Wednesday 10 May 2023

2023 Google I/O 2023

2023 Google I/O 2023

Google I/O  2023 conference is almost there and it indicates that the highly anticipated Pixel Fold & Pixel Tablet will launch very soon. This conference, which is organized annually geared toward developers. It can hold a keynote that reveals the latest things. If you are willing to watch the keynote live without attending the event, this article is for you. Go through the entire article to know everything about the event, like when & where to stream it, and which things you can expect.

When is the main 2023 Google I/O keynote?

This annual event begins on May 10th, 2023, at 1 PM ET / 10 AM PT. Google CEO Sundar Pichai will introduce the event. In 2023, the event will take place in person live with a limited audience at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.

It seems like Google is encouraging people to tune into the event online. Previously, conferences of developers usually took up to three days. It appears as Google is willing to de-emphasize this event. Besides, the company is willing to remain there for Android and web developers through other channels. In 2020, the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the 2021 event was online. However, people can still access the opening keynote and multiple expected panels online, as previously.

How to watch 2023 Google I/O:

If you are willing to participate on Google's website, you should register for the event. However, it is essential to use a Google account. Whether you desire to watch the main keynote, it is expected that you can get this on YouTube without registering yourself.

What can we expect at 2023 Google I/O?

The company released the event's schedule on April 27, 2023. Generally, this planned event is more condensed as the developer conference takes place only one day this year. It is categorised into four sections: mobile, web, AI, and cloud. These inform us what the theme of this year's I/O will be.

Google I/O's official schedule reveals the expected large themes:

In this event, you will get a clear overview of all details which Google will introduce during I/O, along with the largest announcements. The company is expected to use its AI announcements because it wants to win a few excitements around its projects in the department.

People will learn more about what the company has planned for Android 14 and the next versions of ChromeOS. Google also plans a few extra specialized panels such as Google Pay and Google Wallet, Material Design, Google Home, and the web. As it is a developer conference, it is possible to look forward to deep dives into languages (Dart, Flutter, Firebase, and machine learning) & other programming topics. The company has also planned to reveal some hardware-related announcements— the budget Google Pixel 7a or the Google Pixel Fold. The company might have also planned to introduce a few Android 14 features as well as explain to developers how they can benefit from these.

Focus on AI at 2023 Google I/O:

After the launch of ChatGPT 4.0 and Bing's chat-based search, the company activated code red internally. Google also reacted with a Live from Paris event where Google Bard, a chat-based search engine, is displayed. In March 2023, the chatbot was launched as a limited beta in the U.S. and U.K. According to a recent leak, it can come to the Pixel phone as a widget.

Google Bard is the beginning of its grand plans for AI-powered search. As per a report, for the services, Samsung may ditch Google as the default search engine. Whereas Google is working on the next stage of the search engine that may integrate a chatbot.

Developers can get an opportunity to experience new tools. A new Colab option can become a part of Android Studio that is also known as Google's developer environment. It is beneficial for developers to resolve the code. With the help of this tool, you can write code depending on prompts from programmers.

Google Pixel 7a and the Google Pixel Fold:

People learned about the Google Pixel Tablet at the previous developer conference, and it has been almost a year, but still, Google didn't make this available to the public. The company is expected to change it in 2023 Google I/O. While the launch date is almost confirmed, the price can be guessed due to the leaks.

The company will launch Google Pixel 7a at this event after teasing a new phone launch for the day after May 11. According to the leaks, the Pixel 7a will be almost identical to the Pixel 7. It is because the model will have the same Tensor G2 chip, camera setup, and display refresh rate. The difference is that the side of the model may be smaller, and it can consist of less premium materials. Although the Pixel 7a will launch after its predecessor, the Google Pixel 6a was announced in May 2022. However, it is going on sale at the end of July.

On May 4, 2023, the company revealed the Pixel Fold in a launch page on its Google Store website and in a tweet where it promised to announce more details on this Google I/O. You might glimpse the Google Pixel 8 lineup, which is expected to arrive at year's end. The same was applicable to last year's Pixel 7 and 7 Pro.

About Android 14:

Android 14 is currently available for developers and those who are eager to use beta software. The previous builds look exactly like Android 13. Mishaal Rahman has found several other features. So, the company is expected to make them official in this event and release Android 14 Beta 2 soon after.

Conclusion:

Google I/O is almost there and we also learnt about a few things and what to expect before it happens. It will be better if you try to catch up on things that happened at the previous event.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. How To Register to Attend the Event?

It is free & open to all. Once you register yourself here, you can save content and chat in I/O Adventure, a virtual event of 2021.

Q. How Much Is Google I/O?

Since 2021, this online event has been free.

Q. Where Is Google I/O Held?

It is held at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, CA. Being the hometown of Google, the city is approx forty miles south of downtown San Francisco.

Monday 1 May 2023

Google Cloud Spanner

Google Cloud Spanner

Google Cloud Spanner is the first relational database service that is totally managed across the world. It can offer strong consistency and horizontal scalability for OLTP applications. This service lets you enjoy all the traditional advantages of a relational database. It is different from other relational database services because this one usually scales horizontally to a lot of servers for handling the pressure of substantial transactional workloads.

What is Google Cloud Spanner?

Google cloud spanner is actually a distributed relational database service. This service runs on Google Cloud and supports global online transaction processing deployments, SQL semantics, horizontal scaling & transactional consistency.

Interest in Google Cloud Spanner focuses on the cloud database's ability for providing availability as well as consistency. These are actually traits that are considered at odds with each other. Data designers create tradeoffs to emphasize both consistency and availability. We can describe the trade-off in the CAP Theorem. It remains underprinted as a casual move for availability and scalability in web and cloud systems. It also combines SQL & NoSQL traits to pursue system availability and data consistency.

Google Cloud Spanner's roots:

The first appearance of this service was as a key-value NoSQL store. But as time goes on, it has added a powerful typed schema and a SQL query processor. Google engineers have undertaken the work on the NoSQL processor core and SQL interface as part of the company's in-house F1 system to manage Google AdWords data. Google Cloud customers will be capable of accessing this in May 2017.

It is compatible with distributed SQL queries, and query re-starts in response to failures. This service uses TrueTime, a Google Cloud clock synchronization service using a mix of atomic clocks and GPS technology.

Other cloud databases:

It is an excellent alternative to cloud relational databases like Azure SQL, Amazon Aurora, IBM DB2 hosted, and Oracle Database Cloud Service. This one is also an excellent alternative to the commonly used open-source web and cloud application databases like MySQL and PostgreSQL.

As it can combine NoSQL and SQL traits, you can also classify this as a NewSQL database. It can support CrateDB, NuoDB, the in-memory database management system MemSQL, CockroachDB, etc. Due to the support of NoSQL and SQL approaches, this service is included in the multi-model database category. This one is an emerging type, including databases like Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB & MarkLogic.

Google Cloud Spanner pricing:

Its pricing depends on three infrastructure components:

  • Nodes 
  • Storage 
  • Networking

The pricing for nodes depends on hourly work and the number of nodes used within any given hour in a project. Besides, the pricing for storage is set on a per-month basis. It depends on the average data in the service's tables and secondary indexes during that month. Its pricing for network bandwidth is usually monthly based and depends on the amount used during that month.

Features:

It can store plenty of mutable structured data. Besides, it enables people to perform arbitrary queries with the help of SQL with relational data and maintain strong consistency as well as high availability for the data with synchronous replication.

Key features of Google Spanner:

  • Applying transactions across rows, columns, tables, and databases within a Spanner universe is possible. 
  • With the help of automatic multi-site replication and failover, you, as a client, can control the replication and data placement. 
  • Replication is consistent & synchronous. 
  • Reads are consistent, as well as data is versioned to permit for stale reads: clients will be able to read older versions of data. 
  • This database service can support a native SQL interface to read & write data.

History:

The service was described first in 2012 for internal Google data centers. In 2017, its SQL capability was included. Later, it was documented in a SIGMOD 2017 paper. That year it started to be available as part of the Google Cloud Platform in 2017 under "Cloud Spanner."

Google Spanner Architecture:

With the help of the Paxos algorithm as a work part, it partitions data across up to many servers. This service uses hardware-linked clock synchronization to make sure global consistency with the help of GPS clocks and atomic clocks. The brand name of the distributed cloud infrastructure of Google is TrueTime. DBMS of Google's F1 SQL is made on its top, which exchanges Google's custom MySQL variant.

Conclusion:

In this article, we have covered the details related to the Google Spanner database. Still if you have any doubt or queries, you can let us know via comments.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Is Google Spanner SQL or NoSQL?

It came first as a key-value NoSQL store.

Q. What is Google Spanner used for?

It is used to decouple computing from storage. Therefore, it becomes possible to scale processing resources separately from storage.

Q. Is Google Spanner free?

Its free trial is an addition to the $300 credits that the Google Cloud free trial provides.

Wednesday 26 April 2023

How to Pull Carbon Dioxide Out of Seawater

How to Pull Carbon Dioxide Out of Seawater

Since the industrial age began, the concentration of CO2 has been increasing continuously in the Earth's atmosphere year-by-year.

As a result, researchers have started investing in how to extract CO2 from the air. According to most experts, extracting carbon dioxide is essential if we want to get rid of halting climate change, global warming, extreme heat events, and stronger storms. Alongside this, removing greenhouse gases is also essential from the atmosphere. People extract approx 37 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.

But how to pull carbon dioxide out of seawater?

According to a UCLA research team, there is a process through which removing most carbon dioxide is possible from the atmosphere each year. With the help of this technology, carbon dioxide will be extracted from seawater directly rather than capturing atmosphere CO2, but why? The reason is that each unit volume of seawater holds about 150 times more CO2 than air. A team of researchers at MIT started their research on the ocean, which absorbs about 30-40% of the atmospheric gas created by human activity.

The MIT team published a report in the journal Energy and Environmental Science. According to the report, they have found a unique process through which it is now possible to extract CO2 from ocean water. Moreover, it is possible to fit the system into offshore drilling platforms or fish farms.

Net Negative Potential:

Water splitting is the current process that people use to extract carbon dioxide from ocean water. In this process, a voltage is applied via the process across a series of stacked bipolar membranes. When the procedure will be performed, it will convert bicarbonates into molecules of CO2 to break down the water. After that, these are extracted via a vacuum. You should know that to perform the procedure, expensive materials & chemicals are required. The MIT team could make a membrane-free process that can use reactive electrodes instead of costly bipolar membranes in a cyclic process.

How does the method work?

The water is acidified in the unique process, due to which the conversation of dissolved bicarbonates starts. After that, CO2 molecules are created with the help of reactive electrodes.

Then, a vacuum is used for the extraction of the molecules. It is because water is pumped to some cells with the voltage reverse. You can find the water converted into an alkaline state to release it safely into the ocean.

The acidification of oceans is reversed in the process. It was caused due to the CO2 buildup. In this case, it needs to be mentioned that for the bleaching of coral reefs, acidic oceans are responsible. It can even threaten marine species like shellfish. This process can help to alleviate the CO2 impact which is caused by human activities by rolling out the system at scale. As soon as carbon dioxide is extracted, it is required to dispose of or store the greenhouse gas without releasing it into the atmosphere.

In addition, as we know that the concentration level of carbon dioxide is more than 100% in oceans, and it is greater than that of the air, the technology can offer more effective results than current air-capture methods. Because the gas extraction is needed with the capture step that is completed as the ocean can absorb CO2 directly.

If it comes to talking about achieving any climate goal and avoiding the effects of the climate crisis, CO2 or Carbon dioxide is a big challenge. The team at MIT keeps this in mind and anticipates that they will prepare the system for trial within the next two years. Thus, it can aid the climate crisis issues.

When the direct air-capture systems are used, it is required to capture the gas first and concentrate on it before recovering it. As there is no capture step required, it indicates that volumes of material are much smaller, resulting in making the entire method easier and decreasing the footprint needed.

Conclusion:

The research process is still going on to get an alternative to the present step. Vacuum is used for the removal of the separated carbon dioxide from the water. It is essential to identify operating strategies so that the precipitation of minerals can be prevented. It is capable of fouling the electrodes in the alkalinization cell. As a result, the problem can decrease the entire efficiency of all approaches. According to Hatton, although significant progress is made on the problems, we should not report on them so early. Varanasi says that CO2 is human life's defining issue.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q What is the best way to remove CO2 from water?

If it comes to talking about an economical process of removing free carbon dioxide in water, it is called "Decarbonation" & "Degasification." It can remove this harmful gas to 99% or more than that.

Q. What process removes carbon dioxide from the ocean responses?

With the help of the ocean "solubility pump," it is possible to remove atmospheric CO2. The reason is that air can mix with as well as dissolve into the upper ocean.

Q. What eats CO2 in the ocean?

According to scientists, diatoms, a particular type of microscopic plant absorbs 10-20 billion tonnes of CO2 yearly. These plants float on the surface of the ocean. This absorbed amount equals the carbon captured by all rainforests worldwide.

Saturday 15 April 2023

Discover More Than 800 Free TV Channels with Google TV

Google TV

Google recently announced that it is going to introduce a new live TV experience to browse over eight hundred free television channels across several providers in the Live tab. With the help of Google TV, you can get all these free TV channels in a single place. Google is going to add these channels to the Google TV software on the Chromecast streaming device and can choose televisions from Sony, CL, Hisense, and Philips. April 11 is the launch date of Google TV's new live TV guide part.

To differentiate the streaming operating interface from the competitors such as Roku, Apple, Amazon, Google has taken this move which is its aggregation of various existing free TV services such as Tubi, Paramount Global's Pluto TV, and Haystack News. People who are unwilling to spend their money on any streaming service can use Google's platform.

Nowadays, there are multiple ways for streaming movies and television shows. Fortunately, the number of free TV options is increasing that can offer everything like famous shows, local news, hit movies, etc. However, as several options are available, it is tough to know what is available and how to find them. Google TV is very useful in this case.

Availability of free TV channels in one place than other smart TV platforms:

Google has started integrating access to all the free channels available from Plex, Tubi, and Haystack News. In addition, it has an existing line-up of the channels available on Pluto TV. This Google TV comes with free default channels. People are capable of watching Google TV without downloading or launching any application.

It is possible to browse more than eight hundred channels & premium programming like news channels from NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX. You are capable of tuning in to channels in over ten languages like Spanish, Hindi, and Japanese. Whether it comes to watching breaking news or blockbuster movies - it offers different choices for everyone. As there, doesn't exist any fee or subscription, you just need to jump in and start watching.

Find what you're looking for with ease:

All the new free channels are available in this new TV guide that organizes them so that you can enjoy a faster browsing. If you are willing to experience a true crime show, classic TV reruns, cooking shows you like, or anything else, you can get almost everything here. Additionally, saving your "Favorites" is possible to the guide top for quick access.

Have you subscribed to a premium live TV from YouTube TV or Sling TV? Can you access over-the-air channels? If it is the case, it is possible to use the Live tab for watching them also. People can get all live channels in a single place now. All users will get a wonderful experience of new live TV on Google TV devices like Chromecast with Google TV in the United States.

Conclusion:

Google plans to come up with a new TV guide & free channels in the year 2023. According to the Alphabet unit, free channels are integrated into the "Live" tab containing content from NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX channels. In the United States, the service is launching on all Google TV devices. If there is any eligible Android TV device, it can access the new TV guide and free channels later this year.

Saturday 1 April 2023

Magic Eraser Plus More Google Photos Features Coming to Google One

Google is making its Magic Eraser tool available originally for Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 6 users. There are many photo editing tools that Google will offer for all Google One subscribers. As a result, users of the Google One plan can use the tool on the Google Photos app. These new features will be available to the Pixel mobiles before being introduced to Apple or Samsung.

People can easily find their images and organize them along with editing & sharing with the help of Google Photos. Google has added some AI-powered editing tools. This feature represents a new HDR video effect. Using these tools is possible to store your memories.

How to use Magic Eraser:

You can use the tool in several ways. Once Google's AI detects any obvious object that can be deleted, these will be outlined as suggestions. Users can delete them with a single tap of a link. In addition, users can draw a circle around an area to erase. After that, artificial intelligence deletes the area and fills this with the surrounding background.

How to be benefitted from Magic Eraser:

Remove photobombers:

Finding distractions in the background is quite frustrating if you think it is a perfect shot. With the help of this feature, you can detect distractions in your images, such as photobombers or power lines. Therefore, removing these is possible with only a few clicks. It is possible to circle or brush other things to erase anything. You only need to use the tool to disappear them. Additionally, the feature has a Camouflage, which can change object colors in the image and help to blend the color naturally with the rest of the image.

Improve Video Quality with the HDR effect:

The HDR effect helps to balance dark foregrounds and bright backgrounds on images. Therefore, soaking is possible in each detail. It allows you to increase brightness & contrast across your videos.

Excellent Collage Editor Designs:

Google is offering some updates extra to the college editor to provide more options at the time of putting collages together in Google Photos. Styles can be added by Google Photos users to a picture in the collage editor. Besides, Google One members and Pixel users will soon enjoy many new Styles. Therefore, when you make your collages, you will get more designs to choose from.

Free Shipping On Print Orders: Google One members can enjoy free shipping on orders from the print store. But this offer is available only for people in the United States, Canada, the European Union, and the United Kingdom. Custom photo books, photo prints, and canvas prints can bring memories to life. People who are not Google One members can sign up for free with a trial in Google Photos.

Conclusion:

Although every feature is not worth paying for, the combined package has become very attractive to Google One subscribers in the app stores. Google One app was the sixth non-game app based on consumer spending. According to Google, these features have been rolled out but will not reach all users globally in the upcoming weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. Is Magic Eraser available on Google Photos?

You need a mobile to remove the unnecessary objects from the pictures using Magic Eraser without a fuss. This new feature is available in Google Photos on iOS and Android devices.

Q. Will Magic Eraser come to older pixels?

This feature starts rolling out quickly to the older Pixel mobiles and Google One. Other features of Google will soon be available broadly. Google brings image features and all of which were exclusive to recent Pixel mobiles to more devices.

Q. Is Magic Eraser coming to Google One?

Google is bringing Magic Eraser and other improved editing features. Pixel users and Google One members (on iOS & android) can enjoy the feature. The extra benefit that Google One members will get is free shipping on print orders.