Month: August 2024

Google ‘BlueBuddy’ AI assistant to guide Chromebook users through Bluetooth troubleshooting

August 7, 2024 / Security – Computerworld

Google reportedly plans to add new artificial intelligence (AI) technology to Chromebooks that can help people troubleshoot issues with connecting Bluetooth devices to their laptops, as part of its ongoing and fast-moving strategy to integrate AI into its products.

According to a published report, the virtual assistant, “BlueBuddy”, will provide quick and easy answers to user questions if they can’t get a Bluetooth device paired with their Chromebook, something that often is troublesome when using devices that leverage the wireless protocol.

The website Windows Report gleaned details of the virtual assistant from developer documentation for Google’s Chromium web browser project. The documentation made mention of something called “BlueBuddy” that would allow users to “enter an issue and I will recommend a fix.”

The addition of BlueBuddy is in line with various other AI features that Google already has unveiled for Chromebooks, which provide alternatives to Windows laptops and MacBooks and which run the lightweight ChromeOS. Google already has added its much improved Gemini AI chatbot to Chromebook Plus laptops, as well as adding other AI features such as “Help me write,” an AI editing assistant; generative AI wallpaper and video call backgrounds; and Magic editor using AI to enhance photos.

The company did not respond immediately to a request for comment on Tuesday.

A trust issue?

As Google competes with Microsoft and other tech giants to achieve AI dominance, integrating the technology seamlessly into various products, including consumer devices, is one key strategic play. Not to be outdone, Microsoft also has integrated its AI assistant, Copilot, into its Microsoft 365 apps, Word, Outlook, and OneNote, to make it easy to accomplish tasks such as generating first drafts and revising text, as well as making other AI improvements.

But one blind spot tech providers may have when it comes to the seamless integration of AI into products that people already use is that, while it’s certainly helpful, maybe customers aren’t quite ready for it because it’s still unproven, observed one expert.

“It’s natural to want to incorporate the newest technological innovations into your products, and when done well, it can have amazing gains in efficiency and productivity,” noted Gal Ringel, co-founder and CEO of data-privacy firm Mine.

However, “in many cases consumers are not yet asking for AI to be added to products,” he said. That’s because “there is still the major issue of trust when it comes to AI, and trying to push the tech through without first asking why consumers are cautious and addressing those issues is not doing AI well,” he noted.

Google’s secure focus

Still, Google has a good chance of integrating AI more safely into Chromebook than a competitor like, say, Microsoft, does with Windows machines, because it has full control over the technology, observed Bradley Shimmin, chief analyst of AI platforms, analytics, and data management for research firm Omdia.

“Google really owns the laptop as it sits on the user’s desktop, in terms of how software runs on that machine,” he said. “This allows the company to provide a much better security profile than other systems.”

Google also requires that all ChromeOS devices use secure boot, which means that every time the machine boots up, it’s guaranteed to run without any malware that could possibly have been picked up beforehand, he noted. Moreover, the OS uses strong sandboxing for each app/web to prevent any in-app exposure to risk, Shimmin said.

“Taken together, these efforts means that Google can roll out OS- and app-level functionality to all current Chromebooks in short order,” he said. “And given Google’s strong adherence to security practices, I would imagine that this implementation will focus on user privacy and security.”

Nvidia reportedly trained AI models on Youtube data

August 7, 2024 / Security – Computerworld

Nvidia scraped huge amounts of data from YouTube to train its AI models, even though neither Youtube nor individual YouTube channels approved the move, according to leaked documents obtained by 404 Media via Futurism.

Among other things, Nvidia reportedly used the YouTube data to train its deep learning model Cosmos, an algorithm for automated driving, a human-like AI avatar, and Omniverse, a tool for building 3D worlds.

Nvidia’s data collection lies in an ethical and legal gray area. According to Youtube’s terms of use, the company is not allowed to use YouTube data without permission. According to 404 Media, several Nvidia employees questioned the data collection and were told by managers that the decision to do so had been approved at the top of the company.

Nvidia already faces legal action, filed in May, alleging it has violated fair use copyright laws.

Adobe’s AI-powered customer journey tool helps ID enterprise buyers

August 7, 2024 / Security – Computerworld

Adobe wants to make it easier for B2B marketers to identify and target groups of enterprise buyers with the integration of AI assistance into a new customer journey planning tool.

Adobe Journey Optimizer (AJO) B2B is now available, the company announced Wednesday, offering an enterprise-focused alternative to the existing AJO tool, which caters to B2C marketing.

One of the key features in AJO B2B is the ability to create buyer groups to target in sales and marketing efforts — a different approach to traditional lead-based and account-based marketing, said Sundeep Parsa, vice president of product for Adobe’s customer journey management portfolio.

Large-scale procurement decisions — such as the purchase of enterprise software or hardware, for example — now often involve lengthy sales processes with input from “committees” of as many as 15 business and technology leaders at customer organizations. This puts pressure on marketing and sales teams to establish relationships with the right people within client organizations and move towards eventual sales, he said.

AJO B2B helps simplify that process by making it easier to access related information, said Parsa, thanks in part to the integration with Adobe’s recently unveiled Experience Platform AI assistant. For example, a sales rep can ask the AI assistant in natural language for details on buying groups at a client organization, and whether any of these are likely to be interested in a particular product.

The AI tool can also provide a “completeness score,” which can indicate that a certain job role is missing from the list of buying group contacts, said Parsa. An example might be a security software vendor that wants to include a CISO or another employee with regulatory knowledge in their sales and marketing efforts.

Adobe

The AI recommendations are based on Adobe’s core model, which understands concepts such as what a buying group is, or what a lead is, alongside custom models developed based on an AJO B2B customer’s own sales and marketing data.

Eventually, Adobe hopes the AI assistant can provide more guidance on how to target individuals within a buying group, such as a suggestion to send white papers and case studies to a technical diligence team, for instance, and an invitation to a decision-maker to an upcoming executive forum event.

The ability to create buying groups is one of several key features in AJO B2B. Once they are identified, users can create tailored “customer journeys” for specific job roles at client organizations across platforms such as email, web, chat, and webinars. Here, the embedded AEP AI assistant can be accessed for how-to advice and troubleshooting as users build customer journeys in the application.

AJO B2B users can then access asset libraries — including images from Adobe’s Firefly generative AI model — to create personalized emails suited to different buyer groups.

Sales and marketing teams can also view each other’s buying group engagements —this will streamline workflows and provide more effective customer connections, said Parsa. “There are less ‘broken telephone’ scenarios; they’re able to collaborate on a common understanding of buying groups,” he said.

Finally, dashboards that provide insights in buying group journey performance are now available in AJO B2B, with the ability to query data via the conversational AI assistant “coming soon,” Adobe said.

“You can say, ‘Give me a trend of the buying groups over the last six months and give me a linearity model by month.’ You can ask that question and the [AI assistant will] generate that for you,” he said.

Microsoft Loop cheat sheet

August 7, 2024 / Security – Computerworld

Announced in 2021, Microsoft Loop was officially rolled out to business customers in November 2023 and to individual users in June 2024. The new tool includes both text snippets that can be embedded in certain Microsoft 365 apps and a standalone app where employees can collaborate in shared workspaces.

It’s a little hard to wrap your head around how Loop works, but it’s well worth the effort for businesses that use Microsoft 365.

Here’s how you can use Loop to collaborate with your team.

What is Microsoft Loop?
What are the main elements in Loop, and how do they work together?
What are the key benefits of Microsoft Loop?
Who can use Microsoft Loop?
How to use Microsoft Loop
Creating a Loop workspace
Creating Loop pages
Using Copilot in Loop
Sharing a Loop workspace or page
Managing your Loop workspaces and pages
Using the Loop mobile app

What is Microsoft Loop?

Microsoft Loop is a productivity app that lets Microsoft 365 users work together in shared spaces where they can collect documents and other materials, do simple project planning and task management, brainstorm ideas with co-workers, and more.

Certain elements of Loop, called Loop components, can also be embedded in Microsoft 365 apps that include OneNote, Outlook, Teams, Whiteboard, and Word (web version).

You use Microsoft Loop through your web browser; it’s also available as an app for Android or iOS, with more limited functionality.

What are the elements in Loop, and how do they work together?

Microsoft Loop consists of three main elements: Loop components, Loop pages, and Loop workspaces.

Loop components are shared cards that can contain lists, paragraphs, tables, or other text formats. In addition to collaborating on components in the Loop app, you can embed them in Microsoft 365 apps such as Outlook or Teams. Any changes made to a Loop component in one location immediately appear in all other locations. That way everyone always has the most current version of the component no matter which app they’re working in.

Loop pages are shared digital canvases that let you add Loop components and other elements such as text, images, and related information. Your colleagues can collaborate with you on pages that you’ve shared with them, and all changes are synced in real time.

Loop workspaces are virtual spaces where you can group together related pages. You can share a workspace with co-workers and guests so that they can collaborate with you on the pages it contains.

These three elements work in tandem for highly effective collaboration. For instance, you could create a workspace for a project your team is working on. This project workspace could include multiple pages related to the project — meeting notes, issue tracker, project brief, project planning page, and so on.

Each page could include one or more Loop components that in turn could be embedded into Outlook emails, Teams conversations, and other Microsoft 365 apps. When a component is updated in any of these places (including the Loop app), it is updated in real time everywhere else it appears.

What are the key benefits of Microsoft Loop?

Easier and more efficient team collaboration
Centralized management for documents and other materials
Information stays in sync across multiple Microsoft 365 apps
Reduces lost time and focus caused by frequent app-switching

Who can use Microsoft Loop?

Loop is included with all Microsoft 365/Office 365 business and education subscriptions. This includes the Loop app as well as Loop components embedded in other Microsoft 365 apps. Most Loop features are available to all users with work or school accounts, but those with only Office 365 plans will need to purchase an additional plan to be able to create new Loop workspaces or to add or remove members from them.

Until recently, Loop for business users was limited to internal collaboration, but you can now share Loop components, pages, and workspaces with people outside your organization, with some limitations. See Microsoft’s blog post for details.

Note that if you have a work or school Microsoft account, your administrator will need to enable the Loop app for your organization before you can use it.

For now, the Loop app is available for free to individuals with Microsoft 365 subscriptions or free Microsoft accounts, but you can’t embed Loop components in other M365 apps. Also note that for individuals, Loop workspaces and pages count toward your Microsoft storage quota.

How to use Microsoft Loop

We have a separate story that goes into detail about Loop components and how to use them in Microsoft 365 apps. In this story we’ll focus on setting up pages and workspaces in the Loop app. Here are the basic steps for using the app:

Create a workspace.
Add one or more pages to your workspace.
Add text and other elements, including Loop components, to a page.
Share a page or workspace with colleagues so they can collaborate with you on it.

Keep reading for detailed instructions for each step.

Creating a Loop workspace

From the home page of the Loop web app, click the + button at the upper right. On the “Create a new workspace” panel that opens, type in a name for your new workspace.

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Starting a new Loop workspace.

Howard Wen / IDG

To change the cover image for the workspace, click it and select another from the gallery of images and gradient colors that opens. You also can select an icon for your workspace by clicking the smiley face button to the left of the workspace title entry box.

If you have an individual Microsoft account or Microsoft 365 plan, click Create and your workspace will be created. (You can skip to the next section of the story, “Creating Loop pages.”)

If you have a Microsoft 365 business account, the “Create a new workspace” panel also includes a “Share your space” area where you can invite members to this workspace by typing in email addresses or names of people in your contacts. Or you can skip this step for now and invite people later.

adding members on the create a new workspace screen — Name, customize, and invite members to your new space.

Howard Wen / IDG

Next, click Continue. The “Add files to your workspace” screen appears. Type one or more words about your workspace into the area on the left, and Loop will list shared company files and Loop pages that might be relevant on the right.

Howard Wen / IDG

Select the files and pages you want to include and click the Create workspace button. Your workspace will be created with the selected files and pages attached.

Creating Loop pages

After you create your workspace, you’re taken to its first page. Type in a name for this page. If you like, you can assign the page an icon and cover image: click Add icon and Add cover and select from the options that appear.

Howard Wen / IDG

Add text and other elements: In the “Just start typing…” area, type text or / to see a list of elements you can add to your new page, such as checklists, headings, images, progress trackers, tables, and more. (See “How to use Microsoft Loop in Outlook and Teams” to learn about the Loop elements you can add to a page.) To tag a colleague: type @ and start typing their name, then select their name when it appears.

Howard Wen / IDG

Use a template: Along the bottom of a new page are thumbnails for templates such as Project Brief, Team Decision, Meeting Notes, and so on. You can select a template to apply a pre-designed layout to your new page, then customize the page as you like. Click Explore other templates to open a gallery of layouts.

Turn an element into a Loop component: You can select any element on your page to turn it into a Loop component that can then be embedded in other Microsoft 365 apps.

Click the element to select it, then click the six-dot icon that appears to the left or upper left of the element. On the menu that opens, select Create Loop component.

Howard Wen / IDG

The element will now have a border around it with the Loop logo at its upper left. To share this element as a Loop component in another app, select the Copy component icon (two overlapping squares) at the upper right of the element border.

You can then paste the Loop component link into another Microsoft 365 app, such as a OneNote note, Outlook email, Teams channel or chat, Microsoft Whiteboard canvas, or Word (web version) document.

Note: If you have a Copilot for Microsoft 365 subscription, you have several more options for creating and collaborating on content in your Loop pages.

Adding more pages and subpages

Add another page: In the left sidebar, click the circular + button. On the menu that opens, select New page.

Add a subpage: You can add a page that is branched below another page. In the left sidebar, move the pointer over the page and click the three-dot icon. On the menu that opens, select New subpage. Note that you can also add a subpage below a subpage.

new subpage selected in menu in loop — You can add subpages (and sub-subpages) as needed.

Howard Wen / IDG

Creating pages in the Ideas section

Toward the top of the left sidebar, there’s a section titled “Ideas” where you can create and work on pages before you add them to a workspace. For instance: You may want to spend extra time perfecting a page before you add it to a workspace that you’ve already shared with co-workers or clients.

Create a page in Ideas: Move the pointer over Ideas in the sidebar and click the + that appears to its right.

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Creating a page in Ideas.

Howard Wen / IDG

Add a page in the Ideas section to a workspace: Click Ideas in the left sidebar. A list of pages in the Ideas section opens in the main window. Move the pointer over a page and click the three-dot icon. On the menu that opens, select Add to workspace.

On the panel that opens, click the name of the workspace. The page will be appended as the last page in that workspace. Alternatively, you can select New and create a new workspace where the page will be placed.

Howard Wen / IDG

Restoring an older version of a page

The Loop web app archives previous versions of a page as you and your collaborators make changes to it. You can view these and restore one to your workspace.

With the page open, click the three-dot icon at the upper right. On the menu that opens, select Version History. In the right sidebar, click the date/time of a previous version. That version will appear in the main window. Click the Restore button to replace the page with this previous version.

Howard Wen / IDG

Sharing a workspace or page

In the Loop app, you can invite others to collaborate with you on a workspace or an individual page. When you share a workspace, each person you invite can view and make changes to any page in that workspace. When you share a page, they’ll be able to view and edit only that one page.

From any page that’s open in the main window: Click the Share button at the upper right. On the menu that opens, select Workspace.

From the Loop home page: Move the pointer over the workspace that you want to share. Click the three-dot icon that appears. On the menu that opens, click Members.

Howard Wen / IDG

Either way, a panel opens where you can type in the email addresses or names of people in your Microsoft account contacts. Do this and click the Invite button. They’ll be emailed a link inviting them to access your workspace.

You can share a page that’s in a workspace or in your Ideas section in one of two ways:

As a web link: When you or someone you invite clicks this link, the page opens in a web browser.
As a Loop component: When you or someone you invite pastes this link inside a Microsoft 365 app that supports Loop components, the page is embedded in it.

You can share a page from Loop’s main window or from the sidebar along the left.

With the page open in the main window: To share the page as a web link, click the Share button at the upper right. On the menu that opens, select Page link. You can then paste this link into a chat, document, email, or other text-based app.

To share the page as a Loop component, either click the Share button and then Loop component or just click the dual-square icon to the left of the Share button. You can then paste this link into a Microsoft 365 app that lets you embed Loop components.

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Sharing a page via the Share button.

Howard Wen / IDG

From the left sidebar: You can share a page without opening it in the main window. In the left sidebar, move the pointer over the page and click the three-dot icon that appears to its right. On the menu that opens, select Share page link or Share Loop component.

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Sharing a page via the left sidebar.

Howard Wen / IDG

Change a page’s sharing permissions: By default, whoever has access to your page’s link or Loop component will be able to make changes to this page. You can change who has access and whether they can edit or only view the page.

On the panel that appears when you select Share > Page link or Share > Loop component, click Settings. This opens the “Link settings” panel.

Howard Wen / IDG

Hey Google: We need to talk.

As part of my admittedly unusual “job” (emphasis on the air quotes, ’cause it’s way too fun to feel like work!), I hear from some of the most passionate enthusiasts of your products every single day. Heck, I’m one of ’em myself; I’ve not only written about Android and other associated entities since their earliest eras, I’ve also used all those things in my own personal and professional life all this time.

And right now, El Googster, lemme tell ya: People aren’t too happy with what you’re got goin’ around Google Assistant and its ongoing devolution/kinda-sorta transition into Gemini.

We’ve talked about this plenty, I know. Heck, I even went as far as to say that Gemini was the new Google+ — and not in a blissfully wistful, nostalgic sort of way, either.

But now, something new is springing up in this dizzying, occasionally vexing narrative you’re mapping out for us. And it’s making the already-murky intersection of Google Assistant and Gemini even more maddening, especially for those of us who rely on Android for our day-to-day doings.

My friend, prepare for some serious facepalming.

[Get fresh Googley insight in your inbox with my free Android Intelligence newsletter. Three new things to know and try every Friday!]

The Google Assistant-Gemini saga

Real quick, back up for a second with me — just to set the stage for this latest perplexing plot twist.

Four fast things to catch up on and bring front of mind, before we go any further:

Google Assistant has been the go-to virtual assistant for Android, ChromeOS, and all sorts of other Google apps and services since 2016.
For most of the time since then, Google’s been gunnin’ hard to put Assistant everywhere and build up its brand as the connective tissue that ties the entire Google ecosystem together.
Then, last year, Google gave us Gemini — née Bard — as a rushed-out response to the hype being created by ChatGPT and the whole generative AI industry.
And ever since, the company has seemingly stopped caring about Assistant entirely — with features disappearing, once-reliable functions growing increasingly inconsistent, and all signs suggesting Gemini is set to take Assistant’s place entirely, in spite of that service being nowhere near ready to take on that role.

Got it? Good.

That brings us to this week — and Google’s sudden string of announcements about a slew of new Android-adjacent updates for connected devices like the Nest Hub line of products (which, despite the focus of the excerpt you’re about to read, can be useful in both the home and the office).

Ahem:

Google Assistant in the home has helped millions of households get more things done. And unlike on personal devices like phones, home devices like speakers and displays need to work for every member of your household. As we’ve previously shared, quality improvements are a focus for us this year and we’re applying large language models to improve core experiences such as media playback and setting timers. And later this year we’re bringing a variety of new voices that make interacting with your devices feel more conversational.

With Gemini technology, we’re also reimagining what your home assistant can do with just your voice. This will improve Google Assistant on your Nest speakers and displays, making it more natural and helpful for everyone in your home. The upgraded Google Assistant will be able to better understand you, so you can chat more naturally, and easily go back and forth or ask follow-up questions.

Erm…what?!

Remember: Up ’til now, Google’s been positioning Assistant as the past and framing Gemini as a totally new standalone replacement that’s set to take over our virtual deputy’s role. That’s certainly what we’ve seen happen so far with Gemini’s implementation on Android, on ChromeOS, and throughout numerous Google apps and services — where the Google Assistant name and framework is fading away while Gemini shows up separately as a new and different (and, unfortunately, far less capable in the areas that matter) version of the same core concept.

And now — specific to the smart speaker and display domain, at least — Google seems to be saying that Google Assistant will remain as the name and the framework for the assistant experience, with Gemini essentially just adding new powers in under the hood.

So which is it? Is Google Assistant going away and Gemini becoming the all-around Google virtual assistant service we interact with — or is Assistant remaining and Gemini simply adding more oomph into that environment as an under-the-hood, internal upgrade?

The answer, as it turns out, is both. Befuddled, I reached out to Google to make sure I was interpreting all of this correctly. And sure enough, this is the deal:

Google Assistant will continue to be the primary brand/presentation/experience for on-demand assistant interactions in places like smart speakers and displays as well as cars and TVs — with additional capabilities being added in only under the hood via Gemini.
Gemini will still, however, effectively replace Google Assistant entirely on phones and tablets, as we’ve been seeing shape up so far.
And so moving forward, we’ll soon have completely different assistant experiences on these different types of devices — with Google Assistant (enhanced by Gemini) on smart speakers and displays as well as cars and TVs and Gemini as the new all-around assistant (fully replacing Google Assistant) on phones and tablets.

Whew. I don’t know about you, but my head hurts.

Google’s Gemini-Assistant jumble

All right — time for a quick pinch of irony:

From the get-go, I’ve actually been saying Google should do exactly what we’re seeing play out on the smart speaker and display front now.

Go, go, gadget rewind:

When it comes to an on-demand mobile device assistant, we don’t need the ability to have mediocre text or creepy images created for us from anywhere across Android. We need a fast, consistent, reliable system for interacting with our phone and other connected devices, getting things accomplished with our core productivity services, and getting short bursts of basic info spoken aloud to us in response to simple questions.

Google Assistant did that. It did it with a recognizable, known brand Google has spent endless energy working to build up over the past several years and a recognizable, known voice Android users have come to trust and appreciate. Throwing all of that away now to create an entirely new system that introduces out-of-place, unnecessary additions and doesn’t do the Assistant basics as effectively is a puzzling — if perfectly Googley, in the most facepalmy sense imaginable — move.

Now, polishing up Assistant, fixing its woes, and adding in Gemini as an optional add-on you could summon for its generative capabilities, if and when such a need were to arise? That could make an awful lot of sense. But positioning Gemini as a flat-out replacement for Assistant when it’s so much worse at practically everything is an awfully strange move to make — one that seems to be forcefully trying to make the wrong tool work for a very specific purpose.

So, yeah: On the one hand, Google moving closer to this more sensible-seeming setup is a welcome shift. But at the same time, the company is sticking with the current Gemini-as-a-full-fledged-Assistant-replacement path everywhere else — including, critically, on Android — which only serves to make matters even more awkward and confusing, with the complete lack of consistency from one Google product to the next.

To be clear, this isn’t just about a name. It’s about an identity — and a foundation. It’s about how people perceive, understand, and interact with this service that plays such an outsized role across Google’s entire ecosystem of platforms, products, and services.

Already, people around the world are bewildered and uncertain about what’s happening with that core part of their experience. And unfortunately, it seems that sense of confusion is only gonna get worse.

To say that Google’s bungled this rollout so far would be an understatement. The good news, though, is that it isn’t too late to fix it — if Google (a) acts soon to figure out what, exactly, it wants for the future of Assistant and its intersection with Gemini, (b) works swiftly to communicate that to its customers and implement it consistently across all of its apps and platforms, in terms of the outward-facing brand, presentation, and experience, and (c) starts taking steps to clean up the confusion-creating mess it’s already made.

Hey Google: Start a stopwatch. Time is a-tickin’ and patience is wearing thin, but you can still set this ship right.

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A trust issue?

Google’s secure focus

In this article:

What is Microsoft Loop?

What are the elements in Loop, and how do they work together?

What are the key benefits of Microsoft Loop?

Who can use Microsoft Loop?

How to use Microsoft Loop

Creating a Loop workspace

Creating Loop pages

Adding more pages and subpages

Creating pages in the Ideas section

Restoring an older version of a page

Sharing a workspace or page

Sharing a workspace

Sharing a page

Managing your workspaces and pages

Using the Loop mobile app

Why does Chrome say some extensions might soon no longer be supported?

Why aren’t some Chrome extensions using Manifest V3 yet?

How to check which Chrome extensions will stop working

Which browsers will still support Manifest V2 extensions?

The Google Assistant-Gemini saga

Google’s Gemini-Assistant jumble

October: A haunting Patch Tuesday: 117 updates (and 5 zero-day flaws)

September: Latest Patch Tuesday update fixes 4 zero-days

A repeat of last year

Tech industry layoffs continue

A repeat of last year

Tech industry layoffs continue