Every year after Google releases the next major update of Android, there’s a week or so of excitement about the new features. Then, after the excitement wears off, there’s a realization that you will likely wait weeks or months before your phone will get the update. Heck, my friend’s Galaxy S7 Edge ($199 at Amazon) …
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Firefox has joined Google’s WebP party, another endorsement for the internet giant’s effort to speed up the web with a better image format. Google revealed WebP eight years ago and since then has built it into its Chrome web browser, Android phone software and many of its online properties in an effort to put websites on a diet and cut …
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Google’s big event is next week on Oct. 9, but thanks to the well-developed rumor network of 2018 we know a lot already about its expected Pixel 3 phones, new Chromecast streamer and Pixel Slate tablet. So what’s a consumer tech giant to do? Offer up clever teaser illustrations ribbing the rumor mill. The Internet has speculated that there’s a “Super …
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Google Assistant will now take an active role in helping you book a ride. Ask it for a ride to the airport or a local restaurant, and the digital assistant on your phone will pull info from popular ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft. You’ll see wait times and prices compared, and if you choose a service Google will take …
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Inrupt, the startup from web creator Tim Berners-Lee, isn’t about to squeeze Facebook off the internet, but it has attracted interest from tens of thousands of people. Inrupt is backing an open-source project from Berners-Lee called Solid that’s designed to let us keep control over own data instead of handing it over to companies like Facebook and Google. Over the …
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We’re just a few days away from Google’s Oct. 9 event where it’s expected to reveal the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. Although the sheer amount of Pixel leaks may have already ruined a few surprises, we may have learned about yet another one: a new color. Renders of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL in a pinkish …
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Eight years after Google introduced WebP in an effort to speed up the web, Microsoft’s Edge browser now supports the image format alternative to JPEG and PNG. The change comes with the new version of Windows 10 that Microsoft introduced Tuesday, according to a tweet from Patrick Kettner, an Edge product manager. Many web developers who like WebP will doubtless …
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Google Assistant is opening itself up to new forms of communication. Starting today, when you pull up Google Assistant on your phone, you’ll see extra visuals and new ways of interacting by touch. Google is announcing the changes via a blog post Wednesday as the company prepares for its Made by Google event on Oct. 9. Rolled out initially as …
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Don’t worry: The government didn’t just spam you. On Wednesday, the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System sent a test message to everyone using a cellphone in the US that runs on a network operated by a carrier participating in the Wireless Emergency Alert system. You’d know you got the message if the header read “Presidential Alert.” The content of the …
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When Jigsaw tested this privacy app with a few dozen political activists in Venezuela, the company wanted to keep the trial small. Within weeks, thousands of people around the world were using Intra, a security app used to stop government regimes from censoring the internet and manipulating traffic. On Wednesday, Jigsaw, a tech incubator owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, …
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