The Silver Ink

Friday, March 5, 2021
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Google works rigorously to improve battery technology for future projects

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Search engine giant Google Inc. is rigorously working in the research and development of better batteries, which the company intends to use for powering up its devices as it mulls expanding its roots into deeper consumer electronics sector.

A small team, comprising only four members, led by Ramesh Bhardwaj, a former battery expert at rival Apple Inc., commenced a research work late in 2012 for testing the batteries that were developed by other firms. These batteries were meant for being used for Google-manufactured devices.

About a year later, the team of researchers began looking at various battery technologies that Google could develop itself, according to the sources.

The search engine company has booked its remarkable presence in different industries over recent years. Ranging from healthcare and transportation sectors to communications and robotics, Google has proved its niche in almost every sector and continues to make rigorous efforts to weed out the minor obstacles coming its way.

With the expansion, Google has also grown its dependence on efficient batteries.

Larry Page, chief executive official of Google, had also talked about the problem of battery life of the mobile devices has a bigger concern for the company.

Several reports, citing Bhardwaj, have said that Google currently owns at least 20 projects that are based on batteries. One of the most ambitious Google projects include the self-driving car, which will run on electrically charged batteries. Another one is Google Glass, which have suffered badly due to a poor battery life.

It is not just Google that is hunting for new technologies to bring significant improvements on its current battery technologies. Some of these bigwigs are Apple, IBM and Tesla. These companies are also working on dedicated research for the same purpose.

FTC regrets release of confidential documents on Google probe

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Three members of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Wednesday expressed regret over the unintentional release of part of an agency’s investigative report related to search giant Google Inc.

The search and advertising company is currently facing antitrust probe from the European authorities.

The released document, which was at the center of The Wall Street Journal report, suggested that the key FTC staff members were  supporting the plan to sue Google for its alleged role in breaking the anti-trust law. The federal agency had settled with Google in early 2013.

The FTC commissioners– Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, Maureen Ohlhausen and Julie Brill– defended the final outcome in a joint statement.

“Contrary to recent press reports, the commission’s decision on the search allegations was in accord with the recommendations of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, Bureau of Economics, and Office of General Counsel,” the commissioners said in a joint statement.

The agency said that it was disappointed with the release of confidential documents, which should not have been included in a response to a request filed under the Freedom of Information Act.

“We are taking additional steps to ensure that such a disclosure does not occur in the future,” the commissioners said in the statement.

The release of the document came at a time when the European anti-trust regulators finalized their next steps in carrying a four-year investigation of Google.

Google turned down the request to comment on the commissioners’ statement.

Google appoints Morgan Stanley’s Ruth Porat as Chief Financial Officer

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Search engine giant Google Inc. has appointed Morgan Stanley Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat at the same position, according to the companies.

57-year-old Porat will be replacing Patrick Pichette, who has announced his retirement plans on March 10.

Porat will be joining Google on May 26, according to a company’s blog post.

Jonathan Pruzan, co-head of global financial institutions group in investment banking at Morgan Stanley, will assume the post of Chief Financial Officer after Porat’s exit from the company on April 30.

In other development, the names of Morgan Stanley’s wealth management head Greg Fleming (52) and trading head Colm Kelleher (57) are making rounds as potential successors to bank’s chief executive official, James Gorman (56), who has been holding the post for nearly five years. He is, however, unlikely to announce is exit anytime soon.

Porat had joined Morgan Stanley in the year 1987. She is a veteran in the technology industry. She led the technology franchise of the bank during the boom in the internet industry. She also worked as the lead banker for financing of several big companies, such as Amazon.com Inc and eBay Inc.

Morgan Stanley shares tumbled 0.7 percent, while shares of Google increased 1.8 percent in early trading.

 

 

Google rolls out smart lock ‘on-body detection mode’ for Android devices

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Search engine giant Google Inc. is rolling out a new feature, initially for some Android users, which will allow locking of phones when not in use by its owner.

“If your device detects that it’s no longer being held, your device won’t stay unlocked,” according to a Google note.

As per the screenshots, the locking feature is known as “the new on-body detection mode”.

The screenshot further reads the mode “uses your device’s accelerometer to detect whether your device is still being carried on the body.”

The one thing that may confuse technocrats is exactly who gets to play with the new settings by Google. Currently, the company is rolling out the new locking feature slowly for its various Android users, but there’s still no official word from the company as to just what actually is needed for accessing this new feature: Android version, any certain smartphone, Google Play Services version.

The new feature is going to help almost every Android user as everybody wants to make their phone inaccessible for the third party when they are busy in other stuffs and not using their phones.

The automatic “smart lock” feature will use the accelerometer of the mobile device for determining when the user set the gadget down and is not in use. This will offer protection to the users’ data if the device is stolen.

The smart lock keeps the phone device unlocked while it’s with the user, such as if the user is holding the device in his/her hand or carrying it in the pocket. But as soon as the user set the device down, it will get automatically locked.

The feature intends to secure the data by making it inaccessible to thieves targeting a lost, or temporarily set aside or dropped device.

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