In today’s Bulldog wrapup of technology news:

  • YouTube playing key role in Google’s success
  • Apple adds keyboard touch functions to Mac in major refresh
  • Amazon misses 3Q profit forecasts
  • Amazon courts food shoppers

The details:

  • Rising star: YouTube playing key role in Google’s success

YouTube has emerged as a break-out star for Google.

The popularity of the service has shifted a bigger chunk of advertising budgets from traditional network television programming to the eclectic mix of clips found on YouTube. And that is making the already hugely profitable Google even more prosperous.

In a third-quarter report released Thursday, Google’s corporate parent, Alphabet Inc., said it earned $5.1 billion, or $7.25 per share, a 27 percent increase from the same time last year. After subtracting advertising commissions, revenue climbed 21 percent to $18.3 billion. Both figures topped analyst projections.

  • Apple adds keyboard touch functions to Mac in major refresh

Apple unveiled long-awaited updates to its Mac computers Thursday, aiming to spark consumer interest in a product line often overshadowed by its other gadgets like the iPad and iPhone.

The company is adding a new touch-sensitive panel on the MacBook Pro, Apple’s top-of-the-line laptop. The Pro will also come with a fingerprint sensor, similar to one in the iPhone, to unlock the device. It can recognize different users and offer quick switching based on the fingerprint.

The new Macs will also offer a dedicated key for the Siri voice assistant, a feature added with the MacOS Sierra update last month.

  • Amazon misses 3Q profit forecasts

Amazon.com Inc. shares fell in after-market trading on Thursday after the online retailer reported third-quarter net income that missed analyst expectations.

The company said net income tripled to $252 million, or 52 cents per share, from $79 million, or 17 cents per share, in the prior-year quarter. That missed analyst expectations of 85 cents per share, according to Zacks Investment Research.

Revenue jumped 29 percent to $32.71 billion in the period, which topped Street forecasts.

Amazon has begun to balance spending with revenue more prudently and has reported a profit in each of the past five quarters.

  • Amazon courts food shoppers

Amazon wants you to order your turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce online this Thanksgiving — its latest effort to make its Prime subscription service a central part of food shopping, much the way it’s done for other consumer goods.

Right before the cooking-heavy months of November and December, Amazon rolled out a monthly payment option for its grocery delivery service, AmazonFresh. On Monday it expanded to several new cities including Chicago and Dallas.

Amazon — which has been working on expanding grocery delivery since 2007 — is taking aim at the $650 billion grocery industry. It’s a highly competitive arena filled with rivals like Walmart and Instacart trying to lure customers away from traditional grocery stores. Some reports suggest that Amazon plans to open grocery stores of its own, but the company has declined to comment.

“Grocery is a massive market opportunity for them,” said R.W. Baird analyst Colin Sebastian. It’s a notoriously tough business with low margins, since it’s expensive to store and transport produce. But Amazon has spent years ironing out the kinks with its delivery service, he said.

Amazon near-decade of experimentation “gives them the scale and expertise that comes with time, allowing them not only to fine tune the service, but also perhaps accelerate the rollout into other areas,” Sebastian said.