tweeted:

Google is now stealing Travel Lemmings own brand searches (even via site search).

They take our list INCLUDING MY ORIGINAL PHOTOS and present it in a rich result so people dont click through.

I am literally IN that Red Rocks photo!

This wasnt just happening to branded and site:searches, either.

Google was competing with the publisher with the publishers content for regular keyword searches like Mexico Travel Tips.

The publisher tweeted a screenshot of the SERPs with a huge search feature that uses all of the publishers content.

He tweeted:

They are doing this across all travel searches unbranded and branded alike.

Example: Mexico Travel Tips they have an AI answer & also a rich result that basically just re-creates an entire blog post, including our stolen photos.

Again, I am IN that Mexico packing photo!

Heres the tweet:

They followed up with this, this and this tweet:

Like how is it legal for Google to just essentially create entire blog posts from creators content and images?

I literally have a law degree from the top law school in the world, and even I cant figure it out!

Fair use does NOT apply if youre using the content to compete directly against the creator, which they clearly are. I cant sit outside a movie theatre, project the movie on a wall, earn money from it, and claim fair use.

I spent SO much time taking those photos in Denver.

It was 10+ full days worth of work for me and partner Clara, going around the city to photograph everything. $100s of money spent in attraction admission fees, gas, parking.

Now Google just gets to extract all that value?

How much does Google get to take before creators say enough is enough?

How hard does the water have to boil before the frog jumps?

The comments show it is a prisoners dilemma as long as Google has a monopoly on search

Googles SearchLiaison (aka Danny Sullivan) responded with an explanation of whats going on. They explained how the rich result that uses the entirety of the publishers content also features a link back to the publishers webpage.

Wisely, SearchLiaison didnt insist that Google was in the right. Instead, their response was sympathetic to the plight of the publisher.

SearchLiaison likely understood how the publisher felt because, unlike many Googlers, Danny Sullivan used to be a publisher for many decades. He, probably more than any other Googler, knows what its like to be on the other side of Googles fence.

SearchLiaison tweeted:

Hey Nate, this got flagged to my attention. Ill pass along the feedback to the team. Pretty sure this isnt a new feature. Elsewhere in the thread, you talk about it being an AI answer, and Im pretty sure thats not the case, either. Its a way to refine an initial query and browse into more results.

With the example you point out, when you expand the listing, your image is there with a credit. If you click, a preview with a larger view comes up, and that lets people visit the site. Personally, Im not a fan of the preview-to-click.

I think it should click directly to the site (feedback Ive shared internally before, and Ill do this again). But its making use of how Google Images operates, where theres a larger preview that helps people decide if an image is relevant to their search query. Your site is also listed there, too. Click on that, people get to your site.

If you dont want your images to appear in Google Search, this explains how to block them: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/prevent-images-on-your-page

I suspect youd prefer an option to not have them appear as thumbnails in particular features. We dont have that type of granular control, but Ill also pass the feedback on.

SearchLiaison followed up with another tweeted response:

I appreciate your thoughts and concerns. I do. The intention overall is to make search better, which includes ensuring people do indeed continue to the open web because we know for us to thrive, the open web needs to thrive.

But I can also appreciate that this might not seem obvious from how some of the features display.

Im going to be sharing these concerns with the search team, because theyre important.

You and other creators that are producing good content (and when youre ranking in the top results, thats us saying its good content) should feel we are supporting you.

We need to look at how what we say and how our features operate ensure you feel that way.

Ill be including your response as part of this.

Theres a legal definition of whats fair and it may be that Google has a legal right to use website content in a manner that has the impression that Google is stealing the content from a publisher to outrank that publisher with their own content.

But theres also a subjective common sense definition of fair play that you feel in your heart. Maybe its that notion of fairness that many publishers feel when Google appears to use their content in a way that seems to benefit Google more than it does the publisher.

Is this one of those situations that fits into the paradigm of just because you can doesnt mean that you should?

Visit link:

Google Responds To Accusations Of "Stealing" Publisher's Content - Search Engine Journal

Summary

Google Chat unveiled its redesign back in November, and its changed mightily. The fresh look streamlines navigation with a new bottom bar that livens up the whole app experience, providing new menu options to choose from. Google announced the change in its Google Workspace Updates blog, but its taken a few weeks for the redesign to roll out onto our smartphones. Now, with a new Chat app update, users are starting to see the new UI on their devices.

While our team has yet to see the update hit our phones, 9to5Googles writers are reporting that the redesign has rolled out to some of their devices. Google Chats latest update on the Google Play Store was made on Dec. 5, so this change looks like its being enabled on Googles server-side backend. Regardless, as wide-scale rollouts usually go, its taking a longer period of time than we hoped for to see the change made on Android devices. Originally, Google said it would start taking effect on Nov. 29, but the blog also mentioned that it could take longer than 15 days to be visible. Its been exactly three weeks since Nov. 19.

Source: 9to5Google

Those who have access to the new look will see the bottom bar is now a floating pill containing four icons right next to an additional floating action button (FAB) thats more squared. From left to right, the icons inside the pill are for Home, Direct messages, Spaces, and Mentions, while the FAB next to the pill is for creating a new chat. In the Gmail app, the entire bar containing the Chat pill and accompanying New Chat button is now its own FAB that appears when pressing the middle chat icon on the bottom bar on Gmail.

The redesigns substantial changes put Google Chat more in line with other Google apps and software that have been injected with a dose of Material You over the past couple years. To be honest, were not sure if were fans of the design changes that have been made to Chat and other apps in the Google Suite over the past few years. We wrote over three years ago about how Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, and Meet all look the same after Google released new icons for them. Its hard to distinguish between most Google apps when looking at their logos, and most of them now feel too similar when using them. Gone are the days of individuality among Googles software, it seems.

Google Chat is for any and all types of users, but it definitely gets its usage the most from business and enterprise accounts. Its accessible via your Android smart device, iOS-based iPhone or iPad, or favorite web browser, meaning you can use it on practically any device anywhere you go. This makes it a great choice for company communication, so if youre spending most of your days using the program, utilizing the right tips and tricks for Google Chats is important once you get Chat up and running.

See the rest here:

Redesigned Google Chat with floating tab bar rolling out on Android - Android Police

In late October, Google said it would start testing the Duet AI side panel in Workspace Labs, and we now have a closer look at what it can do.

Google first teased the persistent side panel at I/O in May and demoed it again in August as a contextual, real-time AI collaborator. Its launched from a new icon, which animates when you hover over it, next to your account avatar in the top-right corner of Workspace (web) apps.

It opens as an inline column at the right, and you can expand it.Google does not appear to be testing the side panel in Gmail just yet.

In Google Drive, youre able to right-click on a document and ask Duet AI questions about the file, including:

After receiving a response, you can click Sources to view which files and documents were used to generate the response.

Instead of right-clicking, you can also open Duet AI, enter @title of the document, and add a prompt. Duet can also summarize whole projects and accept broad prompts like Help me understand our teams 2024 strategy.

In Google Docs, you can use the Duet AI side panel to:

In Google Sheets:

In Google Slides:

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Visit link:

What the Duet AI side panel can do in Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, & Slides [Gallery] - 9to5Google

With the 40% off Pixel 8, 8 Pro, and Tablet discount, we first noticed that Google added the Diamond tier to the US Play Points program.

Previously, Platinum was the highest level in the US. After amassing over 3,000 points in a calendar year, you get 1.4 points for every $1 spent and weekly prizes of up to 500 points. Theres also Premium support that lets you:

Google first launched the Diamond tier in Asia and recently made it available in the US if you earn over 10,000 Play Points. It now appears in the Play Points dashboard on Android and the web as the next level for you to reach. This gets 1.6 points per dollar spent and weekly prizes of up to 1,000 points.

There are no changes to the in-game point (4x) or book multipliers (5x) from Platinum. Other benefits are found in the Perks tabs:

Platinum remains the top Play Points tier for most countries.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Original post:

Google adds Diamond tier to Play Points in the US - 9to5Google

Theres no guarantee youll have a stable internet connection wherever you go, and if you need to make a contactless payment, will Google Wallet still let you tap your virtual card?

The short answer is yes; youll still be able to make a payment with Google Wallet even if you lose your internet connection. In reality, the only time Google Wallet ever needs a solid connection is when youre adding new cards. In any situation other than that, youll be able to open it up and tap any contactless reader around.

In its many forms whether its contactless payments with a physical card or tap to pay with a phone or watch virtual payments work in the same way. When you open Google Wallet, a suggested default virtual card appears. From that point, the phone can transmit that cards data to a reader. When your Android phone gets close enough to the reader for a strong NFC signal to be established, a transaction occurs.

Because storing and transmitting your debit or credit card information would be a massive security risk, Google Wallet transmits a one-time code that tracks back to your bank. The code is picked up and used to verify your payment information. This generally happens within a matter of seconds.

From a security standpoint, contactless payments are reliably secure. Once the one-time code is used, it no longer represents your card in any way, nor can it be traced back to your cards data.

What makes using Google Wallet offline work is how the one-time code system works. Rather than pulling a code from servers and utilizing it for one transaction at that moment, those unique codes are stored on your device.

Once you go offline, your phone can use Google Wallets NFC-transmitted codes with no problem at all. The problems start to arise when youre offline for an extended period. That log of codes can eventually run out, and when it does, your cards in Google Wallet might be grayed out and no longer be available.

Google notes that connecting to the internet every couple of days will keep the reserve of codes full, which allows you to use Google Wallet offline without a hitch.

For most of us, using Google Wallet offline means we go through a dead spot and need the app to work whenever called upon. In that case, youll never have to worry about being offline long enough for Google Wallet to stop working offline. In most circumstances, Google Wallet will work without an internet connection just fine.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Read the rest here:

Will Google Wallet work without an internet connection? - 9to5Google