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Showing posts from August, 2025

YT Music is my new go to Podcast player | The case to make it your podcast app

Believe it or not but YouTube Music did not always have podcasts. As a matter of fact YT Music was not the home for music for Google. That was once Google Play Music but in December of 2020 YT Music took over the music duties for the company. In 2023 YT Music absorbed podcasts from Google Podcasts which brings us to where we are now. For the sake of time I am only going to mention the podcast function within the app/service. What does YouTube Music offer? YT Music is a real basic podcast player that has got the essentials right. The service offers podcasts that are available on the service and the option to add podcasts via an RSS feed. Podcasts can also be downloaded, playback speed can be adjusted, audio/video switching (YT Music podcasts only), sleep timer, trim silence (new), and background play without the need for a YT Music subscription.  There is also library support to manage your collection of podcasts, a dedicated podcast section and search and recommendation for podcast...

My Pixel Watch 3 is so good that I might not upgrade to the Pixel Watch 4

With the next Made by Google event just days away I thought it was a good time to take a look at the Pixel Watch 3 from 2024. The Pixel Watch 3 was quite the leap over the Pixel Watch 2 and I expect the PW 4 to follow suit. Now, I don't expect any groundbreaking new features but instead further refinement in areas needing the most improvement. But before we get to that lets quickly review the PW 3 after 1 year.  Pixel Watch 3 1 yr review First and foremost the PW 3 has held up really well over the last year.  There are no noticeable scratches or cracks and the overall performance has been the same since the day I bought it. Battery life is great and gets me through an entire weekend with only needing to charge Monday morning. Speaking of charging, the PW 3 still charges relatively quickly with it being fully charged by the time I am leaving for work. The health features with a focus on running and the additions of Target and Cardio have proven to be useful for tracking and imp...

Pixel Weather app appears to be making its way to the Pixel Watch probably with Wear OS 6

  Recently, I was going back through some Google I/O videos and came across an interesting promotional video for the upcoming Wear OS 6 update. The video highlighted the visual changes that are to come but this very quick transition to the apps list caught my attention because there was an icon not currently on my Pixel Watch 3. It was the same Pixel Weather icon on my Pixel phone and tablet.  Not sure if this means a new app in Pixel Weather is coming to the Pixel Watch or if they will keep everything the same and just change the icon. I'm hoping with the icon change we will see new features also added to the app. I don't recall any new features being added to the current weather app on Wear OS for some time so we may be due. Check out the screenshot below and let me know what you think in the comments section. 

ChromeOS's Best New Feature (Mid-2025) | Select to Search & Text Capture

ChromeOS has not been exactly setting the world on fire with new features but Google may be on to something with Select to Search and Text Capture. Last month Google rolled out this new feature with ChromeOS 138 and it quickly became my favorite to boost productivity. To activate the feature you can tap and hold on the launcher icon or select the everything button and the space bar. There is also an icon in the launcher at the top right next to Gemini.  Once you have it activated just use your finger to tap and drag over the subject and the results will display on the opposite side of the search. You can also tap and drag using the trackpad. Under the subject you get an action you can take which is to copy the text. I wish there was a way to copy the image or share what was selected. I'm sure those actions will be added in a future update but this is it for now. Overall Select to search and Text capture is an awesome new feature and I am looking forward to Google building on what t...