Google Home hoovers up 12 more smart home vendors
Now works with sprinklers, locks, A/C, professional smart home systems
Google said it is beginning to fulfill more potential in its voice-activated speaker and smart home platform - that's Google Home. This week, people will be able to control devices from 12 companies, marking the platform’s largest update since its launch in November.
Google announces real-time location sharing on Google Maps
Available for Android and iOS in coming weeks
Google has decided that it will bring real-time location to Google Maps for Android users, iPhone users, mobile web and desktop users, letting anyone with a shared link to know where you are while you're traveling.
Google promises to sort out right-wing advert crisis
Losing customers
Google has promised to sort out a mess in its British operations after advertisers were furous that their adverts were being seen promoting right-wing hate videos.
Google reveals more web-friendly compression
Slow to compress quicker to open
Google Research come up with a better way of encoding JPEG images which can cut a third off JPEG image file-sizes with equal (or improved) appearance.
Swatch enters the wearable OS market
Look out Apple
Designer watch maker Swatch said that it has written its own alternative operating system for mobile watches and will be launching its own battle for the world’s watches next year.
New Chrome throttles tabs
Saving processing power
Starting with Chrome 57, Google has started limiting the amount of resources background tabs can use.
Google wants to save UK electricity with AI
No added infrastructure
Google Deepmind is opening talks with the UK government to use the company's artificial intelligence to reduce British energy use by up to 10 percent.
Google admits some Pixel mics are borked
"Only a small number" will need to be replaced
Google has admitted that a "small number" of its Pixel phones have shipped with borked microphones which will need to be returned so they can be replaced.
WikiLeaks says big tech companies will get CIA zero-day exploits first
“Vault 7” is the most comprehensive release of US spying files ever made public
On Tuesday, the leak-focused site founded by Julian Assange released thousands of alleged CIA documents purporting to show how the agency has been able to crack open devices from Apple, Samsung, Google, and Microsoft.
Pixel laptop goes the way of the Dodo
Did all it was supposed to do
Google’s senior vice president for hardware Rick Osterloh has hinted that the Pixel laptop will be going the way of Ned Stark from the Game of Thrones.