YouTube

Like any company, Google wants to appeal to as many people as possible. Google Docs has been tweaked to increase its appeal to enterprise and business users, and Gmail is constantly primped and poked. Appealing specifically to children is not an entirely new idea for the search giant -- Google Code-In is targeted at 13-17 year olds, for instance -- but now Google is setting its sights on a younger audience.

Talking to USA Today, Vice President of Engineering at Google, Pavni Diwanji explained that the company is looking to create new versions of its products that are "fun and safe for children". Starting next year, the company will launch new versions of existing services, this time aimed at those aged 12 and under.

The battle for your hard earned money in the music streaming business is heating up, which seems to be a statement I make regularly these days. This time, the offering comes from an unexpected source. While YouTube is a go-to for music videos, it isn't generally thought of for a streaming music source. Or perhaps I'm old.

YouTube is unveiling its new service, Music Key. "You’ve asked us for ways to listen to music without ads, to keep playing music videos even if you lock the screen or start using another app, and to play music even if you’re not connected to the Internet. That’s why today we're introducing YouTube Music Key beta, a monthly subscription service".

Creating content for YouTube is actually very hard and takes a long time to edit and upload. Even a simple-looking unboxing video can take hours from start to finish -- sometimes longer if you cut yourself opening the box and have to treat a wound. It is very disappointing to have your content removed for copyright issues, when you haven't actually violated anything. Even worse, it can be an impossibility to successfully dispute the bogus claim.

Today, many YouTube content creators were inconvenienced and upset by take down requests from an apparently overzealous company called "Marketly", acting on Microsoft's behalf. You see, all of the videos were Windows related, but not all of the removals were warranted. Of course, like all controversies, it has already been given a name and hashtag of #Microstopped.

A company's "cool-factor" can vary wildly, but one has not yet lost its magic -- Google. Sure, privacy advocates decry the search-giant's long reach into the lives of many, but that is what makes the company's products so endearing -- Google needs that data to know you. It is the customized and tailored experiences that create a bond between the user and Google.

The biggest bond, however, is Android; the mobile operating system has been wildly popular, bringing Linux to a user base that no one thought possible. People are fans of Android, unlike any other operating system before it. Hell, people collect plastic figures of the mascot; that is dedication. We should soon be experiencing the final version of Android 5.0, which will have an "L" code name. Will it be lollipop? Lemon meringue? Well, today Google releases a cool video, which has fun with the Android 5.0 name.

The "right to be forgotten" is something that was expected to take Europe by storm. A court ruling gave people the right to get in touch with search engines like Google and Bing to ask that results relating to them be removed -- assuming they are "inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant". One of the services that popped up after the ruling was Forget.me, making it simple to submit removal requests.

Three months down the line, we have access to the first set of figures relating to requests, and they show that social networks are the most affected type of website.

Television and movies are so last generation. Nowadays, all the cool kids are crowded around their laptops and tablets watching online videos of cats and other nonsense. However, believe it or not, not all online content is frivolous. There's quite a bit of quality videos on YouTube, and I have a select group of content creators to which I subscribe. Who, you ask? Chris Pirillo, iJustine and Barnacules Nerdgasm to name a few.

Unfortunately, content creation is a huge job and even short videos can take a long time to create. While creators can get paid from advertisements, it probably is not enough to live on. Luckily, Google is going to step in and fund some of the content of its top creators.

There are many parts of the internet that are blocked to children under the age of 13. Facebook, for instance, implements an age restriction and Google is another online firm that prevents younger web users from setting up accounts. But all this could be set to change. First reported by The Information, Google has plans to open up its service to a younger audience. This does not mean that youngsters will be free to sign up for an account and browse through the contents of YouTube without restrictions. Parents will be able to sign their children up for an account and retain control over what they are able to do online.

One of the primary concerns many people have about Google -- regardless of their age -- is privacy. Google has a proven track record in delivering tailored content and advertisements to its users, and this is something that is at odds with laws around the world when it comes to children. The news coincides with UK plans to experiment with age ratings for online videos, and privacy and child protection groups are already voicing their concerns. Of course, there is nothing to stop someone of any age from signing up for a Google account; it's easy to stretch the truth with dates of birth online. But Google specifically targeting children with its services is unchartered water.

Head to the stores to look for real, physical DVDs and Blu-rays, and you'll probably find that there's an age rating on them. Now plans are afoot to bring the same idea to the web. As insane an idea as this may sound, this is actually happening, and it is completely pointless and unworkable. Initially starting off with the involvement of YouTube and Vevo, the scheme is the brainchild of UK Prime Minister David Cameron and will start as a pilot program in October. It's something that is likely to appeal to concerned parents, but the practicalities are a rather different matter.

Announcing the ratings plan, Cameron said: "We shouldn't cede the internet as some sort of lawless space where the normal rules of life shouldn't apply. So, in as far as it is possible, we should try to make sure that the rules that exist offline exist online. So if you want to go and buy a music video offline there are age restrictions on it. We should try and recreate that system on the internet".

YouTube is the top destination on the web for videos -- not all are the highest quality, but they account for a large portion of the internet memes these days. While watching on the PC is fine, and what most users settle for, the ideal viewing method is on the big screen.

Today the video service announces the gradual roll-out of its new TV app. The company plans to get it to all set-top boxes, but the Xbox One seems to have topped the priority list.

Google has slowly brought YouTube around to being a fully legal service, and made agreements with music labels and TV networks. Granted, some content still gets taken down -- that can't be unexpected when the users are providing much of the content.

Now the video streaming service is bringing a weekly hour-long new music show to satellite music provider SiriusXM. The new show kicks off today at 6pm Eastern Time, and can be found on the Hits 1 station for those who subscribe to the radio service.

Do you enjoy listening to a bit of Radiohead on YouTube -- well, perhaps "enjoy" might be the wrong word for Thom Yorke's compositions -- but anyway, if you do, you might find that your viewing pleasure is disrupted when the band's music videos are stripped from Google's service.

This could happen pretty soon, according to reports, because of a dispute between the video streaming giant and the independent labels which look after the likes of Radiohead and the Arctic Monkeys.

Microsoft differentiated itself from Sony in the game console market by positioning its offering as an entertainment device -- a living room hub, with HDMI pass-thru and lots of options. However Sony has a few of these as well, and now will be adding one more.

At the E3 gaming show, the company announces YouTube will be arriving on its console. "Sharing your greatest gaming moments on YouTube will be a piece of cake on PS4, thanks to the dedicated sharing capabilities at the very heart of PS4. YouTube will officially be one of the social options offered when you press the Share button on your DualShock 4. After pressing Share , you’ll see the YouTube icon pop up alongside Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, and Ustream, and in just a couple of quick steps, you can go from playing your favorite games to publishing videos on your own YouTube channel. You’ll also be able to see your friends’ shared YouTube videos using the 'What’s New' feed", the company states.

Yahoo is reportedly preparing a YouTube rival that will go live later this summer.

According to Advertising Age, which cites sources close to Yahoo, the Internet giant has harbored such plans since 2012, when Marissa Mayer first took over the company's reigns. Just over a year ago, it tried to pick up Dailymotion.

Many people are enjoying 4K videos on YouTube nowadays. Believe it or not, there is already content on Google's video site which is shot in that ultra-high resolution. I myself have enjoyed videos of nature and playful puppies in 4K, and it is exquisite.

Sadly, not everyone has a fast enough connection to stream 4K video. Hell, apparently, people are even struggling to play 720p and 1080p without excessive buffering. Well, Google does not like this and it wants you to know that the problem is not YouTube, but your ISP. You see, today, the company releases a new tool which will tell you if your ISP sucks.

YouTube has become the defacto place to find just about anything and, while cat videos remain popular, music is also a big part of the service. Users seem to flock to the place to watch music videos by major artists that sometimes go viral, as well as unknown people who become memes.

YouTube spent some time reminiscing about its memorable past in an announcement of the birthday celebration. "To call out just a few highlights in YouTube history, there are more than 120,000 videos inspired by 'Let it Go' (based on videos posted with that title), half a million by 'Gangnam Style,' and a stunning 1.5 million videos by 'Harlem Shake' (that’s a lot of motorcycle helmets). These inspired riffs got us thinking about those magical moments when songs become bona fide trends—and people all over the world start remixing, covering, parodying, dancing, and lip-dubbing", says the company's Claire Stapleton.