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9 great reads from CNET this week: Google, Venmo, iMac and more

Google I/O brings us a bevy of new tech, the new iMac flaunts its style and other highlights from the week gone by.

CNET News staff
2 min read

Over the past year, Google has weathered a whole host of controversies -- from antitrust scrutiny to discord in its AI ranks -- amid the wide-ranging challenges of the pandemic. So it must have been a relief for the company to spend a couple of hours focused exclusively on the marvels of tech it's been cooking up.

That's what we got in its Google I/O keynote on Tuesday: everything from new features in Android 12 and updates for Google Maps and Search to forward-looking efforts on quantum computing and the video conferencing "magic window" of Project Starline. It was an impressive showing.

You can read all about that here, among the other in-depth features and thought-provoking commentaries that appeared on CNET this week. So here you go. These are the stories you don't want to miss.

Google unveils Android, AI and chat features as it tries to move past chaotic year

Exclusive: The search giant touts the updates at its I/O developers conference.

Google I/O illustration
Collin Buenerkemper/CNET

Google AI chief says reputation hit to unit is 'real' after turmoil

Exclusive: In his first interview since the ouster of high-profile researchers, Jeff Dean acknowledges the toll of the controversy.

Google AI chief Jeff Dean
James Martin/CNET

Venmo can reveal too much about you. People like it anyway

Joe Biden's Venmo friends list got outed -- that's how the app is designed, keeping personal connections central.

US $100 bill and binary code
Sadik Demiroz via Getty Images

Apple 24-inch iMac review: A colorful new M1 Mac for the post-quarantine world

Orange you glad the new 24-inch iMac comes in seven different colors?

24-inch iMac, M1 2020
Dan Ackerman/CNET

AT&T to refocus on 5G as it unloads WarnerMedia

The telecom giant is shifting gears back to what it probably should have been concentrating on in the first place.

AT&T signage
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

2022 Ford F-150 Lightning first ride review: Electric brawn, bright future

An early ride sitting shotgun reveals a surprising amount about game-changing electric pickup truck.

2022 Ford F-150 Lightning
Nick Miotke/Nate Reed/Roadshow

COVID-19 showed digital accessibility is critical. Advocates don't want you to forget

As more people get vaccinated and the world reopens, experts say remote work, virtual events and e-commerce sites should still cater to people with disabilities.

Man in wheelchair using videoconferencing on computer
Getty Images

Pornhub restores, colorizes and posts century-old erotic films

Some are far less chaste than you might expect from porn of yore, and definitely not safe for work.

Still from the 1930 erotic movie Surprised by the Guard
Video screenshot by Leslie Katz/CNET

Roku is streaming Quibi shows now, free. Here are 6 that aren't garbage

Quibi was a disaster, but not all of its shows were. These six aren't terrible at all.

Rachel Brosnahan in the Quibi episode Golden Arm
Quibi
Watch this: Google I/O launches Android 12, 'Project Starline' and amped-up privacy features