Amazon Music launches CITY X ARTIST and Alexa Loves Canada month

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To commemorate Canada Day, Amazon Canada has announced new "Alexa" skills and artist-curated playlists that reflect the talents and sounds from coast to coast.“Alexa Loves Canada" experiences are geared towards helping Canadians reflect on the past year in Canada with the assistance of some of their favourite Canadian celebrities.

Through simply saying, “Alexa, how do you feel about Canada?” or “Alexa, do you love Canada?” customers will discover brand new experiences every day in July, and will also be able to celebrate Canada with Alexa’s favourite music artists including Alanis Morissette, Bobby Bazini Bazini, Johnny Orlando, Shad, Josh Ramsay of Marianas Trench, and The Reklaws. This collaboration is an opportunity to reminisce about the things that make Canadians, Canadian with Alexa.

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What is so special about the NBA?

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The National Basketball Association (NBA) may not be as watched as much as the NFL or the English Premier League, but the NBA is a fast paced, exhilarating league, that, in years to come, will still be very much enjoyed by millions across the globe. 

The game is followed by fans from the comfort of their own homes with the use of technology as stats are already available on Amazon Alexa, as we mentioned a couple of years ago.  

Other fans may have tuned in to Netflix to watch The Last Dance with the greatest player of all time, Michael Jordan, who may have hung up his basketball shoes (did you know that he wore a new pair every game?) but the NBA is still as invigorating as it once was. What other sport sells 95% of its ticket allocation, at around $90, selling out 741 stadiums? And once inside, the atmosphere is exceptional.  

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Google to hold digital 'Hey Google' smart home event on July 8

While Google had to cancel its I/O developers conference in May because of COVID-19 and California's shelter in place order, the company has plans to host a digital event for its smart home developer community. So far, it's pushing through even as California is rolling back its reopening plans due to new coronavirus cases. 

The Works With "Hey Google" Smart Home Summit will kick off on July 8 with a keynote from Michele Turner, Google Smart Home Ecosystem's director of product management. Turner's talk will focus on Google's newest smart home projects and how it'll make it easier for developers to implement Google Assistant integration. 

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Google Photos to stop default backups of social media folders

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Google Photos will no longer automatically back up photos and videos saved in folders created by and managed by social media apps. The decision will help you save space as well as internet resources it uses when it backs things up. Previously, Google Photos would instantly include these folders when you upload all images saved on your Android or iOS device. But now, this feature will be turned off by default. You will need to toggle "Back up & sync" on for the specific apps or folders.

According to a support page detailing the change, "People are sharing more photos and videos due to COVID-19. To save internet resources, backup & sync has been turned off for device folders created by messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messages, and Kik. You can change this anytime in settings." Those that have already been backed up and organized by social media apps won't be affected by the change. 

Source: The Verge