YouTube for Kids is launching today!!!

YouTube is releasing a new app for children , called YouTube Kids, which will run on smartphones and tablets and focus on kid-appropriate content.

The free app from Google’s online video service will be available for download from Today (Feb 23) and will feature kid-friendly design, with big icons and minimal scrolling, according to details seen by Reuters.

The app, which will be separate from the mainstream YouTube mobile app, will also feature parental controls such as a timer that can be used to limit a child’s screen time.

The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the launch, saying the company is planning to announce the new app on Monday at a children’s entertainment industry conference.

A YouTube spokeswoman confirmed the information.

In December, USA Today reported that Google was planning to roll out child-friendly versions of its most popular products in a bid to be “fun and safe for children.”

Internet companies such as Google and Facebook do not offer their services to children under 13.

– Shariq Kazi

WhatsApp starts rolling out calling features to android users!!!

Forward

NEW DELHI: After testing the feature with select users, it appears mobile messaging service WhatsApp is now rolling out the much awaited internet calling functionality to a wider set of people.

Earlier on Friday, a number of users of WhatsApp’s Android app were able to get the voice calling feature activated by simply receiving a call from a user who had the service turned on. This meant that initial testers were able to extend it to their friends who further helped other WhatsApp users join the club. However, this invite system is not working for all users.

We were able to get the voice calling feature activated on our Android phone after receiving a WhatsApp call. Although, we were able to make voice calls to other Android and BlackBerry 10 users with the latest version of the app, the feature was not being activated for all users. It’s possible that WhatsApp may have set a limit to the number of users one could invite or is only allowing a limited set of users at this time to test its networks.

The feature is not available yet on the iPhone although WhatsApp’s recent iOS update had introduced a calling button within the chat window. The feature also doesn’t work on Windows Phone hadsets, at the moment.

After activation of the feature, WhatsApp’s user interface changes to feature separate screens for dialing a voice call to WhatsApp contacts, call logs and ongoing calls. The chat window also displays a calling button (represented by a phone icon). The active call screen sports buttons for turning on the loudspeaker, switching to the chat window and for muting the call.

It’s worth pointing out that WhatsApp has not officially announced the rollout of the feature yet.

The voice calling feature will bring WhatsApp in direct clash with apps like WeChat, Viber and Line that already allow users to make calls and send messages. WhatsApp is the biggest instant messaging app in the world, with 700 million active users in January 2015.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

By: Shariq Kazi

Forward

TWITTER Takes Spammers To Court

SAN FRANCISCO:
Twitter filed a lawsuit on
Thursday in a US court
against five websites that
it accuses of creating tools
for spamming, as the social media firm battles a
wave of automated tweets
barraging real users with
anything from Viagra ads
to virus-ridden links. Often billed as a service to
help a Twitter account
gain followers, websites
can take control of an
account, known as a bot,
that follows or sends automated tweets at real
users in the hope that some
will follow the bot back or
click through links the bot
has sent out. “As our engineers continue
to combat spammers with
strong safeguards and
technical efforts, today
we’re adding another
weapon to our arsenal: the law,” Twitter said in a blog
post. Twitter now claims 140
million active users. As its
user base has grown, so
have bots and spam,
emerging as a problem
that Twitter fears could dilute the online
conversation and irk bona
fide users. Litigation isn’t a novel
approach: both Facebook
and Google have taken
spammers to court in
recent years with success. The defendants listed in
the suit filed in the US
Federal Court in San
Franciso are
TweetAttacks,
TweetAdder, TweetBuddy, James
Lucero of justinlover.info
and Garland E Harris of
troption.com. The defendants could not
immediately be reached
for comment by Reuters. “We’ve focused on tool
providers; They have
willfully created tools that
enable others to propagate
spam on Twitter,” Twitter
said. “With this suit, we’re going
straight to the source. By
shutting down tool
providers, we will prevent
other spammers from
having these services at their disposal. Further, we
hope the suit acts as a
deterrent to other
spammers, demonstrating
the strength of our
commitment to keep them off Twitter.” In its blog post, Twitter
noted its recent acquisition
of Dasient, a web security
company that Twitter says
represents a part of its
“larger investment in security and fraud
protection.”

source: Times Of India