Google Restricts Applications To Access User Information

Technology-Portfolio.Net - Google will be more selective with applications on the Google Play Store that can see what applications are already installed on the user's smartphone.

Although it seems harmless, the list of applications installed on the user's smartphone can inform the developer of the user's information. For example, dating preferences to political affiliations.

Starting May 5, 2021, the developer must provide reasons to Google regarding why the application accesses application installation information on the user's smartphone.

Android 11 applications currently requesting the "QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES" permission can view the complete list of applications installed on the user's device. However, Google recently updated its Developer Program Policies.

Where, now the application information installed on the user's smartphone is classified as sensitive personal data of the user.

Restrict Permission Access to the Application

Accordingly, Google will limit which applications are allowed to obtain information regarding the complete list of applications installed on the user's smartphone.

When these changes take effect in May, applications can only obtain permissions, if their core functions require wide visibility into the applications installed on the user's smartphone.

Examples are file manager applications, browsers, and antivirus applications that require data for interoperability purposes. "Banking applications, digital wallet applications, and other applications that involve financial transaction functionality will be licensed for security purposes," said Google.

Naughty Developers Can Be Kicked from Google Play

Apps that don't function properly but request visibility permission access could run the risk of being removed from the Google Play Store.

For this reason, all developers who wish to retain permission access in their applications need to complete a declaration form that guarantees its use in accordance with its function.

If you're concerned that users may still abuse permissions, Google's documentation clearly states that this will impact the app.

Google may suspend apps and may terminate developer accounts if they commit violations.

Google Assistant Now Can Say Difficult Names

Technology-Portfolio.Net - The use of Google Assistant is increasingly being used by users, because there are more and more things that can be done, such as playing music or calling contacts.

However, it is not uncommon for obstacles to arise in the pronunciation of difficult names to contact. As a result, Google Assistant doesn't recognize him or mispronounces his name.

In response to that problem, now Google Assistant has added the latest update for the pronunciation of names that are difficult or require special pronunciation.

"We want Google Assistant to recognize and pronounce people's names as accurately as possible, especially the less common ones," the company wrote in a blog post.

This feature will later allow users to provide examples of the pronunciation of names that the Google Assistant system will accept. That way, the system will be better able to recognize names that are quite difficult to pronounce.

This feature will be released in the next few days, with the temporary support language is English.

"We hope to expand into more languages soon," he said.

Smart Speaker

The next update regarding Google Assistant is the capability in Google's Smart Speaker.

This smart speaker is recorded as the most frequently commanded to set an alarm. Then, the user sometimes assigns multiple tasks in one command. This is what sometimes becomes a problem and the alarms are not loaded properly.

With the updates currently included, Google Assistant will be able to better understand the context that what its users are speaking. For example, after activating two alarms, the user wants to turn off one of them. The system will understand when the user orders even with sentences that are not exactly the same.

"Please turn off the second alarm," for example.

With this capability, Google Assistant is predicted to be 100 percent accurate in understanding the context of the alarm command.

BERT Technology

Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) machine learning capabilities are behind the development of the feature.

To complement it, the company redesigned the NLU Assistant model to better understand context. That is, this model can find out empirically what the user commands mean.

BERT was first discovered in 2018 and is used in Search which allows the processing of various but related words.

Thus, the BERT capability will make the conversation between Google Assistant and its users appear more natural. The system is able to understand what the user is doing when opening the smartphone.

Huawei Officially Launches Smartphone Mate 30E Pro

Technology-Portfolio.Net - Huawei apparently also launched Mate 30E Pro together with Mate 40 through an event held in China. As the name implies, this smartphone is an update from the Mate 30 which was released last year.

So, what makes it different from last year's model?

The main difference from this model is the Kirin 990E chipset.

This chipset is the latest version of the Kirin 990 on the Mate 30 Pro, which has improved performance. This chipset is built on 7nm + architecture.

Mate 30E Pro will later run EMUI 11, but based on Android 10. It is planned that this smartphone will be available in China starting November 1, 2020. As for other specifications, Huawei has not revealed in detail whether it will be the same as the Mate 30 Pro version released last year, including the price issue.


However, from a number of information, the Mate 30E Pro comes with LPDDR5 memory and UFS flash memory, 4K HDR video recording capabilities, and HiFi audio quality.

Huawei Mate 30E Pro Full Specifications

General
Brand: Huawei
Model: Mate 30E Pro
Form factor: Touchscreen
Dimensions (mm): 158.10 x 73.10 x 8.80
Weight (g): 198.00
Battery capacity (mAh): 4500
Fast charging: Proprietary
Wireless charging: Yes
Colours: Space Silver, Emerald Green, Cosmic Purple, Black, Vegan Forest Green, Vegan Orange

Display
Screen size (inches): 6.53
Touchscreen: Yes
Resolution: 1176x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio: 20:9

Hardware
Processor: 1.95GHz octa-core
Processor make: HiSilicon Kirin 990E
RAM: 8GB
Internal storage: 128GB
Expandable storage: Yes
Expandable storage type: microSD
Expandable storage up to: 256 GB

Camera
Rear camera: 40-megapixel (f/1.6) + 40-megapixel (f/1.6) + 8-megapixel (f/2.4) + ToF
Rear autofocus: Yes
Rear flash: Yes
Front camera: 32-megapixel (f/2.0) + 3D Depth

Software
Operating system: Android 10
Skin: EMUI 11

Connectivity
Wi-Fi: Yes
Wi-Fi standards supported: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
GPS: Yes
Bluetooth: Yes, v 5.10
NFC: Yes
USB Type-C: Yes
Number of SIMs: 2

SIM 1
SIM Type: Nano-SIM
GSM/CDMA: GSM
3G: Yes
4G/ LTE: Yes
5G: Yes

SIM 2
SIM Type::: Nano-SIM
GSM/CDMA:: GSM
3G: Yes
4G/ LTE: Yes

Sensors
Face unlock: Yes
3D face recognition: Yes
In-Display Fingerprint Sensor: Yes
Compass/ Magnetometer: Yes
Proximity sensor: Yes
Accelerometer: Yes
Ambient light sensor: Yes
Gyroscope: Yes
Barometer: Yes

7 Website Places To Check Internet Speed

Technology-Portfolio.Net - Fast internet is a basic requirement in this day and age. Fast internet is needed in all walks of life, from the teaching and learning process, job needs, to entertainment needs such as streaming movies or playing online games.

How do I test internet speed? Use the 7 websites below to find out. Let's try!

1. FAST.com>

FAST.com is a website that can provide an estimate of your current internet speed. FAST.com's main focus is download speed as this is the most relevant thing for people enjoying content on the internet.

It's very easy to find out, just go to https://fast.com then this site will automatically calculate your internet speed. FAST.com can test internet speed globally on any device, from mobile phones to laptops to smart TVs with a browser.

If you click the "Show more info" button, you can see the upload speed and connection latency (ping). If your internet speed is lower than what your internet service provider (ISP) or internet service provider promises, then you should ask them.

2. SpeedOf.Me

The official website explains that SpeedOf.Me was born in December 2011. At that time, the developer made the first HTML5 broadband speed test. SpeedOf.Me is designed to work on all browsers that support HTML5, from iPhone, Android and Windows devices, as well as desktop browsers.

To test your internet speed, just go to https://speedof.me and wait a few moments. The advantage is, you don't need to use Flash / Java, just use HTML5 technology. SpeedOf.Me also has a high degree of accuracy and can be run without installing any application.

3. HighSpeedInternet.com

HighSpeedInternet.com is a website to test internet speed. To be accurate, they recommend testing 3-4 times. There's no need to download or install anything, just visit https://www.highspeedinternet.com/tools/speed-test and click "Start Speed Test".

After that, HighSpeedInternet.com will automatically calculate the average download and upload speed. On the same page, the latency, internet provider name, IP address, and server location will also appear. Easy, fast and practical!

4. Speed.io

Speed.io is a modern DSL speed test for analyzing broadband internet access. Speed.io has nearly 5000 servers worldwide. This website will test your download speed, upload speed, maximum number of connections per minute, and ping (response time between your computer and the internet).

All tests are performed in the browser via HTTP (TCP), without installing software. The trick is to click https://www.speed.io and wait a moment. The results will appear a few moments later. It's easy, right?

5. METER.net

First established in 2001 under the zacatek.cz domain and is addressed at https://www.zacatek.cz/web/rychlost. Then, in 2004 it has its own domain and is addressed at Rychlost.cz. In 2005 it changed the address to Bandwidth-test.net and changed again to https://Meter.net in 2014.

Just like other websites, to test internet speed simply click "Start test". Then, the results will appear in seconds. For more detailed results, click "Shows Detail of This Test".

6. SpeedCheck.org

With SpeedCheck, you can test your internet speed accurately and automatically. Devices that can be tested are cellphones, tablets, and computers, via a browser available on each device. To display accurate results on mobile devices, it is recommended to download the app which is available for both iOS and Android.

Why is that? This is because the browser on mobile devices has poor performance. For the results, you can find out the download and upload speeds, as well as the latency, IP address, and provider used. You can access it via a browser by visiting https://www.speedcheck.org.

7. AT&T Speed Test

Who doesn't know AT&T? It is the largest telecommunications company in the world as well as the largest cellular telephone service provider in the United States through AT&T Communications.

To test internet speed, simply visit https://www.att.com/support/speedtest and click the "Start" button. In a moment, the results will come out. You can find out the speed of download, upload, and ping and jitter data. Internet speed test on the AT&T website provided by Ookla, LLC.

Well, that's 7 ways to test internet speed via a website. Simple, practical, and free of charge.