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moonstarphoenix · 6 years

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Theory on Chris Evans, Steve Rogers and Avengers 4

So I’m bored and with Chris Evans posting that tweet about ‘Senior Year’ with the hashtag #A4, I want to do some speculating on what’s next for the Marvel Movies and Captain America.

Before I begin, DISCLAIMER: This is merely my opinions and thoughts on the MCU and Captain America’s future. Nobody should really hold any sort of weight for anything here and I’m probably wrong, since whenever I do this, I usually turn out to be wrong. Please don’t take it for fact, but merely a fun, alternate look at rumors and theories floating around for Avengers 4. Mostly, my speculation is formed through the Marvel promotional phase for Avengers: Infinity War and recent stuff.

Also, I so apologize. This got incredibly long. If you stay with me to the end, let me know what you think. I would love to know what everybody thinks about Avengers 4 and Steve’s fate. Here we go.

That said, my major feeling/theory/speculation is simply STEVE ROGERS WON’T DIE IN AVENGERS 4.

First, I’ll admit I don’t read the comics, but quick research tells me that while Steve Rogers did ‘die’ in the comics, he was actually sent back in time before being restored to the present. This is the storyline that he gives Bucky the shield. So I know the MCU doesn’t follow the comics exactly, yet I keep seeing this used as proof that Steve will die in A4. However, he is alive in the comics. Keep this in mind as I work through the other points.

Talk of Steve Rogers dying started for the third Avengers movie. Even the Russo Brothers started to kind of push the narrative. Anybody remember right before the movie, their twitter picture changing to Bucky as Cap? They didn’t come right out and say anything, but the Marvel group certainly encouraged it. REMEMBER MARVEL IS AND HAS BEEN STRICT WITH SPOILERS, with the exception of talkers Mark Ruffalo and Tom Holland. So why would this huge spoiler be hinted at so strongly before the third Avengers? Obviously that was a red herring since everyone but the ones people thought actually would die were the ones dusted. Anyway, for a major character to die, that’s a pretty big spoiler to circulate and for the creators to subtly push as a narrative, especially as protective as they are for spoilers.

And let’s not forget that both Robert Downey, Jr.’s and Chris Hemsworth’s contracts are up as well. Yet, there’s very little speculation that their characters will die. Why the focus on Steve and Chris Evans, especially when we know that RDJ and Hemsworth appear to be done whereas Chris is dropping hints at not being completely done? (Hemsworth, I don’t think, is going to find a lot of success outside Marvel, so I expect him to be back at some point.Plus, I believe he has expressed interest with what Taika Wahiti did with Ragnarok.)

Then, there’s Chris himself. Since Civil War, Chris has been talking very openly about his contract ending and being ready to move on. On the surface, this is typical. Actors grow tired of the same character and wish to challenge themselves, take on new opportunities. Chris has talked about wanting to direct again as well. Okay, that’s normal. No Big Deal.

Also, being this public about leaving a billion dollar franchise is also a negotiating 101 tool actors use for new contracts. Fans are devastated and vocal since they see Chris as Cap, Marvel wants to keep him, etc., so it’s put out there that a beloved character might die and use the public reaction to negotiate a better contract with more freedom and more money. Again, typical, normal Hollywood behavior.

Now, the interview where Chris ‘confirmed’ he was leaving Marvel in March. In the New York Times, he is quoted as saying:

For now, he has no plans to return to the franchise (“You want to get off the train before they push you off,” he said), and expects that planned reshoots in the fall will mark the end of his tenure in the familiar red, white and blue super suit.

Notice the wording. The phrases ‘for now’ and ‘no plans’ could indicate that while yes right now, he’s stepping back, it doesn’t mean he’s hanging up the shield. It sounds like he would be willing to step back into the suit as some point. How could he do it if the character is dead?

Add to that his only promo appearance for Avengers: Infinity War at Good Morning America, he walks back the above quote and instead clarifies that it’s the contract that’s up and literally says ‘we’ll see’ with this secretive, knowing smile to the hope of the hosts that he wasn’t done. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfOeQj7HsCE&t=2s -- at 1:06 is where that discussion takes place. They even joke about him starting the negotiating right then. Again, how can he return if the character is dead?

So as this gets too long (of course. how does anybody write short posts?!), here’s my conclusions. Based on the above, the comic, the pushing of the Steve dying narrative, and Chris walking back the assumption he’s done, I don’t think Steve will die in Avengers 4. I think (or hope) he’ll be exhausted from the fight, hand over the shield, and disappear to live the life he wanted. Especially if there’s the rumored five year time jump and he has to live with the deaths of T’Challa, Bucky, Sam, the Vision, and Wanda. Honestly, I think it’s Tony that has more of a chance to sacrifice himself and Steve might run the Avengers behind the scenes. Or he could continue to fight but the focus of the movies will be on the new generation of the MCU with mentions of him on other missions.

Add to that, Kevin F. and the Russo Brothers are saying Avengers 4 will be an emotional punch. Take it from someone who grew up watching soaps and reading similar phrasing, that doesn’t always mean death. Perhaps, Tony marries Pepper and they find out she’s pregnant, Steve retires/turns over the shield, and Thor settles a new Asgard, all of this leaving the door open for cameos and comebacks should they wish.

I know there’s a new rumor about Steve going back to 1940 and staying and I have to admit, I hate that rumor and storyline even more than the death one. It’s contrite and the easy way out. Not to mention, anybody who has read/seen anything with time travel would know that if he did that, that would mess with the timeline and affect events he wasn’t around for. For example, you cannot tell me that knowing what he knows, Steve wouldn’t hunt down Bucky after the fall which would change Hydra, the timeline of The Winter Soldier, and even Natasha’s storyline. Even if they erase his memory, his being there still changes/affects events since the whole thing was Cap coming back from the ice to defeat the aliens in the first Avenger. And leaving the original Steve in the ice while the one from the future to live his life is overtly complicated. The MCU seems to be trying to streamline the storylines. Also, and I admit not having watched Agent Carter but wouldn’t Steve have appeared in that if they ended up together?

So, what I think happens is Steve gives up the shield but lives. He lets either Bucky or Sam take it and honestly given how the MCU set everything up, it’s likely Sam will take the shield and Bucky becomes a different version of the White Wolf. Tony might possibly be the sacrifice, but could live to marry Pepper. Thor, I’m not sure. I would laugh my head off while crying if he was the one to die, since no one is really speculating on him (oooh there’s a possibility, no Loki, no Asgard, and he was the one who left during AOU for answers regarding the stones, hmmmmm.) Let’s not forget the idea of Steve possibly continuing ‘the ‘Secret Avengers’ working under cover and perhaps just not shown in the MCU.

I think my point in all of this is, don’t make the assumption that what you read, especially this early will be what happens. What gets me is that both sides really pushed that narrative of Chris leaving, knowing the most common speculation and most importantly, assumption would be Cap dying. Marvel is too good at protecting spoilers and since this assumption has existed for awhile, it seems unlikely that such a commonly accepted endgame would come to pass. There’s no surprise and no emotional, gutwrenching moment if the audience has had so long to think about it and accept it. I mean, no one saw the snap coming and those that died being the ones that did.

I fully aware that some of this is wishful thinking. I love Steve as Cap, his movie was the first I saw years ago and I only just got into the Marvel movies this year, so obviously I’m not ready for his tenure to end already. I just don’t think they are closing that door completely with a final Steve death. At the very least, I can see them using a surprise ‘resurrection’ during a future movie to bring him back.

I do think Chris will step back for at least a couple of years. He wants a break and is ready to use his new pull for new projects and challenges. So, I do think we’ll get a few years before we see Steve again (if we do). But I also think they either already have a new contract in place or are in the midst of negotiating. I just don’t think the character will die or be sent back in time. I think Marvel is using the fans’ assumptions to protect the real ending. I don’t believe that a plot ending so heavily reported, speculated, and generally accepted is what is going to happen. It’s too on the nose compared to what they’ve pulled off before.

Anyway, I’m probably wrong and this is too long, so if you read it to the end, thank you! I guess we’ll find out in EIGHT months. God it feels soooo long!

#chris evans #steve rogers #captain america #avengers 4 #avengers: infinity war

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dailynewswebsite · 4 years

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Trump’s decade-old audit illustrates why the IRS targets the working poor as much as the rich

Trump has tried to maintain his taxes at nighttime for years. Alex Wong/Getty Pictures

The New York Instances’ unique on President Donald Trump’s taxes accommodates a whole lot of startling new findings.

Just a few noteworthy examples: He paid solely US$750 in federal revenue tax in 2016 and 2017 – and nothing in any respect in 10 of the earlier 15 years; he took huge revenue tax deductions for property tax funds on a New York property he apparently makes use of for private causes; he paid consulting charges to relations; and he took $70,000 in enterprise deductions for haircuts.

The report additionally zeroed in on a indisputable fact that has been well-known for a few years but in my thoughts overshadows the entire different discoveries: Trump’s taxes are beneath audit and have been so since no less than 2011. Trump claims that’s why he can’t launch his taxes, although the IRS itself says that’s not the case. He additionally says he has paid “hundreds of thousands of {dollars}” in taxes in recent times.

Why is it taking so lengthy to audit Trump’s taxes, when the IRS often wraps up its audits inside a yr?

As a tax regulation skilled, I imagine a motive Trump’s audit is taking so lengthy is said to the IRS’s follow of focusing on the working poor at charges corresponding to the rich. It’s exhausting to reel within the wealthy and sometimes simpler to concentrate on the poor.

The grey areas of tax regulation

Tax regulation is usually perceived as an train in crunching the numbers. The taxpayer – or an accountant – merely plugs in information from her numerous W-2s and 1099s, and out comes a determine. Some tax preparation companies even present the taxpayer the real-time impact of every entry on the quantity of tax owed.

In actuality, tax regulation has loads of grey areas, notably for enterprise house owners, wherein tax regulation relies on subjectively judging why an individual did what she or he did.

When somebody acts for enterprise causes, they need to be capable of deduct their bills. Because the saying goes, “You need to spend cash to generate income.” The federal revenue tax is a internet revenue tax, which means it respects that previous saying and applies solely to earnings that exceed prices. If somebody is performing for private causes like consumption or leisure, a tax deduction is usually not allowed.

Uncovering the motives behind the actions of any individual requires a whole lot of info and troublesome evaluation, however for somebody like Trump, whose character is his enterprise, the duty is exponentially tougher.

As an example, is Trump’s Seven Springs property in New York enterprise or private property? If it’s for enterprise, property taxes paid on it are absolutely deductible. If it’s private property, solely $10,000 of the property taxes might be deducted, because of Trump’s personal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The reply relies on a whole lot of elements, similar to how he promotes the property, what varieties of enhancements he makes and what he does whereas there. Regardless of some contradictory statements from his sons, The New York Instances means that Trump has handled the Seven Springs property as enterprise property, which might permit him to completely deduct the taxes on the property.

One other grey space is the $26 million he claims in consulting charges, together with ones reportedly paid to relations similar to his daughter Ivanka. To find out if consulting charges paid to a member of the family are literally nondeductible presents, the IRS should study what she was requested to do and whether or not the charges have been cheap. It’s unclear from The New York Instances story what precisely Ivanka was tasked with doing to earn the virtually $750,000 in charges Trump deducted.

As for Trump’s $70,000 in haircuts, to find out in the event that they have been deductible, the IRS should perceive whether or not they have been distinctive to his job on “The Apprentice.” Inherently private bills – issues like grooming, meals and commuting – are extremely troublesome to deduct. Trump must show that his enterprise motives utterly outweighed his private ones. In different phrases, he must present that he wouldn’t have gotten haircuts however for his enterprise. Since he deducted the cuts, we will presume his hair would have gone unkempt with out the present.

Trump has repeatedly promised to launch his tax returns, some extent raised throughout Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s Home testimony in Could 2019. Mark Wilson/Getty Pictures

Simpler targets

Compounding the problem of finding out these grey areas, the IRS is working on a shoestring finances, regardless of analysis displaying {that a} greenback of funding within the IRS yields greater than a greenback in tax collections. Auditors should stretch their budgets to uncover the knowledge they want after which make troublesome judgment calls.

The IRS’s restricted sources imply that auditors find yourself focusing their consideration on instances with extra simple points and extra accessible info. That’s why lower-income people receiving the earned revenue tax credit score have been audited at a 1.2% price in 2016, essentially the most present yr of principally full information, corresponding to the audit price of roughly 1.5% for people incomes over $500,000.

Usually, EITC audits are resolved inside a yr. That’s as a result of examiners can search for goal info, similar to what number of youngsters are within the residence, quite than finding out subjective motives behind bills. Usually computer systems can shortly flag errors, making for extra open-and-shut instances.

As well as, as my analysis has proven, state and federal governments have already got a whole lot of details about people receiving public help, such because the earned revenue tax credit score. Auditors don’t need to spend their restricted sources getting info out of EITC recipients.

Whereas auditing the poor could also be simpler than focusing on the wealthy, auditing wealthier people is more likely to do rather more to shut the tax hole – the distinction between what’s owed to Uncle Sam and what’s really collected – which the IRS most lately estimated at about $381 billion. As a result of most misreported revenue comes from instances the place the taxpayer alone controls the details about the revenue, the IRS would possibly gather extra underpayments if it had extra sources for auditing the wealthy.

[Understand new developments in science, health and technology, each week. Subscribe to The Conversation’s science newsletter.]

Letting the large fish go

Taxpayer privateness protections make it unimaginable to know precisely why Trump is being audited. However the issue of finding out these grey areas of regulation whereas Trump holds many of the related info nearly actually has contributed to the size of the audit.

If nothing else, the reporting on Trump’s taxes highlights that taxpayers like him are the most important fish however the hardest to catch, notably when you may have an inexpensive rod. IRS audits have as an alternative targeted on smaller fish downstream.

Hayes Holderness doesn’t work for, seek the advice of, personal shares in or obtain funding from any firm or group that will profit from this text, and has disclosed no related affiliations past their tutorial appointment.

from Growth News https://growthnews.in/trumps-decade-old-audit-illustrates-why-the-irs-targets-the-working-poor-as-much-as-the-rich/ via https://growthnews.in

#Growth News

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digital-strategy · 6 years

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That’s a wrap! After a bustling three days at Google I/O, we have a lot to look back on and a lot to look forward to, from helpful features made possible with AI to updates that help you develop a sense of digital wellbeing. Here are 100 of our Google I/O announcements, in no particular order—because we don’t play favorites. 💯

1. Hey Google, you sound great today! You can now choose from six new voices for your Google Assistant. 2. There will even be some familiar voices later this year, with John Legend lending his melodic tones to the Assistant. 3. The Assistant is becoming more conversational. With AI and WaveNet technology, we can better mimic the subtleties of the human voice—the pitch, pace and, um, the pauses. 4. Continued Conversation lets you have a natural back-and-forth conversation without repeating “Hey Google” for each follow-up request. And the Google Assistant will be able to understand when you’re talking to it versus someone else, and respond accordingly. 5. We’re rolling out Multiple Actions so the Google Assistant can understand more complex queries like: “What’s the weather like in New York and in Austin?” 6. Custom Routines allow you to create your own Routine, and start it with a phrase that feels best for you. For example, you can create a Custom Routine for family dinner, and kick it off by saying "Hey Google, dinner's ready" and the Assistant can turn on your favorite music, turn off the TV, and broadcast “dinner time!” to everyone in the house. 7. Soon you’ll be able to schedule Routines for a specific day or time using the Assistant app or through the Google Clock app for Android. 8. Families have listened to over 130,000 hours of children’s stories on the Assistant in the last two months alone. 9. Later this year we’ll introduce Pretty Please so the Assistant can understand and encourage polite conversation from your little ones. 10. Smart Display devices will be available this summer, bringing the simplicity of voice and the Google Assistant together with a rich visual experience. 11. We redesigned the Assistant experience on the phone. The Assistant will give you a quick snapshot of your day, with suggestions based on the time of day, location and recent interactions with the Assistant. 12. Bon appetit! A new food pick-up and delivery experience for the Google Assistant app will be available later this year. 13. Keep your eyes on the road—the Assistant is coming to navigation in Google Maps with a low visual profile. You can keep your hands on the wheel while sending text messages, playing music and more. 14.Google Duplex is a new capability we will be testing this summer within the Google Assistant to you help you make reservations, schedule appointments, and get holiday hours from businesses. Just provide the date and time, and your Assistant will call the business to coordinate for you. 15.The Google Assistant will be available in 80 countries by the end of the year. 16. We’re also bringing Google Home and Google Home Mini to seven more countries later this year: Spain, Mexico, Korea, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

17.Soon you’ll see Smart Compose in Gmail, a new feature powered by AI, that helps you save you time by cutting back on repetitive writing, while reducing the chance of spelling and grammatical errors in your emails. 18. ML Kit brings the breadth of Google’s machine learning technology to app developers, including on-device APIs for text recognition, face detection, image labeling and more. It’s available in one mobile SDK, accessible through Firebase, and works on both Android and iOS. 19.Our third-generation TPUs (Tensor Processing Units) are liquid-cooled and much more powerful than the previous generation, allowing us to train and run models faster so more products can be enhanced with AI. 20. We published results in a Nature Research journal showing that our AI model can predict medical events, helping doctors spot problems before they happen. 21. AI is making it easier for Waymo’s vehicles to drive in different environments, whether it’s the snowy streets of Michigan, foggy hills of San Francisco or rainy roads of Kirkland. With these improvements, we’re moving closer to our goal of bringing self-driving technology to everyone, everywhere.

22.We unveiled a beta version of Android P, focused on intelligence, simplicity and digital wellbeing. 23. We partnered with DeepMind to build Adaptive Battery, which prioritizes battery power for the apps and services you use most. 24. Adaptive Brightness in Android P learns how you like to set the brightness based on your surroundings, and automatically updates it to conserve energy. 25. App Actions help you get to your next task quickly by predicting what action you’ll take next. So if you connect your headphones to your device, Android will suggest an action to resume your favorite Spotify playlist. 26. Actions will also show up throughout your Android phone in places like the Launcher, Smart Text Selection, the Play Store, the Google Search app and the Assistant. 27. Slices makes your smartphone even smarter by showing parts of apps right when you need them most. Say for example you search for “Lyft” in Google Search on your phone—you can see an interactive Slice that gives you the price and time for a trip to work, and you can quickly order the ride. 28. A new enterprise work profile visually separates your work apps. Tap on the work tab to see work apps all in one place, and turn them off with a simple toggle when you get off work. 29. Less is more! Swipe up on the home button in Android P to see a newly designed Overview, with full-screen previews of recently used apps. Simply tap once to jump back into any app. 30. If you’re constantly switching between apps, we’ve got good news for you. Smart Text Selection (which recognizes the meaning of the text you’re selecting and suggests relevant actions) now works in Overview, making it easier to perform the action you want. 31.Android P also brings a redesigned Quick Settings, a better way to take and edit screenshots (say goodbye to the vulcan grip that was required before), simplified volume controls, an easier way to manage notifications and more. 32. Technology should help you with your life, not distract you from it. Android P comes with digital wellbeing features built into the platform. 33.Dashboard gives you a snapshot on how you’re spending time on your phone. It includes information about how long you’ve spent in apps, how many times you unlocked your phone and how many notifications you’ve received. 34.You can take more control over how you engage with your phone. App Timer lets you set time limits on apps, and when you get close to your time limit Android will nudge you that it is time to do something else. 35. Do Not Disturb (DND) mode has more oomph. Not only does it silence phone calls and texts, but it also hides visual disruptions like notifications that pop up on your display. 36. We created a gesture to help you focus on being present: If you turn your phone over on the table, it automatically enters DND. 37. With a new API, you can automatically set your status on messaging apps to “away” when DND is turned on. 38.Fall asleep a little easier with Wind Down. Set a bedtime and your phone will automatically switch to Night Light mode and fade to grayscale to eliminate distractions. 39.Android P is packed with security and privacy improvements updated security protocols, encrypted backups, protected confirmations and more. 40.Thanks to work on Project Treble, an effort we introduced last year to make OS upgrades easier for partners, Android P Beta is available on partner devices including Sony Xperia XZ2, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S, Nokia 7 Plus, Oppo R15 Pro, Vivo X21, OnePlus 6, and Essential PH‑1, in addition to Pixel and Pixel 2.

41. Say hello to the JBL LINK BAR. We worked with Harman to launch this hybrid device that delivers a full Google Assistant speaker and Android TV experience. 42. We released a limited edition Android TV dongle device, the ADT-2, for developers to create more with Android TV. 43. Android Auto is now working with more than 50 OEMs to support more than 400 cars and aftermarket stereos. 44. Volvo’s next-gen infotainment system powered by Android will integrate with Google apps, including Maps, Assistant and Play Store. 45. Watch out! You can get more done from your watch with new features from the Google Assistant on Wear OS by Google. 46. Smart suggestions from the Google Assistant on Wear OS by Google let you continue conversations directly from your watch. Choose from contextually relevant follow-up questions or responses. 47. Now you can choose to hear answers from your watch speaker or Bluetooth headphones. Just ask Google Assistant on your watch “tell me about my day.” 48. Actions will be available on all Wear OS by Google watches, so you can use your voice to do tasks like preheat your LG oven while you’re unloading your groceries or ask Bay Trains when the next train is leaving. And we’re working with developers and partners to add more Actions and functionalities.

49. We’ve mapped more than 21 million miles across 220 countries, put hundreds of millions of businesses on the map, and provided access to more than 1 billion people around the world. 50.Google Maps is becoming more assistive and personal. A redesigned Explore tab features everything you need to know about dining, events and activity options in whatever area you’re interested in. 51. Top lists give you information from local experts, Google’s algorithms and trusted publishers so you can see everything that's new and interesting—like the most essential brunches or cheap eats nearby. 52. New features help you easily make plans as a group. You can create a shortlist of places within the app and share it with friends across any platform, so you can quickly vote and decide on a place to go. 53. Your "match" helps you see the world through your lens, suggesting how likely you are to enjoy a food or drink spot based on your preferences. 54. Updated walking directions help you get oriented on your walking journey more quickly and navigate the world on foot with more confidence. So when you emerge out of a subway or reach a crossing with more than four streets, you’ll know which way to go.

55. Suggested actions, powered by machine learning, will start to show up on your photos right as you view them—giving you the option to brighten, share, rotate or archive a picture. Another action on the horizon is the ability to quickly export photos of documents into PDFs. 56. New color pop creations leave the subject of your photo in color while setting the background to black and white. 57. We’re also working on the ability for you to change black-and-white photos into color in just a tap. 58. We announced the Google Photos partner program, giving developers the tools to build smarter, faster and more helpful photo and video experiences in their products, so you can interact with your photos across more apps and devices.

59. The updatedGoogle News uses a new set of AI techniques to find and organize quality reporting and diverse information from around the web, in real time, and organize it into storylines so you can make sense of what’s happening from the world stage to your own backyard. 60. The “For You” tab makes it easy to keep up to date on what you care about, starting with a “Daily Briefing” of five stories that Google has organized for you—a mix of the most important headlines, local news and the latest on your interests. 61.With Full Coverage, you can deep dive on a story with one click. This section is not personalized—everyone will see the same content including related articles, timelines, opinion and analysis pieces, video, timeline and the ability to see what the impact or reaction has been in real time. 62. The separate Headlines section, also unpersonalized, lets you stay fully informed across a broad spectrum of news, like world news, business, science, sports, entertainment and more. 63. Subscribing to your favorite publishers right in the Google News app is super simple using Subscribe with Google—no forms, new passwords or credit cards—and you can access your subscriptions anywhere you’re logged in across Google and the web.

64. Updates to Google Lens help you get answers to the world around you. With smart text, you can copy and paste text from the real world—like recipes or business cards—to your phone. 65. With style match, if an outfit or a home decor item catches your eye, you can open Lens and not only get info on that specific item (like reviews), but also see similar items. 66.Lens now uses real-time identification so you’ll be able to browse the world around you just by pointing your camera. It’s able to give you information quickly and anchor it to the things you see. 67. Use Lens directly in the camera app on supported devices from the following OEMs: LGE, Motorola, Xiaomi, Sony Mobile, HMD/Nokia, Transsion, TCL, OnePlus, BQ, Asus—and of course the Google Pixel. 68. Lens is coming to more languages, including French, Italian, German, Spanish and Portuguese. 69. Tour Creator lets anyone with a story to tell, like teachers or students, easily make a VR tour using imagery from Google Street View or their own 360 photos. 70.With Sceneform, Java developers can now build immersive, 3D apps without having to learn complicated APIs. They can use it to build AR apps from scratch as well as add AR features to existing ones. 71. We’ve rolled out ARCore’s Cloud Anchor API across Android and iOS to help developers build more collaborative and immersive augmented reality apps. Cloud Anchors makes it possible to create collaborative AR experiences, like redecorating your home, playing games and painting a community mural—all together with your friends. 72. ARCore now features Vertical Plane Detection which means you can place AR objects on more surfaces, like textured walls. Now you can do things like view artwork above your mantlepiece before buying it. 73. Thanks to a capability called Augmented Images, you’ll be able to bring images to life just by pointing your phone at them—this works on QR codes, AR markers and static image targets (like maps, products in a store, logos, photos or movie posters).

74. We launched updates to the YouTube mobile app that will help everyone develop their own sense of digital wellbeing. The Take a Break reminder lets you set a reminder to (you guessed it!) take a break while watching videos after a specified amount of time. 75. You can schedule specific times each day to silence notification sounds and vibrations that are you sent to your phone from the YouTube app. 76. You can also opt in to a scheduled notification digest that combines all of the daily push notifications from the YouTube app into a single, combined notification. 77. Soon you’ll have access to a time watched profile to give you a better understanding of the time you spend on YouTube.

78. Lookout, a new Android app, gives people who are blind or visually impaired auditory cues as they encounter objects, text and people around them. 79. We’re introducing the ability to type in Morse code in Gboard beta for Android. We partnered with developer Tania Finlayson, an expert in Morse code assistive technology, to build this feature.

80. After launching in beta at Game Developers Conference, Google Play Instant is now open to all game developers. 81.Updated Google Play Console features help you improve your app’s performance and grow your business. These include improvements to the dashboard statistics, Android vitals, pre-launch report, acquisition report and subscriptions dashboard. 82. Android Jetpack is a new set of components, tools and architectural guidance that makes it quicker and easier for developers to build great Android apps. 83. Android KTX, launching as part of Android Jetpack, optimizes the Kotlin developer experience. 84. Android App Bundle, a new format for publishing Android apps, helps developers deliver great experiences in smaller app sizes and optimize apps for the wide variety of Android devices and form factors available. 85.The latest canary release of Android Studio 3.2 focuses on supporting the Android P Developer Preview, Android App Bundle and Android Jetpack, plus more features to help you develop fast and easily. 86.We added Dynamic Delivery so your users download only the code and resources they need to run your app, reducing download times and saving space on their devices. 87.With Android Things 1.0, developers can build and ship commercial IoT products using the Android Things platform. 88.The latest improvements to Performance Monitoring on Firebase help you easily monitor app performance issues and identify the parts of your app that stutter or freeze. 89. In the coming months, we're expanding Firebase Test Lab to include iOS to help get your app into a high-quality state—across both Android and iOS—before you even release it. 90. We shipped Flutter Beta 3, the latest version of our mobile app SDK for creating high-quality, native user experiences on iOS and Android.. 91. We launched an early preview of the Android extension libraries (AndroidX) which represents a new era for the Support Library. 92. You can now run Linux apps on your Chromebooks (starting with a preview on the Google Pixelbook), so you can use your favorite tools and familiar commands with the speed, simplicity and security of Chrome OS. 93. Material Theming, part of the latest update to Material Design, lets developers systematically express a unique style across their product more consistently, so they don’t have to choose between building beautiful and building fast. We also redesigned Material.io. 94. We introduced three Material tools to streamline workflow and address common pain points across design and development: Material Theme Editor, a control panel that lets you apply global style changes to components across your design; Gallery, a platform for sharing, reviewing and commenting on design iterations; and Material Icons in five different themes. 95. With open-source Material Components, you can customize key aspects of an app’s design, including color, shape, and type themes.

96. We’ll launch a beta that allows developers to display relevant content from their apps—such as a product catalog for a shopping app—within ads, giving users more helpful information before they download an app. 97. We started early testing to make Google Play Instant compatible with AdWords, so game developers can use Universal App campaigns to reach potential users and let them try out games directly from ads. 98. Developers using ads to grow their user bases will soon have a more complete picture with view through conversion (VTC) reporting, providing more insight into ad impressions and conversions. 99. With rewarded reporting to AdMob, developers can understand and fine-tune the performance of their rewarded ads--ads that let users opt in to view ads in exchange for in-app incentives or digital goods, such as an extra life in a game or 15 minutes of ad-free music streaming. 100. Developers who sell ad placements in their app can now more easily report data back to advertisers with the integration of IAB Tech Lab’s Open Measurement SDK.

via The Official Google Blog

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Google I/O 2018- Top Announcements You Must Know About

Google I/O 2018 is this year’s edition of Google’s conference where developers from across the world are brought together to showcase the latest technology that Google is developing and as usual, it is not surprising at all when Google announced some new products, showcased the progress and improvement the company is making in some of its products.

In this year’s Google I/O, a lot of things were discussed like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Android, along with some focus on some of the products developed for the Android ecosystem, like Maps, Photos, Google News, Google Assistant and Google Lens. And here’s everything you need to know about the big announcements that were made.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Google just revealed at the event how the company has upgraded to TPU v3, the 3rd-generation TPUs (Tensor Processing Units) are liquid-cooled and much more powerful than the previous generation, which allows training and running models faster than ever. Google CEO Sundar Pichai talked a bit providing some excellent uses of AI, and tests that he and his team are conducting which will help facilitate medical attention and provide more time window for the doctors to be prepared for a patient, well in advance. He also explained, how with the help of AI, from a person’s retina model AI could detect various details like age, gender etc. along with alerts for possible medical situations. The use of AI won’t be just limited to medical science, but it will now be used in popular Google Products. For example, Google is making it easier to draft emails, with the help of AI where users will get suggestions based on context and they can just hit tab to fill the email with words, placed automatically. This new feature is called Smart Compose and it will be available in Gmail soon.

Google Photos Can Now Edit Images On Behalf Of You

The use of AI will now be more evident in Google Photos as well. There will be an option called as One-tap actions, and by using this, the user can enhance their photos or share them with friends automatically. or example, if a photo is captured in low lighting conditions, using the One-tap actions, Google Photos will brighten the image. That’s not all- With this new feature, one can make the subject pop out while keeping everything else in grayscale or this can be done in an opposite way as well and is great for bringing back memories as Photos will now let users turn black and white photos, into colorful images. With One-tap actions, users can also send photos of their friends who are in the photo itself to those friends only and the whole process is automatic, and faster them reading and understanding all these by reading these few lines. Though AI is one of the most emphasized topics at this year’s Google I/O, the use of Ai isn’t limited to these few things only. From finding a dogs picture in Google Photos to taking a perfect portrait selfie, where the camera captures everything but keeps the subject in focus and sharp, and perfectly blurs the background. Gmail uses AI to remind you to follow up or respond to messages that are older than two to three days, making sure that you haven’t missed any important emails. Google Translate can translate text on a sign or menu by holding the camera in front of it. Finding the right address is not a big deal as Google Maps has learned to read street names and addresses from billions of Street View images.

Google Assistant Gets Smarter & Better

Google Assistant is the ultimate smart assistant from Google that lets users do many things and get information using their voice. Google says that people ask about weather conditions is as many as 10,000 ways, so with improvements to the understanding of languages, you can speak naturally to your Google Assistant and it will know what you mean. Google has also put a lot of effort in making sure that the voice of the Google Assistant is natural and for that, thousands of hours of voice recordings were required, but now with AI and WaveNet technology from DeepMind, this process takes much lesser time, yielding the same brilliant natural sounding voice. Starting from today, you can choose from six new voices for your Google Assistant. John Legend, an American singer, songwriter and actor will give his voice to the Google Assistant later this year!

Natural back-and-forth conversations are now possible and users no longer need to repeat ‘Hey Google’ for each follow-up request. This is being called as Continued Conversations and will be rolling out in the next few weeks. The Google Assistant now can also understand many things said to it in one instance. Routines also get an overhaul as now users will be able to add Custom Routines, which allow them to create a Routine with any of the Google Assistant’s one million Actions. A visual makeover has also taken place and now Google Assistant will be able to provide a quick snapshot of the day, with suggestions based on the time of day, location and recent interactions with the Assistant. To provide a summary of tasks and list items, Google Keep will be integrated. Food pick-up and delivery services arrive at the Assistant and now users can order directly from Starbucks, Doordash and Applebee’s, in addition to existing partners like Dunkin’ Donuts and Domino’s.

Google Assistant will also be integrated with navigation in Google Maps later this summer and will help people drive without any distraction while sending text messages, playing music and podcasts, and getting information and all these can be done without leaving the navigation screen.

Android P Sneak Peak

Google has just shared some glimpses of what the next version of Android could look like and how it will enhance the user experience. First of all, with Android P, users will get a feature called Adaptive Battery which will prioritize the battery power for the apps and services that are used most. App Actions is a new feature that helps the user make the next move, in an easier way. For example, if you’re someone who enjoys music from Google Play, as soon as you plug in the headphones the phone will prompt to open the Play Music and resume the track. Android P also focuses on making navigation simpler with gestures on the home screen and it is based on simplicity. Just a home button is marked at the bottom of the display and navigation, works flawlessly with gestures.

A new Dashboard has been added, which provides insights like how you’re using the device, time spent in apps, the number of successful phone unlocks and the number of notifications. Also, to keep yourself away from the social media, you might like the App Timer which sets time limits on apps and will nudge you when you’re close to your limit and then gray out the icon to remind you of your goal. The new Do Not Disturb mode silences phone calls and notifications, along with notifications on the screen.

Dashboard, App Timer, Wind Down

Android P Beta is now available on Google Pixel. And due to Project Treble, the Android P Beta is now available on non-Google devices as well and the list includes Sony Xperia XZ2, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S, Nokia 7 Plus, Oppo R15 Pro, Vivo X21, OnePlus 6, and Essential PH‑1.

Google Lens

Today at Google I/O, Google announced that Lens will now be available directly in the camera app on supported devices from LGE, Motorola, Xiaomi, Sony Mobile, HMD/Nokia, Transsion, TCL, OnePlus, BQ, Asus, and of course the Google Pixel. The Google Lens now has a better smart text selection, that connects the visible words with the answers and actions. Copying and pasting text from the real world is now possible and users can copy and paste anything, from food recipes to gift card codes or even Wi-Fi passwords.

Google Lens can now recognize words and provide suggestions easily. Also, Google Lens now works in real time. This is possible with state-of-the-art Machine Learning, using both on-device intelligence and cloud TPUs, to identify billions of words, phrases, places, and things in a split second. The new Google Lens will be rolling out in the next couple of weeks.

Google News Gets Redesigned

Google News is one of the oldest services from Google and in the last 15 years, many things have changed. Now, the new Google Maps is powered by AI and ML, so that users get the news that matters to them. Full Coverage is something that will help users find all the reports from different sources related to any particular headline. The Newsstand tab makes it easy to find and follow the favorite news sources and also, users can subscribe directly using Subscribe with Google platform (launched as a part of the Google News Initiative). This helps users get access to premium content, and it will work on all devices.

Google Maps Gets Better

The redesigned Explore tab in Google Maps will suggest interesting places nearby. Top trending lists like the Foodie List helps users find new restaurants based on information from local experts, Google’s algorithms, and trusted publishers like The Infatuation and others a ‘match’ is displayed which is basically a number that suggests how likely you are to enjoy a place and reasons explaining why. In this case, Machine Learning is used to generate the number based on factors like details of that business, the food and drink preferences you’ve selected in Google Maps, places you’ve been to, and whether you’ve rated a restaurant or added it to a list. Planning gets easier as with a long press on the places can create a shareable shortlist that your friends and family can add more places to and vote on.

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