Google+ as we know it is changing, and that’s a good thing
In 2011, Google came up with a plan to unite many of its services through a single social networking website called Google+. It wasn’t meant to be a Facebook clone, where users would go to connect with their loved ones or to share annoying viral videos, and it also lacked the instantaneous gratification that came with posting a tweet about a current event. Instead, it quickly found a home among passionate people who shared common interests. Whether those interests meant technology, photography, music or basically anything else, Google+ was, and still is, a great place to go to talk with like-minded folks about anything and everything.
While the core of Google+ has basically stayed the same over the years, many aspects of the social network have change dramatically. The way we use Google+ today is different from the way we used to, and that’s not a bad thing at all. So let’s take a look at how far it’s come, where we are now, and what we can expect in the future.
The past
A couple of years after Google+ launched, Google created a master plan to rid YouTube of nasty comments forever. Prior to 2013, anyone who wanted to post a comment on YouTube, whether it be productive or spammy, could do so under a custom screen name. This of course meant that folks were much more inclined to speak their minds in the comment section without any real repercussions. Google set out to fix this by requiring everyone to sign up for Google+ if they wanted to post a comment on a video. You see, by requiring a user to attach their real identity to their comments, the thinking went that the best comments would rise to the top of the rankings, while the spammy, nonsense comments would sink to the bottom.
This didn’t really work, though. Videos were still spammed with terrible comments from users who didn’t care whether or not their real names were attached to their profiles. Instead, Google’s decision left many people more upset than anything, which ultimately gave Google+ a worse reputation from users in the long run.
YouTube comments are the most specific example of Google+’s dark past, but that’s not the only way the social network was forced into our lives. Around this time, you couldn’t access any Google service – whether that means Gmail, Search, Android, Google Maps, Google Play and more – without being just one click away from Google+. Some of these Google+ integrations are still here today, though the company is finally realizing that users don’t want to be forced to use a social network.
See also: Google+ Photos to shut down August 1st, focus shifts to new Google Photos app
Where are we now?
The way Google is approaching its social network is changing
Google+, as a whole, has gone largely unchanged over the years. But the way Google is approaching its social network is different, which is a good thing. In a recent announcement, Google vowed to eliminate the requirement to sign up for Google+ when uploading, commenting, or creating a channel on YouTube. You’ll still need a Google account to access these features, but the G+ requirement is no more. This is big news.
Not only is this a good thing for YouTube commenters and video makers, this is a smart move for the social network as a whole. Just think – there are some people who, even in 2013, haven’t yet heard of Google+. When they visit YouTube and try to comment on a video, they’re forced to sign up for a new social network that will display all of their comments on their profiles that they never had any intention of using in the first place.
This is just the start, though. Google has also announced that YouTube is just the first service to become de-coupled from Google+. More services will follow in the coming months, though we’re not exactly sure which services are next in line.
Google also launched a new Google Photos application at Google I/O 2015, which essentially took the Google+ integration out of the photo backup service. Not only did the mobile app and web interface largely improve once the G+ integration was taken out, the service as a whole got much easier to use, and much less confusing.
Read more: A quick look at the new Google Photos app (video)
The future of Google+
Google+ is unlike any other social network to come from the company, mostly because it has yet to fail. It’s been made clear that there’s a place on the internet for Google+ and that it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Google wants to succeed at social networking, and it now knows forcing users to sign up isn’t the way to go about it. With that said, the future of Google+ is incredibly unclear – much more so than it ever has been.
With the big YouTube de-coupling announcement the other day, Google assured users that Google+ would stick around as a social network, though it didn’t give any hints as to what we can expect from the service in the future. We’re not sure if it will ever grow out of niche service territory, or if this is the beginning of the end for Google+. One thing is for certain, though – now that the company is no longer forcing people to use it, Google can finally start winning back users who once thought poorly of the social network.
What are your thoughts on Google+? Do you use it? If so, where do you think it’s headed? Be sure to let us know in the comment section below.
Tips for Getting Siri to Play Tracks in Apple Music
If you are signed up for the free, three-month trial of Apple Music, you probably know by now many of the cool features the streaming music service has to offer. But, did you know that Siri can make the experience even better? We’ve got a few tips for getting Siri to act as your digital deejay.
To get the full use of Siri’s compatibility with Apple Music, make sure you are subscribed and your iCloud Music Library is on.
Play a Radio Station or Beats 1
Not only can Siri play a radio station like Electronic or Oldies, but now the personal assistant can also start playing live Beats 1 programming. Just ask her to “Play Beats 1.”
Play an Apple Music Playlist
One of the things I love about Apple Music is the playlist feature in the For You section. If I’ve recently “liked” a particular song, A new playlist based on that will show up. If you know the name of an Apple Music created playlist, ask for it specifically. For example, “Play Souxie & The Banshees: Deep Cuts.”
What Song is Playing
If Apple Music is playing a song you don’t recognize, you can ask for more information. Just say, “What song is this?” to discover the artist and song title.
Add an Album to Your Playlist
If you like the song that is playing and want to hear the whole album, ask Siri to add the album to your playlist and it will begin playing after the current track is finished.
Read more 
1TB My Passport Cinema drive puts 4K Ultra HD movies in your pocket
New super high-res televisions are already here, but with Ultra HD Blu-ray still yet to debut, the best available way to get 4K video on that screen is with streaming and, now, downloading. Western Digital has a Vidity hard drive ready that is ready for storing Hollywood’s movies in the highest quality available, and playing them back on compatible screens. Right now the list of compatible devices is limited to Samsung’s UHD TVs (2014 or 2015) with the M-Go app, and Fox is the first studio out of the gate with compatible movies. WD’s $90 1TB, USB 3.0-connected My Passport Cinema drive meets the spec, is being packed in free with new Samsung TVs, and comes preloaded with The Maze Runner, Exodus: Gods and Kings, X-Men: Days of the Future Past, The Wolverine, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Fault in Our Stars, Let’s Be Cops and The Other Woman — two of them are free off the bat.
This group has been working on what it previously called Project Phenix for years and yes, it is a spec for the DRM system wrapped around those pristine Ultra HD, High Dynamic Range (HDR) video files. The two HDR-equipped flicks (Maze Runner and Exodus: Gods and Kings) will only play in 4K on the 2015 Samsung SUHD televisions however, and in HD on the 2014 televisions (part of the spec means it can store copies in lower res for playback on different types of devices). Fox EVP Danny Kaye says the move combines “unprecedented quality” with convenience, since not only do viewers get the best looking version of the movie, they can move it from place to place or device to device.
When we got a demo of the tech at CES it seemed to work smoothly, but we’ll need to see that list of compatible devices (and available movies) grow quickly to make it worth investing in. Right now, the drive comes gratis with Samsung’s JS9000, JS9100 or JS9500 Ultra HD televisions, so if you need a knockout demo to go along with that new set (other than some new NASA flicks from the ISS) they have you covered.
Filed under:
Home Entertainment, HD, Samsung
Source:
Western Digital, Vidity
Tags: 4K, DRM, Fox, hdpostcross, M-Go, MyPassportCinema, ProjectPhoenix, samsung, suhd, ultraHD, UltraHDTV, vidity, WesternDigital
A chat with Black Hat’s unconventional keynote speaker
The most interesting thing about Black Hat 2015 keynote speaker Jennifer Granick isn’t her gender — though she appears against a backdrop of historically male keynotes. It’s that Granick is director of civil liberties at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society. She previously held the same position at the Electronic Frontier Foundation — and is known for defending some of the more notorious criminal hackers around, including Kevin Poulsen, Aaron Swartz, Jerome Heckenkamp and the hackers in the Diebold Election Systems case. Being the keynote speaker at the Black Hat conference means she’s about to go front and center with the very organizations and government entities her clients have hacked. Granick is joining a colorful catalog of former keynoters who tend to represent the interests of the international cybersecurity conference’s corporate-enterprise and government attendees.
Among Black Hat’s most controversial keynote episodes was 2013 speaker General Keith Alexander, then the director at the NSA. During his packed Black Hat USA keynote Alexander assured the crowd that the NSA’s surveillance programs were lawful interception; attendees did not hesitate to shout, “Bullshit,” and loudly accused him of lying to Congress. 2012’s keynote, ex-FBI Executive Assistant Director Shawn Henry, got a chilly reception to his remarks calling for businesses to “step up” and help the US government fight cyberattacks.
Differences in ideology aside, it’s no small shakes that Granick is also only one of two women in Black Hat’s storied history of keynotes — spanning back to 1997 — to command the conference’s most public podium.
In 2010, Black Hat had its first female keynote, Jane Holl Lute, who served at the time as the deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Lute’s first comment about the nature of cyberspace set the tone for her keynote, which was, in characteristic DHS cybersecurity style, tone-deaf to attendee levels of expertise.
Lute began, “How do cyberspace and war zones compare? Wars happen somewhere. They involve somebody. Geography is key. Seizing and holding terrain. Wars happen somewhere, but cyberspace is sort of this space-time thing. Nobody really gets it.”
Needless to say, the two women couldn’t be more different from each other — and Granick couldn’t be more different from Black Hat’s typical keynote choices. Curious to see what she had to say about adding her name to Black Hat’s storied keynote history, Engadget caught up with Granick for a quick Q&A before she hits the stage.
In Black Hat’s keynote history, you’re one of only two women to be an esteemed Black Hat keynote. Does this matter?
I think it does. I hope I start a flood of future keynotes by any number of the many great women in computer security.
In a refreshing twist, Cosmopolitan UK upended gender roles for their Avengers interview with Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo. Instead of the stereotypical questions Johansson was tired of getting, the magazine instead asked Ruffalo about his skincare routine, his red carpet outfits and whether he slimmed down for the role. How do you anticipate handling questions a male keynote would never get?
I have an advantage in this community because I’m a lawyer and not a security professional. People don’t tend to think they already know everything I have to say. So they tend to take talking to me as an opportunity to ask real questions. I’ll try to think of a funny joke, though, just in case someone asks about my beauty regime. (By the way, it’s chia seeds. … Was that funny?)
Your keynote is called “The Lifecycle of a Revolution.” What revolution?
I’m talking about the internet revolution. We early adopters had, have, such hopes and dreams for technology — leveling the playing field, fostering new ideas and new political power, opening the world up to new communities of people, liberating ourselves from some of the dangers of bad government. Obviously, security is a building block for this future. But in so many ways we’re falling short of this vision: surveillance, spyware, censorship, increasingly catastrophic data breaches. This revolution is middle aged, and unless we do something, the next stage promises to be gray, grizzled and sad.
Your bailiwick is criminal defense and civil liberties, and you’ve defended some of the most notorious hackers in the industry. Since Black Hat’s attendees are largely government, corporate, law enforcement and government contractors, you’re practically the opposite of a typical Black Hat keynote. What do you bring to their table?
I’m not that radical. As a lawyer, I’m part of the system, too. I just hope I’m going to help everyone listening think about the roots of the security industry, the place of security in a free society and where we’re headed.
What happens to security in the Internet revolution’s future?
Like all rights and privileges, security is about power. Who gets it, who doles it out and what interests it protects. If the internet revolution can successfully liberate people from traditional power structures — totalitarianism, bias, poverty — like we’ve hoped, that’ll be awesome. But at this inflection point, there are signs that surveillance, censorship and entrenched powers may successfully co-opt the internet. It’s up to us.
Jennifer Granick’s Black Hat 2015 keynote, The Lifecycle of A Revolution, will be presented Wednesday, August 5th at 9AM PT (Mandalay Bay Ballroom, Las Vegas, Nevada).
[Photo credit: Amanda Avila, via Flickr]
Filed under:
Internet
Tags: blackhat, blackhat2015, cybersecurity, eff, ElectronicFrontierFoundation, Jennifer Granick, keynote, qa, security, StanfordCenterforInternetandSociety
White House Demo Day focuses on diversity
When the White House hosts a Demo Day, tech entrepreneurs come out to play. The Obama administration kicked off its first ever showcase for startups today. It isn’t your typical day of demonstrations and matchmaking that brings entrepreneurs closer to prospective funders. Instead, it’s about pushing for much-needed diversity in the largely homogenous tech world. As such, the innovators showcasing their stories directly to POTUS come from diverse backgrounds. According to the site, “these stories exemplify how we can ‘grow the pie’ by including all Americans in our innovation economy.”
As part of the Startup America initiative, the presidential Demo Day is designed to encourage an all-inclusive entrepreneurship. In addition to the 30 startup teams that are exhibiting their nascent technologies and ideas, a dozen bigwigs are committing to workforce diversity. Box, a cloud storage company, for instance, has committed to using the “Rooney Rule”, which essentially means at least one woman and one candidate from an underrepresented minority will be considered for senior management positions. At Facebook, in addition to the previous promise of annual diversity reports, the company has now launched a Supplier Diversity Program to find and partner with more women and minority-owned businesses. IBM plans to build on its equation with Girls Who Code. Amazon has committed to including diverse candidates at every executive hiring step. And Indiegogo will turn to software that will reduce unconscious bias during the hiring process to bolster the company’s diversity pipeline.
The commitments don’t stop there. With only about three percent of the venture-capital backed startups being run by women, and only around one percent being run by African Americans, today’s announcement also includes 40 venture capital firms that are stepping up their game. Leading firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Intel Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers and more that collectively hold over $112 billion in management will extend opportunities for women and minorities. These firms have agreed to an industry wide survey — the results of which will be made public — that will track diversity within the firms and their extended portfolio companies.
While some of the companies have made their first diversity-friendly pledges today, others are more familiar with the zone. Indiegogo’s diversity report, for instance, revealed that, as of last year, almost half of the company’s employees were women. According to Slava Rubin, CEO of the crowdfunding platform, in-house diversity has had a clear impact on the business. “In the VC world women-led companies are only getting about 5 to 10 percent of the funds, at Indiegogo we’re able to see that without any filter and judgment from potential bias, women-led campaigns are getting nearly 47 percent of the funds,” he told Engadget. “It’s interesting to see that diversity of the workforce and the platform are mimicking each other.”
Demo Day has been filled with promises that are neither guarantees nor indicators of swift change. But the fact that tech players are starting to participate in initiatives that call for diversity and are willing to be more accountable reveals an awareness that could well be the first crucial step towards change that’s long overdue.
Tags: amazon, BarackObama, diversity, facebook, government, indiegogo, whitehouse, whitehousedemoday
Galaxy Note 5 photo leak shows a giant, pen-toting S6
At last, real-life images of the finished Galaxy Note 5 have leaked through Droid-Life… and if they’re accurate, they confirm a lot of hopes and fears. The good? It’s basically an upsized Galaxy S6 with a stylus, including a vivid (likely 5.7-inch) display, a metal-and-glass body and a spring-loaded S Pen. And check out that curved back — this may be easier to hold than the S6 despite its larger frame. It’s also clear that Samsung has redesigned the S Pen software to fit in line with the S6 aesthetic, although it’s not certain whether the changes are more than skin deep. Spec leaks point to a hefty 4GB of RAM and up to 128GB of internal storage.
The bad news? Well… it’s an upsized S6 with a stylus. That means no microSD card slot and a larger (but still so-so) 3,000mAh battery. You also won’t get tricks like the OnePlus 2’s USB Type-C port. In short, the Note 5 is shaping to be what earlier Galaxy Notes have been: a logical extension of that year’s Galaxy S design, for better or for worse. You could still see some surprises at Samsung’s big August 13th event, but it’s likely to confirm at least some of what you already knew.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung
Source:
Droid-Life
Tags: android, galaxynote, galaxynote5, leak, mobilepostcross, samsung, smartphone, spen
Apple Music Licensing Deals Include Permissions for Additional Beats Radio Stations
Apple’s licensing terms with record labels give the company permission to create up to five additional radio stations like Beats 1, reports The Verge, citing sources with knowledge of Apple’s deals. Without needing to negotiate new terms, Apple could potentially launch additional Beats stations around the world, adding DJs in other countries or launching stations with a specific focus.
As part of the deal it struck with the major labels for Apple Music Radio, Apple has licenses for up to five additional stations like Beats 1, without having to renegotiate with the labels. That means Apple could launch a Beats 2 station headquartered in Australia or Asia, allowing it to provide live radio around the clock (Beats 1 is only live 12 hours a day).
It seems Apple is indeed considering and preparing for a potential expansion Beats 1 with new Beats radio stations, as the company has registered domains like beats2.com.cn, beats2.hk, and beats4.com.ru in various countries around the world. Beats 1 is broadcast worldwide, but in the future, Apple may wish to offer stations that cater to different languages and music tastes around the world.
Labels may have given Apple permission to create additional radio stations due to the fact that Apple is allegedly paying more per-play than Pandora for music that is streamed on Beats 1.
The Verge‘s sources also commented on the status of Apple Music, stating that labels are “pretty pleased” with Apple Music’s performance thus far and that the service has gained a “substantial” number of users since it launched on June 30. Of course, all Apple Music subscribers right now have free access to the service until October, so it’s still impossible to gauge how Apple Music measures up to competing services like Spotify.
As of this month, Apple has initiated a major advertising campaign for Apple Music, with billboards and signage popping up in cities around the world like San Francisco, Tokyo, Toronto, Los Angeles, and Mexico City, which should bump up subscriber numbers.
Apple has also maintained momentum with its Beats 1 radio station through a series of exclusive song releases and interviews with artists. Most recently, Beats 1 scored an exclusive with MTV, with the network using the platform to announce the 2015 Video Music Award nominees.
What is the least important feature on a phone? [Poll]
We spend lots of time talking about the best features on smartphones and what makes them so great. But what if we decided to turn the tables? Today, we are not talking about what feature has to be included on the phone you buy, but rather which feature you could live without. So here is the setup for this question.
Y
ou are walking through the woods when you come upon an old shack. Inquisitive, you decide to check out what is inside and discover an old magician sitting in the corner reading a book, Android for Dummies. He sees you and begs you to help him figure out how to use his new Android smartphone. As a self-proclaimed tech whiz, you get him all set up and prepare to leave. He says he must reward you and promises to create you the perfect smartphone. His describes the phone to you as he works his magic.
The screen is beautiful and perfectly sized for your hand. The gorgeous 2K resolution makes pictures and text pop. You are not sure what magical screen technology the wizard used, but the colors are perfectly accurate and the blacks are true. Even better, outdoor visibility is amazing!
The performance on this phone is second to none. No matter how much stress you put on it, you will never experience any lag. It flies through multitasking, gaming, web browsing, videoing, and anything else you can throw at it.
The build quality is strong yet light. You know that no matter what you do to this phone, it will never chip, scratch, shatter, or dent. The materials feel comfortable in your hand, and no matter how much you use it, the phone never gets hot.
The speakers make sound come alive and fill the room you are in. The audio quality would bring tears to an audiophile’s eyes. Best of all, the speakers are front-facing but take up no room on the bezel. Magic, you say? Well…yes.
The camera takes pictures that look more real life that the world outside. Every feature and add-on you want is already included, and there is not even a camera hump. Just for fun, the magician throws in a best-in-class selfie camera, too.
The battery life is unbelievable! No matter how much you use it, the phone will always last for days. When you do finally need to charge it, the charging technology is so good you can be back up to full in no time.
Finally, the software is top notch. It is running the latest version of Android, and if you want, you can add any skin on top. Updates become available the day they are announced, and the magician promises your phone will be supported forever.
All of this sounds amazing, and you are eager for the magician to finish his spells and hand over your new phone. Unfortunately, the magician is old and reluctantly tells you he cannot deliver on one of his promised features. In fact, he has to skimp on one of them to deliver the other features he offered.
So now the question is: Which feature would you give up in order to have an otherwise perfect phone?
To make this more interesting, I am going to tell you what you will have to endure depending on what you choose.
If you choose the screen as least important, the size will be unbearable for you. Either too large or too small, depending on which you hate more. The resolution matches 5-year-old budget phones, the colors look terrible, and you will never be able to see it outside.
For those of you who do not think performance is important, you will find yourself will a phone that cannot even handle basic tasks. Texting, browsing the web, using social media, and switching apps cause your device to lag and stutter until you are frustrated beyond comprehension.
Choosing build quality will give you the cheapest built phone you could ever imagine. The materials are flimsy and weak, and the phone creaks every time you touch it. It feels like the phone might just shatter if you set it down to quickly. And this is a problem that no mere case is going to fix, regardless of the brand or materials.
If you go with speakers/sound quality as least important, you will never want to listen to anything on this phone again. First, the speaker will be placed in a way that you will almost always muffle it. The audio itself is distorted, crackly, tinny, and just plain terrible. Unfortunately, the problem persists even if you use headphones or a Bluetooth speaker.
Choosing camera as unimportant will net you a camera that 2009 Android phones could beat. The megapixel count is extremely low, the sensor is absolute trash, the colors in every picture look wrong, low light performance does not exist, and you are stuck using a bare-bones camera app.
If you do not think battery life is important, you will be sorry once you have to use this phone. With top of the line specs, this phone will never last you through a day. When you are forced to charge during your lunch break, you will find no Quick Charge technology here. A slow trickle barely fills your battery at all, and you will be back to the outlet in no time.
Finally, choosing software as least important will leave you with an extremely powerful phone running an outdated, ugly, terribly skinned version of Android Froyo. With a guarantee that no updates will ever reach your device and absolutely no root community, you will be stuck in the past forever.
So now the time has come to vote! Which awful feature you choose to endure to have all the other features in the top list? Select you answer in the poll below, and they let us know what you chose and why down in the comments!
What is the least important feature on a phone?
The post What is the least important feature on a phone? [Poll] appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Video Review: The SVALT D’s Built-In Fan Sets it Apart From Other MacBook Docks
The Svalt D is a MacBook dock with a unique feature – a built in cooling fan that’s designed to keep a MacBook’s temperature down when used in clamshell mode with an external monitor. Keeping the MacBook cool helps prevent processor throttling due to the high temperatures a MacBook is subjected to when in clamshell mode.
We went hands-on with the Svalt D to test the claims that it reduces temperature and speeds up performance, and we were impressed with how it worked.
Made up of a two-pound block of aluminum, the Svalt D is an attractive, sturdy stand that matches well with Apple’s line of MacBooks. The Svalt D houses a small stand that moves air through a MacBook, and thanks to an adjustable rubber foot, it’s compatible with all of Apple’s notebooks.
To test the Svalt D, we exported two different videos from a MacBook, with and without the dock. Without using the dock, exporting a video took 15 minutes and caused the temperature of the MacBook to rise to 121 degrees Fahrenheit. With the stand, our video exported in 14 minutes and the stand kept the MacBook at 105 degrees Fahrenheit, a 16 degree difference.
Our one complaint about the Svalt D concerned the two modes of the fan. There’s a normal mode and a silent mode, but switching between them requires using a special standalone cable, which is a bit of a hassle and an extra expense. Luckily, both modes are relatively quiet and don’t make as much noise as a MacBook fan, but the silent mode is definitely a better choice for users who want the quietest possible performance.
In our opinion, the Svalt D is a solid dock that lives up to its claims, keeping your MacBook cool when it’s used with an external monitor. The Svalt D is available in Silver and Black and can be purchased from the Svalt D website for $149.95. The Silence Adapter is available for $8.95.
Note: MacRumors received no compensation for this review.
iPad mini 4 Roundup Updated
We’ve updated our iPad mini roundup with all the details on Apple’s next-generation 7.9-inch tablet. The iPad mini 4 is expected to be thinner and lighter with an iPad Air-style redesign, an 8-megapixel rear camera and a gapless laminated display with anti-reflective coating. It will likely include an A9 processor and could also offer 2GB of RAM like the iPad Air 2.
AIVAnet 