Author Archives: Johnny Luu

Unlocking the cloud with a new Google News Initiative Program

Originally posted on The Keyword blog 
The shift to digital has had a transformational effect on the news industry. To help news publishers manage that transition, earlier this year we announced the Google News Initiative, focused on elevating quality journalism, enabling new business models, and empowering news organizations to innovate through technology.
Publishers are also managing a similarly dramatic change in the way they build and run their organizations. Every aspect of publishing is being affected as publishers rethink how they collaborate, improve reader engagement and grow their bottom line via data and insights. Google Cloud presents an opportunity to manage this transition in a smart and meaningful way.
Many of the world’s leading publishers are using Google Cloud to improve the way they run their businesses and bring the news alive for their readers. Nielsen supports its nearly 45,000 employees in 100 countries with real-time collaboration, cost-effective video conferencing and more via G Suite. And the New York Times uses Google Cloud to encode and preserve their entire photo archive of millions of photos—putting a powerful resource in the hands of their reporters.
This shows what’s possible when publishers get access to cloud-native technology—and we want to open up these opportunities to publishers of all sizes.
Today we’re introducing the Google News Initiative Cloud Program, aimed at supporting local, small and medium-sized news organizations from around the world and helping them unlock their own imaginative solutions to business and storytelling.
Starting today, we will offer 200,000 free G Suite licenses for up to two years. News organizations with fewer than 500 employees can apply for up to 500 licenses.
G Suite is Google’s cloud-based intelligent productivity suite designed to help teams securely collaborate, iterate and innovate together in real time, using a suite of popular applications such as Gmail, Docs, Drive, Hangouts and Calendar. These products can help keep newsroom data secure and enable editors in the office and reporters in the field to collaborate and edit copy on a story in real time.
Additionally, applications will soon be open for Google Cloud Platform credits to go towards a variety of Google Cloud Platform products. We’ll provide more details about this program at Cloud Next London in October.
News organizations will be able to use the Cloud credits to modernize their business in a variety of areas, from app development to data analytics and machine learning.
These steps are the latest in the GNI’s effort to partner with publishers around the world to help journalism thrive in the digital age. Applications for G Suite licenses as part of the Google News Initiative Cloud Program are now live on our website.
Sibel Lowin, Global Partnerships Solutions Lead, News & Publishing

New Google Street View Fleet to Hit Aussie Streets

This week eight new Street View vehicles will hit the streets in Australia, starting with Sydney and Melbourne, to gather updated, higher quality 360-degree imagery.


It’s been eight years since we’ve updated our camera technology, and just as smartphone cameras have dramatically evolved since then, we now have access to improved 360-degree camera technology. These new cutting-edge cameras fitted to our Street View cars will allow us to capture higher quality, sharper imagery and in low light conditions across Australia.


Google Maps’ Street View - a global collection of 360 degree imagery - is used millions of times every day by people looking to explore the world, to preview places before they go, or virtually experience places they might never have the chance to visit in person.

0087_Google_20180906.jpgKeep your eyes peeled and you may see one of the new cars in your neighbourhood in the coming months. To see where they’ve been and where they’re headed next, check out this link. Imagery from their journeys will be made available via Street View from later in 2018.


Posted by Veril Sjarif, Street View Operations Lead, Google Australia and New Zealand 

Using maps to preserve Indigenous cultures

Maps are incredibly powerful tools in the hands of Indigenous communities. They can be used for mapping and monitoring lands, territories and resources; for cultural preservation and for transferring cultural knowledge between generations.
Chief Almir and the Surui tribe of the Amazon were among the first Indigenous changemakers to use Google Earth - back in 2007 he wrote to Google with a proposal to use our mapping tools to share his tribe’s story and help combat illegal logging. Google visited Chief Almir’s home in Brazil and held a mapping workshop for his community. Now the public can virtually visit the Surui territory with a map that the Surui people built in Google Earth, see the clearcut logging in their Amazon rainforest and how it impacts their culture and livelihood.
Google is planning its first ever Indigenous Mapping Workshop in Australia on November 7-8, 2018, in partnership with the University of Technology Sydney, Tarruru Pty Ltd, Digital Navigators Ltd. and the Firelight Group. We’re hoping to welcome around 100 mapping practitioners from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to Google Sydney. This workshop aims to build the capacity of these communities to use Google mapping tools to map and monitor their lands and tell their stories of connection with the land and water.
The Ngarluma Ngurra Cultural Map: A Google Earth experience designed to provide an insight into Ngarluma culture and relationship to country.
At an Indigenous Mapping Workshop, participants have the opportunity to share their own work with others and attend hands-on trainings about highly practical and free-of-cost mapping technologies such as Google Earth. Google Earth can be used to take traditional knowledge-holders on a virtual visit to country and visualize an Indigenous way of knowing and seeing the land. The maps created using Google tools can be kept private to the creator and their community, or shared more widely.
Elders using satellite imagery to facilitate discussion at a community meeting in Sanikiluaq, NU, Canada.
This technical training will be co-led by Google Earth Outreach and Indigenous mapping practitioners with years of practical experience in the field. The event is modeled after the Indigenous Mapping Workshop in Canada and Indigenous Mapping Wananga in New Zealand.
Anyone who is interested to attend can learn more and submit an application at g.co/earth/imw-australia.
Posted by Raleigh Seamster, Senior Program Manager, Google Earth Outreach

Meet your bilingual Google Assistant, and get help with Routines


Your Google Assistant now understands and speaks more than one language at a time – and is becoming more useful with custom and scheduled routines. 


With the Google Assistant, it’s easy to get stuff done through a simple conversation – whether you’re looking for a delicious pumpkin soup recipe, setting a reminder to take the laundry off the line, or playing your favorite tunes. And starting today, the Assistant will become more helpful with two new capabilities: we’re adding multilingual support, so that the Assistant will be able to understand and speak more than one language at a time. Additionally, you can now set custom and scheduled routines on smartphones and speakers, making it easier to get things done quickly with your Assistant.


Talk to the Google Assistant in multiple languages

Family members in bilingual homes often switch back and forth between languages, and now the Assistant can keep up. With our advancement in speech recognition, you can now speak two languages interchangeably with the Assistant on smart speakers and phones and the Assistant will respond in kind. This is a first-of-its-kind feature only available on the Assistant and is part of our multi-year effort to make your conversations with the Assistant more natural. 

If you speak German at home,  you can ask, “Hey Google, wie ist das Wetter heute?” And if you’re at a house party with friends, you can switch to English and say “Hey Google, play my BBQ playlist.” Currently, the Assistant can understand any pair of languages within English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese. We’ll be expanding to more languages in the coming months. 



Get help with your routines


Your Assistant will now be able to help you manage your daily routines and get multiple things done with a single command. We’ve put together six Routines that help with your morning, commutes to and from work, and evening at home. For example, say “Hey Google, I’m home” and the Assistant on your Google Home or phone can turn on the lights, share any home reminders, play your favorite music and more, all with just four words. 


We’re also rolling out Custom Routines in Australia, which allow you to create your own Routine with any of the Google Assistant’s one million Actions, and start your routine with a phrase that feels best for you. For example, you can create a Custom Routine for family dinner, and kick it off by saying "Hey Google, dinner's ready" and the Assistant can turn on your favorite music, turn off the TV, and broadcast “dinner time!” to everyone in the house. And on Google Home devices, you can now schedule Custom Routines for a specific day or time through the settings of your Google Assistant. So if you’re keen to get back into a regular exercise routine, you can set up your workout routine to automatically kick off several times per week.

We hope that these new features will make it even easier for you to get things done – even in multiple languages.


Posted by Manuel Bronstein, VP of Product, Google Assistant

Google One is coming Down Under!



More and more, we rely on the internet for ways to safely store the things that matter—making life simpler and less cluttered. Over the years, we’ve provided people with easy, secure ways to create, store and share files online, including 15 GB of free space with every Google Account. Thanks to mobile phones, and new file formats like 4K video and high-res photography, people are storing more than ever before.


Recently, we introduced Google One, a plan that gives you expanded storage and helps you get more out of Google. Aussies will soon be able to enjoy more options to fit their storage needs – whether you’re working, connecting with friends or preserving your memories. 



More storage for what matters


Google One gives you more storage across Drive, Gmail, and Photos. With plenty of space, your most important memories and files are stored safely in original quality in the cloud and available on all your devices. We've improved the price of some of our plans and added new plan options, ranging from 100GB to 30TB, you can choose the plan that’s right for you.


More help when you need it


As a Google One member, you can easily get in touch with a team of Google experts to answer your questions—whether you need help recovering a file you accidentally deleted or want to learn how to use Gmail when you're offline.


More benefits for members


With Google One, you’ll also get extra benefits across Google. We’ve started with credits on Google Play and deals on hotels found in Google Search. In the coming months, keep an eye out for Google Store benefits and more.


More for your family


You can also share your plan with up to five additional family members. That means simplified storage under one bill, and access to the benefits of Google One. 


Coming soon to paid Google Drive plans


If you have a paid Drive storage plan, you’ll be upgraded to Google One automatically over the next few weeks. Look out for an email confirming your upgrade to Google One, where you can manage your storage plan and benefits. The way you use Drive to store and share files doesn’t change.


For everyone else, we’re working to bring Google One to you over the next few weeks. If you’d like to be notified when Google One is available, sign up for an update.

Posted by Pavni Diwanji, VP, Google One

Canberra businesses connect with new skills

Canberra was the place to be today ? with more than 120 business people coming together this morning to learn new skills and find out more about getting found online at the Google Digital Garage, hosted with the Canberra Business Chamber.

Gai Brodtmann MP, Federal Member for Canberra spoke at the event about the importance of small businesses getting online and making the most of the digital tools available to them.

As the Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence and Cybersecurity, she also provided some tips for businesses on the importance of strong passwords and online security.



The training covered practical steps for businesses to be found on Google Maps and Search and connect with new customers.

We also heard from local business owner Little Sprout, a local toy, puzzles, games and children’s book shop. Business owner Brooke said since creating a Google My Business listing they had seen an increase in phone calls received on specific products, and an increase in foot traffic to the store, with most customers reporting they found the business online.



Google believes that everyone should have the opportunity to learn the skills necessary to succeed online, that’s why we launched The Digital Garage to help close the gap in digital skills and help small businesses make the most of the web.



The Digital Garage is traveling around Australia in the months to come - find events near you and to head along The Digital Garage!

Posted by Richard Flanagan, Head of Business Marketing, Google Australia

Announcing the 10 startups that will take the stage at Demo Day Asia

After our open call for startups to apply and pitch to top global investors at Demo Day Asia—taking place this September in Shanghai—we received hundreds of submissions. They came from founders from every corner of Asia-Pacific, across industries as diverse as agriculture, entertainment, and healthcare.
FreightExchange from Australia connects Australian shippers and carriers with their online platform.
While difficult to narrow down this impressive field, after painstaking deliberation, the results are finally in. Out of 305 qualifying applications, the 10 finalists that will take the final stage at Demo Day Asia are... (drum-roll!):

  • DycodeX from Indonesia develops Internet of Things solutions for livestock farming
  • FreightExchange from Australia is an online platform for freight carriers to sell their unused space to shippers.
  • GITAI from Japan specializes in building robots that can help humans conduct scientific experiments in space.
  • Marham from Pakistan is a healthcare platform that helps people search, book appointments, and consult with doctors online.
  • Miotech from China is a fintech startup developing artificial intelligence-based software for financial services firms.
  • OneStockHome from Thailand offers an e-commerce platform for construction materials.
  • Origami Labs from Hong Kong makes smart rings that allow people to hear and send text messages without taking out their phones.
  • SigTuple from India creates AI-based solutions to automate healthcare screening.
  • SkyMagic from Singapore produces drone swarming technology for live entertainment and traffic management systems.
  • Swingvy from Korea provides human resources solutions for businesses.

We’re proud that several of these companies belong to organisations that are a part of the Google for Entrepreneurs partner network, a community of over 35 member spaces globally and programs supporting startups. They include startups from Kibar in Indonesia, Fishburners in Australia, Hubba in Thailand, and Found in Singapore.
SkyMagic from Singapore works on drone technology for live entertainment and traffic management systems.
Congratulations to these outstanding startups and their founders! They will pitch to a distinguished panel of leaders from Google for Entrepreneurs, Sequoia Capital China, and Venturra Capital on September 20th in Shanghai. The startups that impress could come home with funding from investors and up to $100,000 in Google Cloud Platform credits. Most importantly, we hope these incredible startups blaze a path forward for other founders and continue to improve the lives of others with their innovative products. Good luck in Shanghai!
Posted by Michael Kim, Partnerships Manager, Google for Entrepreneurs https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gTj5YIeEvYs/W3bNmHDmLwI/AAAAAAAAByk/ZGk6CxscLOMq5cOVvd20sH8Mn0M9aFc7gCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-08-17%2Bat%2B11.27.38%2BPM.pngMichael KimPartnerships ManagerGoogle for Entrepreneurs

National Homelessness Week 2018: Using Ask Izzy to help understand and address homelessness in Australia

Guest blog from David Spriggs, CEO of Infoxchange for Homelessness Week 2018 

It’s a devastating reality that thousands of Australians don’t have anywhere to sleep tonight. The latest census recorded a 14 per cent increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness over the past five years.

For people experiencing homelessness, finding the services and support they need is a daily struggle. In 2016, we launched Ask Izzy – the mobile site developed at Infoxchange in partnership with Google.org, realestate.com.au and News Corp Australia that connects people in need with services such as housing, food, support and counselling and more.





In the last 12 months there have been more than 680,000 searches for help on Ask Izzy, and more than 1 million since the site was launched by Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull in 2016.

Most of these searches are for food and housing. The average daily demand for food-related services on Ask Izzy has tripled over the past year, reflecting cost of living pressures on Australians as they struggle to feed themselves and their family.

Ask Izzy’s top 10 categories nationwide

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Using data for positive social change 
These searches on Ask Izzy provide an unprecedented view of the demand for services across Australia. We want to use this data to help inform service delivery and decision making - that’s why we’ve developed the new Ask Izzy Open Data Platform, with support from Google, to make this information available to policymakers and service providers.

Using data from Ask Izzy, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the platform will be able to show us exactly where and what the demand is for services such as housing, food, health and more across Australia.

The Ask Izzy Open Data Platform is currently in the beta testing phase and will be available more widely later this month. 


If service providers and policymakers can see exactly what help people need, and where they need it, they can better plan and make decisions around how homelessness and support services are delivered.

We hope this will help people who are struggling throughout Australia to get better support to meet their needs.

The Ask Izzy Open Data Platform will be available later this month – if you’re interested in finding out more or seeing a preview, please get in touch.

What can you do to help?

We know that almost 80 percent of people who are homeless own a smartphone but often they don’t have anywhere to charge it. Find out how you can help solve this problem and learn more about Ask Izzy here.

Posted by David Spriggs, CEO of Infoxchange

Android 9 Pie: Powered by AI for a smarter, simpler experience that adapts to you

Cross-posted from the global Keyword blog

The latest release of Android is here! And it comes with a heaping helping of artificial intelligence baked in to make your phone smarter, simpler and more tailored to you. Today we’re officially introducing Android 9 Pie.

We’ve built Android 9 to learn from you—and work better for you—the more you use it. From predicting your next task so you can jump right into the action you want to take, to prioritizing battery power for the apps you use most, to helping you disconnect from your phone at the end of the day, Android 9 adapts to your life and the ways you like to use your phone.


Tailored to you Now easy as pie


Android 9 aims to make your phone even smarter by learning from you and adapting to your usage patterns. That’s why Android 9 comes with features like Adaptive Battery, which learns the apps you use most and prioritizes battery for them, and Adaptive Brightness, which learns how you like to set the brightness in different settings, and does it for you.


          




Android 9 also helps you get things done faster with App Actions, which predicts what you’ll want to do next based on your context and displays that action right on your phone. Say it’s Tuesday morning and you’re preparing for your commute: you’ll be suggested actions like navigating to work on Google Maps or resuming an audiobook with Google Play Books. And when you put in headphones after work, you may see options to call your mum or start your favorite Spotify playlist.
Later this fall, we’ll also roll out Slices (pie...slices...get it?!) which shows relevant information from your favorite apps when you need it. If you start typing “Lyft” into Google Search, you’ll see a “slice” of the Lyft app, showing prices for your ride home and the ETA for a driver so you can take action more quickly and easily.




Now easy as pie


Making your phone smarter and more adaptive is important, but we also want Android to be easier to use and more approachable. In Android 9, we’ve introduced a new system navigation featuring a single home button. This is especially helpful as phones grow taller and it’s more difficult to get things done on your phone with one hand. With a single, clean home button, you can swipe up to see a newly designed Overview, the spot where at a glance you have full-screen previews of your recently used apps. Swipe up from anywhere to see full-screen previews of recently used apps and simply tap to jump back into one of them. If you find yourself constantly switching between apps on your Pixel, we’ve got good news for you: Smart Text Selection (which recognizes the meaning of the text you’re selecting and suggests relevant actions) now works on the Overview of your recent apps, making it easier to perform the action you want. You can enable this new system navigation in Settings once you’ve received your update to Android 9 (learn more in the help center).
            
Changing how you navigate your phone is a big deal, but small changes can make a big difference too. Android P also brings a redesigned Quick Settings, a better way to take and edit screenshots (say goodbye to the vulcan grip that was required before), simplified volume controls, an easier way to manage notifications and more. You’ll notice small changes like these across the platform, to help make the things you do all the time easier than ever.


Find the balance that’s right for your life


While much of the time we spend on our phones is useful, many of us wish we could disconnect more easily and free up time for other things. In fact, over 70 percent of people we talked to in our research said they want more help with this. So we’ve been working to add key capabilities right into Android to help people achieve the balance with technology they’re looking for.

At Google I/O in May, we previewed some of these digital wellbeing features for Android, including a new Dashboard that helps you understand how you’re spending time on your device; an App Timer that lets you set time limits on apps and grays out the icon on your home screen when the time is up; the new Do Not Disturb, which silences all the visual interruptions that pop up on your screen; and Wind Down, which switches on Night Light and Do Not Disturb and fades the screen to grayscale before bedtime.


 

Digital Wellbeing will officially launch on Pixel phones this fall, with Android One and other devices coming later this year. But these features are available in beta now for Pixel phones running Android 9. To try them out:
  1. Make sure you’re running Android 9 Pie on your device. (Learn how to check which version of Android you have.)
  2. Sign up for the beta with the email address you use with Google Play.
  3. Accept your invitation to become a beta tester by clicking the link in your welcome email.
Once you’ve accepted your invitation, Digital Wellbeing will appear in your phone’s Settings app. It may take up to 24 hours for Digital Wellbeing to appear on your device.



Security and privacy baked in


Improving security is always important in each of our platform releases. In addition to continuously hardening the platform, and an improved security model for biometrics, Android 9 enables industry-leading hardware security capabilities to allow protecting sensitive data like credit card information using a secure, dedicated chip. Android 9 also brings important privacy improvements, such as TLS by default and DNS over TLS to help protect all web communications and keep them private.



Coming to a device near you


Starting today, an over-the-air update to Android 9 will begin rolling out to Pixel phones. And devices that participated in the Beta program from Sony Mobile, Xiaomi, HMD Global, Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus and Essential, as well as all qualifying Android One devices, will receive this update by the end of this fall. We’re also working with a number of other partners to launch or upgrade devices to Android 9 this year.
Learn more about Android 9 Pie at android.com/9.

Posted by Sameer Samat, VP of Product Management, Android and Google Play

Google Home Max is here, Australia


Music fans, time to turn up the volume! Our biggest and best sounding Google Home, the Google Home Max, will be available in Australia on August 9.


Built for premium sound

Thanks to premium hardware, including two 4.5-inch high-excursion woofers, Max delivers deep, powerful bass. And it’s loud…really loud, so you can fill even the largest room in your home with your favourite music. In fact, Max is 20 times more powerful than Google Home!


Redefine how you listen to music with Smart Sound

Powered by Google AI, Smart Sound means Max can automatically adapt itself to you and your environment. Once you’ve set up Max (connecting to your compatible device and Wifi), it will automatically tune itself based on where you’ve placed it in the room. Without lifting a finger, your music will sound just as it was intended when it left the production studio. And all of this is done dynamically, so if you decide to move Max to the other side of the room, it will adapt within seconds. There’s no extra setup or testing required.


Your personal DJ, 24/7

With the Google Assistant built in, Google Home Max is always ready to start your favourite song, pause or turn it up, all with just your voice. Can’t quite remember the name of that favourite summer jam? Your Assistant can find it with just a few small details.

Google Home Max works with YouTube Music, Spotify, TuneIn and Deezer – and Chromecast is built in, meaning you can cast from your phone with many more services. For all of your other music and devices, Max has support for both Bluetooth® and aux-in, so plug in your record player and dust off your vinyl.


Control your smart home

Make Max the centre of your smart home. Google Home Max works with more than 5,000 devices worldwide, and 100+ home automation devices from more than 50 brands here in Australia—including Nest, Belkin TP-Link and Philips Hue and more. Plus, with Multiple Actions available on Google Home Max you can get more done at the same time. If you have a compatible smart plug and bulbs, try saying, “Hey Google, dim the lights, play a summer time playlist.”
Google Home Max is available starting August 9 for RRP $549 from JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, David Jones, The Good Guys, Officeworks and The Google Store. Turn the volume up, Australia!

Posted by Chris Chan, Product Manager, Google Home