Instagram bringing view counts to videos in the next few weeks
Instagram has been on a roll adding new features lately, and they’re not slowing down. The app is working on adding view counts to videos on the social media site, which means you’ll be able to take a look at anyone that’s viewed your videos and how many times they’ve been viewed, similar to Vine and Snapchat.
After launching Hyperlapse and Boomerang to make some unique videos, it makes sense for Instagram to add a way to track how well those videos are doing, especially against the pretty stiff competition from the wildly popular, Twitter-owned Vine.
Video is only going to keep growing, and social media sites have to stay ahead of the curve. Expect to see this feature roll out over the next few weeks.
source: Instagram
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Twitter not attracting new users
Although Twitter made $710 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, it still isn’t profitable.
Twitter reports that the $710 million in revenue is a 48 percent year-over-year increase. But it still posted a loss of $90 million, though that is better than 2014’s loss of $125 million.
Twitter also reported that the number of monthly active users remained stagnant at 320 million. But if you exclude SMS users that don’t see ads, it looks even worse for Twitter. Worldwide, active users were down by about 2 million between the third and fourth quarters. In the third quarter, Twitter reported 307 million active users, compared with 305 million in the fourth. In the U.S., again excluding SMS users, there were about 66 million active users in the third quarter, while there were only about 65 million in the fourth.
Source: Twitter
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Apple Facing Class Action Lawsuit Over ‘Error 53’ iPhone 6 Bricking
Seattle-based law firm Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala (PCVA) today followed through with plans to bring a class action lawsuit against Apple over the “Error 53” controversy that made headlines last week.
“Error 53” is the error code that some iPhone 6 owners have received after third-party repairs that affect Touch ID were made to their iPhones, rendering the devices unusable. As explained by iFixit, repairs made by third-party services using non-original components cause the iPhone to fail a Touch ID validation check because the mismatched parts are unable to properly sync. Parts that can impact Touch ID include the screen, flex cable, and Home button.
When this Touch ID validation check fails during an iOS update or restore, Apple disables the iPhone, effectively “bricking” it in an effort to protect Touch ID and the related Secure Enclave that stores customer fingerprint information. Apple says that without the validation check, a malicious Touch ID sensor could be used to gain access to the Secure Enclave.
PCVA attorney Darrell Cochran, who is leading the Error 53 lawsuit, claims that Apple’s security argument is invalid because affected iPhones often work fine for several months following repairs as the validation check only occurs when downloading a new version of iOS. He also cites Apple’s failure to give a warning about the consequence of an update as an issue that will be featured in the lawsuit.
“No materials we’ve seen from Apple ever show a disclosure that your phone would self-destruct if you download new software onto a phone,” Cochran said. “If Apple wants to kill your phone under any set of circumstances and for any reason, it has to make it crystal clear to its customers before the damage is done.”
Compounding the problem, according to Cochran, is how disagreeable Apple’s reaction to the problem has been. “The error code 53 signals the death of the phone, and Apple’s response has been to say ‘you have no options; it’s not covered under warranty, and you have to buy a new phone.’”
PCVA is aiming to get affected iPhone customers new, working devices to “provide immediate relief” to consumers. It is also seeking upwards of $5 million in damages and an update to eliminate the repair restrictions. PCVA is asking customers who have been impacted by Error 53 to get in touch.
Aside from explaining the reasoning behind the Error 53 message and its consequences, Apple has remained quiet about the controversy. MacRumors has, however, heard from a retail source that certain Apple Stores have received the go ahead from Apple to replace third-party screens and other components to resolve the issue. It is not yet clear if this replacement policy will be extended to all Apple Stores or if Apple will make an official comment on the situation.
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Sneezing is even more disgusting with high-speed cameras
New, super-gross research out of MIT is shedding new insights into what happens when we sneeze. Researchers from the university used high-speed photography to record 100 healthy volunteers right at the moment they sneezed. Turns out, the sticky fluid flies out of our mouths, not as a spray, but as a sheet. Ew. Then it pops, like a balloon, and the snotty filaments remaining then in turn break up into the fine mist we’re familiar with. Double ew.
This is actually really important research as it can help researchers better understand how airborne diseases spread. “It’s important to understand how the process of fluid breakup, or fluid fragmentation, happens,” Lydia Bourouiba, head of MIT’s Fluid Dynamics of Disease Transmission Laboratory said in a statement. “What is the physics of the breakup telling us in terms of droplet size distribution, and the resulting prediction of the downstream range of contamination?”
This isn’t Bourouiba’s first infectious rodeo, however. This research builds off of her earlier tests that show coughs and sneezes travel up to 200 times farther as these mucus balloons than if they were straight droplets. “What we saw was surprising in many ways,” Bourouiba continued. “We expected to see droplets coming out fully formed from the respiratory tract. It turns out that’s not the case at all. And this gives us a good baseline to expand our mechanistic understanding of violent expirations.” That’s all well and good, just be sure to cover your mouth first.
[Image: From the paper, “Visualization of sneeze ejecta: steps of fluid fragmentation leading to respiratory droplets,” by B. E. Scharfman, A. H. Techet, J. W. M. Bush, L. Bourouiba.]
Source: MIT News
Sneezing is even more disgusting with high-speed cameras
New, super-gross research out of MIT is shedding new insights into what happens when we sneeze. Researchers from the university used high-speed photography to record 100 healthy volunteers right at the moment they sneezed. Turns out, the sticky fluid flies out of our mouths, not as a spray, but as a sheet. Ew. Then it pops, like a balloon, and the snotty filaments remaining then in turn break up into the fine mist we’re familiar with. Double ew.
This is actually really important research as it can help researchers better understand how airborne diseases spread. “It’s important to understand how the process of fluid breakup, or fluid fragmentation, happens,” Lydia Bourouiba, head of MIT’s Fluid Dynamics of Disease Transmission Laboratory said in a statement. “What is the physics of the breakup telling us in terms of droplet size distribution, and the resulting prediction of the downstream range of contamination?”
This isn’t Bourouiba’s first infectious rodeo, however. This research builds off of her earlier tests that show coughs and sneezes travel up to 200 times farther as these mucus balloons than if they were straight droplets. “What we saw was surprising in many ways,” Bourouiba continued. “We expected to see droplets coming out fully formed from the respiratory tract. It turns out that’s not the case at all. And this gives us a good baseline to expand our mechanistic understanding of violent expirations.” That’s all well and good, just be sure to cover your mouth first.
[Image: From the paper, “Visualization of sneeze ejecta: steps of fluid fragmentation leading to respiratory droplets,” by B. E. Scharfman, A. H. Techet, J. W. M. Bush, L. Bourouiba.]
Source: MIT News
Sneezing is even more disgusting with high-speed cameras
New, super-gross research out of MIT is shedding new insights into what happens when we sneeze. Researchers from the university used high-speed photography to record 100 healthy volunteers right at the moment they sneezed. Turns out, the sticky fluid flies out of our mouths, not as a spray, but as a sheet. Ew. Then it pops, like a balloon, and the snotty filaments remaining then in turn break up into the fine mist we’re familiar with. Double ew.
This is actually really important research as it can help researchers better understand how airborne diseases spread. “It’s important to understand how the process of fluid breakup, or fluid fragmentation, happens,” Lydia Bourouiba, head of MIT’s Fluid Dynamics of Disease Transmission Laboratory said in a statement. “What is the physics of the breakup telling us in terms of droplet size distribution, and the resulting prediction of the downstream range of contamination?”
This isn’t Bourouiba’s first infectious rodeo, however. This research builds off of her earlier tests that show coughs and sneezes travel up to 200 times farther as these mucus balloons than if they were straight droplets. “What we saw was surprising in many ways,” Bourouiba continued. “We expected to see droplets coming out fully formed from the respiratory tract. It turns out that’s not the case at all. And this gives us a good baseline to expand our mechanistic understanding of violent expirations.” That’s all well and good, just be sure to cover your mouth first.
[Image: From the paper, “Visualization of sneeze ejecta: steps of fluid fragmentation leading to respiratory droplets,” by B. E. Scharfman, A. H. Techet, J. W. M. Bush, L. Bourouiba.]
Source: MIT News
Sneezing is even more disgusting with high-speed cameras
New, super-gross research out of MIT is shedding new insights into what happens when we sneeze. Researchers from the university used high-speed photography to record 100 healthy volunteers right at the moment they sneezed. Turns out, the sticky fluid flies out of our mouths, not as a spray, but as a sheet. Ew. Then it pops, like a balloon, and the snotty filaments remaining then in turn break up into the fine mist we’re familiar with. Double ew.
This is actually really important research as it can help researchers better understand how airborne diseases spread. “It’s important to understand how the process of fluid breakup, or fluid fragmentation, happens,” Lydia Bourouiba, head of MIT’s Fluid Dynamics of Disease Transmission Laboratory said in a statement. “What is the physics of the breakup telling us in terms of droplet size distribution, and the resulting prediction of the downstream range of contamination?”
This isn’t Bourouiba’s first infectious rodeo, however. This research builds off of her earlier tests that show coughs and sneezes travel up to 200 times farther as these mucus balloons than if they were straight droplets. “What we saw was surprising in many ways,” Bourouiba continued. “We expected to see droplets coming out fully formed from the respiratory tract. It turns out that’s not the case at all. And this gives us a good baseline to expand our mechanistic understanding of violent expirations.” That’s all well and good, just be sure to cover your mouth first.
[Image: From the paper, “Visualization of sneeze ejecta: steps of fluid fragmentation leading to respiratory droplets,” by B. E. Scharfman, A. H. Techet, J. W. M. Bush, L. Bourouiba.]
Source: MIT News
Google allegedly working on stand-alone VR headset
Earlier this week, we heard a rumor that Google had a high-grade VR headset in the works to rival Samsung’s Gear VR. The idea seems to be to create a more solid, specced-out version of Google Cardboard made out of non-corrugated materials. While this is certainly an interesting development in its own right, word on the street now is that Google has a project slated to bring a complete VR headset to the market that won’t require a computer, smartphone, or game console. If this is true, this may just be the first time VR has been approached in this way. You know, if we don’t include the Virtual Boy.
This raises some immediate questions. Right now, every VR headset on the market is reliant in some way on an external form of processing power. Nevertheless, the WSJ is saying that Google’s stand-alone headset will feature high powered processors and outward facing cameras (presumably for AR use). Movidius is suspected of being Google’s source for chips and sensor on this endeavor, but the company is dodging any direct questions regarding their involvement.
See also: Oculus Rift is the most popular VR platform among game developers
How would such a device work? How powerful would it be, and how much would it weigh? The biggest question of all might be, how much will we be expected to pay for such a compact, high-tech device?
There’s no rumored timeline on this product’s announcement or release, but since Cardboard’s heir is expected to come to Google I/O in May, odds are good that any firm information to be had about this project will come to light at the same time. While we wait, let us know what you think of this rumored Google foray into the VR big leagues.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories hits Android
The 2005 PSP classic Liberty City Stories has appeared in the Google Play Store with little fanfare. The Rockstar creation is a mobile-friendly addition to the ongoing and ever-controversial Grand Theft Auto franchise.
Although the game is open world, it’s naturally not as sprawling and detailed as its console companions. You are Toni Cipriani, outcast wise guy for the Leone family. In the time you’ve been away from Liberty City, the organized rule of the mob has become fractured as corrupt politicians, rival games, and striking unions vie for control of a city where crime is as commonplace as pizza is in NYC.
The game has gotten a few daubs of makeup applied to its face before arriving on Android devices. Its 2005 roots are still visible in some of the design elements, but extensive graphic enhancements have been implemented, and with the addition of Rockstar Social Club support, your achievements and save files will be available across platforms.
See also: 10 best 3D games for Android
If you’re even remotely interested, now is the time to act, because the game will be increasing in price once this promotion ends. This is a full game with no in-app purchases, and you can click the button below to download it to your device.
Are you a Liberty City Stories fan? If so, let us know what your experience with the game has been like in the comments! Would you recommend this game to Android gamers?
NVIDIA throws Valentine’s Day game discount party for Shield
To celebrate Valentine’s Day, NVIDIA is having a sale on six different titles from the GeForce Now game streaming service and Google Play. The list includes such romantic titles as The Park, a first-person psychological horror game set in a lonely and sinister amusement park, and This War of Mine, a brutal survival simulation game in which you must make no-win decisions that have life and death consequences on your companions while the soulless grind of the war around you whittles away your humanity and reinforces a crushing sense of one’s own meaninglessness and isolation.
Say, NVIDIA, did you recently go through a hard break-up? If you need a shoulder to cry on, just let us know. Try to remember that there are other fish in the sea.
See also: 10 best Valentine’s Day apps for Android!
Other games in the lineup include Submerged, Juju, Dustoff Heli Rescue, and Windward. NVIDIA says that the sale will run through the end of Valentine’s Day, February 14th, 2016. The GeForce Now games (The Park and Submerged) are 33% off, but rest of the games, which are available in the Google Play Store, range from 50-67% off.
So if you and your loved one are looking to cozy up together and play a fun Android game or two this Sunday, consider getting Windward, the only cooperative multiplayer game on this list. If you, like NVIDIA, will be celebrating More Wine For Me Day instead of Valentine’s Day, then grab any of the other games and settle in with the comfort food of your choice instead.
Do any of the games on this list jump out at you as a good deal? Let us know which you would pick and why in the comments below! To read more, head on over to NVIDIA’s official promo landing page for this offer.
Play Submerged
Play The Park
Get Windward
Get This War of Mine
Get Dustoff Heli Rescue
Get Juju
Next: 13 best Android horror games
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