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Weekly Update - September 15, 2018: Copyright, YouTube Kids, Google+

While a lot of the tech chatter this week was about Apple’s iPhone event, Google announced updates to Google+, YouTube Kids, Hangouts Meet and more. And there was bad news for Inbox users and folks concerned about copyright laws. Read on...
  • This week three controversial copyright-related proposals were approved by the European Parliament: Article 11, which requires “commercial platforms” to have a license to link to a news article; Article 12a, which prohibits posting your own photos or videos of sports matches; and Article 13, which requires large platforms to use copyright filters to examine everything uploaded for possible infringement. The details have not been fully worked out yet so the fight goes on. 
  • Google+ has made it easier to share a file from your Google Drive account. All you need to do is click the Drive icon when creating a post to access all your Drive folders and files. This feature is only available for Google+ Profiles, not Google+ Pages. 
  • If you have an Enterprise G Suite account, you can not only record your Hangouts Meet video call, but now also live stream to people within your organization. This is not a substitute for Hangouts on Air, as there is no way to live stream publicly or to outside viewers.
  • Skype, on the other hand, has a new feature for content creators, that lets you easily bring in video and audio into your live stream or podcast. This requires the Skype desktop app and NDI-enabled hardware or software. Unfortunately this means it won’t work on Chromebooks.
  • The Google Photos API is now generally available. Developers can use the API to integrate Photos with apps and services, including searching your photo library, uploading, organizing albums, and using shared albums. I’m looking forward to seeing where those features turn up. Meanwhile, the old Picasa Web Albums Data API will be retired in January 2019, and developers are encouraged to migrate.
  • YouTube announced in April that YouTube Kids would allow parents to pick and choose which videos and channels for their kids. That feature is finally live. There is also now an option to configure the app for “Older” kids age 8-12, that includes popular gaming and music videos.
  • Bad news for fans of Google’s Gmail alternative Inbox: it’s going to be retired in March 2019. The good news is that Gmail has incorporated a number of features originally launched in Inbox. No, it’s not the same, but with a new focus on a single email product, perhaps there will be more innovation in Gmail proper. 
  • Apple had a big iPhone event, announcing the iPhone Xs, Xs Max (that’s “10 s” not “excess”), and Xr, iOS12, the next generation Apple Watch that lets you do an ECG at home, plus upcoming updates to the HomePod and MacOS Mojave. I’ve rounded up the links with more information below. (If you are an Android fan, stay tuned for Google's event on October 9th). 
  • Google has activated a SOS Alert Page for Hurricane Florence with links to resources and news. Stay safe Carolinians! 
Plus there are more tips and updates for advertisers, businesses, Chrome users and more. Read on for details.

Image:  Harvest, by Levi Wells Prentice (public domain)

Upcoming

YouTube and Video Creation

Go Live

  • New Skype for content creators lets you bring audio and video into your podcast, vlog or live stream (Skype blog)
  • Enterprise G Suite users can live stream a Hangouts Meet meeting within their organization (G Suite Updates)

Google+

  • It's now easier to share your Drive files on Google+ (Robert Wallis)
  • Google+ Moderators discussion: Sustain engagement through inclusive conversation (Nina Trankova in the Google Moderators Community)

Other social media

Google Photos

  • The Google Photos Library API is now generally available - look for future integration with more apps and services (Google Developers)

Google for businesses

AdSense and advertising

Hangouts and Messaging

Made by Google, Android, Project Fi

  • The Google Store is all set up for “3” on October 9th

Apple Event

Productivity

Chrome at 10

Privacy and Security

EU Copyright Directive

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Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 17, 2018 at 11:36 PM

    Dear Peggy K!
    Thank you for your excellent tips and tricks! I´d like to ask permission to share your web site "Peggy K's Tips and Tricks" to our teacher students as learning material. I work for the School of Professional Teacher Education at Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK) in Finland.
    Seppo Janhonen
    Principal lecturer at TAMK

    ReplyDelete

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Spam and personal attacks are not allowed. Any comment may be removed at my own discretion ~ Peggy