Monthly Archives: February 2021

Google Assistant has a voice that has become somewhat iconic over the years. People hear it and associate it with Google. However, you dont have to use this voice. There are several others to choose from.

Since its launch in 2016, Google Assistant has had two default voices. The one most people recognize is from a voice actor namedAntonia Flynn. At the time of writing, there are 11 voices in total available to you. Well show you how to change it.

To begin, open the Google Assistant app. On Android phones and tablets, this can be done by saying Okay, Google, or by swiping in from the bottom-left or -right corner.

With an iPhone or iPad, you can tap theGoogle Assistant appfrom your home screen or App Library.

Next, sign in to your Google account (if you havent done so already), then tap your profile icon to open the Assistants Settings menu.

Youll now see a long list of things you can do with Google Assistant. The one were looking for is Assistant Voice.

The default voice is named Red. There are several other voices to choose from, each named by color. Simply tap one of the colored bubbles to hear an audio sample.

At the time of writing, you can also have actor Issa Rae as the Assistant voice. This is called a Cameo Voice and isnt available everywhere.

Underneath the voice bubbles, youll see which devices will use your selected voice.

If youre using the Android app, there is also a section at the very bottom called Speech Output. Select Phone to choose how conversational the responses will be on this device.

Select from Full, Brief, or None. The None option will only respond audibly if youre using hands-free methods.

Thats all there is to it. Once you select a voice, it will be used from that point forward. If multiple people interact with a Google Assistant-enabled device in your home, such as a Nest or Home smart speaker or smart display, it will use each persons preferred voice selection using Voice Match.

RELATED: How to Retrain Your Google Assistant Voice Model

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How to Change the Google Assistants Voice - How-To Geek

Digital payments firms PhonePe and Paytm Payments Bank have increased their share of transactions on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) between November and January, while tech major Google Pay lost share due to the technical glitches faced by its banking partners.

While PhonePe and Paytm saw 100 million and 72 million additional transactions, respectively, during the period, the number of transactions for Google Pay fell by over 100 million from 960 million in November to 855 million at the end of January, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) data shows.

According to experts and bank executives, the rise in number of UPI transactions for PhonePe and Paytm was at the expense of Google Pay, as customers moved away due to decline rates on its platform, caused by infrastructure issues with banking partners. Google Pays banking partners include State Bank of India, HDFC Bank Ltd, Axis Bank Ltd and ICICI Bank Ltd.

In November-December, HDFC Bank and SBI saw outages on their tech stack, data centres and digital payment offerings. In December, SBI had one of the highest transaction failure rates of 8.96% on UPI, NPCI data showed.

We have the highest end-to-end success rates in UPI payments, according to NPCI data, and believe that overtime products always win. We are starting to see early signals of user preference," said PhonePe co-founder Sameer Nigam.

Three banking and payments executives, requesting anonymity, said that earlier banks used to add the number of cashback transactions on Google Pay to its total number, but since they stopped doing so, the number of transactions might have fallen. Mint, however, could not ascertain whether this exercise was undertaken only for Google Pay or all payments apps on UPI.

At times, there are problems in terms of where the money has to be credited to or from the bank where the funds will get debited. That could be any lender and not necessarily the four banks backing Google Pay," said a senior executive in charge of digital payments at a private bank. Google Pay and NPCI did not respond to queries. PPB declined to comment.

The technology infrastructure from the architecture and capacity standpoint is not able to cope with the flood of transactions. When volumes go above planned threshold, architectural changes are needed and capacity upgrades take time. Empirical data shows that due to exponential rise in transaction volumes, banks may have some challenges and would undertake fixes," said Kunal Pande, partner, KPMG.

The spillage is happening and it is natural as UPI users leverage at least two payment apps. Google Pay will not be able to correct the infrastructure challenges with banking partners easily in the next few weeks or months, since payment infrastructure needs sustained attention," said a payments company executive, requesting anonymity.

Merchant transactions on UPI have boosted UPIs growth which provides a further edge to PhonePe and Paytm, which have been investing on their offline merchant base in a bid to distribute credit and financial services to their partners.

P2P (peer-to-peer) transactions will see some stagnation. It is P2M (peer-to-merchant) transactions where there is headroom to grow, and PhonePe and Paytm are adding more use-cases, growing the overall UPI ecosystem. Another challenge is the do-it-yourself model, which Big tech like Google might be adopting, whereas Paytm and PhonePe are handholding merchants, since this base counts for monetization streams," said Deepak Abbot, a former Paytm executive, and the co-founder of Indiagold, a startup which works in the gold monetization space.

Shayan Ghosh contributed to this story.

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Google Pays loss is Paytm and PhonePes gain on UPI - Mint

Duneland Deli Station is serving up sandwiches both hot and cold at 1050 Broadway, Suite 2.

The quick-serve sub shop offers sandwiches like Italian, oven-roasted turkey, beef pastrami, Italian beef, pulled pork and meatball. It also has salads, soups and sides like mac and cheese available for pickup.

Owner Michael Griffith worked in chain sub shops and decided to go into business for himself after retiring as a mechanic.

The restaurant in the old factory building offers both dine-in and pick-up.

"We're conveniently located on the west end of town," he said. "We're more catered to the townies than if we were on Indian Boundary Road and serving the tourists."

Griffith spent 10 months renovating a space that formerly belonged to Val's Pizza, a gun shop and several other businesses. He did everything but the plumbing and electrical, creating a railway-like ambiance.

"I'm not into trains but it's hard to avoid trains when you live in Chesterton," he said.

The restaurant serves a variety of sandwiches, including top sellers like the Italian beef and new additions like a Cuban called the Havana Express. Soups include broccoli cheddar, chili, fire-roasted veggie and the best-selling chicken dumpling.

"We're basically an independent sandwich shop. We were worried opening in the middle of COVID-19, but the community has been supportive and we've been surprisingly busy here," he said.

It recently added dessert, including gelato from Michigan.

"We started off pretty basic because of the pandemic, but have been adding more signature style sandwiches like pulled pork," he said. "We make everything fresh. We slice the meat fresh every day. We slice the pickles fresh. Everything is sliced fresh."

The 2,000-square-foot restaurant can seat up to 40 diners, but focuses on takeout.It plans to eventually offer delivery, potentially through third-party vendors, but hasn't been able to find people to handle deliveries during the pandemic.

"We just want to keep striving to get better," he said. "I missed serving the public and interacting with people day-to-day. I'm definitely getting back to that. We're sort of along the lines of Subway or Jimmy John's but we take it to another level."

For more information, call 219-265-1293 or find the business on Facebook.

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Ford partners with Google to make its vehicles more connected - nwitimes.com

While Amazons AWS cloud unit had an excellent year with revenue of $45.4 billion, Microsoft blew past that with 2020 commercial cloud revenue of $59.5 billion, 31% higher than AWS and underscoring that Microsoft is by far the #1 cloud vendor in the world.

And while Google has every right to be extremely proud of Google Clouds $13 billion in 2020 revenue, the combined 2020 cloud revenue from both Amazon and Google of $58.4 billion still falls short of Microsofts 2020 cloud revenue: $59.5 billion.

For more than 2 years, Ive had Microsoft at #1 in my weekly Cloud Wars Top 10 rankings, with Amazon close behind at #2. Google Cloud recently moved up to the #3 spot, pushing Salesforce down to #4. For more on that, please check outGoogle Cloud Jumps to #3 on Cloud Wars Top 10; Trails only #1 Microsoft, #2 Amazon.

As Ive mentioned before, it is inexplicable to me why so many analysts and people in the media still refer to AWS as the runaway leader or dominant player in the cloud. As the numbers clearly reveal, Microsofts cloud business is almost one-third larger than Amazons.

I suspect that many still inaccurately equate or conflate cloud with IaaS, which is a perspective at least a full decade out of date. Without question, Amazon created and still leads the IaaS segment of the cloudbut the cloud of today looks nothing at all like it did 10 years ago when cloud = IaaS was a reasonable equation.

Microsofts dramatic size difference over Amazon in the cloud is not a new thing; look at the quarter-by-quarter disparities in cloud revenue throughout 2020:

And I would contend that Microsofts ability and willingness to touch and improve every facet of what Nadella calls the digital estates of customers is an enormous competitive advantage for Microsoft.

This distinction came sharply into focus during Microsofts fiscal-Q2 earnings call late last month. On that call, both CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood hammered on the idea that the cloud should be modeled on what customers need to succeed today, not on some arcane and industry-driven acronyms from 10-15 years ago.

And that point from both Nadella and Hood comes with some powerful evidence behind it, as I explained in my analysis of Microsofts results for its fiscal Q2 ended Dec. 31: Why Microsoft Just Posted the Greatest Quarter the Tech Industrys Ever Seen.

In the 8 years since Nadella became Microsoft CEO, the company has been more aggressive than any other cloud vendor in pushing the boundaries and capabilities of the PaaS and SaaS layers of the cloud. In Microsofts Oct. 27 earnings call, Nadella ran through the broad categories included in that effort. I summarized his list this way:

Later in the call, CFO Hood made one simple but profound comment that drove home how essential it is for cloud vendors to see the world not through the eyes of the tech industry and its obsession with 4-letter acronyms but rather through the eyes of customers and what they want and need to achieve during their digital transformations.

Heres that doozy from Hood:

Thinking about it holistically is why its so important for us andwhy we keep coming back to the commercial cloud as our frame. Its how customers see the solution.Its how we sell, and it is how solutions are actually implemented for business-process change.

That outside-in perspective is why Nadella is relentless in his focus on his intertwined imperatives of citizen developers and digital tech intensity. By that, he means that businesses must aggressively and rapidly move beyond consuming technology made by others and instead become experts at creating their own.

From my Jan. 28 analysis of Microsofts earnings call:

Digital capability is key to both resilience and growth. Its no longer enough to justadopttechnology: businesses need tobuildtheir own technology to compete and grow, Nadella said. (In that specific context, he later added, We are empowering domain experts, enabling anyone in an organization to build applications, automate processes, create virtual agents, and analyze data.)

In closing, theres no better way to present the secret to Microsofts stunning success in the Cloud Warsthe secret that enabled it to generate more 2020 cloud revenue than both Amazon and Google combinedthan to share once again the simple statement from Microsoft CFO Amy Hood about seeing things through the eyes of the customer:

Thinking about it holistically is why its so important for us andwhy we keep coming back to the commercial cloud as our frame. Its how customers see the solution.Its how we sell, and it is how solutions are actually implemented for business process change.

Read the original here:

Microsoft Wallops Amazon in 2020 Cloud Revenue; Bigger than AWS and Google Cloud Combined - Cloud Wars

Google has refreshed its Android TV interface to look and feel more like the Google TV UI which debuted with on the latest Chromecast back in September.

New Android TV interface

For context, Google TV is the newer interface for smart TVs and the companys Chromecast streaming sticks. It's still based on Android TV though it has a distinctly different UI. Its available on Sony and TCLs latest TVs and is expected to come as the UI of choice for new TV models going forward.

Old Android TV interface

The new Android TV update replaces the old vertical scrollable apps list with more streamlined card-like tabs. The top part of the home screen comes with Home, Discover and Apps shortcuts. Google TV still has a slightly different look with its For Your tab being the default home screen and separate category lists for Live TV, Movies, Shows, Apps and your Library of content.

Google TV interface (for reference)

The new update is currently rolling out to compatible TVs in the US, Canada, Germany, France and Australia with more regions getting the update in the coming weeks.

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Android TV gets updated UI more in tune with Google TV - GSMArena.com news - GSMArena.com

One of this year's most searched Super Bowl commercials didn't even air during the big game.

As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ran away with a big win against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 55, some people watching at home were more focused on the moments between the plays during the commercial breaks.

According to Google Trends, these five Super Bowl ads were the most searched throughout the big game.

5. Budweiser commercial

One of the most searched commercials this year, doesn't even exist.

Even leading up to the big game, Budweiser was one of the top trending commercials. Instead of the famous Budweiser Clydesdales gracing television screens across the country, the company donated the money it would have spent on the ad to coronavirus vaccination awareness efforts.

4. Brady Gronk commercial

Well Buccaneers fans, you have spotty cell phone service to thank for bringing Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski to Tampa Bay. Well, at least that was the joke in T-Mobile's Super Bowl ad that didn't wind up airing during the Super Bowl.

The Brady-Gronk commercial is set one year ago with Brady in Boston calling a retired Gronkowski in Florida, asking whether it's time for him to hang up the cleats and call it a career.

The ad plays on a spotty cell phone network where Brady misunderstands Gronkowski and thinks he calls him "soft and weak" encouraging Brady to announce he is going to Florida and is bringing Gronkowski out of retirement.

While the ad aired throughout the weekend leading up to the big game, T-Mobile's Chief Marketing Officer said the ad was "banned" from airing during the Super Bowl.

3. Jeep Super Bowl commercial

Jeep enlisted "The Boss" to share a special inspirational message for its 2021 Super Bowl ad. The nearly 2-minute spot is titled "The Middle"and is narrated by Bruce Springsteen. It featured Springsteen driving a Jeep CJ-5 on a journey to the U.S. Center Chapel in Kansas, which reportedly sits in the geographical center of the United States.

The company said the ad was meant to remind everyone that "we are stronger than the obstacles in our way."

While most ads are revealed ahead of time to try to capture pre-game buzz, Jeep was one of the companies that decided to truly debut the ad on Super Bowl Sunday.

2. Reddit Super Bowl commercial

You might have missed it if you happened to look away from the TV for just a second, but Reddit aired a very short Super Bowl ad on Sunday night. It was so quick and unexpected that the only way you could've managed to read it all would've been from screenshots or pausing your broadcast.

The commercial was just 5-seconds long and included an explanation for why it was so short. The ad explained that all the company could afford was 5 seconds of commercial airtime, so they spent the "entire marketing budget" on that.

"If you're reading this, it means our bet paid off," text shown on screen during the commercial explained.

"One thing we learned from our communities last week is that underdogs can accomplish just about anything when they come together around a common idea," the text added, referencing how a community of investors on the Reddit forum WallStreetBets wound up sparking a huge rally around GameStop stock.

1. Cheetos commercial

"It wasn't me." That's the alibi for Mila Kunis to husband Ashton Kutcher when he accuses her of taking his Cheetos Crunch Pop Mix in the brand'sSuper Bowl ad, even though the evidence is all over her face. And fingers. And the wall.

The ad plays off the song "It Wasn't Me" by Shaggy, and the singer appears in the ad. When Kutcher first shows up to ask Kunis, "Did you steal my Cheetos again?" Kunis looks for her excuse and Shaggy says, "Just tell him 'It wasn't you.'"

Then the music begins. Kutcher catches Kunis in multiple situations with his Cheetos (and sings off key) at the kitchen counter, on the sofa, in the shower and on a doorbell camera. Each time, her excuse is, "It wasn't me."

Then Shaggy gets into his groove and sings the song as it's meant to be done: "To keep you own stash you gotta hide it betta."

At the end, Kutcher asks her one more time. And with Cheeto dust on her face, Kunis says, "It wasn't me." Kutcher responds, "Oh. OK."

Shaggy looks stunned and says, "Well that's the first time that's ever worked."

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Top 5 most searched Super Bowl 55 ads, according to Google - 13WMAZ.com

Google's Android 12 is coming this year - this fall, if the company sticks with its past release timing. Before that, we should see a few betas, the first of which, again going on what happened for past versions, should appear within a few weeks.

While we patiently wait for all that, today a bunch of screenshots that are said to depict some aspects of Android 12 have been leaked, and - brace yourselves, a redesign is coming. New features too. These screenshots allegedly come from a document that Google made to summarize the changes in the new version.

The looks here are certainly reminiscent of iOS to some degree, as are some of the new privacy features - like the icons that show up in the top right to let you know that an app is using your camera or microphone. If you tap those icons you'll get a pop-up telling you which app is using what. There's also going to be a quick way to disable the camera or mic with just the tap of a toggle. These camera and mic usage indicators are apparently going to be mandated by Google to be included by all OEMs once they release their respective updates to Android 12.

The Quick Settings icons either aren't finalized or they will change shape based on activity, which looks weird - does the Wi-Fi icon turn fully round when connected, alongside changing color? Maybe. There are just four Quick Settings icons this time around, which makes them bigger and easier to access, but buries the others while leaving plenty of white (or rather in this case, cream) space. The background colors are probably going to be dependent on theme, and we're not sure if this is the new light theme or not.

New widgets are also on the way, with a new Conversations widget that highlights recent messages, missed calls, and activity statuses. In its smallest size, this will only show one item at a time.

Other things expected to land in Android 12 are app pairs, the 'double tap on the back of your phone' gesture, sharing Wi-Fi passwords with nearby devices, an improved theming system, emoji updates decoupled from system updates, and an app hibernation feature.

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Here's our first look at the Android 12 redesign - GSMArena.com news - GSMArena.com

Tweets about politics during the US presidential election drove monetizable daily active use of the platform up 27% year over year during Q4, to 192 million. Revenue grew in lockstep with that use, rising 28% to $1.3 billion during the same time period.

Advertising grew not just because of increased use, however, but due to improved ad products and measurement, said Twitter CFO Ned Segal.

"Advertisers are benefitting from new ad formats, stronger attribution and improved targeting, Segal said. Advertising overall grew 31% to $1.2 billion.

Twitters performance ad plans

On the direct response side, Twitters app install and promotion products (Mobile Application Promotion or MAP) grew 50% year over year.

Twitter is forecasting a modest impact from iOS 14. Broadly, its investing in products, such as Twitter click ID, which enables attribution without cookies. It will also use Apples SKAdNetwork product for attribution on iOS 14 devices.

Coming off a more than nine month long project to rebuild its ad server, Twitter now believes it can roll out new products faster than it has before, and play offense on revenue products, Segal said. Twitter also wants to pick up revenue from small and medium-sized businesses, a mainstay of its rivals, including Facebook and Google.

Twitter wants to enable advertising all the way through to purchasing. Eventually, people will be able to buy products through Twitter, Segal said.

Twitters branding aspirations

On the branding side, the Capitol riots came at an inopportune time for Twitter, just as many brands were thinking about where they wanted to show up in 2021, Segal said. The events culminated in former President Trump being banned from the platform.

Twitters ability to let people gather virtually, however, played to its benefit during the Super Bowl when 40 advertisers showed up during the game to be part of the conversation happening on Twitter.

Still, Twitters platform does raise brand safety concerns for advertisers. Twitter noted there was a downtick in ad revenue in the days bracketing the Nov. 3 presidential election in the United States.

Platform growth

On the heels of banning former President Trump, CEO Jack Dorsey said that Twitter is making changes in 2021 to promote "healthier conversations for those who use our service, including advertisers and partners.

Twitters goal is to make sure its newbies find what theyre looking for and feel safe staying there, Segal said. The topics product is helping people find conversations that are relevant to them, and products such Birdwatch, which helps flag misinformation, are intended to reduce the amount of fake news distributed by the platform.

Following a year when the pandemic and a contentious election fueled use of its platform, Twitter expects growth in 2021 to slow.

Twitter said its doing a better job of retaining new users than it has in the past. For example, Twitter is creating more nuanced experiences, such as giving different information to baseball fans on the east coast vs. baseball fans on the west coast.

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Election Tweeting Boosts Twitter Revenue 28% In Q4 - AdExchanger