Latest news with #Workspace
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Google may slash Cloud costs in new government deal: Report
Google is close to finalising a cloud services deal with the US government that includes major price cuts, reports Financial Times. The report quotes a senior official from the General Services Administration (GSA) who said that the tech giant is likely to offer 'substantial discounts,' with the deal expected to be completed in the coming weeks. This development comes shortly after Oracle agreed to reduce prices by up to 75% on some software contracts, and to offer broad discounts on its cloud computing services. Google's deal is expected to land 'in a similar spot,' said the GSA official involved in the negotiations. The agency, as per the report, is also in talks with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, adding that the discussions are at an earlier stage. 'Every single one of those companies is totally bought in, they understand the mission,' said the official, suggesting cooperation across the board. Together, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Oracle account for the bulk of the US government's cloud services spend, which currently exceeds $20 billion annually. Cost-cutting drive led by Trump's procurement reform by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Why seniors are rushing to get this Internet box – here's why! Techno Mag Learn More Undo The push for lower prices comes under a renewed Trump administration effort to reduce government procurement costs. It's part of a broader strategy led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), formerly overseen by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Alongside cloud services, the GSA has renegotiated deals with consulting firms like Deloitte and Booz Allen Hamilton, and is also targeting contracts with ride-hailing companies. Earlier in April, Google had already agreed to a 71% temporary discount on some Workspace contracts until the end of September. The negotiations also reflect a shift in the relationship between Big Tech and the Trump administration. During his first term, Amazon lost a $10 billion defense contract — the Jedi project — which the company claimed was due to a personal vendetta linked to Trump's opposition to the Washington Post, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The contract was later cancelled and replaced by a $9 billion project awarded jointly to AWS, Google, Microsoft, and Oracle under the Biden administration. This time around, tech CEOs have taken a more conciliatory approach. Google's Sundar Pichai and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg appeared at Trump's inauguration, while diversity programmes within these companies have since been scaled back. Even Bezos has worked to repair ties with the president, whom he once called 'a threat to democracy.' Oppo Reno 14 Pro Review: Flagship Features Without the Flagship Price?
Mint
a day ago
- Business
- Mint
Google CEO Sundar Pichai lauds Elon Musk on Grok 4 launch: 'Impressive Progress'
In a rare public exchange between two of Silicon Valley's most influential leaders, Google CEO Sundar Pichai congratulated Elon Musk on the launch of Grok 4, the latest AI model developed by Musk's xAI. 'Congrats on the launch, impressive progress!' Pichai posted on X (formerly Twitter), replying to Musk's announcement of the new model. Musk responded with a simple 'thanks' and a folded hands emoji. The brief interaction came as Grok 4 was introduced as a significant step forward for xAI, Musk's artificial intelligence startup, which aims to directly compete with leading players such as Google DeepMind, OpenAI, and Anthropic in developing cutting-edge large language models. According to Musk, Grok 4 offers improvements across key metrics, including faster response times, multimodal capabilities, and enhanced integration with X's subscription ecosystem. The model is also touted as being more capable in subjects like mathematics and physics. Musk claimed Grok 4 'essentially never gets math/physics exam questions wrong, unless they are skillfully adversarial,' and said it can also detect and correct errors in ambiguously worded questions. The timing of the launch is especially notable given the increasing competition in the AI race. Google, for its part, recently rolled out Gemini 2.5, expanding the reach of its AI across Search, Workspace, and Android. Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI who has since distanced himself from the organisation, has often positioned Grok as an uncensored, more independent alternative to other mainstream AI offerings. His aim with xAI is to develop models that align with what he describes as "maximally truth-seeking" goals, avoiding what he perceives as over-filtering and bias in rival systems. While Pichai's comment was short, it signals a rare moment of mutual recognition in an increasingly high-stakes and competitive sector. It also underscores the level of attention Grok 4 is drawing as xAI positions itself as a serious contender in the generative AI space.
CNET
2 days ago
- Business
- CNET
How to Summarize Text Using Google's Gemini AI
One non-negotiable for all digital workers is a great hotspot. But streamlined productivity is a close second. Artificial intelligence tools are becoming better suited to the challenge and can be integrated into your workday in a useful way now. Gemini in Google Workspace is one of those. What is Gemini? Google welcomed Gemini, its AI-powered chatbot, to the digital world on Dec. 6, 2023. While the name doesn't coincide with its launch date (the tool went by a different name, Bard, originally), Gemini was named after the astrological symbol's dual-natured personality -- the ability to adapt quickly and connect to a wide range of people, all while seeing things from multiple perspectives. Gemini got its name "because we wanted to bring teams working on language modeling closer together," said Jeff Dean, Gemini's co-technical lead. I was able to access Gemini free for 14 days since I have a business domain through Google Workspace. I was given 30% off the monthly price for three months ($16.80) following my free trial. Then my monthly bill went up to $24. In those short two weeks, I had the opportunity to navigate its "Help me write" prompt to suggest texts based on what I inserted into the text screen. This can include drafts for a blog post, help writing song lyrics and rewriting original text to edit for tone or to be concise. What are AI summaries? If you've got a long to-do list, the last thing you've got time for is to read a super-long document. This is where AI summaries can help: AI tools can quickly scan everything from a document or a web page to a spreadsheet, and create concise notes on the main points. Think of it as a "too long, didn't read" summary made of any document you need to know the gist of. For now, we're focusing on summarizing Google Docs, but you can also use Gemini to summarize other files from Google Drive and emails from Gmail. How to use AI to summarize a Google Doc with AI Google Step 1: Open a document on Google Docs and highlight to select the text you would like Gemini to help you summarize. Step 2: Click Help me write to the right of the selected text, and choose what you'd like to implement from the drop-down menu -- in addition to Summarize, options include Tone, Bulletize, Elaborate, Shorten, Rephrase or Custom (write your own prompt). Step 3: Click Summarize and see what Gemini comes back with, making sure to double-check that it understood your document and what was important (and ensure the AI tool didn't hallucinate). Step 4: An interesting addition to Google Docs is the ability to provide feedback on the generated text. After creating your summary, you cannote whether Gemini has provided a good or bad suggestion, edit the prompt to update and regenerate text or create a new version of previously written text and click retry. You can also provide general feedback on this feature by navigating to Help > Help Docs improve. If necessary, you can also report a legal concern. To turn off the "Help me write" AI-powered prompt, you must exit Workspace Labs. If you exit, "you will permanently lose access to all Workspace Labs features, and you won't be able to rejoin Workspace Labs." You can learn more about how to exit Workplace Labs here. Who should use Gemini AI? Gemini AI lives on Pixel phones James Martin/CNET Gemini calls its AI writing tool "a useful and interesting resource" if you like finding patterns and connections. I agree. I decided to implement Google Workspace Gemini because of a desire to expedite and streamline writing processes. But I also decided to purchase a monthly Gemini membership because of how seamlessly it integrated with all the other Google products I regularly use. In my digital toolbox, this AI addition truly does help me navigate the most efficient pathway to writing emails and documents. Just make sure you apply the usual AI caveat of double-checking that the tool came back with accurate information before acting on anything, just in case it hallucinated or drew the wrong conclusions. You can check out the Gemini-powered summary of a human-written article at the bottom of this article to see how accurate this AI tool can be. Other AI tools for summarizing text There are many other choices if you need to summarize text and you're not a Google Docs or Gmail person. You can use other AI chatbots like Microsoft Copilot, Anthropic's Claude, Perplexity and DeepSeek. Just prompt the chatbot with a request to summarize something for you, then either copy and paste your document or attach a PDF file. There are also tools specifically made for summarizing text, like Summarizer and QuillBot.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Gmail rolls out new tab to help you unsubscribe faster
Google is rolling out a new "Manage subscriptions" feature for Gmail, designed to empower users to easily declutter their inboxes and take control of the deluge of promotional and newsletter emails. This new tool aims to simplify the process of identifying and unsubscribing from unwanted mailing lists. 'With Gmail's new "Manage subscriptions" feature, you can view and manage your subscription emails, making it easy to unsubscribe from the ones you no longer want all from a single place,' said Google. What is Gmail's new "Manage subscriptions" feature With the new 'Manage subscriptions' view, you'll find your active subscriptions sorted by the most frequent senders alongside the number of emails they've sent you in the past few weeks. Click on any of the senders for a direct view of all the emails they've sent. Easily unsubscribe in one click, and Gmail will send an unsubscribe request to the sender on your behalf. How Gmail's new "Manage subscriptions" feature works - Access the tool via the navigation bar in the top-left corner of Gmail by selecting 'Manage subscriptions.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Invertir en Cervecería Nacional CFD podría proporcionarte un ingreso adicional Empieza a invertir hoy Registro Undo - View a list of active subscriptions, sorted by sender frequency. - Click on a sender to see all emails from them and choose to unsubscribe directly from Gmail. - Gmail will send an unsubscribe request on the user's behalf—no need to visit external websites. The feature is created on Gmail's existing one-click unsubscribe tool and is part of Google's broader effort to enhance inbox hygiene. Gmail already blocks over 99.9% of spam, phishing, and malware, and recent AI-based updates have cut scam emails by 35%, according to the company. The rollout will continue through mid-July, with Android users receiving the update starting July 14 and iOS users on July 21. The feature is available to Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual subscribers, and personal Gmail users.
Scottish Sun
4 days ago
- Scottish Sun
End your phone ‘spam' nightmare with a single button tap as Google reveals exact date you can press it for first time
It is being introduced for some from today BUTTON, BUTT-OFF End your phone 'spam' nightmare with a single button tap as Google reveals exact date you can press it for first time Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) GOOGLE is introducing a new button to end nightmares of spam appearing on electronic devices. It will make it easier for users to deal with in come of unwanted emails in their inboxes. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Gmail users will be able to sort through spam with just a single button Credit: Google The new Gmail feature is a tab that is made for unsubscribing from emails through a "Manage subscriptions view". The new button This view will show a list of the emails that have been delivered through a users active subscriptions. They will have been automatically sorted, with the most frequent senders at the top. You will also be able to see how many messages these email addresses have sent in the past few weeks, enabling users to be informed about who is clogging up the inbox the most. Clicking on the send will show a list of the emails they have sent. Individual one-click links will be available on the side, which enables you to easily unsubscribe from their mailing list. The unsubscribe button will send a request on your behalf to the sender. How to find the feature The new feature can be found by clocking the navigation bar at the top left corner of the Gmail inbox. You can then select Manage subscriptions from the menu that appears. If this does not come up, then it is still being introduced. Gmail and Outlook users warned of two word danger hidden among inboxes When it will be available It should be available on Gmail's web version starting today. The button will be available on the Android mobile app from July 14, and the iOS app from July 21, although may take a few weeks to show up for some users. All personal Google accounts, Google Workspace customers and Workspace Individual Subscribers in "select countries" should be able to access it in these coming weeks.
