Google today announced several efforts to aid COVID-19 vaccine distribution in the US. CEO Sundar Pichai announced $150 million in ad grants, while various Google products will soon display local information.
Google Search and Maps will soon show COVID-19 vaccination locations near you. This information will be collated from government agencies, retail pharmacies, and other authoritative…
Google offering up its US offices as COVID-19 vaccination sites
January 25, 2021
CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday detailed a handful of initiatives to help boost vaccine distribution amid the ongoing pandemic. One physical effort involves offering Google offices as COVID-19 vaccination sites.
To help with vaccination efforts, starting in the United States…
Netflix on Android adds support for ‘studio-quality audio’ codec
January 25, 2021
Watching movies when using Netflix on Android is about to get better thanks to a new audio codec that supposedly brings “studio-quality” auditory experiences on mobile.
Netflix confirmed in a recent blog post that support has been added for the Extended HE-AAC with…
Google ramping up Privacy Sandbox testing, preps ‘FLoC’ to replace 3rd-party cookies used for ads
January 25, 2021
Back in 2019, Google announced an initiative to build a more private web through open standards. The most ambitious aspect of the Privacy Sandbox is phasing out support for third-party cookies, with the Google Chrome team providing a road map for 2021 today.
Calling the last year an “incubation” period, Google says “2021 will be a year of testing with continued opportunities for the web…
Here are the challenges involved in building the future US Navy
January 25, 2021
The Constitution directs Congress “to provide and maintain a Navy.” This direction is open to many interpretations, but Congress resolved the current policy with direction to build a 355-ship Navy with 12 carriers and defined other categories of ships. The president…
Google Assistant prepares to show fitness, health data w/ ‘proactive’ results on smart displays
January 25, 2021
In a quiet update to Google Assistant, a new “wellness” section has been added which prepares the ability for Assistant to show your health and fitness data on smart displays and more.
Rolling out now to users, the “Wellness” section of Google Assistant’s…
Tesla refers to ‘Semi-Truck production lines’ at Gigafactory Nevada in new job posting
January 25, 2021
Tesla has referred to “Semi-Truck production lines” at Gigafactory Nevada in a new job posting – hinting at actual production of the Tesla Semi electric truck at the factory.
Tesla Semi
When launching Tesla Semi in 2017, the automaker said that the production versions of Tesla Semi, which are class 8 trucks with 80,000-lb. capacities, will have 300-mile and 500-mile range options for…
Galaxy Tab S7 series gets Android 11 w/ better phone integration, ‘Second Screen’ on Windows [U]
January 25, 2021
Samsung’s One UI 3.0 rollout has expanded to quite a few different smartphones at this point, and now it’s heading to tablets. The Galaxy Tab S7 and S7+ are now getting Android 11.
In its home country of South Korea, Samsung has started rolling out the Android 11…
You probably don’t need someone to tell you that magnets and life-saving medical devices don’t mix, but Apple wants to make that patently clear. MacRumors has learned that Apple recently updated a support document to warn against keeping the iPhone 12 and MagSafe…
Don’t be surprised if Netflix sounds nicer the next time you marathon a show on your Android phone. Netflix has upgraded its Android app to stream audio in xHE-AAC (Extended HE-AAC with MPEG-D DRC; yes, it’s a mouthful), promising “studio-quality” sound that’s also more consistent — that is, you should enjoy it in more places.
The new format offers a variable bitrate that can improve…
