Google I / O 2018 User Guide
Hello. From May 8 to 10, I spent at the annual conference for Google I / O developers. This is one of the most significant technological events of the year. Returning from California with the latest news from Android, I want to share my impressions and tips for the trip next year.
What is Google I / O and how it looks from the inside
Google I / O is the main Google conference, which is organized to discuss a variety of updates to open technologies and Google services. Usually, it announces innovations in the development world, which will either be implemented this year or are already available to developers. This year the conference was held in California, in the town of Mountain View , not far from the Google office in Shoreline Amphitheater . I was the lucky winner of an I / O ticket 4 years ago when the conference was held in San Francisco, but it was my first time at Mountain View. It has become much bigger and more diverse. Seven thousand people had to provide comfortable living and knowledge. On the territory, in addition to the main hall of the amphitheater, where the Keynote and center reports took place, there were several other rooms where you could listen to the reports. Many of them, by the way, were immediately broadcast online.
There were separate tents (Sandboxes) in which specialists constantly worked and demo stands on topics from Android Auto to AR / VR. Quite useful in content and professionals who are there.
')
Separate premises were also allocated for CodeLabs, where you could immediately try out new technologies and APIs on your own or dedicated computer.
The most useful meetings with Google specialists were within the framework of the “office hours”, in which you can come and talk about your problems with Google engineers and managers and discuss your applications.
As a department manager and product manager, I mainly attended sessions related to monetization, marketing, analytics and design. It can be seen that Google is very interested in the development of mobile analytics and subscriptions, that we are very into the topic, and therefore all the updates (from the reports expanded to the survey, why they canceled the subscription), were very pleased.
What new products to expect from Google this year?
A lot has been done, of course, for Google Assistant , which works on phones and on Google Home devices. The good news is that Google Assistant will appear in Russia by the end of the year. Also announced Smart Display devices - this is an assistant with a screen, an analogue of a tablet with a column from Amazon. The device can be put in the kitchen so that he read the recipe or show the video. You can, without touching the screen, ask him to tell about the weather or voice the news.
Also presented a cool soundbar JBL Link Bar for TVs with built-in Google Assistant. With this console, you can control the TV-voice without any remotes. This is not just a set-top box, it is a full-fledged smart speaker. All presented new items will be released by September or even earlier.
The most anticipated - at the conference presented an update of the Android P operating system. In the demo zone, new augmented reality libraries and Google Lens were also installed on smartphones. In general, almost all updates include a pinch or a whole barrel of machine learning, so that many of the components of the system and applications become comfortable, personalized and interactive. But in return you, of course, will have to give your data to the corporation. For example, clicks, scores of cafes on maps and preferences for using programs throughout the day. A smart machine instead optimizes the system so that it all works at the right time, shows and guesses your desires in finding a place to talk and eat.
What was useful for ABBYY
Actually, the most interesting thing for ABBYY is the updates that Google has announced for the Android camera and machine learning tools on the device. So, there are prototypes of digitization and recognition of documents in the camera, which are implemented in FineScanner and TextGrabber . While the announced updates are lagging behind ours: fewer recognition languages, worse quality, fewer work scenarios - ABBYY mobile applications will delight users more. But in any case, I am glad that the mobile phone is increasingly perceived as a tool for entering data from documents for other systems. This is exactly what allows ABBYY to grow so wildly, processing photos and scans and extracting useful information from them.
Google is moving towards greater emphasis on improving computer vision through machine learning. For smartphones came TensorFlow Lite. This is what will allow much faster development of mobile technologies based on a huge collection of neural networks for server products developed by ABBYY over a dozen years.
The second part, which work on Google, is the voice and control device. For example, a user may ask a smartphone to open a Vanya business card from ABBYY and add a note “send an offer” while sitting at the wheel of a car. The Business Card Reader is installed on the smartphone, which accesses the system with a signal that there is a Vanya business card and we will add this note now. It becomes really useful and convenient to communicate with the phone through a voice assistant. So far, unfortunately, there are not many scenarios of comfortable work in this mode, but I personally use Amazon Echo at home, and at work we test Google Home, and every day the annoyance gives way to convenience and high.
How did the communication between the developers and the organizers
At the end of each session there was an opportunity to ask questions. Although, as a rule, they gave general information, and there was no point in asking some highly specialized questions. But during the hours of receptions (within Office Hours), personal communication took place. By the way, I can not help but note that these meetings were very strangely organized: one tent, many almost closely facing tables, only 1 hour on the topic, long queues at popular sessions (such as design and the latest API updates), few engineers. But I hope that next year the feedback will be taken into account and it will be more comfortable for everyone. For all questions that came in advance from the developers managed to get answers from specialists. Or there was an opportunity to send a message on a laptop next to it so that you would be answered later (I have not been answered yet). The most useful sessions for me personally are onboarding, subscriptions, and usability, since you could get specific advice on your own applications first-hand.
As I said at the beginning, there were also tents, broken down by subject: Android, Web, Android P, augmented reality, Android Auto, etc.
In each of the tents, you could get information and chat with a Google employee who demonstrates the possibility of updates in a demo account. The most useful thing is again a design tent in which you could sign up for a personal meeting to discuss your application. We watched the onboarding of our new ABBYY TextGrabber (which we will update for the World Cup). We discussed in detail those moments in which we ourselves doubted. The tips were quite helpful.
Informal meetings were organized. The downside is that you sometimes do not know about these meetings, as they are not in the official program. You just walk, look in, ask what's interesting, and share some separate timetable with you. Usually ten people sit and listen, ask questions, communicate informally.
About meeting with the creator of Google Workshop
The topic of conducting innovative sessions in the company and creativity is close to me (we conducted a hackathon, we regularly gather for brainstorming and collecting new ideas, we developed jointly rapid prototypes of new technologies), so I was interested in meeting with the creator of Google-workshop, which took place in the form of a similar mitap. However, the organizers announced it in the official program, so about 30-40 people came. She passed in a recreation area where developers from Google Developer Groups from different countries, including from Russia, gathered.
The topic of the meeting sounded intriguing: “If you want to start creative activities in your company, come”. There was an engineer who told how the Google workshop was born. Once he was inspired by the idea of ​​creating creative workshops and bought at his own expense a screwdriver, which he put in a free space. Then another employee bought a set of materials for assembly. Then, as part of the purchase, it was possible to buy an inexpensive 3D printer and start experimenting with all this. As soon as he learned to use it well, he began to disseminate information about his experiences and to hold mini-training sessions once a month. Gradually, a plotter was added, a cutter for cutting stickers on laptops, and then a laser cutter. When the amount of equipment began to grow, management learned about this and, in general, approved such an initiative. We decided to open a real workshop and purchase equipment. We formed a schedule, allocated a responsible person with a budget for components. As a result, they started sharing this practice in other Google offices. Now they have more than 100 such creative entertainment workshops around the world. And, for example, Google Clips started with it. And, of course, I was impressed most of all in this story that everything began with the purchase of one simple screwdriver, even without any coordination of management.
What is most memorable
I was impressed by the voice assistant Google Duplex based on artificial intelligence. He made a table reservations and entry to the barber shop. Almost all the media then wrote about it. Doubt whether the technology of this level can be or not. I think, given that the scenario is rather narrow, it is quite possible. The problem with voice assistants is now only that if you start going beyond the category, the program starts to falter and talk nonsense. If you are within the framework of the template, a call with a narrow scenario, with a conscious number of possible answers, then now you can achieve such an awesome impression.
Speech analysis is already quite good. Text-to-speech is already similar to human voice. I think that such innovative things are our unusual, but real future.
Some tips for those who plan to visit Google I / O next year.
1) The sooner you know about your participation and have a visa, the more chances you have to book cheap tickets to San Jose (1-2 hours by taxi from San Francisco) and accommodation near the venue. It is generally better to issue a visa to the United States in advance for any tourist trip, as now there are huge problems with obtaining it.
2) It is better to move around California to Uber Pool and Lyft Line with fellow travelers, especially if organizers offer promotional code. Most often, you will also go with Google I \ O members and have a good time on the trip, also saving on taxis.
3) If you don’t rent a car, then to San Francisco, and indeed across the Gulf, you can cheaply move to CalTrain (train), which runs frequently, travels fast and costs significantly less than a taxi.
4) Be sure to join the chat in Telegram, where participants communicate. The link to the chat can be asked from previous participants or found in the Facebook theme groups. Closer to the event there are posts that someone is traveling and that he is in the chat, where you can join. Why is it worth joining a group in a Telegram? It's simple. Everything in it is divided into upcoming parties, events - the very secrets that take place where the interesting takes place and help each other on various issues. And, of course, it's nice to talk with interesting developers from Russia. I was very pleased with such an active community of conference visitors from Russia.
5) I do not advise you to spend a lot of time on the session, as they are broadcast online. Walking only on them is a waste of time. It is better to visit only the latest updates, which you can ask a question about the current product the very next day. The most useful part is Office Hours and App Reviews.
6) According to Apple’s experience , WWDC thought that it would be necessary to sign up for consultations in Office Hours (recording at 7 am and you literally have 5 minutes), but there was no recording here. So it is better to come before the official start of the discussion. The sooner you come, the more attention you get from a specialist.
7) To squeeze the maximum out of the trip, you need to try to walk on all activities. The more chamber the event, the greater the benefits. We must try to find out as much as possible about the availability of advanced programs in each of the tents and the possibility to sign up for additional sessions. There are more small interactive events, but not sessions broadcast on YouTube, which can be simply downloaded and, for example, viewed later on the plane.
8) Expand the circle of contacts! Developers from all over the world come to such large conferences with experience in very different fields. It is best to meet during lunch or while standing in line for a session or a meeting. All pretty open and easy to share contacts. Starting just from “Hi, I'm Igor. How do you like Google I / O? ”You can talk to companies with similar fields of activity. It is useful and pleasant.
9) It is important to define in advance the purpose of the trip and your desires. See the program, mark your favorites, book your favorite, form an action plan by day. Otherwise, the maximum effect of obtaining knowledge will not work.
10) Next to the Shoreline Amphitheater is the Google office, you can go there on one of the great Google, which is in the parking lot.
11) And of course, the main advice is to apply sunscreen! Moreover, it is issued in the starter pack. Many people think: "Why, the cold breeze is blowing, I will not light up at all." But it was not there! Despite the weather in California, you need to use the cream from day one!
I hope the article will be useful to you. If you have any questions - ask, I will answer with pleasure.
What is Google I / O and how it looks from the inside
Google I / O is the main Google conference, which is organized to discuss a variety of updates to open technologies and Google services. Usually, it announces innovations in the development world, which will either be implemented this year or are already available to developers. This year the conference was held in California, in the town of Mountain View , not far from the Google office in Shoreline Amphitheater . I was the lucky winner of an I / O ticket 4 years ago when the conference was held in San Francisco, but it was my first time at Mountain View. It has become much bigger and more diverse. Seven thousand people had to provide comfortable living and knowledge. On the territory, in addition to the main hall of the amphitheater, where the Keynote and center reports took place, there were several other rooms where you could listen to the reports. Many of them, by the way, were immediately broadcast online.
There were separate tents (Sandboxes) in which specialists constantly worked and demo stands on topics from Android Auto to AR / VR. Quite useful in content and professionals who are there.
')
Separate premises were also allocated for CodeLabs, where you could immediately try out new technologies and APIs on your own or dedicated computer.
The most useful meetings with Google specialists were within the framework of the “office hours”, in which you can come and talk about your problems with Google engineers and managers and discuss your applications.
As a department manager and product manager, I mainly attended sessions related to monetization, marketing, analytics and design. It can be seen that Google is very interested in the development of mobile analytics and subscriptions, that we are very into the topic, and therefore all the updates (from the reports expanded to the survey, why they canceled the subscription), were very pleased.
What new products to expect from Google this year?
A lot has been done, of course, for Google Assistant , which works on phones and on Google Home devices. The good news is that Google Assistant will appear in Russia by the end of the year. Also announced Smart Display devices - this is an assistant with a screen, an analogue of a tablet with a column from Amazon. The device can be put in the kitchen so that he read the recipe or show the video. You can, without touching the screen, ask him to tell about the weather or voice the news.
Also presented a cool soundbar JBL Link Bar for TVs with built-in Google Assistant. With this console, you can control the TV-voice without any remotes. This is not just a set-top box, it is a full-fledged smart speaker. All presented new items will be released by September or even earlier.
The most anticipated - at the conference presented an update of the Android P operating system. In the demo zone, new augmented reality libraries and Google Lens were also installed on smartphones. In general, almost all updates include a pinch or a whole barrel of machine learning, so that many of the components of the system and applications become comfortable, personalized and interactive. But in return you, of course, will have to give your data to the corporation. For example, clicks, scores of cafes on maps and preferences for using programs throughout the day. A smart machine instead optimizes the system so that it all works at the right time, shows and guesses your desires in finding a place to talk and eat.
What was useful for ABBYY
Actually, the most interesting thing for ABBYY is the updates that Google has announced for the Android camera and machine learning tools on the device. So, there are prototypes of digitization and recognition of documents in the camera, which are implemented in FineScanner and TextGrabber . While the announced updates are lagging behind ours: fewer recognition languages, worse quality, fewer work scenarios - ABBYY mobile applications will delight users more. But in any case, I am glad that the mobile phone is increasingly perceived as a tool for entering data from documents for other systems. This is exactly what allows ABBYY to grow so wildly, processing photos and scans and extracting useful information from them.
Google is moving towards greater emphasis on improving computer vision through machine learning. For smartphones came TensorFlow Lite. This is what will allow much faster development of mobile technologies based on a huge collection of neural networks for server products developed by ABBYY over a dozen years.
The second part, which work on Google, is the voice and control device. For example, a user may ask a smartphone to open a Vanya business card from ABBYY and add a note “send an offer” while sitting at the wheel of a car. The Business Card Reader is installed on the smartphone, which accesses the system with a signal that there is a Vanya business card and we will add this note now. It becomes really useful and convenient to communicate with the phone through a voice assistant. So far, unfortunately, there are not many scenarios of comfortable work in this mode, but I personally use Amazon Echo at home, and at work we test Google Home, and every day the annoyance gives way to convenience and high.
How did the communication between the developers and the organizers
At the end of each session there was an opportunity to ask questions. Although, as a rule, they gave general information, and there was no point in asking some highly specialized questions. But during the hours of receptions (within Office Hours), personal communication took place. By the way, I can not help but note that these meetings were very strangely organized: one tent, many almost closely facing tables, only 1 hour on the topic, long queues at popular sessions (such as design and the latest API updates), few engineers. But I hope that next year the feedback will be taken into account and it will be more comfortable for everyone. For all questions that came in advance from the developers managed to get answers from specialists. Or there was an opportunity to send a message on a laptop next to it so that you would be answered later (I have not been answered yet). The most useful sessions for me personally are onboarding, subscriptions, and usability, since you could get specific advice on your own applications first-hand.
As I said at the beginning, there were also tents, broken down by subject: Android, Web, Android P, augmented reality, Android Auto, etc.
In each of the tents, you could get information and chat with a Google employee who demonstrates the possibility of updates in a demo account. The most useful thing is again a design tent in which you could sign up for a personal meeting to discuss your application. We watched the onboarding of our new ABBYY TextGrabber (which we will update for the World Cup). We discussed in detail those moments in which we ourselves doubted. The tips were quite helpful.
Informal meetings were organized. The downside is that you sometimes do not know about these meetings, as they are not in the official program. You just walk, look in, ask what's interesting, and share some separate timetable with you. Usually ten people sit and listen, ask questions, communicate informally.
About meeting with the creator of Google Workshop
The topic of conducting innovative sessions in the company and creativity is close to me (we conducted a hackathon, we regularly gather for brainstorming and collecting new ideas, we developed jointly rapid prototypes of new technologies), so I was interested in meeting with the creator of Google-workshop, which took place in the form of a similar mitap. However, the organizers announced it in the official program, so about 30-40 people came. She passed in a recreation area where developers from Google Developer Groups from different countries, including from Russia, gathered.
The topic of the meeting sounded intriguing: “If you want to start creative activities in your company, come”. There was an engineer who told how the Google workshop was born. Once he was inspired by the idea of ​​creating creative workshops and bought at his own expense a screwdriver, which he put in a free space. Then another employee bought a set of materials for assembly. Then, as part of the purchase, it was possible to buy an inexpensive 3D printer and start experimenting with all this. As soon as he learned to use it well, he began to disseminate information about his experiences and to hold mini-training sessions once a month. Gradually, a plotter was added, a cutter for cutting stickers on laptops, and then a laser cutter. When the amount of equipment began to grow, management learned about this and, in general, approved such an initiative. We decided to open a real workshop and purchase equipment. We formed a schedule, allocated a responsible person with a budget for components. As a result, they started sharing this practice in other Google offices. Now they have more than 100 such creative entertainment workshops around the world. And, for example, Google Clips started with it. And, of course, I was impressed most of all in this story that everything began with the purchase of one simple screwdriver, even without any coordination of management.
What is most memorable
I was impressed by the voice assistant Google Duplex based on artificial intelligence. He made a table reservations and entry to the barber shop. Almost all the media then wrote about it. Doubt whether the technology of this level can be or not. I think, given that the scenario is rather narrow, it is quite possible. The problem with voice assistants is now only that if you start going beyond the category, the program starts to falter and talk nonsense. If you are within the framework of the template, a call with a narrow scenario, with a conscious number of possible answers, then now you can achieve such an awesome impression.
Speech analysis is already quite good. Text-to-speech is already similar to human voice. I think that such innovative things are our unusual, but real future.
Some tips for those who plan to visit Google I / O next year.
1) The sooner you know about your participation and have a visa, the more chances you have to book cheap tickets to San Jose (1-2 hours by taxi from San Francisco) and accommodation near the venue. It is generally better to issue a visa to the United States in advance for any tourist trip, as now there are huge problems with obtaining it.
2) It is better to move around California to Uber Pool and Lyft Line with fellow travelers, especially if organizers offer promotional code. Most often, you will also go with Google I \ O members and have a good time on the trip, also saving on taxis.
3) If you don’t rent a car, then to San Francisco, and indeed across the Gulf, you can cheaply move to CalTrain (train), which runs frequently, travels fast and costs significantly less than a taxi.
4) Be sure to join the chat in Telegram, where participants communicate. The link to the chat can be asked from previous participants or found in the Facebook theme groups. Closer to the event there are posts that someone is traveling and that he is in the chat, where you can join. Why is it worth joining a group in a Telegram? It's simple. Everything in it is divided into upcoming parties, events - the very secrets that take place where the interesting takes place and help each other on various issues. And, of course, it's nice to talk with interesting developers from Russia. I was very pleased with such an active community of conference visitors from Russia.
5) I do not advise you to spend a lot of time on the session, as they are broadcast online. Walking only on them is a waste of time. It is better to visit only the latest updates, which you can ask a question about the current product the very next day. The most useful part is Office Hours and App Reviews.
6) According to Apple’s experience , WWDC thought that it would be necessary to sign up for consultations in Office Hours (recording at 7 am and you literally have 5 minutes), but there was no recording here. So it is better to come before the official start of the discussion. The sooner you come, the more attention you get from a specialist.
7) To squeeze the maximum out of the trip, you need to try to walk on all activities. The more chamber the event, the greater the benefits. We must try to find out as much as possible about the availability of advanced programs in each of the tents and the possibility to sign up for additional sessions. There are more small interactive events, but not sessions broadcast on YouTube, which can be simply downloaded and, for example, viewed later on the plane.
8) Expand the circle of contacts! Developers from all over the world come to such large conferences with experience in very different fields. It is best to meet during lunch or while standing in line for a session or a meeting. All pretty open and easy to share contacts. Starting just from “Hi, I'm Igor. How do you like Google I / O? ”You can talk to companies with similar fields of activity. It is useful and pleasant.
9) It is important to define in advance the purpose of the trip and your desires. See the program, mark your favorites, book your favorite, form an action plan by day. Otherwise, the maximum effect of obtaining knowledge will not work.
10) Next to the Shoreline Amphitheater is the Google office, you can go there on one of the great Google, which is in the parking lot.
11) And of course, the main advice is to apply sunscreen! Moreover, it is issued in the starter pack. Many people think: "Why, the cold breeze is blowing, I will not light up at all." But it was not there! Despite the weather in California, you need to use the cream from day one!
I hope the article will be useful to you. If you have any questions - ask, I will answer with pleasure.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/359274/
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