Disconnect.Me dispute with Google over Play Store leads to antitrust complaint in Europe
As Google continues to deal with the European Commission over a variety of claims that the company has become too large and is creating an anticompetitive environment, a new complaint has been lodged by Disconnect Inc., developers of an ad-blocking and privacy app. The crux of the complaint is Google’s decision to ban the Disconnect Mobile app from the Google Play Store. Disconnect is demanding their app be included in the Play Store along with unspecified damages.
Disconnect provides a service to protect “users from invisible tracking and malvertising, malware served through advertisements” according to a statement issued by the company. Disconnect makes their service available through apps for both Android and iOS systems as well as extensions that can be deployed on desktop computers. Disconnect has tried twice in the past year to get the Android version of the app listed in Google Play, only to see Google ban the app. The second time it happened, Google threatened to remove the company’s developer account, which would have impacted other apps produced by the company.
Google has responded to the complaint stating it is baseless. According to their statement,
“Our Google Play policies (specifically clause 4.4) have long prohibited apps that interfere with other apps (such as by altering their functionality, or removing their way of making money). We apply this policy uniformly – and Android developers strongly support it. All apps must comply with these policies and there’s over 200 privacy apps available in Google Play that do.”
Disconnect, founded by former Google execs, currently offers the app through their own site so users can sideload the app. They have also worked on deals to get the app pre-installed on devices, like the Blackphone provided through Deutsche Telekom. However, the company clearly believes they are losing out on potential revenue due to the lack of exposure from not being listed in the Google Play Store. In a statement, CEO Casey Oppenheim says,
“We want what the lawyers call ‘equal treatment.’ We want Android users to be able to get our products quickly and easily through the Play Store and we want to be fully supported by Google, just like other apps in the Store.”
Disconnect has not yet released the actual complaint with all of the details regarding the claimed impact from not being listed in the Play Store. They have also not launched any complaints outside of the European Union.
source: TechCrunch
Come comment on this article: Disconnect.Me dispute with Google over Play Store leads to antitrust complaint in Europe
Deal: Amazon is selling the Nexus Player for just $70
Google’s Android TV platform was first announced to the public about a year ago, though the number of devices that run the OS is still very limited. Nvidia recently released its Shield Android TV, which is now available starting at $199.99, though that might be too expensive for users looking to try out the platform for the first time. So if you’re looking for a great entry-level set-top box that runs Android TV, you may want to head on over to Amazon to save some money.
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Right now, you can purchase a Nexus Player, the first Android TV set-top box, for just $69.99 on Amazon. While this bundle only comes with the box and the remote, you can buy the Gamepad separately for $40.
The Nexus Player certainly isn’t the most powerful set-top box on the market, but it will probably do just fine for most users out there. We’re not sure how long this deal will last, so be sure to head to the link below before it’s too late!
YouTube’s Music Insights tool can monitor artists’ popularity
YouTube has released a new tool for artists, one those truly hungry for stardom can use to keep a close eye on how their popularity is growing. The data tool is called “Music Insights,” and it shows users the combined views of the videos they upload and of those added by their fans, claimed via the website’s Content ID system. It also shows them what their top tracks are and from where their views are coming from, which could help them map out a future tour. For instance, Ed Sheeran is apparently hugely popular Philippines, with his top four cities in the country contributing roughly 97 million views to his overall.
He recently held a concert in one of those cities in an arena that can sit around 18,000 people, and tickets were sold out. On the other hand, knowing where they’re not trending, so to speak, could be invaluable in concocting a plan to reach a wider audience. Music Insights is available right now to the top 10,000 artists on the website. Those who don’t make the cut but still want to follow in the footsteps of Justin Bieber don’t have to worry, though: YouTube’s rolling it out to more people bit by bit.
Source: YouTube, Music Insights
Tim Cook says privacy is a fundamental, moral right
It should surprise no one that, while being honored as a champion of privacy, Tim Cook threw shade at Google for its attitude toward its customer data. As TechCrunch reports, Apple’s CEO was speaking at a Washington-based civil liberties non profit and said that his company believed that people had a “fundamental right to privacy.” He went on to say that “the American people demand it, the constitution demands it and morality demands it.” It’s a song that the executive has played several times before, expressing distaste for companies who seek to monetize a user in ways other than to sell them expensive gadgets.
Cook then called out a nameless product that mines your “family photos” to be “sold off for god knows what advertising purpose.” Which, if you weren’t aware, is probably a heavy-handed swipe at Google’s recently (re)launched Photos offering that uses plenty of algorithmic secret-sauce behind the scenes. The topic then moved onto the subject of Government backdoors to smartphone encryption, which the CEO described as “incredibly dangerous.” As far as he’s concerned, “the contents of [their] text messages and [their] video chats is none of our business.”
With Apple’s own annual developers conference kicking off in under a week, we can expect a few more barbs along this subject, and maybe even some improved security features in iOS. Of course, now the ball is firmly in Google’s court to refute the idea that they’re somehow asset-stripping pictures of your nephews for a fast buck.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Google, Acer
Source: TechCrunch
Tim Cook attacks Google over privacy of Photos service
Tim Cook, Apple CEO (credit: Mike Deerkoski)
Tim Cook continues to throw barely veiled barbs at Google, in an effort to position Apple as the privacy champion of Silicon Valley.
Speaking at an event organized by Electronic Privacy Information Center, a privacy research group in Washington, DC., Cook alluded to the practices of other companies in Silicon Valley that “gobble up everything they can learn about you and try to monetize it.” “We think that’s wrong. And it’s not the kind of company that Apple wants to be,” continued the Apple CEO.
Cook did not call Google out explicitly, but it was clear for everyone in attendance that Google was one of the “prominent and successful companies” that the Apple executive was referring to.
Just to make it clear, Cook alluded to Photos, the new service that Google just launched last week at I/O.
“We believe the customer should be in control of their own information. You might like these so-called free services, but we don’t think they’re worth having your email, your search history and now even your family photos data mined and sold off for god knows what advertising purpose. And we think some day, customers will see this for what it is.”
Cook implies that, when a product is offered for free, the user is actually the product. And that’s true to some extent – Google’s business is based on collecting data about the users of its services and selling ads against it. In this sense, Cook isn’t actually being dishonest. But the executive heads towards FUD territory when he portrays Google as a venal arch-peeping Tom going through your pictures (think of the children!) and selling them off to the highest bidder.
And there’s the small problem that Apple has its own ad platform, for which it collects quite a lot of user information:
“When you create an Apple ID, apply for commercial credit, purchase a product, download a software update, register for a class at an Apple Retail Store, contact us or participate in an online survey, we may collect a variety of information, including your name, mailing address, phone number, email address, contact preferences, and credit card information.”
“We also use personal information to help us create, develop, operate, deliver, and improve our products, services, content and advertising, and for loss prevention and anti-fraud purposes,” reads Apple’s iAds privacy policy.
To be fair, Apple doesn’t collect as much user data as Google or Facebook do, simply because its business model is based on very healthy profit margins from its hardware products. Apple doesn’t need your data, the way Google needs it.
But this “Apple likes privacy, Google does not” campaign is hypocritical, and at times borderline dishonest. Just because a company processes your private information, it doesn’t mean it’s doing anything nefarious with it. And then there’s the tremendous value that is being returned to users: not only dozens of excellent free services, but products that couldn’t exist without access to private data, like Google Now and the automated tagging features of Google Photos. In fact, Apple is rumored to be trying to emulate Google Now, with an initiative codenamed Proactive, “which will leverage Siri, Contacts, Calendar, Passbook, and third-party apps to create a viable competitor to Google Now for Android devices,” according to 9to5Mac.
At the end of the day, however, this is a deeply personal choice. So what about you? Do you think that the privacy trade-off is worth it when it comes to Google’s products? Or do you agree with Tim Cook’s view on privacy on the Internet?
The Big Picture: Google wants to build a futuristic see-through dome
The curious structure above blanketed with transparent, undulating glass isn’t someone’s concept of a futuristic high-tech habitat on another planet. It’s actually Google’s latest design for the dome it plans to build on the 18.6 acres of land it’s leasing from the government right across its headquarters. The four-story 595,000 sq. ft. edifice is called Charleston East, because the company wants to build it right next to Charleston Park. According to the application Google has recently submitted to Mountain View’s local government, it will house not only offices, but also a 72,000 sq. ft. of space for retail shops and amenities, as well as underground parking.
You’re not having a déjà vu, by the way: Google really did release concept art for other transparent structures earlier this year. The tech corp was aiming to create a complex of four see-through facilities on 2.2 million sq. ft. of commercial land available for lease at the time in Mountain View’s North Bayshore district. Unfortunately, the local government gave another tech company, LinkedIn, most of the space (1.4 million sq. ft.), leaving Google with a measly 515,000 sq. ft. Google hasn’t announced its new plans for that area yet, since it obviously won’t be able to fit a modern campus right out of a sci-fi movie. But it clearly knows what it wants to do Charleston East, which will become the company’s campus extension if it passes the city’s review process.
Source: City of Mountain View, Silicon Valley Business Journal
Google to test self-driving cars on congested Virginia highways
Google is to being testing its self-driving cars – also known as autonomous vehicles – on the highways of Virginia according to a new report, which suggested the testing will take place across more than 70 miles of highways adjacent to Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia.
According to the Richmond Times Dispatch:
The research will be overseen by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute on portions of Interstates 95, 495 and 66 as well as on U.S. 29 and U.S. 50 that are being dubbed Virginia Automated Corridors.
Test tracks at the institute’s Smart Road in Montgomery County and the Virginia International Raceway in Halifax County will be used to certify technology as safe before the cars are allowed on the highway.
Virginia will join other states such as California, Michigan, Florida, Nevada and Washington D.C. as states that currently allow testing of computer-driven vehicles but will look to make it easier than other states have for manufacturers to test their autonomous technologies. Myra Blanco, director of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute’s Center for Automated Vehicle Systems, said:
“Other states are saying you need to prove that independently you can do all this testing. What we are trying to do is show them how to do the testing and how to facilitate the process as well.”
“I think this is going to help us advance the technology and even more important, to attract companies and satellite offices in the Northern Virginia area to develop these new concepts.”
The congested highways of Northern Virginia will provide the sternest test so far for Google’s autonomous fleet but will provide an indication of just how good self-driving cars are on busy streets. Part of the challenge facing Google – and other autonomous vehicle manufacturers – is the ability to adjust to constantly updating information, including traffic jams, construction and incidents.
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Blanco said that she expects self-driving cars to have a large impact on daily life and provide solutions to problems such as mobility for the elderly or disabled and assisting drivers (and even taking control) in dangerous situations.
“It’s potentially similar to when we started with revolutionary technology like the cellphone. We’re not even able to imagine all the benefits 10 to 20 years from now.”
When will self-driving cars actually be available to buy? One of Google’s Project Leads said he expected them to be available within five years but Google also said the same thing back in 2012. However long it takes, you’ll soon be able to sit back and relax while your car drives you.
Magic Leap opens its augmented reality platform to developers
Magic Leap’s vision for the future of augmented reality is mind-blowing. However, the mysterious startup, which Google backed with a hefty cash investment, knows this won’t be possible without support from third-party developers. That’s why it plans to open up its AR platform to content creators, including those who make games, films and more. Today’s announcement took place at MIT’s EmTech Digital conference, where CEO Rony Abovitz and other members of Magic Leap’s team took the stage to reveal their intentions. The SDK is expected to support both the Unreal and Unity gaming engines, which signals a good start. If you’re a developer interested in gaining access to these tools, you can register now via the company’s website.
Our own @rabovitz, @zaphodgjd & @nealstephenson taking the stage at this years @techreview conf: pic.twitter.com/OvEbqpbx1S
– Magic Leap, Inc. (@magicleap) June 2, 2015
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Software, HD, Google
Source: TechCrunch
Google is developing A.I. to count the calories in your food photos
I am from a family of foodies, and I also have many foodie friends. We just love food and we love to take pictures of food to share with those who share the same passion. A major downside for loving food is consuming too many calories, which is a major problem in the U.S. We have access to thousands and thousands of ingredients and most of us have no idea how many calories are in each ingredient. A single tablespoon of peanut butter can contain up to 200 calories! Not only is it difficult to try to memorize ingredients and their calorie content, it is also extremely difficult to judge serving size as there is no standard to adhere to. Trying to count calories is extremely difficult and also extremely inaccurate.
10 years ago if you wanted to keep track of your calories, you kept it in a food diary and then you would have to go and look up how many calories were in each item that you consumed. Fast forward to today and we have apps where we can input our intake and the app will have the appropriate caloric info, but again this is based on an individual’s ability to assess serving size. It’s an improvement but it is not an exact science by any means.
In comes Google to save the day. Google has been working on developing artificial intelligence, and it has been a relatively secret program until now. According to Popular Science, their latest A.I. involves counting calories in food photos. At the Rework Deep Learning Summit in Boston, Google revealed that they are developing a project called Im2Calories. This project involves lots of math and algorithms that can analyze caloric content in food photos. Fortunately you will not need a high-end camera to make this work, and standard resolution photo qualifies to be analyzed.
The true genius behind this project is that it should get better with use, and that process is called “deep-learning”. Rather than have programmers input information into the project, A.I. should take over and should improve on its own. Google has yet to reveal when this technology will be available, but during the presentation it was shown to estimate calories on pancakes, eggs, and bacon, which is a very common American breakfast. I would like to see health insurance companies invest in this technology as well, in hopes to help us make better decisions about our food choices.
The post Google is developing A.I. to count the calories in your food photos appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Download the Google Photos Desktop Uploader to back up your photos with ease
The new Google Photos app is a great way to keep all of your pictures and videos backed up to the cloud. Not only does the service offer up tons of new features and improvements over Google’s previous Photos application, the company is also letting you back up all of your photos and videos for free. Although there are a few caveats that come with the term ‘unlimited storage’ in this case, Google is still providing a great way for users to easily store important media in the cloud.
The mobile Photos application is convenient, but what if you have the majority of your photos saved on your computer? If you have more than a few images that need backing up, we’d suggest trying out the new Google Photos Desktop Uploader application, which is now available for download on both Mac and Windows computers.
Read more: A quick look at the new Google Photos app
To grab the application, head over to photos.google.com/apps and click ‘Desktop Uploader’ on the left-hand side. Once the app is downloaded and installed, the setup process is quite easy. Simply log in to your Google account, and you’ll be presented with this folder selection page:
From here, you can select which folders Google Photos will automatically upload to the cloud. If you don’t see your desired folder on the list, just click the Add button and navigate to the correct one. Similar to the setup process on the mobile application, you’ll also be able to choose the size in which your photos and videos are uploaded. Remember, photos have a 16MP cap, and videos have a maximum resolution of 1080p, so be sure to keep that in mind before choosing the “free unlimited storage” option. If you want your photos to keep their original quality, select the “Original” upload option.
Once you’re done with this page, all you need to do is wait for your photos to back up to the cloud. If you need to add or remove folders after completing this process, just reopen the Photos app on your desktop and alter the list, just like you did before.
If you have any questions about Google Photos or the new Desktop Uploader app, be sure to let us know in the comments below. And if you haven’t yet, check out our video walkthrough and setup of the new Google Photos mobile app! Have you tried Photos yet? If so, how are you liking it?
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