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Nine 'Video hosting service' stories July 2011 - August 2014
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Amazon’s Fire Phone gets its first update, mostly things it should have had in the first place

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Aug 19 2014 - 4:59 am PT
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firephone

Amazon’s Fire Phone didn’t get off to the best of starts, with most reviews panning it, but it just got a little better thanks to its first over-the-air update – mostly providing things it should have had in the first place.

Fire OS 3.5.1 provides a quick means of switching between apps, app folders, pinning of favorite apps to the home carousel, improved battery-life and more. To install it, swipe down from the top of the home screen to open Quick Actions, select Settings, then tap Device > Install system updates > Check Now to download. Once it’s downloaded, tap Install System Update and wait for the restart.

If the improvements are enough to make you consider a Fire Phone of your own, it’s available direct from Amazon from $649 outright or from $0 to $299 on contract.

You can read chapter-and-verse on all the improvements below. 
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YouTube optimizes search to reward engaging videos

Avatar for Élyse Betters Oct 12 2012 - 9:45 am PT
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YouTube is tweaking the way it ranks videos as part of its recent trend to improve video discovery.

Google’s video-sharing platform made changes to Suggest Videos in March, and it refreshed YouTube Analytics just yesterday, and now it is attempting to applaud and boost popular videos with new optimizations to ranking.

YouTube elaborated on the official YouTube Creator blog:

The experimental results of this change have proven positive — less clicking, more watching. We expect the amount of time viewers spend watching videos from search and across the site to increase.  As with previous optimizations to our discovery features, this should benefit your channel if your videos drive more viewing time across YouTube.

YouTube does not detail the exact adjustments, but it clearly wants to feed engaging videos to users who do not have a specific search query in mind. The result, as YouTube suggested above, will not only supply users with trending video but will also pipe more views to successful publishers.


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Google wants YouTubers to ditch usernames, start using full names

Avatar for Élyse Betters Jul 23 2012 - 10:12 am PT
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As BetaBeat first noticed, Google is attempting to peel back the anonymity cloak that surrounds YouTube.

The search engine, which seems to dabble in all things Web, mobile, and tech, now displays a pop-up box to YouTubers who try to leave a video comment. The notice prompts users to start surfing the video-sharing platform with their full name instead of a username or pseudonym.

Google appears to crop names from Google+ profiles, which is likely a byproduct of the Google+ integration from last year that required all YouTubers to login with their Gmail account credentials.


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YouTube adds Face Blur tool for protecting anonymity in videos

Avatar for Élyse Betters Jul 18 2012 - 8:53 am PT
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YouTube just launched a face-blurring feature for when “footage requires anonymity.”

The new addition to the video-sharing platform is self-explanatory. It is a tool that allows users to muddle faces in videos with just the click of a button.

“Whether you want to share sensitive protest footage without exposing the faces of the activists involved, or share the winning point in your 8-year-old’s basketball game without broadcasting the children’s faces to the world, our face blurring technology is a first step towards providing visual anonymity for video on YouTube,” explained the official YouTube Blog.

To blur faces: Go to Additional Features under Video Enhancements, and then click the “Apply” button below Blur All Faces. Users can see a preview before publishing, and a new copy is created with the blurred faces when saved. Users have the option to delete the original video.

YouTube warned that the tool is an “emerging technology,” so Face Blur may have difficulty auto-detecting faces.

Get the full breakdown at the official YouTube Blog.


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YouTube gets even fancier, adds audio editing and mixing options

Avatar for Élyse Betters Apr 18 2012 - 1:32 pm PT
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kngOOe37OBA]

YouTube is quickly making its video-sharing platform an all-in-one editing tool with its built-in 3D graphics button and other attractive features, but now Google has taken the service up another notch with its new audio editing and mixing options.

The video above explains it all, but here is a quick run-down:


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YouTube Live now offers monetization for live events, Wirecast, publishing flow, and instant analytics

Avatar for Élyse Betters Apr 10 2012 - 1:02 pm PT
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YouTube Live Publishing Flow + Analytics

YouTube Live added new features to its live-streaming video platform today to celebrate its first birthday, but the most notable update it the ability to monetize live events.

“You can now monetize your live events with advertising or paid options. A live event can be claimed in the new video manager like any other video and monetized with instream ads or paid options where you can set price by country,” explained YouTube Partner Product Manager Varun Talwar on the official YouTube Creator Blog.

Other improvements to the service include Wirecast for YouTube Live and a new publishing flow with real-time analytics.


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YouTube adds 3D viewing for all short 1080p videos, says 4D is around the corner (Videos)

Avatar for Élyse Betters Apr 5 2012 - 7:37 am PT
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[youtube=http://youtu.be/9jGvCdthQso]

YouTube now automatically allows short 1080p videos to convert to 3D.

The video-sharing platform just announced on the official YouTube blog that it is expanding a beta feature released last year, which gives users the option to convert YouTube videos to 3D with just a click of a mouse. Since the beta launched, creators have converted hundreds of thousands of videos to 3D.

The popularity of the feature encouraged YouTube to implement 3D viewing in the Quality settings under the gear icon on the YouTube player.

“Then pop on your 3D glasses and see YouTube in another dimension (like the video above),” explained Technical Staffer Deb Mukherjee and Software Engineer Chen Wu in the blog post.

The Googlers even recommended watching “YouTube Rewind 2011” to get the full YouTube 3D experience (below).


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YouTube sporting new look dubbed “Cosmic Panda”

Avatar for Jake Smith Jul 7 2011 - 11:41 am PT
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Google is now testing an experimental design on YouTube, called Cosmic Panda. The new design is not enabled by default, but you can use it today by enabling it in YouTube’s TestTube.

The design is totally new and focused on channels, playlists, and videos. Besides the obvious style change, other features include auto-refresh commenting, dark background on video pages, and much more. Give it a try yourself.

via The Next Web
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