In a letter to Google employees last Friday, Google/Alphabet CEO Sudar Pichai relayed a sobering and difficult message to the entire Google team that 12,000 Google employees would be released from their jobs moving forward. The news comes on the heels of massive layoffs from Microsoft (10,000), … [Read more...] about Google follows the big tech trend of our time, laying off 12,000 to battle inflation
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How to use Google’s quirky illustrations for your contacts’ profile pictures
Have you ever noticed that your friends, family members and colleagues stored in Google Contacts have profile pictures that are directly controlled by why they upload to their account? Have you ever noticed how some people are just notoriously terrible at using a high-quality image or even updating … [Read more...] about How to use Google’s quirky illustrations for your contacts’ profile pictures
Google’s web-based account switcher just got a Material You redesign
Material You, for those who have not already become tired of hearing the term, is Google's new design language which has quickly taken over its apps and services. From its Android widgets to Google TV, ChromeOS, Collections, Nearby Share, Chrome, the Play Store, Gmail, Google News, and nearly every … [Read more...] about Google’s web-based account switcher just got a Material You redesign
Destiny 2 Stadia refugees can claim a free month of Nvidia GeForce NOW Priority membership
It looks like Bungie, the creator of Destiny 2 is reaching out via email to a bunch of its players whose accounts previously resided in Google Stadia's cloud servers prior to the service's shutdown to offer them some refuge. As you can see in this email seen below, Stadia is directly mentioned by … [Read more...] about Destiny 2 Stadia refugees can claim a free month of Nvidia GeForce NOW Priority membership
The Chrome Cast 211: Stadia’s death gives way to new life in cloud gaming
This week, we felt it was only fitting to not only discuss Stadia's final death, but also the cloud gaming revolution it looks to have started. While many of the main players in the cloud gaming space have been around for quite some time, Google's efforts with Stadia brought the idea of streaming … [Read more...] about The Chrome Cast 211: Stadia’s death gives way to new life in cloud gaming
Google Classroom users are being inundated with inappropriate and unstoppable spam
Over the past year, Google's services have been hit with some pretty coordinated spamming efforts by unknown third parties. Both Google Drive and Calendar have experienced overwhelming problems with unwanted file and event sharing occurrences, and due to the nature of how sharing works, it's nearly … [Read more...] about Google Classroom users are being inundated with inappropriate and unstoppable spam
Soon, you’ll be able to pause Digital Wellbeing’s Focus Mode schedule while on vacation
Digital Wellbeing is Android's toolset for helping users look after their own health and maintain balanced screen time and app usage limits. While we still don't have it on ChromeOS - something I'm pining for in 2023 - I was surprised to wake up and find that the app is getting a useful, new … [Read more...] about Soon, you’ll be able to pause Digital Wellbeing’s Focus Mode schedule while on vacation
The first ARM Chromebooks with the newer Android 11 ARCVM container are finally on the way
To say the transition to the newer Android container on Chromebooks (ARCVM) has been a long, painful journey would be a massive understatement. Started well over 2 years ago, ARCVM is a new way of delivering Android apps on Chromebooks versus the older ARC++ container. It handles display scaling … [Read more...] about The first ARM Chromebooks with the newer Android 11 ARCVM container are finally on the way
The Gaming Preferred toggle for Nest Wifi in the Google Home app disappears with Stadia
I still remember back in 2020 when Google added a "Gaming Preferred" option to the Home app for Nest Wifi users. I was so stoked that they were giving special Stadia-focused attention to non-Stadia apps in an effort to support its cloud gaming initiative. While just a quick flick toggle that … [Read more...] about The Gaming Preferred toggle for Nest Wifi in the Google Home app disappears with Stadia
Google Messages raises its limit for end-to-end encrypted group chats to 100 members
To date, you've been able to add up to 20 other people besides yourself (21 total) into a Google Messages group chat with end-to-end encryption. This feature has been a thing for over a year now, and while that's quite a high limit for most people, there are undoubtedly folks who would prefer that … [Read more...] about Google Messages raises its limit for end-to-end encrypted group chats to 100 members
Google’s Material You custom theme colors are on the way for Chromebooks
The advent of Google's Material You design language on Chromebooks has been a slow process. Our own Michael Perrigo mocked up what Material You on Chromebooks would likely look like over a year and a half ago, so the idea of it isn't new at all. Slowly over time, Google has added small bits and … [Read more...] about Google’s Material You custom theme colors are on the way for Chromebooks
How to send a free fax from your Chromebook
Have you ever thought "man, I'd sure love to send a fax today?" Okay, maybe not. However, there is a slim chance that you may encounter a situation similar to what I recently experienced and you may be left pondering the same query. Here's my situation. I had some important documents that needed to … [Read more...] about How to send a free fax from your Chromebook
