YouTube-Big Changes to Kid Content; Google’s Billion Dollar Bay Housing Plan; Best Buy To Fix Apple Products; Eviation Shows Electric Plane

YouTube is looking at moving all kid content to a separate product…the YouTube Kids app, after drawing substantial fire over mis-use of children’s content but predators (to say nothing of objectionable videos.) The Wall St. Journal reports that the transition, if done, is risky since children’s videos are some of the most popular on YouTube, and throw off millions in advertising revenue. According to the reporting, they are also looking at turning off auto-play on the kids app…which means another allegedly related video won’t start playing the minute the one the child chooses is over. Auto play has resulted in exposing kids to inappropriate material, and has allowed child predators to manipulate the algorithm and lure in kids. Nothing is set in stone yet, so stay tuned.

In other Google related news, Google (which most have dropped calling by the silly banner corporate name of Alphabet) has announced that they will throw in a billion dollars towards the Bay Area housing crisis…which it and other wildly successful tech companies have helped to make an order of magnitude worse that it already was. According to techcrunch.com, $750 million of that comes in the form of repurposing its own commercial real estate for residential purposes. This will allow for 15,000 new homes “at all income levels.” The other $250 million will be invested in a fund that will “provide incentives to enable developers to build at least 5,000 affordable housing units across the market.” While 20,000 homes isn’t nearly enough, it’s a good start on tackling a giant problem that reaches across the entire 9 county San Francisco Bay Area.

Apple has announced that it is partnering with Best Buy in a sizable expansion of its service network. Engadget.com says that now, Apple owners will be able to choose from around 1,000 Best Buy locations around the US to get repairs or service on their Apple products. Best Buy’s Geek Squad now has some 7,600 newly Apple certified technicians, who can do same-day iPhone repairs and service other Apple products. Best Buy will also establish iPhone recycling at the sites.

The Paris Air Show saw the unveiling of Israeli startup Eviation’s electric airplane yesterday. According to geekwire.com, the firm hopes to win FAA certification for the short haul plane by 2021 or 2022. Their first customer for the 9 passenger, electric plane is Cape Air, which is out of Massachusetts, but which flies general-aviation commuter routes in the Midwest Montana, and the Caribbean…in addition to the northeastern US. The list price for the electric plane is $4 million, but Cape will get a nice volume discount for buying a ‘double digit’ fleet of them from Eviation. The Israeli firm says the plane will have a 650 mile range at 276 mph flying at 10,000 feet. Several other companies are also working on electric planes, and plan to have them in the air in the next two to three years.