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How to get a coding job at Google with an art degree
I wasn't really aware as a kid that game development was a career that I could have, especially from an artist's perspective." That's Ashley Pinnick, a 28-year-old artist and game developer living in San Francisco. Pinnick is a VR Technical Artist for Google, where she's working on Playground, the company's augmented reality app. But three years ago, she was an art school graduate and self-taught virtual reality developer with an uncertain future at her feet. "I was playing games and I knew that there was art there," Pinnick said. "I just didn't put two and two together."
Google makes all movie rentals just 99 cents for Thanksgiving (updated)
If you're still looking for activities to fill your Thanksgiving weekend, Google might be able to help. The tech giant has announced the Play Store's Cyber Week deals for 2018, which include charging only 99 cents for any of its movie rentals on Turkey Day itself. For the rest of the week, you'll still be able to buy big game titles for up to 80 percent off or to get special in-app discounts. If you'd rather watch shows, you can also get discounts on major titles such as Game of Thrones and American Horror Story.
Google takes a Shortcut to link Assistant and Siri
As voice assistants go, Siri isn't up to scratch. Apple knows it, you know it, and so too does Google. That's why it wants to get iOS folk using its Assistant instead. There's just one issue: Siri is throughly baked in to Apple's platform, relegating other digital helpers to the wayside. To get past that, Google is turning to Siri Shortcuts. With the latest update for Google Assistant for iOS, you can now program Siri to open Assistant.
Volvo (deliberately) won’t have any cars at the LA auto show
Automakers love making a big splash at auto shows, usually with swirling lights, loud dance music and a car that appears out of a smoke-filled cave. Whether it's a highly anticipated production vehicle or a concept car no one will ever get to drive, it's what these companies do. Not Volvo. Not this year, at least.
Google envisions smart roller skates for walking endlessly in VR
Right now the solutions for walking through large virtual reality environments are quite limited. You're typically looking at either a 360-degree treadmill or playing in a gigantic physical space. Google, however, might have a better solution -- although we're not sure if we'd call it elegant. The company has applied for a patent on VR shoes (really, roller skates) that would let you walk anywhere in VR without bumping into a very real wall. The technology would track your feet and use motorized wheels on the footwear to bring you back to a "return zone" whenever you venture beyond a safe area. You'd avoid embarrassing collisions -- though you'd also look like a massive dork, if Google's less-than-flattering illustrations are any indication.
Google rolls out Digital Wellbeing tools for Android
Earlier this year during its I/O conference, Google announced new tools to help users manage their screen time. Now, it's rolling out Digital Wellbeing to Google Pixel phones and Android One devices with Android 9 Pie. Digital Wellbeing gives Android users a look at how much time they've spent on apps as well as how often they've unlocked their phones and how many notifications they've received. It also offers the ability to set time limits on app usage. Additionally, with Wind Down users can limit what notifications come through during a certain time period and have the option of switching their screens to grayscale.
Police arrest alleged Russian hacker behind huge Android ad scam
Police in Bulgaria have arrested an alleged Russian hacker who may be responsible for a huge Android ad scam that netted $10 million. The individual identified as Alexander Zhukov is a Saint Petersburg native who's been living in Varna, Bulgaria, since 2010 and was apprehended on November 6th after the US issued an international warrant for his arrest, according to ZDNet.
Engadget giveaway: Win a Smart Light Starter Kit and Home Max courtesy of Google!
If you haven't dabbled in the smart home sector yet, but would like to enjoy some of the perks without investing big bucks, the new made-for-Google Smart Light Starter Kit from GE is tailor-made. This package includes a Google Home Mini and a GE-C Life smart bulb, both of which can talk to each other by Bluetooth, obviating the need for any hubs. It's that easy to set up voice-controlled ambiance with any of the Google Home smart speakers. Plus, since the Home devices are WiFi connected as well, you can remotely control your lights. Additional bulbs can be added without too much cost and if you purchase one of the Google/GE kits between November 22nd and 26th, there are some major discounts to be had at the Google Store. This week, Google has provided us with a Smart Light Starter Kit for two lucky readers, along with a super-sized Google Home Max so you can really crank up the tunes. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to four chances at winning one of these Google smart home packages. Good luck! Winners: Congratulations to Jesse D. of Antioch, CA and Antonio P. of New York, NY!
Google’s Pixel phones will soon save transcripts of screened calls
Google's Call Screen feature has been a boon to Pixel 3 owners wary of tedious telemarketing calls. Instead of taking your chances on an incoming 'Scam Likely' call, you can just get Google Assistant to answer for you. One of the major criticisms of the service, though, is that once the call is complete, the transcript of the conversation disappears. So unless you managed to grab a screenshot of the transcript, or were paying attention to the screen during the call, you'd have nothing to refer to later beyond a caller number. None of this is really conducive to fuss-free spam filtering. But Google has been paying attention to feedback, and it seems that Call Screen transcripts are on the way.
LG's first Google Assistant-powered smart display is rolling out
Need another smart speaker to consider for your holiday gift-giving? The LG smart display we spotted at CES is finally ready to go on sale complete with its 8-inch touch screen, Android Things platform with apps for Google Maps, Photos and YouTube plus Google Assistant-powered AI features. It also has an...interesting official name: the XBOOM AI ThinQ WK9. LG is touting the speakers and their Meridian Audio technology, which it hopes will make the $300 MSRP easier to swallow among all of that competition. That's more than the $200 8-inch Lenovo Smart Display that also runs Android Things and Google's own $150 Home Hub which does not, not to mention the various other options with Alexa, Siri, Facebook or Cortana onboard. It's even more than the $250 JBL Link View which similarly focuses on audio quality. However, at least for Black Friday LG has said it will cost $200, although it's not listed as available at most retailers yet. Liliputing points out a sale page on B&H Photo, and we'd expect to see it everywhere else by the time the big day rolls around.
Pixel 3 bug disables the phone's camera
Pixel 3 owners are dealing with another software glitch, and this one could prove to be a showstopper for some. Owners on Google's forums, Reddit and elsewhere (including an Engadget staff family member) report a flaw that prevents them from using the Pixel 3's official camera app. Some get a "fatal error" message when they use the camera app, while others will get a "can't connect to camera" message in a third-party app and lose access from then onward. Rebooting only temporarily fixes the issue, and it can occur even if you've factory-reset the phone or are using Safe Mode.
You can now sync Chromecast with Google Home speakers
Starting today, Google is allowing Chromecast owners to add the streaming device to speaker groups along with Home speakers. The addition of the dongle to the Home ecosystem will allow you to queue up a song, playlist, podcast or audiobook and have it play in sync across all of the speakers and Chromecast-connected devices in your home.
Fossil Sport review: Just another Wear OS watch
Smartwatches seem to be enjoying a minor revival this year, with major brands like Apple and Samsung continuing to push out intriguing new wearables like the Galaxy Watch and the Apple Watch Series 4. Google launched a redesign of Wear OS, and Qualcomm created a new processor specifically for watches. The Snapdragon Wear 3100 is built around a new architecture featuring low-power cores that claim to deliver dramatically better battery life. The Fossil Sport is one of the first watches to ship with the new chipset and is also the fashion company's first fitness-focused smartwatch. Since this is the first Wear 3100 watch we've got our hands on, though, I'm eager to see if the new CPU lives up to its promises.
Google Photos update brings depth control to iOS
Google has added a useful feature to its Google Photos app for iOS. You'll be able to tweak background blur levels and adjust the focus on portrait mode photos. The depth editor tool is arriving on iOS soon after Google added it to the app on Pixel 2, Pixel 3 and some Moto phones. Notably, Pixel 3 phones have a built-in depth control feature, as do iPhone XS and XS Max.
Facebook donates £4.5 million to help train UK newspaper reporters
Facebook is extending another olive branch to the news industry in the form of a £4.5 million ($5.8 million) donation to subsidize 80 trainee journalists at local newspapers in the UK. It's the first time Facebook has offered such a pledge, which it's making as part of its new Community News Project.
Google: Southeast Asia’s digital economy is surging
Google has begun looking beyond India to Southeast Asia for its "next billion" users. And its annual report on the region's internet economy gives us an insight as to why it's so crucial to the web giant. Home to 650 million people, Google projects Southeast Asia's digital economy will triple in size to $240 billion in the next seven years. So sharp has been its rise that Google has revised its growth expectations for the region (made in collaboration with Singapore sovereign fund Temasek) for the third year on the go.
Tim Cook defends Apple's search deals with Google
Apple's Tim Cook is always on hand to explain why his company is better at privacy than its rivals (read Google and Facebook), which have been mired in data scandals of late. When Cook said personal information is being "weaponized against us with military efficiency," while calling on GDPR-style rules in the US, it was clear who his targets were. Reality, however, is a lot more complicated than that. Though Apple doesn't have a targeted advertising business, it still stocks Facebook's apps in its App Store and receives billions from Google to make it the default search engine on its platforms.
Eyelid glucose sensor might pick up where Verily left off
Just because Alphabet's Verily shelved its glucose-monitoring contact lens doesn't mean you're stuck without an unintrusive way to manage diabetes. IEEE Spectrum has discovered a recent study that shows promise for Dutch startup Noviosense's own wearable glucose monitor, which measures tears by sitting in your lower eyelid. The spring-like coil was accurate enough that 95 percent of its data was either as good as blood or close enough to be acceptable. For contrast, previous studies suggested that tears might only have a 70 percent correlation at best.
Rumored 'mid-range' Pixel 3 might include a headphone jack
Rumors have swirled for months of Google developing a lower-cost Pixel 3 that would offer the core experience at a lower price, and there might be evidence it's real. Rozetked (which posted accurate Pixel 3 XL leaks) claims to have obtained photos and details of "Sargo," a mid-tier Pixel 3 device. It would share some style cues with the regular Pixel 3, but would use a 5.5-inch 2,220 x 1,080 LCD in place of the OLED screen, a plastic body, an upper-mid-range Snapdragon 670 instead of the 845 and 32GB of storage rather than 64GB. Even the stereo front-facing audio would be gone. However, it might have an addition that would make some people happy -- a headphone jack.
Google may add public comments for searches
Google+ is shutting down in the wake of a data privacy flaw, but that doesn't mean Google is now uninterested in social features. The 9to5Google crew has discovered what appears to be in-testing support for comments on search results. The feature would be limited to live sports matches (at least at first), but it would separate feedback from both pro commentators and viewers and would include filters to highlight the top comments. And yes, there would be moderation to cut down on spam and other abuse.
