Search Results for: google

Google will make its paid storage plans cheaper

Dianne Jacobs

Google is rolling out new changes to its storage plans that include a new, low-cost storage plan and half off the price of its 2TB storage option.It’s also converting all Google Drive paid storage plans to Google One, perhaps in part because you’ll now have one-tap access to Google’s live customer service. Google One will get a new $2.99 a month option that gets you 200GB of storage. The 2TB plan, which usually costs $19.99 per month, will now cost $9.99 a month. Finally, the 1TB plan that costs $9.99…

Google to warn when humans chat with convincing bots

Dianne Jacobs

Google says it will take steps to ensure that humans are not fooled when they get called by software bots that can convincingly mimic the human voice. Anyone called by the bot will be told they are conversing with a machine, Google told tech news site the Verge. The vocal skills of the Duplex bot were demonstrated at Google’s I/O developer conference this week when it was shown booking a hair appointment. The demo left one technology expert “horrified” by what she had seen. Social impact In its statement, Google…

Google Maps goes beyond directions

Dianne Jacobs
Google Maps

Google  announced a new version of Google Maps that will launch later this summer. All of the core Google Maps features for getting directions aren’t going away, of course, but on top of that, the team has now built a new set of features that are all about exploration. “About a year ago, when we started to talk to users, one of the things we asked them was: how can we really help you? What else do you want Google Maps to do? And one of the overwhelming answers that…

Google Assistant to make phone calls for owners

Dianne Jacobs

Google has unveiled artificial intelligence software that books appointments over the phone on behalf of users by conducting voice-based conversations on their behalf. Chief executive Sundar Pichair said that Google Duplex would launch as an “experiment” over the coming weeks. The facility was unveiled at the firm’s annual IO developers conference. Experts have said that if it works it could give the firm a major advantage over rival virtual assistants. Pre-recorded demonstrations played back to the audience featured the software first booking a haircut and then making a restaurant reservation…

Google Changes Rules on Election Adverts

Dianne Jacobs

Google is demanding that those placing political ads during the forthcoming US elections must prove they are US citizens or permanent residents. The demand is part of an update to its policies that tries to make political adverts more “transparent”. In addition, advertisers must reveal who has put up the cash for the advert. Social media firms have updated their policies in the wake of revelations that their ad platforms have been abused by Russian propaganda outfits. Google’s new policy follow similar changes at Twitter and Facebook governing who can…

Google Confirms Its Services Are Casualties Of A Russian Blockage Due To The Recent Telegram Ban

Dianne Jacobs

A shower of paper airplanes were darted through the skies of Moscow and other towns in Russia as users answered the call of entrepreneur Pavel Durov to send the blank missives out of their windows at a pre-appointed time in support of Telegram, a messaging app he founded that was blocked last week by Russian regulator Roskomnadzor (RKN) that uses a paper airplane icon. RKN believes the service is violating national laws by failing to provide it with encryption keys to access messages on the service (Telegram has refused to comply).…

Google’s New Chat Messaging Service is Ready to Launch

Dianne Jacobs

Google has started the global roll-out of its new Chat messaging service, which is designed to replace SMS text messages on Android phones. Chat has features such as group texts, videos, typing indicators and read receipts, which are not available when sending SMS texts. Chat will be integrated with the default messages app on Android phones. However, it will be up to mobile operators to enable the service and it does not offer encrypted messages. The new system has been in development for several years, but is now beginning to…

Google Gets Rid of Fake Chrome Ad Blockers

Dianne Jacobs

Research unearths five malicious ad-blocker extensions on the Chrome Web Store that were installed by 20 million Chrome users before Google removed them. The bogus ad blockers were discovered by researchers at AdGuard, a Moscow-based maker of ad-blocking and anti-tracking tech. Following AdGuard’s report on the fake ad blockers in the Chrome Web Store, Google removed the suspect extensions, which have been installed on 20 million Chrome instances over the past year. The most popular fake ad blocker was AdRemover for Google Chrome, which had over 10 million users, putting…

Facebook calls out Google, Amazon and Twitter for also harvesting user data

Dianne Jacobs

Facebook wants users to know that it’s not the only one tracking their every move on the internet. The social media giant pointed a finger at Google, Amazon, Twitter and other platforms for using many of the same data collection practices that some privacy advocates are referring to as invasive. In a blog post published Monday, the firm described in depth all the ways it gathers information on you around the web — even if you’re not a Facebook member or are logged out of your account. Facebook has been…

Google will now ban ads on cryptocurrencies and related products

Dianne Jacobs

Alphabet Google said on March 14 it will ban advertisements for cryptocurrencies and related content starting in June. Under the new policy, the company will ban ads for unregulated or speculative financial products like binary options, cryptocurrency and financial spread betting among others. In a separate blog post, Google said it took down 3.2 billion ads that violated its advertising policies in 2017, nearly double the number of ads it removed in 2016. “Improving the ads experience across the web, whether that’s removing harmful ads or intrusive ads, will continue…