SINGAPORE: During Chinese New Year last year, retiree Kenneth Tang wanted to visit his sister-in-law at her home in Upper Bukit Timah, in a relatively secluded area he was unfamiliar with.Instead of getting driving directions with a few taps of his smartphone, the 64-year-old sat in his living room, put on his reading glasses and studied the route on the pages of his 2018 street directory.“I think GPS is more convenient and better in many ways, but I use road directories because I can have a better idea of how to get to the place I am going to,” he told CNA.Mr Tang said the directory allows for more flexible alternative route planning in the event of congestion, and gives a clearer picture of nearby car parks – crucial for peak times when every lot has been snapped up.“I use road directories also because I have been using it for years, long before GPS was available,” he added. “My friends and I who are from the older generation have been … [Read more...] about In the age of online maps, who needs street directories anymore?
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Google ban on Huawei a potential problem for Myanmar: users
The company will immediately lose access to updates to Google’s Android operating system. Future versions of Huawei smartphones that run on Android will also lose access to popular services, including the Google Play Store, Gmail, Google Maps and YouTube apps. New designs of Huawei smartphones are set to lose access to some Google apps. Existing Huawei smart phones will continue to have access to Google-related apps, but future Huawei tablets and mobile handsets will not be certified by Google. The move comes after US President Donald Trump added Huawei to a list of companies that US firms cannot trade with unless they have a licence, amid an escalating trade war between the two countries. Google said it was “complying with the order and reviewing the implications”. “We will have to follow the demand by the US government. Existing Huawei users will be able to use the services and updates provided by Google,” a spokesperson from Google told the … [Read more...] about Google ban on Huawei a potential problem for Myanmar: users
Google ban on Huawei a potential problem for Myamar: users
The company will immediately lose access to updates to Google’s Android operating system. Future versions of Huawei smartphones that run on Android will also lose access to popular services, including the Google Play Store, Gmail, Google Maps and YouTube apps. New designs of Huawei smartphones are set to lose access to some Google apps. Existing Huawei smart phones will continue to have access to Google-related apps, but future Huawei tablets and mobile handsets will not be certified by Google. The move comes after US President Donald Trump added Huawei to a list of companies that US firms cannot trade with unless they have a licence, amid an escalating trade war between the two countries. Google said it was “complying with the order and reviewing the implications”. “We will have to follow the demand by the US government. Existing Huawei users will be able to use the services and updates provided by Google,” a spokesperson from Google told the … [Read more...] about Google ban on Huawei a potential problem for Myamar: users
Google debuts privacy controls, principles at I/O event
Alphabet Inc's Google business on Tuesday announced new privacy controls for its services, including “Incognito mode” for Google Maps, and published new privacy commitments for its hardware, showing how increased public scrutiny is forcing greater transparency in Silicon Valley. The announcements were dotted throughout nearly two hours of product updates from the search giant at its annual Google I/O developers' conference. Google also launched its lowest priced smartphone yet, the Pixel 3a, and demonstrated upcoming capabilities for its virtual assistant, such as car rental and movie ticket bookings by voice commands. Google has been fending off some of the growing legislative and regulatory pushes in the United States and elsewhere to regulate data privacy and other issues core to its business model. Proposals being weighed by lawmakers would limit how Google, Facebook Inc and other internet companies track consumers and distribute information. With revenue growth slowing … [Read more...] about Google debuts privacy controls, principles at I/O event
Google to let you auto-delete location tracking data
In yet another bid to address privacy concerns, Google is rolling out a key feature that will allow people to automatically delete their Location History, Web and App Activity data. Google last year courted controversy when an Associated Press investigation found that many Google services on Android devices and iPhones store users' location data even if the users explicitly used privacy settings to turn it off. In a blog post late Thursday, Google said it is introducing auto-delete controls for users' Location History and Web and App Activity data. "Choose a time limit for how long you want your activity data to be saved a" three or 18 months a" and any data older than that will be automatically deleted from your account on an ongoing basis," announced David Monsees, Product Manager, Google Search. These controls are coming first to Location History, Web and App Activity and will roll out in the coming weeks. "You should always be able to manage your data in a way that works best for … [Read more...] about Google to let you auto-delete location tracking data