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Google to Reduce Nest Came Quality to Lessen Load on Internet Networks

Google to Reduce Nest Came Quality to Lessen Load on Internet Networks

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As the COVID-19 continues its rampage across North America and Europe, most people are still confined to their homes. Most of the schools, colleges and offices in America remain shut as people get used to working from their homes. However, with everyone staying at home and relying on video services for communication, bandwidth is getting more challenging to get your hands on. Similarly, thousands of school children now rely on the internet for their education. Therefore, it is safe to say that the COVID-19 has made things difficult for internet service providers, as they scramble to allow all this data transmission. Google has recently come out with their strategies to help such providers by lowering the load on their workstreams. Here’s a look at why Google is downgrading the Nest Cam’s video quality and how it can help.

Helping Ease the Strain

Google will start adjusting the video quality of its Nest security camera stream in a bid to help ease the strain that broadband networks are feeling. Since more people than ever before now rely on the internet for their communication and education, this step will be a welcome one. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic leaving everyone stuck at home, internet usage has skyrocketed as people try to learn, work and keep themselves entertained at home.

Google’s statement said that the company has decided to hear the global call to put learning and working first when it comes to bandwidth. As a result, Google will be making the required changes over the next few days to make it easier to access other forms of content on the web. Furthermore, Google also sent out a mail regarding the same to Nest Cam users around the country.

Nest Cam Video Quality

Therefore, in case you live in the US, and your Nest Cam suddenly starts transmitting mediocre quality video, don’t be frightened. Google has said that it will set camera quality to the default of all the people in the country who had opted for high quality and high bandwidth options. In case your settings are below default, they will continue to run on the same choice.

The company has also made it clear that it will not change any setting other than the video quality and bandwidth one. However, in case a user feels that they need high-quality images, they can reset their settings too high. Google said that this might be required in case the user relies on Nest Cam to survey their home and surroundings. Since a lower video quality will make it difficult to understand precisely what is happening, users have the option to reset it, if they feel the need to do so. Also, in case you leave the settings at default, Google promises to amp them back to high once the traffic recedes.

Other Changes

Google might also make changes to their Ambient Mode slideshows on Nest displays, Chromecast, and other Cast devices. The company is planning to reduce the resolution and rotation interval of the photos in the slideshows. Also, this hasn’t been the only step Google has taken to ease the strain on network bandwidth. The company had on March 24th, reduced YouTube’s video quality to 480p.

Similarly, Netflix, Amazon and Apple have reduced their video quality in Europe to lessen the load on broadband networks. Sony did the same for its PlayStation Network in the US and Europe. So, in case your Nest Ca delivers only mediocre imagery, understand that the step was taken to help in the fight against COVID-19. Once the world regains some normalcy, your feed too will go back to its high-definition quality, but for now, users will have to make do with their default settings.

tracing

Google to update Android phones with COVID-19 contact tracing System using Google Play- Two Tech giants Apple and Google’s initiative to assist in the fight against Coronavirus Pandemic

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Highlights

Apple and Google to work together and will develop a contact tracing tool related to COVID-19 tracking.

This COVID-19 Tracking System then will be available on Android phones by Google play service. But these updates will only available on android phones that use newer android versions starting from Android 6.0, Marshmallow, and other higher versions.

The first phase will be Bluetooth contact tracking which is an outline from next month.

Every industry, every individual is doing their best to fight the situation that arises due to deadly coronavirus. China, South Korea, Italy, and now America became the hotspot of the corona. The world economy is witnessing a downside. As well, the whole world is in lockdown mode. No doubt, the world is under the fear of coronavirus, yet many are working to ease the condition due to this global pandemic. Recently, two tech giants, Google and Apple take the initiative and announced to work together to help the health sector and government against COVID-19 fight.  Both firms announced that they started working on contact tracing technology that claimed to be helpful in the fight against COVID-19. While developing the technology the user privacy will be on top priority and all protections related to this are provided.

Google to update Android Phones For COVID-19 Tracing system

Now, Google gave confirmation regarding updating Android phones with the COVID-19 Tracing system. Google has collaborated with Apple to develop the COVID-19 Tracing System. As per the reports, Google to launch these updates on Android phones directly through Google Play. The company not only rolls out the updates but also will ensure that more android users will use it. However, these updates will be available on Android 6.0 and Marshmallow or above in the initial phase.

Today, after Google announced that Google Play will be used for this purpose. Thus, android users are relieved as Google Play is a feasible system available for getting software updates in a timely manner.

The update system will apply to both phases of Bluetooth Contact Tracing

As per the reports, these update systems will apply to both phases of the Bluetooth Contact Tracing Framework. The initial API rollout framework is due next month and the later stage is related to APIs. However, the second stage will arrive in the upcoming months.

Android Phones in China and Huawei phones could not update their system with COVID-19 Tracing S/M

Most of the android versions can update their systems with COVID-19 Tracing, but nothing is the same in the case of Android phones in China. Also, the Huawei Phone models that sold after the imposition of restriction by the US will boycott from these updates. Because after the US banned Huawei, its phones could not use Google Play, Youtube, and other services of Google.

However, for phones like Xiaomi and other Chinese manufactured phones, or we can say the government of China can decide whether to use this s/m or not that will be the framework by Google. As a matter of fact, this strategy is not new for Google. In 2019, Google used the same kind of strategy for its Project Mainline updates.

It’s a great initiative announced by Google in collaborating with Apple to work on contact tracing technology that claimed to be helpful in the fight against COVID-19. Hopefully, these updates would help to government and health officials in this global Coronavirus pandemic.

IGTV

Instagram Comes Out With New IGTV App Updates

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Instagram had recently launched its IGTV app to draw crowds to its video platform. However, the app really hasn’t caught on, with most of the viewership coming from the IG app itself. Nevertheless, Instagram updated the IGTV app hoping to boost its interface and attract new viewers. Here’s a look at what the update does, and how it might help the company draw larger crowds.

IGTV Kicks Off

Instagram launched the IGTV app in a bid to help promote creators who make long-form videos. The recent update which came out today will see a whole new design, with significant changes having been made to the homepage and interface.  The company’s update sees the inclusion of a creator top which helps users watch what their followers are up to.

This top part also displays all the videos that the app thinks the user will enjoy. Furthermore, the IGTV app will also get a Discover tab that will help users surf new video content and find new forms of long-form videos they enjoy. This tab will work a lot like the Explore tab on the IG app.  Also, the app will now have its very own hands-free recording function which will enable users to take more interesting videos.

Explore and Discover

People everywhere agree that the biggest change brought in by the update is without a doubt the new Discover tab. Before this update, the IGTV app only displayed videos put up by the people the users followed. In addition other popular videos which the app felt were relevant also came on the user’s feed. Also, the app’s interface was very bare, with users having to click on videos to start them and play them. The new Discover tab will help users find new interesting content and explore other users and their profiles. Such an Explore tab will help users find new content, share and promote their own content and even help in forming connections via the app.

IG Stories Update

Another small, yet impactful update will allow users to now add IGTV content as their Stories. Rather than including a frame from the video, they can now play 15 seconds of their content. Such a move will help significantly in attracting new users to the app, as videos are now more likely to get more views. All of these updates will help in making the app more accessible, user-friendly and appealing to the younger generation. No one is sure regarding how many users depend solely on the IGTV app for their daily dose of video content.

Most people still seem to use the Instagram app to find video content, rather than depending on the stand-alone app. Also, Instagram has refused to divulge information regarding the usage of the app. However, when we look at Google Play and App Store, we see that while the IG app has over 10 million reviews, the IGTV app has only around 26,000 reviews with more than 25,000 coming from Google Play. But, it is refreshing to see Instagram focusing on content creators, and helping them popularise their content.

 With sources saying that company executives are encouraging new talent to use the IGTV app from the Los Angeles office, it seems like the company is taking a new found interest in video content. Furthermore, these updates suggest that Instagram is actively working towards weeding out the problems in the IGTV interface.  The company is also trying to find why the app isn’t attracting many viewers and working towards alleviating those problems.  Instagram still believes that IGTV is the “future of video,” and is ensuring rely on it to find video content.

Chat

Google Decided To Rename Hangouts Chat As Google Chat

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We have used the platform Hangouts at least once in our lifetime. While Google’s other products such as Google Map, Google Drive, Google Music, etc has the brand name at the beginning. The company also decided to change the name of Hangouts chat to Google chat. Google declared it yesterday that it is a simple rebranding from Hangouts to Google. The company has officially removed the name, Hangouts Chat from its enterprise G Suite. Google was planning to do it for a while. It has been noticed that an updated G Suite support document has the mention of Google Meets. And, along with the change of this name of Google’s messaging platform, the company rebranded Hangouts Meet as Google Meet.

The misunderstandings

Similar news might tend to confuse customers at times. Is Hangouts vanishing forever? The answer is no. It will remain as the name of the customer chat app of Google+. Google spun it off in 2013 and since then it has become a standalone product. Since then it has been struggling a lot to compete with other messaging apps and improve reputation. So, all that has changed is the name of Google’s own online instant messaging platform.

Some predicted reasons

The sudden change in the name might not be for any reason. It may look very simple. But, a renowned company like Google wouldn’t make some random decisions. Though many products of Google are used by billions of people around the world, Hangouts didn’t catch much attention. A messaging app like Whatsapp is preferred over Hangouts. Many people don’t even know how to use it because of certain complications like Allo and related services.

But, it seems like this chat service has failed to gain popularity even after many attempts. So, the strategy of rebranding it and appending the word “Google” might drive some topic. One more important thing that is the reason behind every news today is the coronavirus outbreak. The pandemic has caused every employee of the tertiary sector to work from home. And, in this situation, millions of video meetings are taking place via Zoom today.

Those people are using other Google products, Hangouts Meet is certainly cornered. It may be because the name itself doesn’t radiate the vibe of professionalism. This can be another prominent reason for the sudden change in name. But, the company didn’t confirm any of these reasons. They are just a few predictions made by experts.

Few Updates on rebranding

Long before the company released the G Suite document, they planned on changing the brand name. As, both the CEO of Google Cloud and CEO of Google referred to the product as “Meet”. They claimed it to be a shorthand reference until now when it got transferred to Google Meet. Google first released the news of rebranding Google Meet. Then after a few minutes, Google Chat was on the radar as well.

Hangouts Meet to Google Meet

It seems like the company wants its name on every single product it launches. This has led to even renaming Google’s videoconferencing app, Hangouts Meet. Google declared yesterday that from now on it will be known as Google Meet.

New features added to Google Meet

After getting trademarked by the company, Google Meet has included some new features. What could be more perfect timing to give competition to Zoom? The company says that almost 120 million students and teachers use the G Suite for education purposes. So, with the lockdown continuing, Google Meet has tried to make it better for the world.

Whoever is using G Suite for Education and G Suite Enterprise for Education will get premium features for free. And, this offer continues till 30th September 2020. Some of the features include conducting a meeting that can accommodate 250 participants, live streaming for 100,000 viewers (within your domain), and recording meetings followed by saving it in the Google Drive.

Google also claims that all data is encrypted in transit between the customers and the company. This might trigger the audience to use the platform of Google Meet. It is because of the recent compromise in Zoom’s security a few weeks ago. People care about their privacy and they are going to look for the best option.

COVID-19

Microsoft Predicts a Permanent change in the Way We Work Following the COVID-19 Crisis

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As the COVID-19 shows no signs of stopping, most people are still stuck in-home quarantine or lockdown. Most of the world’s major nations are still imposing strict travel bans to prevent the spread of the virus. Almost 80% of the world’s colleges, schools and non-essential offices have been shut due to this pandemic, pushing most people to work from home. So, how will this impact the way we work? Microsoft thinks that this COVID-19 pandemic will forever change the way offices function. Here’s a look at their report that tries to make sense of what after-effect this pandemic will have on employer-employee relations.

Usage of Microsoft Teams Surges

Microsoft recently revealed usage statistics regarding its enterprise application, Microsoft Teams. The company explained how companies and employees are using the app and how the coronavirus will change the way the world learns and works. Since last month, worldwide demand for the Team app has increased exponentially. The app which served 32 million users daily, now helps over 44 million, and that shift took place in just one week! As usage rises, Microsoft is releasing work trend reports to showcase how the pandemic is changing work habits and relations.

Due to most people working from home, every day, the Teams app sees 2.7 billion meeting minutes, which is 200% higher than the usual 900 million minutes from mid-March. It was around March that most American companies shut down and went into work from home modes. Furthermore, studies show that people are relying on video conferences two times more than before with rates of video call surging by 1000% since March. Also, employees in the Netherlands and Norway use video calls for 60% of their communication, whereas, in the US and UK, it takes up 38% and 47% respectively.

Making Room for the New Users

Behind the scenes, Microsoft engineers are scrambling to make enough room for all the new users. They have had to expand their infrastructure to respond to all these new responsibilities. Jared Spataro who heads Microsoft 365 said that due to demand skyrocketing, the engineers have really had to work hard to maintain capabilities. Furthermore, the sudden surge in demand led to Teams outage around Europe, catching the company by surprise. All the issues that arose, as per Spataro’s judgment where due to the Microsoft team having to adjust and respond quickly. While they had studied the situation, the pattern that came through in Europe geographically wasn’t what they were expecting at all.

Furthermore, the company has also seen a rise in the usage of Stream, which is its video-streaming service. As more and more companies move to digital spaces to conduct meetings, presentations, and conferences, such moves will keep happening. To help the transition, Microsoft raised the maximum limit from 10,000 to 100,000 participants on Stream.

Further Changes in the Way We Work

This demand has changed the way the company prioritizes features for Teams. They finally realized the custom backgrounds feature, which had been announced a year earlier. Such a feature helps people hide their messy backgrounds while handling office meetings. The feature has also recently found a place in the Zoom app.

Furthermore, Microsoft will add the Raise a Hand feature by the end of this month, and organizers will have the option to end meetings with a single click from today. The opportunity to download participant reports which have join and leave times will also be available. Microsoft has also stated that it is working on improving Team’s video call capabilities. Just like Teams, Zoom has also enjoyed a massive increase in users. Soon enough, Microsoft will make it possible for users to add more participants to their Team meetings.

Worldwide Trend

This lockdown period has seen webcams and laptops sell out in minutes as users are buying equipment to facilitate work from home. Since more and more people realize that they can’t work out of their iPads, they are investing in PCs and desktops. Mobile usage is also on the rise when it comes to applications such as Zoom and Teams, as the education sector tries to get back up and running. So what essentially happens once the pandemic dies down? Will people go back to how they were before or will we see remnants of this? Spataro believes that a new standard will come in place and things will not go back to what they were before.

There will be further restrictions, new patterns and new ways in which people will work and learn. Even after China lifting COVID-19 restrictions, Teams are still enjoying higher usage. Daily, their number of active users is increasing, implying that more people are now comfortable with working from home. Singapore too is implementing a circuit breaker model wherein people work from home and students study from home.

It is safe to say that according to Microsoft, the world will forever change due to the COVID-19. The new normal which this pandemic established will see these new tools be put to use regularly. With communication companies such as Google, Zoom, Slack and HouseParty all seeing a surge in users, this new theory might just be how the world works once we recover from this pandemic.

Google Stadia

Stadia Starts Its Two-Month Free Trial Effective Immediately

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Google just made this quarantine period less miserable for the gamers. Most of the game developers or anyone who loves gaming doesn’t prefer getting away from that laptop screen. Yesterday Google Stadia announced that it will be launching a two-month free trial for Pro tier. And, this so far might be the best news for game developers this year.

Google Stadia’s free trail

Google Stadia has announced yesterday that it will be launching a free two-month trial pack. The users can use the Pro tier of it for free starting from this moment. The recipients of this free two-month service need to have a Gmail account to sign up. The pre-requisite is negligible as everyone has a Gmail account these days.

What do you need?

If you are a game lover or a developer, you surely have a compatible device and a controller. So, apart from signing into a Gmail account and having a device, all you need is good internet. And, you are ready to make the fullest of this trial pack. Since Google has announced the news yesterday; you can have access to the Pro edition by signing up now.

This Pro edition also comes with many in-built games including GRID, Destiny 2: The Collection, The Thumper, etc. And, they are all free for the users. Apart from this users can buy new games if he or she wishes to and play them. And, once you buy these games you can continue playing them even after the cancellation of Stadia Pro subscription.

Who can use it?

It is not for new users only. The existing customers can also use the new trail by signing up. Many users might think that they will have to pay as they are old subscribers. Google has made it free for everyone including new and existing users. So, who is using it already doesn’t need to pay the price they usually pay.

But, Google Stadia has made this available only in fourteen countries now. They are the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland.

The existing pack

Before this free trial, the users could only have access to Stadia through a $129 “Premiere Subscription”. The package came with a controller but a free base was also promised. Now, the dream of the free base has come true for the users. Though the users are very delighted, it’s pretty clear that the company didn’t have plans to release it now. But, the recent pandemic followed by the lockdown has made the situation intense.

VP and GM of Stadia have told that the world is going through a very tough time. In spite of this tough situation, people should find some way to socialize and spent time with their family and friends. And, video games are a good way to socialize with our friends while being at home. So, they did what was necessary for this situation.

Change in features

Google Stadia didn’t mention anything about the free base after the two-month trial is over. But, one of the Google representatives has mentioned that it exists. A permanent free base tier is available for the users who are signing up. The players can switch to that free base from the Pro after the free trial is over. But, the users have to play on 1080p, 60 frames per second and stereo sound. Everything comes with a limitation.

Once this trial pack is active, there will be a huge influx of new users. So, Stadia will make everyone’s streaming to 1080p from the default screen resolution of 4k. But, if you want you can change your preferences. Most of the players either prefer playing on PC, TV, or Laptop. But streaming to the phones and tablets is also an option now. But, this is not so good news for the iOS users as this feature is not available on iOS.

Apart from the iOS users, those who are planning to play from the phone can simply download the app and use it. For the PC or laptop users, Chrome is the pre=requisite. And, for those who are playing on television need a Chromecast Ultra. If you are not using your own keyboard and mouse, provide your own controller for playing. This will be a very big hit in the gaming market and for all players out there.