Stadia’s long-awaited direct to Youtube game streaming feature is beginning to roll out now and no, I couldn’t help myself with the title of this article. A normal streaming setup requires a broadcasting software like OBS and can be complicated to set up and manage for the average Joe (sorry, Joe, nothing personal). Google is […]
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Chromebook virtual desk navigation is getting a substantial productivity boost
After settling in as a core feature of Chrome OS, it seems Google isn’t satisfied leaving well enough alone. Work is ongoing on a few different fronts to bring more features and productivity boosts to Chrome OS’ virtual desks feature, and this latest one will be very useful indeed. Work is already in progress on […]
Continue ReadingNew Chromebook screen recording feature is live in Chrome OS Beta 88 [VIDEO]
Back in early October we covered the arrival of a big, new feature for Chromebooks: native screen recording and capture. While screen captures have been a thing on Chromebooks for quite some time, there’s never really been any UI involved and the process was about as bare-bones as you can get. With no real screenshot […]
Continue ReadingGoogle is working on user-customized keyboard shortcuts for Chrome [UPDATED]
— UPDATE: December 7th, 2020 @ 2:30pm — For power users and those who like to get lots of stuff done a bit more quickly than others, keyboard shortcuts exist. Between operating system shortcuts and app-specific ones, however, it can get pretty easy to get lost once we move past CTRL+X, CTRL+C, and CTRL+V (cut, […]
Continue ReadingGoogle integrates Web Vitals HUD into the Chrome browser
No one likes a web page that loads slowly. Developers and designers exhaust hours doing what they can to make sure their sites load quickly so that the overall user experience is a good one. This, of course, benefits the end-user but there’s much more to it than just a happy viewer. Google is constantly […]
Continue ReadingChromebooks may be getting a big upgrade to the max number of virtual desks allowed
Only in prototype phase at this point, a new upgrade is on the way for Chrome OS virtual desks and it is a pretty substantial change to the feature. Additionally, it is perhaps the only remaining, large-scale issue I currently have with the virtual desks on Chromebooks at this point. What is it? An additional […]
Continue ReadingGoogle wants to turn every book into an audiobook using machine learning
Google Assistant received more natural-sounding voice models again in October thanks to updated natural language processing and prosody models which use machine learning to understand and stitch together sentences with better intonation, rhythm, and stress. Now, they seem to be applying that same technology to Google Play Books in order to turn any book into […]
Continue ReadingA new update to your Chromecast with Google TV helps you improve content suggestions
A new update to your Chromecast with Google TV will allow you to “Tinderly” swipe left or right to improve content suggestions. Doing so trains Google’s machine learning algorithms to present you with movies and shows that are more to your liking. Once you receive the update, which should be rolling out right about now, […]
Continue ReadingHoliday Nest Doorbell ringtones return with Kwanzaa sounds added
The Made By Google team has expanded their Nest doorbell ringtone offerings this year for the holiday season. Last year, they implemented ten tones related to Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s. Now, they’re back, but with an additional four new sounds centered on Kwanzaa. Nest Doorbell users will notice that their Halloween sounds have disappeared […]
Continue ReadingChrome OS ALT+TAB getting a useful upgrade that takes advantage of touch
We’ve been a bit inundated with new info on upcoming Chromebooks and, frankly, I’m pretty excited about many of the Chromebooks on the horizon in 2021. From big screens to mobile tablets, it seems 2021 will bring Chromebooks for nearly any use case and just about any user. With Windows apps via Parallels, the continued […]
Continue ReadingTeachers rejoice! Google Sites just added new customization tools, themes coming next year
Despite its minimal features as a site builder when compared to something as powerful as WordPress, Google Sites’ streamlined tools and simplicity has caught fire with educators, many of which are using the service to teach their students about web development at an early age. While Sites has come a long way, adding native integration […]
Continue ReadingGoogle Maps turns the Explore tab into a social network for local businesses
A while back, Google Maps had begun allowing businesses near you to post updates about their offerings under the ‘updates’ tab of their listing. However, unless you intentionally visited them on Maps, you wouldn’t see this information. Instead of relying on users to seek out new announcements from places nearby, Maps is curating them inside […]
Continue ReadingWork is ongoing to make Android 11 app window management far better on Chromebooks
Part of what makes Android apps on Chromebooks a bit frustrating to use is the general jank you can run into when moving things around the screen. From simple resizes to snapping windows to tablet mode conversion, it’s no secret that Android apps can get a bit fussy when moving them through the same paces […]
Continue Reading[Update: Rolling out] Google Messages to bring message scheduling feature to the masses
Update: Message scheduling is rolling out more widely! Conversation categories have recently started to show up for a select few users of Google’s popular Messages app. The feature will soon allow messages to be automatically sorted into labels using AI and machine learning to keep things tidy. According to XDA Developers, we can also expect […]
Continue ReadingPDFs imported to Google Docs get improved support for images, multi-column formatting, and more
PDF support in Google Drive has always been sort of terrible – I’m not even joking. Before you even get to the document, you can open the preview of it, and today, you’ll notice that things like images, tables, and multiple columns simply don’t show up. Drive has become a place to store PDFs, but […]
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