James Comey reveals his (not so) secret Twitter account

Back in March then-FBI director James Comey told the American people they should not expect “absolute privacy”. Now, undoubtedly heeding his own advice, he’s outed himself on Twitter, telling the world he’ll “try to tweet in useful ways”.

The revelation that the former FBI boss — who has been lying low since being fired by President Trump in May — has been lurking behind the handle Reinhold Niebuhr comes after months of speculation about exactly where on the internet he has been hiding, having previously let slip he had a secret Twitter account. Social media sleuthery by Gizmodo writer Ashley Feinberg pointed to Reinhold Niebuhr (the name of an American theologian and ethicist) as the likely account, but confirmation came from Comey himself when he posted the below.

Goodbye Iowa. On the road home. Gotta get back to writing. Will try to tweet in useful ways. pic.twitter.com/DCbu3Yvqt3

— Reinhold Niebuhr (@FormerBu) October 23, 2017

Which was then followed up by Lawfare editor-in-chief and apparent friend of Comey, Benjamin Wittes.

Ok, in light of this latest tweet, I will confirm that @FormerBu is, in fact, James Comey himself. https://t.co/6QbhOG7Qzp

— Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) October 23, 2017

Following the Gizmodo article, Niebuhr tweeted Anchorman meme “Actually I’m not even mad, that’s amazing”, with a link to the FBI jobs page, which does make us wonder about the FBI’s handle on social media. After all, Feinberg’s account of following the trail of breadcrumbs back to Reinhold Niebuhr — while complicated — isn’t a million miles away from the regular social media stalking most of us do on our exes.

Still, one of the account’s most recent tweets references Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer, the one that asks for grace to accept things that cannot be changed and for courage to change the things that can. A moment of quiet introspection or a thinly-veiled political observation? You can bet @RealDonaldTrump will be checking up on him on the reg.

Source: Twitter

Livestream’s Mevo Plus has five times the range of its last camera

Vimeo probably did the right thing by ditching its planned Netflix-style streaming service in favor of live video. The move came on the back of its purchase of Livestream — the company best-known for its Mevo camera. With the ink on the deal barely dry, Vimeo is adding new hardware to its lineup with the launch of the Mevo Plus.

Like its predecessor, the new camera is a tiny device that lets you stream in full HD to multiple platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Periscope, YouTube, and Vimeo Live), plus record in 4K. Only now it offers five times more wireless range (up to 100 feet), better connectivity in noisy environments, and faster uploads. Plus, you get access to all the auto-editing features that give the impression of a multi-camera setup while livestreaming.

Make no mistake, the Mevo Plus is a camera for serious creators, not casual streamers — look no further than its $500 price tag for proof. And, if you want to use Vimeo Live, you’ll also have to fork out for a subscription ranging from $75 to upwards of $800 per month. With the introduction of Mevo Plus, the original Mevo camera has been reduced to $300 (making it a more affordable entry point for those looking to go pro). You can grab the new camera online, and at major retailers, starting today.

Nintendo’s Switch now supports your old GameCube controllers

Nintendo’s latest Switch update is apparently a treasure trove of secrets. In addition to secretly slipping in support for USB headphones, the gaming titan has also bundled in the ability to support GameCube controllers. Yup, you can dig up your old console and use your old friend to play new games… and maybe even old ones, too, if the rumors about a GameCube virtual console ever becomes a reality. Unfortunately, the compatibility isn’t that straightforward — you’ll also need to have the USB adapter Nintendo released for the Wii U sometime ago. It adds GameCube controller support to the Wii U, though it only works if you’re playing Super Smash Bros.

GameXplain confirmed the new feature and the fact that it doesn’t support other USB controllers before testing it out by playing Fire Emblem Warriors. By the looks of things, you’ll have to get used to playing with a completely different layout and will have to accept that you’ll lose access to certain features if you use the GameCube controller alone. But if you want to challenge yourself in a new way or to get a taste of the old days, then this sounds like a great feature to take advantage of.

Via: Nintendo Everything, GameXplain

Source: Master Mewking (Twitter)

Facebook’s new media guidelines are focused on stopping fake news

Facebook came under fire after it admitted that it published 3,000 Russian-linked advertisements designed to influence the US Presidential Election. Those ads pointed to Pages that trafficked in fake news, which has been one of the social network’s biggest problems for quite a while. Now, the company has listed a new set of guidelines for publishers/media organizations meant to combat false info from being spread on the platform. Those guidelines come with actionable strategies they can follow to avoid being flagged, as Facebook continues to tweak News Feed’s algorithm to be better at burying fake information.

The three new Facebook Publisher Principles are as follows:

• People on Facebook value meaningful, informative stories.
• People on Facebook value accurate, authentic content.
• People on Facebook value standards for safe, respectful behavior.

As part of the second principle, the social network warns that it has added “universal signals” that improve the News Feed algorithm’s ability to spot fake news. It will now keep an eye out for clickbait headlines, such as ones that tease a piece of info without revealing it (“You’ll Never Believe Who Tripped and Fell on the Red Carpet…”) or misleading ones meant to sensationalize a piece of information (“Apples Are Actually Bad For You?!”). The website won’t give publishers points for linking to low-quality websites with little content and lots of ads as well.

Facebook is making it “as difficult as possible for those posting false news to buy ads” by using machine learning to detect purchases by spam accounts. It recently disabled non-Publisher Pages’ ability to edit their posts’ metadata to prevent cloaking, or the redirecting of users to websites that don’t lead to what they originally expected to visit. Now, it will also give Pages that cloak their posts very low scores, so they won’t appear on people’s News Feeds.

The company is also taking this chance to remind publishers what they can and can’t post in an effort to squash abusive content on the platform. Facebook stresses that it will remove posts that contain sexual activity, those that incite violence, bullying or harassment, hate speech and other graphic content.

Facebook explains:

“The News Feed Publisher Guidelines are designed to provide an overview of News Feed: how it works, the values it operates by, the policies Facebook enforces, the signals we look for when ranking stories, and the storytelling tools Facebook offers to help your content reach the right audience. We’ll go through our content guidelines, quality guidelines, and community standards to aid your efforts to find and engage your audience on News Feed. We outline actionable strategies and three publisher principles for News Feed with tips, including what to do and not to do to best follow those principles when creating and posting content on Facebook. For the most updated version of the News Feed Publisher Guidelines, please visit Facebook’s Media and Publisher Help Center.”

Source: Facebook Media and Publisher Help Center

Twelve South’s HiRise Duet Dock is Available Again After Selling Out Last Year

Twelve South today announced that its popular HiRise Duet combination dock for iPhone and Apple Watch is available to purchase again.

HiRise Duet was originally introduced in November 2016, but the dock sold out within just a few weeks and it remained out of stock until today. Twelve South appears to have finally received more units from its manufacturer.

The dock has an integrated Lightning connector and magnetic puck to charge both an iPhone and Apple Watch at the same time. The stand holds the Apple Watch on its side so that it can be used in Nightstand mode on a bedside table.

Both the Lightning connector and support post are adjustable to work with most popular iPhone cases on the market today.

The dock, designed with dark gray metal and accented with soft, black napa leather, has a 3.75-inch square footprint. One AC power cable extends from the base of the stand, providing 15 watts of total power.

HiRise Duet is $119.99 on Twelve South’s website with free shipping in the United States. It’s designed for iPhone 5s or later and any Apple Watch.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 4, iPhone 8Tags: Twelve South, HiRiseBuyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now), iPhone 8 (Buy Now)
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TiVo’s Bolt Vox DVR jumps into the future with voice control

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: TiVo is updating its Bolt DVR lineup with a new remote, a new UI and a new name. The TiVo Bolt Vox (and TiVo Mini Vox) are easy to spot thanks to the remote’s new bright blue button that is the key to the extra characters in their name. Following a trail blazed by many other media setups lately (Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Roku — just to name a few) voice control is a central feature of the new hardware. TiVo has had universal search across platforms including broadcast television, cable TV and streaming for quite a while, but it’s not just adding a microphone.

Ok, so maybe it’s not that much of a secret, but this does represent most noticeable revamp of TiVo’s UI since the first boxes appeared, with a renewed focus on predictions and personalization. The TiVo boxes have offered universal search for years, but the company claims that its new software is smart enough that if you ask for “Tom Cruise movies” followed by “the one where he says “show me the money” it will pick out the right one.

It doesn’t stop there either, as existing features like commercial skipping and setting up recordings are also voice enabled. The new hardware means all of the boxes (including the Mini) are ready for 4K, and it can even show a preview of what videos are playing on each tuner. Of course, if you’re sticking with an older TiVo there will be software upgrades, and you can add on the new voice remote. It costs $40 to bring it to the original Bolt DVR, while Roamio/Mini owners are charged $45 for the remote and an accompanying Bluetooth adapter.

The main TiVo Bolt Vox will come in a couple of flavors. The quad-tuner edition is ready for cable TV or cord-cutter friendly antenna viewing, with either 500GB or 1TB of storage inside and a price that starts at $200 before you add on the required service package. A 3TB version ready for 450 hours of recording via six built-in cable tuners will also be available, along the new TiVo Mini Vox extender that costs $180. All of them are set to go on sale October 29th, either through Tivo.com, Amazon or at Best Buy stores (even if some people have scored one already)

Fitbit’s first smartwatch can now make payments in the UK

Convenient contactless and mobile payment options are a dime a dozen these days, but that isn’t discouraging Fitbit from throwing its keys into the bowl. After launching in the US and elsewhere during recent weeks, Fitbit Pay is now live in the UK, if not with a few catches. For starters you’re going to need one of Fitbit’s new £300 Ionic smartwatches, the company’s first wearable that isn’t geared solely towards activity tracking. Then there’s the fact that at launch, it only supports Starling Bank, one of the UK’s relatively new, branchless outfits that digs into your payment data to help you better manage your money from your mobile.

Fitbit Pay is available now with Starling Bank!
Use your Fitbit Ionic to make purchases on the go without a wallet or smartphone. pic.twitter.com/H7VXI9oJpa

— Fitbit UnitedKingdom (@FitbitUK) October 24, 2017

Provided you fit within this pretty strict criteria, you can start using your new Ionic smartwatch to make contactless payments sans wallet or smartphone. We expect plenty more banks, including some of the bigger names, to play nice with Fitbit Pay before too long. That said, Barclays was notably slow in adopting Apple Pay and shunned Android Pay entirely in favour of its own mobile app, so even among some of the larger financial players, it’s not always obvious how these things shake out.

Via: Wareable

Source: Fitbit UK (Twitter), Starling Bank (Twitter)

Google wants to help developers make better websites

Developers already have access to a number of tools that let them see how real-world users experience their websites, but until now they weren’t able to see how their website user experience compared to others. Enter the Chrome User Experience Report, a public dataset of key user experience metrics gleaned from Chrome users who have opted in to usage statistic reporting.

The report offers up data from 10,000 origins and lets developers see how Chrome users experience the web from a wide variety of hardware, software and networks. Google hopes the report will help developers see where they’re doing well, identify areas for improvement and identify trends and advancements over time. At the moment the dataset focuses on loading metrics, but in a blog post on the release, Google says it hopes to expand coverage in future iterations.

Source: Google

Wink’s $200 home security bundle includes three sensors and a hub

Wink’s mission (before and after getting bought by Will.i.am) has been to make smart product networks work simply and easily with its proprietary hub, and added Google Home and Alexa integration to boot. Accordingly, most of its earlier bundles, like its smart light bulb home safety package, have included other companies’ products. But its latest is a collection linking its hub with three new Wink sensors for a holistic security bundle.

The Wink Lookout package, as it’s called, includes three motion sensors — two that mount on doors or windows and a third for the ground-level that can be adjusted for pets. Those can trigger an included siren/chime designed to make noise and flash light at intruders to alert homeowners. Lastly, the bundle includes the company’s proprietary hub that comes pre-linked to the previously-mentioned sensors, letting you set it up right out of the box.

Wink also updated its free mobile app to include a new dashboard that alerts users when a sensor has been tripped, after which users will be prompted to turn on their siren from afar. The new version of the mobile app works with the Lookout package as well as all the other third-party Wink-compatible devices, listed here.

Wink will start selling its Lookout bundle on October 31st at The Home Depot and Amazon for $200. Separately, the door/window sensor will retail for $30, the siren & chime for $40 and ground motion sensor for $40.

Source: Wink Lookout

LinkedIn smart replies help you feign interest in business lunches

Smart replies in email and messaging apps are more than a little impersonal, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing with LinkedIn. Do you really want to hand-craft messages to someone who’s just trying to arrange a sales pitch? You won’t have to after today. LinkedIn has introduced smart message replies that use machine learning to offer up to three canned responses based on the conversation. If someone wants a business lunch, you can ask when they’d like to meet with a single tap. It’s certainly cold, but it might fit the bill if you want to fast-forward through the empty formalities that often come with work-related chats.

There will be a few traces of humanity in the future. LinkedIn is promising personalized responses, such as references to your conversation partner by name. It’s doubtful this upgrade will make your replies seem any more heartfelt, but it beats a terse “thanks.”

The feature is available in English for both mobile and desktop users right now, with promises of more languages in the pipeline. And yes, you can turn them off — you won’t be tempted to ‘cheat’ on messages if you’d prefer to type everything. With that said, this is one of the few times where the robotic, unfeeling option may be the most compelling.

Source: LinkedIn