YouTube’s Redesigned Channel Layout Now Available For Everyone [Updates]

Google is bringing YouTube One Channel to the masses after month-long limited beta, and is giving all YouTube channels a slick new look that should help creators convert more viewers to subscribers. The primary focus of the update is to make channels look great on different screens and devices, be it mobile or desktop, and to help channel owners make a better brand from themselves.

Channel owners can now upload a piece of channel art that will give the channel a branded and consistent look across all devices. Google describes it as a way for channel owners to create a “visual identity” for their content, which will become identified with them and their brand. Channel owners can also create trailers for their channels, which will be visible to anyone who is not already subscribed to the channel. This is the chance for channel owners to hook in new viewers with an overall feel of what they bring to the table.

The next part of this update comes in the way content is displayed on the channel. Creators now have much more control over videos and playlists, and can fine-tune what users see when they enter the page. This should not only help channels owners get new subscribers, but should help them keep the ones they already have.

YouTube channel owners who want to switch to One Channel can go to www.youtube.com/onechannel, scroll all the way to the bottom and hi the “Get started” button. If you switch to the new YouTube One channel and decide it doesn’t work for you and your channel, Google is offering the option to switch back to the old channel design for a limited time.

Will you rush out to get the new layout? What do you think of it?

Source: YouTube

The post YouTube’s Redesigned Channel Layout Now Available For Everyone [Updates] appeared first on MakeUseOf.

Download Gmail Touch App For Windows 8

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So far, Google has released its official Search app for the newest iteration of Windows operating system and hasn’t shown any interest in developing a dedicated Gmail client for Windows 8. While it’s possible to add your Gmail account to the native Mail app, a dedicated, official app would have been awesome. PC users who’re [...]

Google Search App for Android Tests New Colors

The Google Search app for Android experiments with a new search results interface that uses soft colors: light blue and orange. Right now, the regular interface uses the same colors like the web search interface: blue (#1122CC) for links and green (#009933) for web addresses.

While it's refreshing to see new colors in the search UI, orange makes URLs stand out too much. Blogger's new interface uses a similar color for headers and important buttons.



Here's the current interface:

{ Thanks, Andrew. }

How To Install The Ubuntu Touch Preview On Your Nexus Android Device

Ubuntu is developing on a touch-focused interface for smartphones and tablets, with plans to ship Ubuntu smartphones in 2014. If you’re interested in trying it right now, there’s good news: You can install the preview release of Ubuntu Touch on a Nexus device (the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, Nexus 7, or Nexus 10).

Warning: This is an early version of Ubuntu Touch. It’s been called beta, but it’s actually alpha. Many things don’t work and some apps are non-functioning placeholders containing mock-up graphics. Installing this preview release will also wipe your Nexus device’s data, so ensure you back up any important data before continuing.

If you’re still interested in trying out Ubuntu Touch and experiencing a preview of what the final Ubuntu Touch operating system will be like, feel free to continue. But be aware of what you’re getting into!

What’s Ubuntu Touch?

Ubuntu Touch is a touch interface for Ubuntu Linux designed for smartphones and tablets. Ubuntu plans on shipping Ubuntu smartphones beginning in 2014.

The most interesting feature of Ubuntu Touch is probably the way it can potentially integrate all hardware form factors into a seamless experience. The operating system can power smartphones, tablets, desktop PCs, and even smart TVs, adapting its interface to each different type of device. That’s the concept, at least. For a more in-depth explanation, watch Ubuntu’s official demonstration video below.

Prepare Ubuntu On The Desktop

We’ll be using Ubuntu on a PC to install Ubuntu Touch , as that’s the officially supported method. If you don’t have Ubuntu installed, you should be able to boot from an Ubuntu live CD and perform this process from the live Ubuntu environment without even installing Ubuntu on your computer.

To install the required software, open a terminal and run the following commands on your Ubuntu system:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:phablet-team/tools

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install phablet-tools android-tools-adb android-tools-fastboot

Unlock Your Device

To install another operating system on your Nexus device, you’ll need to unlock its boot loader. Note that this step will wipe all data on your device. (If you’ve already unlocked the boot loader to install a custom ROM or root your device, you can skip this section.)

To unlock the device, first power it off completely. Next, power it on by pressing the Power, Volume Up, and Volume Down buttons all at once. It will boot into fastboot mode.

Connect the Nexus device to your computer with a USB cable, open a terminal, and run the following command:

sudo fastboot oem unlock

Confirm that you want to unlock your device, then press the Power button to boot the device. Go through the typical Android setup process until you reach the home screen.

Device Preparation

Now you’ll need to enable USB debugging on your device. The instructions here assume your device is running Android 4.2.

First, open the Settings screen and select About phone or About tablet. On the About screen, tap the Build number field seven times. You’ll see the message “Congratulations, you are now a developer” appear on the screen.

Return to the main Settings screen and select the now-visible Developer options option. Enable the USB debugging option on the Developer Options screen.

Next, run the following commands on your computer:

adb kill-server

adb start-server

Connect the Nexus device to your computer and you should see a confirmation pop-up on your device. Agree to the message. (If your Nexus device has an older version of Android, you may not see this popup.)

On the About Phone or About Tablet screen, locate the build number you tapped earlier and write it down. You’ll need this number when you reinstall Android later.

Install Ubuntu Touch

If you’ve followed the instructions above, you should be able to install Ubuntu Touch by running the following command:

phablet-flash -b

This command will erase everything on your Nexus device, download the latest image of Ubuntu Touch, and install it on your device. After everything is done, your device will automatically reboot into the Ubuntu Touch environment. Be patient while the process completes.

(If you see an error message saying there isn’t enough space, uninstall some apps or remove some files from your Nexus device and try again.)

Reinstalling Android

There’s a good chance you’ll want to reinstall Android after playing with the Ubuntu Touch preview. To do so, visit the Factory Images for Nexus Devices page on Google’s website. Locate the factory image that corresponds to the build number you wrote down earlier and download it.

Extract the downloaded file, open a terminal, and cd into the extracted directory.

Connect your Nexus device to your computer and ensure it’s powered on.

Next, run the following command:

adb reboot-bootloader

After your device reboots into fastboot mode, run the following command:

sudo ./flash-all.sh

(If you see an error, be sure that you’ve extracted the factory image and that you used the cd command to enter its directory.)

This will reinstall Google’s official Android image back onto your device. After the process is complete, your Nexus device should reboot into Android.

If you have any trouble, you may want to consult the official installation guide on the Ubuntu Wiki.

Have you played with the Ubuntu Touch preview yet? Are you looking forward to Ubuntu phones, tablets, smart TVs, and PCs? Leave a comment and share your experience!

The post How To Install The Ubuntu Touch Preview On Your Nexus Android Device appeared first on MakeUseOf.

How to Write a Twitter Bot in 5 Minutes

Meet @DearAssistant, a Twitter bot that is like a mini version of Siri. You can tweet your questions in plan English and the bot will reply with an answer. →

The Twitter bot is internally using Wolfram Alpha so there’s a whole range of questions that it can answer. Here are some questions that people have asked @DearAssistant so far:

• How many calories are in Diet Coke? (link)


• When was Mahatama Gandhi born? (link)


• What is the distance between city A and city B (link)


• Who directed the film M (link)


• What is the price of Kindle Paperwhite (link)

You can also ask the bot for word meanings, weather conditions, language translation, to convert between time zones, date calculations (how many days until Christmas) and more.

continue reading.. Tutorial – How to Create a Twitter Bot

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This story, How to Write a Twitter Bot in 5 Minutes, was originally published at Digital Inspiration on 08/03/2013 under Google Docs, Twitter, Internet.

Related Reading:

1. How to Write your own IM Bot


2. Find if it is Raining Right Now in your City?


3. Write Text Longer Than 140 Characters in Twitter


4. Send Notes to your Evernote Notebook from Twitter


5. Who Should You Follow on Twitter?

Google Support Will Use Hangouts

Google will start to use Google+ Hangouts to provide support. The screensharing feature is especially useful because a Google employee can see what's on your computer screen, so you don't have to take screenshots.



Here's the text used by the screensharing feature:



"Would you like to share your screen with Google? By clicking 'Share my screen' button you will enable screensharing. Your microphone and camera will remain off and your computer will be visible to your Google representative. Please make sure you close anything you do not want your representative to see. To turn off screensharing at any time click the 'Stop sharing my screen' button."

It's not clear which Google service will have this option, but the wording suggests it will be limited to businesses that use services like Google+, AdWords and Google Apps.



{ Thanks, Florian. }