#_googl

[yahoofinancestaff-blog]

Move over, Amazon Echo — here comes Google Home

Google announced its new home assistant to compete with the Amazon Echo and it offers so much more.

Home has all the same features that it launched with Google Assistant back in May but now includes smart home controls.

You can play music, get answers from Google, manage tasks and control other devices all with your voice.

Google wants you to think of Home as the “hub” for the connected home.

So get ready to come home and turn on your lights and music with your voice.

[yahoofinancestaff-blog]

Google launches Duo video calling app

Google Duo is the tech giant’s newest video calling app.

It’s specifically designed to remove all the hassles from making video calls.

All you need is a smartphone and your phone number.

Google created the app so that it will maintain connectivity even on slow or crowded networks.

The app’s Knock Knock feature allows you to see a live video of the person calling you before you answer.

Of course, you’ll only see videos of people in your contact list and can turn it off whenever you want.

Google promises end-to-end encryption on every call.

Simple, glitch-free and secure video calling?  We’ll give it a shot.

[yahoofinancestaff-blog]

New Operating System for Google?

Word out in the blogosphere is that Google is working on a new operating system but there is very little information on the details.

According to a code-sharing site, GitHub, the new OS is being called Fuchsia, but all that was revealed was a vague post: “Pink + Purple = = Fuchsia.”

Fuchsia is different from Android and Chrome OS because it doesn’t run on the Linux kernel.

No one outside Google knows exactly what Fuchsia is for, but theories have already started to circulate.  Some say the new OS could run on everything from cars, traffic lights, and digital watches to smartphones, tablets, and PCs.

So far, there has been no official announcement from Google — just a lot of fun industry speculation.

Sources: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-building-new-operating-system-fuchsia-not-based-on-android-linux-kernel-2016-8

https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/15/googles-mysterious-new-fuchsia-operating-system-could-run-on-almost-anything/

[pogueman]

Pogue’s Basics: Let Google translate large numbers for you

You already know that Google can convert numbers and currency and stats for you, don’t you? Right? It does, right in the search box on the home page.

For example:

Inches in 37 centimeters

Hectares in an acre

72f in centigrade

But there is so much more math wisdom in that search box and one great thing it will do is convert really large numbers into words for you.

So let’s say you are having an argument with your spouse about federal spending, and you say, “no honey we actually spend per person, (pause) (gasp) (silence) uh…”

Meanwhile, go to Google, and place in the number, let’s say, 3878078775234 in words into the search box and there you go.

Then you’ll see, that number will turn into words so you can read it.

“Three trillion eight hundred seventy-eight billion seventy-eight million seven hundred seventy-five thousand two hundred thirty-four dollars a year. Ha!”

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