Category Archives: Google

Google is planning to roll out a new feature for its extension- Chrome 90 that will allow users to create a link to a section of a website that they have highlighted earlier.

This feature is, however, rolling out to some users as an experiment. Google said the copy link to highlight" feature is already available on desktop and Android devices for some users. The feature is coming soon" to iOS, the company added.

Google's product manager Kayce Hawkins in a blog post shared steps to follow to update the new feature:

Link to your highlighted text

"Visit a web page, highlight the text you want to create a link to, right click, and select 'copy link to highlight'. A URL ending in a pound sign will be generated, which you can then share with others. When they open the link, they'll be sent to the specific highlighted section instead of the beginning of the page."

This feature is rolling out now to desktop and Android and is coming soon for iOS. With Copy link to highlight", you can share a URL for selected text highlighted for the recipient.

In the blog post, Hawkins also mentioned other new product features including the new PDF updates. ''We added more features to make working with PDFs better: document properties, two-page view and an updated top toolbar, which puts the most important PDF actions (zoom, jump to page, save, print and more) within a single click. These features are rolling out now,'' she said.

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Google's new feature will let you share highlighted text on webpage - Mint

Google is going it alone with its proposed advertising technology to replace third-party cookies. Every major browser that uses the open source Chromium project has declined to use it, and its unclear what that will mean for the future of advertising on the web.

A couple of weeks ago, Google announced it was beginning to test a new ad technology inside Google Chrome called the Federated Learning of Cohorts, or FLoC. It uses an algorithm to look at your browser history and place you in a group of people with similar browsing histories so that advertisers can target you. Its more private than cookies, but its also complicated and has some potential privacy implications of its own if its not implemented right.

Google Chrome is built on an open source project, and so FLoC was implemented as part of that project that other browsers could include. I am not aware of any Chromium-based browser outside of Googles own that will implement it and very aware of many that will refuse.

One note Ill drop here is that I am relieved that nobody else is implementing FLoC right away, because the way FLoC is constructed puts a very big responsibility on a browser maker. If implemented badly, FLoC could leak out sensitive information. Its a complicated technology that does appear to keep you semi-anonymous, but there are enough details to hide dozens of devils.

Anyway, heres Brave: The worst aspect of FLoC is that it materially harms user privacy, under the guise of being privacy-friendly. And heres Vivaldi: We will not support the FLoC API and plan to disable it, no matter how it is implemented. It does not protect privacy and it certainly is not beneficial to users, to unwittingly give away their privacy for the financial gain of Google.

Weve reached out to Opera for comment as well, and heres that companys statement:

As you probably know, Opera has a long history of introducing privacy features that benefit our users: it was the first major browser to introduce built-in ad blocking, browser VPN and other privacy-centric features. The significance now is the end of third party cookies, which will reduce the amount of cross-website tracking on the web. While we and other browsers are discussing new and better privacy-preserving advertising alternatives to cookies including FloC, we have no current plans to enable features like this in the Opera browsers in their current form. Generally speaking, we do, however, think its too early to say in which direction the market will move or what the major browsers will do.

DuckDuckGo isnt thought of as a browser, but it does make browsers for iOS and Android. On desktop, its already made a browser extension for other browsers to block it. And the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is very much against FLoC, has even made a website to let you know if youre one of the few Chrome users who have been included in Googles early tests.

But maybe the most important Chromium-based browser not made by Google is Microsoft Edge. It is a big test for Googles proposed FLoC technology: if Microsoft isnt going to support it, that would pretty much mean Chrome really will be going it alone with this technology.

In the grand tradition of Congressional tech hearings, I asked Microsoft a yes or no question: does it intend to implement FLoC in Edge? And in the same grand tradition, Microsoft answered:

We believe in a future where the web can provide people with privacy, transparency and control while also supporting responsible business models to create a vibrant, open and diverse ecosystem. Like Google, we support solutions that give users clear consent, and do not bypass consumer choice. Thats also why we do not support solutions that leverage non-consented user identity signals, such as fingerprinting. The industry is on a journey and there will be browser-based proposals that do not need individual user ids and ID-based proposals that are based on consent and first party relationships. We will continue to explore these approaches with the community. Recently, for example, we were pleased to introduce one possible approach, as described in our PARAKEET proposal. This proposal is not the final iteration but is an evolving document.

That is a LOT to unpack, but it sounds very much like a no to me. However, its a no with some important context. But before I get too deep into it, lets talk about a couple of non-Chromium browsers because one important piece of all of this is that Googles FLoC technology is still a proposal. Google is saying it would like to make it a fundamental part of the web, not simply a new feature in its browser.

Heres a statement that a Mozilla spokesperson provided to us on the plans for Firefox:

We are currently evaluating many of the privacy preserving advertising proposals, including those put forward by Google, but have no current plans to implement any of them at this time.

We dont buy into the assumption that the industry needs billions of data points about people, that are collected and shared without their understanding, to serve relevant advertising. That is why weve implemented Enhanced Tracking Protection by default to block more than ten billion trackers a day, and continue to innovate on new ways to protect people who use Firefox.

Advertising and privacy can co-exist. And the advertising industry can operate differently than it has in past years. We look forward to playing a role in finding solutions that build a better web.

As for Apples Safari, I will admit I didnt reach out for comment because at this point its not difficult to guess what the answer will be. Apple, after all, deserves some credit for changing everybodys default views on privacy. However, the story here is actually much more interesting that you might guess at first. John Wilander is a WebKit engineer at Apple who works on Safaris privacy-enhancing Intelligent Tracking Prevention features. He was asked on Twitter whether or not Safari would implement FLoC and heres his reply:

Wilanders reply jibes with Microsofts statement that the industry is on a journey when it comes to balancing new advertising technologies and privacy. But it speaks to something really important: web standards people take their jobs seriously and are seriously committed to the web standards process that creates the open web.

I often make light of that process as being slow, contentious, and frustrating. It is all those things. But its also the last line of defense against the complete and total fracturing of the web into pages that are only compatible with specific web browsers. That isnt the web at all.

And so what youd expect to be a hard no from Apple (and what will almost surely be a hard no in the end) instead becomes a commitment to the web standards process and taking Googles proposals seriously. Ditto from Microsoft.

All of this is happening because every major browser already has or will soon block third-party cookies, the default way of identifying you and tracking you across the web. And every major browser has committed to ensuring that you cant be personally identifiable to third-party advertisers. Even Googles own ad team has said as much.

The end of those cookies is called the Cookiepocalypse, and its apocalyptic because nobody really knows what advertisers will do once those tracking methods are raptured. And so right now, major browser vendors are proposing different, new solutions.

Apple, Google, and Microsoft all have ideas for how advertising on the web should work. Weve discussed Googles FLoC at length, but you might be surprised to hear that Apple isnt just trying to stop all ads; it has privacy-enhancing ad proposals of its own. And that random reference to PARAKEET in Microsofts statement? Another ad proposal.

The problem here is that the Cookiepocalypse is already nigh. Many browsers are already blocking third-party cookies. Google Chrome is the big holdout on blocking third-party cookies, but its also the browser with the biggest market share.

Google has committed to cutting off third-party cookies in 2022, but it seems very unlikely that the web standards process will get to an answer by then. In fact, one of Googles other proposals isnt going to begin testing until late this year far too late to be implemented by the ad industry if Google sticks to its original promise. Who knows what advertisers will do then?

The technology here is complicated, the process is slow, and the outcome is unclear. Thats par for the course for the web. Normally Id tell you not to worry about it and just let the W3C run its course. But the stakes are very high: your privacy, vast pools of money, and the interoperable nature of the web itself could all go up in a puff of smoke if these browser makers dont figure out a way to thread all these needles. Cookiepocalypse, indeed.

Update, 2:15PM ET April 16th: added statement from Opera.

Correction, 6:30PM ET April 16th: Noted that DuckDuckGo does produce browsers for iOS and Android.

Continued here:

Firefox, Edge, Safari, and other browsers wont use Googles new FLoC ad tech - The Verge

Google is adding a new tool to its suite of advertiser controls that aims to make it easier for ad buyers to dynamically block sites and domains that dont meet their brand safety standards.

These dynamic exclusion lists, announced on Thursday, will be available to all Google Ads users within the coming weeks, which is every large technology companys code phrase for soon-ish.

Google advertisers can already exclude specific sites, content and entire topics from their campaigns, but there hasnt been an easy way to manage static blocklists without manual curation.

Even though most advertisers know in a general sort of way the types of content and even some of the URLs to incendiary sites they want to avoid, there are others sites theyre not aware of that arent a fit for their brand but don't violate Googles publisher policies.

Staying on top of it is a big job even for the largest advertisers, let alone smaller advertisers that just dont have the bandwidth, in-house expertise or resources to regularly monitor and update exclusions.

Google developed dynamic exclusion lists after receiving that feedback last year, said Alejandro Borgia, director of ads privacy and safety at Google.

Dynamic exclusion lists will help advertisers more easily and efficiently control where their ads are shown online, he said, and more easily leverage the help and expertise of third-party organizations to protect their brands if they choose to do so.

Once a dynamic exclusion list has been uploaded to aGoogle Ads account, the advertiser can schedule updates so that new domains and web pages can be added automatically over time.

Each account can have up to 20 shared exclusion lists with tens of thousands of URLs and domains per list.

Advertisers can either create the seed lists themselves or upload ones developed by a trusted third party, like an industry trade group or a brand safety organization (think IAB Tech Lab or the Brand Safety Institute).

Although Google is not launching this feature in partnership with any specific industry org, we do regularly engage with advertising and industry associations, brand safety groups and advocacy organizations, and will make them aware of this new feature, Borgia said.

Google has been working over the past year to enhance its ad enforcement capabilities and update its publisher policies to address new threats as they emerge, such as pandemic-related misinformation and disinformation, he said.

But the struggle against COVID-19 falsehoods and anti-vaccine content, both from a brand safety and a monetization perspective, is ongoing.

A study released by Israeli startup AdVerif.AI last month that examined monetization on 1,000 dubious websites between January and February found that Googles ad buying tools were responsible for 69% of ads placed in stories making false claims about COVID-19.

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Google To Release Brand Safety Blocklists That Update Themselves Automatically - AdExchanger

Google has rolled out a new Search shortcut that can quickly help you refine the results you get. Now, when you're on a results page, you can simply press "/" to expand the search field. As noticed by 9to5Google, the tech giant has started notifying users about the new shortcut in a box at the bottom left corner, which pops up when you tap on any key in a results page.

When you use the shortcut, you'll be taken straight to the search field where the text cursor will appear next to your original query. The search field will even expand with suggestions for common searches related to the term you first typed in. That makes it ideal for use when you want to expound on your original search say, if you want to refine the results page so that it mostly shows links to pages about the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra instead of the non-Ultra variant though you can also use "/" for new search terms if you wish.

As 9to5Google notes, this feature joins the tab accessibility shortcut for Google Search. Pressing the tab button in a results page highlights links, so you can open websites without relying on a mouse or a trackpad.

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Google makes it easy to jump back to the search box by pressing '/' - Yahoo Tech

Google is recruiting people to give feedback for a new consumer-facing medical records tool, Stat News reported on Friday. The company wants to know how people want to interact with information pulled from their medical records.

Right now, the company is recruiting around 300 people who use Android devices in Northern California, Atlanta, and Chicago.

This is Googles second attempt at creating a way for people to access their medical records. In 2008, it launched Google Health, which aimed to give people a way to see their health information online. It didnt take off, and Google shut it down in 2012. We havent found a way to translate that limited usage into widespread adoption in the daily health routines of millions of people, Google wrote in a 2011 blog post.

In the aftermath, experts had a number of different theories for the failure: some thought it was because consumers at the time werent actually interested in taking direct control of their health records. Others said Google didnt do enough to integrate with the health IT landscape or that the company didnt do enough to show people that it could be trusted with their health data.

A decade later, were in a very different digital health landscape. Apple launched a health records section in its Health app in 2018, which lets people pull their records from hospitals and clinics directly onto their iPhone. Health apps have proliferated, wearables are adopting wellness features, and people are more and more accustomed to handling their health information through smartphones and other devices.

Google is also working on the doctor-facing side of health records; its Care Studio program gives clinicians a way to search through patient records more easily. Other health efforts include a research app that lets Android users participate in medical studies and a Nest Hub feature that tracks sleep.

Google is making progress on the consumer health record initiative, Bob Wachter, chair of the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told Stat News. He advises Google on its health records projects. It didnt knock my socks off, he said, but I think theyre doing it in a thoughtful, measured, and mature way.

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Google is making another attempt at personal health records - The Verge

The brand logo of Alphabet Inc's Google is seen outside its office in Beijing, China, August 8, 2018. Picture taken with a fisheye lens. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

The judge hearing the Texas antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet Incs (GOOGL.O) Google put limits on what the search giants in-house lawyers can see in an order aimed at ensuring that confidential information used in an upcoming trial remains secure.

The issue is a key one for companies that have not been identified but that gave information to the Texas attorney general's office for its investigation and fear that their confidential data, like strategic business plans or discussions about negotiations, could be disclosed to Google executives.

The order issued by Judge Sean Jordan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas allows Google's in-house counsel to see information deemed "confidential" but they are then limited in advising on some competitive and other decision-making for two years regarding the companies whose data they see.

In-house counsel for Google is barred from seeing "highly confidential" information under the order unless it is given permission by the court or the affected company.

The Texas lawsuit accuses Google of violating the law in how it dominates the process of placing ads online. It alleges Google quietly teams with its closest online advertising competitor, Facebook Inc (FB.O), and that it uses the excuse of protecting users' privacy to act unfairly. Publishers complain that one result has been lower revenues.

Google denies any wrongdoing.

It is one of three big antitrust lawsuits filed against Google last year.

The protective order also requires people who receive confidential and highly confidential information to agree to allow electronic devices used in their work on the lawsuit to be searched if needed as part of a forensic investigation into a potential leak.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Judge in Texas lawsuit against Google issues protective order - Reuters

Another day, another Google tool to discuss. And this one is a 3D animation tool, making it particularly relevant to the creative community. Hurrah! Yup, Google's latest offering is a tool which simplifies the animation process making the artform more accessible for anyone wanting to have a go. Surprisingly, though, it's also a super-useful tool for professionals. Disbelieving? Bear with us and we'll explain.

As 3D artists know, creating animations is a time-consuming process, which requires a bunch of complex animation tools and more than a smidgen of know-how. Even playing with different concepts takes hours of intensive modelling, rigging and animating and this is the part Google wants to help with.

Google says its Monster Mash tool is a 'casual' way of accessing animation, much like a sketchbook. As its blog says, other forms of art have simple ways of trying out different ideas 'a classical guitarist might jam without any written music, a trained actor could ad-lib a line or two while rehearsing, and an oil painter can jot down a quick gesture drawing' and this browser-based tool brings the same sentiment to 3D modelling.

And it's oodles of fun, too, meaning it is also a brilliant exercise for young artists or anyone wanting to flex their creative muscles. But how does it work? Well, working on the premise that 3D animation is comprised of an 'ordered set of overlapping 2D regions', the user sketches onto the canvas in 2D and then the algorithm takes over, transforming the sketch into a moving animation the user can grab and move in real time. See below for the two-step process, and find out more on Google's AI blog.

Step one:

Step two:

So whether you're using it to sketch out your 3D ideas, or getting your kids hooked on animating, we hope you find it useful. Want more Google AR fun? Tunnel to the other side of the Earth with the Floom tool, or have a play with the roar-some dinosaur AR tool. Then get some work done.

Need new kit? Try our pick of the best drawing tablets for animation.

Today's best drawing tablets for animation deals

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Google's new 3D tool is fun, creative and surprisingly useful - Creative Bloq

Privacy-centric browser Brave and browser extension DuckDuckGo have decided to block Googles proposed method of tracking and targeting ads to groups of people without cookies, and now Mozilla tells Digiday it, too, has no plans to implement Googles FLoC or Federated Learning of Cohorts in its Firefox browser.

We are currently evaluating many of the privacy preserving advertising proposals, including those put forward by Google, but have no current plans to implement any of them at this time, a Mozilla spokesperson told Digiday.

Those proposals thwarted by Mozilla and others have been put forward by Google as part of its Privacy Sandbox initiative which includes a variety of tactics the company has introduced some developed in conjunction with other participants in the open-source environment of the Worldwide Web Consortium to mimic long-used practices enabled with third-party cookies for tracking individuals, targeting ads and measuring their effectiveness.

We dont buy into the assumption that the industry needs billions of data points about people, that are collected and shared without their understanding, to serve relevant advertising, said the Mozilla spokesperson. The company enables enhanced tracking protection by default in its Firefox browser, which is used by less than 4% of global web users, according to Statcounter.

Brave, another browser marketed as a privacy-protecting alternative to Googles Chrome browser, said on April 14 it has removed FLoC, citing in a blog post its concerns that the technique, harms privacy directly and by design because it tells sites about your browsing history in a new way that browsers categorically do not today. Though a reliable measure of Braves user base is not available, the companys share of the browser market is likely a sliver of even what browsers like Firefox or Apples Safari which garners around 20% of the market have.

DuckDuckGo, yet another company that sells itself as a defender of personal data privacy, also said earlier this month it will let people using its Chrome extension tool block FLoC. The company also said it has configured its search product to opt out from FLoC tracking whether or not people use its browser extension.

Theadversarial drumbeats knocking FLoC grow louder even as testing of the targeting approach gets underway in the U.S. and other countries. However, as privacy concerns stall trials in Europe and others including a U.S. lawmaker, criticize its potential discriminatory impact, Googles FLoC will live on for now in the search giants own Chrome browser, which happens to be the worlds most prolific browser. That means advertisers, publishers and Googles ad tech partners will have every intention of giving it a try.

Even if Chrome is the only browser where [FLoC is] enabled, it has massive scale, said Ian Trider, vp of real time bidding platform operations at ad tech firm Centro, who added that ad inventory wont be affected if other browsers dont allow it. Ads can be served on sites loading on those browsers. FLoC just wont be available as a targeting technique, he said.

Why FLoC needs browsers

FLoC needs browser support in order to work. The cookieless targeting method uses an algorithmic process inside the browser to generate cohorts composed of at least one thousand people based on the sites they have visited in recent days, the content on pages they viewed and other factors. Google assigns a FLoC ID to each cohort, or group of people, without including any individual-level data. FLoC is one of Googles ways of replacing the tracking and targeting enabled by the third-party cookies the company plans to disable in Chrome by January 2022. The idea is to use behavioral information showing what sites people visit to track and target them in aggregate rather than individually, which Google claims protects peoples privacy.

Notably, when Google announced in March it would rely on FLoC and other Privacy Sandbox methods in its industry leading ad exchange, it did so through a blog postwritten byDavid Temkin, director of product management, ads privacy and trustat Google. Before joining Google in 2020, Temkin served as chief product officer at Brave Software, which makes the very Brave browser that is saying no to FLoC.

Privacy and data ethics advocates arguethat, by lumping people into groups based on their online and mobile site visits, Google will create a whole new level of personal data that can be attached to other individual-level profiles. They worry the FLoC process could unfairly categorize people into groups, which would enable discriminatory targeting or data use. Meanwhile, FLoC has piqued the interest of at least one U.S. lawmaker. U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York in March raised concerns about bias and disparate impact of FLoC when addressing Google CEO Sundar Pichai during a U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on disinformation.

How browsers block FLoC

Some browsers dont have to do anything to stop FLoC though. Browsers including Brave and Microsoft Edge are built on Chromium, the open-source code that serves as the foundation for Google Chrome. As a result, those browsers would actually have to enable specific code to get FLoC to work.

[FLoC] wouldnt have been enabled unless Brave chose to enable it, said Bennett Cyphers, a staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital privacy advocacy organization, who has been digging deep into how FLoC functions. The same goes for Edge, he said. FLoC is not turned on in Edge right now because Microsoft would have had to go out of their way to do that, he said, adding, In the future Google might make it so that you have to turn the FLoC switch off, but thats not the case now. A Google spokesperson did not respond to an email asking the company to confirm that Chromium-based browsers need to actively enable FLoC support.

Krzysztof Franaszek, a computer scientist who has also investigated how FLoC works, backed up that assessment.Whereas Google Chrome has code for tracking which websites you visit and uses that to calculate [a FLoC ID] to group you, he said, Brave has no such underlying mechanism. As for browser extensions like DuckDuckGos, he said, the extension cannot strip out code from Chrome. Instead, what that extension does is it blocks any websites or Javascript from reading a users FLoC ID. So if a user visits an e-commerce website or some website that uses FLoC IDs to try to target consumers, the extension blocks the website from being able to see or access the FLoC ID.

Publishers are becoming conscientious FLoC objectorsDuring Googles FLoC trial phase, publisher websites will be tracked by the system by default, so website publishers that do not want their sites included have to opt out from FLoC tracking, which is not simple to do. Publishers need to add a specific http header to their sites to block FLoC, and a few including The Guardian and The Markuphave done so. Google researchers expect publishers of sensitive content or content that people might not want to be associated with Googles new tracking regime like healthcare providers, banks or porn sites to join that club of conscientious FLoC objectors.

In general, advertisers and their agencies are testing FLoC along with a variety of other tracking and targeting methods that dont use third-party cookies, and theyre not surprised that browsers made by companies other than Google wont enable FLoC. Considering Chromes massive user base, said Amanda Martin,vp of enterprise partnerships at digital agency Goodway Group, Chrome has the dominance to solve for the deprecation of the third-party cookie in a siloed approach.

However, she added, If that doesnt raise flags from regulatory agencies is different question.

https://digiday.com/?p=410971

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Browser makers, now including Mozillas Firefox, are already ditching Googles proposed cookieless ad targeting method FLoC - Digiday

This week brought a bunch of deals on new gadgets, including Amazon's rotating Echo Show 10 and Google's Nest Hub. The former dropped to a new all-time low while the latter remains 20 percent off at various retailers. AirPods Pro are more than $50 off right now, and Amazon Prime members can snag the Fire TV Stick Lite for only $20. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.

Google Nest Audio smart speaker sitting on a wooden tablet next to a green plant, against a blue wall.

The Nest Audio smart speaker is still $20 off across the web, bringing to down to $80. It already packed a lot of value into its normal $100 price tag, but it's an even better buy at this sale price. We gave it a score of 87 for its minimalist design, solid audio quality and good use of the Google Assistant.

Buy Nest Audio at Best Buy - $80 Buy Nest Audio at Walmart - $80 Buy Nest Audio at B&H Photo - $80 Buy Nest Audio at Google - $80

AirPods Pro

Apple's AirPods Pro are down to $197 on Amazon, which is over $50 off their normal price. While not an all-time low, it's the best price we've seen in a while. We gave them a score of 87 for their solid ANC, comfortable design and hands-free Siri support.

Buy Apple AirPods Pro at Amazon - $197

2020 Apple MacBook Air

The latest MacBook Air with the new M1 chipset and 512GB of storage is $100 off at Amazon, bringing it down to $1,149. If you always need more storage than the base models allow, this is a great opportunity to save some money while upgrading your laptop. We gave the MacBook Air M1 a score of 94 for its blazing fast performance, excellent keyboard and trackpad, good battery life and lack of fan noise.

Buy MacBook Air M1 (512GB) at Amazon - $1,149

Amazon Echo Show 10 with its screen turned on, sitting on a countertop in front of a wooden cutting board.

The new Echo Show 10 remains on sale for $200, which is $50 off its normal price. We gave Amazon's newest smart display a score of 83 for its excellent audio quality, its camera that can double as a home surveillance lens and its convenient pan-and-zoom feature during video calls.

Story continues

Buy Echo Show 10 at Amazon - $200

Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite

Prime members can still grab the Fire TV Stick Lite for only $20, which is $10 off its normal price. The most affordable of Amazon's streaming dongles, the TV Stick Lite runs on a quad-core processor with 8GB of storage, and it supports FHD video with HDR. It also comes with a simplified version of the Alexa voice remote, so you can control the stick using voice commands.

Buy Fire TV Stick Lite at Amazon - $20

DJI Osmo Pocket

BuyDig still has the DJI Osmo Pocket for $199, which is $170 off its normal price. It's a tiny, gimbal-mounted camera that uses 3-axis stabilization and a 1/2.3-inch sensor to shoot smooth video in up to 4K. It also has built-in dual microphones and supports microSD cards up to 256GB.

Buy Osmo Pocket at BuyDig - $199

A gaming PC with a tower, monitor, keyboard and mouse, shining with rainbow lighting.

Omaze has a sweepstakes going on right now in which you can win $20,000 to build the PC of your dreams. It costs nothing to enter, but if you do pay for additional entries, those donated funds benefit Gamers Outreach, an organization that provides video games and other recreation for children in hospitals. You can also use the code AFF50 to get 50 bonus entries as well.

Pricing and availability is subject to change. No donation or payment necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes. See official rules on Omaze.

Enter to win at Omaze

One of our favorite budget robot vacuums, the Shark Ion RV761, is on sale for $200 at Best Buy. That's $50 off its normal price and a great deal on a robo-vac that packs a ton of value for the money. It cleans hard and carpeted floors well and has an easy-to-use mobile app with which you can start and stop the device as well as set cleaning schedules.

Buy Shark Ion RV761 at Best Buy - $200

One of Shark's high-end robot vacuums with clean base is down to $419 at Wellbots when you use the code ROBOENGADGET at checkout. In addition to automatically emptying debris into its base after each cleaning, this model has intelligent home mapping, self-cleaning brush rolls that help trap pet hair and voice control with Amazon's Alexa and the Google Assistant.

Buy Shark IQ RV1001AE at Wellbots - $419

You can get 25 percent off of most Master & Dynamic products in the company's friend and family sale by using the code BFF25 at checkout. While the new MW08 are excluded from this sale, you can still grab other solid headphones and earbuds like the MW07 Plus and the MW65.

Shop Master and Dynamic sale

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

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This week's best deals: $20 off Google's Nest Audio and more - Yahoo Tech

Google reportedly ran a secret project called Project Bernanke that relied on bidding data collected from advertisers using its ad exchange to benefit the companys own ad system, The Wall Street Journal reported. First discovered by newswire service MLex, the name of the project was visible in an inadvertently unredacted document Google had filed as part of an antitrust lawsuit in Texas.

A federal judge has since let Google refile the document under seal. But according to the Journal, Bernanke was not disclosed to outside advertisers, and proved lucrative for Google, generating hundreds of millions of dollars for the company. Texas filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google in December, alleging that the search giant was using anticompetitive tactics in which Bernanke was a major part.

Google wrote in the unredacted filing that data from Project Bernanke was comparable to data maintained by other buying tools, according to the Journal. The company was able to access historical data about bids made through Google Ads, to change bids by its clients and boost the clients chances of winning auctions for ad impressions, putting rival ad tools at a disadvantage. Texas cited in court documents an internal presentation from 2013 in which Google said Project Bernanke would bring in $230 million in revenue for that year.

Why Google chose to name the secret project Bernanke is not clear. Ben Bernanke, who was chair of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014, is probably the best-known Bernanke in the public sphere.

In an email to The Verge, a Google spokesperson said the complaint by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton misrepresents many aspects of our ad tech business. We look forward to making our case in court.

Update April 11th 10:54AM ET: Adds comment from Google spokesperson

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Google reportedly ran secret Project Bernanke that boosted its own ad-buying system over competitors - The Verge