Articles by Michael Allison

Google’s Pixel Buds, despite being critically acclaimed, have been met with reports of bugginess from buyers.

What you need to know

Google will start rolling out updates to fix issues with the Pixel Buds.
A few users have reported spotty Bluetooth connectivity and a static hissing noise.
The first update will come out this week to fix issues with static.

Google has offered a mea culpa to Pixel Buds buyers as it starts preparing updates aimed at addressing quality issues. On Reddit and the Google Product forums, users have expressed concerns with the buds, citing issues relating to its Bluetooth stability, the presence of hissing and static while playing audio, and out of sync audio.

A Google employee this week chimed in let users know that they were heard. Today, Google has promised concrete fixes, the first of which will be coming this week. Pixel Buds will get a firmware update to version 296, intended to decrease “the audio hissing / static noise.”
In the coming weeks, Googl…

Google Docs on Android is getting the @mentions popularised by Twitter.

What you need to know

Google is making it easier to work collaboratively on its mobile suite of apps.
It’s adding a clearer comment interface, as well as an @ mention support for comments.
The update is available to all users; G Suite or otherwise.

Google Docs has grown into a contender for Office’s place as the de facto online productivity suite, and the company’s improving its support for collaboration with update to its mobile apps.

Here’s what Google says is new:

Larger, clearer interface to make it easier to see comments and their context in a document.
Shortcuts and gestures to help you quickly scroll through and respond to multiple comments.
Quick access button to reply, “@” mention someone, and assign action items.

This update to the commenting interface will come to Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets for Android. As more and more users are working remotely, making it easier to deliver feedba…

There’s also a cheaper model as well from $219.

What you need to know

HP has launched two new Chromebooks today, targeting both the premium and low-end of the market.
The first Chromebook is a refresh of its x360 with Ice Lake processors, a fingerprint sensor, and WiFi 6 support.
It’s also debuted a cheaper Chromebook 11a from $219

HP has refreshed its convertible Chromebook x360 for 2020 with a new set of processors and internal upgrades.

The new x360 (more properly: the HP Chromebook x360 14c) retains the premium metal design of HP’s earlier efforts but slims down the bezels for a modern look. It matches designs from Samsung and Asus that debuted earlier this year. As is standard for premium Chromebooks, it has a Full HD touch-enabled display protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass. HP is also adding a fingerprint sensor under the backlit keyboard, taking advantage of Chrome OS’s newfound biometric support.

Inside, HP will give you the option of either an Intel Pentium Gold Pro…

Existing OnePlus users also have access to a month of free Google One.

What you need to know

OnePlus is offering buyers of its smartphones a free subscription to the Google One service ranging from one month to three months depending on device.
Buyers of the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro will get access to three months of free One service.
Older devices ranging from the OnePlus One to the OnePlus 7T Pro will be able to claim a free month of Google One.

OnePlus is giving buyers of the OnePlus 8 Series of smartphones a free three-month subscription to Google One. This means they’ll get access to 100GB of storage, help from Google experts, more powerful phone backups and the access to share all this with five family members.

OnePlus is also extending this offer to all other OnePlus devices, albeit for one month only. Both offers offer can be redeemed on any phone from the OnePlus One to the OnePlus 8 Pro simply by installing the Google One app and clicking the gift box icon. Depending on w…

You could always play Android games on Chromebook, but Google wants to make that something you would do.

What you need to know

Google has started showcasing premium games for Chromebooks.
In the Play Store, it has created a dedicated page for those games “that play well on Chromebooks.”
Doom and Doom II are examples of the kind of game Google wants to highlight, and they’re now freely available to new buyers.

Chromebooks aren’t the first thing that comes to mind when one mentions gaming machines, yet Google may be set to change that. The Play Store on Chromebooks will start highlighting premium games that are built to play well with premium Chromebooks like the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook, the Pixelbook Go, and the Asus C436, among others.

First spotted by the folks over at Chrome Unboxed, a section of the Play Store when opened on Chromebooks will showcase those games that take advantage of the full Chrome OS experience. At the same time, Google also set up the Play Store versi…

TCL will start selling Android TV sets alongside Roku-powered TVs in the U.S.

What you need to know

TCL has partnered with Google to bring Android-powered smart TVs to the U.S.
TCL already sells popular smart TVs running the Roku platform.
The company has drawn closer to Google in the past few months, launching its first own-branded Android-smartphones as well.

TCL today announced that it will be bringing TVs with Android TV to the United States. It’s a boon for the platform as TVCL has primarily sold TVs with Roku built-in. But TCL has expanded its partnership with Google in the past few months, launching the affordable TCL 10-Series of smartphones, expanding this to Tvs makes sense.

Google’s Shalini Govil-Pai, Senior Director of Product Management for Android TV, said in a press release on Friday:

We are excited to expand on our relationship with TCL to bring Android TV to TCL’s award-winning TVs in North America. Combined with TCL’s expertise in delivering best-selling …

Amazon’s warehouses are the perfect breeding ground for a coronavirus outbreak.

What you need to know

Amazon has been sued by employees over worker safety issues in its fulfillment warehouses.
At least one employee contracted COVID-19 from its warehouses, leading to a death.
The company also faced similar legal issues in France.

Amazon has been sued by employees over its warehouse conditions which allegedly foster the spread of the novel-coronavirus or COVID-19. The suit arose after an employee contracted the coronavirus and spread it in their household, leading to the death of a cousin.

Reuters reported:

One employee, Barbara Chandler, said she tested positive for COVID-19 in March and later saw several household members become sick, including a cousin who died on April 7.

The lawsuit said Amazon has made JFK8, which employs about 5,000, a “place of danger” by impeding efforts to stop the coronavirus spreading, boosting productivity at the expense of safety.

It s…

Facebook employees now wonder if they are the baddies.

What you need to know

Facebook employees have come out to publicly criticize Zuckerberg’s handling of a Donald Trump post last week.
Employees have also staged a virtual workout in protest and in solidarity with protestors across the U.S.
Zuckerberg has promised to donate an additional $10 million to nonprofits tackling racial justice.

Facebook employees are openly revolting against CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the company’s decision to leave a post by Donald Trump, censured on Twitter for being an incitement to violent, up on its platform.

For some, it went further than simply allowing the story to stay up on its platform, “Mark Zuckerberg Comes to Trump’s Defense,” The New Republic’s headline went as the CEO went on Fox News to denounce Twitter. It’s against this backdrop that Facebook employees finally spoke out in open revolt.

Mark is wrong, and I will endeavor in the loudest possible way to change his mind.— Ryan Freita…

Amazon’s search algorithm has been hijacked by bad actors.

What you need to know

Earbud product listings on Amazon’s online storefront have been hijacked and vandalized.
Product images have been replaced with images displaying strong racist language.
The results are believed to be the result of a security breach playing off of current political tensions.

Searching for AirPods right now on Amazon? Don’t. Product listings for search results related to Apple’s popular earbuds have been hijacked, with product images replaced by banners showing off strongly racist language.

While we have chosen not to embed images of the language used, the message can be seen in screenshots on social media (which we have been able to verify independently).

It’s not clear exactly how this happened, but all signs point to a security breach aimed at exacerbating current racial tensions in the United States.

At the time of writing, Amazon has yet to speak about the breach publicly. We have reached out…

Staying apart by two meters is a social good. It’s also hard to gauge.

What you need to know

Google has launched Sodar, an app that encourages effective social distancing.
Making use of augmented reality, it is intended to help users visualize a two-meter or six feet radius around themselves.
It’s available as a web-app on Chrome for Android.

Google has launched a new experimental web-app, Sodar. Built to work with Chrome on Android, it’s an AR app that’s intended to help you keep two meters (or six feet) apart.

For a quick recap, as part of state and public health measures to contain the spread of the novel-coronavirus, it has been recommended that individuals going out in public stay two meters apart from each other. This has been dubbed social distancing (the WHO prefers the term physical distancing). Sodar is intended to help you estimate just how far away two meters is by using AR on your environment.

Sodar – use WebXR to help visualise social distancing guidelines in you…