Good morning, affordable housing.. a fantasy or reality? Ontario government swoops a $357M deal. Here’s what’s up:

• Ontario unlocked $357M for affordable housing.

• Google Chromebook now has AI features.

• YouTube adds free games on the platform.

• OpenAI forms a new safety team and its led by Sam Altman himself.

• More biz-tech news.

• 5 tools to boost your productivity.

HOUSING

🏡 Ontario unlocked $357M for affordable housing

After months of negotiations with the Feds, Ontario government has successfully reached an agreement under the national housing strategy, unlocking $357 million for affordable housing.

Previous progress:
In 2018, a bilateral housing agreement set a target of 19,660 new affordable housing units in Ontario by 2028.

As of early 2024, the province anticipated only 1,184 new units by the end of the 2024-2025 period, falling significantly short of its goal.

So what now?
Ontario has committed to submitting another action plan for 2025-2028 by December 31 to secure ongoing federal support.

GADGETS

💻️ Google Chromebook now has AI features

Google announced a range of new AI-driven features for its Chromebook Plus devices, enhancing productivity and user experience.

Here are 4 new AI features you need to know:

• Writing Assistant: write and reformat text across various platforms, users can select text on PDFs, websites, or web apps to adjust tone and length.

• New backgrounds: AI tool to generate wallpapers and backgrounds with prompts.

• Magic Editor in Google Photos: users can shift or resize objects, and generate new backgrounds with AI.

• Gemini Chatbot Integration: access Google's Gemini chatbot directly from the app shelf on Chromebooks.

Pricing: New models from HP, Acer, and Asus, ranging from $299 to $699.

APPS

🎮️ Youtube adds free games

YouTube is rolling out its Playables game collection bringing free games to its app for all users.

Video streaming platform initially tested with selected users and premium subscribers. Now the Playables will be available for everyone.

Some popular games include: 
Angry Birds Showdown, Words of Wonders, Cut the Rope, Tomb of the Mask, and Trivia Crack.

Northview: YouTube’s expansion into gaming follows moves by other tech giants like Netflix, which has been growing its game catalog through acquisitions and in-house development. Even LinkedIn is exploring gaming.

As ad business continues to grow, platforms are exploring creatives to make users spend more time on the apps.

• 🔐 OpenAI forms a new safety team and it’s led by CEO Sam Altman himself.

• 💸 T-Mobile moves to become a monopoly, signs a $4.4B deal to buy most of U.S. cellular companies.

• 💳️ TransUnion reports increase in the number of Canadians only making minimum payments on credit cards.

PRODUCTIVITY

5 Tools to Boost Your Productivity

1. 💬 Chatbase: Create a ChatGPT-like chatbot widget for your website.

2. ⭕️ Circleback: Never take notes again with AI-driven meeting notes.

3. 🪄 Castmagic: Turn long-form audio into ready-to-use content assets, instantly.

4. 📺 Screen Story: Create video demos, tutorials, education videos, gifs, and promo videos.

5. 📝 Guidde: Magically create stunning how-to guides with AI.

FEEDBACK

If you have any specific feedback or anything interesting you’d like to share please let us know by replying to this email.