New York’s free gigabit WiFi kiosks are coming to the UK

BT celebrated the 80th birthday of London’s iconic red phone boxes earlier this month, and while some of these are being updated for the digital age, there are still countless antiquated payphones across the country needing a new lease of life. Today, BT has announced plans to rip out hundreds of these and replace them with next-gen kiosks that’ll offer free gigabit WiFi, free UK calls, charging facilities and access to maps, directions and info on local services via an embedded Android tablet.

If the rejuvenation project sounds a little familiar, that’s because BT’s teamed up with Intersection to make this happen — the same subsidiary of Google’s Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs that’s behind the Links kiosks in New York City. The monoliths themselves are identical, serving as up to 1 Gbps WiFi hotspots, providing free calls (headphones are recommended if you don’t want to broadcast your conversation through the booth’s loudspeaker), hosting two USB ports for emergency device charging and offering all kinds of useful information via the built-in tablet.

All of this will be paid for by advertising revenue, with two large displays on either side of the kiosks showing promotional material alongside public service announcements. Beyond what you can see, the pillars will also host environmental sensors for recording temperature, air and noise pollution, as well as traffic conditions and other metrics suitable for future big data/smart city applications.

The London Borough of Camden will be the first testbed for the payphone replacements, with 100 expected to be installed starting next year. “At least” 750 kiosks are planned in central London alone, with rollouts in other major UK cities over the next couple of years also on the agenda. Unsurprisingly, there’s no mention of free internet browsing on the embedded tablets, which had to be switched off in New York after less fortunate residents of the city began monopolizing them, sometimes for, erm… self-gratification.

Source: BT, LinkUK

Google’s Jamboard is a 4K digital whiteboard for collaboration

It’s hard to recall today, but being able to edit a document at the same time as others was a transformative feature for Google’s suite of online office apps. That feature debuted a decade ago, though; these days, it’s something most of us take probably take for granted. And as useful as real-time collaboration is in Docs and Sheets, it’s not as organic as throwing ideas up on a physical whiteboard. So, in a bid to evolve the way we work once again, Google is unveiling Jamboard, a cloud-connected digital whiteboard that lets teams collaborate together no matter where they are.

At its core, Jamboard is basically just a 55-inch 4K display that you can use like a typical digital whiteboard. You can sketch out your ideas with a stylus for a small conference room full of coworkers. But what makes it quintessentially a Google product is its cloud connectivity. Whatever you draw on the device — which the company calls your “jam” — gets saved to your Drive folder automatically. You can pull in content from the web or other Google apps to buoy your ideas.

Most importantly, there are multiple ways for colleagues to collaborate on your work in real-time. Remote teams can use their own Jamboards to tune and contribute to your sessions as if they were right next to you. You can also pipe your jam to a Hangouts call, allowing you to potentially broadcast it to the world. And there are companion apps for Android and iOS that allow colleagues anywhere in the world to follow along. If you have an iPad or Android tablet, you’ll be able to take advantage of all of the editing tools available to Jamboard devices. Phone collaborators, on the other hand, will be able to see everything going on and input data. (You can also pipe your jams to the web, but there’s no online editor yet.)

The Jamboard itself basically looks like an oversized Nexus 10, right down to the thick bezels and the webcam above the screen. There’s a small tray at the bottom for the passive stylus and eraser, right below the downward firing speakers. You can mount it to a wall, just like any other flatscreen TV, or you could opt for the stand that sits atop four large caster wheels, which makes it easy to move about your office. There are USB and HDMI ports along the side of the Jamboard (yes, you can use it as a standard 4K display), along with volume controls and an input select button right behind the bottom-right corner.

In many ways, Jamboard is a physical extension of Google’s office suite. But it’s also a way for the company to promote freeform brainstorming without tying users to specific apps. “From the beginning… we were putting people in sort of productivity boxes from the start, you had to choose right away, are you going to use Docs, a spreadsheet, or a slide deck,” G Suite product director Jonathan Rochelle told Engadget. “We thought that might somehow limit creativity.”

Though the Jamboard’s stylus looks like a fat crayon, it’s capable of drawing lines up to a fine 1mm. There’s also a round eraser that also helps to clear off smudges from the screen. Both of those devices are passive, meaning you won’t have to worry about battery life or even pairing them. Any stylus-like device will let you draw on the Jamboard, and, just like a real whiteboard, you can also use your finger to erase things as well.

In my brief hands-on time with the device, I was impressed with the responsiveness of the stylus, which felt almost as fast as drawing on a real whiteboard. Jamboard is capable of detecting up to 16 touch points at once, so you and a few colleagues will be able to use the screen at once. Clearly, Google is targeting the same market as Microsoft’s Surface Hub, but it could be even more appealing to companies already tied to Google’s apps.

Google plans to release Jamboard for under $6,000 in the first half of 2017 for G Suite customers. The company has already started testing the device out with big companies like Netflix, Spotify and Instrument, and is accepting signups for an early adopter program for companies who are eager to start jamming sooner.

Google adds a food delivery shortcut to Maps for iOS

Not content with a simple navigation app, Google has updated Maps for iOS with a handy food delivery shortcut. So when you tap on a nearby restaurant, perhaps to see its opening times, you’ll soon see a button titled “Place an Order.” Tapping this will give you a few different options (these will vary depending on your country and the business in question) such as Grubhub, Seamless and Eat 24 in the US. Select your preferred service and you’ll be thrown across to the relevant iPhone app. It’s a small addition, sure, but one that could make ordering dinner just a little faster at night.

Via: Mac Rumors

Source: Google Maps (iOS)

FTC complaint blasts Disney, Google over child influencer videos

It’s sketchy enough when companies send free products to YouTube stars in return for positive coverage, but it’s worse when those videos are explicitly aimed at kids. How is a young child supposed to tell the difference between genuine enthusiasm and someone compelled to say good things in return for gifts? That’s what a handful of consumer watchdog groups plan to solve. Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Center for Digital Democracy and Public Citizen have filed a complaint asking the FTC to stop the practice of aiming influencer videos at kids. Companies like Disney and DreamWorks (via Maker Studios and AwesomenessTV) are allegedly being “unfair and deceptive” by targeting these pseudo-ads at the preteen crowd. Google, meanwhile, purportedly “encourages and benefits” from distributing these videos on YouTube and YouTube Kids.

Many of these clips have no disclosures, the CCFC says. Moreover, they’re often intermingled with ordinary videos on YouTube. The group likens the current state of affairs to children’s television before regulators stepped in — remember how many ’80s and ’90s cartoons were just glorified toy ads? The watchdogs argue that explicit disclosures aren’t enough, as they wouldn’t eliminate the “inherent deceptiveness” of targeting videos at susceptible young minds.

YouTube’s response is mixed. The company tells us that the absence of disclosures violates both the law and YouTube’s policy, and those videos that do include disclosure are “restricted” from the YouTube Kids app. You can read the full statement below. The problem, as you might guess, is that children don’t always watch on YouTube Kids. No, Google doesn’t treat its regular YouTube website or apps as child-safe places, but that doesn’t stop kids from using them all the same.

It’s not clear how the FTC will react to the complaint. It won’t be surprising if the Commission does more than improve its enforcement of existing disclosure rules, mind you. Although this isn’t the first time that advocacy groups have asked the FTC to curb child-oriented video ads, it has lately made a point of cracking down on sponsored internet content. Given that many little viewers don’t even know what disclosure is, the FTC might have no choice but to ban kid-focused influencer videos if it’s going to meet its goals.

“YouTube believes that creators should be transparent with their audiences if their content includes paid promotion of any kind. As our long-standing policy makes clear, anyone uploading videos to YouTube has a legal obligation to disclose to YouTube and their viewers if a video contains paid promotion. Any videos that have disclosed paid product placement or endorsements are restricted from the YouTube Kids app.”

Via: TechCrunch

Source: CCFC

Google’s VR future includes a headset that tracks your eyes

Google’s plans for a new headset are advancing. In July, we wrote that Google had been actively assigning individuals to work on a high-end standalone headset that doesn’t require a computer or smartphone. In the three months since, people familiar with the matter have told Engadget that Google’s device will integrate eye tracking and use sensors and algorithms to map out the real-world space in front of a user.

With these two technologies, Google will be able to augment the reality in front of the headset, displaying digital objects alongside environments and objects from the real world. Sources also confirmed that Movidius, an AI company currently being acquired by Intel, is providing chips that will aid in tracking motion and positional awareness. Sources have previously explained that the headset, which is separate from the company’s Daydream VR platform, will not require a computer or phone to power it.

Earlier today, The Drum reported on a potential “wireless virtual reality” device that passed through the FCC’s approval process. Although the heavily redacted filings reveal very little, beyond some wireless capabilities, it does have Mike Jazayeri, director of product management for Google’s VR group, listed as a contact. We were unable to confirm whether the FCC-approved device, apparently for internal and partner testing, is related to the standalone headset plans.

While we’re unsure what form the final headset will take, there are two companies that are aspiring to achieve similar goals: Microsoft (with its HoloLens headset) and Magic Leap. The latter actually counts Google among its extensive investors list, with the search giant leading one funding round and participating in another.

Magic Leap refers to its technology as “mixed reality.” It differs from HoloLens by generating a digital light-field signal that can apparently create a better illusion of depth than HoloLens. Although all three products have similar goals, one source described the new standalone headset as something that blurs the line between virtual and augmented reality — bringing the world into VR, rather than VR into the world.

At the time of writing, Google has not responded to a request for comment. Movidius declined to comment.

Google’s redefined privacy policy lets ads follow you everywhere

In 2007, Google bought online advertising network Doubleclick with the assurance that they would prioritize user privacy as they developed new ad products. They’ve kept that promise, dividing their massive database of web browsing data from the personal info collected from Gmail and other parts of its product suite. Until last summer. That’s when the search giant quietly asked account owners to opt-in to sharing more data, an oblique request for permission to bundle user browser activity with personally-identifying information to better cater ads. In essence, signing up lets Google’s ads know who you are no matter where you go across different devices.

That means DoubleClick ads following users from site to site can further cater to them based on whatever information they entered in Gmail. Google can build a complete profile, tying names and email details to browsing habits and search attempts, providing ads that are minutely suited.

New Google accounts are automatically opted in to this level of data sharing, while existing users were asked if they’d opt-in to “receive new features for your Google account.” Thus far, that’s just led to more closely-tailored ads and the ability to view activity tied to your account across multiple devices — in other words, getting a much more detailed user history.

Google insists that they had adjusted their ad policy to adapt to the smartphone era. In a statement provided to ProPublica, a spokesperson said that opting in lets Google deliver much more precisely-catered ads to users based on their activity across all their devices. Which seems harmless enough: Opt-in if that sounds like your fancy.

To be fair, users who have opted in to share their data with Google can opt out at any time. They can find the opt in/out toggle by selecting “My Account” from the tile menu on any logged-in Google page, then clicking “Ad Settings” under the “Personal info and privacy” tab. Google has even helpfully highlighted the changes made to their privacy policy since the June policy change. The new settings usefully gathered a lot of previously-scattered privacy toggles into one place, as we noted at the time.

The issue lies in crossing the streams of your personal data and your activity, which is, if users opt out, properly anonymized. Google’s DoubleClick serves you ads that match what you do, but not who you are, or what your other accounts on other devices have done. Even being able to opt-in is a violation of privacy, advocates maintain, and combining those data pots endangers user ability to stay anonymous on the internet.

What they fear is encroachment as tech giants renege on promises, even ones they made a decade ago. It’s the same outrage they had back in August when WhatsApp announced they would be forking over personalized user data to parent company Facebook, breaking their promise to users they made when getting acquired. At least Google is allowing account holders to select whether they keep their personal data separate from that collected when they roam around the search giant’s other products.

Source: ProPublica

Google searches for ‘nasty’ hit all-time high after Trump’s comment

At the conclusion of the third presidential debate in which Donald Trump failed to show American he has the temperament or knowledge to lead the country, the embattled Republican candidate hissed “such a nasty woman” at his opponent Hillary Clinton. The internet reacted predictably: with outrage and streaming of Janet Jackson’s 30-year-old hit “Nasty.” But Spotify wasn’t the only place that felt a “nasty” effect: Google says that searches for “nasty” have spiked more than 10 times over their normal level since last Thursday.
Furthermore, Google says that “nasty” searches have reached an all-time high on the search engine worldwide. What exactly people were looking for remains unclear; it could have been more people looking for Janet Jackson’s classic track, or it could have been people searching for news article relating to Trump’s comment. Whatever people may be looking for, it seems Trump has given birth to yet another meme that’ll come to define his campaign. In a crazy election cycle, he may have finally had his “binders full of women” moment.