Instagram rethinks how it serves videos to improve performance across the board

In a new blog post, Instagram has detailed the technical challenges behind its recent move to allow users to post videos up to 60 seconds in length — a bump from the previous limit of 15 seconds.

Essentially, Instagram says it had to completely change the way it serves videos in the Android app. With the 15-second cap, the app would download the full video in the background before playing. Now that videos can be up to a minute in length, however, that method would result in some unsavory wait times. To combat this, Instagram says that it switched to a proxy method that allows the video file to be downloaded and played at the same time. This has a number of benefits, Instagram says, but the two that stick out the most are:

• Playback is no longer blocked by the video download, i.e. it plays as soon as there’s enough content.
• Playback is no longer dependent on disk space. Even if the disk cache malfunctions, it would just be treated as a cache miss and streamed directly from the server.

In real terms, Instagram says that it has observed that videos start 20-25% faster with the new system compared to the old. If you’re into learning all of the technical hooks behind the process, be sure to check out Instagram’s full blog post for much more.

WhatsApp rolls out end-to-end encryption: What does that mean?

Facebook-owned WhatsApp has updated with end-to-end encryption.

The latest version of the messaging client now ensures all messages, photos, video, files, and calls are completely secure for its 1 billion users (no matter whether they are using iPhones, Android, Windows, Blackberry, or Nokia phones). That means only the sender and receiver of any given message will be able to see the contents of said message. Even WhatsApp won’t have access to the message’s contents.

End-to-end encryption will not change how you regularly use WhatsApp, but it will make it harder for WhatsApp to allow law enforcement, governments, and other authorities access to your private communications, even if they have a warrant. Theoretically, WhatsApp is now one of the most secure ways to electronically converse with people across the world and various platforms.

READ: WhatsApp tips and tricks

WhatsApp encryption: What is it?

End-to-end encryption is basically a secure method of communication. WhatsApp’s rollout of end-to-end encryption prevents cyber-criminals, hackers, telecoms, and even governments from accessing the messages you’ve sent to other WhatsApp users. The idea behind end-to-end encryption is that your messages, media, and calls are now secured from falling into the wrong hands.

Here’s how WhatsApp has explained the new security measure it offers:

“Many messaging apps only encrypt messages between you and them, but WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption ensures only you and the person you’re communicating with can read what is sent, and nobody in between, not even WhatsApp. This is because your messages are secured with a lock, and only the recipient and you have the special key needed to unlock and read them. For added protection, every message you send has its own unique lock and key.”

WhatsApp end-to-end encryption: Why now?

WhatsApp has been encrypting text messages since 2014 and spent two years teaming up with nonprofit software group Open Whisper Systems in order to offer end-to-end encryption across the service. This rollout comes in the wake of Apple’s refusal to make a backdoor for an iPhone 5C (all of Apple’s devices are end-to-end encrypted) owned by one of the San Bernadino shooters.

Jan Koum, the CEO and co-founder of WhatsApp, said in a blog post that he believes people deserve security and the confidence to speak their minds about sensitive information. It is therefore doing what it can to keep “people’s information out of the hands of hackers and cyber-criminals.” He also said that he personally believes people’s private communication should be protected:

“The desire to protect people’s private communication is one of the core beliefs we have at WhatsApp, and for me, it’s personal. I grew up in the USSR during communist rule and the fact that people couldn’t speak freely is one of the reasons my family moved to the United States.”

Keep in mind WhatsApp is now unable to hand over messaging data, even if authorities are demanding access, but despite the strength of the encryption, it is not impossible for others to gain access.

WhatsApp end-to-end encryption: What’s encrypted?

WhatsApp end-to-end encryption – which, as of 5 April, the integration is fully complete – works for chats, group chats, attachments, voice notes, and voice calls across Android, iPhone, Windows Phone, Nokia S40, Nokia S60, Blackberry, and BB10.

WhatsApp end-to-end encryption: How do you enable it?

End-to-end encryption on WhatsApp is enabled automatically. There is no need to turn on settings to secure your messages. WhatsApp said it will notify users of the encryption status for chats, including showing a notice in the messaging screen, during this beginning roll-out phase.

WhatsApp end-to-end encryption: What’s the QR code?

WhatsApp users can confirm the person they are chatting with is legit (rather than a hacker or someone intercepting your messages) by verifying the authenticity of the encryption session via scanning a QR code or reading aloud a number string. You can read more about that from here.

WhatsApp end-to-end encryption: Want to know more?

Check out WhatsApp’s blog or Open Whisper Systems’ blog for more details.

PS4 3.5 software update: 6 reasons to update your system

Sony has announced a software update for the PS4. It’s called version 3.50.

With this major update to the system, you will be able to play games remotely through a PC or a Mac. You’ll also be able to appear offline from now on so that you can concentrate on a game or something without interruption. These are just a few of the new features included.

In fact, Pocket-lint has singled out six features in total that’ll make you want to grab the latest software as soon as it becomes available on 6 April. We’ve also added a video from Sony PlayStation that gives a complete overview or summary of the 3.50 update.

Remote Play from PC and Mac

Sony has expanded Remote Play capabilities to the PC and Mac. Remote Play is a feature that lets the PlayStation 4 send audio and video to a peripheral device, such as the PlayStation Vita, the PlayStation TV set-top box, select Sony smartphones and tablets, and now Macs and PCs.

Remote Play is compatible with machines running Windows 8.1, Windows 10 or later, OS X 10.10, and OS X 10.11 You can use a Dualshock 4 as the controller for Remote Play, and you will be able to select from the following resolution and frame rate options:

• Resolution options: 360p, 540p, 720p
• Default resolution – 540p
• Frame rate : Standard (30fps), High (60fps)
• Default frame rate – Standard (30fps)

Choose to appear offline

Under your Profile tab, Quick Menu and login screen, there is a new Online Status option where you can choose to appear offline. As Sony pointed out, doing so will allow you to “fully concentrate on your game or watch a movie” without interruption.

Get notified when friends come online

You can now receive notifications when your friends come online. Just go to your Friends profile, press Options, and select Notify When Online. You can also manager your entire Friends list at once via Settings > Notifications.

Schedule gameplay sessions with friends

Under Events tab, you can now schedule gameplay sessions with your friends. Just select Create Event and send an invitation. You’ll need to choose the day, time, and game, and then you can send it to individual friends or group. Anyone who is registered will automatically be added to a party once the date and time of the event arrives. The event can also be shared with a community.

This feature, called User Scheduled Events, can be created in the PS App too.

PS app update

Speaking of the PS app, Sony is rolling out system software update 3.50 for the PlayStation App as well. It’ll bring these new features:

• User Scheduled Event – Schedule gameplay sessions with your friends
• Broadcast – Dailymotion has been added to Live from PlayStation
• Shared activity – Other players’ shared activities appear in your activities

Teens can create accounts

Anyone between 13 and 17 years old can now create their own account and start playing in offline mode (until parents approve the account and complete the parental control set up, according to Sony).

Amazon’s next Kindle might be thinner, come with battery case

You might’ve heard by now that Amazon is readying a new Kindle. Well, a new report has shed some light on what we can expect from the device, including a thinner form factor and a rechargeable battery case.

The company, which makes the Kindle-brand of e-readers and tablets, announced recently that it will introduce a “top of the line” Kindle sometime in mid April. Jeff Bezos, the chief executive of Amazon, revealed the news on Twitter, explaining the upcoming model will be a new, eighth-generation of Kindle products. The Kindle Voyage, which released in October 2014, leads the seventh generation of Kindle devices.

The Wall Street Journal has followed up Bezos’ tweet with a report about the “higher-end Kindle,” claiming it will release with a rechargeable protective case for extended battery life. It’ll be removable and should allow the Kindle to be thinner than earlier devices. Amazon is also working on a solar-powered battery case, but that likely won’t be released anytime soon. All this information is unconfirmed at the moment.

That said, the new Kindle and case are reportedly codenamed Whiskey and Soda, respectively, while the solar-powered case is codenamed Sunkiss. Engineers at Lab126 have dubbed these devices and are apparently working on them as well as other Amazon devices, such as the Echo, Fire tablets, and Fire TV set-top box. Beyond that, there’s little detail about the next Kindle.

It’s not yet sure how much it will cost or what will make it standout from the Paperwhite or Kindle Voyage. Stay tuned to Pocket-lint’s Amazon hub for the latest breaking news.

READ: Amazon says a new ‘top of the line’ Kindle is coming next week

Google opens up its tool for testing your Android phone’s lag

For years, Google has had tools to test the lag in Android and Chrome OS devices, letting it know when bad hardware or sloppy software is causing delays in touch input or voice commands. Wish you could check that lag yourself? As of now, you can: Google has posted the source code for WALT, its latency timer. While you’ll need to build some Arduino-based hardware to perform the tests, Google promises that the whole thing will cost you less than $50. You won’t need to go all-out and recreate the company’s TouchBot, then. True, this will mostly be useful to developers who need to check their code, but it could come in handy if you’ve ever wanted to prove that a phone was unacceptably sluggish.

Via: Android Police

Source: Android Developers Blog, GitHub

Newly discovered magnetism is a big boost for quantum computers

Until now, humanity has only known two forms of magnetism: ferromagnetism (the kind you see on your fridge) and antiferromagnetism (a sort of negative magnetism found in hard drives). However, MIT researchers just confirmed the existence of a third kind… and it could be the key to making quantum computing a practical reality. The team made and supercooled a crystal that exhibits a quantum spin liquid state, where the magnetic directions of each particle never line up. That odd behavior, in turn, leads to quantum entanglement (in which distant particles affect each other’s magnetism) that would be ideal for computers.

If scientists learn how to consistently produce and control that entanglement in the future, they could create reliable quantum computers — you could flip qubits (quantum bits) without worrying that nearby materials will throw it off. That’s no mean feat when MIT was using a decidedly rare mineral just to get things going. However, this could be a crucial starting point for technology that will be useful years down the road.

Via: Network World, Motherboard

Source: Nature

‘Quantum Break’ looks relentlessly surreal

I’ve never taken as many screenshots of an Xbox One game as I have Quantum Break. When I wasn’t preoccupied with slowing down the flow of time to outrun enemies who wanted to murder me or to stop a 60-foot tall section of scaffolding from squashing me like a grape, I was tweaking the in-game camera to frame the scenes of chaos around me. The aesthetic Developer Remedy Entertainment used for its latest is captivating, blending elements of surrealist art, cinema and even lo-fi photography into a look that’s unlike anything I’ve seen before.

It’s too bad that the game lacks a proper photo mode, because as the narrative progresses and the space-time continuum starts destroying itself, Quantum Break ratchets the surreal factor to the extreme.

‘Zelda’ turns 30 and gets a browser-based tribute game

While we all endure the endless wait for a new Zelda game to grace the Wii U in its last days, the original quest that put Link (and Ganon) on the map is getting a new lease on life. The fan-made project, a voxel-based tribute to The Legend of Zelda that debuted on the NES 30 years ago, takes the 8-bit classic and reimagines it as a playable 2.5D, browser-based game. Yes, you can play it on your laptop or mobile phone. It’s a tribute, albeit unfinished, to “the greatest console game of all time” from programmers Scott Lininger and Mike Magee. And, knowing Nintendo, it’s the kind of thing we imagine won’t survive on the internet for long. So on this day of VR buzz, why not switch tracks for a bit and indulge in video gaming’s past.

Via: The Verge

Source: Zelda 30 tribute

WSJ: Next Amazon Kindle comes with rechargeable cases

Amazon Kindles can already last for weeks on a single charge, but the upcoming “top-of-the-line” model could last even longer than that. According to The Wall Street Journal, it will come with a rechargeable protective casing for extra juice. The publication says this case allows it to be slimmer than its predecessors, which could mean that the device alone will have a battery life shorter or similar to older models. Amazon is reportedly working on a solar-powered casing, as well, though that one won’t be ready in time for the new e-reader’s launch next week.

Apparently, the tech behemoth has been having a hard selling its newer Kindles, since the devices are pretty durable. People won’t buy a new model that’s not markedly different from their own if their device is still working perfectly, after all. Amazon is likely hoping that bundling its next e-reader with a rechargeable case will help compel potential buyers to take the plunge.

The upcoming Kindle and its protective casing were designed by the engineers at the tech behemoth’s not-so-secret hardware facility, Lab 126. They gave them the codenames “Whiskey” and “Soda” and have taken to calling the solar casing “Sunkiss.” Amazon formed Lab 126 years ago to conjure up the first version of its e-reader. It has developed a wide array of products since then, including the Echo speakers, the Fire phone, tablet and TV, as well as the company’s quirky Dash buttons.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Bernie Sanders Wishes Apple Would Move Some Manufacturing to US and Pay ‘Fair Share’ of Taxes

Bernie Sanders, candidate for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination in the United States, was today queried about Apple in an interview with the Daily News, where he commented on the company’s manufacturing policies and rumors that Apple dodges taxes.

When asked if Apple is part of corporate America that is “destroying the fabric of our nation,” a question inspired by statements made by Sanders’ himself, Sanders said he does not believe that to be the case, instead pointing the finger at big banks like JPMorgan Chase and corporations like General Electric. He went on to clarify that he would, however, like Apple to move manufacturing of some devices to the United States and pay a fair share of taxes.

No, Apple is not destroying the fabric of America. But I do wish they’d be manufacturing some of their devices, here, in the United States rather than in China. And I do wish that they would not be trying to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

Sanders is not the first presidential candidate to comment on Apple’s manufacturing policies, with Donald Trump also claiming he would force Apple to manufacture its products in the United States.

Though the bulk of Apple products are manufactured overseas, Apple has in fact made an effort to move some production jobs back to the United States, something that Sanders and Trump both appear to be unaware of. Apple’s Mac Pro line of computers is assembled by Flextronics in Austin, Texas, an effort that cost Apple $100 million. Many third-party components used in Apple devices are also created by suppliers located in the United States, as Re/code points out. Corning’s Gorilla Glass, used in iPhones and iPads, is made in Kentucky, for example.

In a December interview with Charlie Rose, Apple CEO Tim Cook gave some color on why Apple products are made in China. “It’s skill,” he said, going on to explain that China has focused heavily on training people to create machinery and parts for electronic devices.

The US, over time, began to stop having as many vocational kind of skills. I mean, you can take every tool and die maker in the United States and probably put them in a room that we’re currently sitting in. In China, you would have to have multiple football fields.

When it comes to taxes, Tim Cook has previously said that Apple pays all of the taxes that it owes. During the same December interview, he said accusations Apple avoids taxes on revenue held overseas is “total political crap.” “There is no truth behind it,” he said. “Apple pays every tax dollar we owe.”

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