Instagram tool finally lets you cross-post Stories to Facebook

You’ll probably have a lot more Facebook Stories to watch in the near future… except you can also watch most of them on Instagram. According to TechCrunch, the social network has begun rolling out a feature that allows you to cross-post Instagram Stories to Facebook Stories if you’re in the US. The company began testing the feature in August, but as always, only a handful of people were lucky enough to get access to it. Now that it’s officially out in the US, the feature will arrive on your Instagram app in the near future if it hasn’t yet, giving you an easy way to share what’s going on with your life with nan and pop.

The social network also told TechCrunch that while you can only cross-post from Instagram to Facebook, it hasn’t ruled out the possibility of building a tool that could do the opposite. Instagram Stories has amassed over 250 million users, though, surpassing even Snapchat’s version that’s been around longer. Considering Facebook Stories is reportedly not doing as well, building a cross-posting tool from Facebook to Instagram might not be a priority for the social network.

Source: TechCrunch

Google is paying publishers to be on its Snapchat clone

Snapchat has turned its Discover section into a popular destination for its 166 million users, and a money-spinner in its own right. Google, the web’s biggest ad company, thinks it can go one better. Word’s already leaked that the search giant is working on its own take on Snapchat’s popular media tab, which will similarly be stocked with news and entertainment content from partner publications. And now, Recode is reporting that Google is using its large stockpile of cash to attract media outlets to its fold. The service, dubbed “Stamp,” is reportedly built around its faster-loading AMP mobile webpages. As with Discovery, visitors will be able to swipe through a slideshow-style format made up of text, photos, and video.

Google is apparently using the payouts to cushion the costs publishers encounter as they produce articles specifically for the new product. No details are available on exactly how much Google is doling out to the likes of Conde Nast, Hearst, Time Inc., Mashable, Mic.com, CNN, The Washington Post, and Vox Media (all of which are reportedly involved with Stamp). And, the publishers will also benefit from the exposure that comes with top billing on Google’s search results (where it will reportedly be placed).

Naturally, ads will play a role. If the final product is anything like Instagram Stories (itself a Snapchat clone), then they will likely pop up in-between slides. However, Recode claims Google is not planning on selling ad inventory itself at present. Instead, its partners will be able to work with marketers directly to line their pockets and disrupt your viewing pleasure. Google is declining to comment on the info. But, it did previously tell Engadget that it’s in “constant collaboration with publishers…working early on upcoming features.”

Google is not the first tech titan to use financial incentives to help publishers make the leap to a new platform. Before Facebook pinned its video hopes on original shows, it was offering celebs and media outlets tens of millions of dollars to create clips for its Facebook Live feature. The same goes for Snapchat, which has struck its fair share of deals with high-profile companies, including CNN, MTV, and NBC, among others.

Source: Recode

Sky Q is getting system-wide voice control

Back in March, Sky finally introduced voice search for its next-gen Sky Q service. With it, you can request specific TV shows and movies, or look through its vast library by mumbling the names of actors, directors and film genres. Now, Sky is going a step further with “enhanced Voice Control.” The update will let you change channels, play recorded TV shows and fast-forward or rewind with simple commands like “skip back 30 seconds” and “watch from the start.” You’ll also be able to nip around the Sky Q menu with “go to Sky Store,” “go to Sky Sports” and similar phrases.

Sky says the update will roll out “over the coming weeks.” In addition, Sky is adding a Favorites section to the TV Guide. As you might expect, this will be a personalised home for your most frequently watched channels. (You can also edit them at any time.) If you have the premium Silver box you’ll also notice a new, dedicated Ultra HD section that acts as a home for all of Sky’s 4K content. These include Sky Original productions, such as Tin Star and Riviera, as well as blockbuster movies and Premier League matches.

Source: Sky (Press Release)

Google’s AR ambitions push VR to the back seat

When Google announced its Daydream View headset last year, it was a sign that the search giant was ready to take VR to the masses. It’s dabbled in VR before with Cardboard, but the View was a much more serious effort, with its fabric-clad design and user-friendly remote. Which is why it’s such a surprise that Google didn’t really spend a lot of time on VR at its Pixel 2 event. The company mentioned the new Daydream View — now in colors! — but didn’t really say much more beyond that. Instead, Google was much more excited to talk about something else: AR.

Even though Google announced ARCore, its augmented reality platform, a couple of months ago, the Pixel 2 event was the first time the search giant could talk about it at length on a public stage. As a reminder, ARCore is essentially Android’s answer to Apple’s ARKit. With it, developers can create and test AR apps with a regular phone, no specialized hardware required. Last month, Google showcased several ARCore examples that let you travel the world, plan home renovations and desaturate the world around you.

At the Pixel 2 event, Google’s Aparna Chennapragada showed off even more ARCore tricks. You can use it to view a showroom from Houzz right in your own living room, watch a League of Legends match play out on your dining table, or even create virtual models with Lego pieces. “It’s a powerful way to bring physical and digital together,” she said.

But aside from relying on partners, Google has made its own AR product too. It’s called AR Stickers and it’s built right into the Pixel’s camera — indeed, for now, AR Stickers are exclusive to the Pixel hardware. They’re essentially animated emoji that you can place in your photos and videos — the demo on stage showed a woman posing next to a giant animated coffee cup on a park bench.

Google didn’t stop there, however. It also teamed with several content partners to create AR Sticker “packs.” One exciting example that Google demonstrated on stage included AR Stickers from Netflix’s Stranger Things. The demo placed cartoon versions of the demogorgon (the monster from the series) as well as Eleven (the young girl) on stage and before long, the two started to fight — and Eleven destroyed the demogorgon in a blink of an eye. Chennapragada said that we can expect more AR Sticker packs from SNL, YouTube, NBA as well as the upcoming Star Wars movie in the future.

What’s more, the latest Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are optimized for AR. The cameras on both are designed for robust tracking of low-light conditions and have 60 fps rendering. Seeing as both Pixel phones were likely on Google’s product roadmap for a long time, it’s no longer easy to dismiss ARCore as simply a knee-jerk reaction to Apple’s ARKit. With roots in Project Tango — Google’s other AR platform — the company has probably been working on phone-based AR for quite some time.

Which brings us back to why VR was only a blip in today’s event. While Google is still working on bringing VR content onto Daydream — examples include Ed Sheeran in “Austin City Limits Backstage” and Discovery’s new TRVLR series — AR is just so much more accessible. There’s no need for a special headset, or even a cardboard-based one; all you need is your phone. And, pretty soon, ARCore will be available on most if not all modern Android phones with Oreo installed.

Apple has certainly jumped on this bandwagon too, going so far as to say that AR is the way forward, and not VR. Google, on the other hand, is not quite so quick to give up on VR — it’ll continue to invest in virtual reality and Daydream. Yet, it’s clear from today’s event that Google’s betting more on AR than VR to win over the masses. And that might not be such a bad idea.

Lenovo’s anniversary ThinkPad marries retro design and modern tech

Today is the Lenovo ThinkPad’s 25th birthday, and the computer company is doing something special to celebrate. They’re releasing a limited-edition anniversary version of the laptop called (creatively) the ThinkPad Anniversary Edition 25, which is inspired by the design of the first ThinkPad. We first discussed this familiar looking computer a few weeks ago, when WinFuture reported on the retro look.

The styling may be retro, with a blue “Enter” key and multicolor logo, but the hardware and features are definitely modern. It sports an Intel Core i7-7500U processor with a discrete graphics card, the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, a seven-row backlit keyboard and a 14-inch HD touch screen display. While there are no further specs in the release, the initial leak reported 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD hard drive, a Thunderbolt-rated USB-C port, three regular USB ports, an SD card slot, an Ethernet port and an HDMI port.

The laptop will be available in limited numbers, and only in select countries — Lenovo hasn’t yet specified which ones. You can also order one of these laptops on their website Lenovo.com and through business partners. It retails for $1899.

Source: Lenovo

Instagram Widely Rolling Out Ability to Post Your 24-Hour Stories Directly To Facebook

After beginning as a small test in Portugal in September, Instagram this week is beginning to roll out a feature that lets you automatically share the same Instagram Story to your Facebook Story with the tap of a button. TechCrunch spotted the cross-platform Story syncing, and Instagram parent company Facebook subsequently confirmed the feature’s rollout will be coming to all United States users this week.

Instagram Stories has grown to become a big success for the company in the 14 months since it launched, with 250 million users interacting with Stories every day as of last June. In April, Instagram Stories surpassed rival Snapchat in terms of daily active users. The feature is the same across platforms, allowing you to post a picture or a video that disappears after 24 hours.

Image via TechCrunch

“You now have the option to share your Instagram Stories to your Facebook Stories. We’re always working to make it easier to share any moment with the people who matter to you” a Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch.

While Stories on Instagram have been a hit, Facebook’s launch of its own Stories tab has been less successful, with many users pointing out that little to none of their friends share on the platform. Likely because of this, Facebook soon after the feature’s launch began populating the Stories tab with grayed-out profile pictures of friends so this section of the app wouldn’t be as empty.

With the new update, Facebook Stories should see an uptick in user engagement since it’ll be easier than ever to share a quick picture or video Story from Instagram, without having to open Facebook. For now, however, you won’t be able post to Instagram Stories from Facebook Stories, but the company “hasn’t ruled out” introducing such an update in the future.

Besides its main app and Instagram, Facebook has also added disappearing Story-like abilities into Messenger and WhatsApp.

Tags: Facebook, Instagram
Discuss this article in our forums

Tim Cook Shares Tribute to Steve Jobs on Sixth Anniversary of His Death

Apple CEO Tim Cook has shared a tribute to late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs on the sixth anniversary of his death today.

“Remembering Steve today,” Cook tweeted, alongside a picture of Jobs in his younger days. “Still with us, still inspiring us.”

Remembering Steve today. Still with us, still inspiring us. “Make something wonderful, and put it out there.” pic.twitter.com/7aOCPkwU0U

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) October 5, 2017

Jobs, who created Apple in 1976 with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, introduced three of the company’s most iconic products in its history: the Macintosh in 1984, the iPod in 2001, and the iPhone in 2007.

He stepped down as CEO permanently on August 24, 2011 due to health complications, and he passed away October 5, 2011, just one day after Apple introduced the iPhone 4S, its first device with Siri.

His passing resulted in an outpouring of grief from family, friends, coworkers, Apple customers, and leaders around the world, ranging from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to former U.S. President Barack Obama.

Jobs actually had a 12-year hiatus from Apple starting in 1985. During that time, he founded computer and software company NeXT, and funded Lucasfilm’s computer graphics division eventually known as Pixar.

Apple acquired NeXT in 1997, bringing Jobs back to the company. Under his leadership, Apple went from flirting with bankruptcy in the late 1990s to becoming the world’s most valuable company just before he died.

Apple named the Steve Jobs Theater in his honor at its new Apple Park headquarters in Cupertino, California. Cook reflected on Jobs’ legacy and showmanship during Apple’s first-ever event at the theater last month.

Steve meant so much to me and so much to all of us. There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t think about him. Memories have especially come rushing back as we prepared for today and this event. It’s taken some time, but we can now reflect on him with joy, instead of sadness. Steve’s spirit and timeless philosophy on life will always be the DNA of Apple. His greatest gift, his greatest expression of his appreciation for humanity, would not be a single product. Rather, it would be Apple itself. We dedicated this theater to Steve because we loved him, and because he loved days like this, where we can share our latest products and ideas with the world.

Jobs was 56 years old.

Tags: Tim Cook, Steve Jobs
Discuss this article in our forums

Adidas robots are making running shoes that fit with where you live

Why it matters to you

If you’re a serious runner with a serious desire for the perfect shoe, this Adidas offering may be the perfect fit (though you’ll have to live in one of five cities).

The first major project undertaken by Adidas’s automated Speedfactory plant in Germany is underway, with the robot army pumping out the new AM4 shoe aimed at runners.

Adidas said the factory, located in Ansbach in the south of the country, will help the firm “to explore, test and co-create with consumers, as well as constantly invent and reinvent design, and define the future of how the brand creates.”

Speaking of co-creating with consumers, the robot-made AM4 will appear in several city-specific editions following interviews with local athletes about their running habits and styles, as well as the running conditions in the places where they live.

We’ve asked Adidas to offer up some details about the design of the AM4(LDN) shoe and how the consultations with London runners influenced its design, and will update when we hear back. For now, though, let’s assume the interviewees got around to mentioning the U.K.’s  rainy weather, which hopefully led to the inclusion of some waterproofing in the final design.

Adidas

Adidas said that as each shoe has been designed using feedback from athletes, “the AM4 project will be a constant beta mode, with insights taken from consumers following each product launch used to shape future designs.”

Yes, it may sound like a rather elaborate marketing ruse to some, but perhaps each city-specific pair really will suit the highly tuned feet of experienced runners who pound the streets of their particular city day in, day out. But if you do end up swearing by them, you may feel compelled to fork out for additional pairs should you ever jet off to any of the other cities where Adidas’s AM4 shoe will become available.

These include Paris, where the AM4PAR will be released later this month, followed in the coming months by launches in Los Angeles (AM4LA), New York (AM4NYC), Tokyo (AM4TKY), and Shanghai (AM4SHA). Pricing is yet to be announced.

Adidas’s 15,000-square-foot Speedfactory in Germany is now fully operational and the company has plans to pump out as many as 500,000 pairs of shoes a year.

A second facility — much larger at 74,000 square feet — will also open shortly in Atlanta. The production of AM4 footwear for all markets will be supported by both locations, but each facility’s main focus will be localized production, Adidas said, adding that with its cutting-edge manufacturing technologies, the U.S. factory will enable it “to create products in increasingly high volumes with advanced complexity in color, materials, and sizes.”

The weirdest, coolest, and most influential ThinkPads of the last 25 years

Lenovo celebrates the 25th birthday of the venerable ThinkPad line on October 5, marking a quarter century of business-class innovation. ThinkPads aren’t always the most eye-catching machines, but they’ve earned a reputation for reliability over the years, thanks in large part to the careful engineering that goes into each and every one — even the weird ones.

What could possibly be weird about the humble, tireless ThinkPad? Let’s have a look at the last 25 years of ThinkPads and find out.

ThinkPad 700C

The ThinkPad 700C was among the first to bear the name ‘ThinkPad,’ along with its siblings the 700 and 700T. Announced on October 3 1992, it was the forebearer to all those sleek black business-class laptops you see in every office. As you can see, it was a bit of a beast by today’s standards, but back then it was a slim, lightweight alternative to bulkier and less-robust business-oriented laptops.

It introduced the characteristic design we would continue to see refined over the years, the all-black chassis with a cherry-red trackpoint ball in the center of the keyboard. Simple, understated, and elegant.

ThinkPad 701C

The ThinkPad 701C was a bit of an oddball by today’s standards. It featured a keyboard that would blossom open when you opened the lid of the laptop, offering a wider typing surface than you’d get otherwise. Additionally, the design of the keys themselves was a bit of an oddity.

The keyboard featured a “butterfly” mechanical key switch offering a remarkably tactile typing experience. It’s also worth pointing out that this laptop is a highly sought after collectors’ item, so if you happen to have one sitting in a closet somewhere, you might want to consider cleaning it up and posting on Ebay.

ThinkPad 750S

Yep, that’s a ThinkPad there, and it’s in space. Pictured here, we see the ThinkPad X70, but the first ThinkPad in space was the 750S, used in 1993 to view color images coming off of the Hubble Space Telescope. It certainly wouldn’t be the last. ThinkPads have been the laptop of choice for NASA ever since that first flight. .

ThinkPad 560

This guy was a fairly typical late 90’s laptop, but it was much slimmer than its competition. The ThinkPad 560 was the predecessor to the modern netbook, designed from the ground up to offer long battery life and be light enough to carry around all day. It’s certainly a bit larger than netbooks today, but at the time it was considered extraordinarily lightweight, despite its powerful 100MHz processor.

ThinkPad 240

The ThinkPad 240 followed in the footsteps of the 560, offering a thin-and-light chassis for extended everyday use, with one major difference. This was the first laptop to forego an optical drive in order to slim down and save space. It also featured a 300MHz processor, and a discrete graphics card, a NeoMagic MagicGraph 128XD with a whopping 2MB of memory. And no, we did not just make that name up. It was a real graphics card, from a real company. And it was named that on purpose.

ThinkPad 550BJ

As you might have guessed, this one was a bit weird. The ThinkPad 550BJ was a standard business-class laptop, but it featured an integrated printer. You’d just flip up the keyboard, feed paper in, and the internal printer would get to work. It effectively turned the 550BJ into a digital typewriter. The concept was certainly unique — and never saw a successor.

ThinkPad X20

The ThinkPax X20 deserves a special place on this list, because it was among the first ThinkPads to start pushing the boundaries of what we thought of as thin-and-light laptops. If you look at the overall silhouette, you can also see that this laptop has a uniquely ThinkPad aesthetic that appears modern even by current standards. The X20 featured a 600MHz Intel Pentium III processor, and a 20GB hard drive — impressive hardware for a system of its size.

ThinkPad X41

This laptop was among the first to introduce the idea of tablet computing to the masses. The ThinkPad X41 featured a display which could flip around and put the laptop into tablet mode, making it one of the first mass-market 2-in-1 laptops. At the time, it had the distinction of having the best battery life of any 12-inch tablet on the market. According to Lenovo, the X41 had a big impact on the design and development of the modern X1 Yoga convertible laptop.

Thinkpad X60

From the side, the X60 looks like it was put together by hand — like a laptop built from LEGO. That’s partially because it was designed to offer customers a modular design. The top part, the laptop, detaches from the “UltraBase,” which provided more ports and storage options.

ThinkPad X300

This laptop is one of the more recent entries in our list, as it hit store shelves in 2008, but at the time it was lauded for its exceptionally thin build. Coming in at just 20mm thick, the ThinkPad X300 was one of the thinnest, lightest laptops of its time because of its unique construction. It was the first ThinkPad to use carbon fiber elements in the chassis, making for a robust and lightweight build.

ThinkPad X1 Carbon

That brings us to the ThinkPad X1 Series. Among which we’ll find the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, the first ThinkPad to use a full carbon fiber chassis, the X1 Tablet, and the X1 Yoga. All three are cutting-edge laptops with that unmistakable ThinkPad design pioneered by designer Richard Sapper. Even today, Lenovo says, those original designs inform the direction of and aesthetic of modern-day enterprise laptops, 2-in-1s, and tablets.

The Pixel 2 looks amazing. So why did Google bother with all the other nonsense?

The Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are well thought-out, feature-rich, and highly desirable sequels to the already excellent Pixel and Pixel XL. We predict they will be two of the best Android phones released this year and next, and we’re not exactly going out on a limb to say it. They formed the centerpiece of Google’s October 4 event, but were joined by quite a lot of other, far less interesting products. Imagine if they weren’t.

The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL were joined by quite a lot of other, far less interesting products. Imagine if they weren’t.

Think about it for a moment A five-minute introduction from Sundar Pichai, a 15-minute Google Home and Home Mini presentation, and a 30-minute deep dive into the Pixel phones, all rounded out with a rousing conclusion and ultra-competitive price announcements. It would take one hour, maximum; the crowd leaves elated, and we’re all too busy pre-ordering to write this.

Except Google didn’t do that. It filled another hour with a collection of side-projects, ill-conceived niche hardware for beardy types in San Francisco that no one will really want. If Santa used any of them as stocking fillers, we’d all be blocking the chimney up on December 24.

Google has two good products, why can’t it leave it at that?

The good

Let’s start with the positives. The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are almost one and the same. Google’s masterstroke here is not forcing anyone to buy the $850 Pixel 2 XL to get better features. The Pixel 2’s camera, processor, memory, and design mirror the XL; the only difference between them is the screen. Yes, it’ll be nice to have the 18:9 ratio display, but hardly a necessity, and not for an extra $200.

The second highlight is what it’s missing: A second camera lens. It has only one lens, yet Google promises it’ll still take beautiful bokeh-style pictures, all by using some very clever algorithms. Promo pictures on Google’s dedicated Pixel 2 site look astonishing, and if it comes close to that in real life, it will have really proven a point to the industry.

Elijah Nouvelage/AFP/Getty Images

Add in a more attractive design than the Pixel phones, the Snapdragon 835 chip, fast charging, and the latest version of Android — for three years, due to Google’s update promise — and we’re sold on the Pixel 2. We don’t need the AR stickers, Google, but we’ll let you have a little bit of fun because you’ve been so good.

We’re happy about Google Home Mini. Google Home is an excellent smart home controller and  assistant. It looks pretty, works consistently, and has more helpful, everyday features than Amazon Echo. It integrates with more devices, services, and products we use on a daily basis too, so making a smaller, cheaper version is logical and welcome. Even at this early stage, we can say fairly confidently these products will be worth buying, unless something catastrophically bad turns up when we review them.

The bad

Google should have stopped there, but it can’t help itself. We’ve seen this before. Google, like a puppy, gets really overly excited. Puppies make a little mess on the floor when this happens, and Google has essentially done the same, giving us the Pixel Buds, Google Home Max, Pixelbook, and Google Clips. These are easily summed up with, “Me too,” “Me too again,” “How much?” and “Why?” Every last one of these “products” would hardly receive any coverage if it came from any other manufacturer. They’re the worst examples of a company making hardware without an actual buyer in mind.

Don’t believe me? When you stand on stage with a straight face and say your new camera is for capturing those special, easily missed moments when your kids smile and your pets do tricks, it means you have no clue who will buy this product. Genuine use cases sell products, not vague descriptions of people who only exist in commercials. Apple knows, that’s why its own launch events sell products so convincingly.

Elijah Nouvelage/AFP/Getty Images

Don’t let the demo of Pixel Buds real-time language translation service fool you either. We’ve all used Google Translate, so we know what a complete pig’s ear it can make of translating conversational language. Google really should have written “Canned language demos are not representative of real world use,” on the screen when the Buds were shown in action.

These should have been five-minute things-to-come tech demos. Not products. They each have some cutting-edge technology under the hood that’s worth mentioning. For example, Google Clips has its own on-device AI processing tech, instead of using the cloud, meaning more speed and increased privacy. This is very similar to what Huawei is doing in the forthcoming Kirin 970 chip, and it’s very cool indeed. No matter how problematic the Buds’ real-time translation turns out to be, it’s impossible to deny it’s a tantalizing forerunner to way better, and less intrusive translation tech down the road.

Give us what we want, not what you think is cool

When recalling the fantastic reception to last year’s Pixel at the start of his presentation, Google’s Rick Osterloh quipped, “I wish we had a few more of them to go around.” Yes, us too. Based on seven-week wait for some Pixel 2 colors, we’re guessing Google wishes it had a few more of those as well.

Here’s a thought: Stop making products no one wants, and use the money, time, and resources to build more of the ones that people do. We know manufacturing probably doesn’t work that way, but when we can’t buy Google’s best products for weeks, our patience isn’t helped by knowing time is being spent building products only a handful of people are excited about.

Just because other companies have speakers, headphones, laptops, and more, doesn’t mean you must as well. Stand apart, Google. Make more phones. Continue to refine Google Home’s software. Show us all the AI and machine-learning stuff in tech demos, then try to sell us a product when it’s clear what we’ll do with it. While you’re at it, you could shave $100 off the Pixel 2 prices, instead of being like Samsung and Apple, and fleecing smartphone buyers for all they’re worth.

That would be a return of the Google we love. Brilliant products at the best prices, with plenty of stock available. Maybe next year?