Google recently developed a smart desk lamp that supports Google Assistant. However, regular customers cannot buy it because this desk lamp is only available to Google employees. Google designer Ben Gold tweeted an image of the light, called dLight. According to him, this lamp “may never sell outside of the company”. This ultra-modern design table lamp has a round base and slender lamp post. It also comes with an oval light that can point in different directions.
The lamp also comes with several lighting presets, as well as the ability to change the color temperature of the light. FCC filings for the light show that it can connect to the internet and support Google Assistant. This device comes with the “Hey Google” logo on its label. While the USB-C port isn’t visible in the picture, Gold says it does come with a USB-C port. Furthermore, this device will be able to get OTA updates.
Google employees in the U.S. can order dLights for free through the company as part of Google’s efforts to improve the work-from-home experience, Gold said. This isn’t the first time Google has made employee-only products. In 2017, the company developed a pair of Google-branded over-ear headphones for its employees.
Since this device is an internal smart light, there is no information on the price of this device. However, employees will not get it for free, they will have to purchase it. However, we do not expect this device to be too expensive for employees.
Google spent $8.7 million in 2021 to reward people who find bugs
In order to improve the security of products and platforms, Google has a Vulnerability Reward Program (VRP) for Android, Google Play, Chrome, and Web services. Officially, this spending will increase by $2 million to $8.7 million in 2021.
“We’re pleased to report that a record-breaking $8,700,000 in bug bounties were awarded in 2021, with researchers donating more than $300,000 to charities,” Google said.
Chrome VRP tops the list again with $3,288,000. It has $3.1 million for browser bugs and $250,500 for Chrome OS. The maximum reward amount for Chrome OS is $45,000, and a total of 115 researchers have been awarded.
Android was a close second, spending $2,935,244, a huge jump from last year’s $1.74 million. The highest Android VRP payout in history was “an exploit chain found in Android and rewarded with $157,000”.
The reward program has been a good way of encouraging tech gurus to keep looking for bugs and making the Android and Chrome system better. The company will probably increase its rewards in the future.
