YouTube brings design changes full circle with new logo and more mobile features

YouTube is almost constantly evolving.

One of the world’s most popular video sites is growing, diversifying in content and platform, and its design is evolving, too. We’ve told you over the previous months how a new desktop design (with a dark mode, no less) was introduced earlier this year for users to test, and the YouTube app has already been redesigned once this year.

And it’s not done yet.

Outlined in a blog post, YouTube’s mobile apps are losing the red banners, letting the content be the only color on screen. YouTube is also going beyond the double-tap to fast-forward, and will soon experiment with swiping left and right to switch between videos. That will be a very interesting experiment, indeed, given how many of us are used to swiping back in forth in Google Play Movies and often forget the different interface when we switch back to YouTube.

YouTube’s look and feel is evolving as fast as the content it’s hosting.

Speed controls are also coming to the mobile app, so you can slow down and speed up videos as needed, and YouTube’s mobile app will adapt to different aspect ratios of videos, including the dreaded vertical video. No more black bars!

The new desktop design YouTube’s been testing for months is rolling out to everyone, at last, including our beloved dark theme, which now needs to make the jump to mobile. YouTube is also updating its logo, putting the app icon on the left while making the YouTube text a little bolder and all the same color.

There’s a lot here to unpack, and a lot that’ll be rolling out in the days and weeks ahead, so what are you most excited about? What are you hoping to see coming soon?

YouTube: The ultimate guide

Amazon Echo Dot review 2017

Amazon’s smallest and least expensive Echo is the one most folks should start with — and for many folks it’s all they’ll need.

Ed. Note: We first reviewed the Amazon Echo Dot in April 2016. In that time it’s undergone a hardware revision, and Alexa — the brains inside every Echo device — has continue to gain functionality. So we’re taking a fresh look at the Echo Dot in the context of where it stands at this point in 2017. We’re also taking a fresh look at the original Amazon Echo.

Looking back at my original Amazon Echo Dot review headline, I was either being remarkably prescient (OK, maybe not that remarkable), or trying to be a little too clever. But in any event, I was right.

An inch and a half of Alexa may be all you need.

If you need any more proof, look no further than the sheer number of Echo Dots (or is it Echoes Dot?) I’ve purchased. I’ve got a three in my home. Another in the office. Gave one to my parents and my in-laws this past Christmas.

If that’s not a rousing endorsement, I don’t know what is.

But let’s start at the beginning. What is the Echo Dot? It’s a very simple connected speaker, close to an oversized hockey puck at 3 inches in diameter, and about 1.3 inches high. It has Wifi to connect to the Internet, and Bluetooth to connect to anything else.

Four buttons are found up top — volume up and down, a button to kill the microphones should you want to make sure the Dot’s not listening in, and an “action button” to make Alexa listen straightaway. (It’s also used to get the Dot back into setup mode.)

That’s actually a change from the first-generation Echo Dot, which sported a rotating collar (like the full-size Echo) for adjusting the volume. An LED ring still lights up that collar and helps show which direction Alexa is listening. That light also shines in different colors, particularly if you’ve employed Amazon’s Alexa calling. (And messaging.)

The whole thing’s still powered by microUSB. For most folks that’s probably just fine (and it still comes with its own power cable). But for those of us who are trying to cast aside microUSB and go all-in on USB-C, that’ll be something to hope for in the next-gen Echo Dot.

Aside from switching power cables (and that’s admittedly a small complaint) I’d love to see Amazon class up the overall design of the Echo Dot a bit for the next release. We’ve seen how much a little bit of curvature can do with the Eufy Genie, which is in most every other way an inferior Echo Dot. But the expanded waist and tapered top look more sophisticated.

While I said that Alexa herself — the software underpinnings that allow the Echo Dot to do what it does — has grown a bit in the year since the Echo Dot was first released, the way you talk to her hasn’t really changed. Say her name, and she appears. (Unless you’ve changed it to “Computer,” like this guy did.) Ask her a question, and she answers. Maybe. (Amazon still lags behind Google when it comes to the depth of knowledge.) Ask her to do something (nicely, folks!) and she does it, providing that she’s got the proper Alexa Skill enabled, and your accounts are all synced up.

Amazon did the Dot first, and it did it right. What more do we need than a better-looking Dot?

That’s still the biggest barrier to entry for a lot of this — installing Skills and connecting accounts. It’s not insurmountable, and for the more nerdy among us (hi, I’m Phil, nice to meetcha) it’s a normal part of online life. But for, say, my parents, who are pushing 70? It’s a little bit of a leap. What can Amazon do about that? I don’t know.

Probably the biggest change since our first Echo Dot review is the price. The second-generation model came with a pretty steep discount, dropping the Dot from $90 to $50. And it’s not uncommon to find it on sale for $40.

That is what’s helped make the Echo Dot a true impulse buy. It’s what removed any reservation from my voice (and my typing style, I suppose) when I say “Just buy one.”

At the worst you have a $50 alarm clock and timer that can also read you the headlines and play music and do all kinds of other stuff. A ridiculous amount of stuff for $50, really. And that’s before you start adding on other Alexa Skills, like controlling lights and sprinklers and pretty much anything else anyone wants to add.

The Echo Dot is still a ridiculously good value.

See at Amazon

Buy this: Echo Dot Case

If you don’t want to wait for Amazon to redesign the Echo Dot before you can get one that looks better, maybe check this out. Amazon sells $10 cases that the Dot drops into, making it look not so much like a glossy plastic hockey puck and more like, erm, a glossy plastic hockey puck that’s inside a more stylish case. Fabric isn’t bad, and leather is way cool.

See at Amazon

Amazon Echo

• Tap, Echo or Dot: The ultimate Alexa question
• All about Alexa Skills
• Amazon Echo review
• Echo Dot review
• Top Echo Tips & Tricks
• Amazon Echo vs. Google Home
• Get the latest Alexa news

See at Amazon

Tinder Gold launches worldwide to reveal who likes you

Tinder has been trying out its Gold subscription service in a handful of countries since June, and now it’s launching the experimental tier worldwide. Pay $5 per month (this price isn’t set in stone) and you can find out who likes you without having to swipe through an endless sea of profiles. In that sense, it’s more like a classic dating site — you can go straight to the people who fancy you and match up with the ones who pique your interest. You also get other premium Tinder features like Passport, Rewind and one Boost per month.

The service already has plenty of paid features, but they tend to be one-shot purchases with short-term usefulness. Gold, in theory, is an evergreen option — so long as you’re still on the dating scene, you can make use of it. That’s good if you’re genuinely interested in romance and don’t want to waste time, but it’s also good for Tinder’s bottom line. Instead of watching its income fluctuate, it could have a relatively steady flow of cash from Gold subscribers who want to get the most out of the app.

Via: TechCrunch, Buzzfeed

Source: Tinder

Google Maps Expands ‘Parking Difficulty’ Indicator to 25 Cities Around the World

Google today announced its “parking difficulty” indicator in Google Maps for iOS and Android will now appear in 25 additional cities around the world. The feature was previously available in the United States only.

The simple feature shows a “P” icon with a difficulty level such as “moderate” or “limited,” based on how easy it will be to find parking at the destination entered. The feature is based on historical parking data and machine learning.

The following cities support the feature starting today:

• Alicante
• Amsterdam
• Copenhagen
• Barcelona
• Cologne
• Darmstadt
• Düsseldorf
• London
• Madrid
• Málaga
• Manchester
• Milan
• Montréal

• Moscow
• Munich
• Paris
• Prague
• Rio de Janeiro
• Rome
• São Paulo
• Stockholm
• Stuttgart
• Toronto
• Valencia
• Vancouver

Google Maps is available for free on the App Store [Direct Link] for iPhone and iPad.

Tag: Google Maps
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Engadget giveaway: Win a set of refinished AirPods courtesy of BlackPods!

Like most Apple products, the AirPods are a solid option (and familiar fit) for those looking to check out truly wireless earbud-style headphones. The look when you’re wearing them, however, is a bit funky, and to date, there’s only one “color” option: white. That’s where BlackPods come in. The company offers a three-phase, military-spec refinishing service for the AirPods, delivering a more subdued black color in either Classic (high-gloss) or Stealth (satin). The company can refinish your existing headphones at a lower cost (the mail-in option) or you can simply buy a new set through BlackPods with the refinishing and shipping included for $279/$299 depending on style. For all our readers, the promo code ENGADGET will get you $20 off any of the options, but for two lucky souls, a free pair of BlackPods are in your future. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at winning a pair of refinished AirPods courtesy of BlackPods.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

• Entries are handled through the Rafflecopter widget above. Comments are no longer accepted as valid methods of entry. You may enter without any obligation to social media accounts, though we may offer them as opportunities for extra entries. Your email address is required so we can get in touch with you if you win, but it will not be given to third parties.
• Contest is open to all residents of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec), 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so direct your anger at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
• Winners will be chosen randomly. Two (2) winners will each receive one (1) pair of Apple AirPods finished in either Stealth (satin black) or Classic (high-gloss black) by BlackPods ($299 / $279 value respectively).
• If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Make sure that the account you use to enter the contest includes your real name and a contact email. We do not track any of this information for marketing or third-party purposes.
• This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. Engadget and AOL are not held liable to honor warranties, exchanges or customer service.
• The full list of rules, in all of its legalese glory, can be found here.
• Entries can be submitted until August 30th at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!

Amazon adds multiroom audio control to Echo devices

There were rumors earlier this month that Amazon was working on incorporating multiroom audio into its Echo line and today, the company has announced that it’s done just that. For those with Echo devices in multiple rooms, you’ll now be able to play music on a specific device or group multiple speakers together.

Through the Alexa App, users can create groups of speakers — like, for example, all of the speakers in the upstairs rooms of your house — then when you want to hear music just through those devices, you’ll just have to say, “Alexa, play Kesha upstairs.” For now, this capability is offered with Amazon Music, TuneIn, iHeartRadio and Pandora. Spotify and SiriusXM support is on the way.

Along with the new Alexa capability, Amazon will make tools available later this year that will allow developers to enable standalone Alexa-enabled devices to integrate with the new multiroom skill. So, users with Echo devices and other Alexa-enabled speakers will be able to use them together to play music.

Other systems like Google Home and Sonos already have these multiroom capabilities, but Amazon announced an additional feature in the works that paints the Echo as more of an accompanying device rather than just a competitor. Amazon’s new Connected Speaker APIs will allow other audio systems to be controlled by Alexa. The company said it’s already working with Sonos, Bose, Sound United and Samsung on the upcoming capability, which would let users control connected Sonos speakers through their Echo Dot, for example.

In a statement, Sound United CEO Kevin Duffy said, “Soon, users will be able to play their favorite song, alter the volume, or change an input in any room where our connected products are placed, simply by asking Alexa to do so.”

Source: Amazon

Intel’s 18-core Xeon CPU may be destined for the iMac Pro

There’s been a lot of speculation about which Xeon chips the upcoming iMac Pro will use, but Intel may have just revealed the answer. During IFA, it unveiled the Xeon W-series lineup aimed at high-end, single-CPU, mainstream graphics workstations. Intel didn’t say that the iMac pro would use the chip, but the stars line up: The flagship Xeon W has 18 cores and is due by Q4 2017, and Apple promised that iMac Pros with up to 18 cores would arrive this December.

After the 18-core model, you’re looking at Xeon Ws with 14, 10, 8 and fewer cores. The top-of-the-line chip can be boosted to 4.3 GHz if you’ve got the cooling, while the lesser models can go up to 4.5 GHz. The new CPUs also support up to 512GB of DDR4-2666 ECC RAM and have 48 PCI Express 3.0 lanes, giving you plenty of storage and port options. All told, performance is 38 percent better than the current Xeon E5 generation, Intel says.

To be clear, these processors are aimed at video, graphics and VR content creators, not gamers. For those folks, there’s the crazy Core-i9 lineup, which blows current single-CPU Xeons out of the water. The $1,000 10-core model is faster than all but two Xeon CPUs, according to PassMark, so the $2,000 18-core model should handily eclipse them all when it’s released later this year. That performance no doubt grabbed the attention of graphics and video types, so Intel likely didn’t want to wait too long to unveil new Xeon chips lest they be cannibalized.

Intel hasn’t said yet which PCs are supporting the Xeon Ws, but with IFA upon us, you might see announcements from Dell, HP, Lenovo and other workstation makers. Apple could also give us some more iMac Pro information during its next iPhone event, rumored to be on September 12th. There’s no pricing for the 18-core model yet, but the 10-core W-2155 is $1,440, about 50 percent more than the 10-core i9 CPU.

Follow all the latest news from IFA 2017 here!

India shut off the internet in an attempt to maintain order

Last week, local governments in the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana shut down citizens’ internet access and text messaging services just before a verdict was to be released on a high-profile rape case. The case involved a cult leader with a large following who was accused of raping two women in his group. A statement from the Additional Chief Secretary of Haryana said the order was “issued to prevent any disturbance of peace and public order” in the region. Around 50 million people lost internet access for five days.

India has a history of censoring web content in the name of social order. Some areas of the country have made liking blasphemous social media posts punishable with jail time, it has blocked sex sites and has arrested WhatsApp group members who have posted altered, unflattering photos of the prime minister, which is against the country’s law prohibiting fake news.

If the order to temporarily shut off the region’s internet had any effect, it wasn’t to prevent a disturbance of the peace. After the cult leader was found guilty, his followers violently protested the verdict, resulting in 38 deaths. Trains were also stopped from traveling to and from the states, schools and businesses were closed and security officers were sent to regain order. Internet and messaging services were restored this morning.

Source: CNET

Neo-Nazi site Stormfront has been temporarily taken down

The post-Charlottesville removal of neo-Nazi content from various web sources continues to power on as the long-standing website Stormfront has, for now, been taken down. A Whois search shows that Web.com domain provider Network Solutions LLC has put a hold on the website and as the Knoxville News Sentinel reports, the hold prohibits the site from being updated, transferred or deleted. If the domain provider decides to delete Stormfront, any subsequent version hosted elsewhere would have to be recreated from scratch.

The nonprofit group Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law requested the site be taken down, pointing to a clause in Network Solutions’ policies that disallows sites on their domains “to display bigotry, discrimination or hatred.” The group’s executive director, Kristen Clarke, told the Sentinel, “Following our efforts, Network Solutions has pulled the site. And while bringing down one site won’t terminate their efforts, it will make it a little more difficult for white supremacists to sow hatred.”

Recently, the white supremacist site Daily Stormer lost its GoDaddy web domain and then subsequently lost hosting support and website security from Google, Cloudflare and DigitalOcean. In past weeks, we’ve also seen Spotify, Google and Deezer take down racist music, Facebook and Reddit ban hate groups, Squarespace shut down bigoted and hateful websites and OkCupid ban a white supremacist from its platform for life.

Some groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation have come out against these moves as violations of the principles of free speech, but really, the less Nazi content around, the better.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Amazon’s podcast-inspired ‘Lore’ series premieres October 13th

Amazon embraced the podcast revival late last year when it opted to turn the nonfiction podcast Lore into a Prime Video series, and you’re about to see whether or not its effort was worth the wait. The internet giant has revealed that its Lore adaptation will reach Prime Video on October 13th. It’s a six-episode stint, but it could be intriguing even if you haven’t listened to a single episode of the show that inspired it. It combines documentary footage with cinematic scenes to tell the origins of horror myths, and it stars big names like Terminator 2’s Robert Patrick and True Blood’s Kristin Bauer van Straten.

Podcast creator Aaron Mahnke was one of the executive producers of the show,and he’s joined by luminaries such as The Walking Dead’s Gale Anne Hurd and The Office’s Ben Silverman.

Is this bandwagoning? You bet. However, it’s also a testament to how big podcasts have become in recent years. The Lore podcast might not have the same cachet as Serial, but it’s managing an average of 5 million listens every month. Even if only a fraction of those listeners are willing to watch the video series (which is drawing on favorite episodes from the audio show), that’s a large potential audience. It’s no wonder that Amazon leapt at the chance — it knew it would have enough viewers to justify the investment.

Source: Amazon, YouTube