June 2022 Summaries

ML in Action is a virtual event organized by the ML Developer Programs team to showcase innovative machine learning use cases utilizing Google ML products. The event featured four winning projects that demonstrated practical applications of ML in various fields. George Soloupis developed a food quality detection system using Raspberry Pi and TensorFlow to aid individuals with smell impairments by identifying food degradation. Victor Dibia's project analyzed election discourse and citizen participation in Nigeria using GCP tools to process Twitter data, offering insights into social media's role in elections and demographic patterns. Usha Rengaraju worked on a bioacoustic sound detector to identify bird calls, aiming to assist in the conservation of avian diversity using TensorFlow and Cloud TPUs. Martin Andrews and Sam Witteveen from Red Dragon AI developed real-time digital Personas for interactive user experiences, leveraging multiple deep learning models and Google Cloud infrastructure to create life-like virtual interactions. These projects highlight the diverse potential of ML applications, sparking new ideas and discussions within the ML community.

Jennifer Bailey's journey from computer science developer to professor was significantly influenced by her involvement with Google Developer Groups (GDG). Starting with a GED at 15, she advanced through an associate, bachelor's, and master's degree in Applied Science, teaching herself C Sharp and working as a software developer before transitioning to academia at Aims Community College. Tasked with creating a mobile application development certificate, Jennifer discovered GDG, where she found invaluable resources and a supportive community that bolstered her professional development. Her active participation not only enriched her teaching capabilities but also opened doors to leadership roles and opportunities like attending Google I/O. Jennifer's expertise in Android grew, leading her to author and contribute to technical publications, while her continuous engagement with evolving Android technology and GDG has had a profound impact on her career, providing a network of diverse individuals and fostering professional growth.

Google has conducted a study revealing disparities in code review pushback based on developers' demographics, which can lead to unnecessary interpersonal conflict and hinder engineering efficiency. The research found that women, Black+, Latinx+, and Asian+ developers, as well as older developers, experience higher odds of pushback compared to their counterparts. This pushback is estimated to cost Google over 1,000 engineer hours daily. To address this, Google has experimented with anonymous code reviews, where author identities are obscured to prevent bias, finding that review times and quality remained consistent. By promoting anonymous reviews, Google aims to reduce demographic-based pushback, fostering a more inclusive development environment and inspiring other companies to adopt similar practices to enhance equity in the software development process.

#WeArePlay is an initiative by Google Play to celebrate the diverse global community of app and game developers who impact millions worldwide. The campaign highlights the unique stories of developers, ranging from seasoned coders to newcomers, and from metropolitan areas to small towns. The series begins with the story of Yvonne and Alyssa, a mother-daughter team from London who developed Frobelles, a game promoting African and Caribbean hairstyles. Other featured stories include Brazilian friends behind Hand Talk Translator, Polish art enthusiast Zuzanna with DailyArt, and the German couple Ina and Jonas with TravelSpend. Through these narratives, Google Play acknowledges the passion and dedication of developers whose innovations help people learn, connect, and find joy.

The blog post details the process and benefits of migrating an application from App Engine Memcache to Cloud Memorystore, as part of the Serverless Migration Station series. It highlights the advantages of adopting Cloud Memorystore, which supports open-source engines like Memcached and Redis, providing enhanced features, cost efficiency, high availability, and improved memory handling over the basic services offered by App Engine Memcache. The post uses a sample application to illustrate the migration, preserving functionalities such as caching web page visits, with Redis chosen for its robust data structures and developer popularity. The migration is straightforward but requires a Serverless VPC connector and consideration of additional costs, as Cloud Memorystore and Cloud VPC are not free. The post also notes that recent updates allow continued use of Memcache when transitioning to Python 3, offering flexibility in migration decisions. It provides resources for hands-on practice and mentions future content plans for other language runtimes.

Google announced its 2022 Recommended for Google Workspace apps program, designed to help third-party developers reach more users by featuring apps that meet high standards of security, reliability, and integration with Google Workspace. The program targets developers who want to stand out as trusted apps on the Google Workspace Marketplace, which is accessed through various Google Workspace apps like Gmail, Drive, and Docs. Developers can use their preferred coding languages or Google Apps Script to build apps for the Marketplace, and those who apply for the Recommended program undergo a rigorous evaluation process, including a third-party security assessment. Successful applicants gain benefits such as technical advisory services and early access to APIs, positioning their apps prominently among the 4.8 billion installations on the Marketplace.

Google is shifting its focus from Conversational Actions to App Actions with Android, aiming to enhance voice-forward experiences and integrate voice capabilities across Android devices. This change comes as part of Google's efforts to make Google Assistant a more effective conversational helper for everyday tasks, responding to feedback from users and developers who desire more meaningful voice interactions with their favorite apps. App Actions will facilitate easier integration of voice experiences into existing Android content, allowing users to engage with app features through voice queries and proactive suggestions. As a result, Conversational Actions will be phased out by June 2023, providing developers a year to transition. Google is offering resources such as the App Actions Learning Pathway and Codelabs to assist developers in this shift. The company envisions a future where the Android ecosystem supports intuitive, natural voice interactions, expanding the reach and functionality of Google Assistant while continually improving user experiences.

Kick Start, an online coding competition by Google, offers programmers of all skill levels the opportunity to improve their skills through various online rounds held throughout the year. The Coding Practice with Kick Start sessions allow participants to practice competitive programming problems at their own pace, without the pressure of a scoreboard or timed rounds, making it an excellent way to prepare for interviews, connect with a global community, and enjoy the learning process. Insights from Google engineers stress the importance of problem-solving, pattern recognition, and embracing the learning journey, recommending beginners to focus on understanding problems conceptually before delving into coding specifics. The sessions provide diverse problem sets that simulate real-life scenarios, fostering the development of skills in algorithms and data structures, while also offering a supportive environment that enhances learning through structured hints and feedback.

The announcement highlights the General Availability of App Actions using the Android Shortcuts framework, enabling developers to integrate voice interactions into their apps via the Shortcuts API. This release builds on the beta introduced at Google I/O 2021, which aimed to lower the development cost by using a familiar framework. The update includes improvements based on developer feedback, new features like in-app voice control, and expanded built-in intents for Android for Cars apps. Developers are encouraged to explore the App Actions learning pathway to earn a Google Assistant badge and integrate voice features seamlessly. Existing implementations using actions.xml should migrate to the new framework by March 31, 2023, while those using shortcuts.xml will continue to be supported. Developers can engage with the community through Stack Overflow, Reddit, and a newsletter for ongoing support and updates.

Google Play is enhancing its support for independent game developers through its annual Indie Games Accelerator and Festival programs, which opened for submissions from June 1 to July 1, 2022. These initiatives aim to assist small studios and indie developers by increasing their games' visibility, providing specialized training, and offering access to a network of gaming experts. The Accelerator program offers mentoring and industry expertise for developers seeking to launch or grow new titles, while the Festival targets developers with existing high-quality games, offering them the opportunity to gain promotions and expand their player base in regions such as Japan, South Korea, and Europe. Developers can stay informed about these programs and other resources by following Google Play's business community on social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn.