Welcome to the Tech Meam Right Home for Monday, July 27th, 2020. I'm Brian McCullough.

Today, Googlers may not return to the office until next July. Australia has sued Google on competition and

consumer grounds. Looks like Garman is being ransomed, a handheld device to

replace Guide Dogs for the blind, and you know Software as a Service, but get ready

for Hardware as a Service.

Here's what you miss today in the world of Tech. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google will keep nearly all of its employees

working from home until at least July 2021.

This policy will reportedly affect almost all of Google's 200,000 full-time

and contract employees quoting the journal. Alphabet chief executive

Sundar Pichai made the decision himself last week after debate among Google

leads an internal group of top executives that he chairs according to a person

familiar with the matter. A small number of Google staffers were notified later in the week. The people familiar said,

Mr. Pachai was swayed in part by sympathy for employees with families to

plan for uncertain school years that may involve at-home instruction depending on geography.

The new date plants Google firmly in the cautious camp of companies debating the

efficacy and wisdom of remote work as coronavirus cases surge

and employers try to balance worker safety with efforts

to reopen the economy.

Some multinational firms are eager to bring employees back and return to normalcy.

Google could announce the extended timeline internally as soon as Monday.

It applies to company employees in most of its major offices, including the headquarters of

Mountain View, California, and other offices in the U.S. UK, India, Brazil, and elsewhere.

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