Fix your Google privacy problem, get Windows 10 on the Xbox One, stop LinkedIn from spamming you, learn to code with help from Star Wars, and watch a preview of the Candy Crush movie.
Google has launched a new website detailing what personal information you’re sharing with the world via its online services. The company’s new About Me page gives a rundown of the information Google has on you, and details whether it’s Private or being shared with the Public.
If your About Me page looks familiar, that’s because this is essentially Google+ for those who haven’t signed up for the social network. With Google+ no longer required to use Google’s manifold products and services, the company needed an alternative. And, according to VentureBeat, this is it.
Your About Me page will list the information you have previously shared with Google, and inform you how much of it is being shown across Google services such as Drive, Photos, and YouTube. You can then remove most of the information (apart from your name and photo), or merely set it all to Private.
There is also the option of adding more personal information, such as your phone number, your address, and your work history, but we would advise against giving up any more information than is absolutely necessary. Google hasn’t yet officially announced About Me, and the “View as Public” option isn’t yet working, but it’s still worth checking out.
Xbox One users should be waking up to find Windows 10 powering their games consoles, with Microsoft rolling out the update from 3am ET. The New Xbox One Experience brings some major improvements to the console, including backwards compatibility for over 100 Xbox 360 games (and counting).
Assuming you have your Xbox One set up correctly, the New Xbox One Experience update should have been downloaded and installed automatically. The New Xbox One Experience is unlikely to work flawlessly from day one, despite it having been tested thoroughly over the last few months. It will also take some getting used to.
For starters, everything is faster, with ways to access important features more quickly than before. There is also a redesigned Store, a new way to share screenshots and gameplay clips, and social features centered around the Xbox Live community.
This is Windows 10 for Xbox One, which means Microsoft has taken another step towards bringing its whole ecosystem together in a way it has never managed previously. If you’re an Xbox One owner, please let us know what you think of the New Xbox One Experience in the comments at the end of this article.
LinkedIn is notorious for spamming its users with automated emails most people instantly send to the trash. However, the business-oriented social networking site has already successfully cut spam in half, and has a new initiative designed to further reduce the annoying levels of emails and notifications it sends out to users.
Its secret weapon is a new internal system called Air Traffic Controller (ATC). This acts as a single platform across LinkedIn, using learning algorithms to improve both the quantity and quality of the communications being sent out to you. In other words, the less you log in and use LinkedIn, the less spammy messages it will send out. Fingers crossed.
In case you haven’t noticed, Star Wars is everywhere right now. So much so that I’m starting to feel bad for the people who aren’t into science fiction. I mean, they’re wrong, and they’re missing out on a fantastic franchise, but still, they must be hating this wall-to-wall coverage ahead of the release of The Force Awakens.
Even Code.org are getting in on the act, using Star Wars as the basis for a new programming tutorial. Star Wars: Building the Galaxy with Code isn’t the most complicated of programming challenges, but then it is meant for kids. However, the appearance of various Star Wars characters (including Rey and BB-8) means geeky adults will probably get involved as well.
And finally, Stephen Colbert has announced that Liam Neeson is set to star in a movie based on Candy Crush. OK, so not really, but Neeson did dress up as Mr. Toffee for a sketch about the insanely popular mobile game that hooks people in and refuses to let go.
The sketch mocks the pointless nature of Candy Crush, and the way people get addicted to it. It’s no worse than Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto in that regard, but it’s still annoying when people get their phone out and start playing it MID-CONVERSATION. Or does that only happen to me?!
What personal information are you happy to share with Google? How are you finding Windows 10 on Xbox One? Is LinkedIn more trouble than it’s worth? Does the Star Wars tie-in make you more likely to try coding? Would you watch an actual Candy Crush movie?
Let us know your thoughts on the Tech News of the day by posting to the comments section below. Because a healthy discussion is always welcome.
Image Credits: G4ll4is via Flickr
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