4 relatively minor updates have landed on Google+ today, including several new features to Hangouts, an update to moderation in Communities and a ultra-minor Photos update. Let's start with the biggest:
Hangouts
2 new features have made their way to Hangouts today, a new bandwidth slider and an audio-only mode.
Bandwidth Slider
When in a hangout, you'll now see a new slider, letting you adjust your bandwidth preferences whilst the hangout is in progress. This will come in handy for those of us who don't have a reliable connection or poor connectivity.
Audio-only mode
On clicking the audio-only mode, you'll only be able to listen and send audio, perfect for those watching their data caps. With audio-only mode on, the other people in the room will only see your profile picture.
+Tim Blasi notes in his announcement post that they're currently rolling out separately so don't worry if you only see one or the other for now, as it may take a day or so to be fully rolled out to everyone.
Communities
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| Now you can remove, report and ban in one click! |
+Brian Glick announced a small improvement to post moderation in Communities today, allowing moderators to remove and report the post, as well as ban the offending member all in one click. This saves a few seconds as most moderators would do all of these steps manually, previously.
Photos
This is something that wasn't formally announced by the +Google+ team, but something a member of our Google+ Updates community spotted. +Frank Berra reported today a new roll-over effect when hovering your cursor over a photo in the Instant Upload folder. When rolled over, the image will fade/transform into its true aspect ratio, a subtle but slick effect. You'll have to see this one for yourself to see what we mean.
What's your favourite new little feature?
What's your favourite new little feature?
Photo credit: +Brian Glick and +Tim Blasi
Thanks to +Frank Berra for the Photos tip