Show Notes

* Android News

* Google announces new Assistant features

* Google looking to add biometric authentication to its autofill service

* App News

* Firefox 72 blocks fingerprinting scripts and does not pop up a request to allow notifications.

* YouTube Music may finally support your Play Music locker.

* Android Auto hits 100 million downloads

* Github app in early access, does not allow you to view code.

* Google App to add labs feature.

* Home Automation

* August’s new lock is 45% smaller, doesn’t require a hub

* Spectrum discontinues security service, leaving subscribers with equipment they locked to their service.

* In Other News

* Bluetooth LE will support hearing aids, sharing, and better audio.

* Ring has fired 4 employees for inappropriate access to video

* Plex wants to improve its ad-supported library, remains committed to your own media library.

* Congressional lawmakers ask the FCC to do something about SIM Swapping

* SIM Swapping study proves it is still too easy.

* Only 1 in 5 Americans use a smartwatch or a fitness tracker

* The most checked out books in the history of the NYPL

* Chrome to match other browsers in blocking third party cookies and finding alternative solutions…over 2 years. Announcement.

* Gesture navigation moving from Android 10 to Chrome OS.

* Do you miss removable batteries?

Guru is live from Sofia Bulgaria.

Show Notes

* Android News

* Lenovo created a $190 Android Tablet that doubles as a Google Assistant Display

* App News

* Pulse SMS now open source

* Reddit is Fun is now RIF for Reddit

* Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo team up for cross-device transfer protocol

* In Other News

* Chrome OS has stalled out

* Ring to add Control Center, as well as Gate Access Controller, Smart LED lightbulbs, solar powered lighting. Control Center to highlight security settings, but unclear if there will be new settings or just highlighting the existing ones.

* Happy Hacker Keyboard updated.

* Tired of hearing about Wi-Fi 6. Now’s there’s 6E

Show Notes

* Android News

* Android 11 may remove Android’s 4GB limit on video recordings

* 5 Android stories for 2020 to get excited about

* It’s almost 2020 and Gmail still doesn’t have Inbox bundles, promised in 2018

* App News

* Flow Desktop is the first launcher built for Android 10’s hidden desktop mode

* The best free and open-source alternatives to Google Calendar

* In Other News

* Employee to blame for data leak at Wyze

* Odroid-Go Advance coming in January

* freedb is shutting down in March 2020

* New York City is the Rudest in the Nation

* Google to stop using the Double Irish Dutch Sandwich

Show Notes

* Next Wednesday is January 1st…this July will mark 10 years of this program.

* Decade in Review – Android Central

* Two new technologies change smart robot vacuums forever

* Smart Assistants, starting with the Echo.

* The HTC One

* The Moto X

* Google Cast

* Google Wifi/Mesh Networking

* Roku and easy access to streaming

* Google Cardboard and VR

* HDR+ and Smartphone Cameras

* Home Automation

* Amazon, Google, Apple, etc join together to create CHIP, Connected Home Over IP.

* Home Depot now sells an inexpensive Zigbee remote, bundled with a white tunable bulb.

* Z-Wave is turning into an open standard

* Amazon’s Ring blames users for security issues

* App News

* Facebook was the most downloaded app of the decade

* Prime Video app now has a ‘free to me’ toggle.

* Cerberus starts invalidating paid lifetime licenses after 8 years, despite prior promises they would never do this and no communications

* YouTube app can now act as a remote for smart TVs

* Action Launcher adds Android 10 gesture navigation…etc

* Google Drive passes 5 billion installs

* Android News

* “Hey G___, that wasn’t for you.” is a good command to know.

* Android Distribution Numbers…according to PornHub.

* In Android 10, you can share Wi-Fi networks using QR codes

* In Other News

* You Can Use the Echo to Play Board Games

* NextDNS

Show Notes

* Android News

* Resume on Reboot will make Android OTA updates more seamless

* Android 11 might get dark mode scheduling

* Restricting Android app sideloading on Android

* App News

* Tasker 5.9 brings logcat events, Media Button detection, customizable Assistant, etc.

* FairMail advertises itself as a fully featured, open source privacy oriented email app

* Vimeo app gets live streaming and recording support

* Typewise keyboard gives up QWERTY

* In Other News

* Sale of .org domain manager faces review at ICANN

Show Notes

* Home Automation

* Sonoff introduces a  USB smart switch. Guru orders some.

* Google Assistant can now control…once someone writes support…your blender, cooktop, dehydrator, fryer, grill, multicooker, petfeeder, pressure-cooker, sous-vide, stand mixer, yogurt maker, beds, drawers, closets.

* Ring Neighbors found to be hiding coordinates that can identify the location of posts.

* Android News

* State by state Android popularity map suggests where you live may affect phone choice

* Google Assistant now asks for your dietary preferences for when you ask for recipes

* Android’s commitment to Kotlin

* Google announces Android 10 for Android TV and the ADT-3 developer box.

* Google issues the How Google Play Works report.

* App News

* Amazon Photo is the best photo service you aren’t using

* Craigslist launches a basic Android app

* Google Maps may add lighting layer to show brightly lit streets.

* Android Auto now showing temperature for some

* Microsoft Math Solver  solves math problems.

* Google Photo adds material design account switcher that includes backup indication.

* Bluecoins Finance is a local budgeting app for Android that supports backup to Drive or Dropbox.

* In Other News

* FCC tries to bury fact that Verizon and T-Mobile exaggerated 4G coverage

* Google Calendar now supports moving events between calendars.

* Gmail will soon support attaching multiple emails to a message.

* Google Fi offering free Nest Mini to subscribers in good standing

* Guru is saddened by the loss this week of,

Show Notes

* Home Automation

* Wyze loses person detection and vows will find new AI provider to restore feature

* Wyze introduces retrofit lock(Zigbee based) and base unit and companion keypad.

* Home Assistant for Everyone

* Guru tries to solve another home automation problem

* Guru dumps Wink

* Android News

* “It Took a While, but I Learned to Love Android 10’s Gestures“

* Android 11 may have a smarter airplane mode that would not turn off bluetooth if it is connected

* Google adds conversations to Google Photos…what?

* App News

* Lawnchair Launcher v2 is rolling out. Lawnchair is a Pixel like launcher.

* VLC revamps UI.

* In Other News

* Twitter halts plans to remove inactive accounts until it can memorialize dead users

* It’s Way too Easy to get a .gov domain name

* Facebook users can now directly transfer their photos and videos to Google Photos.

* Google founders Brin and Page resign running Alphabet, new CEO will be Sundar Pichai, who will retain Google CEO title. Founders to stay on the board.

* Android News

* Why Are You Still Using Android?

* Google Cloud Print no longer supported after 2020.

* Google opens up beta for G-Suite users to get more Assistant features

* In Other News

* FCC Considering new 5.9Ghz band

* ChromeOS is 10 years old

* Save 15% on Titan Security Keys through December 6th

* Home Automation

* Home Assistant is the #10 open source project on GitHub and the only one in the top ten not sponsored by a major corporation.

* Home Assistant released an official Android app currently under development

Show Notes

* Android News

* Google links Maps and Translate to speak out place names in foreign countries

* The menu button has finally been retired in Android 10

* Upgrading messaging on Android in the US with RCS

* Google locks down thread complaining about G-Suite Assistant Reminders being disabled

* Google Play Store autoplay videos are coming, but can be disabled.

* Android X86 hits 9.0 release candidate

* Google outlines plan to use a mainline Linux kernel in Android

* App News

* Google Pay will lose your transit passes if you uninstall your app

* Wear OS gets a redesigned Play Store

* Brave, the privacy-focused browser, exits beta

* Files by Google can now play local files on a nearby Chromecast

* Github will release a new Android app in future, after discontinuing theirs in 2015.

* Apex Launcher continues demise, now pushes ads for its own browser when you open Chrome

* Amazon Music launches free ad sponsored tier on Android

* Google Pixel’s Call Screen may start automatically screening robocalls

* In Other News

* Google planning to offer checking accounts in partnership with a bank

* Why is American internet access so much more expensive than the rest of the world?

* The USPTO wants to know if artificial intelligence can own the content it creates

* Disney+ warns viewers about past racism but not as well as Warner Bros.

* Go Beyond the Headlines with Google News

* Shipments of Google Smart Speakers dropped by 40% as Echo grows

* Aukey r...

Show Notes

* Infographic: Google Releases App, Proceeds to Shut App Down

* Android News

* Bill Gates says Windows Mobile lost to Android because of Microsoft’s antitrust issues

* Opinion: Google is trying to build phones for 80% of users and its leading to mistakes

* Google rolls out ramping ringer feature for Pixel phones

* Google’s App Defense Alliance teams up to fight malware on Android

* Android Auto hints at bringing back weather info.

* Google is deprecating Android’s AsyncTask API in Android 11

* Developers: It is super easy to bypass Android’s hidden API restrictions

* One Biometric API over all Android

* Privacy Protections for physical activity on Android 10

* App News

* Google Camera rolling out to older Pixels

* Home Automation

* You Can Now Ask Google Assistant to fill up your bathtub, close your faucet, or control your de/humidifier

* Ring Doorbell update prevents neighbors from stealing your wifi

* In Other News

* Google is open-sourcing Cardboard and is no longer actively developing the cardboard SDK.

* Google starts showing dates on smart display slideshows.

* Nest Hub and Nest Max to get ultrasound presence sensing.

* T-Mobile promises $15 per month, 2GB plan if Sprint deal goes through.

* Why more than 168,000 Valentine’s Day text messages arrived in November

* Firefox browser is 15 years old.

* Google was apparently collecting millions of American’s healthcare data without general awareness

* US violated Constitution by