Author: Fran Pérez

{ "de-DE": "Großer Anhänger der Videospiel- und Technologieindustrie, er hat bei Medien wie Alfa Beta Juega, Urban Tecno oder Nintenderos mitgewirkt. Zusätzlich leitet er einen kleinen Blog, der sich auf Videospiele konzentriert, HelGames.", "en-US": "Avid follower of the video game and technology industry, he has worked with media such as Alfa Beta Juega, Urban Tecno, or Nintenderos. Additionally, he runs a small blog focused on video games, HelGames.", "es-ES": "Gran seguidor de la industria del videojuego y la tecnología, ha pasado por medios como Alfa Beta Juega, Urban Tecno o Nintenderos. Adicionalmente, dirige un pequeño blog centrado en videojuegos, HelGames.", "fr-FR": "Grand suiveur de l'industrie du jeu vidéo et de la technologie, il a collaboré avec des médias tels que Alfa Beta Juega, Urban Tecno ou Nintenderos. De plus, il dirige un petit blog axé sur les jeux vidéo, HelGames.", "it-IT": "Grande seguace dell'industria dei videogiochi e della tecnologia, ha lavorato con media come Alfa Beta Juega, Urban Tecno o Nintenderos. Inoltre, gestisce un piccolo blog focalizzato sui videogiochi, HelGames.", "ja-JP": "", "nl-NL": "", "pl-PL": "", "pt-BR": "Grande seguidor da indústria de videogames e tecnologia, passou por mídias como Alfa Beta Juega, Urban Tecno ou Nintenderos. Além disso, dirige um pequeno blog focado em videogames, HelGames.", "social": { "email": "", "facebook": "", "twitter": "", "linkedin": "" } }

OneDrive documents can now be opened directly from the Files app on a Chromebook

If you are users of any Chromebook, which operate under the ChromeOS operating system, the news we are going to talk about in this post will surely interest you. Quite some time ago, Google announced that they were working on a new feature for the mentioned operating system, with which its users could open documents from applications such as Word, Excel or PowerPoint directly from the files of the Chromebook itself. Well, after a long wait, it seems that this is already being implemented.

Microsoft 365 Download

That is to say, Chromebook users can now open OneDrive documents directly from the Files app on their ChromeOS device. Obviously, not only will you be able to open these documents, but you can also edit them from your device. Google has shared this news through a post on the support website, where they explain how this new addition works.

If you use a Chromebook, now you can open OneDrive documents directly from your device

“When you get access, you can simply open an Office file and then choose to open it in the Microsoft 365 app when prompted. From there, you will be guided through a unique setup experience to install the app and connect Microsoft OneDrive to the Chromebook Files app. That’s it! We will remember your preference and you will have quick and easy access to your files,” they indicate in the aforementioned post.

“You can try it today (if you haven’t already): just search and enable the “#upload-office-to-cloud” option. We will continue with the rollout over the next few weeks,” they add in the aforementioned blog post. With this, it is clear that if you are a Chromebook user and still cannot enjoy this functionality, you should not worry too much, as you will likely be able to do it in a few weeks, at most.

Microsoft 365 Download

Before the arrival of this feature, when opening an Office document on a Chromebook, it would open it from the Chrome browser. Well, now it allows you to choose the app to open the file, including Google Docs and Microsoft 365. If you choose the latter, you will have to complete some settings in order to be able to edit an Office document from the ChromeOS device itself.

WhatsApp intends to integrate a phone dialer into its application

Every now and then, WhatsApp adds new features and different innovations that refresh the user experience of Meta’s messaging service, so when there is talk of a future update, it doesn’t really surprise us. In that sense, it seems that the popular application intends to add its own phone dialer in an upcoming update.

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As recently discovered by the WABetaInfo portal, with the new update of the WhatsApp beta version for Android, version 2.24.9.28, Meta is implementing the aforementioned integrated phone number dialer. Therefore, although there is a possibility that it may not ultimately reach the global WhatsApp app, it seems that sooner or later it will be fully integrated so that all users can use this dialer.

WhatsApp is working on its own phone dialer

Although the mentioned portal has made this discovery, they also comment that this feature is not even available for use by beta version users of WhatsApp, although it is a matter of time before they receive it through a future update. Obviously, although it is not known, as we said before; it is a matter of time before this addition reaches the version of the service used by everyone. However, the website has shared a supposed screenshot of how the dialer will look like when it is launched.

The truth is that this is quite similar to what we can already find on our smartphone, so surely its use will be almost identical. It is worth mentioning that, for now, there is not much more information about it, but certainly this can be a very interesting addition for many users, since we will be able to make calls to unknown people without having to save their number, for example. In addition, WhatsApp’s end-to-end encrypted audio and video calls would take place over the Internet, which would benefit those people who are using WiFi or certain data plans, as stated by WABetaInfo.

WhatsApp Beta Download

That being said, we will be keeping an eye on the news that will arise around this future update that WhatsApp will receive at some point. This phone markup is a quite striking feature, but it is not the only update that has arrived and will arrive to the Meta service.

Google Maps will expand the use of generative AI and bring it to Labs

As you may already know, in the past month of February, Google implemented the use of generative AI in Maps to assist in the discovery of new places, things to do, and different businesses in the locations that are of interest to us. However, this feature is only available to local guides in the United States, although this is about to change, as reported by Android Authority.

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That’s right, the aforementioned source indicates that Google Maps intends to expand the use of generative AI to all those who want to make use of this feature of the Mountain View service. The way to expand this use will be to bring it to Labs, Google’s experimentation laboratory where functions can be tested before their official release, and for this, you just have to be registered (and anyone can do this). This upcoming arrival of AI to Labs has been discovered through the code of Google Maps.

Google Maps will bring the use of generative AI to Labs

The mentioned Maps code, which you can read in full on Android Authority, indicates that this implementation is a “generative AI experiment from Labs” with which users can “supercharge their search” with this technology to “find new ideas, inspiration, and adventures in a faster and easier way”. Likewise, they also warn in this that this feature is still in its early stages and that, based on the experience of different participants, they intend to improve it.

What seems evident with all this is that, with its arrival to Google Labs, this experimental feature will eventually reach Google Maps and all its users. Everything points to that, without a doubt, but only time will tell when it gets implemented, if it happens at all. On the other hand, its arrival to Labs doesn’t have an exact date yet, but it doesn’t seem like it will take too long to land in the mentioned experimentation laboratory of Mountain View.

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As we mentioned before, this experimental generative AI function shows, through a chat interface, new places, things to do, and different businesses to discover in a locality. It achieves this by analyzing community contributions and then offering suggestions that are categorized and accompanied by images and reviews. In addition, you can also ask follow-up questions to Maps to get results related to the topic. We will see when this outstanding feature arrives in Labs.

Google Meet will have several artificial intelligence-based features, and you will have to pay for them

As is the case in most of the tech industry, the giants of the sector have artificial intelligence as their major bet for the present and the future, so Google was not going to be an exception, of course. A clear example of this is Gemini, the multimodal artificial intelligence of the American firm, whose technology is gradually reaching existing services of those in Mountain View, as you already know. Now, the company has announced several new artificial intelligence features that are preparing to arrive at Workspace and more specifically to Meet, and these will not be free.

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In relation to this, Google announced in a recent post on its Workspace blog that all AI innovations they are developing for their different services will be paid. Specifically, the monthly subscription will be $10 per user, which is a standard fee for each of these features. In fact, Google Meet already has some of these innovations, which aim to streamline the work of employees in companies that use these services.

Google Meet will have new and interesting AI-driven features

If you want to enjoy the new features of Gemini in Google Meet, you should know that these new functions, and all the ones announced by the company for all Workspace services, can be added as an add-on to any of the following plans: Business, Enterprise, Frontline, and Nonprofit. Obviously, not all of these functions are available yet. In any case, Google has added the new AI tool “Take notes for me” in Meet, which will take notes during meetings so that users can focus on the conversation itself.

AI will be responsible for summarizing and creating a list of notes about everything that happened in the meeting, regardless of the number of participants. This tool can provide the entire conversation in context and transfer all the important details into a document that can be used as a summary. This feature is already available in Meet, but the service is preparing to receive another exciting update, although it will have to wait a little longer for it.

Google has also announced that, starting in June, its mentioned service will feature “Translate for me”, a function dedicated to automatic and instant translation of subtitles. In fact, this important addition to Meet will be able to translate and transcribe the entire conversation in real time on both screens where the meeting is taking place. It is worth mentioning, in addition, that this artificial intelligence function will be compatible with up to 69 languages, resulting in 4,600 language combinations available. As for the translated transcription of the entire conversation, it can be summarized and downloaded later in a text document.

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In addition to all this, Google Meet will also allow the use of generative backgrounds as part of these new artificial intelligence features, as well as the ability to take advantage of adaptive audio benefits. In addition, Google Chat will also have the option to add a watermark when sharing screens and conversation summaries. These additional innovations do not yet have a specific arrival date to these Mountain View programs.

WhatsApp is preparing to receive an interesting update in its image editor

WhatsApp is undoubtedly the most popular and successful messaging service that exists, so it is normal for Meta to constantly evolve one of its main services. In addition to receiving constant security updates, the app, in its beta version, is testing a new feature that aims to allow us to exchange messages with other contacts we have never spoken to before.

WhatsApp Beta Download

However, this is not the only thing and from the WABetaInfo portal they have discovered a very juicy novelty that WhatsApp is testing in its mentioned beta version. To be exact, in the latest beta update of the Meta service, great innovations have been incorporated into its image editor, which also implies changes in its drawing tool to make it as accessible as possible. These changes, above all, will benefit those who use these tools on large screens.

WhatsApp’s drawing tool will be more accessible for larger screens

If you are a user of the beta version of WhatsApp on Android, you have probably already noticed that the mentioned changes in the drawing tool have already been implemented. If so, you will have seen that the drawing menu has been moved directly to the bottom of the screen, making it much easier to access, both the brushes and the colors, for users with mobile devices with large screens. Currently, the colors are located in the upper right corner of the screen, while the brushes are already located at the bottom of it.

With this change, the truth is that everything becomes more simplified and convenient for its use. Another big change within all this is the way we will be able to see the selectable colors. The current system makes us choose the color we need at any given time by sliding a finger through the color slider menu, but with this update colors can be chosen more quickly and directly, of which there will be up to 24 default options. As we say, we believe that this change will benefit everyone, but especially users who have large screens, whether they are foldable mobiles or tablets, for example.

WhatsApp Beta Download

Before finishing, it is worth remembering that these changes in the drawing tool of the image editor are currently only available in the beta version of WhatsApp for Android, so only a few can test them thoroughly. However, sooner or later, it is expected that this interesting update will reach the app that everyone can enjoy from their mobiles and other devices.

The global PC market is growing this year and is returning to a level similar to before the pandemic

As reported by IDC consulting firm, it seems that the global PC market is once again reaching levels similar to those before the coronavirus pandemic. In other words, the mentioned market has experienced growth during the first quarter of this 2024, which is undoubtedly great news for the sector.

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The mentioned analyst company has indicated that global shipments have grown by 1.5% during the first three months of 2024, which means that 59.8 million shipments have been made. The most striking thing about this news is that, after several years without experiencing growth, the computer market is growing again and approaching pre-pandemic figures. Specifically, during the first quarter of 2019, this sector shipped 60.5 million units.

The global PC market grows after several years without doing so

As you can see, the increase in shipments is more than remarkable and it makes the PC market return to more optimal levels. This news has a greater impact if we review the figures for the same period last year, since in the first quarter of 2023 it fell by 28.7%, which was the lowest point in the history of the mentioned sector. The growth of the market during the first months of the year is something that has had a great effect in regions such as America or EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), while in China it seems that there is a weak demand that is harming the desktop computer segment.

Furthermore, Jitesh Ubrani, research director at IDC, stated the following: “Despite the challenges in China, recovery is expected to continue in 2024 as new AI-powered PCs hit the shelves later this year and commercial buyers start to upgrade the PCs they purchased during the pandemic. Along with the growth in shipments, AI-powered PCs are also expected to have higher prices, which will provide more opportunities for PC and component manufacturers.”

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Before finishing, IDC also provided additional data, such as the one that reflects which original equipment manufacturer has achieved better results during this market growth. In first position, we find Lenovo, a company that has a market share of 23%, followed by HP with a market share of 20.1%. In addition, Dell is also in third place, with a market share of 15.5%, and Apple in fourth place, with a share of 6.1%.

WhatsApp wants you to exchange messages with contacts you have never chatted with before

Talking about the popularity and success of WhatsApp in 2024 is unnecessary to say the least. However, what is not unnecessary is talking about the new features that the messaging service from Meta keeps adding over time. In this case, it seems that the company wants us to get in touch with users we have never talked to before, or with those we haven’t spoken to in person for a long time, and to achieve this, they are implementing a new and interesting feature.

WhatsApp Beta Download

As discovered by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is implementing a new feature called “Suggested Contacts”, which is a new list of users that the application will suggest for us to chat with, and that will appear in the chats section of the app itself. In this sense, Meta wants us to interact with even more people, in addition to those we regularly talk to. This addition is already available in the beta version of WhatsApp, thanks to the new update of version 2.24.9.5.

WhatsApp wants us to talk to contacts we’ve never chatted with before

However, although this new feature aims to connect people who have never chatted with each other from WhatsApp, it will not be intrusive at all and will not interrupt the chats we have active. That is, this addition only seeks to be a simple way for us to contact other users with whom we have never exchanged messages, as we have already said. Likewise, it should be noted that this new feature will suggest talking to contacts we have in our contact list, as expected.

The mentioned portal, which has shared this information, indicates that this new feature will be available for all users of the app, whether they are new or not. For new users, this will be a very simple and direct way to start a new chat with any contact from their list. However, for now there is no exact date for when this new feature can be enjoyed by all users of the Meta app.

WhatsApp Beta Download

As we mentioned before, this “Suggested Contacts” feature of WhatsApp is currently only available in the beta version of the Android service, so only a few people will be able to enjoy it. However, you can always download that version and try out the mentioned novelty and many others that are being added to WhatsApp.

Meta could lower the price of the ad-free subscription for Instagram and Facebook in Europe

If you are Facebook and Instagram users, you probably already know that for several months, Meta offers the possibility to subscribe to a paid plan to enjoy these social networks without personalized ads in the European Union. This plan was implemented to comply with the requirements of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in order to prohibit the display of ads based on each user’s personal data.

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Well, now, as reported by Reuters, Meta would be considering giving a twist to its mentioned subscription plan in order to address concerns with the current method by privacy and antitrust regulators. Up until now, the payment plan on the web version costs 9.99 euros per month, while the Android and iOS version is priced at 12.99 euros per month; and now, according to the aforementioned media outlet, Mark Zuckerberg’s company “has offered to almost halve its monthly subscription fee for Facebook and Instagram” to “address privacy and antitrust regulators’ concerns”, as we mentioned before.

Meta offers to reduce the price of the ad-free subscription plan for Instagram and Facebook in the EU

In addition to this, it should be mentioned that an additional fee of 6 euros per month is also added in the web version and 8 euros per month in the iOS and Android version for each additional account added to the mentioned subscription plan. These costs would also be reduced. Specifically, as stated by Meta’s lawyer, Tim Lamb, in a hearing of the European Commission, the company has “offered to lower the price from 9.99 euros to 5.99 euros for a single account and 4 euros for any additional account”.

This move that they are willing to make from Meta comes after the growing criticism that the company’s ad-free subscription service is receiving from privacy activists and consumer groups. Therefore, this price reduction would serve to calm the situation a bit and balance the demands of EU privacy laws and the DMA.

“This is by far the lowest end of the range that any reasonable person should pay for services of this quality. And I think it’s a serious offer,” Lamb added. It has also been indicated that Zuckerberg’s company offered this price reduction to regulators earlier this year and are now discussing it with data protection authorities, such as the Irish supervisory authority, to assess its feasibility for acceptance by the European Commission.

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Obviously, we can always choose the free option to use Facebook and Instagram, although with the appearance of advertising when using these social networks; since if you decide not to pay for their use, Meta will be able to carry out personalized advertising campaigns for each user. It is also worth mentioning that, beyond advertising, the experience will remain the same.

Bing, Edge, and Copilot become part of the new Microsoft AI division

As we have already told you, Mustafa Suleyman, the creator of DeepMind and Inflection, has joined Microsoft to lead the new Microsoft division, which has been named Microsoft AI. However, this is not all that has happened and there have been some interesting changes in Microsoft’s services.

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To be exact, as part of the whole transition taking place at Microsoft following the addition of Suleyman, to which we must add the arrival of Karen Simonyan, co-founder of Inflection, and the establishment of the Microsoft AI division; there are also movements for Mikhail Parakhin and his respective team, as well as for Misha Bilenko. Bing, Edge, and Copilot, along with Parakhin and his team, become part of the new Microsoft AI division.

Microsoft moves Bing, Edge, and Copilot to its new AI division

Misha Bilenko and his entire GenAI team also join the new division led by Suleyman. Of course, both Parakhin and Bilenko will have to report directly on any important aspect to the executive vice president and chief executive officer of the new division created by those from Redmond.

As we mentioned, these changes are part of the restructuring caused by the arrival of the creator of DeepMind as the new CEO of Microsoft’s artificial intelligence. Additionally, it should be noted that Kevin Scott will continue to be the Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of AI at the company. In the case of Rajesh Jha, he will continue in his position as Executive Vice President of Experience and Devices, as well as building Copilot in collaboration with Suleyman himself.

Microsoft Edge Download

Although it is evident that part of Microsoft’s big bet on AI will be reflected in Windows throughout this year, the mentioned service is not mentioned in the post published on the company’s official blog. We will see how the creation of the new Microsoft AI division and Suleyman’s leadership will affect this, and the other services of the Americans, who will be accompanied by Karen Simonyan, who will be the chief scientist of the consumer AI group.

AI is making a strong impact on the English dictionary, although it also makes clear the dangers it entails

The arrival of AI has had such an impact that even dictionaries have had to keep up and consider terms related to this technology. This has been the case with the Cambridge English Dictionary. The said dictionary recently announced its word of the year for 2023 and has added a new definition to it. Naturally, this new definition directly references artificial intelligence and the phenomenon it represents, although not in the best light.

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To begin with, it’s worth mentioning that the word selected as the most prominent of 2023 is “hallucinate”. This word seems to have a strong connection with the AI phenomenon, particularly with its manifestations in the form of chatbots. Among them, the most recognized is ChatGPT, the creation of OpenAI. Despite being the most recognized, it is not exempt from making certain errors or, as the aforementioned English dictionary calls it, “hallucinating” with certain data, which are often misleading or false.

The hallucinations from AI continue to be a concerning issue to consider

The Cambridge English Dictionary ha updated the definition of “hallucinate” to include an additional meaning: “When an artificial intelligence (= a computer system that has some of the qualities that the human brain has, such as the ability to produce language in a way that seems human) hallucinates, it produces false information.” With this new definition, the dictionary takes a significant step to make users aware that AI is not infallible and is capable of providing inaccurate and false information, despite appearing entirely plausible.

There have already been cases of misleading and false results from AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT and Google Bard, which recently opened its doors to younger users, for instance. In fact, OpenAI’s AI chatbot caused issues for a US law firm that, after using it for a series of investigations, found that it cited some fictitious cases in court. Cambridge Dictionary itself has added two examples to clarify its new definition, one of which speaks about the kind of errors experienced by the aforementioned law firm.

Wendalyn Nichols, Director of Publishing at Cambridge Dictionary, mentioned: “The fact that AIs can ‘hallucinate’ reminds us that humans still need to bring their critical thinking skills to the use of these tools. AIs are fantastic at processing large amounts of data to extract specific information and consolidate it. But the more original you ask them to be, the more likely they are to go astray.”

“Managing the tendency of generative AI tools to hallucinate will be key to ensuring that our users can continue to trust us,” Wendalyn added. “The emergence of a new meaning of ‘hallucinate’ is a good example of this. It’s human experts who track and capture changes in language that make the Cambridge Dictionary a reliable source of information about new words and senses, ones that publicly-facing AI tools have not yet learned.”

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Beyond all this, the Cambridge Dictionary has not only highlighted even more the problems that can arise from the use and blind trust in AI-based technology (obviously, these hallucinations of artificial intelligence will diminish over time, but it’s true that currently they are far from disappearing and can cause many issues). Additionally, throughout 2023, several definitions related to AI have been added, and it’s expected that in 2024, this type of language will have much more presence and impact.