Googleが2023年10月12日から発売を開始する『Pixel 8』『Pixel 8 Pro』には、AIを駆使した便利機能が多数追加されています。そのうちの一つが『ベストテイク』。似ている写真を組 ...

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South Korea's telecommunications regulator said on Friday that Alphabet's Google and Apple have abused their dominant app market position and warned of possible fines totalling up to $50.5 million. From a report: The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said in a statement that the two tech giants forced app developers into specific payment methods and caused unfair delay in app review. The KCC is notifying the companies for corrective action, and will deliberate on the fines, the statement said. "What KCC has shared today is the pre-notice and we will carefully review and submit our response. Once the final written decision is shared with us we will carefully review to evaluate the next course of action," Google said in a statement to Reuters. Apple also issued a statement, saying: "We disagree with the conclusions made by the KCC in their Examiner's Report, and believe the changes we have implemented to the App Store comply with the Telecommunications Business Act. As we have always done, we will continue to engage with the KCC to share our views."

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Google Japan's latest DIY project is for people who can't get keyboards off their heads. From a report: Google isn't making this product. Instead, the Gboard CAPS project is another of Google Japan's joke keyboard ideas, like the 5.25-foot-long, single-row Gboard Stick Version keyboard shown off last year, used to promote Google's Gboard app. However, Google Japan seemingly prototyped the keyboard in real life. Everything you need to make this typing topper, including the firmware and hardware, is open source and available on GitHub. How do you type with the hat? It has a 6-axis sensor that reads its position. Turn the hat to select a character and press its top to enter. It pairs via Bluetooth, runs on a 3.7V, 120mAh battery, and charges via USB-C.

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Following preliminary objections over Google's data terms, set out back in January by Germany's antitrust watchdog, the tech giant has agreed to make changes that will give users a better choice over its use of their information, the country's Federal Cartel Office (FCO) said today. The commitments cover situations where Google would like to combine personal data from one Google service with personal data from other Google or non-Google sources or cross-use these data in Google services that are provided separately, per the authority. Per the FCO decision document (PDF): "The Commitments cover in principle all services operated by Google and directed to end users in Germany with more than one million monthly active users (MAU) in Germany [and Android Automotive whether it meets that threshold or not]." But, as we report below, Google's core platform services designated under the EU's DMA are not covered -- nor is Fitbit, which the document notes is already subject to "far-reaching obligations regarding the cross-service processing of health and wellness data" as a result of EU merger control. [...] Per the FCO decision document, the implementation date (in principle) for Google's commitments is September 30, 2024 — with an earlier date of March 6, 2024 for commitments covering Google Assistant and Contacts. But the FCO notes that it may provide Google with an extension upon "substantiated request". Once implemented, the commitments will have a five year duration from their start date. The document also notes that if, in the future, a Google service falls out of the DMA designation as a core platform service and meets the FCO usage threshold then these local commitments will be applied to it. The converse will also apply; meaning if the European Commission designates one of the Google services covered by this commitments to the DMA list of core platform services it would no longer fall under this arrangement. Gmail is an interesting example here as the EU recently accepted Google's arguments to exclude the web mail service from the DMA list of core platform services -- but the tech giant is facing future restrictions on how it can use Gmail users' data under the FCO commitments (even if these will only apply in Germany). Commenting in a statement, Andreas Mundt, president of the Bundeskartellamt, said: "Data are key for many business models used by large digital companies. The market power of large digital companies is based on the collection, processing and combination of data. Google's competitors do not have these data and are thus faced with serious competitive disadvantages. In the future users of Google services will have a much better choice as to what happens to their data, how Google can use them and whether their data may be used across services. This not only protects the users' right to determine the use of their data but also curbs Google's data-driven market power. Large digital companies offer a wide range of different digital services. Without the users' free and informed consent the data from Google's services and third-party services can no longer be cross-used in separate services offered by Google or even be combined. We have made sure that Google will provide a separate choice option in the future."

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Apple held talks with DuckDuckGo to replace Alphabet's Google as the default search engine for the private mode on Apple's Safari browser, but ultimately rejected the idea. From a report: The details of those talks -- and Apple's discussions about buying Microsoft's Bing search engine in 2018 and 2020 -- were revealed late Wednesday in transcripts unsealed by the judge overseeing the US government's antitrust trial against Google. US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled Wednesday that he would unseal the testimony of DuckDuckGo Chief Executive Officer Gabriel Weinberg and Apple executive John Giannandrea, both of whom testified in the Washington trial in closed sessions. Weinberg testified that DuckDuckGo had about 20 meetings and phone calls with Apple executives, including the head of Safari, in 2018 and 2019 about becoming the default search engine for private browsing mode. In private mode, Safari doesn't track websites that a user visits or keep a history of what a person has accessed. "We were talking about it, I thought they would launch it," Weinberg said, noting that Apple had integrated several of DuckDuckGo's other privacy technologies into Safari. "Multiple times we've gotten integrations all the way through the finish line. Really, almost everything we've pitched except for search." But Giannandrea, who joined Apple as the head of search in 2018, said that to his knowledge Apple hadn't considered switching to DuckDuckGo. In a February 2019 email to other Apple executives, Giannandrea said it was "probably a bad idea" to switch to DuckDuckGo for private browsing in Safari. "The motivating factor for setting DuckDuckGo as the default for private browsing was an assumption" that it would be more private, Giannandrea testified. Because DuckDuckGo relies on Bing for its search information, it also likely provides Microsoft some user information, he said, which led him to believe that DuckDuckGo's "marketing about privacy is somewhat incongruent with the details."

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Googleが10月4日（日本時間午後11時）に開催したハードウェアお披露目イベント『Made by Google』内では、『音声消しゴムマジック』という新たな機能が発表されました。 その名の通り、こ ...

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Googleは3日、迷惑メールの削減のため、Gmailの一括送信者に新たな要件を導入すると発表した。一括送信者は、アカウントに1日当たり5000件以上のメールを送信するユーザーを指す。同社は2024年2月からこうした一括送信者に対し、送信メールにデジタル署名を用いるメール認証方式であるDomainKeys Identified Mail（DKIM）を使用、ドメインを保護することが求められる（Googleブログ、ケータイ Watch、CNET Japan、ITmedia）。

また、メールを不要と判断したユーザーがワンクリックでメールの配信を停止できるシステムの導入を義務付けるという。送信者は、解除ボタンがクリックされてから2日以内に対応することが求められる。さらに、迷惑メールの削減を目的として、一括送信者に対する明確な「迷惑メール率」も設定される予定とのこと。

すべて読む | ITセクション | Google | 通信 | IT |

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Google Classroom、招待メールを悪用したスパムが問題に 2023年01月29日
新型コロナ関連の迷惑メールが大きく増加 2020年04月22日

Googleは2023年10月4日（水）、日本時間午後11時から『Made by Google』をスタート。イベント内では『Pixel 8』『Pixel 8 Pro』『Pixel Watch 2』とい ...

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: You can now reply to an email just like it's an instant messaging chat, tacking on a "crying laughing" emoji to an email instead of replying. Google has a whole support article detailing the new feature, which allows you to "express yourself and quickly respond to emails with emojis." Like a messaging app, a row of emoji reaction counts will appear below your email now, and other people on the thread can tap to add to the reaction count. Currently, it's only on the Android Gmail app, but it's presumably coming to other Gmail clients. Of course, email is from the 1970s and does not natively support emoji reactions. That makes this a Gmail-proprietary feature, which is a problem for federated emails that are expected to work with a million different clients and providers. If you send an emoji reaction and someone on the email chain is not using an official Gmail client, they will get a new, additional email containing your singular reactive emoji. Google is not messing with the email standard, so people not using Gmail will be the most affected. Another weird quirk is that because emoji reactions are just emails (that Gmail sends to other clients and hides for itself), any emoji reactions you send can't be taken back. There's only Gmail's "Undo send" feature for taking back reactions, which delays sending emails for about 30 seconds, so you can second-guess yourself. After that, you're creating a permanent emoji reaction paper trail. [...] If the idea of emoji reactions to email has you selecting the puke emoji, as far as we can tell, there's no way to just turn this off. The report notes that this new feature won't work on business or school accounts. "Emoji reactions also aren't available for group email lists, messages with more than 20 recipients, emails on which you're BCC'd, encrypted emails, and emails where the sender has a custom reply-to address."

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Alongside the Pixel 8 and Android 14, Google today launched the new Pixel Watch 2 -- a $350 second-gen smartwatch featuring a faster processor, overhauled sensor array, and longer battery life. The Verge reports: At a glance, the main difference is that the screen sits flush with the digital crown, where the original had a slight cutout. Another change imperceptible to the naked eye: the body is now made of 100 percent recycled aluminum instead of stainless steel. The result is a slightly lighter watch, but not by much. The Pixel Watch weighed 36 grams, while the Pixel Watch 2 is 31g. That's a bit disappointing, considering the Watch 2's price remains the same as last year. We're looking at the same 41mm case size and OLED display on top. But flip the watch over, and you'll find a completely different sensor array. Instead of a single line of LEDs, there are now multiple LEDs and photodiodes to take measurements from several angles and positions. That then feeds into an algorithm that Fitbit CEO James Park says is 40 percent more accurate for vigorous activities. This year, Google also added a skin temperature and continuous electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor. Both help enable proactive stress tracking, which Fitbit introduced with its Sense 2. The EDA sensor detects minuscule amounts of sweat, which can help determine bodily stress when combined with metrics like heart rate variability, heart rate, and skin temperature. As with the Sense 2, you're supposed to get a slightly delayed notification when a stressful event has been detected. You're then encouraged to log how that event made you feel. Battery life was a major pain point when the Pixel Watch first launched. Park acknowledges that you couldn't use the always-on display on the first-gen watch if you wanted that 24-hour battery life. This time around, he says that the team has worked hard to make sure the Pixel Watch 2's 306mAh battery can get 24 hours with the always-on display enabled. Users should also be able to get a 50 percent charge in 30 minutes and a full day's worth in 75 minutes. Helping that should be Wear OS 4 -- which Google says ought to extend battery life -- and the new, more power-efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 processor. (Speaking of Wear OS 4, Google says that, at first, it'll be exclusive to Pixel Watch 2.) Other features include the ability to automatically record workouts and do heart rate zone training; a new Safety Check feature that will alert your loved ones of your location after a preset timer expires (e.g. taking an Uber across town or going on a late-night walk); and support for Google services like Gmail, Google Wallet, and Calendar. You can learn more about the Pixel Watch 2 here.

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Google will soon release a version of its virtual assistant that is powered by the company's Bard artificial intelligence technology, helping users handle more complex tasks. From a report: The new offering, called Assistant with Bard, will be available in a test phase shortly and then roll out to the general public in the coming months, the company said Wednesday. The release will equip the Assistant, which helps users of Android and Google devices complete tasks and find information, with some of the capabilities of Bard, a chatbot that is the company's answer to OpenAI's wildly popular ChatGPT. "Generative AI is creating new opportunities to build a more intuitive, intelligent, personalized digital assistant," Sissie Hsiao, a Google vice president, wrote in a blog post accompanying the news.

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Googleは『Madeby Goole』内で、『Pixel 8』『Pixel 8 Pro』『Pixel Watch 2』をリリースしました。Googleストアではすでに予約の受付を開始。各デバイスの ...

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Google's newest flagship phone is finally official. The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro were both unveiled today, with the headline changes being a whopping seven years of updates, flat screens across the board, new CPUs, and a $100 price increase. The Pixel 8 Pro is officially $999, while the Pixel 8 is $699. ArsTechnica: As for specs, the Pro display is a 6.7-inch, 120 Hz, 2992x1344 OLED. Google is branding this display "Super Actua" because it's one of the brightest phone displays on the market at 1600 nits for HDR content and 2400 nits in sunlight mode. That beats the sunlight modes on the S23 Ultra (1750 nits) and iPhone 15 Pro Max (2000 nits) but not the Xiaomi 13T Pro (2600 nits). The storage situation here isn't great. The Pixel 8 Pro has 12GB of RAM and storage tiers of 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. Most other phones in this price range start at 256GB, and the 8 Pro uses slower UFS 3.1 storage instead of the speedy UFS 4.0 a lot of phones ship with now. The 8 Pro battery is 5050 mAh, and there's 30 W wired charging. Wireless charging will hit 23 W on the Pixel charging stand, while Qi chargers will only hit 12 W (it would be great if Qi2 would get its act together). Both phones have IP68 dust and water resistance. On the software update support lifecycle: This year, there is finally something tangible to point to -- 7 years of OS updates. Unlike with previous models, there are no games being played here, as Google says there are "7 years of OS, security, and Feature Drop updates." That's more major OS updates than even iPhone owners are getting, with the iPhone X getting iOS versions 11-16.

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Googleは10月4日（米国時間）に開催したイベント「Made by Google 2023」で、スマートウォッチの新モデル「Pixel Watch 2」を発表しました。国内でも同日から予約受付を開始し、10月12日にGoogle ストアから発売します...続きを読む

Googleは10月4日（米国時間）に開催したイベント「Made by Google 2023」で、Pixelスマートフォンの新モデル「Pixel 8」「Pixel 8 Pro」を発表しました。国内でも同日から予約受付を開始し、10月12日にGoogle...続きを読む

Googleは今夜（2024年10月4日日本時間午後11時）、1年に1度の大型イベント『Made by Google』を開催。イベント内では『Pixel 8』『Pixel 8 Pro』といったスマート ...

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2023年10月4日（水）日本時間午後11時から、Googleは年に一度のハードウェアお披露目イベント『Made by Google』を開始。同イベントはMade by GoogleのYouTube公 ...

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Google plans to make it harder for spammers to send messages to Gmail users. From a report: The company said it will require emailers who send more than 5,000 messages per day to Gmail users to offer a one-click unsubscribe button in their messages. It will also require them to authenticate their email address, configuring their systems so they prove they own their domain name and aren't spoofing IP addresses. Alphabet-owned Google says it may not deliver messages from senders whose emails are frequently marked as spam and fall under a "clear spam rate threshold" of 0.3% of messages sent, as measured by Google's Postmaster Tools. Google says it has signed up Yahoo to make the same changes, and they'll come into effect in February 2024. The moves highlight the ongoing fight between big tech companies and spammers who use open systems such as email to send fraudulent messages and annoy users. For years, machine learning techniques have been used to fight spam, but it remains a back-and-forth battle as spammers discover new techniques to get past filters.

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2023年10月4日、Googleは最新ハードウェアを披露する年に一度の大型イベント『Made by Google』を開催します。実施にあと1日と迫った10月3日（火）、M. Brandon Lee氏 ...

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Google has introduced Chromebook Plus, a new certification that's meant to help shoppers identify high-quality Chromebooks to buy. From a report: Much like Intel's Evo program for Windows PCs, the Chromebook Plus branding will be awarded to laptops that meet a set of minimum requirements. The idea is that even a shopper who's not familiar with PC specs can see the "Chromebook Plus" label on a product and be assured that Google thinks it's a good product. Chromebook Plus devices must have: An Intel Core (i3 or higher) or AMD Ryzen 7000 CPU An IPS panel with at least 1080p resolution A 1080p webcam 8GB of RAM 128GB of storage There's an interesting absence here: battery life. In fact, the phrase "battery life" does not appear once in Google's press release. Curious! I asked Google spokesperson Peter Du about this, and he provided the following statement: "All Chromebooks are required to meet a 10 hours battery life requirement based on internal testing standards. While not a new requirement for Chromebook Plus like the 1080p screen or 8GB of RAM, Chromebook Plus laptops must also adhere to this."

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