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Google cuts off Huawei – Loses Play Store, Gmail and Android security updates

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Google has suspended business operations with Huawei, effective immediately, according to Reuters. They say that a source close to the matter has told them Google was forced to suspend business with Huawei that “requires the transfer of hardware and software products”.

What this essentially means is that all future Hauwei products are cut off. If you already have a Huawei, though, you might be ok. Probably. At least, for now. A Google spokesperson told Reuters that “Google Play and the security protections from Google Play Protect will continue to function on existing Huawei devices”

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Google disables “Photos” on Android TV after privacy bug exposes users

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Google has disabled Photos on Android TV temporarily due to a privacy bug. The bug allowed some Android TV users to view the profile photos and account names of “hundreds” of users. It was first spotted by Twitter user prashanth after trying to set up his new Android-based Vu TV.

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Google pulled 29 photo apps from the Play Store that stole photos and promoted scams

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Android’s openness is something of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it allows just about anybody to (relatively) easily write and publish mobile apps through the Play Store. But it also allows anybody to write and publish apps through the play store. And the checks to get apps approved aren’t quite as stringent as those found in Apple’s App Store.

But Google is doing something about it. They’ve just pulled 29 camera and photo apps from the Play Store after they were reportedly pushing intrusive ads, promoting porn, scamming users via phishing and even stealing content. But these apps have already been downloaded millions of times.

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Google used this crazy 5-phone case to tweak Portrait Mode on the Pixel 3

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When the Google Pixel 2 came out it was extremely impressive. Despite only having the single rear camera, it beat out everything else on DxOMark and held the position for quite a while. When the Pixel 3 was announced, it also had only the single rear camera. And despite one or two issues with the phone overall, Google made some great improvements with it.

Google has published a blog post on how they taught the Pixel 3 to predict depth for its Portrait Mode. Given that it only has a single camera, and not the dual cameras of other brands, it seems like it wouldn’t be possible, but the techniques used are pretty interesting. And involve a case that holds five separate cameras.

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Google’s Night Sight feature lets you shoot in the dark without a tripod or flash

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Google Pixel 3 may only have one rear camera, but it relies heavily on Google’s promising AI to deliver high-quality images. The latest feature Google launched for all three generations of Pixel lets you shoot clean and bright images in near darkness – even when you can barely see anything with your own eyes. It works on both front and rear cameras, and you don’t even need a tripod or a flash.

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Google is using AI to digitise over 5 million historical photos for the New York Times

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With a history dating back to 1851 and over 125 Pulitzer Prizes under its belt, the New York Times has amassed a mountain of photos. Between five and seven million of them. They’re all stored in the “morgue” under their Times Square office. Packed into countless drawers and cupboards, they’re now working with Google to digitise the entire collection.

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Google will soon add author credits to images

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After removing the “View Image”, Google is now adding another change to the image search in an attempt to protect creators’ copyright. Starting today, Google will start adding Creator and Credit metadata within the images that appear via Image Search. And in the following weeks, the Copyright Notice will appear with alongside images as well.

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This app uses Google’s location history to geotag your photos.

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We hear a lot these days about privacy, especially when it comes to our smartphones and social media. There’s the constant paranoia of being “spied” on by these big companies, and the amount of data they’re collecting on us.

Well, what if we could use some of that data to our own advantage? That’s what software developer Chuck LePlant has done. His new Python script adds GPS tags to your photos based on your Google location history.

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Phillip Bloom accuses Google of using his stock footage without paying

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Last week, a leaked video created by Google X’s head Nick Foster created quite a stir on the web. The Selfish Ledger video paints a scary future where technology increasingly makes decisions for humans. It explores the idea of “Lamarckian user data” which uses collected information to improve the lives of the future generations. Of course, this concept raises a lot of ethical concerns. But apparently, that’s not the only issue Google is dealing with in this video. Recently, BBC interviewed filmmaker Phillip Bloom who accuses the tech giant of using his stock footage without compensation. That’s a big deal considering the company sees itself as a champion of protecting copyright on the internet.

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