This Week in Google (Audio)

TWiG 602: Random Penguin House - NFTs and creators, Google Empathy Lab, FLoC and cookies, Twitter reinvention

Wed, 10 Mar 2021 21:10:38 PST

What the heck are these NFTs all about?
$10K for a virtual shoe? NFTs are here to create more sneakers you can't get
Performance artist eats $120,000 banana duct-taped to wall, calls it 'delicious'
After journalist complains about harassment women face, famous male journalists encourage more harassment of her
NYU study: far-right misinformation is more engaging
Inside the Google Empathy Lab
Burger King's terrible tweet
Google's FLoC Is a Terrible Idea
Google flags higher ad rates in France, Spain after digital tax
Harry and Meghan: The union of two great houses, the Windsors and the Celebrities, is complete
Google hosting Cloud Next '21 conference in October, virtual/physical format not yet set
Mobile World Congress says it will be in person in Spain in June
For Creators, Everything Is for Sale
Want to borrow that e-book from the library? Sorry, Amazon won't let you
Twitter working on overhaul of Tweetdeck
Twitter is Reinventing Itself
Twitter is testing an 'undo' option after sending tweets
Russia moves to slow Twitter's speed after protest row
Twitter sues Texas AG, claiming retaliation for Trump ban
Texas governor wants to ban social media from banning
A Leading Critic of Big Tech Will Join the White House
Camera-based Google Fit heart & respiratory rate tracking rolling out to Pixel
Google Voice won't forward texts to outside #s anymore
Google gives Chrome Android hub for its birthday
Google Chrome moving to 4-week update cycle for faster feature rollouts
Google Photos' new advanced video editor starts rolling out
Google Meet breakout rooms can now be set up before calls using Calendar
Google TV 'kids' profiles' arrive on Chromecast this month w/ parental controls, time limits
Android Auto split-screen support begins rolling out for vehicles with wide-screen displays
Follow our podcast': Apple Podcasts to stop using 'subscribe'
Internet Archive Scholar launched
Stanford AI Index
Arby's Has an Answer to Plant-Based Meat: A Meat-Based Carrot
T-Mobile to Step Up Ad Targeting of Cellphone Customers

Picks:

Mathew: Four year anniversary of this epic interview
Mathew: Man builds video-rental store in his basement
Jeff: Ending the Civil Journey
Jeff: Pandemic blamed for plummeting birthrates across Europe
Ant: Adobe Max Dates announced (virtually).
Ant: Super Resolution Feature from Adobe Announced
Ant: Story pissed me off, but there's a personal spin
Leo: Unhook - Remove YouTube Recommended Videos

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Ant Pruitt

Guests: Mathew Ingram and Trey Ratcliff

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-google.

Sponsors:

TWiG 601: Wear Your Dadgum Schnutenpulli! - How tech journalism changed since 2016, Pixel feature drop, NFTs

Wed, 03 Mar 2021 20:44:57 PST

Pre-Techlash era & background to the Techlash
How did the election of Donald Trump usher in the TechLash? How did Big Tech respond?
Is there a new kind of honesty and transparency for big tech companies right now?
Google abandons individualized tracking for ads
Microsoft Ignite Keynote 2021
The disillusionment of social media
SpaceX Starship SN10 Launch
NFTs and a Thousand True Fans
Grimes made $5.8 million in 20 minutes selling NFT art
Here's someone Ant met and their sold NFT
March Pixel Feature Drop: Underwater photos, Gboard Smart Compose, and more
Google releases Android 12 Developer Preview 1.1 with bug fixes
Chrome 89 rolling out: Reading list, Tab Search, Profiles redesign, and more
Google stops selling Cardboard
Google Duo on Android using 'Lyra' to offer natural-sounding voice calls on even a 2G connection
Google Nest Hubs get three new clock faces
The SpaceX #SN10 Starship has exploded after landing
Abraham Lincoln As You've Never Seen Him Before
MyHeritage to be Acquired by Leading Private Equity Firm Francisco Partners
AI creation of hands playing piano according to music track
The 6 Train Can Help You Convert Celsius to Fahrenheit - Civic Center - New York - DNAinfo
You'll miss them when they're gone: OZ news traffic fell 24% during FB freeze-out

Picks:

Nirit - The Techlash and Tech Crisis Communication
Jeff - German covid words
Ant - Jim Gaffigan marks one year of lockdown

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Ant Pruitt

Guest: Dr. Nirit Weiss-Blatt, PhD

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-google.

Sponsors:

TWiG 600: Jalapeño - Facebook calls truce in Australia, Pixel saves a man's life, Fry's is done, Gamestop doubles again

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 21:25:29 PST

Facebook to reverse news ban on Australian sites, government to make amendments to media bargaining code
Murdoch's law and the net
GameStop shares soar more than 100% amid executive shuffle
Trump reportedly appealed to FB Oversight Board
Sheryl Sandberg and Top Facebook Execs Silenced an Enemy of Turkey to Prevent a Hit to the Company's Business
Taco Bell chicken sandwich/taco! Pickled jalapeño > pickle
A second Google A.I. researcher says the company fired her
Why did I leave Google or, why did I stay so long?
Alphabet in talks with Spanish publishers to bring Google News back, sources say
Biden admin plans executive order to address chip-shortage woes
Google Pixel phone saved an unconscious man from being trapped in an overturned vehicle for hours
Google-linked smart city plan ditched in Portland
Samsung now updates Android for longer than Google does
It's the End of an Era: Fry's Calls It Quits
Birders fighting over celeb birds on Twitter
Dorsey says Twitter needs to go all-in on subs
California can finally enforce its landmark net neutrality law, judge rules
YouTube to Let Parents Set Up Supervised Accounts for Kids Under 13
Google surfacing lightweight HTML5 games in Discover, Chrome around the world
Android's latest update will let you schedule texts, secure your passwords, and more
Apple TV App Is Now Available on Chromecast With Google TV
Jetpack Compose enters beta, making Android UI development easier
Google is bringing games to Android Auto, and no, it's not Stadia
Google Calendar now lets you set split working hours, repeating OOO entries
Google Chat website getting a Gmail-like redesign with Hangouts-style chat windows

Picks:

Stacey: Ting Fire Safety
Jeff: The music industry makes more money but has more mouths to feed
Ant: "W" is for Whack
Leo: Lena @ Things Of Interest

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, Stacey Higginbotham, and Ant Pruitt

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-google.

Sponsors:

TWiG 599: You Lost Me at Zucchini - Google's News Corp deal, Facebook pulls news from Australia, Android Snow Cone

Wed, 17 Feb 2021 21:41:48 PST

Google and News Corp sign global multiyear licensing deal
Google proposes way for Fuchsia OS to run Android and Linux programs 'natively'
Android 12 "Snow Cone": Everything we know so far about Google's next big update!
Leo is losing interest in Android
Microsoft tried to acquire Pinterest, FT reports
Chromebooks outsold Macs worldwide in 2020, cutting into Windows market share
France fines Google 1.1 million euros over hotel rankings practices
Waymo begins robo-taxi tests in San Francisco
Facebook pulls news out of News Feed in Australia
Feta shortage
Supermicro Hack: How China Exploited a U.S. Tech Supplier Over Years
Nothing owns the Essential brand
Security bugs left unpatched in Android app with one billion downloads
Verizon $6b bid to buy Tracfone
AT&T scrambles to install fiber for 90-year-old after his viral WSJ ad | Ars Technica
A new video editor, plus enhanced editing features
YouTube TV will add 4K streaming, more simultaneous streams for an additional price
Google to roll out slate of over 50 updates for Classroom, Meet, and other online education tools
Google bringing Material Design to the web in a significant way with WordPress plugin
Google Maps will now let you pay for public transportation and parking through its app
Google Play Store can now share apps and updates with nearby devices
Fitbit smartwatches and trackers are now sold at the Google Store
Google Assistant unofficially comes to Windows, macOS w/ useful custom client
Google Prompt 2FA UI on Android gets much-needed dark theme

Picks:

Stacey: PeakFinder
Leo: Pinboard
Jeff: 9k comments to FBOB on Trump ban
Ant: Apex Percussion on YouTube

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, Stacey Higginbotham, and Ant Pruitt

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-google.

Sponsors:

TWiG 598: I'm Not a Cat - Breaking down social silos, TikTok sale on hold, home-made COVID vaccine

Wed, 10 Feb 2021 20:15:29 PST

Scandinavian YouTube Responds to GM's Will Ferrell Super Bowl Ad.
Reddit's 5-second Superbowl ad.
Twitter results: $1b quarter; warns of user slowdown coming.
Bluesky: @Jack envisions an app store for social-media algos.
The EU looks set to follow Australia's lead by demanding Google and Facebook pay for news articles.
Amazon-box birthday cake.
TikTok Sale to Oracle, Walmart Is Shelved as Biden Reviews Security.
Pink's 9-year-old daughter Willow's singing debut.
TikTok and Universal Music Unveil 'Expanded Global Alliance'
Making Vaccine - LessWrong.
How This New Yorker Created a Vaccine Appointment Website for $50.
Hacker Tried to Poison Florida City's Water Supply, Police Say.
Nevada bill would allow tech companies to create governments.
23andMe Goes Public as $3.5 Billion Company With Branson Aid.
20% of requests for Wikimedia Commons are for one image of a flower.
Google taps your phone cameras to measure your heart rate.
Google adds Out to Play memory collection for parents.
Google photo adds pinch-to-zoom for videos.
Google will delete your Play Music library later this month, emailing out final warning.
Google rolling out Cast firmware 1.52 to Nest Hub, Max: New Alarms UI, Sunrise, Zoom, and more.
Google rolling out new Pixel Buds firmware 553 update.

Picks:

Stacey: Shelly Motion Sensor.
Jeff: TIkTok trend report.
Ant: 'I'm Not a Cat,' Says Lawyer Having Zoom Filter Difficulties.
Ant: Shout out to Erica Joy Baker for her appearance on Jeopardy!

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, Stacey Higginbotham, and Ant Pruitt

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-google.

Sponsors:

TWiG 597: Count Robhgien Ruomorf Laetsew - Alphabet Earnings, Ford Gets Android Automotive, Jeff Bezos Steps Down

Wed, 03 Feb 2021 20:47:02 PST

Google and Ford sign six-year tie-up
Alphabet revenue up 23%; YouTube up 47%; cloud lost $5.6b
Google Stadia Shuts Down Internal Studios, Changing Business Focus
New Jarvis post on scissors editors and the Australian news legislation
Microsoft backs Australia's proposed laws that would force Google, Facebook to pay local media for content
Huawei's HarmonyOS: "Fake it till you make it" meets OS development
Chromebook demand has grown by over 4x during the COVID-19 pandemic
Pixel Slate removed from Google Store
Google to stop using Apple tool to track iPhone users, avoiding new pop-up warning
Google to pay $3.8m to settle discrimination lawsuits
How do Google and Apple stack up against each other in racial justice?
Facebook's 'Oversight Board' overturns 4 cases in first rulings
Facebook develops bad-news-avoidance tool for advertisers
Bezos stepping down/up at CEO -> executive chair
The Relentless Jeff Bezos
Seed Investments in Insurrection
Parler CEO John Matze says he's been terminated by board: 'I did not participate in this decision'
Sinofsky speaks! Former Microsoft exec to publish memoirs online
February security patch rolling out to Google Pixel, factory images & OTAs live
Google Meet adds a green room so you can primp
Google Search links getting 'About this result' panel with website information
YouTube will have a new 'BHM' logo every week for Black History Month
Google Play allowing Android gambling and betting apps in more countries, including US
Android TV homescreen gets another revamp, this time w/ some Google TV goodness
Android 'Phone Hub' begins arriving in Chrome OS for a select few
Uber buying Drizly for $1.1b
Clubhouse's moment arrives

Picks:

Stacey: Alternatives to Wink hub
Jeff: Ben Evans' annual slideshow extravaganza
Ant: VERY HAPPY and PROUD Moment #hardhead

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, Stacey Higginbotham, and Ant Pruitt

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-google.

Sponsors:

TWiG 596: Squeezing the Shorts - Gamestop stock and Reddit, $60 Ring doorbell, Goodbye Loon, Nextdoor

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 20:49:48 PST

Put Bernie Anywhere!
Online trading platforms see a surge in usage as Redditors take on Wall Street
Google announces plan to tackle privacy issues in online advertising
Google says it may have found a privacy-friendly substitute to cookies
Nextdoor Is Quietly Replacing the Small-Town Paper
Ring launches $60 entry doorbell
Google's puritanical algo censors .ass
Alphabet Pops Loon's Balloons—but Won't Call It a Failure
Google will turn some of its offices into COVID-19 vaccination sites
Letter from Susan: Our 2021 Priorities
Referring Former President Trump's Suspension From Facebook to the Oversight Board
YouTube extends Trump's suspension for a second time
Facebook says it will dial down politics
Dept. of Unintended Consequences: Ad bans hurting campaigns
Latest Twitter acquisition: newsletter platform Revue
Twitter opening up archive to researchers for free
Twitter establishes Birdwatch: crowdsourced flagging and checking of tweets
@jack's @bluesky releases ecosystem status report
Google 'My Activity' page gets rare web dark theme on mobile and desktop
Google redesigns mobile Search on Android and iOS to be easier to read
Chrome now hides notification content when screen sharing to keep alerts private
Chrome OS 88 rolling out Smart Display-like screen saver with Google Photos, weather
YouTube.com is now available to install as a Progressive Web App
Google Lens for Android rolling out offline translate capability
Google Photos for Android gets tablet-optimized interface
Stacey's forebears: Westinghouse Total Electric Home
Sony announces the Xperia Pro smartphone with a dedicated HDMI input for $2,499.99
Google Maps on Android Automotive gets better at planning EV charging stops

Picks:

Stacey: Hilda on Netflix
Jeff: Fall of Silicon Valley
Ant: The GizFiz
Leo: Model 100 Portable Computer Kit by READY! Computer Corporation

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, Stacey Higginbotham, and Ant Pruitt

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-google.

Sponsors:

TWiG 595: Welcome to the Fetaverse - POTUS transition on Twitter, Brave adds IPFS, Bernie mitten memes

Wed, 20 Jan 2021 20:08:45 PST

President pardons ex-Google engineer Anthony Levandowski
The reset of presidential Twitter accounts
A notable drop in misinformation attributed to Twitter's Trump ban
Google cuts off another AI expert in the company
Google Research report shows its accomplishments in AI
Google tests blocking news from search in Australia
youtube-dl reinstated thanks to the EFF
U.S. judge in Facebook antitrust lawsuits sets March, April deadlines for responses
Turkey slaps ad ban on Twitter under new social media law
Cory Doctorow on the Deplatforming of the (former) President
TikTok users make Bridgerton, the Musical
Discuss 22-year-old Amanda Gorman's inaugural poem "The Hill We Climb"
Biden Has a Peloton Bike. That Raises Issues at the White House
Biden SEC pick is no stranger to crypto
Trump administration adds China's Comac, Xiaomi to Chinese military blacklist
In hidden message on White House website, Biden calls for coders
Brave becomes first browser to add native support for the IPFS protocol
Developer Makes Interactive Map of Parler Videos From Capitol Hill Riots
MIT review has a guide to ethical online investigation
Bernie mitten memes!
Chrome 88 rolling out with a number of changes
Gmail now lets you resize Google Chat, Rooms in the web sidebar
Google cuts off acceess for Chromium browsers to sync, other services
The Google Play Store adds icons to show chart position changes
Google rolling out Winter Seasonal Savings to Nest Thermostats
Google previewing new Nest Hub alarms with more customization, tones, and 'Sunrise'
Google Maps making streets, nature much more detailed
Google Store stops selling the two-year-old Pixel USB-C earbuds
Stadia's new State Share features lands with the release of Hitman 3
The Complete List of Trump's Twitter Insults (2015-2021)
Malwarebytes says it was hacked by group that breached SolarWinds, via Azure and Office 365 exploits
Trump seeks to curb foreign cyber meddling on last day in office
Pocket Casts is up for sale nearly three years after acquisition by public radio consortium

Picks:

Ant: Thank you to the Heroes image
Stacey: $10 GE grow light
Jeff: Digital reading exploded during the pandemic
Jeff: Netflix has reached 200 million customers

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, Stacey Higginbotham, and Ant Pruitt

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-google.

Sponsor:

nureva.com/twit

TWiG 594: Chastity Does Not Come Cheap - Tech reaction to DC insurrection, CES 2021, sea-shanty TikTok

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 21:06:18 PST

A look at Sea-shanty TikTok!
How Twitter, YouTube, Parler, Amazon, and AirBnB responded to DC insurrection
Jeff Jarvis talks about Parler and Trump on BBC
Angela Merkel does not agree with Twitter deplatforming Trump
Is Leo missing anything by not being on Twitter?
Mike Masnick weighs in on Twitter's Trump ban
The cybersecurity scenario from the DC riot is a nightmare
The Digital Consumer Electronics Show 2021 is just not the same
TCL shows off its rollable and scrollable prototypes
LG gives a release date for its rollable device
Razer unveils a smart mask that is quite innovative
Android Auto to gain wallpaper support
Guest Mode, aka Incognito Mode, is out on Assistant speakers
Google fixes a bug in its Android COVID-19 API
Google Meet now has a troubleshooting menu
YouTube includes a new hashtag section
Google Maps shows a 2020 Timeline update
Weber has acquired smart oven maker June
WhatsApp exodus leads to spike in users for Signal
Craig Newmark funds Commission on Information Disorder
Former Trump cybersecurity chief Chris Krebs hired by SolarWinds
Github fired an employee for warning co-workers about Nazis
Quibi sold for less than $100M to Roku

Picks:

Mathew: My new favorite word
Jeff: $428b in shopping returns
Ant: Tourbox NEO

Photo by Kyle Mills on Unsplash

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Ant Pruitt

Guest: Mathew Ingram

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-google.

Sponsor:

itpro.tv/twit promo code TWIT30

TWiG 593: That's Not Sweet Tea - Google employees unionize, Twitter locks Trump's account, vaccine source code

Wed, 06 Jan 2021 19:49:18 PST

Google employees move toward unionizing.
Facebook and Twitter remove President Trump's speech.
Google Nest has new security cameras coming in 2021.
Nest Hub will likely have Soli radar functionality.
Amazon is prepping a sleep apnea device using millimeter-wave radar.
Leo is getting the Bose Sleepbuds II.
Twitter buys social audio app Breaker.
Ratatouille the Musical earns $1 million.
Twitter is relaunching its verification system.
Reverse engineering the COVID vaccine source code.
2020 was a good year for publishing.
Google Docs gets Smart Compose.
Wear OS will support third-party Tiles.
Google Podcasts on the web adds subscription feeds.
January Pixel phone update improves auto-brightness.
Chrome OS Camera will support QR code scanning.
Samsung announces its Galaxy S21 event for this month.
Julian Assange's extradition to the US is blocked.
Bean Dad and his apology.
Why is Jack Ma lying low?
AI is getting really good at drawing things from words.
Jeff's post-Section 230 dystopia.

Picks of the week:

Stacey: Aquanta water heater controller
Jeff: 2020 2as the unhappiest year on Twitter in 12 years.
Ant: Take a look at this awesome Snowflake photography!

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, Stacey Higginbotham, and Ant Pruitt

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-google.

Sponsor:

twit.cachefly.com