Category Archives: Google

NEW ALBANY, Ohio (WCMH) Search engine giant Google is planning to invest an additional $1 billion to expand its data center in New Albany.

The company made the announcement in a press release Thursday.

In addition, the company says it has acquired 618 more acres of land in Columbus and Lancaster for potential future data center locations.

Google broke ground on the New Albany site at the citys International Business Park in 2019.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said the investment further solidifies the states position as one of the countrys leading destinations for cloud technology and investment.

According to Google, In 2020, Google helped generate $9.63 billion of economic activity for 51,900 Ohio businesses, nonprofits, publishers, creators and developers in the state. The company also assisted more than 541,000 Ohio businesses with requests for directions, phone calls, bookings, reviews and other direct connections to their customers.

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Google investing additional $1 billion in central Ohio to expand data centers - NBC4 WCMH-TV

Google Calendar already lets you specify your working hours and earlier this year added support for split schedules. Google is now letting users share day-to-day locations in Calendar amid the increase of hybrid work environments.

Starting August 30, 2021, youll be able to indicate where youre working from directly on your calendar. You can add a weekly working location routine and update your location as plans change.

Its up to you whether you want to Enable working location to let others know where youre working when they invite you to an event. This information will be limited to people who can already view your free/busy availability. The goal of this feature is to make it easier to plan in-person collaboration or set expectations.

Next to the day/hour list, there will be a dropdown to choose from Office, Home, Unspecified, or Somewhere else.

On the Calendar grid, location will appear in between the day/date in the Week view and day-long events. The main screen lets you quickly update your location.

Starting today, admins can control whether this capability is enabled/disabled:

This feature will be ON by default and can be disabled at the domain or OU level. If youd like to disable this feature setting and prevent the onboarding promo from being shown automatically for your users, be sure to disable the setting in the Admin console before August 30, 2021.

From Monday, August 30, users will start to see an onboarding dialog in Google Calendar and have the option to disable work location. The rollout will continue into next month and Workspace tier availability is as follows:

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Google Calendar will soon let you share where youre working from - 9to5Google

At the start of this month, Google started rolling out a big Podcasts for Android redesign. Google Podcasts on the web is now getting a sizable update of its own with a synced queue.

The previous Google Podcasts queue only synced episodes you wanted to hear next between the Android and iOS mobile apps. Google has now added Queue to the online navigation drawer, alongside the Explore shows homepage and Subscriptions. Similarly, an add to queue button is now displayed next to the play/episode duration pill throughout the web app.

On that page, you simply see Your queue with the ability to start playing, clicking for the full listing, and removing episodes from the temporary playlist. This addition makes Google Podcasts more usable on the web.

Previously, the online version was quite barebones compared to the native apps. The Subscriptions feed was introduced just this year on the web, along with For you recommendations.This queue on the Google Podcasts web app is widely rolled out today.

In being more feature-complete with phones, users get a proper desktop client to accompany the mobile and Smart Display/speaker listening experiences. With the recent Android redesign, Google moved the queue out of the Now Playing UI to the new Library tab as the second item in that list.

That revamp has yet to be officially announced or launch widely. Access currently requires you to sign-up for the Google app beta. Similarly, the iPhone and iPad app has yet to be updated. The company is presumably combining all these updates for its big yearly Podcasts announcement.

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Your Google Podcasts queue from Android, iOS now appears on the web client - 9to5Google

As some people head back to the office or classroom after more than 18 months of Covid-19 disruption, maintaining social distance remains a concern, especially with the highly contagious Delta variant spreading nationwide. Here are a few simple suggestions for using your smartphone to help stay informed and safe if youre returning to the office or school.

Regular checks of school, municipal and state websites can keep you up-to-date about mask mandates, vaccine requirements, quarantines and other Covid-related news. Get your facts faster by making bookmarks for these sites that you can tap open right from your home screen.

Open the page you want to bookmark. Steps will vary based on browser and phone, but if youre using the Chrome browser on an Android device, tap the More menu in the upper-right corner and choose Add to Home Screen. On an iOS device using the Safari browser, tap the Action menu icon at the bottom-center of the screen and choose Add to Home Screen.

Along with its informative website, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has its own mobile app. For local virus news, check your app store, as many states have their own apps for tracking outbreaks, providing personal exposure notifications, supplying vaccine information and offering general news alerts.

Certain institutions, venues and employers now have a vaccine requirement, and many New York City businesses require proof and will enforce it next month. While your paper vaccination card serves as proof, you can keep it safe at home and go digital. Some states have electronic vaccination passports you can store in your phones digital wallet and display when asked; New Yorks Excelsior Pass program is one example.

Photos of your paper vaccination card can also serve as a digital backup, and some employers may accept the images as proof of inoculation, especially in apps like NYC Covid Safe. The card contains personal information, though, so keep your phone locked when not in use. Apples iOS software settings offers a passcode, Face ID or Touch ID to secure the device.

Android users can also set up a screen lock in the system settings. In addition to PIN or passcode, some phone models (including those from Google and Samsung) use biometric keys, like facial recognition. For additional protection, Android users can store vaccine-card pictures in a locked folder within Google Photos just open the card image, tap the More menu and choose Move to Locked Folder.

Aug. 22, 2021, 1:00 p.m. ET

A socially distanced commute is more of a challenge for people who dont drive and walk or use mass transit to get around. Last year, both Apple and Google added coronavirus-related business information to their maps apps, and a more recent Google Maps update now shows busy areas so you can better avoid crowds.

If you want to ride off-peak trains or stroll the less-traveled path, Apple Maps and Google Maps both offer real-time transit schedules and optional walking routes. Specialized apps like Citymapper cover multiple forms of transportation including bike share and ferry. And localized transit apps (like the New York Citys MYmta for Android and iOS) can also be useful for service status and updates.

And if youre walking to work with your face in your Android phone, the Heads Up notifications on some models remind you to watch where youre going. Enable the feature in the Digital Wellbeing settings.

When a drive-through window isnt an option for picking up your breakfast or lunch from a distance, there are other ways to minimize your exposure, like phoning in a pickup order to your local diner or bodega. Loyalty apps from convenience stores like 7-Eleven and Wawa, or restaurants (McDonalds, Panera Bread and Starbucks to name a few) offer online ordering and mobile checkout to zip things along with minimal contact.

And dont forget contactless payment systems like Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay to keep you from fumbling with physical cash and speed you through at the register or subway turnstile. (A contactless credit card from your financial institution is another option and lets you pay by tapping the card on the checkout reader.)

Now that youve actually made it out of the house, consider a couple more apps to help deal with the transition. The mobile version of your companys preferred videoconference app lets you ditch a conference room and take a meeting anywhere, even without your computer.

After more than a year of working remotely, it may be extra hard to leave your fuzzy home-office mate as you return to the world. If the separation makes you anxious, consider an inexpensive streaming web camera that lets you use your phone to check on your pet in real time. The Wirecutter site has recommendations for camera options to keep you virtually in the house until you get back home.

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Put Your Smartphone to Work for Your Return to the Office - The New York Times

Google made the Pixel 5a mid-range smartphone official just yesterday, and already today the company is offering an incredible deal on the device, if you switch to its carrier, Fi.

Here are the details. You can get the Pixel 5a from Google Fi on a phone subscription, and you pay just $9 per month for two years. That adds up to a grand total of $216, which is less than half the phone's full price of $449. After the 24 monthly installments, the phone is yours to keep - or you can get a phone subscription for another handset.

It's important to note, however, that while the $9 per month option is available, Google would much rather you pick a phone subscription that costs $15 per month and also includes device protection. This adds up to $360 after you've paid all 24 installments, which is still a great deal for a phone that only launched a day ago.

The protection plan enables you to get a screen repair for a flat fee of $29, a loss and theft replacement deductible of $99 (not available in NY for some reason), and a mechanical breakdown and accidental damage replacement service fee of $69.

If you grab the phone without protection and something happens to it, you'll still have to pay all 24 monthly installments, even if you can't use it anymore - hence why Google thinks using protection is a better idea. It's your choice, however, and if you were looking for a cheap but good phone on a no-hassle plan, this is it.

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Google Fi will give you a Pixel 5a for a grand total of $216 - GSMArena.com news - GSMArena.com

Way back in January 2020, Sonos sued Google over patent infringement. Today, the streaming speaker company scored an early victory with the U.S. International Trade Commission. A preliminary ruling penned by ITC chief administrative law judge Charles Bullock finds that Google infringed on five patents.

Today the ALJ has found all five of Sonos asserted patents to be valid and that Google infringes on all five patents, Sonos Chief Legal Officer Eddie Lazarus said in a statement to TechCrunch. We are pleased the ITC has confirmed Googles blatant infringement of Sonos patented inventions. This decision re-affirms the strength and breadth of our portfolio, marking a promising milestone in our long-term pursuit to defend our innovation against misappropriation by Big Tech monopolies.

The finding is still very much early days for whats likely to be an even more protracted battled battle between the two companies. Sonos complaint stems from Googles own family of streaming speakers. Google entered the category, long dominated by Sonos, roughly four and a half years ago with the original Home speaker. The line now includes a number of products now listed under the Nest banner.

Google has been blatantly and knowingly copying our patented technology, Sonos CEO Patrick Spence said in a statement when the suit was initially filed. Despite our repeated and extensive efforts over the last few years, Google has not shown any willingness to work with us on a mutually beneficial solution. Were left with no choice but to litigate.

Sonos noted similar issues with Amazon devices (Googles chief competitor in the category) at the time, but the company opted to focus its time, money and resources on a battle with Google, instead.

Ultimately, Sonos is hoping to use the ITC to block the import of those smart speakers, along with other Google hardware, including the Chromecast and Pixels. Such a decision would be a massive hit to Googles hardware ambitions. A final ruling isnt expected until December 13, however, after which point a potential import ban would take 60 days to go into effect.

We do not use Sonos technology, and we compete on the quality of our products and the merits of our ideas, Google Spokesperson Jos Castaeda said in a statement. We disagree with this preliminary ruling and will continue to make our case in the upcoming review process.

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Google infringed on five Sonos patents, according to preliminary ruling - TechCrunch

Google is adding air quality data to its Nest Hub smart displays. While the new feature is still only available in select US markets, itll give some users an idea of how much risk they might face from smoke and pollution in the area.

Google says it will roll out the new feature over the coming weeks. An Air Quality Index badge will show up on the clock and weather widget on the Nest Hubs Ambient screen. Anyone who doesnt want to see the badge will be able to opt out.

The data comes from the Environmental Protection Agency, which rates air quality on a scale from zero to 500, with zero being the best air quality. It also color-codes its ratings in categories ranging from good to hazardous air quality.

The EPA calculates risk by assessing five major pollutants: carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, smog, and particle pollution (which includes soot and smoke). Smoke from raging wildfires in the Western US has spread across the country over the past month. New York state issued a health advisory in July when smoke arrived from the Bootleg Fire in Oregon, thousands of miles away.

In places where Googles new air quality feature is available, Nest Hubs will issue an alert when pollution reaches an unhealthy level or a level thats unhealthy for sensitive groups. The Nest Hub will also respond to the voice command, Whats the air quality near me?

The EPAs air quality data is easy to access even if you dont have a Nest Hub, or if its new features arent available in your area. The EPAs AirNow website lets users plug in their location to get an air quality rating for that area. Theres also the EPAs Fire and Smoke Map, which has pretty wild visualizations of how far wildfire smoke reaches.

While the EPA has a network of thousands of air quality sensors across the nation, it doesnt always pick up everything. The sensors are expensive to deploy and can be spread far apart from each other, so they can miss higher concentrations of pollution in some areas. Its monitors have also missed major toxic releases in the past when equipment failed or was out of operation, a Reuters investigation found.

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Googles Nest Hubs will warn users about nearby pollution and smoke - The Verge

For Google's Nuha Elkhiamy, it's exciting to see the company's Austinoperations grow into one of Google's largest hubs.

Elkhiamy, who was recently named the site leadfor Google's Austin hub,said Google has received a warm welcome since debuting operations in the city 14 years ago. She said she wants to ensure Google maintains "responsible growth" as it continues to expand in Central Texas.

"At a personal level, it's a place I call home and in my role in Google I committed to investing in the place where I work and I live. So for me, and I think for many of our other Googlers, it is personal,"Elkhiamy said. "We want to build upon thereal positive reception we've had in terms of the tech industry in Austin and we want to continueas partnersaswe grow in the city of Austin."

The company opened an Austin office in 2007 and now has more than 1,500 employees in Central Texas. Google plans to occupyall of a new 35-story tower being built at 601 W. Second St.

Elkhiamy, who is also director of Google's corporate engineering division, said she views her role as support for 800 engineering employees based in Austin, and the broader Google Austin hub. This entails everything from helping with development andcareer aspirations to building and fostering community relationships.

Before taking over as leader of the Austinhub, Elkhiamy was in charge of Google's Austin engineering diversity, equityand inclusion operations. In that role she alsoworked with the broader Austin community including anumber of partner organizations like Code to College as well as Huston-Tillotson University.

Elkhiamy spoke with the American-Statesman about her new role, her vision for Google's Austin hubandGoogle's involvement in the community. The interview has been edited for space and clarity.

American-Statesman: Austin is a growing location for Google. How do you work tokeep inclusion in mind as it expands?

Elkhiamy: One of the things that we did last year was a three-pronged approach to diversity, equity inclusion within the Austin site.

We looked at manager development, knowing that our managers are critical to creating inclusive environments, providing safe space for them to talk about various issues, and also really focusing on their development as they create those inclusive environments.

We also had a focus on allyship. We have a really rich employee resource groupfootprintwithin the Austin site... We look at how do we, as a community, facilitate strong allyship and partnership. We hosted things like listening sessions where folks that did not necessarily belong to a community but that care about a community can learn more about different communities.

The last is really trying to bring a more representative tech industrymore broadly. We focused on bringing STEM education, as well as computer science-based curriculum,to middle school and high school and engage with universities. We aim to bring up and build a more representative tech industry, that's one of the ways that we believe that we can help create a more representative Austin.

How is Google working to be inclusivewhile hiring in a competitive tech talent market?

We've had a healthy flow of tech talent coming into Google... Whether it's internal candidates or we're goingout in the market,orbuilding university relationships, we really want to be building a representative tech industry. We are investing earlier in students' careers, to ensure we do have a healthy pipeline of talent going forward. For example, in the average market, women represent less than 30% of the tech industry. We want to really challenge that and say how can we invest earlier in younger students, and change the dynamic to build a more representative tech industry and talent pipeline.

We ultimately want the best and the brightest minds. We believe that diverse perspectives are the right thing to do but it's also great for the communities we live and work in. We know that companies that have diverse representation, actually perform better.I think the more perspectives we bring into our workforce the better quality products and solutions we build for our customers and for our communities every day.

Why is Google involved in the community? What types of ways does the company work with local organizations?

Our missions are very much aligned in that we want to build a representative technology industry, that offers technologies for everyone. Our partner, Code to College, for example, aims to increase the number of minority high school students in STEM. When we partner with themwe have an annual interview and resume workshopswhere we support students every year and help upskill and get them ready for future interviews and interactions with companies.

We also earlier this yearco-sponsored a STEM workshop where students ended up proposing to us the future of video conferencing in collaboration with 30 or so Google volunteers. I think we have a common mission of building a more representative and accessible tech industry for all. We see that as part of our core missionwhich benefits, the places where we work and live, even if not necessarily directly benefiting the Google employee base immediately.

Youre taking over as site lead in a time of a lot of change between the pandemic and the hubs growth. What do you see for GoogleAustins future?

I'm really excited about this time. It's new territory for all of us collectively when we return to the office environment. It's a time for me, where I havebeen very intentionally empathetic. I know that a lot of our employees have questions about what this could look like and I'm really taking the time for questionsand helping them feel supported through the transition.

I think we have a really bright future here.Just anecdotally I'm hearing that there are existing employees that are really interested in transferring to Austin and so we expect that Austin will continue to grow as a site. We're building out a new office to occupy in 2023, so I'm really excited in terms of the growth of Google talent. I'm also really excited to hear from our employee base that they are excited to come back and start collaborating with their fellow employees, and also engage in the community.

I was talking to someone who was asking about opportunities on how she can specifically engagein the community. So I do see continued growth in our employee footprint here in Austin, but also in our engagement in the community really fueled by our fellow Googlers.

How does the Austin hub fit into Google at large?

I see our growth footprint as being very strong. As I make my rounds and as I hear about the return to the office, Austin is repeatedly one of the locations where our leaders are committed to invest, as well as employees themselves,are expressing interest in. I think our future is really brightfor years to come.

Austin's tech scene is booming. How do you seeGooglefitting into this growing ecosystem?

I think well continue to be partners with local communities and local community organizations.That's going to be really critical to the fabric of what we consider responsible growth. And also leveraging the power of some of our Google-wide programs. For example, our Growwith Google program in 2020 hosted hundreds of small business owners and job seekers at the Austin Public Library where we provided workshops and training. It's that same program and footprint that enabled us to help, Huston-Tillotson apply and get accepted into the Grow with Google HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)Career Readiness Program, that's a $1 milliongrant that's focused specifically on digital enablementfor HBCU students.

One of the critical ways that we hope to continue to foster growth in the community is by supporting local organizations like Us Together, harnessing the power of Google-wide programs, and really demonstrating economic impact in the places where we work and live.

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Google's 'future is really bright' in Austin, company executive says - Austin American-Statesman

Three Northern Kentucky Kroger locations are participating in the Cincinnati-based grocery giant's new partnership with Google Maps.

A new program launched Wednesday that both companies say will help to streamline the grocery pickup experience.

The pickup option increased in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a news release, when groceries are ordered from Kroger via the grocer's app, users will have the opportunity to add the order to Google Maps.

When it is time to leave, Google Maps will send a notification which will let the user share the arrival time with the store.

The estimated time of arrival will be continuously shared with the store, helping the location prioritize the order so that it is ready when the shopper arrives, the companies said.

"Theres no need to call, wait times are shorter, and your groceries are kept refrigerated (if needed) right until theyre placed into your car," the announcement said.

In Northern Kentucky, the Kroger locations in Covington (Latonia/4303 Winston Ave.), Newport (130 Pavilion Parkway), and Erlanger (3158 Dixie Highway) are included.

Demand for no-contact, curbside pickup exploded during the pandemic and continues to be popular, even with pandemic restrictions lifted, the announcement said. In fact, stats from March of this year show people in the U.S. were using Google Maps to search for curbside pickup nearly 9,000% more than they were a year prior, according to the announcement.

-Staff report

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Three NKY Kroger Stores Part of New Pick-Up Partnership with Google Maps - The River City News

Amplitude Studios upcoming strategy game, Humankind, will be the first Stadia release to feature a new touch-focused control scheme when it comes out on August 17th, according to 9to5Google and confirmed to The Verge by Google. Direct touch is designed around multitouch finger inputs like a traditional mobile game, rather than the previous way you may have played Stadia on your phone, with a Bluetooth controller or gamepad overlay.

The screenshots Google shared give a pretty good idea of how playing with direct touch works in Humankind. A single finger tap selects in-game objects, holding a finger down previews content, two fingers cancel, dragging your fingering around moves your view in-game, and three fingers brings up the pause menu.

The game will also feature Stadias State Share feature, which allows a friend to pick up where you left off in a game just by sharing a screenshot or video clip with them. In the case of Humankind, that also allows you to use a feature called Leave Your Mark where you let your friend play through your same world, find the ruins of your civilization, and compare their achievements to yours as they play.

Using direct touch rather than a controller for a 4X turn-based strategy game like Humankind makes sense, if only because offering satisfying controller support is difficult. Strategy games require navigating complicated menus and being precise where you deploy troops or build structures. You can translate a mouse to a controller stick, but youll lack some of the finesse you could have had otherwise. Thats why good console-specific releases of strategy franchises like Civilization Revolution are so beloved: they strip down a game to its core elements and simplify things so they work with a controller or touch.

Touch controls do come with a potential extra challenge for a streaming games service like Stadia potential latency issues. With touch, you might expect even more immediate responses to your taps than with a controller, which isnt always possible with slower connections. When asked, Google did not share if its had to make any adjusts to accommodate latency with direct touch.

Direct touch was originally spotted by 9to5Google earlier this year in an update to the Stadia app on Android, and it still isnt entirely clear what implementing the input method entails. Google says that Humankinds use of direct touch is custom and that the feature should make it easier to port games to Stadia while maintaining the same control schemes. Whether direct touch could help mobile-first titles come to Stadia remains to be seen, but it does mean that games should be a lot easier to play on your phone in the future.

Humankind is scheduled to be released on PC, Mac, and Stadia on August 17th, 2021.

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Google Stadias first game that responds directly to touch is coming this August - The Verge