Tech review: Google picks NYC for its first retail store

When most people think of Google, they think of its omnipresent internet search engine and the powerful software algorithms that run it. But Google has expanded into hardware. It’s growing roster of products includes Pixel phones, Nest smart home products, Pixelbook laptop computers and Fitbit fitness trackers.

In a nod to Apple and its highly successful Apple Stores, Google is opening its first retail store to sell and market its hardware products. The Google Store will be in Manhattan’s Chelsea section, where Google already has a tech campus with more than 11,000 employees.

The store is scheduled to open this summer.

Thinking outside the box

It may not cure Zoom fatigue, but your next Zoom conference may look less boring. Zoom has rolled out Immersive View, where meeting hosts can arrange participants in creative ways outside of the typical boxes. For example, participants can be grouped in a background where they look like they are sitting on a panel, in a classroom or in a boardroom. They can even be grouped as paintings on a wall.

Walmart to buy telehealth provider

Will your next checkup be done by Dr. Walmart? The retailer has entered into an agreement to acquire MeMD, a provider of telehealth services and online medical consultations. Walmart has been expanding into health care, opening Walmart Health Clinics in several of its stores, although none yet on Long Island. Walmart says the MeMD deal is expected to close in the coming months, pending regulatory approval.

Gender salary gap in tech jobs

Male job candidates for tech jobs were offered higher salaries than their female counterparts for the same role at the same company 59% of the time in 2020, according to data collected by Hired. The gap shrunk from 2019 when male candidates got higher offers 65% of the time. On average, salaries were 3% higher for men than women. In New York, salaries offered to male candidates were 7% higher.

— BLOOMBERG NEWS