Category Archives: Google

YouTube TV is testing support for Dolby 5.1 surround sound on Google TV, Android TV, and Roku devices. In a tweet, the platform said 5.1 audio will launch on those devices next if everything runs smoothly during the test.

If you were hoping to get surround sound while watching YouTube TV on your Apple TV, Fire TV, Xbox, or PlayStation, however, youll have to wait a bit longer. The platform says its still working internally and with partners to get 5.1 support on these platforms.

YouTube TV currently supports 5.1 surround sound on Samsung, LG, and Vizio TVs, as well as on traditional Chromecast streaming devices. For it to work, youll need Cobalt version 20 or later, which you can check by selecting your profile photo in the YouTube TV app, clicking About, and then hitting App Version. It also requires a speaker system that supports 5.1 audio.

Last June, YouTube TV announced that it would bring 5.1 surround sound to select devices. It seems the service is following through on its promise, although its taking quite a bit of time to roll the highly anticipated feature out.

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YouTube TV is testing surround sound on Android TV, Google TV, and Roku - The Verge

An Irish company that specialises in tax preparation and advisory services has launched High Court proceedings over the suspension of its advertising account by Google.

The action has been brought by My Tax Back Ltd, which operates the mytaxrefunds.ie website, over Google Ireland Ltds decision to suspend and completely exclude the company from advertising on Google.com by way of the Google Ads service.

The court heard that the company had advertised with Google for some years.

However, at the start of 2022, Google removed some of its adverts on the grounds that they were not eligible and in breach of Googles terms of service.

The company disputes Googles assertions and says it should be allowed to advertise tax preparation services.

The company was suspended from advertising any of it services on the platform on March 11th last.

It now estimates that it is losing 9,500 per day because of the suspension.

In a sworn statement to the court companys managing director and sole shareholder Gary OBrien claims that without access to that platform the company is highly unlikely to survive should the dispute between the parties take more than six months to determine.

The Co Donegal-based Mr OBrien also said that his companys competitors continue to use the defendants advertising platform for the same taxation services provided by his company.

Represented by Arthur Cunningham Bl, instructed by Peter Boyle and Co Solicitors, My Tax Back seeks an injunction directing Google to allow Tax Back to advertise the tax preparation services it provides with Google Ads.

That order, if granted by the court, would remain in place pending the outcome of the full hearing of the dispute.

In its action, the company seeks declarations that its advertising account with the internet firm was unlawfully suspended. It also seeks a declaration from the court that the services it provides are not restricted by Googles prohibition on promotions.

It seeks an order to have the agreement it claims it entered with Google to display its advertising, and damages for alleged breach of contract.

The matter came before Mr Justice Senan Allen on Monday.

The judge, on an ex parte basis, granted the applicant permission to serve short notice of the injunction proceedings on Google.

The matter will return before the court next week.

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Tax advisory company sues Google over suspension of advertising account - The Irish Times

Enlarge / The new "booking page" UI. This is a URL you can create and send to anyone.

Google

Google Calendar's latest update promises to take a lot of the back-and-forth out of booking appointments. Google announced Friday that users will soon be able to create a "booking page" UI they can send to anyone they want. You present the periods you're willing to have a meeting, and the other user will be able to pick a time.

Workspace users will soon be able to pick the"Appointment Schedule" from the "create" appointment button. This will fire up a UI that can be used to create an appointment webpage. Workspace users highlight the times they would be willing to have a meeting, then enter the appointment duration and location (or a Google Meet room) and add a title and description.

Once everything is filled out, Calendar will generate a Google-hosted "booking page" website, and the creator can send the URL to someone else. The other person can then easily pick a time and add the meeting to a calendar. A similartime slot feature was previously available if both users were inside the same Workspace organization, but you can now show this time-slot UI to anyone you want, even users without a Google account.

Google

The creator of the booking page will need to be using at least the "Business Standard" version of Google Workspace. The lower-level "Business Starter" level is still paid, but it doesn't get access to these sorts of fancy new features. The feature should roll out to everyone by April 9. Once you have it, just load up the web version of Google Calendar, click on the "Create" button, and pick"Appointment Schedule."

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New Google Calendar feature takes the back-and-forth out of scheduling - Ars Technica

If you want to verify your Google login and make it harder to access by anyone but yourself (always a good idea), one way is to use your iPhone or Android smartphone as a physical security key. While you can set up a third-party 2FA app such as Authy or even use Googles own Authenticator, these require that you enter both your password and a code generated by the app. Googles built-in security allows you to access your account by just hitting Yes or pressing your volume button after a pop-up appears on your phone. You can also use your phone as a secondary security key.

To set this up, your computer should be running a current version of Windows 10, iOS, macOS, or Chrome OS. Before you start, make sure that your phone is running Android 7 or later and that it has Bluetooth turned on.

Youll then be run through a test of the system and invited to turn it on permanently.

You can also use your phone as a secondary security key to ensure that it is indeed you who are signing into your account. In other words, to get into the account, it will be necessary to be carrying the correct phone with a Bluetooth connection.

Thats it! Youve set up your phone as a security key and can now log in to Gmail, Google Cloud, and other Google services and use your phone as the primary or secondary method of verification.

Just make sure your phone is in close proximity to your computer whenever youre trying to log in. Your computer will then tell you that your phone is displaying a prompt. Follow the directions to verify your login, and youre all set!

Update March 29th, 2021, 11:20AM ET: This article was originally published on April 12th, 2019, and has been updated to account for changes in the Google interface.

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How to use your phone as a two-factor authentication security key - The Verge

(Washington, DC)Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development hosted DMPEDs 8th annual March Madness, showcasing the Districts new and upcoming real estate, housing, business, and workforce initiatives. One of these initiatives is a $1 million Google.org grant, where Mayor Bowser and Google partnered to support Community College Prep Academy (CC Prep) to expand their IT Pathways program. The funds will cover scholarships for 250 learners to take a Google Career Certificate training program with wraparound support, such as career coaching. The program equips people with job-ready skills in high-growing fields within 3-6 months with no degree or experience required.

This partnership with Google aligns with our larger goal of ensuring DC residents have access to jobs and careers in high-demand, high-growth, and good-paying industries, said Mayor Bowser. Were proud to work with Google to give more Washingtonians a fair shot.

Googles philanthropic arm, provided a grant to CC Prep to offer the program given the schools commitment to increase access to essential workforce training for non-traditional students who do not have a degree and are often underrepresented in tech fields. Through this program, Google and CC Prep aim to advance the economic potential of local DC workers, regardless of their education level.

The Bowser Administration has always created new ways to support our residents with resources and training to help them thrive, said Deputy Mayor John Falcicchio. DC is the District of comebacks, and this opportunity ignites individual and collective growth. When residents succeed, the District succeeds. We are all coming back up together.

Those interested in learning more about the Google Analytics Program at CC Prep can visit their website http://www.ccprep-academy.org to start the application and screening process, or they can call (202) 770-3252 to speak with a member of the enrollment team.

Google calls Washington, DC home, and were committed to investing in the local community and its residents, said Andrew Dunckelman, Head of Impact and Insights, Google.org. Were proud to work with the Community College Prep Academy to offer the Google Career Certificates. This initiative will help job seekers increase their economic potential and enable them to gain the skills needed for in-demand jobs in the nations Capital.

The Google Career Certificates training program was developed by Google employees to support skilling in high-demand fields. After finishing the program, an employer consortium of over 150 companiesincluding Washington, DC-area employers such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Leidos, and Googleconsider graduates for related roles. The certificates can be completed in three to six months of part-time study. Over 70,000 people have graduated from the program in the U.S., and 75% of graduates report a positive career impact, such as a new job, higher pay, or a promotion, within six months of completion. Fifty-five percent of graduates identify as Asian, Black, or Latino. The Google Career Certificates are a part of Grow with Googlethe companys initiative to create economic opportunity for all Americans through digital tools and training programs.

The partnership between CC Prep and Google is the type of industry relationship that DOES and the DC Infrastructure Academy strive to cultivate in developing career pipelines for District residents, said DOES Director Dr. Unique Morris-Hughes. By combining technology and opportunity, 250 Washingtonians will be positioned to meet the demands of the labor market and have access to family sustaining jobs in their community.

Social Media:Mayor Bowser Twitter:@MayorBowserMayor Bowser Instagram:@Mayor_BowserMayor Bowser Facebook:facebook.com/MayorMurielBowserMayor Bowser YouTube:https://www.bit.ly/eomvideos

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Mayor Bowser and Google Announce $1 Million Grant to Train DC Residents for In-Demand Tech Jobs | mayormb - Executive Office of the Mayor

In the unlikely event that 2 TB is not enough, you can increase your storage, but the option to upgrade to an even larger plan is available only for current subscribers and in select countries. Here are the plans (no annual discount on the 10-, 20-, or 30-TB plans):

Google One Benefits

The main benefit of a Google One plan is the extra cloud storage you can share with up to five family members. While families can share the same space, personal photos and files are accessible only to each owner unless you specifically choose to share them. Everyone in the family can also share the additional benefits (provided you all live in the same country).

Lets take a closer look at those benefits:

Access to Google Experts

You get instant access to Google experts for general questions or tech support for any of your Google products or services. You can contact support by phone, chat, or email through the Google One app 24/7. Response times for phone and chat are 2 to 3 minutes, while emails can expect a response within 24 hours.

Extra Benefits

A few things fall into this category:

Originally posted here:

What Is Google One? A Breakdown of Plans, Pricing, and Included Services - WIRED

I was recently reading comments on a post related to COVID-19, and saw a reply I would classify as misinformation, bordering on conspiracy. I couldnt help but ask the commenter for evidence.

Their response came with some web links and do your own research. I then asked about their research methodology, which turned out to be searching for specific terms on Google.

As an academic, I was intrigued. Academic research aims to establish the truth of a phenomenon based on evidence, analysis and peer review.

On the other hand, a search on Google provides links with content written by known or unknown authors, who may or may not have knowledge in that area, based on a ranking system that either follows the preferences of the user, or the collective popularity of certain sites.

In other words, Googles algorithms can penalise the truth for not being popular.

Google Searchs ranking system has a fraction of a second to sort through hundreds of billions of web pages, and index them to find the most relevant and (ideally) useful information.

Somewhere along the way, mistakes get made. And itll be a while before these algorithms become foolproof if ever. Until then, what can you do to make sure youre not getting the short end of the stick?

There are around 201 known factors on which a website is analysed and ranked by Googles algorithms. Some of the main ones are:

Research has shown users pay more attention to higher-ranked results on the first page. And there are known ways to ensure a website makes it to the first page.

One of these is search engine optimisation, which can help a web page float into the top results even if its content isnt necessarily quality.

The other issue is Google Search results are different for different people, sometimes even if they have the exact same search query.

Results are tailored to the user conducting the search. In his book The Filter Bubble, Eli Pariser points out the dangers of this especially when the topic is of a controversial nature.

Personalised search results create alternate versions of the flow of information. Users receive more of what theyve already engaged with (which is likely also what they already believe).

This leads to a dangerous cycle which can further polarise peoples views, and in which more searching doesnt necessarily mean getting closer to the truth.

While Google Search is a brilliant search engine, its also a work in progress. Google is continuously addressing various issues related to its performance.

One major challenge relates to societal biases concerning race and gender. For example, searching Google Images for truck driver or president returns images of mostly men, whereas model and teacher returns images of mostly women.

While the results may represent what has historically been true (such as in the case of male presidents), this isnt always the same as what is currently true let alone representative of the world we wish to live in.

Some years ago, Google reportedly had to block its image recognition algorithms from identifying gorillas, after they began classifying images of black people with the term.

Another issue highlighted by health practitioners relates to people self diagnosing based on symptoms. Its estimated about 40% of Australians search online for self diagnoses, and there are about 70,000 health-related searches conducted on Google each minute.

There can be serious repercussions for those who incorrectly interpret information found through Dr Google not to mention what this means in the midst of a pandemic.

Google has delivered a plethora of COVID misinformation related to unregistered medicines, fake cures, mask effectiveness, contact tracing, lockdowns and, of course, vaccines.

According to one study, an estimated 6,000 hospitalisations and 800 deaths during the first few months of the pandemic were attributable to misinformation (specifically the false claim that drinking methanol can cure COVID).

To combat this, Google eventually prioritised authoritative sources in its search results. But theres only so much Google can do.

We each have a responsibility to make sure were thinking critically about the information we come across. What can you do to make sure youre asking Google the best question for the answer you need?

Read more: Is Google getting worse? Increased advertising and algorithm changes may make it harder to find what you're looking for

In summary, a Google Search user must be aware of the following facts:

Google Search will bring you the top-ranked web pages which are also the most relevant to your search terms. Your results will be as good as your terms, so always consider context and how the inclusion of certain terms might affect the result.

Youre better off starting with a simple search, and adding more descriptive terms later. For instance, which of the following do you think is a more effective question: will hydroxychloroquine help cure my COVID? or what is hydroxychloroquine used for?

Quality content comes from verified (or verifiable) sources. While scouring through results, look at the individual URLs and think about whether that source holds much authority (for instance, is it a government website?). Continue this process once youre in the page, too, always checking for author credentials and information sources.

Google may personalise your results based on your previous search history, current location and interests (gleaned through other products such as Gmail, YouTube or Maps). You can use incognito mode to prevent these factors from impacting your search results.

Google Search isnt the only option. And you dont just have to leave your reading to the discretion of its algorithms. There are several other search engines available, including Bing, Yahoo, Baidu, DuckDuckGo and Ecosia. Sometimes its good to triangulate your results from outside the filter bubble.

Read more: Australia's competition watchdog says Google has a monopoly on online advertising but how does it work?

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There is, in fact, a 'wrong' way to use Google. Here are 5 tips to set you on the right path - The Conversation

Google wants to tidy up the event feed in its Home app to make it easier to see whats happening in your smart home. An update coming later this month will feature a clutter free layout, the search giant says, and it will group related entries to avoid you having to scroll through a list of repetitive events. The above screenshot released by the company shows a more concise, streamlined design.

Alongside this feed update, the company has officially announced a new centralized privacy section, as well as the updated controls that started appearing last week. The privacy section is launching this week, and allows you to manage household settings like presence sensing and offers an easy view of your data. Meanwhile, the new smart home controls offer a simple at-a-glance view of the status of your smart home devices without requiring as many taps, similar to the controls Google included with Android 11. Theyll roll out over the next few weeks, Google says.

Theyre welcome additions to the Google Home app, which has remained largely unchanged since its last major redesign in 2018 (barring a color changing light update in 2019). Unfortunately Googles post doesnt mention whether theyll reduce the amount of ads for Google services that currently plague the home feed.

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Google tidies up its smart home app - The Verge

This may sound familiar, but theres something wrong with the latest software update for Googles Pixel 6 phones. As Google tweaks the version of Android it distributes to phones running its custom Tensor chip, there have been some odd issues, but instead of problems with Wi-Fi or a slow thumbprint scanner, this time, its affecting another key feature: notifications. They still pop up on the phone just as regularly, but for some reason, the strength of the vibration is now significantly weaker than it was before.

Ive had my phones sounds set to silent for years, so any difference in the notification buzz is immediately an issue. Its also noticeably softer for incoming calls, and some people have reported missing phone calls as a result.

Adjusting the phones strength slider seems to have no effect, which suggests the problem is a bug rather than something intentional. A poster on Reddit pointed out that people noticed the same thing during the Android 12.1 beta, but it appears to have made its way into the production release without a response or adjustment. Droid-Life noted that after a list of changes in the March Pixel update appeared on March 7th, Google added a line saying it includes Fix for issue causing weaker haptic feedback in certain conditions on March 8th.

Why did Google change that, and was it intentional? I dont know, and despite requesting more information, the company has not responded. Everyone Ive talked to with a Pixel 6 has noticed the change in their phones, from friends to other Verge staffers, while a number of posts on social media sites and comments suggest its affecting pretty much everyone with one of the devices.

At least a few folks have said they like the change, but if youre not one of them, you may have to wait for another update or install another app that lets you adjust vibrations directly.

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Google's Pixel 6 and 6 Pro vibration changed after the March update - The Verge

March 23 (Reuters) - Alphabet-owned (GOOGL.O) Google will not help websites, apps and YouTube channels sell ads alongside content that it deems exploits, dismisses or condones the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the U.S. company said Wednesday.

Google, whose advertising software helps publishers generate revenue, bars ads from appearing next to content that incites violence and denies tragic events. It is broadly applying those policies to the war.

"We can confirm that we're taking additional steps to clarify, and in some instances expand our monetization guidelines as they relate to the war in Ukraine," Google spokesman Michael Aciman said.

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In an email to publishers seen by Reuters, Google said ads would not run alongside, for example, "claims that imply victims are responsible for their own tragedy or similar instances of victim blaming, such as claims that Ukraine is committing genocide or deliberately attacking its own citizens."

Google also bars ads that capitalize on sensitive events and has applied that policy to the war.

Senior Russian officials say Western media has misreported the conflict in Ukraine, which it calls a "special operation" to demilitarize the country.

Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday that Russia's communications regulator had blocked Google's aggregator service Google News, accusing it of allowing access to what Russia calls fake material about the military operation in Ukraine. read more

Many major Western advertising and social media services have announced new content and payment restrictions around the conflict, including blocking Russian state media RT and Sputnik in the European Union.

Earlier this month, Google said it had stopped selling all online ads in Russia.

Register

Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru and Paresh Dave in Oakland, California; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Rosalba O'Brien

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Google to pause ads that exploit or dismiss Russia-Ukraine war - Reuters