Author: Clinton

Ah, the love between Amazon and Google shows itself once more…. NOT!  It appears that the latest spat between the two giants is over YouTube and the newish Amazon Echo Show.

Users of the new Alexa-powered smart device were cut off from YouTube yesterday with a warning that the smart speaker was unable to play content from the world’s largest video site.  Amazon states that they are disappointed, laying the blame at the feet of Google.  Google, in return, indicates that the reason for the shutdown is due to a violation of the terms of service and that they made Amazon aware that Tuesday was the drop date.

Like many services from Google, Google Finance is under going changes.  Part of those changes is the deprecation of portfolios and portfolio management in the financial news & information site.  The news came from Google yesterday in both a support posting as well as a banner that now appears on the portfolio page of the site.

In an ongoing effort to make Google Finance more accessible and user-friendly for a wider audience, we’re making a few changes to the service in November 2017.

As part of this updated experience, you’ll still be able to:

• Follow the stocks you’re interested in – the list of stocks in your portfolio will be migrated into the new experience on Google automatically

• Receive the latest industry news and market trends

The news means that if you are using Google Finance to keep up to date on news about stocks in your portfolio & to mange it, it’s time to look for another source.

Without any notification or explanation, Google has extended the security update support for the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P an additional two months.  Both phones will now receive minor software patches until November 2018.

The change is reflected in an update to the Nexus Android version page on Google Support and appears to be the only changes to the schedule which the company adopted in 2016.

Today’s Deal is on the AUKEY SoundTank, a bluetooth speaker that is ruggedized and water resistant that provides 30 hours of playtime.  Right now you can pick one up for $33 when you use the coupon code CY228BZI when shopping at the AUKEY storefront on Amazon.  The deal is good through October 1st.

The AUKEY SoundTank has dual 5W speakers and connects to your devices using Bluetooth 4.1.  That gives you a connection range of about 33′ so it’s great for indoor or outdoor use.  It has a 2600mAh that provides up to 30 hours of playback time.  Connections can be made to the speaker via Bluetooth or the AUX input with a 3.5mm audio cable, which is included.

Paranoid Android, the AOSP-based build for a wide range of phones, has a big update rolling out that brings a lot of improvements and features. The new update is build 7.3.0 and is rolling out now.

The biggest new feature is their own camera app.  The new camera app is a simple but effective app with easy-to-understand controls (swipe left or right to go between camera and video for example) and has all the camera features you’d expect like slow motion, HDR and red eye reduction.

Last month, Google and Walmart made an announcement that shopping for the retailer would be coming to Google Express and Google Home.  That agreement has now gone live and you can find Walmart in the app as a shopping option.

Users will be able to link their Walmart online account with Google Express and shop a wide range of products from the retailer, mostly focused on groceries, and have them added to your Express shopping list.  They are then shipped to your home and if you spend over $35, the shipping is free.