Tag Archives: google

What’s the best computer for an older person, someone in their 60s, 70s, 80s or beyond? That’s a tricky question, and it’s not meant to suggest that elderly users are somehow limited in their skills or capabilities. These generations simply didn’t have the benefit of growing up surrounded by screens, and they may have specific …

Google is making more moves into the video chatting space during the coronavirus pandemic, now providing its premium video conferencing service Google Meet free for consumers. Previously available only to organizations using G Suite, Meet is now open to everyone, in a move that puts Google in competition with rival video chat service Zoom.  Now playing: Watch this: 3 video …

When Matthew MacNeil uses the voice-to-text feature on an Android phone, the resulting transcription looks nothing like what he said.   “Hello, my name is Matthew MacNeil. I live in Tillsonburg, Ontario,” becomes “Hello my name is Master MacNeil. I live in traffic Ontario.”  MacNeil, who is 30, has Down syndrome, and he’s often frustrated that voice technology, like the …

Google is working on a prototype headphone cord with touch sensing for controls. Twisting, flicking, pinching, grabbing and patting the wire, or sliding your fingers along it, triggers different functions — tapping for play and pause, for example, double tapping to move to the next track, rolling between the fingers for volume. The braided wire also has fiber optic strands …

Web apps, websites that can be converted into standalone apps, are moving closer toward becoming first-class software citizens on Windows 10. Google coined the term progressive web app, or PWA, to describe websites that can assume the power and prominence of conventional native apps you’d download from an app store. For a taste of PWAs, visit coronavirus.app, which with most …

Google Chrome has begun locking down an important type of communication that can leak private information to internet service providers or others who can snoop your web browser’s network activity. Chrome 83, released Tuesday, incorporates a new technology called DNS over HTTPS. Google, Mozilla and other allies have been trying to secure your connections to websites with the HTTPS technology, …

Facebook’s new group video chat feature Messenger Rooms is now available, and is ready to compete with services like Zoom, Skype, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, as more people turn to video chat during coronavirus lockdowns and quarantines.  You can create a video chat room via Facebook or the Messenger app and invite up to 50 people to join a video call — even if they …

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. Jack Dorsey’s Square employees are being given the option to work from home permanently. The CEO told workers Monday if they want to continue working remotely once COVID-19 lockdowns and quarantines come to an end, they are free to do so. The policy …

More and more people in coronavirus lockdown have begun throwing parties, celebrating their birthdays, having graduation ceremonies and hosting movie nights with their friends and family — remotely, of course. Due to quarantine, friends and family have had to get creative when it comes to celebrating special days. If you’re looking to throw a virtual party for yourself or someone …

I’d love to say that when I first put on the Apple Watch, I’d never seen anything like it before. But of course, that’s not true. By late 2014 I’d been surrounded by smartwatches for a few years. So when Apple announced it was making its own watch, my thought (as so often with Apple) was: finally. The first smartwatch I …