Sonos files another lawsuit against Google for infringing five more speaker patents

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A day before Google's hardware event where the new Nest Audio might be launched, Sonos has filed another lawsuit against the search giant. The company claims Google infringed on five more patents, including patents that cover technologies some of Sonos' best-known features are based on (including the Trueplay tuning tool). This new lawsuit is more about modern wireless speaker system features, which seem to focus on smart speaker control (like setting the volume on a speaker from your phone). 

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Google Pixel 5 leaks on official Japanese Twitter account

Ahead of its September 30 "Launch Night In," the Google Pixel 5's image gets leaked on the company's official Twitter in Japan. The tweet has since been taken down, but it also showed the price of the handset in the country. The tweet had a brief video that showed Google's focus on 5G and the "new design" of the Pixel 5. The tweet was most likely a misfire because it mentioned Google links to a page that isn't live yet. 

In Japan, the Pixel 5 will cost ¥74,800, which is approximately $948 in Canada. But the phone is rumoured to cost around $700 here. Perhaps, the higher price is because of taxes and other dues. But it is closer to the estimated US price, which is between $600 to $700.

Source: 9to5Google

8,000 Microsoft Surface Pro devices help Tustin school manage inclusive learning

Microsoft's Surface Pro may be geared towards professionals and creatives requiring a versatile 2-in-1 device running a complete desktop operating system, but Microsoft's device has found a place in education as well.24,000 students in the Tustin Unified School District come from a range of cultural and economic backgrounds. To help bring equity in education to the student body, the school district provides every student with a personal computing device.

In 2018, Tustin upgraded devices for high school students to Microsoft Surface Pro. With this powerful, flexible tool, Tustin can attract and engage students, modernize learning experiences, and free teachers from the confines of the classroom. The result is improved productivity, greater collaboration, and more equitable education opportunities for everybody. The advantage of Surface Pro over Chromebooks is that they reflect devices that are actually used in the real world on a large scale. 

Google Meet free plans will limit meetings to 60 minutes starting Sept. 30

Source: Google

When Google allowed all Meet users to get unlimited-length meetings for up to 100 people on the video chat app, the company said it'll only be available until the end of September. Google is sticking to its word with free versions of Meet being limited to 60-minute meetings at a time. 

Access to advanced features for G Suite and G Suite for Education customers will also be taken away from users who aren't part of the "enterprise" tier of G Suite. These included allowing meetings for up to 250 participants, live-stream to up to 100,000 people within a single domain, and save meeting recordings to Google Drive.

If you're not interested in updating to a paid Meet plan, all you will be losing is less time for conference calls. And sometimes, that isn't the worst thing.

Source: The Verge

Update on Wednesday, September 30, 2020 at 8:08AM by Nicole Batac

Just a day before Google was set to enforce a 60-minute limit for free Gmail users utilizing Google Meet, the company has extended that deadline to March 31, 2021. The search giant cites the busy holiday season as a reason for extending the unlimited time offer for its free users.

As we look ahead to a holiday season with less travel and important milestones like family reunions, PTA meetings and weddings hosted over video, we want to continue helping those who rely on Meet to stay in touch over the coming months. As a sign of our commitment, today we’re continuing unlimited Meet calls (up to 24 hours) in the free version through March 31, 2021 for Gmail accounts. 

Source: 9to5Google