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#Smartwatch #Google #Fossil #WearOS Fossil is selling $40 million of smartwatch technology to Google, the company announced on Thursday. Shares of Fossil jumped about 8 percent on the news. Fossil is one of the primary brands that continues to build smartwatches that run Google’s Wear OS software, which competes with the Apple Watch but has struggled to gain mass adoption among consumers. But Fossil said that smartwatches are its fastest-growing category. “The addition of Fossil Group’s technology and team to Google demonstrates our commitment to the wearables industry by enabling a diverse portfolio of smartwatches and supporting the ever-evolving needs of the vitality-seeking, on-the-go consumer,” said Stacey Burr, Vice President of Product Management, Wear OS by Google. Fossil said the transaction is expected to close in January. By Todd Haselton @ROBOTODD

#AndroidTV #Google  Android TV is far from the leader in the streaming market right now. However, it continues to see growth each year. Now, it’s been revealed that Google’s platform has landed on over 100 pay-tv operators around the world. Speaking to Multichannel News last week, Android TV’s senior director of product management confirmed that the platform has been deployed by over 100 pay-TV providers around the globe. The majority of this comes from operators in Europe and Asia with “tens of millions” of consumers using it on digital video players. Apparently, this number makes up “around half” of Android TV’s total user base. Just earlier this year, Google had revealed that Android TV doubled in adoption. That came despite a lack of new consumer hardware especially in the US, but things keep looking up for the platform. We’ve seen more set-top boxes and TVs using the platform as well as all of these pay TV operators. Notably, TiVo is reportedly bringing an Android T...

As with many other large businesses in the US, you'll find plenty of former military personnel working at Google. Some of them have put their heads together to come up with some ways to make things easier for veterans as they move on to the next phase of their life. The first new initiative, through  Grow with Google , adds new features to a search for "jobs for veterans." Enter your military (MOS) code and Google will surface results for civilian job listings that require a similar skill set. Partnerships with other companies will also make this possible on services that use Google's  Cloud Talent Solution , such as FedEx Careers, Encompass Health Careers, Siemens Careers, and more. Another initiative aims to support engagement within the community by highlighting businesses owned by veterans. A new  Google My Business  attribute for "vet-led" ventures will add a badge to listings on Google Maps and Search so that other veterans can more easily...

Google's top news executive Richard Gingras told The Guardian that Google won't rule out shutting down Google News in EU countries if the European Parliament enforces a so-called "link tax." The "link tax" refers to Article 11, a piece of legislation backed by the European Parliament in September, which would require companies like Google to hold licenses for linking to publishers. Gingras said that while it is "not desirable" to shut down services, Google is concerned by the legislation in its current form. Google's top news executive has hinted that the company is prepared to shut down Google News in Europe if it is stung by new EU legislation. Richard Gingras, Google's vice president of news, told The Guardian that he won't rule out switching off the news service in response to the EU's proposed crackdown on online copyright infringement, referred to as the "link tax." The "link tax" refers to Ar...

Twitter banned Infowars and its founder, the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, following months of public pressure to do so. In a series of tweets on Thursday, the company said it had “permanently suspended” accounts associated with Jones and Infowars after numerous complaints that they violated its terms of service prohibiting repeated abusive behavior. A Twitter spokesperson told The Daily Beast specifically that an Infowars video posted on Twitter of Alex Jones berating CNN reporter Oliver Darcy on Wednesday was the final violation of the company’s terms. “Those are the eyes of a rat,” Jones told Darcy to his face in a live video, where he accused Darcy and CNN of trying police internet content. “Today, we permanently suspended @realalexjones and @infowars from Twitter and Periscope,” Twitter said in the first of a series of Thursday tweets. “We took this action based on new reports of Tweets and videos posted yesterday that violate our abusive behavior policy, in addition to ...

Chrome is turning ten, and it’s getting a makeover to celebrate. Google today announced a wide set of changes coming to the world’s most popular browser – some aesthetic, and some functional. Most notably, the app now has a flatter, rounder design more in line with Google’s Material Design principles; these changes will be seen on both mobile and desktop. Website icons are now easier to see when you’ve overloaded a window with tabs, and menus and other design elements have been tweaked and simplified throughout various versions of the app. (Truth be told, we’ve been seeing these changes in Chrome betas for ages, but it’s nice to finally see them roll out.) In terms of utility, here are some of the most notable changes: Chrome revamped its autofill and password manager to be more accurate across different sites. Speaking of passwords, Chrome can now auto-generate a strong password that will be linked to your Google account. Think barebones LastPass, right in Chrome. The s...