Twitter’s website supports all the new emoji
Twitter now supports all the new variations of emoji for Unicode 8 (the version found in iOS 9.1) on Twitter.com. So if you’re tired of giving a thumbs up with a finger that more resembles Bart Simpson than your own, now you can share your pictographs with a skin color that doesn’t look like it has jaundice. Tacos, burritos and unicorn pictures are also included, and according to Twitter, will even work when tweets are embedded elsewhere — you can test that promise out right here.
All the tacos 🌮 and burritos 🌯 you could possibly want are now in your embedded Tweets and timelines! 🍾🍾🍾🍾 https://t.co/yz4qDM2IML
— TwitterDev (@TwitterDev) December 9, 2015
Source: Twitter
Facebook’s News Feed is gentler on your flaky phone connection
Facebook might depend on the internet, but the social network knows that people don’t always have good internet connections. You may be knocked offline in a subway tunnel, or live in a part of the world where fast internet access is rare. The company should soon have your back, though. It’s testing a mobile News Feed update that sees which stories are already on your phone, and shows the ones you haven’t seen based on relevance. On top of that, the test will periodically grab new stories while you have a good connection — ideally, you’ll always have something fresh to read.
You’ll even have some limited interaction while you’re offline. Facebook will let you comment on posts when you don’t have an internet connection, and will sync up once you’re back online. If you want to wish someone a happy birthday while you’re stuck on a flight without WiFi, you can. It’s not clear when this or the core News Feed update will be ready for prime time, but don’t be surprised if you start seeing posts even in those moments where you’re not even close to having a good signal.
Source: Facebook
Google Drive adds actionable notifications for file sharing
Google Drive is trying to make it easier than ever to share files by cutting out the email step. Moreover, they’ve improved access-granting functionality and made files previewable on Android even without a Google account.
Remember USB drives? Remember emailing files to yourself so you could access them on another computer? Remember when a hard drive failure meant you lost all of your work? Cloud storage has revolutionized the way we save and exchange data, but as Group Project Manager Alex Vogenthaler points out in his blog post regarding this most recent update, it’s absolutely essential that cloud storage be secure as well as shareable.
See also: No more unlimited storage for Office 365, OneDrive free storage cut to 5GB
It can be a tricky tightrope to walk, and granting and requesting access in Drive has always been a little bit awkward. The sharing system works, no doubt, but you could sometimes run into irritating little roadblocks in which someone sent you a link to a shared file, but forgot to adjust the file’s permissions to let you access or edit it.
This update adds an option to request access if you’re unable to edit a file. One tap, and Drive pushes the file owner a notification on their Android or iOS device. From there, the file owner can grant you access in a single tap.
The notification function also makes collaboration easier by cutting email out of the process. Previously, when someone shared a file with you, Drive would send you an email with a link to the file. You had to open your email, then follow the link. Now Google Drive pushes you a notification as well, so you can hop directly to the file you’re looking for.
As icing on the cake, Android users can now preview shared documents even if they aren’t logged into a Google account. You’ve long been able to do this when using a web browser, but now this functionality has been brought to mobile users.
What are your thoughts on Drive’s new notification-happy update? Let us know in the comments!
SwiftKey Symbols released: an app for assisting special language needs
Today SwiftKey announced that they’re launching an assistive app called SwiftKey Symbols. The app aims to help “young, non-verbal individuals with special needs.” The idea for the app came from SwiftKey staff members with experience dealing with autism in their families.
Conceptually, SwiftKey Symbols makes immediate sense. Rather than a keyboard, the app uses a system of ‘cards’ with symbols drawn on them. These are much like the image cards sometimes used to help individuals with autism communicate their needs and wants. However, SwiftKey has an advantage over a stack of note cards because their core contextual language prediction technology allows it to build sentences from the chosen image. It also actively tracks the user’s routines and adapts the symbol layout to make more commonly used symbols easier to access.
Although the app is a common-sense fit for people on the autistic spectrum, it can also be used by people with other communicative difficulties. Stephen Hawking, for instance, regularly uses SwiftKey technology to communicate, and Symbols could be an elegant solution for younger people with similar conditions, like Locked In Syndrome.
See also: 10 best Android apps for the disabled
Charlotte Parkhouse, a Speech and Language Therapist attached to Riverside School for special needs students, assisted in the development of the app. Of Symbols, she said:
The communication opportunities that this app will provide are amazing. The flexible use of symbols will allow pupils with severe communication difficulties to express themselves in meaningful ways and the predictive symbol function means that it can be truly personalised. Brilliant!
To read more about SwiftKey Symbols head over to their blog. To give the free app a try for yourself, click the button below to download it from the Google Play Store.
If you know someone who works regularly with autism or other communication-impairing conditions, let them know about this new free assistive tool.
YouTube’s 2015 Rewind brings you cage dancing and gamers
YouTube may not be the first internet giant to serve up a year-end retrospective this week, but it’s making up for that in style. The video service has posted the 2015 edition of its annual Rewind video recapping the year’s trends, and this one pays an ode to more than just the usual internet celebrities and viral clips. On top of mainstays like iJustine and Rhett & Link, the look-back also includes gaming stars like Markiplier (on the left) — a plug for YouTube Gaming, to be sure, but also a tribute to the rise of Let’s Play videos. You’ll get your fair share of dancing, too, whether it’s in a cage or in retro clothing.
Oh, and one more thing: YouTube has made it easier to follow trends in the future. There’s a new Trending tab on the web and mobile apps that shows fast-rising clips, so you won’t miss out on a viral sensation while it’s still relatively hot. If it works as promised, you may know exactly what will show up in next year’s Rewind video.
Source: YouTube Official Blog
Facebook’s Security Checkup tool comes to Android
Facebook unveiled their Security Checkup tool for the desktop back in July, but it got so much praise that Facebook decided to make it for mobile too. With the tool, you will be able to start securing yourself today.
You will be able to do things like turn on Login Alerts, log out of Facebook from unused browsers and devices, and protect your password better.
In only a few minutes, Security Checkup helps you log out of Facebook from browsers and devices where you haven’t used Facebook in a while, turn on Login Alerts in case someone else tries to log into your account from a new computer or phone, and protect your password.
Currently, there is an Android version only with an iOS version in the works. The Security Checkup tool on Android or the desktop can be accessed via the Facebook Help Centre.
Source: Facebook
Come comment on this article: Facebook’s Security Checkup tool comes to Android
Become a beta tester for Pebble Timeline software on older watches
Pebble unveiled its new Timeline software for Pebble Time, Time Steel, and Time Round watches, but left out older watches. However, Pebble said they would bring the new software to older devices eventually, and that day is coming closer and closer.
Pebble and Pebble Steel owners can apply to be beta testers for the new software today. It only supports English Android users, but Pebble says the final version will support French, German, and Spanish too. Also, the new software will finally allow users to install as many apps as they wish, no longer will there be an eight app limit. The beta testing shouldn’t last too long either. Pebble says the final version will be out for Android and iOS later this month.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Source: Pebble
Come comment on this article: Become a beta tester for Pebble Timeline software on older watches
Switzerland’s 50-year racing ban will change with Formula E
Switzerland hasn’t allowed motor racing to take place within its borders in over half a century. That looked poised to change when the state relaxed the ban earlier this year, opening the door for the FIA Formula E Championship to hold a race there this season. But the latest word has it that the event is being pushed back.
The ban was imposed in the wake of a catastrophic crash at Le Mans in 1955 that claimed the lives of over 80 spectators and injured another 120. In the aftermath, Mercedes shut down its racing program, and several countries – including Germany, France, and Spain – banned racing within their territories. But long after Mercedes returned to motorsports in the 1980s and most countries lifted their bans, Switzerland kept its strict rules in place.
Authorities began reviewing that policy recently, and consented to permit the electric series to race there. Organizers were targeting an addition to the current season two calendar to hold a race in the southern lakeside city of Lugano near the Italian border. But after finding that the preparations – particularly in preparing the roadways – would take more time than expected, they’re reportedly adjusting expectations to seek a race in next season’s 2016-17 calendar instead, as was originally expected.
Even without a race, Switzerland has been well represented in the series. The Trulli GP team is registered there, and four Swiss drivers have competed – more than any other country save for France. Those have included Sebastien Buemi, Alex Fontana, Fabio Leimer, and Simona de Silvestro, who drove a demonstration event last year in Geneva.
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Source: Autosport
Google Drive update makes finding files ‘super easy’
Google announced on Wednesday four new ways to find files on Drive. First, users will be able to drill down their search by file type. You can also now open the advanced search options dialog directly from the search box. What’s more, iOS users can access recent files and perform searches from the home screen using 3D Touch or use the iOS search bar — both without having to launch the Drive app itself. These features are all expected to roll out to the Web, iOS and Android platforms in the coming weeks.
Source: Google Drive
Google Play Music family plan launches today in 6 countries
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The Google Play Music family plan was announced at the end of September and promised to bring a package that would allow 6 family members to get access to all of Play Music‘s subscription goodies for one low price of $14.99 USD a month. It’s an incredibly good deal, especially compared with other music streaming options out there, and some of you are going to be able to start enjoying its benefits from today.
Google has just announced the family plan service is going to launch today in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, France and Germany. If your country hasn’t been named in the initial six, don’t be alarmed – Google promises that it’s going to be available in more countries in the near future. For those that are in the US, for your family plan subscription fee you’ll also get access to YouTube’s new subscription service, YouTube Red – presumably this will also roll over to other countries whenever YouTube Red is available more widely.
Personally, I’m super tempted to move from Spotify to this new Play Music family plan. The only thing stopping me? The thought of having to migrate my playlists between the two. First world problems…
Are you signing up for the Google Play Music family plan?
Source: Android Official Blog
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