Mentor Org Applications for Google Summer of Code 2026 open through Feb 3

by Stephanie Taylor, Mary Radomile & Lucila Ortíz, Google Open Source

Attention open source enthusiasts! Mentoring organization applications for Google Summer of Code (GSoC) 2026 are officially open. This is your opportunity to guide students and developers early in their careers. The application window begins today, Monday, January 19th, and will remain open until February 3, 2026, at 18:00 UTC.

To find more information about the process of becoming a mentor organization, please review our official GSoC site. We also recommend consulting the Mentor Guide and the GSoC Organization Admin Tips, as both provide tips for preparing your community and strengthening your application.

GSoC welcomes a wide variety of open source projects working in AI/ML, security, cloud, development tools, science, medicine, data, media, and more! For 2026, we are looking for even more innovative projects working on Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning and Security.

Requirements for GSoC Mentoring Organizations:

  1. An established open source project with at least 18 months of history
  2. Software produced and released under an Open Source Initiative (OSI)-approved license
  3. A robust community with members who are enthusiastic and prepared to mentor GSoC participants
  4. An active project characterized by regular engagement, rather than infrequent contributions
  5. A comprehensive list of Project Ideas (refer to the mentor guide for best practices)
  6. A clear grasp of GSoC objectives and program rules
  7. A high-quality application that provides a detailed explanation of your project and its specific goals

2026 Mentoring Organizations will be announced on February 19, 18:00 UTC*.

For first-time organizations interested in participating, we strongly suggest getting a referral from experienced organizations that think that your project is a good fit.

Google Summer of Code: Organizations Apply

Please visit the GSoC site for even more information on how to apply and review the detailed timeline for important deadlines this year. We recommend reading our help page on our website for easy access to all the most important resources for all the applicants.

We look forward to seeing your organization applications and learning more about your communities!

*Interested GSoC Contributor? After mentoring organizations are announced you can (and should!) begin researching each organization and reviewing project ideas to find the community that fits your interests. GSoC contributor applications are open from March 16-31.

Automatic addition of owned secondary calendars to your calendar list

Following our recent announcement regarding the improvements on secondary calendar management with dedicated owners, all secondary calendars you own will consistently be displayed in your calendar list in Google Calendar. Your calendar list is visible in your Calendar settings page. This change ensures that owners always have direct access to manage the settings, sharing permissions, and lifecycle of the calendars they are responsible for. 

Additional details

Owners can always access and manage their calendars through the Settings page, with the flexibility to pin them to their main view by selecting “Show in calendar list.” If you no longer wish to manage a specific calendar, you have the option to either delete it permanently for all subscribers or transfer ownership to someone else—allowing you to unsubscribe while ensuring the calendar remains active for the rest of the team.

To ensure a reliable product experience, we recommend limiting ownership to a maximum of 100 calendars per user. For accounts currently exceeding this threshold, calendars will be added to their list gradually to ensure stability and a smooth transition. For such cases we highly encourage you to review the calendar list and either delete or transfer any calendars beyond the 100-calendar limit.

If you use Apple Calendar to manage your Google Calendar, owned calendars may not sync automatically. To ensure they appear in your list, you can manually select and enable synchronization for specific calendars on this page.

Getting started

  • Admins: No action is required. This update will apply by default to all users.
  • End users: Users will see any previously missing owned calendars appear in their Calendar settings list starting on the dates listed below. For more information on managing these calendars, visit the Help Center. If you use Google Calendar with Apple Calendar, manage your sync preferences at calendar.google.com/calendar/syncselect.

Rollout pace

  • Users with personal Google accounts: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on January 19, 2026
  • Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on January 27, 2026

Availability

  • Impacts all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google accounts

Long Term Support Channel Update for ChromeOS

A new LTS-138  version 138.0.7204.301 (Platform Version: 16295.86.0), is being rolled out for most ChromeOS devices. 

This version includes selected security fixes including:

463155954  High CVE-2026-0628 Insufficient policy enforcement in WebView tag.


And also:

CVE-2025-37797, CVE-2025-37890, CVE-2025-38177, CVE-2025-38000, 

CVE-2025-38001, CVE-2025-38083, CVE-2025-38350, CVE-2025-38477,

CVE-2025-38618, CVE-2025-38617, CVE-2025-38616

Release notes for LTS-138 can be found here 

Want to know more about Long-term Support? Click here

Andy Wu

Google ChromeOS


A Guide to Fine-Tuning FunctionGemma

FunctionGemma is a specialized AI model for function calling. This post explains why fine-tuning is key to resolving tool selection ambiguity (e.g., internal vs. Google search) and achieving ultra-specialization, transforming it into a strict, enterprise-compliant agent. A case study demonstrates the improved logic. It also introduces the "FunctionGemma Tuning Lab," a no-code demo on Hugging Face Spaces, which streamlines the entire fine-tuning process for developers.

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – January 16, 2026

A summary of announcements from the last week:

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog over the last week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.

Set Google Forms to automatically stop accepting responses based on date and time or response count

Last year, we introduced a feature that gives Google Forms creators more control over who can respond to their forms via sharing settings. We are now improving how you can choose to manage responses in Google Forms by enabling you to set a close date or response limit for new responses. | Learn more about setting Google Forms to automatically stop accepting responses based on date and time or response count.  

Ingredients to Video in Veo 3.1 now supports portrait-sized clips in Google Vids

Today we’re announcing improvements to Veo 3.1 that allow you to generate portrait-sized clips with faster pace and engaging shots, all while delivering realistic audio and maintaining consistency of objects, characters, and backgrounds. | Learn more about Ingredients to Video in Veo 3.1. It now supports portrait-sized clips in Google Vids.

Automatic room check-in for Google Meet available on mobile devices

Mobile Companion Mode now supports automatic room check-in. Using ultrasound detection, your device pairs with room hardware to join meetings instantly, streamlining the process. | Learn more about Automatic room check-in for Google Meet available on mobile devices.

SecOps data connector now available for Google Workspace for Education Plus and Standard

We’re expanding the availability of the Google Workspace SecOps data connector to customers using Google Workspace for Education Plus and Education Standard. This feature was previously only available for our Enterprise customers. | Learn more about the SecOps data connector, now available for Google Workspace for Education Plus and Standard.

Editing password-protected Microsoft Office files directly in Google Drive

We're excited to announce a major improvement to Microsoft Office interoperability in Google Workspace: you can now edit Microsoft Office files that are password-protected, directly within Docs, Sheets, and Slides. | Learn more about editing password-protected Microsoft Office files directly in Google Drive.

Chrome Dev for Desktop Update

The Dev channel has been updated to 146.0.7635.3 for Windows, Mac and Linux.

A partial list of changes is available in the Git log. Interested in switching release channels? Find out how. If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug. The community help forum is also a great place to reach out for help or learn about common issues.

Chrome Release Team
Google Chrome

Chrome Dev for Desktop Update

The Dev channel has been updated to 146.0.7635.3 for Windows, Mac and Linux.

A partial list of changes is available in the Git log. Interested in switching release channels? Find out how. If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug. The community help forum is also a great place to reach out for help or learn about common issues.

Chrome Release Team
Google Chrome