Monthly Archives: July 2020

Google Stadia is adding more than a dozen new games to its cloud service over the next few months, in addition to five exclusives detailed this morning as part of its Stadia Connect announcement.

Among the new additions are IO Interactives Hitman reboot series including both the first game, its sequel, and the planned Hitman 3 in 2021 and FromSoftwares excellent samurai action game Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. The Hitman reboot series will be available September 1st, while Sekiro is coming later this fall.

Stadia is adding a handful of other prominent 2K sports games, too. The upcoming PGA Tour 2K21 is coming to Stadia upon release on August 21st, while WWE 2K Battlegrounds is coming September 18th and NBA 2K21 will be out later this fall.

A couple of the other additions are First on Stadia releases, meaning Google has secured limited exclusivity. Those include Bad Dream Games puzzle game One Hand Clapping, coming to Stadia in early access starting today, and later this fall Konamis Super Bomberman R Online, which will feature a 64-player battle royale mode playable with Stadias Crowd Play feature that lets streamers invite viewers directly into active game lobbies.

There are some cross-platform games that are getting Stadia releases at launch: Talos Principle developer Croteam is reviving its Serious Sam series with a fourth installment coming to Stadia and PC next month, and Square Enix and People Can Flys Outriders is coming to Stadia some time next year after a general console and PC release this holiday season.

Finally, Google is announcing that three existing games are coming to Stadia. Behaviour Interactives online survival horror game Dead by Daylight, which is getting unique cloud features like Crowd Play and Crowd Choice (for voting on in-game factors like which side a streamer plays on), is launching on Stadia in September.

And Nikita Kolesnikovs cross-platform hits Hello Neighbor and the prequel Hello Neighbor: Hide & Seek will be available as part of the Stadia Pro subscription service, with the first game arriving in September and the other some time later this year.

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Google Stadia is getting the Hitman reboot series, Sekiro, and 2K games later this year - The Verge

Congress is calling on Apple and Google to clamp down on apps that werent born in the USA (cue Springsteen).

Trumps administration is currently mulling a complete ban of any Chinese software but, while that debate is ongoing, Congress wants the two largest mobile platform holders to begin clamping down on foreign apps in less radical ways.

The Congressional Committee on Oversight and Reform has sent two letters to the CEOs of Apple and Google to request they probe where app developers are storing their data.

Stephen Lynch, Chairman of the National Security Subcommittee, wrote in the letters:

We remain concerned that mobile applications owned or operated by foreign developers, or that store the user data of U.S. citizens overseas, could enable our adversaries to access significant quantities of potentially sensitive information on American citizens without their knowledge to the detriment of U.S. national security.

While an outright ban on any apps developed in China would almost certainly do more harm than good, its not entirely unreasonable to want assurance on where data is being stored.

To address these potential threats, some countries have passed legislation to require internet companies to store data collected about their citizens on local servers, while others have sought to ban foreign smartphone applications altogether, Lynch explained.

Several high-profile cases of questionable practices by foreign app developers in recent months have increased calls for greater regulation.

Among the most notable is FaceApp, a Russian AI-powered face-editing app that went viral last year. FaceApp was investigated by the FBI which concluded that it posed a potential counterintelligence threat as Moscow can access data directly through ISPs.

Concerns have also been raised about viral hit TikTok which Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said earlier this month people should only download the app if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.

TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance but is run by an American, Kevin Mayer. The company says it operates independently of ByteDance and Americans user data is stored in the US, with a backup in Singapore.

Whether the data of Americans is much safer in the US, given the extent of domestic surveillance, is debatable. It will be interesting to see how Apple and Google respond to Congress requests.

(Photo by Matt Artz on Unsplash)

Interested in hearing industry leaders discuss subjects like this? Attend the co-located 5G Expo, IoT Tech Expo, Blockchain Expo, AI & Big Data Expo, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo World Series with upcoming events in Silicon Valley, London, and Amsterdam.

Tags: android, apple, Apps, ban, china, chinese, congress, cybersecurity, google, government, infosec, ios, security, software, usa

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Congress wants Apple and Google to clamp down on foreign apps - Developer Tech

Last November, Google announced that it planned to take over Fitbit once the dominant maker of wearable activity-tracking bands and smartwatches in a deal worth around $2 billion.

Although Fitbit is no longer the only major player in the wearables game, the news sounded alarm bells with privacy advocates, consumer rights groups and anyone concerned about the growing influence and spread of Google into all aspects of human life!

On 15 June 2020, Google formally notified the European Commission of its proposed acquisition of Fitbit, enabling them to capture a massive trove of sensitive health data that will expand and entrench its digital dominance. Last week, 20 NGOs from across the world published a common statement about their serious concerns about the planned takeover by Google of Fitbit. The Commission appears to be taking those concerns seriously and has sent a 60-page questionnaire to Google and Fitbit rivals seeking their views.

Elsewhere, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission expressed its worries about the deal and the impact it would have on the wearable devices market from a competition and dominance point of view.

This issue was also raised by Privacy International, who put it bluntly, saying Google has become too big, with too much market dominance, mainly by trading off personal data, and that handing it the sensitive health data collected by Fitbits fitness trackers and smart scales is a step too far.

While big isnt always a bad thing, abusing this dominance violates the law. The value of personal data increases as more and more data is combined with it, and this incentivizes companies to pursue business strategies aimed at collecting as much data as possible. Our data is very important for Google, as among other things, its used to train AI models like search engine results. And given the growing importance of data across all sectors of the economy, this concentration is expanding to other sectors, such as health, said the organization.

BEUC, the European consumers organization, described the merger as a test of regulators resolve to analyze the effects on competition of a tech giant acquiring a vast amount of highly valuable data through a takeover.

By giving Google access to Fitbits exceptionally valuable data and data collection capabilities, the deal could further boost Googles immense power in digital markets. In particular, the deal risks strengthening Googles already dominant position in markets such as online advertising and facilitating its expansion into multi-trillion dollar global digital healthcare markets to the detriment of other innovative players. This threatens to reduce consumer welfare, limit innovation and raise prices, explained BEUC Director General, Monique Goyens.

Close scrutiny of the deal is a test case for authorities to address the immense power the tech giants exert over the digital economy. They must ensure narrow commercial interests do not prevail over the broad interests of consumers, she added.

But by far the biggest concern for privacy advocates is what Google might do with that data, not whether it would negatively impact competitors.

Its not just competition thats on the line, its our well-being and dignity, said Privacy International. Fitbit doesnt just count users steps, it tracks a vast amount of sensitive personal health data including calories burned, sleep patterns and heart rate. Consider the implications of that information being traded with health insurance companies. In 2018, John Hancock, one of the largest life insurance providers in the US, stopped selling insurance policies that didnt push users to wear fitness trackers.

But Google claimed there was no reason for the deal to be blocked: This deal is about devices, not data. The wearables space is highly crowded, and we believe the combination of Googles and Fitbits hardware efforts will increase competition in the sector, benefiting consumers and making the next generation of devices better and more affordable, said the company in a statement.

But as Privacy International pointed out: Google does not have a clean record whether the multiple fines from competition authorities in the past or the 50 million fine from the French data protection regulator for violating data protection law in 2018 (under appeal). If Google obtains access to this data, then this adds to a vicious cycle. More sensitive data for Google means more opportunities for intrusive profiling, which means a lot more advertisers seeking to benefit from these profiles, and, hence, a lot more profit not to mention further business opportunities and reach for Google, said PI.

Regardless of whether we are Fitbit users or not, we all need to stop and think about the wider implications of this merger. Can we trust a company with a shady competition and data protection past with our most intimate data? We must not let big tech once again sacrifice our wellbeing on the altar of corporate profit! concluded, Privacy International legal officer, Ioannis Kouvakas.

With much talk about data as a competition issue from the European Commission in recent years, it could fall to Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager to walk the walk. The European Data Protection Board has already weighed in on the merger pointing out that the General Data Protection Regulation classifies health data as special category data and there are obvious grounds for concern.

But Vestager, often seen as the bte noir for US tech giants, insisted in an interview in February that the separate areas of data protection and competition law should not be mixed up.

20 NGOs published a common statement about their concerns on #Google planned takeover of #Fitbit. #privacy #respectdata Click to Tweet

A decision is expected in the coming months.

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Google Takeover of Fitbit Gets Organizations Sweating - CPO Magazine

"With literally a keystroke they can destroy you," says accountant Kyran Seeto. Photo: Shutterstock

A Federal Court judge has given the go ahead for a Gold Coast accountant to sue Google over fake reviews posted anonymously.

Kyran Seeto, who runs Gold Coast-based firm Max Accountants, is taking legal action to make Google remove a short and anonymous critical review left about his company on Google, along with two other one-star reviews, ABC News reported.

Seeto said that none of the reviewers are actual clients of his accounting firm, and that Google has a responsibility for what is posted on its platform by anonymous users.

At a recent Federal Court hearing Justice David OCallaghan said the court could and should hear the case, and that Seeto has a prima facie case.

Seeto said that a negative Google review can cripple a company, and Google should be held to account as a publisher for what is published on its platform.

Im trying to build a business, but with literally a keystroke they can destroy you, Seeto said. Its not fair.

Accountant Kyran Seeto is taking his fight against Google to the Federal Court. Image: Supplied

An anonymous user named Emma Anderson left a short review of Max Accountants earlier this year which appears when someone searches the firm.

Dont bother going to this one, the review said. Unless you want your concerns and enquiries to be met with hostility. My favourite is when the account [sic] said to me, thats a joke, I dont believe that, thats a joke. They need training in customer service.

Max Accountants can take up to 20 days to even lodge your tax, they dont tell you that. Wouldnt bother, my first time using them and I know Ill be going back to my old accountant.

Two further reviews were left at a similar time, both giving Max Accountants one-star with no further information provided. These were made by users named Sharmane Harris and Brett Wiliams.

None of the users in questions have posted reviews of any other businesses, and do not have any personal identifying information on their account.

Seeto said he had checked the company database and could find no record of these people ever being clients.

Ive asked staff: did it happen? Im in at the office every day, I sit next to my receptionist and my staff why would we say something like that? he said.

Seeto believes Google has too much power over small businesses.

It has a significant impact, he said. We advertise on Google. When clients come in we ask them where theyve come from...more than half have come from Google.

As a consequence of putting these [low-star ratings] on, they turn away or theyre not sure.

There have been a number of recent legal challenges made involving Google reviews, some trying to force the tech giant to reveal the identity of anonymous reviewers, others looking to sue Google directly for the negative reviews.

Earlier this year an Australian court ordered Google to reveal the identity of the person who posted an anonymous negative review of Melbourne-based dentist Dr Matthew Kabbabe. The user told others to STAY AWAY from the practice, with Kabbabe looking to sue them for defamation once Google has identified them.

In February this year Adelaide-based lawyer Gordon Cheng won a $750,000 pay-out against a woman who posted a trio of negative Google reviews about his business, despite never being a client.

And in April, Google was ordered to hand over $40,000 to a Melbourne lawyer after it was ruled that searches on Google images brought up the lawyers name alongside Victorian gangland figures, equating to defamation.

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Gold Coast accountant to sue Google over review - ACS

Residents of Millcreek will soon have access to Google Fibers high-speed internet connections, under a deal approved this week.

Leaders in the suburban community southeast of Salt Lake City signed a non-licensing agreement late Monday that lets the web giant install a fiber optic network for city residents and businesses.

Millcreek, which has a city motto of Connected by Nature, will now also be connected by Google Fiber, its mayor joked.

Jeff Silvestrini said he and members of the City Council were pleased by the companys dedication to advance digital equity in Millcreek, noting that many residents who had lacked suitable web access for years could soon have fast, reliable broadband. The mayor predicted that faster access would bolster employment and use of telemedicine.

While the high-speed internet provider did not release details on its pricing for Millcreek resident on Tuesday, in Salt Lake City, the companys home connections with 1 gigabit transfer rates per second typically cost $70 per month.

Formed with a citizen vote in 2016, Millcreek is the third Utah city designated by Google Fiber for its gigabit speed services, joining with Provo and Salt Lake City. Google currently offers fiber to homes and businesses in 27 U.S. cities.

In a blog post Tuesday, Google Fiber said that while it loves all its cities, Utah has always been special to us given that Provo was among its earliest expansions.

The Utah County community became Google Fibers third U.S. city, behind Kansas City and Austin, in 2013 when the company bought out its existing fiber network, known as iProvo.

The fiber optic internet provider added Salt Lake City to its service network in March 2015, with its first residential and commercial installs going live in mid-2016 in the downtown core and Sugar House neighborhoods.

It began switching on its gigabit service in March 2019 for the neighborhoods of Jordan Meadows, Westpointe and Rose Park along North Temple.

The company does not released information on its number of customers in a given locale.

As we finally near completion of construction in Salt Lake City, were not ready to stop growing in Utah, Google Fibers government and community affairs manager Jacob Brace wrote in Tuesdays blog post.

The Millcreek licensing agreement, Brace said, gives Google Fiber immediate access to rights of way for fiber installation, in advance of construction starting later this year. The goal, he said, was to begin serving its first customers in the city early next year.

Prospective customers can verify when Google Fiber may be available at their address or can sign up for updates from the company, by visiting google.com/fiber.

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Google Fiber plans to expand its high-speed network into Millcreek - Salt Lake Tribune

Microsoft has been testing deeper Gmail and Google Calendar integrations in Outlook on the web for months, and part of that is arriving for Outlook business users today. Outlook on the web users will be able to add their personal Outlook.com or Google Calendar accounts to an Outlook work account so that you see a better view of your availability when scheduling work appointments.

This new feature is rolling out now to all Microsoft 365 users with a work account, but theres no news on when Outlook.com users will be able to add Gmail and Google Calendar accounts. Microsoft has been testing this functionality for months now, with it briefly appearing in some Outlook.com accounts.

Alongside the Google Calendar integration, Outlook on the web is also getting some useful updates. Youll now be able to schedule when emails are delivered and get suggested replies to emails in Outlook on the web and Outlook mobile. Microsoft is also planning to add suggestions to Outlook mobile for availability and meeting scheduling to let people know when youre free.

Microsoft is also improving calendar management in Outlook on the web so you can directly triage your calendar within the inbox instead of having to switch between the Outlook inbox and calendar sections. While Teams is directly integrated with Outlook, Microsoft is also adding a one tap button for Zoom and Webex meetings in Outlook mobile. The Cortana Play my emails feature is also finally arriving on Android, following its release on iOS last year.

All of the improvements are designed to help make Outlook a little easier to use now that a lot of people are working remotely and scheduling even more meetings on a daily basis.

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Microsoft Outlook gets Google Calendar integration on the web - The Verge

Alberta has run into a roadblock with its COVID-19 contact tracing app after the federal government intervened with Albertas relationship with tech giants Apple and Google, Premier Jason Kenney said Monday.

The ABTraceTogether app was launched May 1, by the province and Alberta Health Services, and uses Bluetooth to more accurately and efficiently identify contacts of a confirmed COVID-19 case.

In a news conference Monday, Kenney fielded questions surrounding the functionality of the app which has run into problems, including Apple iOS users needing to have their phone open and the app running in the foreground to record data.

In late May, the province announced an update that would enable the app to operate in the background when an iPhone is locked, however, Kenney noted the federal government is blocking app developments for Alberta users.

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We have been trying to resolve that problem, which requires cooperation with Google and Apple, Kenney said.

Unfortunately, the government of Canada has told Google and Apple not to work with the government of Alberta, or other provincial governments, on improving the Trace Together app.

Theyve done so because they say they want cooperation on a single national platform, but there isnt one, Kenney added.

Kenney said the provincial government has made repeated requests to the federal government to remove their barrier to ensure the app functions effectively amid the pandemic.

I will renew that call now publicly, he said. Every week, we press the federal government.

At the end of the day, by standing in the way between us and the large tech companies, they are effectively reducing the functionality of an app which can help us in the midst of a public health crisis.

Albertas app was the first of its kind to launch in North America and Health Minister Tyler Shandro added the province has been working with the federal government to create similar contact tracing apps across the country.

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There is no national contact tracing app at this time, Shandro said. Our assistant deputy minister is taking the lead on assisting the federal government on the development of it.

In terms of first steps, they did turn to us to help them with that development.

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He added that in light of offering their help, Alberta has been reaching out to the federal government and international affairs to stop the blocking of the provinces contact tracing advancements.

Lets allow Apple and Google to work with us to make sure that the ABTraceTogether app is fully functional, he said. Were happy to do that once Google and Apple are allowed to do that.

The province does not yet know when the update will be available to iOS users.

In a statement to Global News on Monday, press secretary to the federal health minister said the federal government is working with both Apple and Google to develop a national contact tracing app that can be used by all Canadians.

We continue to work with Apple, Google and our partners in jurisdictions across Canada on a voluntary national app that will be ready for download very soon, Cole Davidson said.

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Davidson said having one app that is accessible to the entire country will reduce confusion for users.

Apple and Google have made their API available to us to create a national notification app. Having one app for the country reduces confusion and is as efficient as possible in notifying Canadians if they may have come into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

Davidson said a launch date for the national app has not yet been confirmed

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2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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Kenney says federal government told Apple, Google not to work with Alberta on contact tracing apps - Global News

The Kano PC, built by London-based startup Kano in partnership with Microsoft.

Kano

Microsoft is betting that a British computing start-up can take on Google in the educational technology industry, which has thrived during the coronavirus pandemic.

London-headquartered Kano, which is focused on teaching kids how to code, raised more than $1 million in an investment from Microsoft, with the tech giant taking a minority stake. The company has raised a total of about $45.5 million to date from investors including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.

The deal, announced Tuesday, expands on an existing partnership with Microsoft on Kano's bright orange Windows-powered PC. It also sees Kano join the ranks of large IT players like Lenovo and Dell in obtaining original equipment manufacturer licensing from Microsoft.

That means Kano is now able to ship its PCs with Windows 10 Pro a premium version of Microsoft's operating system toschools and has also formed a co-selling agreement with Microsoft.

Kano has received a tender from the Japanese government to sell 3 million of its devices in the country and is in talks to sell thousands of units in the United Arab Emirates. The firm's PC retails at $299, cheaper than Microsoft's Surface Go hybrid PC and on par with some of Google's cheaper Chromebook computers.

It comes as demand for educational technology, or "edtech," has surged amid the Covid-19 outbreak. Lockdowns across the world caused nationwide school closures in 190 countries at the peak of the pandemic in mid-April, impacting 90% of the world's pupils.

Meanwhile, the global PC market has recently returned to growth after suffering its worst decline in sales since 2013. According to Gartner, worldwide PC shipments grew 2.8% in the second quarter, as demand for laptops and tablets increased and vendors recovered from coronavirus-related supply chain disruptions.

Kano started out in 2013 as a venture aimed at teaching kids how to build their own computers and code. It gained traction selling easy-to-build computer kits based on compact Raspberry Pi circuit boards that came with the open-source Linux operating system.

While it hasn't retired the Raspberry Pi kits altogether, CEO and co-founder Alex Klein told CNBC that the company has increased investment into the PC it built in partnership with Microsoft.

Klein said the Linux-based computers created an "accessibility barrier" for some users but stressed his firm hasn't forgotten the "punk rock spirit" it embraced in its early days of existence.

A big part of the deal, Klein said, is helping his company compete with Google in the multi-billion dollar educational computing market.

Google's Chromebooks have swiftly become the top-selling computers in U.S. schools over the years. In 2018, they made up 60% of all laptops and tablets in K-12 classrooms, up from just 5% in 2012, according to data from consulting firm Futuresource. Microsoft accounted for 22% of the market in 2018, while Apple trailed behind on 18%.

"We shouldn't be putting Chromebooks in the hands of kids," Klein said, referring to a warning from international non-profit Electronic Frontier Foundation that the devices enable spying on students. "They're catching your data all the time."

For its part, Google has said it's committed to maintaining students' privacy and doesn't use their data for advertising purposes.

Speaking about Kano's deeper ties with Microsoft, Klein said he was "inspired" by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's commitment to open-source technology. In recent years, the tech giant has bought the software development platform GitHub and built its Edge browser based on source code from Google's open-source Chromium project.

As well as PCs, Kano also sells motion-sensing coding kits based on AT&T-owned Warners Bros' "Harry Potter" franchise and Disney's "Star Wars" series. Once assembled, the devices allow users to create code and interact with Kano's software.

But Kano has yet to turn a profit. It racked up losses of 11 million in the 12 months to March 2018. The start-up also laid off around 15 employees late last year, though Klein says it hasn't had to make any redundancies or furloughs during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Microsoft backs a start-up looking to challenge Google in the 'edtech' market - CNBC

File photo: The Google logo is pictured at the entrance to the Google offices in London, Britain January 18, 2019 Reuters

Investors, including Facebook and KKR & Co, have already poured in a combined $15.64 billion for just over 25% in Jio Platform

Alphabet Incs Google is in advanced talks to invest $4 billion for a stake in the digital arm of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

An announcement could come as soon as the next few weeks, according to the report.

Google declined to comment, while Reliance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Investors, including Facebook and KKR & Co, have already poured in a combined $15.64 billion for just over 25% in Jio Platforms. The funding spree, which began late April, and a share sale by Reliance have helped make Indias biggest company by market value net-debt free.

The report comes a day after Google said it would spend around $10 billion in India over the next five to seven years through equity investments and tie-ups, in its biggest commitment to a key growth market.

Shares of Reliance pared some losses to trade down 0.7% as of 0928 GMT, while the broader market was down 1.68%.

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Google in talks to invest $4bn in Reliance's digital arm - Dhaka Tribune