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Google’s new Cameos app gives celebs a bigger voice on the internet

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Google Cameos
Google's Cameos app focuses on celebrities.
Photo: Google

Google is giving celebrities a new way to answer some of the most popular questions asked by fans thanks to a new app called Cameos.

The search giant launched Cameos on the iOS app store this morning. Created for public figures, celebrities and sports teams, Cameos is an extension of the Posts on Google platform that allows some people and organizations to post directly to Google’s search result pages.

Google Pixel 3 XL leaks out in early unboxing photos

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Google Pixel 3 XL leak
Meet Google’s competitor to iPhone X Plus.
Photo: Mobiltelefon.ru

Google’s upcoming Pixel 3 XL, which will arrive this fall to do battle with Apple’s larger iPhone, has leaked out early in a series of unboxing photos.

The images give us our best look yet at the device and its packaging, and they confirm some of its specifications. The most notable change this year is a new edge-to-edge display with a notch that’s noticeably fatter than iPhone X’s.

Android Pie spotlights Google’s broken upgrade system

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Android 9 Pie is now available to a handful of people who own the right devices. Everyone else gets to wait.
Android 9 Pie is now available to a handful of people who own the right devices. Everyone else gets to wait.
Photo: Google

Google released Android 9 (Pie) to the public today, which should completely thrill the tiny percentage of Android users who can install it. For many, the wait for an upgrade will be months. For others, buying a new device is the only option to access this version.

Contrast this with iOS, which is always available to virtually everyone who wants it on the day it’s released.

Google’s new Pixel 3 will fight iPhone from October

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Pixel 2
Prepare for new Pixels right after iPhone X Plus.
Photo: Google

Google is gearing up to deliver its next-generation Pixel 3 smartphones in October, a leaked marketing ad confirms.

The devices are expected to fight the iPhone with even larger edge-to-edge displays and new features. And just like the iPhone X, the Pixel 3 could make its way into the hands of YouTube content creators before it reaches other reviewers.

Sorry, Android. You can’t have more than two notches

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Apple Watch
The iPhone X screen cutout could be renamed the Android notch because so many devices running Google's OS are including one. Enough that new rules prevent overuse.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The “notch” in the iPhone X drew heavy criticism when this device was first announced, but makers of Android phones have been quick to embrace it. So quick that Google felt compelled to step in and limit the number of screen cutouts allowed.

Phone designers were apparently going overboard if Google had prevent them from putting in three or more.

MacOS is a hellstew of error messages, says new Chromebook ad

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Chromebook ad
Is this your experience of using macOS? Google suggests it is.
Photo: Google

Tensions between Google and Apple may have cooled since Steve Jobs declared “thermonuclear war” on the search giant, but that doesn’t mean hostilities have ceased altogether.

In its latest Chromebook commercial, Google fires shots at both Apple and fellow tech giant Microsoft. Both companies are mocked for the error messages their operating systems supposedly bombard customers with, and more. Chromebooks, on the other hand, represent, “a laptop you can count on.” Check the ad out below.

Trump administration takes a first step toward regulating Facebook, Google

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Facebook employees
The US government may soon be looking over Facebook's shoulder to better protect your privacy. Unless Facebook and Google can prevent it, of course.
Photo: Facebook

The Commerce Dept. is reportedly talking to social networking companies and consumer advocates about rules to protect online privacy. Also included are possible protections for companies that have data breeches.

This is supposedly laying the groundwork for legislation that might be proposed this fall.

Google Street View app adds iPhone X support

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Google Street View on iPhone X
Street View looks even better on iPhone X.
Photo: Google

The official Google Street View app has been updated to take full advantage of the iPhone X’s stunning Super Retina HD display.

It’s one of the last Google apps to get iPhone X support, following an update to Inbox that (after a very lengthy wait) rolled out last month. Users can also look forward to improvements to 360-degree panoramas.

Microsoft may be building a ‘Movies & TV’ app for Android and iOS

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Watching a movie on iPad
Microsoft hopes it will boost Microsoft Store downloads.
Photo: Apple

Microsoft is developing a “Movies & TV” app for Android and iOS in an effort to boost downloads from the Microsoft Store, according to a new report.

Customers can enjoy content purchased from Microsoft only on Windows platforms for now. The company hopes that by supporting new platforms, it will encourage more people to use its store over competitors like iTunes.

Google admits third-party developers can read your emails

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Google-Chrome
Real human developers can read your Gmail messages. But only if you let them.
Photo: Google

Privacy is a hot-button issue in 2018, and the latest target is Google after it was revealed that developers of third-party apps can read your Gmail messages. 

The thing is, you gave the application permission to do that. You just don’t remember. Or weren’t paying attention.

Apple Park sparks huge rise in property values

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Apple Park
Apple's new "Spaceship" campus is contributing to soaring property values.
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

Innovation is great but having it as a neighbor can be a mixed blessing.

Silicon Valley counties are reporting soaring property values thanks to a tech sector boom led by Apple and Google, who have spent the last few years buying huge swaths of land to build new headquarters.

Android users still flocking to iPhone at an impressive rate

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iPhone with Samsung
They’re still running!
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Android owners are still ditching their handsets for an iPhone at an impressive rate.

New research reveals that up to 20 percent of iPhone buyers each quarter are switching from Google devices. The iPhone SE is one of the most popular models among former Android fans, but there’s a lot of love for larger Apple devices, too.

Apple meets with U.S. intelligence to talk fake news

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Apple News
Apple has already taken steps to fight fake news.
Photo: Apple

Apple is among the tech companies which recently met with members of the U.S. intelligence community to discuss the upcoming midterm elections.

Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Oath, Snap and Twitter were approached because of continued concerns about the way that tech platforms were allegedly used for spreading fake news during the 2016 Presidential elections.

Apple, other tech titans cross swords on consumer privacy

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Apple takes privacy seriously
Apple takes consumer privacy seriously, but Google and Facebook don't. Can an industry trade group that includes all three company reach any kind of consensus?
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Information Technology Industry Council will meet on Wednesday. This trade group, made up of Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and others, will discuss consumer privacy.

The proceedings are likely to be contentious, as these companies have very different views on the subject.

Apple lures away senior self-driving car engineer from Google’s Waymo

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Project Titan
One of Alphabet-subsidiary Weymo's senior engineers now works on Apple autonomous cars like this one.
Photo: Idiggapple/Twitter

Jaime Waydo is leaving Google’s Waymo for Apple. This should help silence anyone who doubts that Apple is serious about its autonomous car efforts.

Waydo describes her old job at this Alphabet subsidiary as “Helping make self driving cars a reality!” Presumably, that’s what she’ll be doing in her new position too.

Gmail for iOS just got a big notifications upgrade

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Gmail iOS
View all your messages individually if you prefer.
Photo: Google

Some of us need to have email notifications enabled, but we don’t want our iPhone to ping every time a spam message hits out inbox. Gmail just got a big notifications upgrade that solves this problem.

Its official iOS app now uses artificial intelligence to provide notifications for your most important emails only.

Neural networks make Google Translate app smarter, more accurate while offline

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Google Translate is now better, even offline
On-device learning should make the Google Translate app much better at its job.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Neural machine translation (NMT) has made the online version of Google Translate more accurate for years. Today, this AI feature was added to the iOS and Android apps so it can be used offline.

NTM allows the software to learn over time to create better, more natural translations. And this function is available while traveling without a local data plan.

Google again follows Apple’s lead, removes meat from salad emoji

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Salad emoji from various companies
At the urging of vegans, the egg is being removed from Google's salad emoji, pictured at right. Apple's, Samsung's, and other's versions are already meat-less.
Graphic: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Google has bowed to pressure from vegans and taken the egg out of Android’s salad emoji.

This isn’t something iPhone users need concern themselves with, as Apple’s version is already meatless.

Valve makes controversial decision to ‘allow everything’ in Steam Store

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Valve Steam
Enjoy Remote Play Together today.
Photo: Valve

Valve is making a huge change that’s going to have a massive impact on the content you see in the Steam Store. The company is doing away with human curation and allowing everything to be sold through its platform.

Valve says it should be up to players to decide what kinds of games they play, while developers should have the freedom to choose what kinds of games they make. However, it will be creating new tools that give shoppers greater control over what appears in their Steam Store.

U.K. iPhone users want $4.3B from Google for privacy violations

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Google
Millions in Britain wants $1000 each because they claim Google invaded their privacy
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

A group of 4.4 million Brits accuse Google of illegally collecting and selling their personal information. They want a court to award them  $1000 (£750) each in compensation.

The group, which calls itself Google You Owe Us, was in court today asking to be made a representative action, the British equivalent of a class action.

Google nearly scrubs ‘Don’t be evil’ from its code of conduct

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'Don't be evil' went from the first sentence of the Google code of conduct to the very last.
'Don't be evil' went from the first sentence of the Google code of conduct to the very last.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Google’s founders tried to define their corporate philosophy with a single phrase: “Don’t be evil.” Now that phrase has all but disappeared from the company’s official code of conduct.

But there are questions about whether Google could be anything but evil, given that its entire business model is violating the privacy of its users.

Processor update might make Google’s Wear OS a better Apple Watch competitor

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Qualcomm's upcoming processor might make Google's Wear OS more competitive.
Qualcomm's upcoming processor might make Google's Wear OS more competitive.
Photo: Google

One of the reasons Apple Watch has no problems fending off competition running Google’s Wear OS is that they all use a two-year-old processor. Qualcomm is finally readying a new smartwatch chip for release this fall.

In addition, the next version of Watch OS will make greater use of Google Assistant, the company’s artificial intelligence powered system for voice control.