Technology

Google Apologizes For Ads Alongside Offensive Videos on YouTube

Mar 20, 2017 By

Google has been one of the biggest names when it comes to the world of smartphone technology. The company has been around for quite a while now and has introduced various innovations in the way the markets of technology function. They started off with their search engine and expanded into various other sectors. The biggest chunk of Google’s revenue comes from advertising on various platforms. YouTube is one of their biggest platforms and hundreds of millions of dollars are earned from it. Google was recently in a pickle as ads of their high profile clients appeared alongside some offensive videos.

Google had to apologize to Marks and Spencer and HSBC as their ads appeared alongside some offensive videos for the British audiences. The British government too, has stopped their advertising on YouTube following their ads appearing alongside homophobic and anti-semitic videos. Following this various other companies backed out. Britain is the second biggest market for Google (the biggest being the US).

Google generated $7.8 Billion from Britain last year, which accounts for 9% of their revenue. The company needs to ensure that their high priority clients are happy. “I would like to apologize to our partners and advertisers who might have been affected by their ads appearing on controversial content,” Google EMEA President Matt Brittin said at the annual Advertising Week Europe event in London.

As per a report by Reuters, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Argos, British banks HSBC and RBS, McDonald’s, the UK branch of advertising group Havas and the BBC had stopped ads. This is indeed a major blow to Google. However it is expected that things will get back to normal after the apology and Google ensuring that the content is displayed properly. A number of ad firms such as Publicis and WPP have been looking at their working relationship with Google moving forward.

Gmail For Web Now Streams Videos Without Downloading Them

Mar 17, 2017 By

Google introduced Gmail in 2004. On 1st of April this year, it would be 13 years old. When Gmail started off, it was the new kid in the block and faced immense competition from the likes of Yahoo, AOL and Hotmail, three established players in the industry. Gmail began as an invite-only e-mail service, but soon grew popular and was made open for all users. The service has over the years become the top name among email users. With over a billion monthly active users, Gmail is massive. The key to Gmails secret is regular updates. Gmail for Web, Android and iOS, all keep getting updates from time to time.

Gmail for Web users have begun receiving a new update today where they can stream their attached videos which they have received without having to download it. In the past, Gmail for web users had to download the video file to play the video. In some cases they needed a software to play the video too. However, this update eliminates all those problems. While this is a minor update, it has major implications. Users will now save on a lot of time on this too.

The streaming videos will be played in a YouTube like format with YouTube-like controls. Google says that video streaming of attachments on Gmail for Web has been made possible using the same technology that powers YouTube as well as video streaming on Google Drive. This is indeed quite a major step up for Google.

Google has been improving Gmail’s services for quite a while now. Gmail users received an update a couple of days ago that allows them to send and receive money on Google Wallet via mail! The company keeps innovating various offerings of theirs, and this constant improvement has indeed been the key and the core component to the large scale success of Google.

WhatsApp Text Status Updates Returning Next Week

Mar 16, 2017 By

With over a billion active users, WhatsApp is among the most popular chat applications in the world. Owned by Facebook, the app brings forward a number of innovations from time to time. After the Facebook acquisition, the number of updates started increasing and it moved from a traditional chat app to a full blown communications tool. WhatsApp introduced a new feature a couple of weeks ago, which was rather polarizing. We are talking about the change made to WhatsApp status updates becoming a visual medium instead of a text based medium. However, WhatsApp text status updates are now returning.

Those who miss the WhatsApp text status updates need to wait another week till they make a comeback. The text based updates will return in the form of the ‘about’ tab that the app is about to introduce. The feature has already been rolled out to the WhatsApp Beta users. The feature comes with the good old default options such as Busy, Available, At the Movies, etc.

WhatsApp recently issued a statement saying they have heard from their users that people missed the ability to set a persistent text-only update in their profile. Following this intense feedback from the users, the app has now integrated this feature into the ‘About’ section in profile settings. Now, the update will appear next to profile names anytime the users view their contacts.

WhatsApp text status updates are returning, and it is a massive relief to those who did not want another platform to showcase a day in their life. Facebook has been attacking Snapchat by introducing the stories feature in some form in all their apps. It was introduced as the Instagram Stories, followed by the WhatsApp Status update, and then the Facebook Messenger Day. All three of them offer the same feature, and it is clear attack from Facebook on to Snapchat. The update will begin rolling out next week, and it will come to the iOS users earlier than the Android users.

Chrome 57 To Throttle Background Tabs To Conserve Power

Mar 15, 2017 By

Google Chrome has been one of the most popular web browsers right since the day it came out. Remember the days when Chrome was an invite-only service? From there to being the most popular browser in the world with billions of people using it, Chrome has come a long way. The browser offers the users with the latest security as well as regular improvements. The latest update that comes with Chrome 57 is that of improving power consumption by throttling background tabs.

What makes Google Chrome really special is the fact that Google keeps bringing forward continuous updates for the users. This time, the company is focusing on the power consumption. It is a well known fact that the more processes you run, the more power your PC consumes. While this might not bother the traditional desktop users much, but those on laptop, tablets and mobiles want the most out of their battery life. The Chrome 57 update will now throttle tabs to ensure they consume less power.

Chrome has made some changes to their throttling policies, and as a result they say that they will now ensure less power is consumed by background tabs. Google comments that tabs with audio playback going on, or with live streams running will not be affected by this. This is achieved with the help of Chrome’s new and improved page visibility API which checks tabs for inactivity every ten seconds. Chrome 57 helps conserve power in a 25% better manner.

While this Chrome 57 feature will ensure that the battery life is not hampered because a user opens multiple tabs, the upcoming versions of Chrome will focus more on the memory consumption. Chrome 57 is about power conservation, and Chrome 58 to Chrome 60 are likely to be about memory conservation. Chrome has been known to be rather harsh on the RAM. However, with the next few updates, this issue is going to be addressed.

Intel Acquires Israel Based Computer Vision Firm Mobileye For $15.3 Billion

Mar 13, 2017 By

Intel, for quite some time, had teamed up with Israel based computer vision firm Mobileye. The company was working with them over computer vision for autonomous driving technology. It looks like partnership was the first step in a bigger plan, as Intel has now acquired Mobileye for $15.3 Billion. This is the biggest ever acquisition of a tech firm in Israel. The acquisition process has begun, and will be completed in nine months.

Mobileye is a popular name when it comes to computer vision technology. The company is known for their computer vision technology which aids a number of operations. Their focus has recently been on high definition mapping and driving policy intelligence behind driving decisions. Intel has been working with them for a while now on developing gen-next computer vision based technologies for autonomous driving. Intel has been one of the many tech firms working on technology that powers self driving cars. Mobileye also works on sensor fusion technologies, as well as cameras.

Mobileye’s CTO Amnon Shashua says that the company has been working with 27 different car makers over autonomous driving technologies. The company is now going to lead Intel’s autonomous driving division, which will be based in Israel. Intel SVP Doug Davis is overseeing how the two companies will coordinate together. With this acquisition, the autonomous driving division of Intel is all set to get a major boost!

This is not the first time an Israel based computer vision company is in the news. Apple and Google too, have acquired Israel based firms working on computer vision and machine learning technology in the past, most notably Google’s acquisition of Waze and Apple’s acquisition of PrimeSense. Mobileye employees will continue reporting to Shashua. Intel’s deal with the company includes Intel acquiring all the shares of Mobileye at $63.54 per share in cash.

Linden Labs Releases Sansar’s New Trailer: Showcases Creation of New Worlds

Mar 8, 2017 By

Virtual Reality has been taking over the way we know the markets of technology to be. There has been a paradigm shift in the way tech firms deliver experiences to the users, and VR has been a major catalyst of this change. Linden Labs’ Sansar is a new VR app from them which will launch in the Spring of this year. It has been awaited for quite a while, and Linden Labs have now released a new trailer depicting the creation of new worlds on it.

For those who might not remember, Linden Labs is the company behind second life, which has been played by up to 1.1 million users at a time in its peak. The company is taking their world building expertise and putting it in a virtual reality setup. This is indeed a major jump for the VR technology as well as for the world of experiential gaming.

Sansar will be different from Second Life because while second life featured one massive endless world, this new-age VR experience will duplicate the worlds endlessly, which will allow the accomodation of more people. The new trailer to Sansar is darker, grittier, and even dystopian to an extent. Things happening in the trailer are looking rather chaotic, and show a great example of what it will hold once it comes out for the users in the Spring of this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tdkW64u3YA

Virtual Reality is stepping up, along with Augmented Reality. Both these markets have been booming with every passing day. The technologies have found use across multiple sectors over the years. With Apple too focusing more on AR in the next few years, and with Google working heavily on Virtual Reality, it looks like Lineden Labs is releasing Sansar at the right time where people are all set to accept VR as a regular phenomenon, and not something special.