Windows 10 Fall Creators Update puts a spit polish on the world’s best OS

Windows 10 continues to evolve, with Microsoft moving to a biannual update schedule that already saw the Creators Update released in April 2017. Now, the company is pushing the Fall Creators Update to the Windows 10 masses, bringing a relatively minor update that nevertheless offers a slew of large and small improvements to Microsoft’s most important operating system.

The update won’t arrive for everyone all at once. Microsoft is carefully staging the major Windows 10 updates lately, sending them to known good configurations first and then rolling them out slowly to other machines. If you want to install the update immediately, then you can download the Update Assistant app and use it to get all of the new features and functionality.

Speaking of features and functionality, Microsoft made some bold announcements at its Build 2017 event. Much of that hasn’t actually arrived with Fall Creators Update, including the new Timeline feature for allowing users to go back to previous tasks and documents on their local PC and on connected smartphones, the new Cloud Clipboard feature, and other major enhancements.

In fact, Fall Creators Update might be as notable for what hasn’t arrived. Nevertheless, we’ve covered what’s most interesting in the update and what you’re likely to notice once you’ve updated your PC and gotten down to work and play.

New and updated apps

Photos app

Microsoft made a bunch of noise about a new Story Remix app that would be making its way to Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. That app never materialized, however, and many of its features — such as inking in video and adding special effects — were pushed off into the future.

What has arrived with Fall Creators update, however, are some nice enhancements to the Windows 10 Photos app that makes it much easier to perform simple video edits and to create new videos by dragging and dropping images and clips. Essentially, the Photos app has taken on some of the functionality that was once provided by the Windows Movie Maker app, only in a simpler Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app format.

Starting a new project is as simple as clicking on “Create” in the new Photos app, which lets you start a new video project by selecting videos and photos from your collection, or grab an existing project to work on. Once you’ve selected your assets, the Photos app will create a default video and offer to create a new remix just by hitting the very prominent button.

Then, you can choose to edit the resulting video to add your own personal touch. The Photos app allows you to easily drag and drop images and video to and from the timeline and perform a number of simple editing functions such as applying themes, adding music, and adding text and video effects. We didn’t see the 3D and Ink support that has been demonstrated, and so that functionality might be coming in an update.

In addition to the video remix features, you can now directly edit videos within the Photos app. Functionality is limited, but you can trim video, add a slow-motion effect, grab image frames from a video, and draw on the video using Windows Ink. That’s not a ton of functionality, but it’s easier than jumping out to a third-party editor when you just need to make a few quick changes.

In our brief testing, we found the new video remix and editing functionality to be just fine for easily creating short videos with a fun and attractive look and feel. It’s also easy to do the very lightest of video editing on existing clips. However, the new feature set doesn’t fully replace Windows Movie Maker, and doesn’t provide much competition to Apple’s iMovie on MacOS.

Microsoft is clearly aiming at amateur creative types looking to impress friends and family rather than professionals or even semi-pros who need more meaningful control over video production. As with Creators Update, Fall Creators Update is a bit oversold when it comes to offering innovation and value to actual creators.

Windows Mixed Reality Viewer

Windows 10 went in a decidedly 3D-oriented direction with Creators Update, and Microsoft maintained some of that focus with the Fall Creators Update. The company rolled out Paint 3D in the last update, which we found to be lacking in advanced functionality, and now it’s introduced the Windows Mixed Reality Viewer to make it easier to view 3D models and access them from the Remix3D online community. There’s even a “mixed reality” mode that can incorporate a 3D model into a simple mixed reality environment using a PC’s webcam.

In addition, you can transfer a 3D model from the Windows Mixed Reality Viewer and edit it in Paint 3D. There, you can apply a number of editing functions to touch up the model and then save it as a project that can then be uploaded to Remix 3D. If you have a 3D printer, then you can use the Mixed Reality Viewer to get a physical copy of a 3D model.

As with the video remix functionality, the Mixed Reality Viewer is limited in functionality and really just provides a taste of what’s possible with creating and working with 3D models.

Windows Mixed Reality becomes real

While it’s not specific to Fall Creators Update, Microsoft’s OEM partners are also shipping their relatively low-cost Windows Mixed Reality headsets alongside the update. That means that starting October 17, you’ll be able to pick up a new headset to use Windows Mixed Reality apps using the software platform that’s now fully complete.

User interface experience gets revamped

Fall Creators Update brings a number of large and small improvements to the overall user interface (UI), with the goal of making Windows 10 a more informative, efficient, and productive environment. There are too many changes to cover here, and so we’ll concentrate on some of the most visible and important enhancements.

Fluent Design

Microsoft has some serious plans to revamp the Windows 10 UI to make it more attractive, more dynamic, and to work better on different kind of machines like tablets, 2-in-1s, and more. It introduced the Fluent Design System at Build 2017 as the new set of tools available to developers (and Microsoft engineers themselves) to build better and more visually appealing and useful apps.

Fluent Design hasn’t made its way too deeply into Windows 10 yet, showing up in only a handful of apps and UI elements.

Take the Windows 10 Calculator app, for example, It’s received the nifty transparency effect, which you can see in the following screenshot if you look closely enough.

Start Menu and Action Center

The Action Center is an important Windows 10 element that provides access to a notifications and quick access buttons for a number of important system settings and features. The Start Menu is equally important, providing access to all of your applications via a traditional list and Live Tile icons. In Fall Creators Update, Microsoft made a number of changes to both tools that make them more attractive and usable.

First, the Start Menu and Action Center both received the Fluent Design treatment, adding in the acrylic design element that provides transparency and depth to UI elements. The differences from Creators Update are subtle, but they do provide a hint as to how Windows 10 will eventually appear when Microsoft and more developers use Fluent Design throughout the OS and apps.

Next, both the Start Menu and the Action Center have received some organizational refreshes. The Start Menu has received new context menu icons and it’s easier to resize, including diagonally. The Action Center has received a more striking rework, with a much clearer hierarchy of notifications and a clearer separation between notification groups. Notification controls, such as an arrow to move toast notifications into the Action Center rather than a confusing “X,” were also reworked to make notifications easier to manage.

In addition to those changes, a number of other UI improvements are scattered throughout Fall Creators Update. For example, users can now share directly from the right-click context menu, and contacts are now included in the share options. Another example of a helpful change is the addition of UWP apps to the Volume Mixer.

The overall impact of these changes is to make Windows 10 just a little more functional and a little more visually dynamic. The UI remains mostly the same and many users likely won’t even notice the changes after the update installation is finished. Mostly, Fall Creators Update gives a hint of more significant changes to come.

Edge gets some spit and polish

Microsoft made a number of changes to its Edge browser in Fall Creators Update. Edge has already evolved into a competitive browser in terms of features and functionality, with extension support (that’s still limited by Microsoft caution in releasing only high-quality offerings), solid performance, and even improved battery life.

Fall Creators Update doesn’t offer any improvements that will necessarily drive users to Edge and improve its market share overnight. Nevertheless, there’s enough new stuff that if you’re an Edge user already, you’ll likely find something to like.

Improved PDF support

Edge is the default PDF reader in Windows 10, and Microsoft has done some work to make it a better experience for anyone who doesn’t install an alternative. Edge can now display a PDF tablet of contents to make it easier to navigate through long documents, and PDF forms can now be completed directly from within Edge. If you have a pen-equipped tablet or 2-in-1, then you can now take notes in PDFs using Windows 10 Ink.

Better ebook experience

Microsoft also worked to make Edge a better EPUB ebook reader. Users can now annotate ebooks, including adding highlights and notes and underlining important passages. Text can also be copied, a boon for conducting research, and there’s new “Ask Cortana” support that makes it easy to look up unknown words and access interesting information on ebook topics. Finally, ebooks that are purchased from the Microsoft Store are synced across devices, including reading progress, bookmarks, and annotations.

There are also a number of smaller improvements that generally make Edge more convenient and competitive with other popular versions. For example, there’s now an official full-screen mode that can be accessed either by heading to the menu and selecting the icon, or by hitting F11. Some subtle Fluent Design touches also make things a little prettier, such as when viewing tab previews from the tab bar.

Also, web sites can now be pinned to the task bar, making it easy to head straight to favorite internet locations, and favorites can be edited. It’s also easier to save a favorite web site with the new menu view as part of the save dialog. Finally, Edge has a new “read aloud” feature that works with web pages, PDF documents, and EPUB ebooks.

With the improvements to Edge in Fall Creators Update and the availability of Edge for iOS and Android devices  that will soon sync passwords, bookmarks, and more, Edge has become a highly competent browser that competes well with Chrome. And if you do switch over, then you’ll benefit from better integration with Windows 10 and some improved battery life to go along with it.

Cortana continues to learn new tricks

Microsoft’s Cortana personal digital assistant is an important part of Windows 10. Not only does she provide some core services on a Windows 10 PC, including search, setting reminders, and more, but she also ties Windows 10 PCs to smartphones in many important ways. Fall Creators Update doesn’t completely overhaul Cortana, but it does clean some things up and make for a generally more useful assistant.

First, Cortana web search results now show up directly in Cortana rather than opening a browser windows. That makes quick searches more efficient, and often the answer you’re looking for is right there next to the Cortana button.

In addition, Microsoft continues to work to pull as many settings as possible into the main Windows 10 Settings app. While Control Panel remains just as stocked as ever, the company did manage to move Cortana’s settings out of her own interface and into the Settings app. That means that there’s at least one less place to go to change a configuration, something that Microsoft will hopefully complete sooner rather than later.

My People finally shows up

The My People feature was originally slated to arrive with Creators Update, but as with a few Windows 10 features lately, it failed to arrive on schedule. It’s made its way to Fall Creators Update, however, allowing users to quickly access contacts, easily kick off communications tasks, and pin contacts to the taskbar for immediate access.

That’s not to say that My People is a transformative feature. It’s more of a nice convenience at this point, making it easier to perform contact-sensitive tasks like sending Skype messages and sharing things to specific people. Click on the My People hub on the taskbar and select a contact, or click on a contact pinned to the taskbar, and you’ll have a variety of options available depending on what apps and services you have installed (Microsoft will be adding new services to the feature as time goes by).

For example, by default, you can access the contact record and make edits, along with seeing any events scheduled with the contact. You can access a list of recent email messages sent to and from that contact, if any exist. And, you can initiate a Skype call.

You can pin up to three contacts to the taskbar. If you access more contacts, then the “excess” will reside in the My People hub. Overall, the feature works well and really does provide for a more contact-centric experience. At the same time, it’s a feature that’s waiting for more third-party support to really take off.

Work more closely with your smartphone

If you have an Android smartphone, then right off the bat you’ll appreciate Fall Creators Update. Your PC will now tell you when you missed a call on your smartphone (as long as you have them connected via Cortana), and you can pick up on certain documents (e.g., Office docs and Edge web pages) on your PC that you’ve accessed on your smartphone. That’s not quite the Windows Timeline and Cloud Clipboard that Microsoft promised at Build 2017, but it’s something.

Microsoft also laid the groundwork in Fall Creators Update for even better integration with smartphones with the new “Continue on PC” feature.

Note as well that there’s now a smartphone-specific section in the Settings app where you can add and manage smartphones that are connected to your PC. Presumably, this section will get more fleshed out as Microsoft adds in more “Continue on PC” functionality.

We already covered how Continue on PC is configured and how it works, and that process hasn’t changed in the final Fall Creators Update build. Simply put, it’s easy enough to add your Android or iOS smartphone to the list of supported devices tied to your Microsoft Account, and then send web pages (for now) to an individual PC or to all of your Windows 10 PCs and then open them in Microsoft’s Edge browser.

For now, though, it’s really just a tease of more powerful functionality to come. When the feature handles any document type and presumably more than just Microsoft’s own apps, then we’ll be talking about something useful. Windows Timeline and the Cloud Clipboard will be even more exciting additions. That means you’ll just need to stay tuned for more at this point.

OneDrive Files on Demand

One of the more significant updates to Fall Creators Update is the new OneDrive Files On-Demand feature. In the past, OneDrive presented problems for Windows 10 users — you could select some or all files and folders to download and sync to your PC, but unless you synced everything you wouldn’t have access to those files that weren’t downloaded. That posed a problem on machines with limited local storage space.

With OneDrive Files On-Demand in Windows 10, Microsoft essentially brought back the placeholders from Windows 8 that let you see those files that were in OneDrive but not on your local machine. Files On-Demand lets you select just some files and folders to download and sync, while showing you everything that’s available in OneDrive. Whatever’s not available locally can be accessed — you guessed it — on demand, letting you save on local storage space while still being able to access any file you have stored on OneDrive.

If you turn on Files On-Demand, then you’ll see a subtle change to File Explorer when you’re in your OneDrive folder. There’s a new icon next to each file that gives you an idea of where it’s currently located — a cloud for online-only, a green checkmark in an open circle for files that you’ve accessed and that were downloaded to your machine, and a green checkmark in a filled-in circle for files that you’ve selected to always be available offline.

You won’t notice much difference when using OneDrive with the Files On-Demand feature turned on. You’ll get a notice when you delete a file, for instance, letting you know that although you deleted it locally it might still be available on OneDrive. Note that if you enable Files On-Demand on an updated system with a limited selection of synced files and folders, then you might need to go into OneDrive settings and select the folders you now want to show up on-demand.

Otherwise, the feature is seamless and works as advertised — as long as you’re online. You’ll be able to work with all of your OneDrive files as if they’re all stored locally while saving potentially significant amounts of storage space.

Eye control for better accessibility

Microsoft has made a concerted effort to make Windows 10 the most accessible OS ever, and it shows. There are a host of features that make the UI and apps easier to use for people with a number of physical challenges, and Fall Creators Update introduces a new feature that makes Windows 10 usable by people who can’t use a keyboard and mouse.

That feature is eye control, and it uses hardware like the Tobii Eye Tracker to let users control everything on the screen just by glancing and holding on screen elements. It’s an excellent feature that truly makes Windows 10 a more effective OS for anyone for whom using a traditional keyboard and mouse is problematic.

New pen options

If you use a pen with your Windows 10 tablet or convertible 2-in-1, then Microsoft added a few new features just for you. You can use the new “Find my Pen” feature to show you where you last used your pen for those times when you can’t remember where you put it. And, you can use the pen as a PowerPoint Clicker in the latest versions of Office.

Performance got some nifty improvements

As usual, Fall Creators Update brings a host of performance and information enhancements that both improve your system’s speed and efficiency, but also make it easier to see just how things are running. There’ve been far too many updates to cover them all here, and so we’ll provide some of the highlights.

Delivery optimization

Microsoft has improved how updates are downloaded to help minimize bandwidth and give you more control. If you dig into Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and then select “Advanced Settings and then Delivery Optimization,” you’ll find a number of settings for how much bandwidth to allocate for downloading and uploading updates (for sharing with other PCs) along with a maximum upload limit.

You can also open an activity monitor to see just how much data you’ve downloaded and uploaded to keep your machine (and others’ machines) updated. You’ll get a total amount of data transferred for the month along with an average download speed.

GPU performance graph

Another useful tidbit of information hides in the Task Manager, where you can now see how your GPU is performing. This can be helpful for gaming and for making sure your video editing software is using your GPU’s power to speed up rendering.

Battery icon power settings flyout

If you’ve ever wished there was an easier way to quickly change your notebook’s battery setting to speed things up or slow them down to save some power, then Fall Creators Update has you covered. If you click on the battery icon on the taskbar, you’ll now be presented with a simple slider that lets you change power settings on the fly.

System health info

If you head to Settings > System > About, you can gain a quick glimpse at your system’s health status. Again, it’s a small change but it makes it that much easier to make sure that all of the basic systems are working as they should.

Gaming improvements

Windows 10’s gaming features received some small but welcome changes in Fall Creators Update. First, the Game Bar now includes a button to turn on Game Mode, skipping the added step of accessing Game Bar settings to turn it on. In addition, there’s now an HDR option for capturing screenshots, and a number of enhancements were made to the gaming section in the Settings apps. For example, there’s a new page that allows for easily checking and fixing Xbox networking to ensure that your Xbox multiplayer sessions will be fast and efficient.

Security

Microsoft has been focusing heavily on improving security and privacy in Windows 10. Fall Creators Update continues that trend, adding in a number of new privacy settings to let users gain better control over the information that’s passed to Microsoft servers. And Windows Defender now includes ransomware protections by controlling how protected folders are accessed. Microsoft also made it possible to recover your PIN and password directly from the lock screen, a real convenience.

Conclusion

Windows 10 has evolved into a robust and modern OS that offers great performance, an easy-to-use interface that offers some real value, and support for both legacy Windows desktop apps and the newer UWP apps that offer enhanced security and performance. It’s the best PC OS, bar none.

Fall Creators Update mostly just cleans things up and fleshes out some of the core components. The Edge browser, for example, now feels more complete, and it brings some enhanced PDF and ebook support that makes Edge — and Windows 10 by extension — feel more like a real player. The UI is getting prettier and more cohesive with each major update, and Fall Creators Update provides a hint of where Microsoft is heading with the OS’s look and feel.

At the same time, Fall Creators Update doesn’t bring any truly major enhancements that truly pushes Windows 10 forward as the industry’s most innovative OS. Much of those truly futuristic features, such as the Timeline function that will make it so much easier to pick up with prior tasks and continue them on different devices, have been delayed until a next major update. That makes Fall Creators Update a worthy next step in Windows 10’s evolution, but not a true revolution.

As we noted in our Creators Update review earlier this year, the biggest problem wasn’t the update itself, but rather how the update fell short of Microsoft’s hype. The same applies with Fall Creators Update, where Microsoft made some serious promises at Build 2017 that simply haven’t yet materialized.

That makes Fall Creators Update a nice update, but nothing that’s going to change any Windows 10 user’s computing life. That’s not to say that the overall Windows 10 ecosystem is disappointing. It’s not, with a host of excellent Windows 10 PCs across just about every conceivable form factor and a wave of Windows Mixed Reality headsets that makes Windows 10 perhaps the best virtual reality (VR) platform around.

Jam out to your favorite tunes with Plex for Android Auto

The app will be available in a few days.

Android Auto is slowly but surely expanding to more hardware and gaining additional software support, and since its inception, one of the strong suits for the platform has been its use for listening to music. Plex has just announced that it’ll soon be rolling out its own Android Auto app, and from what we’ve seen so far, it looks really nice.

Plex can be used for storing videos and music files, and while it should probably go without saying, you won’t be able to watch any of your movies or TV shows using the Android Auto app. However, you will be able to access all of the songs that you have stored on your Plex account.

Android Auto can be used on dashboard units and through an app on your phone, and Plex has designed unique interfaces for both options that give you large, easy-to-see controls so that you can safely handle your music playback while behind the wheel. You can browse through your music by you’re created playlists, songs you’ve recently played/added, and by artists. And, as you’d expect, there are controls for pausing a song and skipping to the next track once you’ve selected a title to listen to.

Plex’s Android Auto app will be rolling out in the coming days.

Beginner’s guide to Plex

Best adult apps for Android

In an ocean of adult apps done poorly, these rise to the top.

If you’re reading this, chances are you have an awesome pocket computer running Android at your disposal. Today’s Android phones and tablets can pretty much do anything, and that includes things of an adult nature. We want to help you find and see that content the best way possible.

We’re not here to condone or condemn anyone or anything — and by all means let’s keep things legal — but we feel that adults using their Androids to peruse adult content is just fine and dandy. We bet a good number of you guys and gals feel the same way.

If you don’t agree, that’s cool, too. We also are firm believers in the “live and let live” philosophy, and fully respect your opinion and support your right to have it. We also advise you to not click through the break if you think you might be offended. We love you regardless.

Don’t worry, we’re not trying to push any boundaries or limits (too terribly far), we just want to share a list of the best ways to find and browse adult content on Android. And do it in an adult way.

Namaste my friend. Namaste.

There are countless ways to see adult content on your Android out there, covering a broad range of subject matter. This is our list of the best of the best, and ones we feel confident to recommend. Be sure to tell us in the comments if you know another we should have a look at. Sorting through apps is a tough job, and we always love hearing input about the great stuff we need to check out.

Daydream VR

You know plenty of people are interested in Virtual Reality adult entertainment. A new way to interact with video or an app, VR lends itself to the adult world perfectly.

Daydream is already proving to be one of the best ways to experience adult VR and the platform is only going to keep growing. Immersing yourself into a VR world is a step above just watching it play. Daydream helps you get there.

Download: Google Daydream (free on supported devices)

More: The best adult apps in VR

How to watch porn on Google Daydream

How to watch porn on Samsung Gear VR

PornHub

The current king of adult videos for Android. And probably every other platform.

PornHub is a safe way to see adult videos and pictures from any device, and they have a pretty good app for Android. Looking at porn online can be a messy affair, with malicious trackers and ads littering just about every site. PornHub is different. Yes, they still make money from ads — and we don’t hold that against them at all — but you won’t find the truly dangerous stuff that can cause damage to your phone there. And with their app, there are no ads at all.

The app also includes PornHub’s community features, uses a simple and discreet icon and has password locking for the video player. It’s basically everything you would want in an app designed to look at porn — it’s safe, it’s private, and it’s free. Fire up your browser and download PornHub from the link below.

Download: PornHub (free)

MiKandi

If you’re looking for a bit of everything sexy, kinky or naughty, MiKandi is where you’ll want to start. Simply put, it’s the best place to get curated adult theme applications for Android. Whether you want something silly that involves jiggling boobs, or want to see some gritty adult movie action, MiKandi has you covered.

MiKandi is its own app store and uses its own virtual currency system. You’ll find plenty of things that are free and every taste is covered. You will need to register with MiKandi to download and install apps, but there’s really no reason not to. Millions of others have, and they don’t spam you or share your details. It’s worth it to know that you’re installing apps that have been weeded through and the malware and garbage were thrown out.

To install the free MiKandi store, fire up the browser on your phone and here:

Download: MiKandi (free)

Weed Maps

Cannabis is now legal for medical or recreational use in over half the United States, including Washington, D.C. An important part of cannabis legalization is to treat it properly and support legal vendors who aren’t selling a dime-bag to your kids. Google can help you here, so can word of mouth, but like most everything else there’s an app for that!

We do not endorse marijuana use where it is not legal. Know your laws and follow them accordingly.

That said, Weed Maps is wonderfully done, and will help you locate what you’re looking for in the places where it’s legal to sell it. You won’t find anything about Craigslist dealers or shady online operations here.

Weed Maps not only helps you find where to buy marijuana, it also tells you about discounts, exclusive offers, and daily deals. Add in a section for reviews and a social network, and you have the makings of a great app for patients and connoisseurs alike.

Download: Weed Maps Marijuana Strains (free)

Tumblr

Tumblr is a great place to find blogs abut every subject you can imagine. Some are pretty amateurish, some much more professional, but the beauty of it all is having everything in one place — and in one app. When it comes to adult content, nothing changes.

You’ll find everything at Tumblr. From the mostly tame to the extreme and graphic. From pros and amateurs alike. Whether you’re looking for boys, girls or folks who don’t identify with either (and no matter what you would like to see them doing) Tumblr will fix you up, for free.

Download: Tumblr (free)

Mixology

If you’re going to have a drink or two, remember a few important things. First of all, you need to be a responsible adult. We don’t condone or endorse underage drinking, nor do we want anyone to place themselves or anyone in danger after having a few drinks. The next important thing is to learn to make a good drink.

That’s where Mixology comes in. Thousands of recipes for just about any flavor of adult beverage are included, and sorting through them is dead simple. Browse by category, or tell the app what you have on hand and you’ll find just the right recipe for a perfect cocktail. Or get adventurous and click that random tab — you might find something new. You can also find your local liquor store and learn a bit about just how to use common bartending tools to make that perfect drink.

The app is free, and if you’re serious about mixing up those drinks a paid version is available.

Download: Mixology Drink Recipes (free)

Literotica

If you’re a fan of erotic fiction, Literotica is for you. While you won’t find Hemingway here, you will find erotic stories to fit any and every taste. Even some tastes you might not have even known existed.

While the interface is dated and pretty bland, the app is quick and offers the right settings for reading. You have settings for fonts and screen brightness, as well as a dark mode for some after-hours reading. The app even has an immersive mode for phones with on-screen buttons. Literotica is free and filled to the brim with content.

Download: Literotica.com (free)

BaconReader

While Reddit is plenty popular with folks of all ages, there are parts that are absolutely NSFW and filled with content of an adult nature. We love an open and free Internet, so we’re glad they are there. And we want you to be able to browse them the best way possible. Of course, the best way to see the not-so-kid-friendly content is also the best way to see all of what Reddit has to offer.

That’s BaconReader. Subreddit grouping, filtering by domain and keywords, image uploading should you want to contribute and a great slideshow mode (if you just want to look) make BaconReader the best and most popular way to read Reddit — all of Reddit.

BaconReader is free and also looks great on your tablet!

Download: BaconReader (free)

Updated October 2017: This post has been updated with the best adult apps available right now.

Microsoft resurrects its most iconic mouse

The Surface Precision Mouse isn’t the only new input device in Microsoft’s arsenal. The company’s Surface site has quietly teased the Classic IntelliMouse, a wired peripheral directly inspired by the legendary IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0 you might have used in the early 2000s — yes, this is the second time Microsoft has brought back the iconic design. The company isn’t saying too much about what this revival will entail, but it’ll have more precise tracking (up to 3,200DPI) while preserving the “firm” scroll wheel you knew from the days when Windows XP was still hot stuff.

The listing only mentions that the Classic is “coming soon,” with no price to be seen. We’ve asked Microsoft for more details and will let you know if it can shed more light on the situation. However, it’s safe to say that the relative lack of bells and whistles on this IntelliMouse (that we know of, at least) should keep the price in check.

Via: The Verge

Source: Microsoft

German soccer team puts players on your iPhone for AR selfies

Sports teams and broadcasters have been going all-in on high-tech initiatives lately. The NFL was an early adopter, with AR features appearing on Fox Sports broadcasts. The NBA just released an augmented reality mobile hoops game, Samsung has put MLB and the UFC on its Gear VR and ESPN is streaming X Games content to VR headsets as well. German soccer team, FC Bayern Munich, is taking its first AR steps, too, with a new feature in its iOS app that brings team captain Manuel Neuer or forward Arjen Robben into your iPhone for celebrity selfies.

You can choose which of the three “strips” Robben wears in the app, and you can personalize the back of the jersey for your screenshot photos, too. You can also buy player jerseys from within the app, if that’s your thing. “This augmented reality feature offers fans a playful, unique and immersive opportunity to get closer to the team they love whether they are based in Munich, New York or Mexico,” said FC Bayern Munich’s Stefan Mennerich in a statement. “It is important to us that we continue to offer these innovative experiences, not only to ensure that we are connecting with our family of fans on all levels but also to continue advancing digital technology used in the sport sector.”

The iOS app is free for download; simply tap over to the “AR Arena” to check out the player selfie feature. You’ll need iOS 11 and an iPhone with an A9 or A10 processor, according to the developer.

Source: FC Bayern/iTunes

Internal Twitter email explains its new plans to fight abuse

Twitter promised stricter rules for abuse and hate in the wake of a boycott, but what will those rules entail, exactly? It’s a bit clearer after today. Wired has obtained email providing early details on new policies, and they’re mostly good news — although they probably won’t satisfy some people. Most notably, it’s planning to crack down against all groups that “have historically used violence as a means to advance their cause” rather than focusing primarily on terrorism. It’ll also take action against tweets that glorify violence, not just direct threats. There’s no guarantee that this will lead to bans and suspensions against hate groups (Twitter is still hashing out the details), but that’s what the early language implies.

The social network also plans to treat hate imagery and symbols as “sensitive media,” much as it does with nudity and graphic violence. Again, Twitter isn’t certain exactly what will qualify, but it’s safe to presume that at least some Nazi images will be hidden by default.

The new policies will also give Twitter more power to curb sexual harassment — you know, the problem that prompted the boycott in the first place. It’ll soon let ‘bystanders’ report unwanted sexual advances, not just participants. It’s also promising swifter action against revenge porn and other non-consensual nudity (namely, suspending confirmed posters right away), and it’s widening the definition of this nudity to include “creep shots,” hidden cameras and other photos where the victim might not even know something happened.

Twitter hadn’t been planning to talk about the policies so soon, but it did confirm that the email is legitimate and reflects its intentions. The question is whether or not these will be enough. Many object to hate groups getting any kind of room to breathe on Twitter. Their very ideology isn’t exactly compassionate and friendly. And as easy as it is to talk about fighting sexual harassment, there are numerous women who can point to instances where they reported harassing tweets that were allowed to stay. Even if the impact is muted, though, it could still help clean up Twitter and give people a better reason to stay.

Source: Wired

EA shuts down the studio behind ‘Dead Space’

So much for hopes of a Dead Space sequel in the near future. EA is shutting down Visceral Games, the studio behind the Dead Space series, Battlefield Hardline and The Godfather. According to EA, the closure is the result of a decision to “pivot” Visceral’s Star Wars title. It was intended as a linear, story-driven adventure (not surprising given the involvement of Uncharted director Amy Hennig), but player feedback led EA to decide that a it should be a “broader” game with “more variety and player agency.” This included changing “central elements,” EA added. To put it another way: the publisher wanted a game that was more, well, EA-like.

Many of the people involved will still have work. EA said it would move “as many of the team as possible” to other games and groups. As for Hennig in particular? She’s in talks about her “next move,” EA told Kotaku in a statement. People across EA Worldwide Studios will take the reins of the Star Wars game, with a Vancouver team (already involved in the project) heading things up from here on out. EA had no comment on what would happen to the Dead Space franchise with Visceral gone.

The accommodations for staff are good news, but the move is still a sad end for a studio that was lauded for its creativity: Dead Space captured an Alien-like sense of dread while offering unique weapons and ditching conventional interface conventions. Also, this will seem like an all-too-familiar pattern for EA watchers, as the company has a bad habit of shuttering well-known studios and (in some cases) letting their best-known franchises sit in limbo.

Via: Kotaku

Source: EA

Apple Seeds Third macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 Beta to Developers

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS High Sierra update to developers, a little over a week after releasing the second macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 beta and nearly a month after releasing the new High Sierra operating system to the public.

The third macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 beta can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center or through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store with the proper profile installed.

macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 appears to focus on bug fixes, performance improvements, security enhancements, and other under-the-hood changes, but it also introduces a range of new Unicode 10 emoji like crazy face, pie, pretzel, t-rex, vampire, exploding head, face vomiting, shushing face, love you gesture, brain, scarf, zebra, giraffe, fortune cookie, pie, hedgehog, and more.

The new emoji are also available in iOS 11.1 and watchOS 4.1.

macOS High Sierra is a major update that introduces APFS, a new more modern file system, HEIF and HEVC photo and video encoding improvements for smaller file sizes without compromising quality, Metal 2, and several new features for Safari, like autoplay blocking for videos and Intelligent Tracking Prevention to better protect user privacy.

For more on what’s new in macOS High Sierra, make sure to check out our macOS High Sierra roundup.

Related Roundup: macOS High Sierra
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WhatsApp Gains Support for Live Location Sharing

Popular messaging app WhatsApp was today updated with a new feature that’s designed to allow WhatsApp users to share their location in real-time with family and friends.

Live Location through WhatsApp features end-to-end encryption and includes tools to allow users to specify who they share their location with and for how long.

To use Live Location, WhatsApp users need to open a chat with a person or group, select the “Location” feature in the attach button, and then choose the new option to “Share Live Location.” When selecting the share option, users can select an amount of time the location sharing feature will last before expiring.

The person on the other end will be able to see the user’s real-time location on a map, and if, in a group chat, more than one person shares their location, multiple locations will be displayed on the same map.

Live Location is available on both iOS and Android devices, and it will be rolling out to the WhatsApp apps “in the coming weeks.”

WhatsApp can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tag: WhatsApp
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Apple Executives Receive Restricted Stock Units Worth Millions

Several Apple executives were today awarded 128,584 restricted stock units or RSUs worth upwards of $20 million at Apple’s current price. The RSUs are set to vest after a set period of time and serve as bonus compensation to encourage employees to stay with the company.

Johny Srouji, Phil Schiller, Dan Riccio, Luca Maestri, Craig Federighi, Eddy Cue, and Angela Ahrendts all received 128,584 restricted stock units this month. 64,885 RSUs were awarded on 10/1, while an additional 63,699 were awarded on 10/15.

For the first batch, the vesting of the restricted stock units depends on Apple’s total shareholder return starting on the first day of fiscal 2018 and ending on the last day of fiscal 2020. Up to 200 percent of the shares can vest should Apple’s performance in the S&P 500 be in the 85th percentile or higher relative to other companies.

If Apple’s performance falls below that, a smaller percentage of shares will vest, but should the company hit its target, each executive could receive 129,770 shares worth over $20 million at today’s prices. Apple did not hit that target with its last performance based stock award.

The second batch of RSUs will vest over time and each executive will see the full award of 63,699 shares should they stay with the company. One-third of the shares will vest on April 1, 2020, another third on April 1, 2021, and the final third on April 1, 2022. Chris Kondo, Apple Senior Director of Corporate Accounting, also received a smaller award of 12,740 shares that will vest starting in 2018.

At a maximum, each executive could earn up to 193,469 shares by 2022, worth more than $30 million today.

Tag: Stock
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