Monthly Archives: February 2017

Finally, live TV made for you

There’s no question that people love TV, from live sports to breaking news to sitcoms and dramas. But the truth is, there are a lot of limitations in how to watch TV today. Unlike online video, people can't watch TV when they want, on any screen and on their terms, without commitments. Consumers have made it clear that they want live TV without all the hassle. They don’t want to worry about their DVR filling up. They don't want to miss a great game or their favorite show because they’re on the go. They tell us they want TV to be more like YouTube.

Well, we’ve got some good news! We’re bringing the best of the YouTube experience to live TV. To do this, we’ve worked closely with our network and affiliate partners to evolve TV for the way we watch today.

Meet YouTube TV. It’s live TV designed for the YouTube generation—those who want to watch what they want, when they want, how they want, without commitments.

Here’s what YouTube TV offers:
  • Live TV streaming from ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, regional sports networks and dozens of popular cable networks. YouTube TV gives you the best of live TV, from must-see broadcast shows like “Empire,” “The Voice,” “The Big Bang Theory” and “Scandal,” to the live sports you want. YouTube TV includes major sports networks like ESPN and regional sports networks like Fox Sports Networks and Comcast SportsNet, so you can watch your favorite NBA or MLB teams. We’ve also partnered with local TV stations, so you’ll also get sports and local news based on where you live. And YouTube TV offers dozens of additional cable channels, so you won’t miss out on the latest news from MSNBC or Fox News, popular shows and movies from USA or FX, kids programming from the Disney Channel or Sprout, or reality TV from E! or Bravo. You can also add Showtime, or Fox Soccer Plus to your networks for an additional charge. In total, YouTube TV gives you access to more than 40 networks, listed below.
  • A cloud DVR, with no storage limits. With YouTube TV, you’ll be able to record live TV and never run out of storage. Your cloud DVR can record as many shows as you want, simultaneously, without using precious data or space on your phone and we’ll store each of your recordings for nine months.
  • A service that works great on all your screens. You can watch YouTube TV on any screen—mobile, tablet or computer—and you can easily stream to your TV with a Google Chromecast or Chromecast built-in TV. YouTube TV works on both Android and iOS. And your cloud DVR goes with you, so you can stream your recordings on any device, whenever and wherever you want.
  • YouTube Red Originals. With a YouTube TV membership, you can watch all of our YouTube Red Original series and movies right on the new YouTube TV app.
  • Six accounts, one price. Every YouTube TV membership comes with six accounts, each with its own unique recommendations and personal DVR with no storage limits. You can watch up to three concurrent streams at a time.
  • Half the cost of cable with zero commitments. A YouTube TV membership is only $35 a month and there are no commitments—you can cancel anytime.
YouTube TV will be available soon in the largest U.S. markets and will quickly expand to cover more cities across the country. Visit tv.youtube.com and sign up to find out when we’ll launch in your market.

With so much great content available on TV, we’re thrilled to build an experience that lets you enjoy it as easily as you watch YouTube. We can't wait for you to tune in.

YTTV_05_Blog.png

Christian Oestlien, Product Management Director, recently used YouTube TV to watch “The Oscars” live on ABC.

Source: YouTube Blog


Finally, live TV made for you

There’s no question that people love TV, from live sports to breaking news to sitcoms and dramas. But the truth is, there are a lot of limitations in how to watch TV today. Unlike online video, people can't watch TV when they want, on any screen and on their terms, without commitments. Consumers have made it clear that they want live TV without all the hassle. They don’t want to worry about their DVR filling up. They don't want to miss a great game or their favorite show because they’re on the go. They tell us they want TV to be more like YouTube.

Well, we’ve got some good news! We’re bringing the best of the YouTube experience to live TV. To do this, we’ve worked closely with our network and affiliate partners to evolve TV for the way we watch today.

Meet YouTube TV. It’s live TV designed for the YouTube generation—those who want to watch what they want, when they want, how they want, without commitments.

Here’s what YouTube TV offers:

  • Live TV streaming from ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, regional sports networks and dozens of popular cable networks. YouTube TV gives you the best of live TV, from must-see broadcast shows like “Empire,” “The Voice,” “The Big Bang Theory” and “Scandal,” to the live sports you want. YouTube TV includes major sports networks like ESPN and regional sports networks like Fox Sports Networks and Comcast SportsNet, so you can watch your favorite NBA or MLB teams. We’ve also partnered with local TV stations, so you’ll also get sports and local news based on where you live. And YouTube TV offers dozens of additional cable channels, so you won’t miss out on the latest news from MSNBC or Fox News, popular shows and movies from USA or FX, kids programming from the Disney Channel or Sprout, or reality TV from E! or Bravo. You can also add Showtime, or Fox Soccer Plus to your networks for an additional charge. In total, YouTube TV gives you access to more than 40 networks, listed below.

  • A cloud DVR, with no storage limits. With YouTube TV, you’ll be able to record live TV and never run out of storage. Your cloud DVR can record as many shows as you want, simultaneously, without using precious data or space on your phone and we’ll store each of your recordings for nine months.

  • A service that works great on all your screens. You can watch YouTube TV on any screen—mobile, tablet or computer—and you can easily stream to your TV with a Google Chromecast or Chromecast built-in TV. YouTube TV works on both Android and iOS. And your cloud DVR goes with you, so you can stream your recordings on any device, whenever and wherever you want.

  • YouTube Red Originals. With a YouTube TV membership, you can watch all of our YouTube Red Original series and movies right on the new YouTube TV app.

  • Six accounts, one price. Every YouTube TV membership comes with six accounts, each with its own unique recommendations and personal DVR with no storage limits. You can watch up to three concurrent streams at a time.

  • Half the cost of cable with zero commitments. A YouTube TV membership is only $35 a month and there are no commitments—you can cancel anytime.

YouTube TV will be available soon in the largest U.S. markets and will quickly expand to cover more cities across the country. Visit tv.youtube.com and sign up to find out when we’ll launch in your market.

With so much great content available on TV, we’re thrilled to build an experience that lets you enjoy it as easily as you watch YouTube. We can't wait for you to tune in.
YouTubeTV_Offers.png

Finally, live TV made for you

There’s no question that people love TV, from live sports to breaking news to sitcoms and dramas. But the truth is, there are a lot of limitations in how to watch TV today. Unlike online video, people can't watch TV when they want, on any screen and on their terms, without commitments. Consumers have made it clear that they want live TV without all the hassle. They don’t want to worry about their DVR filling up. They don't want to miss a great game or their favorite show because they’re on the go. They tell us they want TV to be more like YouTube.

Well, we’ve got some good news! We’re bringing the best of the YouTube experience to live TV. To do this, we’ve worked closely with our network and affiliate partners to evolve TV for the way we watch today.

Meet YouTube TV. It’s live TV designed for the YouTube generation—those who want to watch what they want, when they want, how they want, without commitments.

Here’s what YouTube TV offers:

  • Live TV streaming from ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, regional sports networks and dozens of popular cable networks. YouTube TV gives you the best of live TV, from must-see broadcast shows like “Empire,” “The Voice,” “The Big Bang Theory” and “Scandal,” to the live sports you want. YouTube TV includes major sports networks like ESPN and regional sports networks like Fox Sports Networks and Comcast SportsNet, so you can watch your favorite NBA or MLB teams. We’ve also partnered with local TV stations, so you’ll also get sports and local news based on where you live. And YouTube TV offers dozens of additional cable channels, so you won’t miss out on the latest news from MSNBC or Fox News, popular shows and movies from USA or FX, kids programming from the Disney Channel or Sprout, or reality TV from E! or Bravo. You can also add Showtime, or Fox Soccer Plus to your networks for an additional charge. In total, YouTube TV gives you access to more than 40 networks, listed below.

  • A cloud DVR, with no storage limits. With YouTube TV, you’ll be able to record live TV and never run out of storage. Your cloud DVR can record as many shows as you want, simultaneously, without using precious data or space on your phone and we’ll store each of your recordings for nine months.

  • A service that works great on all your screens. You can watch YouTube TV on any screen—mobile, tablet or computer—and you can easily stream to your TV with a Google Chromecast or Chromecast built-in TV. YouTube TV works on both Android and iOS. And your cloud DVR goes with you, so you can stream your recordings on any device, whenever and wherever you want.

  • YouTube Red Originals. With a YouTube TV membership, you can watch all of our YouTube Red Original series and movies right on the new YouTube TV app.

  • Six accounts, one price. Every YouTube TV membership comes with six accounts, each with its own unique recommendations and personal DVR with no storage limits. You can watch up to three concurrent streams at a time.

  • Half the cost of cable with zero commitments. A YouTube TV membership is only $35 a month and there are no commitments—you can cancel anytime.

YouTube TV will be available soon in the largest U.S. markets and will quickly expand to cover more cities across the country. Visit tv.youtube.com and sign up to find out when we’ll launch in your market.

With so much great content available on TV, we’re thrilled to build an experience that lets you enjoy it as easily as you watch YouTube. We can't wait for you to tune in.
YouTubeTV_Offers.png

Announcing v201702 of the AdWords API

Today we’re announcing the release of AdWords API v201702. Here are the highlights: If you’re using v201605 or v201607 of the AdWords API, please note that they are now deprecated and will be sunset on March 28, 2017 and June 27, 2017, respectively. We encourage you to skip v201609 and migrate straight to v201702.

As with every new version of the AdWords API, please carefully review all changes in the release notes and the v201702 migration guide. The updated client libraries and code examples will be published within the next 48 hours.

If you have any questions or need help with migration, please post on the forum or the Ads Developers Plus Page.
- Josh Radcliff on behalf of the AdWords API Team

Users with legacy Android devices can now access work apps in Google Play

Recently, we announced that your organization’s private apps would move from the “Private Channel” (i.e. the “domain.com” tab) to the “Work Apps” tab in the Google Play Store. We envision this Work Apps section as a single destination where users can find all of the applications they need to be productive on mobile. Using Google Mobile Management, G Suite administrators can offer a curated set of both public and custom apps to their employees in the Work Apps section of Google Play.

Previously, however, employees with Android devices that did not support work profiles could not see the Work Apps tab and the apps their admins had curated. This included any users with Android devices running 5.0 Lollipop or less. With this launch, employees with these older devices can now access the Work Apps tab in Google Play (in their personal profile) and the apps their admins have curated.


Note that on devices that do support work profiles, the Work Apps tab can only be accessed from Google Play in the work profile.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Manage Google Play private apps
Help Center: Publish private apps
Help Center: Manage apps on mobile devices 


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Google Cloud CDN joins CDN Interconnect providers, delivering choice to users

By Prajakta Joshi, Product Manager, Cloud Networking

 With the general availability of Google Cloud CDN, we’re pleased to announce that the number of CDNs in Google Cloud’s CDN ecosystem has risen to eight, offering choice and speed to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) customers.
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In this blog post, we provide details and testimonials from the companies behind these CDNs, and explain the unique advantages of our own CDN offering.
(click to enlarge)

Google Cloud CDN highlights:
  • Google Cloud CDN is delivered on Google’s high performance global network and edge infrastructure. Google Cloud CDN uses Google's globally distributed 80+ locations of presence to accelerate content delivery for websites and applications served out of Google Compute Engine and Google Cloud Storage, reducing latency and serving costs.
  • Google Cloud CDN does not charge extra for HTTPS (TLS) traffic.
  • Google Cloud CDN is integrated into GCP. Once you've set up HTTP(S) Load Balancing, you can enable Cloud CDN with a single checkbox as shown below:
(click to enlarge)
  • We'll be launching a new user interface (UI) for Google Cloud CDN at Google Cloud Next 17 with a separate navigation bar for CDN configuration and reporting, in addition to keeping the existing checkbox for enabling it via the Load Balancing UI. Here's a preview of the new CDN UI:
(click to enlarge)


Google Cloud CDN performance

Cedexis, a well known web traffic optimization and analytics company, benchmarks and provides visibility into the latency, throughput and availability of leading CDN providers. Cedexis provided data on Google Cloud CDN performance with Google Cloud CDN demonstrating industry-leading performance. Cedexis testing methodology used for gathering this data can be viewed on its website.

CDN Interconnect


The CDN Interconnect program provides choice and depth to Google Cloud customers. It allows select CDN providers to establish direct interconnect links so that customers egressing network traffic from GCP through one of these links can benefit from the direct connectivity to the CDN providers as well as Interconnect pricing.

Below, some of our providers describe their integrations with Google Cloud and the value their CDN’s deliver to GCP customers:

Akamai
“As more and more enterprises come to rely on cloud-based computing and storage resources to drive their businesses, it’s critically important that performance is maximized and cost effectiveness is maintained. As the operator of the world’s largest distributed CDN platform, we’re collaborating with Google Cloud Platform to ensure that our joint customers can pass traffic directly from Google Cloud Platform to the Akamai CDN, empowering them to take full advantage of their cloud investments." — Bill Wheaton, executive vice president and general manager, Media Products Division, Akamai
Cloudflare
"We view our collaboration with Google Cloud Platform through their CDN Interconnect program as a crucial step in our mission to help build a better Internet. As a result of the high-speed interconnections between Google Cloud Platform and Cloudflare’s CDN, our joint customers will benefit from amplified performance, increased security and significant savings on their monthly bandwidth bill, making for an altogether better user experience.”— Michelle Zatlyn, Co-Founder & Head of User Experience at Cloudflare.
Fastly
"Fastly customers benefit from pairing our platform’s advanced edge compute, enforcement and application delivery solutions with Google Cloud Platform's origin services. Businesses like Firebase and Vimeo leverage the power of Fastly’s edge features for live log streaming to Google BigQuery and deep analytics, as well as the ability to extend applications as close to the end user as possible for faster, more secure and more reliable global performance.” — Lee Chen, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Fastly.
Level 3
“Our CDN is architected for high quality video delivery to support the growth in OTT video. Content creators can process their content in Google Cloud, then deploy seamlessly over our CDN to deliver the fast, high quality video experience end users demand." — Jon Alexander, Level 3 Senior Director of Product Management
Verizon
“Verizon Digital Media Services’ interconnections with Google Cloud Platform help customers delight their users with a lightning fast digital experience that can be scaled globally through our extensive presence and robust connectivity. Our industry-leading cache efficiency supports great user experience while minimizing transaction needs and egress volumes from cloud origins. Our cache efficiency has negated the need for us to charge our customers for origin storage transactions or egress, which makes us an ideal companion CDN to GCP.”  — Kyle Okamoto, Chief Network Officer, Verizon.
Limelight Networks
“Using Google Cloud Platform in combination with the Limelight Orchestrate Platform helps our customers make the most of their cloud investments by extending their performance and capability with Limelight's content management, distribution and delivery services. Combining the flexibility of Google Cloud Platform with the workload efficiency and reach of Limelight's global infrastructure and experience, provides a unique platform to help deliver customer satisfaction,”  — Steve Miller-Jones, Senior Director of Product Management at Limelight Networks.
Come to Google Cloud Next '17 to learn more about Google Cloud CDN and CDN Interconnect Providers.

Google Keep now a G Suite core service with Admin console controls and access in Docs

Available to G Suite users with Google Drive since 2013, Google Keep helps employees capture their thoughts, ideas, action items, and more in one easy-to-access place. As of today, Google Keep is a G Suite core service when used within a domain, and it has been added to existing G Suite agreements for most customers. In addition, Keep is now accessible in Google Docs, so employees can easily revisit and repurpose their notes.

G Suite core service
Keep now has the same technical support and service level commitments as any other core service, like Gmail or Google Drive. Going forward, domains using Keep will receive the following benefits:
Additional admin controls
In addition, we’re giving G Suite admins greater control over Keep usage in their organizations, by allowing them to turn the app on or off for their domains. The steps to do so will depend on an organization’s current use of Google Drive. For example:

1. If you currently have Google Drive enabled for your organization, your users have had access to Keep and will continue to have access to Keep following this launch. If you would like to turn Keep access OFF, you can now do so from the Admin console (Apps > G Suite > Keep).

2. If you do not have Drive enabled for your organization, your users have not had access to Keep. Should you choose to turn on Drive in the future, Keep will be turned ON for your organization if you’ve opted into automatically receiving new services in the Admin console and turned OFF for your organization if you’ve chosen to manually enable new services. You will be able enable or disable the application from the Admin console at any time.


When turned on, Keep will respect a subset of the sharing settings applied to Google Drive.

View and create Keep notes in Docs
The improvements to Keep don’t just apply to admins. End users can now view and create Keep notes in Google Docs on the web. Starting today, simply select “Keep notepad” from the Tools menu to pull up a sidebar containing your notes from Keep (and the option to search them). You can then edit those notes and drag and drop them into your document.

If you’re inspired by the content already in your doc, you can create a new note by highlighting the relevant text, right-clicking, and selecting “Save to Keep notepad.” Or, if you simply want to create a new note with brand-new content, you can start typing in the “Take a note...” box in the notepad. All notes you create while in a document will be added to a “related” section within the sidebar. When you then view those notes in Keep, they will include a link back to the document in which they were created.


For additional details, check out More Information below.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Editions:
Available to G Suite Basic, Business, Enterprise, Education, and Nonprofit editions

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
Admins and end users

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
G Suite Learning Center: Keep
Help Center: Get started with Keep
Help Center: Turn Keep on or off for users
Help Center: Set Keep sharing settings
Help Center: Use Google Keep in a document


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Launch detail categories
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Capture ideas in Google Keep, bring them to life in Google Docs

Great ideas can surface in unexpected places. We created Keep to capture your thoughts anytime, anywhere—with smart tools to help you easily organize your notes, ideas and to dos.

Starting today, you can capture your ideas for work: Keep is now a part of G Suite. You can also take your ideas and notes from Keep and easily add them to Docs for easier brainstorming.

gif 2

Get started by recording your notes, lists and drawings in Keep on Android, iOS, Chrome or the web. While in Docs on the web, access the Keep notepad via the Tools menu. Your Keep notes will appear in a side panel within Docs.

Here are a few ways you can now work better with the integration between Keep and Docs:

  • Drag your notes from Keep directly into your work documents
  • Easily search your notes in Keep while in Docs to find the information you need to complete your project
  • Add a new note in the Keep notepad or select text from inside of your document and easily add it to a new note (just right click and select “Save to Keep notepad”). When you open that note in Keep, we’ll include a link back to the source document so you can always refer back to it.

Use Keep to capture your ideas and thoughts wherever you are, whenever inspiration strikes. And now, quickly turn those thoughts into action — right in Docs.

Source: Google Cloud


Capture ideas in Google Keep, bring them to life in Google Docs

Great ideas can surface in unexpected places. We created Keep to capture your thoughts anytime, anywhere—with smart tools to help you easily organize your notes, ideas and to dos.

Starting today, you can capture your ideas for work: Keep is now a part of G Suite. You can also take your ideas and notes from Keep and easily add them to Docs for easier brainstorming.

gif 2

Get started by recording your notes, lists and drawings in Keep on Android, iOS, Chrome or the web. While in Docs on the web, access the Keep notepad via the Tools menu. Your Keep notes will appear in a side panel within Docs.

Here are a few ways you can now work better with the integration between Keep and Docs:

  • Drag your notes from Keep directly into your work documents
  • Easily search your notes in Keep while in Docs to find the information you need to complete your project
  • Add a new note in the Keep notepad or select text from inside of your document and easily add it to a new note (just right click and select “Save to Keep notepad”). When you open that note in Keep, we’ll include a link back to the source document so you can always refer back to it.

Use Keep to capture your ideas and thoughts wherever you are, whenever inspiration strikes. And now, quickly turn those thoughts into action — right in Docs.

Dive into Okinawa’s stunning—but endangered—underwater world

Editor’s note: We’ve invited Christophe Bailhache of The Ocean Agency, a nonprofit working to preserve our oceans, to tell us about its collaboration with Google. Together, we’ve brought imagery of the waters around Okinawa, Japan online for the world to discover on Street View.

Google Street View doesn’t just offer a way to explore the world—it can also help conservation efforts by documenting landscapes threatened by environmental change. This is why The Ocean Agency is working with Google to capture underwater landscapes around Okinawa, making 360˚ panoramic imagery of the marine habitat in Japan’s southernmost region available on Street View.

The oceans off Okinawa are home to a stunning underwater world, with beautiful reefs, unique coral landscapes, and a rich variety of fish and other marine life.

Yonaguni Monument
The submerged rock formations at Yonaguni have mystified scholars for many years. Some believe the formations are natural phenomena and others argue there is evidence that they are manmade, the remains of a fabled Pacific civilization which vanished into the ocean.
Nichibama
Coral bommies off Nishibama beach on the island of Akajima
Giant Potato
Nagura Bay is home to a huge Pavona Clavus coral, considered the largest coral ever found in Japan. It’s also sometimes called the Giant Potato. The coral colony is shaped like a mountain with the peak at a depth of two to three meters and the deepest section at 13 meters, with a circumference of about 70 meters.

While dive sites like the mysterious rock formations of Yonaguni have captured the imagination of divers and marine biologists for many years, part of the marine habitat has sadly come under stress of coral bleaching and terrestrial changes. And the 99% of people in the world who don’t dive will never get to know this environment first hand, which makes finding ways to show and explain what’s happening here even more important for ocean conservationists like us.

Explore the ocean in Okinawa with underwater Street View

Explore the ocean in Okinawa with underwater Street View

A rise in seawater temperatures is the main culprit behind the reefs’ deterioration. Okinawans have undertaken a number of initiatives to save the reefs. For example, the community in Onna has come together to transplant corals, creating the largest man-made coral field at over 2.5 hectares (that’s about the size of 4 football fields).

Yamada Point
The coral plantation at Yamada Point was built by local fishermen, who nurtured broken corals, creating this unique site of tens of thousands of corals planted on metal sticks

We built a series of unique underwater camera systems to document marine landscapes in 360° panoramic vision, and we’ve trained local divers to use one of these systems in order to monitor the changes to Okinawa’s marine environment. These divers will now be able to collect more imagery, expanding the Street View collection over time.

With this new Street View collection, we look forward to bringing the beauty of Okinawa’s oceans to many more people around the world, raising awareness of the challenges the reefs are facing, and creating a scientific record that helps marine biologists track the changes in these marine habitats.