Author: Dianne Jacobs

YouTube adds a new section for displaying additional credits for songs

Dianne Jacobs

YouTube will now provide additional information for songs with a section called “music in this video,” found within the “show more” area that can be expanded underneath videos. The new “music in this video” section will be available on over half a billion videos, and it will provide a more in-depth look at the credits associated with a song. For example in  for Camila Cabello’s “Havana,” the “music in this video” section shows all the contributing artists (in this case, Young Thug), the songwriters involved, the labels and publishers who…

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New WhatsApp Updates for Groups

Dianne Jacobs
WhatsApp forwarding

Groups have been an important part of the WhatsApp experience, whether it’s family members connecting across the globe or childhood friends staying in touch over the years. There are also people coming together in groups on WhatsApp like new parents looking for support, students organizing study sessions, and even city leaders coordinating relief efforts after natural disasters. Today, we’re sharing improvements that we’ve made to groups. What’s New Group description: A short blurb found under group info that allows you to set the purpose, guidelines, or topics for the group.…

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Google is delaying a Chrome audio update that broke countless web games

Dianne Jacobs

Google is partially and temporarily rolling back a recent Chrome change that blocked autoplaying audio, after web developers complained that it had broken countless games and apps. The update rolled out with Chrome version 66 in early May, and it was intended to quiet annoying ads and videos that would drive users toward ad-blocking software. But it also ended up completely removing the audio from interactive web projects that relied on specific commands, which created problems for artists — and doomed any abandoned projects to silence. “The team here is…

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Twitter banishes trolls to the shadows

Dianne Jacobs

Twitter says it is taking action against “trolls” that “distort and detract from the public conversation”, by making their tweets less visible. The social network has been trying to tackle abuse and harassment on its platform for several years. The company said it would now look at “behavioural signals” to “improve the health” of discussions on the platform. “People contributing to the healthy conversation will be more visible in conversations and search,” it said. Twitter said examples of suspicious behaviour included: Advertisement accounts failing to confirm the email address they…

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Google will make its paid storage plans cheaper

Dianne Jacobs

Google is rolling out new changes to its storage plans that include a new, low-cost storage plan and half off the price of its 2TB storage option.It’s also converting all Google Drive paid storage plans to Google One, perhaps in part because you’ll now have one-tap access to Google’s live customer service. Google One will get a new $2.99 a month option that gets you 200GB of storage. The 2TB plan, which usually costs $19.99 per month, will now cost $9.99 a month. Finally, the 1TB plan that costs $9.99…

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Researchers have found a vulnerability in two popular email encryption protocols

Dianne Jacobs

European security researchers have found an alarming new vulnerability in the most common forms of email encryption. The attack, described in a report published Monday morning, lets bad actors inject malicious code into intercepted emails, despite encryption protocols designed to protect against code injection. Implemented correctly, the malicious code could be used to steal the entire contents of a target’s inbox. The vulnerability affects two of the most common email encryption protocols, PGP and S/MIME, although the degree of vulnerability depends heavily on the client’s implementation of the protocol. A…

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YouTube introduces ‘take a break’ notifications for your digital well-being

Dianne Jacobs

When Android P is released this summer, it will bring with it a new Dashboard designed to clearly show the amount of time we’re spending on our phones. You’ll see a breakdown that includes the number of times you’ve unlocked your device, a tally of notifications, and details on how much time you’re spending in individual apps. This all stems from Google’s focus on digital well-being that the company announced at I/O 2018 this week. But YouTube isn’t waiting for Android P to introduce some helpful features. Just as Sundar…

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Google to warn when humans chat with convincing bots

Dianne Jacobs

Google says it will take steps to ensure that humans are not fooled when they get called by software bots that can convincingly mimic the human voice. Anyone called by the bot will be told they are conversing with a machine, Google told tech news site the Verge. The vocal skills of the Duplex bot were demonstrated at Google’s I/O developer conference this week when it was shown booking a hair appointment. The demo left one technology expert “horrified” by what she had seen. Social impact In its statement, Google…

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Google Maps goes beyond directions

Dianne Jacobs
Google Maps

Google  announced a new version of Google Maps that will launch later this summer. All of the core Google Maps features for getting directions aren’t going away, of course, but on top of that, the team has now built a new set of features that are all about exploration. “About a year ago, when we started to talk to users, one of the things we asked them was: how can we really help you? What else do you want Google Maps to do? And one of the overwhelming answers that…

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Lyft Tests its Monthly Subscription Service

Dianne Jacobs

Lyft is moving ahead with tests of the All-Access plan, a monthly subscription service for rides through the Lyft platform. A select group of riders will see an option to sign up for a waitlist to be part of Lyft’s next round of All-Access invitations. “Testing our newest All-Access Plan is the next step in moving rideshare from one based on ownership, to one based on subscription,” a Lyft spokesperson said.“We’re excited to roll this out to more passengers in the coming weeks and continue offering Lyft’s affordable, convenient, and…

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