Google turbocharges its genAI engine with Gemini 1.5
Only a week after releasing its latest generative artificial intelligence (genAI) model, Google on Thursday unveiled that model’s successor, Gemini 1.5. The company boasts that the new version bests the earlier version on almost every front. Gemini 1.5 is a multimodal AI model now ready for early testing. Unlike OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT, Google said, users can feed into […]
How to use Google’s genAI-powered note-taking app
Among the experimental tools that Google offers is NotebookLM, a bare-bones notes app that you use in your web browser. What makes it interesting is that it uses Google’s generative AI chatbot (variously known as Bard or Duet AI and now rebranded as Gemini) to analyze sources of text that you “feed” it, and then […]
Unlock your Android phone’s physical gesture magic
When we talk about Android gestures, we’re typically talking about the on-screen variety — y’know, the assorted swipes, swirls, and swivels that help you fly around your phone faster than a flamingo on ice skates. Here’s a little-known secret, though: You can also control your Android device and make it do all sorts of useful […]
The real problem with Google’s new Gemini Android assistant
I’ll be honest: I was really hoping for an “aha!” moment over these past few days. Ever since Google made it clear that it was working to bring its next-gen generative AI chatbot into Android as a replacement for Google Assistant, I’ve been skeptical. And ever since I installed the new standalone Gemini Android app […]
Meetings are about to get weird
Apple Vision Pro just shipped. Reviewers say the technology inside is magnificent and unprecedented, but the experience of using it still flawed. But by the end of the year, some 400,000 units could well be operating in the wild. Apple’s new headset this year will be dismissed by many as too expensive, hot, heavy and […]
Give yourself a magnificent new Android multitasking shortcut
Has there ever been a feature as packed with potential and simultaneously easy to forget as Android’s screen-splitting system? On the surface, splitting your screen to see two apps together at the same time seems like a stunningly splendid feat. Two apps at once? Easy drag and drop between ’em? No awkward flipping back and […]
Google throws down the gauntlet with Gemini — its multimodal genAI engine
Google on Thursday announced it has reconstructed and renamed its Bard chatbot — now called Gemini — to offer enterprises and consumers the industry’s first multimodal generative AI (genAI) platform that no longer relies only on text to provide human-like responses. The release of Gemini represents a direct challenge to Microsoft’s Copilot, which is based on OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and every other […]
Android’s Circle to Search is déjà vu all over again
Over the past several days, I’ve been exploring what might just be one of the most meaningful Android advancements in recent memory. It’s a shiny new feature that’s poised to change the very way we interact with our devices. It’s also one of those things you really have to experience to fully grasp — because […]
What a future without browser cookies looks like
Most online users have experienced it. You do an online search for healthcare purposes, travel information, or something to buy and soon you’re being bombarded with emails and targeted online ads for everything related to your search. That’s because browser cookies were tracking you as you performed your searches; they identified you and your activity. […]
Generative AI boosts cloud revenue for Microsoft, Google
Microsoft and Google, who saw cloud revenue slow in recent quarters, are reporting a resurgence of growth due to the proliferation of generative AI (genAI). Both companies on Tuesday reported revenue numbers for the final quarter of 2023. “Google Cloud has left behind years of quarterly losses and now accounts for 10% of Alphabet’s revenue, […]