Google Plus
Latest
Google Play now supports Samsung's HDR10+ alternative to Dolby Vision
Samsung unveiled HDR10+ as a way to bring HDR tech on par with Dolby Vision without paying Dolby's royalties. So far, it hasn't attracted a lot of other TV makers and content distributors besides Panasonic and Amazon. However, Samsung has now announced two significant new partners in both those areas with Vizio TVs and Google Play streaming. That should make it easier for consumers to not only find HDR10+ content, but play it back as well.
Farewell, Google+: You didn't fail, you just didn't succeed
It's the end of Google+. Eight years after its launch, Google is finally pulling the plug on its social network. It was a platform designed to take on Facebook but, despite the company's best efforts, it always existed in its shadow. As of today, there will be no more Google+ sign-in buttons, no more pages or comments, and your account will simply vanish.
The Think Tank: Keeping in touch with the friends in the magic box
Earlier this week in the comments of the article about MMO social network ZergID, readers went off on a tear about how MMO players keep in touch and communicate with guildies and friends beyond the game -- as my mom used to say, the people in the magic box. What quickly became obvious is that there's no one accepted method. Social media, forums, chats, IMs, Steam, and this crazy invention called a telephone were all mentioned. I thought we could use a more formal discussion, so in today's Think Tank, I asked the Massively writers how they keep in touch with guildies and MMO friends when they're not playing or when they're between games... if they keep in touch at all.
A quick guide to following World Cup 2014 on Google, Facebook and Twitter
Like a trio of vuvuzelas, the three big internet platforms became a significant part of the World Cup's background noise in 2010. They have even more to offer this time around: Not just a multitude of ways to follow scores and other stats, but also places to go if you want to trumpet your opinions and listen to those of others. So, we've rounded up some of the best advice from Twitter, Facebook and Google on how to get the most out of the new features they're dishing out for Brazil 2014.
The Daily Grind: What social tools do all MMOs need?
Heading into WildStar this past weekend, I was pleasantly surprised at how useful and easy the in-game social circles were. Instead of fretting about guild membership, I joined a few circles to talk with friends and made one up to keep in touch with a couple more. Somewhere Google+ is laughing haughtily, but I think that more MMOs should have a feature like this. So what social tools do you think MMOs need? I'd also nominate in-game guild finders, far more robust friends lists (that are per-account, not per-character), and handy emote buttons that eschew the need for memorizing a list of slash commands. What say you? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
How to turn off the new Gmail option that allows Google+ strangers to send you emails
Yesterday, Google unveiled a controversial new feature for Gmail and Google+ users -- anyone with a Google+ account can send an email to your Gmail account, even if they don't have your email address. No more hiding behind your email -- if your name is attached to a Gmail and Google+ account, then you can be contacted. Though you can change the settings and limit your contact options, the "Anyone can email me" option is turned on by default. Want to turn it off? Here's how: Open Gmail by going to mail.google.com. Click the gear in the top right corner of the Gmail window. Select Settings from the drop-down menu. Scroll down to the Email via Google+ section, which is under the "General" tab. Click the drop-down menu and choose "Anyone on Google+", "Extended circles", "Circles" or "No one". Click the"Save Changes" button at the bottom of the page. I recommend selecting "No one" as that blocks the feature completely. You can select "Circles" if you want the people in your circles to be able to email you or "Extended Circles" if you want friends of friends to message you. The default option "Anyone on Google+" is for those who don't mind being contacted by any random person. If you are tired of Google and its shenanigans, just walk away by deleting your Google account and signing up for an iCloud account.
Google+ Hangouts get Live Q&A for those burning questions that just can't wait
Google+'s Hangouts On Air is a nice feature for broadcasting yourself to the world, but it's been a bit of a one-way street when it comes to interacting with your droves of adoring fans. Mountain View will be addressing that problem over the next few days with the rollout of Live Q&A, a feature that lets On Air hosts solicit, select and answer Qs you can A from up to one million simultaneous viewers. Those questions will be timestamped and added to the YouTube recording of the video, as well. The full version of the feature is coming to the desktop version of Google+, with read-only hitting Android devices.
Google+ for Android update brings Drive access, improved location sharing and more, drops messenger
If you spend much time on Google+ for Android, then we hope you follow the app's Tech Lead, Virgil Dobjanschi. He's just shared that version 4.1 will be available on the Play Store today, and brings -- he claims -- five big hitting updates with it. First on the list, account and page switching gets even easier, much like it did in Android's Gmail app. There's also full support for Google Apps for Business, which brings public sharing when enabled. For regular users, the ability to access files from Google Drive, and additional location controls will be welcome additions, with the last update being a bit of house keeping -- Messenger is out, Hangouts remain. Beyond the "big five," there's a tease of other updates for you to "discover." Or you could just read the "What's new" tab when it rolls out starting today.
SoundCloud embedding comes to Google+, lets you rock out without a pop-up
Hear some amazing new song you've just got to share with your Circles? After introducing a Google+ sign-in, way, way back in May, SoundCloud and Mountain View have teamed up to offer music embedding on the social network. Now you can share a song that's playable directly in Google+, with no need to open a new tab. Click the share button, add some optional text and voila, the widget will appear on your page -- that is, if the song's original poster is cool with it. Sharing only works on songs when the functionality is enabled. More info in the source link below.
Google+ Games no more after June 30
After June 30, Google+ Games will be no more. Google has announced it's pulling the plug on all games through its service, so if you have credits in any games or wish to continue playing, you'll need to pursue that through each individual developer. Google announced it's pulling the plug shortly after revealing its new games services suite for Google Play, which is live right now. Google started rolling out games to its social networking service in the summer of 2011, starting with Angry Birds, Dragon Age Legends and sudoku.
Google+ now mutes your mic while you type in Hangouts
How do you know if you don't have someone's full attention during a Google Hangout? By the sound of their typing. Google, however, has decided to end the intra-company fistfights by updating its social network, enabling it to identify the apocalyptic clattering of your keyboard -- and mute your microphone for as long as it continues. Unfortunately, the company has only seen fit to add this to chats of four or more participants, so better make some more friends, stat.
Ask Massively: Feeds and faceplustweets
Google Reader might be on its way out, but old-school RSS is here to stay. If you haven't jumped to Feedly or some other RSS platform yet, July 1st is your doomsday. How is this relevant to your interests and why am I telling you this in Ask Massively? Well, many of you readers probably don't camp our front page, and if you're not into social media and the latest faceplustweet craze, RSS can help you keep up with the parts of Massively you want to read (and avoid the ones you don't).
Google+ Sign-In lets you use account info across iOS, Android and web apps
These days it seems like every app wants your Facebook or Twitter info -- it figures that Google wants a piece of that action, too. Today the software giant announced Google+ Sign-in, a new feature that makes it possible to log into non-Google apps using your credentials for its myriad services (your Gmails, your YouTubes, et al). Google promises that Sign-in, which will be available for Android, iOS and web apps alike, will deliver the "protections and safeguards you've come to expect," plus some tweaks for the Google Maps Android API. The feature also makes it possible to decide what information you're sharing, so you don't spam the rest of us with your fitness goals (have we mentioned how fit you're looking these days?). You can also manage all of the apps you're using with Sign-In through Google+. More information for developers and users alike can be found in the source link below.
Google+ experiencing outage, temporarily the anti-social network
We know, we know. You were trying to get on with your online social life this morning, but Google+ was nowhere to be found. Looks like the social network is experiencing an outage today -- here in the States at least. According to folks in the UK, things are moving a lot more swimmingly on that side of the pond. We've reached out to Google for a response. You'll know more as soon as we do. Update: Looks like everything's back in working order. You can quit complaining about it on Facebook now.
Talkcast tonight: Splicing in a G+ Hangout with our bare hands
As fond as we are of Talkshoe round here, there are some challenges and limitations on the podcast platform. Listeners know we're casting about for some new solutions that will keep the fun and spontaneity of the Talkcast we know and love, while improving audio quality and reliability. Tonight, as we look ahead to Macworld | iWorld and Apple's upcoming earnings report, we're going to try something new. We'll be simulcasting the Talkcast as a Google+ Hangout, and hopefully also streaming it to our YouTube channel. There's a cap of 10 participants in the Hangout itself, but you'll be able to comment and contribute on the G+ page during the show as well as in the usual Talkshoe chat. It's a grand experiment, so bear with us if things go sideways -- that is, when things go sideways. I plan to start the Hangout at 9:30pm and get it solidified before we begin the regular audio side of things at 10pm ET. We may run into some audio looping issues, so if I have to mute the G+ side we'll do that and connect it in by phone. In any case, it's bound to be interesting; hope we'll hear and see you there. To participate live during the show (other than on the G+ side), you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, the best way to have your voice heard is to call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!
Google research pane for Docs adds personal content, integration with Presentation and Drawing
Building off of the web search capabilities of its research pane for Docs, Google is now giving users the ability to search for and insert their own personal content. For example, if you're working on a presentation in Drive and want to add a photo from your Picasa album, or a quote from a friend's Google+ profile, you'll now have the option of adding personal content from within the research pane without leaving your project. This new search feature pulls information from your personal Picasa albums, Drive and Google+ accounts, and users will also find that the research pane has been extended to Presentation and Drawings. Unfortunately, Google Apps customers will still be limited to web-only search results, as personal content search is intended for individual accounts. However, if you're a starving student heavily embedded in Google's ecosystem, this time saver just might shave a few minutes off of your weekend cram session and that's always a good thing.
Vic Gundotra posts Nexus 10 photos to Google +
If anyone is going to get their hands on new Nexus hardware first, it's going to be Google top-brass. So when photos from Senior Vice President of Engineering, Vic Gundotra, show up on his Google + with "Nexus 10" in the details, we pay attention. The pictures show some idyllic scenes from the beach, but what we're all interested in is the EXIF data. So, 2,046 by 1,536 you say? That's 3-megapixel by our calculations, which may not be the true original resolution of the image of course. With a big Google event just around the corner, though, we imagine we won't have to wait long to find out more.
Google+ app updates bring iPhone 5 support, new widget on Android and more
Google's social networking efforts are getting a boost with new versions of its Google+ apps for Android and iOS alike. While both platforms are now sporting the ability for managers of pages to post and comment on items on the go (expect quicker "We're at CES 2013" check-ins on the Engadget G+ page) there are some individual changes for each. For Android there's a redesigned home screen widget, one-click access to photos in posts and a new 'Find People' function. Meanwhile on Apple hardware it gains iOS 6 / iPhone 5 support, as well as the ability to edit posts, save photos to the camera roll and search for people and posts on the iPad. We tried out the page management feature which is nice to have, but appears to only be accessible by actually signing out and signing back in again. Hit the links below to grab the updated apps at their respective stores and give them a try.
BBC announces YouTube original content channels for science, nature
Hot on the heels of YouTube's launch of 60 new original content channels, the BBC has announced that it will be partnering with Google's video service to present two of those. The UK broadcaster said it will introduce a nature channel, with content coming from its BBC Earth Productions unit, and a science channel featuring Top Gear presenter James May "and his crack team of scientists." The new portals will come online in 2013, and "Auntie Beeb" has also redesigned its six current YouTube stations and added new clips from Top Gear (season 18) and other original programs, too. All that comes along at the same time as the refreshed iPlayer -- another way the company's been creative with technology, lately.
YouTube advances cash for 60 more original channels in Europe and the US
Google pulls in nearly $2 billion a year in YouTube advertising revenue, but that's still a drop in the bucket compared to the $60 billion earned by broadcast networks. To rely less on viral cat videos or "Gangnam Style" breakouts, the company has announced that it's advanced funds to content producers like Jamie Oliver and Michael Cera to create 60 new original channels in France, the UK, Germany and the US. That's in addition to the 100 channels it already created last year, and Mountain View also said it would take that original launch up a notch in 2013 by providing even more funds to the most successful efforts by artists like Jay Z and Amy Poehler. The company didn't say exactly how much cash would be raining down to all those channels stateside or abroad, but considering the amount it recently spent just marketing them, you may want to pull the trigger on that new cinema camera, after all.
