Google to provide internet facilities to developing countries

The ‘Wall Street’ journal had announced last week from the Sahara region to the South Asia region ‘Google’ is planning to privies internet facilities for those in the developing countries. This would help about a billion people in this regard......


It was stated in the journal that in this regard they are discussing with the related authorities in South Africa and Kenya. To go ahead with this exercise a large sum of money would needed for the infrastructure facilities There are going to be geographical obstacles, with the towers that are to be erected.  And they  also have to abide by the rules of the different countries.
In this connection they are planning to have channels which would not disrupt the activities that are already in existence.

Google Play rolls out new design and simpler check-out

As expected, Google has issued a redesign to the Google Play store, and it’s starting to roll out now to Android smartphones and tablets running Android 2.2 Froyo and higher. Googlesays that the redesign is much more simple and clean this time around, and the new design also helps users find the things they want in a faster manner.

The new design is more heavily image based than before, which means that content will feature bigger images that “jump off the page,” not only making it appealing to look at, but to also make it easier to spot the content you’re looking for. Themed items are also grouped together, such as magazines, books, apps, games, etc.

Recommended content is definitely not absent from the redesign. Google has made sure that you’ll always see recommended content on the home page. As you scroll down, new recommendations will continue to appear, since “there is always more to see and explore.” However, for someone like me who can’t be bothered with such content, it may only come as a distraction.
However, Google says they simplified the check-out process, making apps, games, books, movies, etc. much quicker and easier to purchase. Google says they want users to start enjoying their purchase as soon as possible, but we can’t ignore the fact that a quicker check-out process is a great way for buyers to think less about putting the item back on the shelf. Android users in the US should see the update at some point today, while international users will get the redesign in the coming weeks.

Google Play rolls out new design and simpler check-out

As expected, Google has issued a redesign to the Google Play store, and it’s starting to roll out now to Android smartphones and tablets running Android 2.2 Froyo and higher. Google says that the redesign is much more simple and clean this time around, and the new design also helps users find the things they want in a faster manner.

The new design is more heavily image based than before, which means that content will feature bigger images that “jump off the page,” not only making it appealing to look at, but to also make it easier to spot the content you’re looking for. Themed items are also grouped together, such as magazines, books, apps, games, etc.

Google has broken the European principles

The Europe’s data protecting organisation is to break down the American strong GOOGLE before the winter period in America. The closest reason for this that the GOOGLE’S failure to maintain the principles of the European countries.
It is learnt the GOOGLE has failed to abide by the instructions of Data Security representatives for a period of four months and to have given a response. This was revealed by CNIL of France, the data protection organisation who had made this statement on Monday. They intend to form a society before the commencement of the coming winter.

In this connection it is learnt that with this in mind a plan is to be drawn. It was in last October the data protection society had hid the information to the GOOGLE as there hidden secrets are not exposed and had given a further four months to disclose them. GOOGLE possesses 12 data administration amendments. They claim that they are not against the European principles. At the same time it was added that they will abide by the CNIL proposals and there actions.

Google searches expose racial bias, says study of names

A study of Google searches has found "significant discrimination" in advert results depending on the perceived race of names searched for.

Harvard professor Latanya Sweeney said names typically associated with black people were more likely to produce ads related to criminal activity.

In her paper, Prof Sweeney suggested that Google searches may expose "racial bias in society".

Google has said it "does not conduct any racial profiling".


In a statement to the BBC, the company said: "We also have an 'anti' and violence policy which states that we will not allow ads that advocate against an organisation, person or group of people."

When placing ads with Google, companies are able to specify which keywords they would like to target.

"It is up to individual advertisers to decide which keywords they want to choose to trigger their ads," the search giant said.
Arrested?

The study analysed the type of advertisements that appeared on Google when certain names were searched for.

It looked at Google.com's core search engine, as well as the search function of Reuters.com - which also displays Google's advertising.

Prof Sweeney's investigation suggests that names linked with black people - as defined by a previous study into racial discrimination in the workplace - were 25% more likely to have results that prompted the searcher to click on a link to search criminal record history.
She found that names like Leroy, Kareem and Keisha would yield advertisements that read "Arrested?", with a link to a website which could perform criminal record checks.

Searches for names such as Brad, Luke and Katie would not - instead more likely to offer websites that can provide general contact details.

"There is discrimination in the delivery of these ads," concluded Prof Sweeney, adding that there was a less than 1% chance that the findings could be based on chance.

"Alongside news stories about high school athletes and children can be ads bearing the child's name and suggesting arrest. This seems concerning on many levels."
User habits

However, she was reluctant to pinpoint a cause for the discrepancies, saying that to do so required "further information about the inner workings of Google AdSense".

She noted that one possible cause may be Google's "smart" algorithms - technology which automatically adapts advertising placement based on mass-user habits.

In other words, it may be that the search engines are reflecting society's own prejudices - as the advertising results Google serves up are often based on the most popular links previous users have clicked on.

"Over time, as people tend to click one version of ad text over others, the weights change," Prof Sweeney explained.

"So the ad text getting the most clicks eventually displays more frequently."

She argued that technology should be used to counteract this effect.

"In the broader picture, technology can do more to thwart discriminatory effects and harmonise with societal norms.

"Ads responding to name searches appear in a specific information context and technology controls that context."