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In light of the spam issue on its social networking platform, Google has announced that it's rolling out a new tool for community moderators. Dubbed "Remove, report, and ban," the company hopes that this will help to curb the swill problem on Google+.
Google+ is a pretty great social media platform - it allows content of all lengths, many types, and it presents in a readable, ad-free way. But not everybody uses Google+, and that's understandable, we've all got plenty of social media in our lives at this point, and Google+ is just another platform to keep track of. But sometimes you want to share a great Google+ post, and if you were to do that on your Android device, that meant just copying a link to the post to your device's clipboard. Not ideal, necessarily, given that Android has literally been built upon sharing content between various apps seamlessly and with as few taps as possible.
It looks like Google is performing some surgery on the Google bar, the familiar toolbar that appears across the top of many of Google's web properties (including Chrome's new tab page). Until recently, the bar held a G+ sharing shortcut, a profile switcher, an "app drawer" to switch between Google products, and a link shortcut to your Google+ profile.
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According to a tipster (and a report over at DroidLife), Google is testing a new feature for Google+ that could be big news for the platform. For now, it's called "Collections," and it's being tested for an unspecified release target.
Update: As pointed out by several commenters, this option has been there for a while, but appeared new to many of us, including me (my screenshot of the old Google+ app's Folders section that I posted in the original article shows that the cloud icon wasn't visible to me). I reinstalled the old Google+ app to make sure I wasn't missing anything and upon further investigation, figured out the problem. If, like me, you had the "Backup local folders" option unticked, your folder list didn't offer any cloud on/off icon and you would not have known that selective backup was a possibility. If, however, you chose to backup all your folders, then the folder list would show you the cloud icon. So basically, in the old version, you had to enable backup for all your folders (and be terrified of what that entails) in order to first see and then set selective backup. Sounds backwards? Yup. Thankfully, v4.6 removes the setting so you always see the cloud icon.
Google+ got a somewhat unexpected bump to version 4.6 today, an update that brought with it plenty of Material touches. Since we first reported on Material Design (at the time known as Quantum Paper), we've expected that Google's own apps would be undergoing their own gradual transformations in updates leading up to the launch of Android L. The Google+ app got its first round of material changes earlier this summer, but today's update starts its journey through the last mile.
There have been a lot of leaks lately, and they don't show any sign of slowing down - Yoel Kaseb (via Google+) has shared screenshots of what he claims to be a test build of a redesigned Google+ app. According to his post, the build is unstable and probably unfinished, and he has since been locked out from accessing or using the APK. But what we can see from the screenshots Kaseb managed to capture is both compelling and in line with some of the other leaks we've seen recently. It may also be worth mentioning that Kaseb is verified on Google+.
Gmail's 'Insert Photo' Button Gets Access To Google+ Backed Up Photos, Makes Sharing Pictures A Snap
Many moons ago, Google added G+ photo backups, a feature that not only keeps pictures backed up with users' Google accounts for safe-keeping, but also allows for quick and easy sharing on Google's social network. Today, the company is offering similarly simplistic sharing of photos with Gmail in the web browser.
A few days ago, it was confirmed that Google had started asking manufacturers to brand boot animations with a specific "Powered by Android" lockup as part of Google's Mobile Services license. Samsung's Galaxy S5 and HTC's new One M8 both carry the branding, and today Motorola's Moto X and Moto G have joined the party, but Motorola has something else in store as well - a new boot animation just in time for April Fools Day. The animation features a UFO, bigfoot, and the Loch Ness Monster, all exposed by Motorola's spotlight. Check out the full sequence below.
In a short press release sent out this evening, LG announced that it would be ditching the word (is it a word?) "Optimus" from its premium branding, opting to keep only the "G".
Google+ Update Coming Later Today, Brings Enhanced Notifications, New Menu, And More [Update: APK]
Google has been adding a lot of new features and design tweaks to the G+ app as of late, and today an update will be rolling out that puts focus on the
Google has been adding a lot of new features and design tweaks to the G+ app as of late, and today an update will be rolling out that puts focus on the way it handles notifications service-wide. Post-update, when you dismiss a notification – which also happens to have a new bell icon – on one platform, it will dismiss said notification globally, regardless of whether the action is performed on mobile or the web. Unread notifications will also be separated from those that have already been read moving forward.
Google, in a bid toward continued competition with the other social networks, today announced Google+ Sign-In, a unified login that can be utilized across the web, as well as Android and iOS apps to make sign-in and sharing much simpler. Think Facebook connect but, in Google's words, "minus the social spam."
Dang it, I've already used up all my "G" adjectives for the day. The internet is not gonna leave me be, though, as the LG Optimus G 4G gets a good ol' grice grop to $49 on Gamazon Gireless. Gee, what a deal. The previous best offer we'd seen for this beast of a phone was $99, also via Amazon. $49 is a downright bargain for this flagship handset.
[Update: It's Live] Major Google+ App Update Rolling Out, Brings Photo Sphere Viewer, Communities, And Much More
Major Google+ App Update Rolling Out, Brings Photo Sphere Viewer, Communities, And Much More
Google has been pretty consistent over the last several months about bringing new features to its up-and-coming social network. Things like in-line Photo Spheres make it unique among the top players, while newer offerings like Communities help users feel right at home if they decide to ditch Facebook in lieu of G+. However, the two aforementioned features have been lacking on mobile since their implementation. Google's going to change that today.
What looks, plays, and sounds like a Final Fantasy game, but isn’t? If you answered Chaos Rings Omega, I’d like to give you a no-prize. This game comes to us from publisher Square-Enix, who also handles a lot of the other JRPGs that have shaped the genre into what it is today.
With the arrival of Google+ vanity URLs, we decided this would be a good time to share the AP love with those on the network who may not have added us to a circle yet. Speaking of custom URLs, we just snagged ours this morning; you can now find us at www.google.com/+AndroidPolice. Fancy, no?