From blah to blob: The history of Android emoji

A reflection on the yellow-bellied emoji that many of us have come to love over the years.

If you’ve been following along with what’s to come in Android O, then you’ve likely heard that Google is retiring its line of blob-like emoji. Plenty of loyal Android users have expressed their joy over the upgrade to circular emoji, conforming to the rest of the emoji standards set forth in the mobile world, but there is also a host of us who had long rued the day that this would happen. That day was World Emoji Day, which the Internet celebrated with great fanfare this week. It’s the day that Google reminded us it’s still retiring the blobs to that Great Big Emoji Farm in the sky. #blobvoyage

But Android didn’t always employ yellow blobs as its emoji schtick. A long time ago, in the heydays of Android, you were lucky to have emoji at all — and if you did, they looked nothing like iOS’s. But when those yellow blobs came along, they were the perfect response to what was once a homogenized world of skeuomorphic smiley faces and peaches resembling butts. 🍑

From cutesy to blobby to conventional

Android has a unique emoji history, partly because it didn’t even widely support them until much later in its lifecycle. In its early days, Android’s emoji were essentially antenna-eared doppelgängers. They were cutesy and mod-like, though they were also kind of silly compared to Apple’s more realistic glyphs.

What Android’s emojis looked like back in the day compared to iOS. (Via Emoji Blog)

Google only added native emoji support in 2013 with the release of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, and that’s when it revamped the glyphs to look like the yellow blobs we know today. They were pudgier back then, but eventually evolved to be just as expressive and as relatable as the iOS variants that had become a craze.

Android’s blobs were favorable, too, because they weren’t all overtly emotive like on the iPhone. Some of the characters were ambiguous enough that they passed off as double entendres, and though that’s part of why Google is revising the emoji anyway, it also gave Android users a sense of identity they didn’t have before: The identity of an amorphous blob that could be interpreted as needed.

The evolution of Android’s emoji, per Emojipedia.

The blobs were refined over the years, and Google eventually added more human-like emoji as the Unicode standard expanded so that blob was not always the only option. You can imagine the shock, then, when Google announced it would introduce a new aesthetic to an emoji system that seemed nearly perfect.

Google’s Rachel Been explained the overhaul of the emojis in a blog post after Google I/O 2017:

Our original emoji style was simple and flat with bold pops of color. The flat design became Android’s signature style, differentiating us from other platforms.

Over the years, as additional emoji were added across all of the categories, the set became stylistically divergent. Our design system wasn’t equipped to provide standards that unified the look and feel of all the illustrations across the many emoji categories. As a result, our emoji became inconsistent between old and new designs, making it difficult to quickly scan the keyboard to find the right emoji.

It’s a fair point. I’ve often reverted to using emoticon 😉 to express my like or disdain in a text message knowing very well that my Android emoji didn’t express the same sentiment on the iOS side.

The revamp of the emoji from blobs to conforming circles modifies the meaning behind some emoji.

The blog also cites the fact that Google is attempting to address “cross-platform emotional consistency” — that is, that Android’s emoji communicate the same message regardless of the platform. “We wanted to assure the user that when they sent an emoji to a friend, the message was communicated regardless of whether they are on iOS, Windows, Samsung, or any other platform,” wrote Been.

But what about how it changes the way that Android users communicate? The revamp of the emoji from blobs to conforming circles modifies the meaning behind some emoji. Take the face with cold sweat emoji, for example, which The Verge also references in its ode to the blob. This particular emoji is often used to denote nervousness or anxiety because of the sweat bead accompanying its decidedly blank expression. Android O changes the meaning entirely, however, offering up a more sickly interpretation instead. The emoji no longer shows nervousness, but tiredness, which is not the same thing.

On the left is the old style of the “face with cold sweat” emoji; on the right is as it appears in the Android O beta.

You’ll notice that the frowning face is also in line with the way it appears on Apple’s iOS, and that’s the real kicker here. Just like the Google Pixel was made to look like the iPhone, so will emojis have to conform to what iOS users see on their end. It is the way it is, and it’s the best way to sell devices to a crowd who often lament that Android doesn’t have what iOS does. But in the process, we all lose our identity as Android blobs.

Fortunately, we can choose which emoji to display by downloading other keyboard apps from the Play Store, or even by switching phone manufacturers. And if you’re an Allo user, you can download the blob sticker pack to keep the tradition going long after the blobs are out of commission.

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Google Home: Top 10 Tips & Tricks

Get the most from your Google Home by starting with these tips and tricks.

Using Google Home is fun. That’s not unique to just Google Home — telling any computer, no matter what size or shape, to do stuff by talking is fun. And the more you talk to your Google Home the more things you’ll find out about what it does and what it doesn’t do.

Here are some of the cool things you can do with Google Home once you get it home!

1. Set up IFTTT

Home automation and the world of tomorrow will be really cool when everything finally works with everything else, but in the meantime, there’s IFTTT.

The IFTTT service takes the things you say to your Google Home and sends commands to the other smart things you have, even if the two don’t talk the same language out of the box. Setting things up is easier than you think, and the list of smart devices supported by IFTTT is huge.

When I wake up in the morning, saying hello to Google Home has my Hue lamps (Hue applet) glowing a nice soft yellow, music playing through my stereo (Harmony applet) and a pot of coffee brewed, hot and ready (WeMo applet) when I step out of the shower. All because of IFTTT and Google Home. Your smart stuff can be just as cool if you set it up.

2. Find the settings

The settings for your Google Home are kind of hidden in the Google Home app. To find them, open the hamburger menu (the three lines in the upper left corner) and look for Devices in the list. You’ll see your Google Home there. Open its menu by tapping the three dots in the upper left corner and choose Settings.

Everything you need to get the most from your Google Home is in there!

3. Set up Guest Mode and Multi-user support

Your Google Home is a Chromecast Audio target, too. You can tell it to play a song and it will play through its own speaker if you didn’t tell it to play the music on another cast ready device.

Setting up guest mode lets anyone connect to your Google Home once they enter a four-digit PIN provided by the app. Do it while you’re poking around in the settings.

Multi-user support is also now available on Google Home, allowing it to easily differentiate between the people in your house who want to use this awesome accessory. Each person will need to teach Google Home their voice, but once you’ve done that you’ll be good to go!

4. Give it a new name

In the settings, you’ll see an entry for Name. It’s exactly what you think it is and you can rename your Google Home any time you like.

You can have fun with it, but if you have more than one it’s pretty handy for the name to describe where it sits like “Living Room” but you can name it whatever you like. Remember that anyone you give guest mode access to can see the name — even your mom.

5. Set up your preferences

We’re still in the settings here, and we’re looking at what’s in the More listing.

Here’s where you tell Google Home things like which music service to use when you want to play a song or two and which news sources to use when you want to know what goes on in the outside world. It’s also where you set your address and tell Home what to call you.

Look through them all to make sure Home does things the way you want it to.

6. Check your activity

One last thing in the More settings — scroll to the bottom and tap the My activity entry.

A web page will open with everything Google Home (and Assistant on your phone if you have a Pixel) has recorded, sorted by date and time. You can go through the list and play back exactly what Home heard, get the details about the recording or delete them.

As mentioned at the top of the page, only you have access to these records. But remember, Google “heard” what you said when Home tried to interpret it even if they can’t see the handy list.

7. Give your Chromecasts an easy name

You change the name of a Google Chromecast-ready device the same way you changed the name of Google Home. Now that you’re talking to send movies or music to them, make sure you give them a name that’s easy to remember and recognize.

Like Google Home itself, anyone with guest mode access will see this name so keep that in mind.

8. Play a movie

Settings can be boring so let’s close them.

Tell Google to play a movie from your chosen source or a video from YouTube on your cast ready TV, or tell it to play a song, playlist or genre from your music source on a cast ready device.

You can adjust the volume with your voice (say volume up or set volume to 50%) and tell it to stop playing when you’re ready to turn things off.

If you don’t have another Google cast device, you can always play music on your Google Home itself. It has a half decent speaker inside and can get plenty loud.

9. Mute the mic

Sometimes you might not want Google Home to be listening. It doesn’t care that you sing along to 80s music or about those sexy time sounds you make, but you might not want it to even be an option.

There’s a button on the back of Google Home — it’s the only button and it has a microphone on it — that toggles the mic. Press it and Home will tell you Microphone off and present four amber lights up top. Press it again and it tells you Microphone on and goes back to always listening mode.

10. Get your agenda

Google Home makes a pretty good assistant, too.

Ask Google to Tell me about my day and it digs through your data and uses the internet (and your settings) to tell you the time after a friendly greeting, give you your appointments for the day, tell you about any traffic issues if it thinks you might be driving to one of them, the weather and reads news from the sources you defined in step five above.

There’s plenty more things you can have Google Home do and say. Be sure to talk about what you’re doing with it in the comments!

Updated July 2017: This article was last updated to correct outdated information and to offer the best tips possible.

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Google makes it easier to find high-quality apps with new curated Play Store bundles

Find better apps from the humans at Google that use them every day.

Google has announced that it is bringing more order to the Play Store with a bunch of new human-curated app lists.

As part of an increased focus on its Editor’s Choice section, which began last month with ‘Android Excellence’, which focused on high-quality individual apps, Google will now post “stories” that highlight groups of its favorite programs based on theme.

These so-called editorial pages run the gamut from “Puzzle Games to Test Your Logic” to “Track Your Spending With These 5 Budgeting Apps”. The lists are relatively short, with a quick intro and a “last updated” timestamp, indicating that they will be refreshed from time to time.

The move represents the latest in a string of attempts to make the Play Store less of a maze for the average user, where often high-quality apps, especially those by individuals, are hidden in a sea of low-quality offerings, many of which “game” Google’s search results. And while Google still puts a lot of emphasis on its algorithmically-generated results, the focus on human curation in its Editor’s Choice section puts it on more equal footing with Apple’s App Store, which is getting a human-touch redesign with iOS 11.

These lists are launching in Australia, Canada, the UK, Japan, South Korea, and the U.S., with more countries to be added soon.

See all the Editor’s Choice editorial pages at the Play Store

HMD Global CEO leaves abruptly ahead of Nokia 8 launch

This is an odd one.

HMD Global (better known as just “HMD”), the company now making Nokia-branded phones, has parted ways with CEO Arto Nummela despite the company being in the middle of a re-launch of the Nokia brand. HMD calls this a “mutual agreement,” which sounds rather ominous and adds to the confusion over why Nummela would leave as the company seems as though it’s on an upswing.

HMD’s new Nokia 3, 5, and 6, as well as the nostalgia-laden Nokia 3310, have been on the radar of many since launching earlier in the year at the MWC trade show. The Nokia 8, which is expected to launch soon, is supposed to be a proper flagship device that will compete at the top end of the market above $600. It’s a far riskier bet than the budget-focused Nokia phones and one that could be a pivotal point for HMD’s strategy with the Nokia brand.

HMD’s board chairman Sam Chin had this to say on Nummela’s departure:

Arto Nummela has played a key role in the creation of the HMD Global operation, building the team and launching our first products. On behalf of the whole Board, I thank Arto for his contribution and wish him well in his future endeavors.

While HMD looks for a new CEO, the current President and founder Florian Seiche has taken on the acting CEO role immediately.

Most Secure Android Phone

• Best overall
• Best for typing
• Best for simplicity

Best overall

Google Pixel

See at Google
See at Verizon

The Google Pixel is the most secure Android phone you can buy, and one of the most secure phones of any available today.

Without disabling any security protections, the Pixel and Pixel XL are updated to keep you protected against known public security exploits and remote installations are monitored by Google’s scanning software which blocks potential malicious content. While security and privacy are two very different things, when you decide you want private things to stay private you need to make sure your phone is secure to keep them that way.

Bottom line: The open-source nature of Android and the dedicated Android security team work in tandem to make the Pixel and Pixel XL the best phones when it comes to security and privacy.

One more thing: The Pixel and Pixel XL also show us that a secure phone that’s great to use is a reality.

Why the Google Pixel is the best

A phone you want to use can also keep your data safe — and it comes in two sizes to fit everyone.

Every device that can connect to the internet has exploits available that break the default security configuration. If your phone isn’t getting timely updates to combat them, you’re simply not secure. We keep a vast amount of private — and priceless — data on our phones, and we all should care about keeping it safe from outside attacks. After you read all the agreements and decide what you’re willing to give away, you should expect the remainder to stay private.

The Pixel phones are updated directly from Google with the latest version of Android. Outside of any new features that may come with, the device security model has been updated and strengthened by a dedicated team who regularly audits and enhances the code used to build Android. On top of this, Google releases updates to the security model at the beginning of every month for the people who build Android phones to apply to its software. These are important. More important than any other update. the Nexus 6P will get every one of them for its lifespan.

Equally important, but often overlooked, is transparency. You shouldn’t have to trust a company when it says something is secure or updated, and the Android code for both the platform version and all updates is available for anyone to take a look at. Plenty of people do, and despite any opinions to the contrary, Android, as written, has proven to be a very secure platform. A phone like a Pixel is the embodiment of this.

Most important of all is that both Pixel phones are not only secure but are also phones that you’ll want to use. No compromise is needed and the 5-inch Pixel and 5.5-inch Pixel XL both share the same fast processor and other internal components. A great — and secure — experience is available for fans of both sizes.

Best for typing

BlackBerry KEYone

See at BlackBerry Mobile

BlackBerry is legendary when it comes to mobile device management and security, and follows that trend when using Android to power its phones. With the KEYone, you also get the keyboard experience that only BlackBerry can offer. The KEYone is a great way to enjoy Android for people who still want a physical keyboard on their phone, and peace of mind that knowing a company is concerned about security.

Bottom line: BlackBerry continues its reputation of excellent mobile security and having a great keyboard with the KEYone.

One more thing: The BlackBerry is usually the first phone to get the monthly Android Security update — often hours before Google releases the bulletin itself!

Best for simplicity

BlackBerry DTEK60

See at BlackBerry

BlackBerry says the DTEK60 is the world’s most secure Android phone.

The DTEK60 adds an enhanced version of the DTEK software tool to monitor application and system use to warn you when something isn’t playing nicely. While this software is available as an update for the Priv, the out-of-the-box experience on the DTEK60 lets BlackBerry claim the “most secure Android “title. It’s also pretty nice to use, too.

Bottom line:The DTEK60 is a welcome addition for many users and IT managers.

One more thing: Scott Wenger, VP of design and devices for BlackBerry says DTEK stands for “Detection.”

Conclusion

Media outlets like to give Android a bad reputation when it comes to security, and it’s difficult to blame them. Old, outdated software from manufacturers with no real concern for your security or privacy are the norm when it comes to phones running Android. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

The Google Pixel delivers a great smartphone experience that ticks all the boxes for reviewers and users alike, and with no modifications, your personal data is very safe. A team of security professionals and engineers are dedicated to keeping it that way. Any of the phones on our list will do a great job when it comes to security, but the overall experience makes the Google Pixel the best.

Best overall

Google Pixel

See at Google
See at Verizon

The Google Pixel is the most secure Android phone you can buy, and one of the most secure phones of any available today.

Without disabling any security protections, the Pixel and Pixel XL are updated to keep you protected against known public security exploits and remote installations are monitored by Google’s scanning software which blocks potential malicious content. While security and privacy are two very different things, when you decide you want private things to stay private you need to make sure your phone is secure to keep them that way.

Bottom line: The open-source nature of Android and the dedicated Android security team work in tandem to make the Pixel and Pixel XL the best phones when it comes to security and privacy.

One more thing: The Pixel and Pixel XL also show us that a secure phone that’s great to use is a reality.

Update July 2017: The Google Pixel remains our top pick, with the BlackBerry KEYone and DTEK60 rounding out the list.

Microsoft’s first self-published Xbox indie games are here

Microsoft has quietly launched the Xbox Creators Program on Xbox One. Finding it and its wares on the Xbox Store may prove tough, however. Back in March, Microsoft said the self-publishing program would exist in its own subsection of the marketplace, but that’s only gone live for Alpha ring Xbox Insiders according to Windows Central. Currently, there are a quintet of games on offer: puzzler Whispers in the Dark, rhythm game Stereo Aero, multiplayer party game with a sloth lead star Animal Rivals, space shooter Derelict Fleet, Star Fox clone Space Cat and Solitaire HD.

Prices range from free to $9.99, with Stereo Aereo coming in at $3.99.

Because I’m not an Insider, I wasn’t able to find any of these on the Marketplace home page, let alone a Creators Collection tab. You might be able to find them by scrolling through the “all games” tab, but without a way to order alphabetically, it’s anyone’s guess where they are on the page.

I was, however, able to manually search for each game by title both on console and the web. If you’re feeling adventurous, hit the links on the game names above and give ’em a shot.

Source: Windowa Central

Apple Releases iTunes 12.6.2 With Minor App and Performance Improvements

Alongside the release of macOS Sierra 10.12.6, which came after a two month beta testing period, Apple has introduced a new version of iTunes, iTunes 12.6.2.

iTunes 12.6.2 is a minor update, with Apple’s release notes saying only that it introduces minor app and performance improvements.

Today’s iTunes update can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for free using the Software Update function.

iTunes 12.6.2 follows iTunes 12.6.1, another minor update that was released back in May.

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Apple launches a machine learning blog to placate its researchers

Apple hasn’t always been very open about its technology or its research, but the company surprised everyone last year when AI director Russ Salakhutdinov announced that Apple would begin publishing its machine learning research. Shortly thereafter, it published its first AI paper in an academic journal and today Apple takes its transparency another step with the debut of its Machine Learning Journal.

In a short welcome post on the new blog, the company said, “Here, you can read posts written by Apple engineers about their work using machine learning technologies to help build innovative products for millions of people around the world.” And the post encourages researchers, students, engineers and developers to contact the journal with any questions or feedback.

The first and only research post so far describes the findings and methods from the academic paper Apple published last year. It’s all about how to use synthetic images, which are easier and cheaper to use than real photos, to train AI, and how to make sure those synthetic images look as real as possible. The post is fairly long with quite a few descriptive figures, graphs and GIFs mixed in.

Apple’s penchant for secrecy has likely kept some researchers from working for the company. In such competitive fields like AI and machine learning, researchers would rather their work be recognized and not kept secret by companies like Apple. Steps towards engagement, like academic publications and an online journal, could do a lot to attract more talent to the company.

It’s unclear how often Apple’s team will post to the journal, but it will reportedly do so throughout the year.

Via: 9to5Mac

Source: Apple Machine Learning Journal

UK health body: Don’t treat vaping like smoking

Public Health England has recommended a lighter approach to e-cigarette rules and regulations in order to support vaping as a means of quitting regular cancer sticks. The body has published its new Tobacco Control Plan, which sets out the various ways it will help people kick the habit, with one of the primary goals to reduce the number of adults in England who smoke from 15.5 percent to 12 percent or less by 2022. Data would suggest e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful than normal smokes in the long-term, leading Public Health England to recommend we don’t create barriers that stop people making the switch.

New regulations related to the sale of vaping products came into force in the UK this May, many of which are good for the consumer. All e-cigarettes and e-liquid refills need to include safety warnings, for example, and be tamperproof. But the laws also take into account the addictive nature of nicotine, and thus impose strict restrictions on the volume of e-liquid refills and maximum nicotine concentration, among other things. Depending on what happens with Brexit, though, one day we might not be beholden to the EU’s Tobacco Products Directive. Public Health England believes this hypothetical scenario could present an opportunity to draft rules that acknowledge vaping, to some extent, as a healthier alternative to smoke.

The body also recommends that companies should not “routinely” include e-cigarettes as part of their no smoking policies. In other words, they should decide whether spaces actually need to be vape-free zones as well as smoke-free zones, rather than counting all methods of nicotine delivery as equal. As part of the Tobacco Control Plan, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will also make sure its review process “is fit for purpose” so that more e-cigarettes might be approved and made available through the NHS as smoking cessation aids.

Via: The Register

Source: Department of Health

NBC’s twice-daily Snapchat news show is live

If you’re reading this, there’s a real chance that you don’t turn on the TV (if you even have one) when you’re looking for news — you’re more likely to check the web or a favorite mobile app. And NBC News knows it. The network is launching a twice-daily Snapchat news show, Stay Tuned, to keep the smartphone crowd up to speed. Each 3-minute clip is effectively a condensed, slightly more “youthful” take on a conventional broadcast. The show isn’t talking down to viewers, NBC says, but you will see Snapchat-like captions for recorded quotes and other attempts to match the style you expect on the service.

NBC veterans Gadi Schwartz and Savannah Sellers are hosting. You’ll normally see new videos at 7AM and 4PM Eastern, but Stay Tuned will be flexible. You may see breaking news or special reports.

This is Snapchat’s first daily news show, and reflects just how important Snapchat has become as a platform (even with Facebook’s attempts to steal its thunder). It’s at least as important for NBC and other broadcasters, though. This is an acknowledgment that there may be an entire generation that won’t regularly watch NBC video so long as it’s confined to TV or news-specific online sources. Daily Snapchat news shows could keep news giants like NBC in your mind when they’d otherwise be kicked to the curb.

Source: TechCrunch