With Instagram’s latest update, everyone can share multiple photos in a post

Why it matters to you

Now everyone can upload multiple photos to a single Instagram post and the new feature will surely change the way some people use the app.

Several weeks ago, Instagram introduced a new feature to the beta version of its Android app that enabled uploading multiple photos in a single post. The change brought the photography-focused social network much closer to the way Facebook handles albums. Now, the company announced it is rolling out the feature for all users on iOS and Android over the coming weeks.

Sharing several photos at once is as simple as tapping “select multiple” on the upload screen. Users can choose up to 10, re-order the set by long-pressing on individual photos and dragging and by using batch-apply filters. Albums are noted on profile pages with a stack icon and can be viewed carousel-style in the feed.

More: WhatsApp launches Status, an end-to-end encrypted Snapchat Stories clone

Instagram

Depending on who you ask, this is either a welcome change for Instagram, which formerly restricted multi-photo posting to brands, or something fundamentally at odds with one of the defining characteristics of the network. For many, Instagram has always been about choosing a single image that perfectly encapsulates a moment or event, and using filters to make that image as powerful or provocative as possible. It was like Twitter’s 140-character limit, only for photography.

Yet, with this update, Instagram treads perilously close to parent company Facebook in execution, threatening to open up the floodgates to an inescapable torrent of self-indulgent vacation albums.

That said, Instagram does have a precedent of adopting features popularized by competing apps, like live-streaming video and Stories. The company is marketing the addition of multi-photo posts as another example of its emphasis on user friendliness, saying “it’s never been easier to share your experiences with your friends.”

That is a far cry from Snapchat, which has been criticized for having a comparatively more confusing interface that is hostile to newcomers. However, Snapchat’s efforts to go public have forced the startup to educate its investors on the app through helpful annotated diagrams and video guides.

Need to cut some expenses? Here’s how to cancel Spotify Premium

Spotify Premium is an indispensable service for people who stream a lot of music, but some might find the price of ad-free listening — $10 a month — more than they’re willing to pay after the company’s initial free trial. Thankfully for those who would prefer to save some green or spend their subscription fee in some other way, canceling a subscription is easy.

More: Spotify vs. Apple Music: Which service is the streaming king?

Keep in mind that you won’t be able to download music for offline use if you opt for Spotify’s free tier. You also won’t be able to stream audio at the higher bit rate (320 kbps) or play any song on demand when using your mobile device. Nonetheless, if you’d like to prevent your subscription from automatically renewing at the end of the current period, read on.

Cancelling your subscription on your desktop

First, log into your account and go to http://www.spotify.com/account/overview.

On the left side of the screen, you should see a button labeled Subscription. Click this.

Now, you should see a page informing you how much time you have left until your subscription is renewed.

Below this will be a green link asking if you would like to cancel your subscription. Click the link.

‘For Honor’s’ performance will cut down many PCs, but you can fight back

Ubisoft’s latest multiplayer title, For Honor, immediately impressed us with sensational visuals and unique styling at E3 2016. The brutal fighting game is like a complex, carefully timed game of rock-paper-scissors, and we’ve enjoyed playing every time we get our hands on it.

We sat down with the open beta build the weekend before the official launch to find out whether it held up in terms of graphical fidelity, and just as importantly, how well it runs. Here’s how you can ensure smooth gameplay on your own PC.

The setup

Before we get into actual results and performance comparisons, let’s take a look at For Honor’s graphical settings. First up, there are four preset configurations — low, medium, high, and ultra — which control all of the other settings. You can customize from there, and the usual suspects make an appearance, including anisotropic texture filtering, FXAA, SMAA, and TNA anti-aliasing options, and HBAO+ or MHBAO ambient occlusion.

You’ll need a consistent 30 FPS, or else the game may boot you.

There are several more esoteric settings as well, including dynamic shadows, texture quality, geometric detail, texture detail, and motion blur. Of those, only dynamic shadows had a very noticeable effect on performance on our test system, an MSI GS63VR with a 6GB GTX 1060 and an Intel Core i7-6700HQ, but your mileage may vary if you’re equipped with older hardware.

Finally, there are some resolution options, specifically render scale and supersampling, that are discussed in their own sections below, due to their massive implications on both performance and image clarity.

Before we get started

There’s one massive limitation you should be aware of heading into For Honor on PC. The game demands a consistent 30 frame per second performance average. If you drop below that number too often during multiplayer gameplay, the server may kick you out of multiplayer matches. That means, whatever balance of performance and smooth gameplay you prefer, you’ll need to keep the settings low enough to hold that 30 FPS average.

More: Here’s how to make GTA V look beautiful, and play well, on your PC

The in-game benchmark is the perfect way to ensure that not only are you keeping your average frame rate up, but your minimum isn’t dropping too low, either. That said, our test system managed to average 67 FPS at 1080p Extreme, so the bar isn’t a high one to reach for mid-range hardware.

The easy path

For Honor features a small handful of graphics presets: Low, Medium, High, and Extreme. The game defaulted to Extreme with our GTX 1060 at 1080p. The performance difference between extreme and high is almost entirely governed by one setting, which we’ll discuss further below.

The performance gap between high and medium is very narrow. We didn’t see much of a difference in performance or visual fidelity, with the main differences coming from reducing the number of texture filtering passes, as well as a reduction in features like dynamic shadows and environmental quality. Only keen-eyed observers are likely to notice the difference between the settings, particularly in the heat of battle.

Drop the settings to low, and you may find you don’t like the look of things. Tall grass and short foliage are replaced by flat, textured ground. Character models become particularly blocky, and the textures take on a fuzzy, low-resolution look to save on video memory. The performance jump there is respectable, but you might be better off lowering your render scale, discussed below, and leaving the settings on high.

A more dynamic option

If you’re almost able to play at extreme, there’s only one setting to reach for. Dynamic Reflections are just what they sound like. Any time you would see a player, or weather effect, mirrored in any sort of reflective surface, from metal to water, that’s a dynamic reflection. This one setting is also responsible for the largest Overwatch, thanks to its complexity and constant application.

In fact, the 31 percent jump in frame rate we experienced after turning off dynamic reflections accounts for almost the entire performance bonus when moving from the extreme preset to the high preset. That could well mean the difference between smooth performance, and getting booted from games.

Dynamic Reflections On

Dynamic Reflections Off

There’s more good news too — turning off dynamic reflections doesn’t affect visual fidelity all that much. For Honor is a fast-paced game that constantly spins and turns, which means you probably weren’t likely to notice the detail of that foot soldier’s reflection in the puddle before you cut him down.

Render scale cuts through performance issues, at a price

If the settings above don’t bring your performance in line, and you don’t want to suffer the blocky character models and awkward grass in the lowest setting, you have the render scale option. Lowering the render scale will leave your screen, and UI elements, at native resolution, but render in-game footage at a smaller percentage of the number. This is an increasingly common option that targets low-end systems.

Just don’t expect the game to look nice. Lowering the render scale is the same as dropping your screen resolution in terms of both fidelity and performance gains. You’ll see a sharp increase in performance, thanks to the reduced pixel count on-screen, but quality suffers drastically. Still, trading resolution for image quality might be a valuable proposition for lower-end systems.

Conversely, super sampling doubles the rendered resolution and scales it down to your screen resolution for beautifully smooth edges and well-blended textures. The result is undeniably impressive, but brought even the GTX 1060 to its knees, dropping from 67 FPS at 1080p on Extreme, to an unplayable 20. It’s the only setting still turned off in the extreme preset, and for good reason. You might use this setting to take high-resolution screenshots, or because you’re mad at your GPU.

A beautiful game, at a cost

At the end of the day, For Honor’s demanding graphics are going to be a struggle for anyone whose system isn’t already well-equipped for modern gaming. On current generation GPUs, you shouldn’t have much trouble keeping over 30 FPS at 1080p, even with the settings up, although those with the RX 460 or GTX 1050 may find they need to do some tweaking to pull it off.

For Honor is one of the most attractive multiplayer games in recent memory.

If your system can handle it, For Honor is one of the most attractive multiplayer games in recent memory, despite its reliance on the vintage, but still relevant, Anvil physics engine. On the other hand, elements like reflective water and high-detail grass will go unnoticed when you’re dodging a flail.

For most well-equipped gaming systems, the sweet spot will be extreme, with dynamic reflections off. Older systems, meanwhile, may find it necessary to reduce quality all the way to medium, or drop the render scale, in an effort to find substantial performance gains.

Nvidia’s GeForce website is counting down to the GTX 1080 Ti’s big reveal

Why it matters to you

The GeForce GTX 1080 TI card is all but officially confirmed as next great graphics chip.

Despite Nvidia keeping a tight lip about what it plans to reveal during the Game Developers Conference later in February, the company’s big surprise was spoiled by its own GeForce website. Right now, the site includes a new splash page sporting a countdown timer targeting its upcoming GeForce GTX Gaming Celebration event during GDC 2017. That event is sold out, but the company will likely stream whatever it plans to debut on the hardware front at 7 p.m. (PT) on Tuesday.

That said, previous reports assumed that the event would be Nvidia’s launchpad for the highly-anticipated GeForce GTX 1080 Ti card. However, thanks to the GeForce website, the card’s reveal is no longer a surprise. Embedded within the splash page’s source are two references to the currently unannounced card:

gdc-2017/GTX1080Ti_Countdown__Hero_1920x1080_h264_2mbps.mp4
gdc-2017/GTX1080Ti_Countdown_WebM_2kbps_variable_vp8.webm

As the file names show, Nvidia’s current countdown timer is unquestionably tied to the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti card reveal. Obviously, we have no official hardware specs or pricing, but the card will likely cost around $900 given that it will reside between the vanilla GTX 1080 ($600) and the GTX Titan X ($1,200) card. Here are the rumored details:

GTX 1080
GTX 1080 Ti
Titan X
GPU:
GP104-400
GP102
GP102
Process node:
16nm FinFet
16nm FinFet
16nm FinFet
CUDA cores
2,560
3,328
3,584
Base speed:
1,607MHz
1,503MHz
1,417MHz
Boost speed:
1,733MHz
1,623MHz
1,531MHz
Performance:
8.87 TFLOPS
10.8 TFLOPS
11 TFLOPS
Memory:
8GB GDDR5X
10GB GDDR5X
12GB GDDR5X
Memory speed:
10,000MHz
10,000MHz
10,000MHz
Memory bus:
256-bit
320-bit?
384-bit
Memory bandwidth:
320GB/s
480GB/s
480GB/s
TDP:
180 watts
250 watts
250 watts
Price:
$600
$900?
$1,200

Recently, the GTX 1080 Ti card was unofficially confirmed by 343 Industries and Microsoft by way of the retail packaging for Halo Wars 2. The game’s “Ultra” requirements include Nvidia’s unannounced card or AMD’s R9 Fury X GPU. Other requirements include a 64-bit copy of Windows 10, an Intel Core i7-6700K processor, or AMD’s FX-9590 CPU.

Nvidia’s upcoming GTX 1080 Ti arrives just before AMD floods the high-end graphics market with its Vega-based graphics cards. Team Red is expected to reveal its new lineup during the upcoming Capsaicin and Cream event during GDC 2017. According to AMD, this event will provide a glimpse into the Summer of Radeon by highlighting “the hottest new graphics and VR technologies propelling the game industry forward.”

More: Nvidia will probably flash its GTX 1080 Ti graphics card at GDC 2017 next week

As for when Nvidia will actually launch the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics card, it is expected to hit store shelves between March 20 and March 23. After that, a version for notebooks will likely be next on Nvidia’s roadmap if it’s not already mentioned during the GTX 1080 Ti reveal. After that, Nvidia is expected to move on to the GTX 20-Series based on a refresh of the Pascal graphics chip design.

Here are the rumored GTX 20 Series cards slated for 2017:

GTX 2080 Ti
GTX 2080
GTX 2070
GPU:
GP102
GP104
GP104
Memory (GDDR5X):
12GB
8GB
8GB
Memory Speed:
10Gbps
10Gbps
10Gbps
Memory Interface:
384-bit
256-bit
256-bit
Memory Bandwidth:
480GB/s
320GB/s
320GB/s

New VR game lets you experience the sinking of the Titanic, and explore the wreckage too

Why it matters to you

A Kickstarter project would allow people to relive the sinking of the Titanic and explore the wreckage in a way they never have been able to before through the use of virtual reality.

It’s been two decades since James Cameron retold the story of one of last century’s most infamous tragedies. Now, Titanic VR offers a chance to relive the vessel’s sinking and rediscovery all over again. The studio behind the project, Immersive VR Education, is seeking funds via Kickstarter.

“With various movies, books, and documentaries coming out over the past few years, the story of Titanic is one that has never left the public consciousness,” David Whelan, Immersive VR Education CEO, told Digital Trends, “And we feel it’s now time to tell this story using the medium of virtual reality so people can experience this in a way never thought possible.”

More: Ancient history meets modern technology: Lithomodos VR reconstructs the past

Titanic VR puts gamers in the role of a survivor onboard the ship prior to its sinking and, later, aboard a submersible exploring the wreckage. To ensure accuracy, Whelan and his team have turned to research books and thousands of pages of documents, including the plans and drawings used by the ship’s builders.

“When researching the characters and people onboard, thankfully, Titanic is very well-documented, and many pictures are available showing the survivors on the rescue ship the Carpathia — and even some of them in the lifeboats,” he said.

This isn’t Whelan’s first Kickstarter-funded VR endeavor — in fact, he and his team took backers to the moon and back with the Apollo 11 VR Experience. But Titanic VR is of special interest to the Irish company, whose offices are just a 90-minute drive from the vessel’s last port of call.

One of the team’s main aims is to make the experience resonate with everyone, not just students or history buffs. “We are building Titanic to appeal to gamers, historians, and the general public,” Whelan said. Gamers will be tasked with exploring the shipwreck in a remotely operated underwater vehicle.

Nearly 600 people have pledged 31,000 euros ($32,750 U.S.) of the 50,000 euro ($52,800) goal with a week left to go in the campaign. Whether or not the campaign finds fundings via Kickstarer, Whelan is determined to develop the game. “Not reaching our goal will slow us down but not stop us,” he said.

Google Research and Daydream are creating more realistic VR avatars

Why it matters to you

Interacting with someone in VR will become more immersive if Google Research and Daydream Labs accomplish their goal.

Being around someone using a virtual reality system can be an eerie experience. The typical VR headset fully hides the user’s eyes, making it hard to follow along with the action and interact with anyone using a system. When you’re inside a VR experience with another user, today’s systems don’t pass along facial expressions and so the social aspects and overall experience are hindered.

Google Research is looking to resolve that problem with a new project it is working on with Daydream Labs. By combining 3D computer vision, machine learning, and advanced rendering methods, the project aims to create more of a realistic solution that can convey a user’s identity, focus, and face.

More: Emteq wants to track your facial and eye movements for emotional interaction in VR

Basically, the solution uses a VR headset modified by SensoMotoric Instruments that includes a video camera and eye-tracking components to show a person’s facial variations while blinking and looking in certain directions. This information is overlaid inside the mixed reality environment using green screen technology, basically making it look like the VR headset is a scuba mask — the translucent effect is deliberate and intended to avoid the “uncanny valley” effect that can make avatars and robots come across as unnatural.

From there, this modified user representation is worked into VR and mixed reality environments. The experienced is completed by showing a more realistic and expressive view of the user including their facial expressions and the ability to see where the user is looking.

While the technology does nothing for the real-world headset user, it dramatically improves the experience inside a VR or mixed reality world. Users can interact more realistically, using facial expressions and nonverbal cues to greatly enhance the communication and social interaction possible in VR environments. While the gaming applications are obvious, more mundane and practical solutions like VR video conferencing would also be greatly improved.

There is no word yet on when this technology will make it to shipping products. Anyone who wants to delve into the details can visit the Google Research blog to learn more about how the pieces connect to create a much more realistic virtual representation of the VR user.

Gordon Ramsay’s father-in-law charged with hacking the chef’s computer

Why it matters to you

Blood may be thicker than water, but that doesn’t count if you’re an in-law. Gordon Ramsay’s father-in-law is being charged with hacking the ornery chef’s computer.

He’s known for his temper, so it’s no wonder that a family feud involving Gordon Ramsay is nothing less than a battle royale. On Tuesday, the famous(ly potty-mouthed) Michelin-starred chef took a step closer to justice at the expense of several of his in-laws. His father-in-law and three other members of the clan have been charged by the Met police with regard to computer hacking allegations that are now seven years old.

Chris Hutcheson, his sons Adam and Chris, and his daughter Orlanda Butland are now facing legal repercussions for the “illegal interception of messages on computers,” the Guardian reports. The Met police said in a statement, “The charges follow allegations that between 23 October 2010 and 3 March 2011, they conspired together to cause a computer to access programs and data held in any computer without authority, contrary to section 1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977.”

More: Millions of cars vulnerable to entry with hacked Android connected car apps

It’s a long fall from grace for Hutcheson, who served as the CEO of Gordon Ramsay Holdings for many years. But back in October 2010, Ramsay fired his father-in-law, claiming that his computers had been hacked and that Hutcheson was behind the leaking of emails between Ramsay and his wife (who happens to be Hutcheson’s daughter).

Charges facing the Hutcheson family manifested following an investigation conducted by detectives working on Operation Tuleta, which was initially started to investigate claims of hacking at newspapers. It’s one of several operations that launched following reports of phone hacking with regard to the United Kingdom media.

Chris, Adam, and Chris Hutcheson, along with Orlanda Butland, are scheduled to make an appearance at Westminster magistrates court on March 14. So let this serve as a warning to angry family members everywhere — there are apparently no ties that are strong enough to justify breaking into someone else’s inbox. Especially if that someone else is known for his temper.

Huawei’s Honor VR Camera could be the most portable 360-degree camera yet

Why it matters to you

Virtual reality is becoming more and more popular, but until now it has required larger cameras and expensive gear. The Honor VR Camera may help change that.

Huawei is looking to enter the virtual reality game. The company has announced the Honor VR Camera, a 360-degree clip-on camera that works with smartphones. The camera was created in partnership with Insta360, and it supports “3K photography,” as well as live-streaming capabilities.

We don’t yet know all the details about the new camera, however according to Huawei it will be launched internationally. It’s also not known if the camera will work with a range of different phones, or with just Huawei’s own phones. Last but not least, it’s currently unclear how much the device will cost — but it would be surprising to see it come in at any more than $350, which is the cost of the Samsung Gear 360. In any case, it’s likely we’ll hear more about the phone at Mobile World Congress.

More: Everything you need to know about the Huawei Honor V9

The release is certainly an interesting one, but it highlights a push by companies to launch virtual reality and 360-degree photography products. Samsung has a 360-degree camera of its own — however the camera is not as portable as Huawei’s new offering. It’s possible that cameras like this could help push 360-degree video among consumers — just as more mobile VR solutions like Daydream did for virtual reality.

M obile recording is likely to be what pushes 360-degree video into consumer consciousness. For example, the Samsung Gear 360 camera comes in at $350, offers 4K video recording, and works with Samsung’s smartphones. The Gear 360 looks slightly larger than Huawei’s offering and doesn’t clip to a smartphone.

The fact that the Huawei Honor VR Camera supports live-streaming is also a nice touch — platforms like Facebook Live have become extremely popular, not just for companies and publishers, but also for the average person. Facebook has also been pushing 360-degree video content, so the Honor VR Camera could be a big deal for Facebook Live.

Find places to hike, mountain bike, climb, and ski using REI’s mobile apps

Why it matters to you

Need help mapping your next outdoor adventure? REI’s apps have you covered for just about anything.

With more than 145 retail stores and a website filled with the latest and greatest equipment, REI is the largest outdoor gear retailer in the U.S. But anyone who is familiar with the company knows it is more than a gear shop, offering advice to hikers and climbers, organizing adventurous trips to far-flung places, and providing interesting in-store seminars, all while advocating for the conservation of wild places. The company even goes to great lengths to help its customers get outdoors, often organizing local activities. Now, with a whole suite of REI mobile apps, the company is bringing some of those same services to your phone.

There are eight apps, each of which has its own purpose. For instance, the Shopping App (iOS/Android) allows users to peruse REI’s online store for the gear they need on their outdoor adventures. Customers can search for specific items from a wide variety of brands, compare different products, and read reviews. They can also place orders either for home delivery or pick-up in their local REI store and pay for the gear from the app.

More: This solar-powered smart wallet features RFID-blocking technology too

Five of the apps all share similar functionality and are designed to help users find places to take part in their favorite outdoor activities. The Hiking Project (iOS/Android), MTB Project (iOS/Android), and the Powder Project (iOS/Android) each help their users find trails to hike, mountain bike, and ski, respectively, while the Trail Run Project (iOS/Android) and Mountain Project (iOS/Android) do the same for trail runners and climbers. Each program uses your phone’s GPS capabilities to find the best options nearby but they also have searchable databases for destinations that you may be traveling to. These apps provide access to hundreds of trails across the U.S., making them essential for any outdoor enthusiast.

The final two options include the National Park Guide and Maps app (iOS/Android) and the REI MasterCard (iOS/Android). The first of those offers trail maps, photos, and other data from America’s national parks, making it a must-have for anyone who likes to visit those wild places. Meanwhile, as the name implies, the credit card app allows users to apply for and manage their REI card.

You can find out more on each of these apps on the REI website, or install them directly from the App Store or the Google Play Store.

Google’s gigabit Webpass internet is expanding to Seattle and Denver

Why it matters to you

Google is bringing superfast Webpass internet to Seattle and Denver, where customers should see download and upload speeds of up to a gigabit.

Google Fiber, Google’s eponymous high-speed internet service, is expanding its wireline reach. On Wednesday, the search giant’s Webpass subsidiary published a job listing that makes passing reference to an unannounced “Seattle market.”  It’s for a general manger who’d be “directly responsible for the growth of […] local telecom network and revenue,” and who’d oversee construction and installation schedules.

In a related development, Webpass announced that it would expand to select residential markets in Denver. “[Customers whose] buildings are wired with Ethernet will be able to contact Webpass and sign up for superfast internet service,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

More: Out with infrastructure? Google Fiber may become entirely wireless in the future

Webpass offers unlimited downloads and uploads at speeds of up to 1Gbps for $60 a month in Boston, Miami, Oakland, Sand Diego, San Francisco. Access, the Google parent company responsible for Google Fiber, purchased it in October.

Unlike Google Fiber, Webpass doesn’t rely on fiber wire to deliver high-speed internet. Instead, it employs millimeter wave technology that beams high-frequency waves from powerful base stations to receivers mounted on the tops of buildings. It isn’t perfect — the signals are subject to atmospheric interference, network congestion, and the number of subscribers using the connection at any given time — but it’s often cheaper to deploy in particularly dense urban environments.

And it’s unlikely to face the sorts of legal challenges triggered by Google’s fiber efforts. AT&T, Charter, and Comcast have sued to stop city ordinances in Nashville and Louisville that would make it easier for Google to access utility polls.

More: Google Fiber, AT&T fiber turn Kentucky city into a gigabit battleground

Google Fiber has been in limbo, recently, pending a shift in expansion strategy. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, reduced the Access team’s staff and “paused” fiber rollouts in 10 cities. Currently, Google services nine metro areas, including Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Kansas City (in Missouri and Kansas), Nashville, Salt Lake City, and Provo, Utah. It’s scheduled to launch in Irvine, California; San Antonio, Texas; Louisville, Kentucky; and Huntsville, Alabama, in the coming months.

“We have refined our plan going forward to achieve these objectives,” Barrett wrote in a blog post announcing the layoffs. “It entails us making changes to focus our business and product strategy. Importantly, the plan enhances our focus on new technology and deployment methods to make superfast internet more abundant than it is today.”

At an Alphabet shareholder’s meeting earlier this year, chairman Eric Schmidt unveiled plans to test wireless gigabit internet service that wouldn’t require “[digging] up your garden.” In October 2016, Google gained approval from the United States Federal Communications Commission to begin testing “experimental transmitters” in as many as 24 metropolitan areas throughout the country.