Technology

For many of us, calling a doctor’s office, an insurance carrier, customer support, or indeed any kind of administrative office has become an exercise in frustration — especially these days, when increased demand and cuts in staffing have made phone waits interminable. Yes, you can simply use speakerphone to monitor the line, but do you really want to listen to that awful music for over an hour? A new Android feature called Hold for Me, which Google just announced, may just be able to make those phone waits a bit more tolerable. Hold for Me is currently available as a preview feature in the US for Google’s new Pixel 5 and Pixel 4A (5G) phones. Here’s how it works, according to Google: if you call a toll-free number and are put on hold, Google Assistant will monitor the call for you while yo...

Google has always wanted its cloud game-streaming service, Stadia, to change how YouTube streamers interact with their fans. Nearly ten months after release, Google is finally bringing its “Crowd Choice” feature to its first two games. Crowd Choice allows viewers to vote on, say, which team a streamer joins in the game, which piece of dialogue they pick, or other in-game choices the player might make. The streamer can ultimately decide if they want to follow the audience’s suggestion or make their own choice. On October 1st, Dead by Daylight will launch on Stadia Pro, and it will be the first game to integrate Crowd Choice. In Dead by Daylight, the feature gives the audience a chance to vote whether the streamer should be a “killer” who is tasked with killing the other players in the match...

Along with the launch of the new Chromecast with Google TV, which we’ve just reviewed, Google is changing the name of the Google Play Movies & TV app to Google TV. The rename is happening on Android phones to start, though you can expect it to change on other platforms eventually as well. The app is Google’s store for renting and buying movies and TV, and in truth Google is following Apple’s lead here. Apple uses its Apple TV app as the hub for all its video offerings as well, whether they are TV shows or not. Apple also uses the Apple TV branding in multiple ways — as hardware, app, and its own streaming video service. Google’s TV offerings also are a little confusing. In addition to being the aforementioned app, it’s also the name of the Google software layer that sits on top of Andr...

The new Chromecast is a much different product than the original $35 streaming stick that proved to be an unexpected hardware hit for Google way back in 2013. Instead of a barebones interface that requires you to play and control content using your smartphone or PC, the 2020 Chromecast has evolved to offer a richer, full-featured streaming experience much more akin to a Roku, Amazon Fire TV, or Apple TV. It’s got an all-new user interface designed by Google (and built atop Android TV) that’s flush with content from popular services like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and HBO Max. You navigate that content with a normal remote control that comes in the box. And as a streaming gadget, the Chromecast checks off almost everything important: it does 4K, supports Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos...

Google’s new Chromecast with Google TV will support a lot of the streaming services most people would want, although Apple TV Plus appears to be a notable holdout. Those sorts of gaps are fairly normal for a new platform, but the new Chromecast does have one very strange omission: Google’s own game streaming service, Stadia. At launch, the new Chromecast with Google TV won’t support it. Google says support will come sometime in the first half of 2021. That said, we were able to get Stadia running on the Chromecast using sideloading, which means it’s unclear why Stadia isn’t supported on the new Chromecast. To get to a place where we can speculate, we need to explain the different layers of operating systems and services at play on the Chromecast with Google TV. First, right now Stadia is s...

Google just wrapped up its fall hardware event where it debuted the Pixel 5, the less expensive Pixel 4A 5G, the oft-rumored Chromecast with Google TV software built in, as well as the Nest Audio smart speaker. It’s a lot of good news for people who like new hardware. All said, the quick half-hour event contained mostly announcements we expected, but there were a few unexpected surprises. Here’s everything you might have missed at Google’s event. In the case of specs, the Pixel 5 isn’t trying to go up against the most powerful phones in the world. Instead of beating them when it comes to raw speed (it has a midrange Snapdragon 765G processor, but the 8GB of RAM should deliver some snappiness), Google is focused on delivering some unique features along with — for the first time — 5G support...

Facebook has taken its biggest step yet in integrating its various messaging platforms, allowing select users on Messenger and Instagram to message one another app to app. In addition to the launch of cross-platform messaging, Instagram is also getting a major overhaul of its DM system, which will be expanded with features taken from Messenger. New Instagram messaging tools include vanishing messages, selfie stickers, custom emoji, chat colors, new ways to block unwanted messages, and the introduction of Messenger’s Watch Together feature, which lets you watch videos with friends during a video call. Users can opt out of cross-platform messaging if they wish Users will be able to reject the update if they choose, but Facebook will no doubt be betting that access to new features will encour...

Zound Industries has announced its latest pair of Marshall-branded headphones, the Major IV. Like previous Marshall headphones, the Major IVs have a formidable battery life, which extends up to 80 hours on a single charge this time around. When it comes time to recharge, you can either plug in a typical USB-C cable or charge them wirelessly using a Qi-compatible charger. We’ve seen numerous true wireless headphones embrace wireless charging over the last couple of years, but the feature is far less common with on-ear headphones like the Major IV. As well as wirelessly charging the headphones at home, the technology means you’ll also be able to charge them using any smartphones that support reverse wireless charging like the Samsung Galaxy S20. We’ll be interested to see how easy it is to b...

Xiaomi has announced the Mi 10T Pro, its latest flagship phone. The device follows the strategy seen last year, where the sleek Mi 9 was followed by a largely unrelated Mi 9T Pro with a heavier emphasis on specs. The Mi 9T Pro was one of the best phone bargains of 2019 in markets where it was available, so expectations should be high for the 10T Pro. The two standout specs on the Mi 10T Pro are its screen and its battery. It uses a 6.67-inch 1080p 20:9 LCD with a refresh rate of 144Hz. That refresh rate is what you’d expect from a high-end gaming monitor, and until now it’s mostly only been found on gaming-focused smartphones, making this the most mainstream phone yet to achieve it. Because the screen uses an LCD panel, though, the fingerprint sensor is integrated into the power button rat...

This year, Amazon’s Prime Day sales will be coming on October 13th and 14th — three months later than usual, due to the coronavirus pandemic. (And yes, Prime Day is actually two days.) If you’re attracted by the goodies being offered, but you haven’t signed up for Amazon Prime, don’t worry — Amazon makes it very easy. (As you’d expect, it’s the sorry vendor who makes it difficult for people to become new customers.) Besides giving access to Prime Day bargains, Amazon has come up with a bunch of features to entice people to sign up to its Prime service. These include: access to Prime Video, its streaming video service; free and faster shipping on purchases (with two-day delivery for many items and even same-day delivery for some); deals on Whole Foods Market purchases; Prime Music audio str...

Amazon has launched Explore, a new platform which it promises will let you “explore anything from lessons to landmarks.” It works via a video stream, with tour guides, instructors, and personal shoppers providing one-on-one sessions. Amazon says the video is one-way, meaning only the host is on camera during the virtual experience, but the audio is two-way so you can ask questions and make requests. The Explore page provides an idea of the range of experiences on offer. These include relatively cheap sessions like a $10, 40-minute virtual shopping experience in Ridgeland, USA, to a 45-minute virtual tour of a mansion in Lima, Peru for $70, or a $129 bagel cooking class. In some cases Amazon lists ingredients and supplies to buy before a session, but it says that these are optional if you j...

Programming note: There’s a presidential debate tonight! Here’s how to watch it online. And here’s Politico’s handy “pre-bunk” of 10 lies you’re likely to hear at the debate. If there is a manager in your life, there is a good chance that they are miserable right now. They are miserable for the reasons everyone is miserable: the pandemic; quarantine; the challenges of working from home while raising children; the steady erosion of American democracy. But unlike us working stiffs, managers are miserable for another reason: their employees are miserable, too — and worse, they expect the managers to do something about it. In July I wrote about how a surge of employee activism inside tech companies was beginning to remake the relationship between managers and their workforces. The turbulent pa...