Facebook’s Instant Articles are coming to Messenger
Checking out articles your friends share through Facebook Messenger is about to become much faster. Facebook has announced today that it is bringing its Instant Articles to Facebook Messenger, meaning links from participating publishers should open much faster going forward.
From Facebook:
When you tap on an Instant Article link in Facebook, it loads up to ten times faster than a standard mobile web article, so it was important to make sure everyone on Messenger could have the same great reading experience. As we roll this out over the next several weeks, people using Messenger will see a lightning bolt on the top right corner of some links shared in Messenger, which indicates the link is an Instant Article.
It’s definitely good to see Instant Articles, which work much like Google’s own Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) in Search, make their way from Facebook proper to Messenger. Of course, you’ll only be able to take advantage of the vastly reduced loading times and data consumption if the publisher is part of the Instant Articles program, but it’s a step forward nonetheless.
Facebook notes that Instant Articles will become available for Android first, while iPhone users will get the feature in the coming weeks.
Galaxy S7, S7 edge now receiving July 1 security patch from Verizon
Verizon is now pushing the July 1 security update to both the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. This month Google is offering two security patches, one dated July 1 and one dated July 5 which included a few extra things. While it would be nice to see Samsung pushing the July 5 update, it is still great to see the patches pushing out so quickly.
No other major changes are noted by Verizon, but it is likely there are a few other bug fixes included as well. If you haven’t already received a notification to update, you can check manually for it. To do this, head into the Settings, then About phone, and finally check for updates. Be sure to let us know once you finish the update how it works for you.
Thanks for the tip, Kevin!
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Apple’s Eddy Cue doesn’t view Netflix or Comcast as competition
When it comes to Apple’s plans for TV and streaming services, senior VP Eddy Cue is the guy with all the answers. Cue, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, revealed some interesting tidbits behind the company’s philosophies regarding plans for original content, the possibility of Apple providing a streaming service and more.
During the interivew, Cue spoke briefly on his thoughts on skinny bundles, or significantly smaller bundles of channels and services, noting that he actually isn’t a “big fan” of the idea.
“I think it’s a misconception. Most people, at the end of the day, end up paying more, not less, for the things they love. With TV content being at an all-time high, why are people asking for less?”
It’s clear from Cue’s thoughts on the bundles themselves that Apple isn’t as interested in creating one for consumers as they are creating the platform that facilitates these types of products. One might assume because Apple is interested in going above and beyond the limitations that currently exist in the entertainment space for television that it’s looking to also expand further in all directions in the original content space.
That’s not exactly true, according to Cue. “We’re not in the business of trying to create TV shows,” he explained to The Hollywood Reporter. Despite announcements to the contrary with an upcoming show featuring Dr. Dre and the recently-announced Planet of the Apps, Cue insisted the company is only truly interested in content if it’s “complementary” to what they’re already doing with Apple Music or innovation for their platform.
In short, Apple, as Cue sees it, isn’t concerned with seeing Netflix or even Comcast as competition in the streaming media space or with original content — it’s all about innovcation and moving forward. The VP summed it up best when asked how he would like to be remembered for at Apple.
“I bleed Apple. The products themselves is what should be remembered, and, yes, I, along with my team, have been a part of that. So I hope that we’re making game-changing products that people just love to use.”
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Google’s emoji for working women get thumbs up from Unicode
Back in May, Google proposed a set of emoji that would offer options that depict careers of professional women with a range of races and ethnicities. Today, the company announced that Unicode, the organization that (among other things) handles the decisions for all things emjoi, agreed to 11 new professional options that showcase a range of jobs for both men and women. And yes, they’ll be available in all of the existing skin tones. This means that the group adds more than 100 new emoji to the existing Unicode library.
What’s more, Unicode is adding a female option to 33 existing emoji, including a runner, haircut, police officer and a range of other activities. Until now, there were only male versions of those. Google has been working with the Unicode Emoji Subcommittee to ensure the proposed changes made it to users around the world. As you might expect the new options will be included inside future versions of Android as well as other mobile operating systems. You know, since one of Unicode’s goals is for everyone to be able to send and receive the same tiny pictures regardless of what device they’re using.
Source: Google
Tech leaders say Trump would be a disaster for innovation
While at least one notable tech billionaire is willing to openly support Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, a whopping 145 other leaders from major tech companies like Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yelp, Tumblr, Slack and even Steve Wozniak himself have banded together to publish an open letter denouncing Trump’s “divisive candidacy.” The list of names ranges from CEOs and founders, to VCs and law professors and they’re making it clear they speak for themselves rather than their respective companies, but the message couldn’t be more clear: some of the biggest influencers in tech believe a President Trump would kill America’s innovative spirit.
“We believe in an inclusive country that fosters opportunity, creativity and a level playing field,” the letter, originally posted on Medium explains. “Donald Trump does not. He campaigns on anger, bigotry, fear of new ideas and new people, and a fundamental belief that America is weak and in decline. We have listened to Donald Trump over the past year and we have concluded: Trump would be a disaster for innovation.”
The letter goes on to point out that “America’s diversity is our strength,” and that 40% of the Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or children of immigrants. The group is also very clear that Trump’s plan to “shut down” parts of the internet as a security strategy is not only misguided but also demonstrates “both poor judgment and ignorance about how technology works.”
AIVAnet 