Google’s startup incubator, Area 120, launched Shoploop on Thursday, an experimental mobile app that puts entertainment and shopping in one place. Shoploop lets you scroll through 90-second video clips with the aim of discovering new products in an entertaining way, Google said. You can also follow Shoploop creators and share their videos with friends and …
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Peacock isn’t on Roku and Amazon Fire TV, entrenching a battle line
Peacock, the streaming service from Comcast’s NBCUniversal, launched Wednesday across a range of the biggest devices, but the two most popular ones to stream to televisions are missing: Roku and Amazon’s Fire TV. It’s a replay of the same standoff in May that pit Roku and Amazon against AT&T’s HBO Max, marking a new stage in the evolution of streaming video, one …
Read More »Apple banishes ‘blacklist’ and ‘master branch’ in push for inclusive language
Apple has joined an industry trend toward more inclusive language in its technical domain, replacing terms with racial overtones like a “master” branch of a software project or a “blacklist” to describe resources a computer might be blocked from accessing. Apple started making the changes in its own documentation and beta software released last month at its WWDC conference. But …
Read More »Google’s Gmail redesign takes aim at Slack, Microsoft Teams
Google on Wednesday announced a major redesign for Gmail, aiming to expand the app beyond an email service and into a hub for planning projects and chatting with co-workers. The update brings Gmail in more direct competition with other productivity apps from rivals including Slack and Microsoft, which has a product called Teams. The idea is to bring Google’s separate …
Read More »Google’s new tool teaches you ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs
Google wants to teach you to read and write ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs with the launch of a new tool: Fabricius is available for free on the Google Art and Culture website and app starting Wednesday. Fabricius’ virtual Egyptologist guides you through six steps on your way to learning ancient hieroglyphs. After finishing up each step, you can translate your own messages to …
Read More »The best TVs under $500 that you can buy right now
In the age of coronavirus we’ve been asked to shelter in place at home, which leads to watching more TV than ever. At the same time, the economy is in recession and lots of Americans face financial stress. That combination means you might be looking for TV deals to buy a new TV without spending a lot of money. The …
Read More »Peacock’s Android app is live, Google Play Store snafu hid it from searches
For the company that rules search, Google complicated the Android app launch of Peacock, a streaming service from Comcast’s NBCUniversal, Wednesday, when the Google Play Store failed to show the app in search results for much of the app’s launch day. Android’s Peacock app published overnight in the Google Play Store as planned, and it was available to download if you had a link to find …
Read More »Mozilla launches VPN service to help protect your privacy
Mozilla announced Wednesday that its virtual private network service is now available on Windows, with support for Android devices scheduled to arrive later this week. The release could give Mozilla, the maker of the Firefox web browser, a little financial independence. The $4.99 monthly service will be available initially in the US, Canada, the UK, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand. …
Read More »Google Meet lets you make video calls on your phone. Here’s how
If you’re one of the millions of people who became a Google Meet video chat devotee during lockdown, good news: You can now access Meet directly from the Gmail app on Android and iOS, making it easier to join video calls from your phone. In April, Google made Meet and its premium features, such as unlimited call time and screen …
Read More »YouTube TV hiked price to $65: Sling TV and Hulu offer better value
Live TV streaming services promise a cord-cutter’s delight. They’re typically cheaper than a cable TV subscription with similar channel lineups and no need to sign a contract, so you can cancel anytime. Unfortunately they also suffer one of cable TV’s major flaws: constant price hikes. My former favorite such service and CNET’s Editors’ Choice, YouTube TV, announced a monthly increase of …
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