Recent updates and news about Google

Alphabet or “Google” for friends constantly updates and adds new features to its entire range of services, and in this post I will share some of them that I have found quite interesting, to know how to take advantage of them and not be so lost in the technological world.

google search engine on MacBook pro

I will start by talking about the Google search engine since although it does not seem like it, practically every month it has an update, which usually turns all of us who have a website on its head, but its objective is to improve the experience that we have users when it comes to doing a search.

Google presented a couple of weeks ago its new algorithm called MUM, and which one is capable of offering a better context of our searches and understanding what we really need and offering us precisely that quickly, easily and clearly.

In this way, MUM leaves behind the previous algorithm called BERT, which was implemented in 2019.

As has been revealed, this algorithm is 1000 times larger than its predecessor, being much more complex and processes visual data and text in 75 different languages.

Thus, from now on we will see some changes in our searches, receiving a better response from Google, as well as relevant information at hand, without having to enter a website, the latter we have already begun to see and what We have assimilated almost without noticing it many times when searching for something in Google, the search engine itself gives us the answer or suggestion of what we need, how do I say, without having to enter a website and that is precisely what always turns anyone who has a website.

But that is a topic that I could give for a single Post.

Two-factor authentication is mandatory for Google users
security logo

If I had to summarize it quickly I would tell you that two-factor authentication is a method to add one more step to be able to log into some service.

That said, nowadays it is one of the best ways that users have to protect their accounts, our information and our life on the Internet, the problem is that this method can become a bit cumbersome for common users, who by true, it is precisely what it uses to achieve its objective, adding one more step to be able to enter an account in service.

By way of illustration, when you log in to a page or application, it sends you an SMS or WhatsApp code to really verify that you are the one who wants to log in, and regardless of whether your password is compromised, you can still deny access to An intruder.

This security option is already being implemented in many services today, but its use has been a mere suggestion, something that we can activate if we want to have extra protection, but that has changed.

Since Google has begun to implement this security method on a mandatory basis to access its services, of which the vast majority need to be linked to the Gmail account.

The more than 150 million accounts have automatically started to have two-factor authentication by default.

Google continues to be accused of abusing its dominant position.
brown wooden gavel on brown wooden table

There is not a month in which we do not see in the headlines an accusation towards some product of Google, and almost all have to do with an apparent abuse of its dominant position in the market. And this time it is no exception, as an open letter from various search engines continues to claim that Google updates have taken few steps to create fair competition among other services.

And you will say, context please!, and several other services, since it comes pre-installed as Apps on the device, among those Apps we have the browser (Chrome) that already has the integrated Google search engine almost by default (another of their services), without giving the user a chance. the use of an alternative to trying another search service, such as Bing, DuckDuckGo, among others. That is, they take advantage of their position to the condition that only their services are used.

Imagine, you already bought the Android phone, the application to browse the internet called Chrome is pre-installed, both Google products, when you open Chrome the Google search engine already comes by default, and when you want to create an email and write “services email ”Google offers you Gmail (another Google service) as the first result or when you want to search for kitten videos, it recommends YouTube (another Google service), and so on with almost everything.

At first glance, there does not seem to be any problem, indeed, it is what we would probably all do when having a company, trying to conquer … no-no, trying to position our other products.

But now imagine being on the other side, that one day you start offering a book exchange service, Google likes your idea, pulls out a similar service, and now when a user buys an Android smartphone, they come in addition to their pre-installed Apps. installed one more book exchange, (owned by them) and when they enter Chrome and Google “places to exchange books” their book exchange service comes out as the first result. The situation changes a lot, don’t you think? You would be destined to disappear, even without putting on the table if your service is better or worse if it offers things that the other does not, without even having the opportunity for users to see your product and evaluate it.

I know that the situation is much more complex than what I am putting in these paragraphs, but it is a simple way to explain it.

In the midst of all this show between companies, Google has had to make several changes in its Chrome browser, especially in its version for smartphones, giving the user the freedom to choose another search engine that is not the same company, however, Despite these changes, some search services remain dissatisfied, claiming that Google is not doing enough to give users true freedom of choice and that even worse, it complicates its tools so that a user can switch from one search engine to another.

In addition, in an open letter published recently to complain about this matter, these other search engines have indicated that these choice options are only shown in Android users, but this feature is not included in users of other platforms. Likewise, once the search preferences have been changed, other tools within the system continue to use the default preferences. That is, Android should take my choice of preferred search engine and apply it to the entire system and not to a part.

This could be changing, at least in Europe, as several important regulations on this matter are being prepared.

In the meantime, we will see a never-ending tale against large companies that take advantage of their position in the market.

Google is so popular that it is searched even within its competition
black google smartphone on box

In the midst of all the controversy and lawsuits in which it has been involved, Google has affirmed that more than abusing its position in the market to promote its other tools, these become the favourites of the public due to their benefits, and are so popular that they are even among the most searched terms in other search engines, such as Bing, for example.

On a personal level, I share that thought a bit, and it is that I am one of the users who find the results that Bing and other search engines yield unsatisfactory, and by default, I go to Google to find an answer with more certainty.

But I could not doubt that the fame of their product has been achieved by almost forcing us to use all their services and collect our data and make us feel that they are the only ones.

But returning to the topic of “search certainty” that personally I do not feel that Bing meets my needs, it does not make Bing and other search engines bad, in fact I know first-hand people who have used Bing all their lives and have not had no complaints with the results they receive.

But they also live in the same situation that several search engines complain about Google, acquiring a computer or laptop with Windows, Microsoft’s Edge browser is pre-installed and the Bing search engine that is also from Microsoft. And how are casual users or bother to question what they are offering were to find out if there are better tools. Except that in this scenario, Bing is not the search engine that dominates the market.

And returning to the main issue of this block, and basically, on the grounds of its popularity, Google is seeking to get rid of the fine of 4.34 billion euros that the EU imposed in 2018 for abuse of a dominant position

In a report presented, Google has revealed that what is most searched for in its rival Bing is precisely the word ‘Google’. Added to the fact that in several surveys 95% of users prefer Google to rival search engines.

So it only remains to ask the questions: What search engine do you prefer? and because?

Brave says goodbye to the Google search engine

And speaking of services that promote its other products, the Brave browser has joined the club, and it is that in “pro” security it has decided to abandon the Google search engine to start including its own search engine called Brave Search by default.

Or in the words of its CEO, it has already exceeded 80 million searches per month and has reached sufficient critical mass to include it in your browser.

This search engine has bet on privacy and transparency in tracking issues as a differentiator between the competition. promising independent indexing and according to Brave, it will not monitor users, their searches or their clicks.

For now, if you choose this browser, you should know that you will not find advertising when performing a search, however, the free version will end up adding it and you are already working on a premium version with various features.

For now, it only remains to follow this project and see how it progresses and how they fulfil what they are promising.

Fuchsia OS prepares to make the leap to more devices

Among the Google products that are still in development we can find a new operating system called Fuchsia OS, which has been rumoured, sooner or later will become the replacement for Android, reaching not only Smartphone but multiple devices.

And it is that several jobs offer that Google has published suggest this that I am commenting on. Apparently, the purpose of these job offers will serve to launch a plan to bring Fuchsia OS to smart devices and other formats, yes, without specifically talking about the smartphone.

By the way, if you have wondered why Google would think of getting rid of the well-known and popular Android for a new operating system? The answer is simple, since its inception Android has depended on the Linux kernel, and this represents several restrictions and conditions when using it, however, a new operating system created entirely by them would give them all control over it.

Although Google seems in no rush to bring it to market, talk has already begun of a division tasked with developing Fuchsia products.

Well, we’ll probably get to see something in the next few years.

Google implements improvements in the Autocorrector

There is a clear before and after self-correction, and from its inception to date, it has made life easier for us in many ways, and it has become so essential and every day that we use it unconsciously every day.

Now Google has planned to add several improvements to its autocorrect tool (Gboard), and it is that thanks to the new neural engine of its tensor chip, In short, this tool will have a neural network that will compare what we write with millions of texts written throughout the web, and perform an analysis to determine if what we write is correct.