Instagram now lets you save your live video broadcast to your phone

Why it matters to you

While Twitter and Facebook have long allowed you to save your live-streams, Instagram has lagged behind. That all changes today.

If it was good enough to share with the world, it’s probably good enough to save, right? That, at least, seems to be what Instagram thinks of your live video, as it now gives you the option of saving your broadcast to your phone when you’re done streaming. This is likely a welcome feature to users who also tend to share stories via, say, Twitter’s Periscope or Facebook Live. But while these two social media platforms have long allowed users to save their content when they’re done, this will be the first time Instagram introduces such a feature.

“Starting today, you’ll have the option to save your live video to your phone at the end of a broadcast,” Instagram announced via a blog post. Don’t worry — your home movies will still appear just as ephemeral to everyone else, as the live content will still disappear from the app itself when you’re finished. But you’ll have the option of holding onto your video and playing it back (for posterity) later. After all, what if, as Instagram suggests, “something exciting happens during your broadcast that you want to remember or share?”

More: Save Me: Five Ways To Save Photos From Instagram

In order to access this new feature, you’ll just have to tap the new Save option that will appear in the upper right corner of the Instagram app after you’re done broadcasting live to your followers. Then, just tap “Done,” and your video will be saved to your camera roll. Keep in mind though that you’ll only be able to save the video itself — not the comments, likes, number of viewers, or any live interactions.

“We are excited by how our community is using live video to connect with their friends and followers in the moment,” Instagram concluded. “This is just the first of many improvements we’ll be making to live stories this year.”

The Save feature has been made available today as part of Instagram version 10.12, and can be downloaded for both iOS and Android.

Meet Samantha: a smart sex robot that you need to seduce before you get busy

Why it matters to you

Engineer Sergi Santos has built a sex robot that responds differently according to how you treat it. And that’s just the start of his ambitions.

Do you ever stop and ponder what it would be like if Siri or Alexa possessed the same ability to answer everyday questions, but had a propensity for orgasms, was shaped (more or less) like a human woman, and was way more difficult to explain to your houseguests?

If so, you may be interested in Barcelona-based engineer Sergi Santos’ new robotic dolls. Called Samantha, the life-size dolls are designed to replicate, erm, sexual acts — but with artificial intelligence that means she’ll respond to different touches by showing supposed emotional reactions.

In essence, it’s a chatbot, but one with the added “bonus” of having a body to go alongside the voice. Touch Samantha’s hands and she’ll say things like “I love this,” while kissing her or touching her mouth will yield a different response. Other body parts also behave accordingly.

Oh, and occasionally she’ll request songs on Pandora to improve the mood!

More: RealDoll is building a fleet of AI-powered sex robots with customizable personalities

Whether a robot that you have to seduce is a step toward a consent-oriented approach to sex dolls or a weirdly reductive, gamified version of a human relationship remains to be seen (could it have hints of both?), but Samantha is certainly a unique way of spending that $5,374 paycheck that’s hanging around your bank account.

“Tools like [Amazon’s] Alexa are interesting, but the ultimate goal of everybody is to build something with a body and a brain, right?” Santos told Digital Trends. “I wanted to do something that would make my mother say ‘wow’ when she sees it. My mother never said that about any of the other things that I showed her. She’d always say they were funny and then go off and do something else. This project was different.”

Without getting into what Freud would make of that rationale, Santos insists there’s more to Samantha than simply cybercoitus. “I’ve got a Samantha in the family home that can give philosophy quotes or health information,” he continued.

Over time, he thinks the robot will evolve to be a more fleshed-out (no pun intended) companion, with the ability to link different touch sensitive body parts to verbal or communicative cues yielding all types of fun interactions. No, we don’t think we’ll be buying a Samantha robot to chat with our grandmas, but it’s hard to deny that he’s thinking big with his plans.

And with ambitions to make the software open source, who knows what will come out of the project long-term?

Battle of the bulge: Engineers eliminate camera bump with slide-out module

Why it matters to you

If you’re bugged by that bump on the back of your phone, the pull-out camera module eliminates it.

Does the camera bump on your sleek new smartphone have you down? Researchers have developed a concept camera that is 3.5mm thin, eliminating that bump at the back of the phone but with an odd compromise.

As smartphones slim down, cameras haven’t quite caught up — the glass optics required to snap those photos is tricky to thin out, so manufacturers compromised with a small bump at the back of the smartphone. Engineers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, however, have developed a solution: A modular camera unit that actually pulls out from the side of the smartphone, then retracts back into the phone when not in use.

More: The speedy stacked sensor of the Sony RX100 IV could be coming to smartphones

The camera is actually four sensors and mirrors to enable both front- and back-facing views. The team started with a single sensor, but the camera didn’t perform well with closeups. A second sensor was added and while that cleared up the closeup issue, there were stitching errors between the two views. With a set of four sensors, the team was able to eliminate the closeup issue and allows software to detect and remove the stitching errors.

The result is a camera that is half the height of a traditional smartphone camera, but with similar quality and a 20- megapixel resolution.

This smartphone concept does away with the camera bump. https://t.co/7DqJXHoBkJ pic.twitter.com/P1rUCumT4k

— PCWorld (@pcworld) March 13, 2017

The question the group faces now is if manufacturers — and consumers — are willing to forgo the usual for such a radically different smartphone camera than the universal built-in camera. While the concept is a bit odd, as PC World points out, the pop-out camera has the added benefit of security, since if someone does hack into your camera while it’s not in use, it’s tucked away inside the phone and can’t see anything anyways.

The pull-out smartphone camera joins the Fraunhofer Institute’s earlier imaging concepts, including a smartphone camera inspired by bug eyes and an app that uses only a smartphone camera to conduct spectral analysis of everyday objects.

Redmi 4A selling for $90 in India with 5-inch 720p display and impressive specs

Why it matters to you

While budget smartphones often seem to often have budget features, Xiaomi is proving that doesn’t have to be the case with its latest offering, the Redmi 4A.

Indian customers are getting yet another super affordable smartphone, this time from Xiaomi. Following the success of the Redmi Note 4 and Redmi Note 3, the Chinese smartphone maker is unveiling the latest piece of hardware to come out of the Redmi family — the 4A. You’ll only be able to buy it on Amazon India, and it’ll set customers back just $90. That means that it’s the cheapest mobile device Xiaomi has released to date in India.

But just because you’re not paying a lot doesn’t mean you’re not getting a lot, at least when it comes to the Redmi Note 4A’s specs. The phone boasts a 5-inch 720p display, Snapdragon 425 SoC with four 1.4GHz Cortex A53 cores, along with an Adreno 308 GPU, 2GB of RAM, 16GB storage, 13MP camera, 5MP front shooter, and a 3,120mAh battery. For those who need a bit more memory, there will also be an option for 32GB of storage. And as for its software, the new smartphone features the newest version of MIUI 8 (8.1.4.0) and runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow (which includes the security patch issued in December).

More: Xiaomi Mi 6 news and rumors

In keeping with tradition, the Redmi 4A is being made in India. Xiaomi has noted that more than 95 percent of its smartphones sold in the country are, in fact, manufactured there as well in an effort to keep things local. And to boost capacity, Xiaomi is planning on opening up a second factory in India, which will boost its productivity to an impressive one phone per second.

 You’ll be able to start buying the Redmi 4A (if you’re in India) beginning March 23 on Amazon India, and will have three colors options: dark grey, gold, and rose gold. It certainly seems like a good option for both your wallet and your needs, and could be promising for Xiaomi’s future in India and beyond.

HexH2O drone isn’t just waterproof — it can record below the surface, too

Why it matters to you

The HexH2O isn’t a DJI — but most of it’s parts are and it boasts weather-sealing and the ability to land on water.

Drones tend to be fair-weather friends, but one United Kingdom-based company begs to differ. The HexH2O Pro V2 is a quadcopter that can not only fly in the rain, but land, maneuver and even record on the water. The drone is the latest flagship from the all-weather drone company, QuadH2O.

While the drone comes from a less well-known company, the latest flagship uses a number of parts supplied by the drone giant, DJI, including the 4K X3 camera and gimbal. QuadH2O also borrows from DJI’s Lightbridge II that allows over a two-mile (3.5 kilometer) video download range and control is through the DJI Go app. The HexH2O also uses the N3 flight controller, with safety features like return home fail-safes intact as well. Even the copter’s propulsion system are DJI’s E800 motors.

More: Fathom One is a modular underwater drone that lets you explore the deep

While the HexH2O borrows from DJI, the drone is capable of flying through rain and snow. A buoy system means the drone can also safety land in the water. While the drone isn’t a submarine, it can record underwater while the upper portion of the drone floats, with the buoyancy aids keeping the camera just below the water’s surface.

While a crash-landing in water isn’t as disastrous, the HexH20 uses a fairly rigid set of tech specs for the air too, using six rotors and a 30-minute flight time in windless conditions but the ability to fly in as much as 25 mph winds. The drone’s arms also fold for more compact storage.

The DJI-developed camera offers 4K footage and 12 megapixel stills and also uses DJI’s gimbal for steadier footage.

Releasing on March 31, the HexH2O, is the company’s most advanced drone yet, building on a handful of consumer and search and rescue based water-friendly drones. As the company’s new flagship, the drone will launch with a hefty $6,449 price tag.

Environment-friendly startup is turning old fishing nets into 3D-printer fibers

Why it matters to you

The startup is diverting old trash from landfills to become something you can use in your 3D printer.

Whether you’re looking to save the planet or just cool new 3D printing materials, a U.K. startup called Fishy Filaments has something to offer. Started by materials scientist and geologist Ian Falconer, the project’s goal is to save discarded fishing nets from clogging up landfill sites by, instead, turning them into tomorrow’s 3D-printer filaments.

“In simple terms, I’m trying to set up a local plastics recycling company that transforms used fishing nets into a high-value, high-quality product for use in relatively low-cost fused filament 3D printers,” Falconer told Digital Trends.

There are multiple benefits to the quest, Falconer explained. As mentioned, taking used fishing nets and providing a clean, self-financing on-shore waste disposal system makes a lot of sense. It also potentially provides a local source of usable plastics that aren’t directly dependent on volatile oil prices or hazardous locations.

More: 3D-printing pen lets you print using plastic recycled from your own home

In 2016, Fishy Filaments demonstrated that its recycled fishing nets could be used by a commercially available, low-cost 3D printer. Now Falconer has launched a crowdfunding campaign with the aim of raising 5,000 pounds ($6,178) to take the project to the next level. While only a modest amount, the money raised will go toward a commercial feasibility study, requiring a new extruder for melting the netting strands together, along with a reel for collecting them.

So will we all be printing with Fishy Filaments a few years from now?

“The local-scale business model will limit its scalability to the amount of plastics available locally,” Falconer, who lives in Cornwall, on the southern coast of England, continued. “The potential, especially in the fisheries sector, is more for a regional or franchise-like model. Each fishery has a distinctive culture and set of target species defined by natural fish distribution. The practice in that fishery extends to net types and gear usage. That means different polymers used differently and in different volumes. From a recycling perspective, it means that technical processes and products developed to work in Cornwall might not work in, for example, Peterhead. Logically then Fishy Filaments Cornwall might spawn Fishy Filaments Peterhead, but their product lines would probably be different, which is no bad thing for a commercial concern.”

In other words, you’re probably not looking at the next unified mass-market filament, but it’s definitely a demonstration of how local thinking — combined with the latest in emerging technology — can produce some nifty results. Given that every area produces its own recyclable waste, all you need is some smart thinking (and a few 3D printers) to put it to good use.

If you’re interested, you can contribute to the crowdfunding campaign here. You may even get a spool or two of recycled fishing net filament out of it!

Outlook 2016 for Mac now works with the Touch Bar and all of those cool add-ins

Why it matters to you

Users of Outlook 2016 for Mac are no longer on the outside looking in after it gained support for add-ins and the MacBook Pro Touch Bar.

Microsoft has been working hard to bring its Office 2016 productivity suite up to date on Apple’s MacOS machines. As part of the effort, the company added MacBook Pro Touch Bar support for a number of Office apps in a recent update.

Now, Microsoft is making a couple of significant improvements to Outlook 2016 for Mac. Specifically, it’s adding Outlook to the list of MacOS applications with Touch Bar support, and it’s making add-in support available to production builds after the feature spent some time in Office Insider builds.

More: MacBook Pro Touch Bar support added to Office 2016 for all users

Touch Bar support in Outlook means that Apple’s OLED touchscreen will now respond to a variety of email- and calendar-based tasks. For example, when users compose emails or meeting requests, the Touch Bar will show off common formatting options. In addition, the Touch Bar can be used to switch between calendar views, as well as to join online meetings with a single tap when viewing the reminders window. Touch Bar support is available to Office 365 subscribers, as well as all Office 2016 for Mac customers.

Next up is support for Outlook add-ins, which are basically extensions to Outlook that add more functionality and tie to a variety of external systems. Add-ins are another Outlook feature that is making its way from the Office Insider program, and they work for all Office 2016 for Mac customers connecting to Exchange 2013 Service Pack 1 or higher, or to Office 365 or Outlook.com mailboxes.

Here are some of the add-ins that are now available to Outlook for Mac users:

• The Nimble add-in provides real-time insights about Outlook contacts.
• The Dynamics 365 add-in provides business intelligence and email-tracking functionality.
• Some supported external systems including Evernote, Trello, Microsoft Translator, Smartsheet, and Citrix ShareFile.
• The Boomerang add-in lets users add email reminders and schedule emails.
• Users can grant gifts via the Starbucks for Outlook add-in.
• The GIPHY add-in can help make emails more fun and expressive.

Using add-ins is easy enough. Once you’ve updated to the latest version of Outlook 2016 for Mac, just click on the “Store” icon in the Office ribbon. Next, search for the add-in you want to check out, and then toggle it on. You’ll see the add-in command show up in your inbox, and if you install an add-in on any Outlook for web, Windows, Mac, or iOS client, they’ll be available on any others.

The Evolution of Card Games

Online Casinos have changed the way we play our favourite card games, there’s no denying that fact, but just how much have the traditional table games been altered thanks to the Internet and the convenience of playing in your own home? Obviously, we no longer need to head to the casino or invite friends over to get our kicks but there’s more to this shift than meets the eye.

Poker is a key example of a game changing courtesy of the technological revolution as many of the game’s core principles have been lost to the digital medium. No longer are players tasked with reading their opponents behaviour to try and glean a clue about the strength of their hand simply because they can no longer see the other players at the table!

Aside of the lack of face to face play; online poker is generally swayed in the favour of the high rolling gambler as many exceptional players find themselves folding when the stakes get too high for fear of losing it all on one hand – betting patterns are all the player really has to go on in terms of reading their opponents and it’s a risky business.

Blackjack has suffered in a similar fashion as players no longer have the option of trying to read a dealer or try and count their way through the deck to slightly less honest success. The lack of face to face interaction has damaged the potential enjoyment for many players but the evolution of card games isn’t all negative.

Online card games now bring together players from around the world in a way that was never possible before; far short of a chance meeting in Vegas, how else could you play poker against players from around the world? The online revolution has brought players together and is promoting the games in a way that couldn’t have been achieved via the casinos alone.

Equally, the games are far more accessible for many players who may have shied away from the tables in a land based casino for fear of losing it all. Tables with incredibly low stakes are open to players who want to enjoy the game without risking huge losses alongside the no limits games for the higher rollers.

In brief, the evolution of traditional card games has been both a beneficial and a negative thing depending on your outlook. The one thing that remains certain is that players who prefer the traditional approach can still attend the casinos and those who embrace the developments can continue to enjoy the games how they see best.

Learn how to play the piano on your iPad with Skoove, a new music app

Why it matters to you

Learning how to play the piano can be expensive and hard — Skoove wants to address both those issues.

You may not become Mozart overnight, but there is nothing stopping you from trying now that Skoove, the 21st-century piano-learning platform, is available to download for free on your iPad. Over the course of the last two years, the previously browser-only platform has given eager musicians from 187 countries more than 200,000 lessons on tickling the ivories. Now that it is coming to iOS and the iPad, that number will only grow.

Promising “the most effective and complete way of learning the piano,” Skoove takes the traditional elements of learning how to play an instrument and combines them with modern technology. That results in an interactive platform that claims to help anyone from a true beginner to a seasoned expert learn a little something about the instrument.

More: The best music streaming services

Skoove features a virtual guide that offers advice throughout each and every lesson, providing real-time feedback and listening to the user as he or she practices. All elements of piano playing are included in the Skoove experience, including technique, improvisation, and music theory. During “lessons,” your iPad’s built-in microphone is actually capable of detecting the sounds of up to 10 simultaneous notes played on a piano, and notes are highlighted on-screen as budding musicians begin to find their way around a keyboard.

Much of the platform’s curriculum has been derived from experts in music, like the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, which is said to have “contributed their educational expertise to ensure Skoove’s piano lessons meet the needs of players of all levels.” Skoove also gathers information from its users to determine what students need to improve, providing an adaptive experience that helps ensure that practice makes perfect … or, at least, better.

Skoove is available around the world in English and German and is free. To access full access to lessons, one-on-one learning support, and other exclusive content, however, you will need to upgrade to Skoove Premium, which starts at $10 a month.

Stop that Skype install! Here are the chat apps you should be using on Windows or MacOS

In last few years, it seems like everyone has ditched AIM, Trillian, and the like for Facebook Messenger, iMessage, and plain-old text messages. And while person-to-person instant messaging is something we all do on our phones now, desktop clients are far from dead. In fact, they’re currently enjoying something of a renaissance.

While apps like Trillian and AIM have fallen to the wayside, companies like Slack have seized an opportunity. By reaching back into the mists of time and resurrecting the ancient traditions of mIRC, Slack has ignited an arms race between Silicon Valley’s biggest players. Between Microsoft, Facebook, and dozens of smaller companies, it’s safe to say that pretty much everyone is trying their hand at a chat app. Microsoft’s recently-introduced Teams is simply one of the more recent apps to join the fray.

More: The 10 best messaging apps for Android and iOS

Chat is the “next big thing,” at least for the moment. If you Google “chat apps,” for instance, you’ll be presented with a buffet of choices. And like a real buffet, once you have a look around, you’ll quickly realize that most of your options are just slight variations of the same thing. With so many choices, which chat app or apps should you be using? Well, there are really only two viable choices worth considering.

Short answer? Slack. Long answer? Slack and Discord. Here, we have some additional details, just in case you’re curious about why you should use either offering.

Slack

Slack is the de facto king for now, and for good reason. The software is slick, feature-rich, and pretty much ubiquitous. These days, you can’t throw a rock without hitting a business using Slack. It’s everywhere, not because it’s the default chat application for Windows or MacOS, but because it’s the best.

Why? The interface is clean, stylish, and straightforward. You have your channels on the left, your direct messages directly below. You also have Slackbot, which essentially amounts to Siri and Alexa’s less-helpful cousin. You can have Slackbot set reminders, and you can even customize it to respond to certain commands.

More: Windows 10 Cloud is on the way — but what is it, exactly?

With dozens of integrations — including support for a host of other productivity suites — Slack works well with just about every service out there, and businesses can further customize it to fit their needs. Plus, it’s a bit of a hot property right now. The Slack team is constantly updating the app to roll out new features, squash bugs, and make your chat experience as pleasant as possible.

Plus, it’s free. There are also no ads, or limits on how many users you can have. There are paid plans, and they provide a more robust experience and added storage space, but most users can get by with the free version.

Need another reason why Slack is the best chat app on the market today? It runs on Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, and directly in your web browser, without any major variations between platforms.

Download now from:

Slack iOS

Discord

If Slack is the best choice for the workplace, then Discord is the best for basically everything else. Designed as a text and voice chat client with gamers in mind, Discord provides a feature set that should be familiar to Slack users, or anyone who’s been a member of a guild in World of Warcraft. Don’t deny it — we’ve all been there.

Discord is less formal than other chat apps, which is refreshing since the current market is very business-oriented. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t powerful. Featuring robust chat support and a built-in Streamer-mode, this is a finely-crafted application that puts apps like Skype to shame.

Unlike other popular chat apps, you only need to create one username from which you can join multiple different “servers” at a time. No need to create a work login, or a personal login — it’s the same one used across the entire platform.

More: Google’s Allo messaging app might be sharing your searches

Once you create or join a server, you can set up individual channels for specific topics, and even join each one like a no-fuss conference call. It’s reliable, attractive, and well-designed. Best of all, it just works.

That infamous Apple line is important here because nobody wants to fiddle with preferences or settings simply to talk to their friends. In our experience, Discord provides clear, reliable voice quality, without the choppy performance issues you sometimes run into with in-game chat options.

With Discord, you can also turn off your mic if you’re not in the mood to talk, or just jump right into a real “chat room”-style conversation with just the touch of a button. Simple, easy, and reliable. It’s also worth noting that Discord also features apps on every major platform, including Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, and even Linux.

Download now from:

Discord iOS