by Tech Talk | Feb 23, 2023 | Articles
The HUAWEI digital ecosystem has witnessed advanced development, which is reflective of the tech brand’s commitment to customer satisfaction and innovation. This can be seen on AppGallery with a selection of apps that have not only increased immensely over the years, but there is now a simpler and more straightforward way to install Google apps and services. What’s more, this new solution is way easier and more convenient than all the other workarounds that existed before.
Here’s how to install Google apps on a HUAWEI smartphone
To download apps from the AppGallery, search for the app and install it, exactly like how you would with other app services. If you are wondering whether you can install all Google apps this way, the answer is yes, almost all apps can be installed in the same manner. Most of the popular Google apps, such as Google Maps, YouTube, and Google Drive, are available on the AppGallery. Once installed, the apps will show up on the home screen without any fuss and work just like any other app. Plus, users can sign in with their Google account, to use the app.
By signing into these apps, users can access all their saved locations and various other relevant information. This means, whenever you feel like revisiting your favourite restaurant on the weekend, you can navigate there using your HUAWEI smartphone, effortlessly.
The AppGallery is compatible, even on other Android devices
If you used Microsoft Teams on HUAWEI smartphones, you might already know that the experience wasn’t great. Apps like Uber that use in-app maps did not work well either. Thankfully, all these problems are now solved. Users can find and install these apps from AppGallery, and they will work as well as on any other Android device.
The easy access and seamless use of apps is made possible by a third-party app called GBox, which can be downloaded from the AppGallery. This method works on all relatively recent HUAWEI devices, like the HUAWEI Mate50 Pro, the HUAWEI nova 10S, and even models that are as old as the Mate30 Series. In addition, you can use this app on other Android devices.
Explore the AppGallery today
Enjoy AppGallery’s simplified user experience – by heading over to the app, exploring the platforms on offer and making a selection of the apps you require. Users can select from 18 categories, which include business and finance, travel, lifestyle, education, games, entertainment, news and more. Each category features premium content curated to inspire various interests, and you can explore seamlessly across all smart devices, including tablets and laptops.
Editor@tech-talk.co.za
by Tech Talk | Feb 14, 2023 | Articles
Alphabet lost US$100-billion in market value on Wednesday after its new chatbot shared inaccurate information in a promotional video and a company event failed to dazzle, feeding worries that the Google parent is losing ground to rival Microsoft.
Alphabet shares slid as much as 9% during regular trading with volumes nearly three times the 50-day moving average. They pared losses after hours and were roughly flat. The stock had lost 40% of its value last year but rallied 15% since the beginning of this year, excluding Wednesday’s losses.
Reuters was first to point out an error in Google’s advertisement for chatbot Bard, which debuted on Monday, about which satellite first took pictures of a planet outside the Earth’s solar system.
Google has been on its heels after OpenAI, a start-up Microsoft is backing with around $10-billion, introduced software in November that has wowed consumers and become a fixation in Silicon Valley circles for its surprisingly accurate and well-written answers to simple prompts.
Google’s live-streamed presentation on Wednesday afternoon did not include details about how and when it would integrate Bard into its core search function. A day earlier, Microsoft held an event touting that it had already released to the public a version of its Bing search with ChatGPT functions integrated.
Bard’s error was discovered just before the presentation by Google, based in Mountain View, California.
“While Google has been a leader in AI innovation over the last several years, they seemed to have fallen asleep on implementing this technology into their search product,” said Gil Luria, senior software analyst at DA Davidson. “Google has been scrambling over the last few weeks to catch up on Search and that caused the announcement yesterday (Tuesday) to be rushed and the embarrassing mess up of posting a wrong answer during their demo.”
Microsoft shares rose around 3% on Wednesday, and were flat in post-market trading.
Alphabet posted a short gif video of Bard in action via Twitter, promising it would help simplify complex topics, but it instead delivered an inaccurate answer.
In the advertisement, Bard is given the prompt: “What new discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) can I tell my 9-year old about?” Bard responds with a number of answers, including one suggesting the JWST was used to take the very first pictures of a planet outside the Earth’s solar system, or exoplanets. The first pictures of exoplanets were, however, taken by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in 2004, as confirmed by Nasa.
“This highlights the importance of a rigorous testing process, something that we’re kicking off this week with our Trusted Tester programme,” a Google spokesman said. “We’ll combine external feedback with our own internal testing to make sure Bard’s responses meet a high bar for quality, safety and groundedness in real-world information.”
Alphabet is coming off a disappointing fourth quarter as advertisers cut spending.
The search and advertising giant is moving quickly to keep pace with OpenAI and rivals, reportedly bringing in founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page to accelerate its efforts.
“People are starting to question, is Microsoft going to be a formidable competitor now against Google’s really bread-and-butter business?” said King Lip, chief strategist at Baker Avenue Wealth Management, which owns Alphabet and Microsoft shares.
Lip cautioned, though, that concerns about Alphabet may be overblown, saying: “I think still Bing is a far, far cry away from Google’s search capabilities.”
The new ChatGPT software has injected excitement into technology firms after tens of thousands of job cuts in recent weeks and executive pledges to pare back on so-called moonshot projects. AI has become a fixation for tech executives who have mentioned it as much as six times more often on recent earnings calls than in prior quarters.
The appeal of AI-driven search is that it could spit out results in plain language, rather than in a list of links, which could make browsing faster and more efficient. It remains unclear what impact that might have on targeted advertising, the backbone of search engines like Google.
Editor@tech-talk.co.za
by Tech Talk | Jan 25, 2023 | Articles
The US justice department is poised to sue Google as soon as Tuesday regarding the search giant’s dominance over the digital advertising market, according to people familiar with the matter.
The case is expected to be filed in federal court before the end of the week, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing a confidential matter.
The justice department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Google declined to comment.
The lawsuit will mark the justice department’s second monopoly case against the company, which is the top player in the US$278.6-billion US digital-ad market, controlling most of the technology used to buy, sell and serve online advertising.
The lawsuit would also be the fifth major case in the US challenging the company’s business practices. State attorneys-general have filed three separate suits against Google, alleging it dominates the markets for online search, advertising technology and apps on the Android mobile platform in violation of antitrust laws.
The Mountain View, California-based company is number one in the $626.86-billion global digital ad market, according to 2023 estimates by research firm EMarketer, with the US representing the biggest piece. Alphabet’s ad operations are expected to bring in $73.8-billion in US digital ad revenue in 2023. Google runs an ad-buying service for marketers and an ad-selling one for publishers, as well as a trading exchange where both sides complete transactions in lightning-fast auctions.
Google has argued that the market for online advertising is a crowded and competitive one. In court filings and congressional testimony, the company has noted its rivals include other major players in the ad-tech market such as Amazon.com, Meta Platforms and Microsoft.
The department’s scrutiny of Google’s control of the ad-tech market goes back to the Trump administration. The DoJ under then-attorney-general William Barr sued Google over its search business instead, alleging the company used exclusive distribution deals with wireless carriers and phone makers to lock out competition. That case is due to go to trial in September. — Bloomberg
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by Tech Talk | Jan 24, 2023 | Articles
Google parent Alphabet is eliminating about 12 000 jobs, or 6% of its workforce, the company said on Friday.
Google parent Alphabet is eliminating about 12 000 jobs, or 6% of its workforce, the company said on Friday, in the latest cuts to shake the technology sector.
Sundar Pichai, Alphabet’s CEO, said in a staff memo that the company had rapidly expanded headcount in recent years “for a different economic reality than the one we face today”. “I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here.”
The cuts come days after rival Microsoft said it would lay off 10 000 workers.
Alphabet’s job losses affect teams across the company including recruiting and some corporate functions, as well as some engineering and products teams. The layoffs are global and impact US staff immediately.
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by Tech Talk | Oct 6, 2022 | Articles
Google has confirmed that it will launch its first Cloud region in Africa, choosing South Africa as its base of operations.
This is according to Google’s Cloud Leader for Africa, Niral Patel, who spoke at the tech giant’s second Google4Africa conference.
“Today, we are deepening our commitment to investing in Africa’s digital transformation,” Patel said.
“I am excited to announce our intent to open a Google Cloud region in South Africa. Our first on the continent.”
Citing AlphaBeta Economics research, Patel said it is estimated the South African Cloud region would contribute $2.1 billion (R37 billion) to South Africa’s GDP and support the creation of more than 40,000 jobs by 2030.
Regarding benefits for businesses in the region, Patel said the move would allow for the localisation of applications and services.
This, in turn, will make it easier and faster for South African and African businesses to use Google’s Compute, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and data analytics tools.
Patel also announced that Google would build dedicated cloud interconnect sites in four African locations: Cape Town, Johannesburg, Lagos, and Nairobi.
“In doing so, we are building full-scale cloud capability for Africa,” Patel stated.
During a media briefing, Patel said he could not reveal whether Google would build its own data centres or partner with local operators, or precisely where its facilities would be located.
In June 2022, Africa Data Centres revealed that Google had chosen the data centre provider as the first location for a Google Cloud Interconnect in Africa.
“Hyperscaler cloud providers have been eyeing the region for some time, with Amazon opening its first African cloud data centre in South Africa in April 2020,” said Africa Data Centres CEO Tesh Durvasula.
During the Google4Africa keynote address, Google managing director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Nitin Gajria, noted that the company’s Equiano undersea cable has landed in Togo, Nigeria, Namibia, and South Africa.
He added that Google plans to commence operations on the cable before the end of 2022.
Equiano is the largest undersea cable ever built to serve the African continent. It runs along the West coast, offering twelve fibre pairs that can each carry 12Tbps of traffic for a total of 144Tbps design capacity.
Openserve, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, and WIOCC have all confirmed that they have bought a fibre pair each on the new cable.
Editor@tech-talk.co.za
