Instagram Announces New ‘Remix’ Option for Editing Friends’ Photos

Instagram today announced the launch of a new “Remix” feature for Direct Messages, which is designed to allow users to remix their friends’ photos and then send them back for “fun conversations.”

When viewing a photo message from a friend, you can tap on the camera icon at the bottom and to create a reply. The reply includes a photo sticker of the image you’re replying to, which can be moved, resized, and edited with additional stickers, text, and drawings.

Instagram is also now allowing users to control replays. The new “One View” option will let friends see a message just once, while “Allow Replay” will allow friends to view the message for the standard period of time. Photos and videos sent using the “Allow Replay” option will loop automatically.

Instagram says the new features are part of Instagram version 24, which is available now on iOS devices.

Tag: Instagram
Discuss this article in our forums

Infiniti unveils a semi-autonomous QX50 for 2019

After nearly a year of teasing, Infiniti finally debuted its newest QX50 crossover at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show on Tuesday. The vehicle features not only an inline-4 engine capable of adjusting the length of each cylinder’s piston stroke on the fly, it’s also the first Infiniti to incorporate Nissan’s ProPilot semi-autonomous driver assist system.

THe QX50 will sport a 2.0-liter inline-4 VC-Turbo engine that generates 268 HP and 280 pound-feet of torque yet will still provide an estimated 27 miles to the gallon (26 MPG if you turn on the AWD). It manages this impressive feat thanks to variable compression design. Specifically, the Q50 will adjust the cylinder compression ratio from 8:1 to 14:1 on demand, enabling it quickly switch between a fuel efficient low-boost, high-compression operation to a more powerful high-boost, low-compression setup — all within the span of 1.5 seconds.

Additionally, the QX50 will be the first Infiniti to offer Nissan’s ProPilot semi-autonomous driver assist system, which can already be found in the 2018 Nissan Rogue and Leaf models. Think of the ProPilot system as an enhanced cruise control. It takes partial command of the vehicle’s acceleration, braking and steering operations to maintain your bearing and speed while travelling along the open road. Should traffic slow, the system will automatically reduce the QX50’s speed to keep you from crowding cars in front of you. When the flow of traffic speeds back up, the system will accelerate accordingly. The QX50 is expected to hit dealer show floors in the first quarter of next year.

Don’t settle for the stock setup. Deck out your Phantom 4 with these accessories

The DJI Phantom 4 is one of the best drones that we’ve reviewed, and if you’ve got one yourself, you probably know why. But if the base package isn’t quite doing it for you, check out these killer DJI Phantom 4 accessories —  they’ll help you squeeze more fun out of DJI’s baseline package.

Mantis Drone Claw ($16)

Ever been out flying your drone and spotted something that you wanted to snatch? Check out this DIY kit for the Mantis Drone Claw. It’s essentially a gravity-operated, prize-machine-style mechanical claw that’ll allow your drone to latch onto (and carry away) any small objects that you might want to steal borrow from innocent bystanders your neighbors.

WaterStrider Landing Gear ($119)

Maybe all that long range, long term, extended voyage type of drone flying isn’t for you, and you just want to enjoy a peaceful day at the lake. If that sounds like your style, the WaterStrider is the landing platform you’ve been waiting for. Granting you the ability to land on nearly any surface (including water), this gizmo will open up a lot of freedom for you and your drone.

Carbon Fiber Skin ($49)

No disrespect to DJI, but the Phantom line’s stock white/grey colorway is about as dull as they come. If you agree, and you’re looking for something that’ll make your bird stand out from the rest of the pack, then we highly recommend that you check out this slick black carbon fiber wrap.

Phantom 4 Compact Backpack ($99)

Before you go buying a bunch of extra toys for your toy, getting something to haul it all around in might be a good idea. Check out this compact backpack specially made to house your Phantom 4 and all its accessories.

Lense Kits ($39+)

With the Phantom 4’s impressive camera and recording capabilities, it seems silly to stay constrained to just one lens. Check out these different packs of lens kits to get the most out of your camera.

Range extender upgrade ($249+)

The Phantom 4 boasts a range of several miles, but are you getting all of it? Equipping your rig with a range extender upgrade will give your drone considerably better range and reliability. With a good extender, you won’t lose signal when you fly behind hills or buildings.

Trackimo GPS Tracking Device ($169)

With all that extra range, you’re going to want to keep track of your very expensive flying robot. Check out Tackimo’s GPS system to make sure you know where your Phantom 4 is at all times.

64GB microSDHC upgrade with dongle ($69)

Now that you’ve got all that range and the confidence to use it, you’ll likely need a lot more memory for all that sweet, sweet aerial footage you’re going to capture. Upgrade from the Phantom 4’s default 16GB to this 62GB card with an included high speed dongle.

Thor Super-Chargin Station ($149)

So you’ve got your bag and all your extra range. Now it’s time to hit some trails and get some sweet footage — but wait! You’re undoubtedly going to want a lot more battery life for that trip, right? The Thor Super-Charger has got you covered.

Fat Shark HD FPV Goggles ($429)

It’s popular opinion that if you haven’t experienced drone flight through a pair of First Person Goggles then you are missing out, and we are keen to agree. This pair of goggles from Fat Shark will not only satisfy your FPV needs for the Phantom 4, but plenty of other drones as well.

Editors’ Recommendations

• DJI announces Mavic Pro Platinum and Phantom 4 Pro Obsidian drones
• A drone you can’t crash? It’s finally here, thanks to AR and smart glasses
• DJI’s limited-edition Mavic Pro will be hard to spot in winter weather
• Wish you could fly? Here are the best drones on the market right now
• With the Super35 Zenmuse X7, DJI is now a full-on camera company

GoGoToro’s Pokémon-inspired Gamer Series Power Banks don’t skimp on style

What a power bank lacks in style and aesthetics, it makes up for in the amount of power it holds. While portable chargers aren’t horrible looking, there aren’t a ton of customization options.

GoGoToro is here to change that with its latest Gamer Series Power Banks. Available in three different game-inspired designs, you can customize them however you’d like with the sticker packs provided. The rubber coating gives it a nice, sleek feel and it’s also small enough to fit into your pocket without feeling too heavy.

For the Pokémon lovers out there, there’s the “Cheeky Charger” which resembles Pikachu’s rosy red cheeks complete with surrounding lightning bolts. There’s also the DexCharge, which is designed like the outside of a Pokédex — unfortunately, the Pokémon database is not included. For the old-school gamers, there’s a Space Invaders-themed “Outlet Evaders” power bank with an illustration of an alien invader.

This isn’t GoGoToro’s first Pokédex-inspired device — the company also released a Chargemander battery case. With a 5,200mAh battery, this Pokédex actually opens up to reveal your phone resting on the inside while it charges. We had a chance to review the case ourselves and found that while it was a bit pricey, it did nail the iconic Pokémon design.

Each Gamer Series Power Bank holds 10,000mAh of power, which means you’ll get about three-and-a-half iPhone 6S charges, or two-and-a-half Galaxy S6 charges. With a lithium-ion battery, it should be able to last you 1,000 charging cycles.

On the bottom of the power bank, you’ll find two USB ports and a Micro-B port, and on the left is where the USB-C port lives — so you can charge multiple devices at once. You’ll receive a Micro USB cable to charge your external battery, but you can also use the USB-C port to power it up as well. For smartphones that are compatible, there’s a QuickCharge 3.0 input and output.

The back of the device has an LED power indicator to let you know how much juice is left in the battery — which you can activate by clicking the slim button on the left. It will also light up while you’re charging it to let you know how far along the battery is to being fully charged.

Each Gamer Series Power Bank will cost you $40, and that includes the Micro USB cable, sticker pack, and a travel pouch. You can purchase the power banks on GoGoToro’s site or through Amazon.

See it on Amazon

Editors’ Recommendations

• Charging via USB-C for laptops: Here’s what you need to know
• Get big sound from a small package with the Mini-O speakers
• Study: Social media bots aren’t just annoying, they’re used to sway opinions
• How does fast charging work? Here’s every fast charging standard compared
• Twitter to take back those verified badges if users don’t follow its new rules

Verizon Galaxy Note 8 updated with KRACK patch and Live Focus tweaks

The update is rolling out now and includes a fix for the KRACK vulnerability and tweaks to Live Focus mode in the camera app.

The Galaxy Note 8 is undoubtedly one of the best phones released in 2017, and if you purchased the device through Verizon Wireless, a new software update is on its way to make your experience with the handset even better.

The update changes the build number of the Note 8 to NMF26X.N950USQU2BQJA, and perhaps the biggest addition is a fix for the KRACK WPA2 Wi-Fi vulnerability that was discovered in October. There’s also a newer Android security patch that’s included, but rather than the most recent November one, it’s from October – go figure.

Along with these security-focused changes, you’ll also find a couple of small tweaks within the camera app, specifically when using the Note 8’s Live Focus mode.

Once you’ve enabled Live Focus, the indicator message above the shutter button is now bright yellow so you can more easily tell when you’ve toggled it on. Samsung’s also made light and distance guidance notifications easier to read, as well as allowing you to tap the back button to exit Live Focus and go back to the regular camera mode.

This update is rolling out to the Verizon Galaxy Note 8 now, and you can find more information about it here.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

• Galaxy Note 8 review
• Complete Galaxy Note 8 specs
• Galaxy Note 8 vs. Galaxy Note 5
• Which Note 8 color is best?
• Join our Galaxy Note 8 forums

Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint
Best Buy

Oculus’ reworked VR interfaces will be ready to test in December

If you happen to have an Oculus Rift headset and want to try its big interface makeovers, you won’t have to wait long. As promised, Oculus has confirmed that both its Rift Core 2.0 VR interface and the companion desktop app redesign will be available in public beta form sometime in December. Rift Core 2.0 is unsurprisingly the most conspicuous update — it’s reworked to center around Oculus Touch control, and adds a dashboard you can access from virtually anywhere. You can use Rift 2.0 on Windows 7 or later, although you’ll need Windows 10 if you want the dashboard to overlay on top of running apps or to give your desktop apps a virtual display.

The desktop app, meanwhile, is focused mainly on discovery. You’ll see Oculus news, an update store with quick access to wish lists, your library and your Oculus-toting friends.

There’s no firm timeframe for the launch of the finished software. Either way, both interfaces could be crucial to Oculus’ future. Now that a Rift headset and controller combo is considerably more affordable, Oculus’ take on VR is accessible to a much wider audience — it needs an interface that many people can use without much thought.

Via: VentureBeat

Source: Oculus

Amazon’s Silk web browser is now on Fire TV devices

If you’ve been looking for a way to browse the web on your Amazon Fire TV, now’s the time. The company has just released its Silk Browser for its media gadgets, making it compatible with the first and second generation Fire TVs, the second generation Fire TV Stick and the various smart televisions with Fire TV Edition built in.

According to AFTVNews, Amazon has been working on the browser since last March, and a beta version was leaked this past June. The site also notes that the Silk browser is not able to be installed on any third generation Fire TVs, as they run a newer version of Amazon’s Fire OS and the Silk browser may be incompatible with it. Silk works like pretty much any other browser, though you’ll use the Fire TV Remote to search, enter URLs and play videos. You can also use your voice to dictate, much like Apple TV’s implementation of Siri, though AFTVNews says it doesn’t work well on the Fire TV. The bookmarks page includes “trending on the web” sites, too, though it’s unclear where that data is pulled from.

Via: AFTVNews

Source: Amazon

Washington state sues Uber over data breach

The lawsuits are continuing to pile on top of Uber after it revealed that it covered up a hack in fall 2016. Washington state’s Attorney General has sued Uber for allegedly violating its local data breach notification law. Companies are supposed to notify the AG within 45 days if a breach affects 500 or more Washington residents, but that clearly didn’t happen when Uber paid hackers to keep quiet. The state is demanding penalties of up to $2,000 for each person whose data was exposed, which should lead to a penalty in the “millions of dollars.”

We’ve asked Uber if it can comment on the lawsuit.

The suit is only going to add to Uber’s many headaches as of late, but it was likely expecting this kind of response. The very point of the disclosure was to come clean and make amends for the ridesharing outfit’s actions during Kalanick’s leadership era, when the company all too frequently skirted the law. It may pay a stiff penalty now, but it may reap rewards in the long run if it regains trust and avoids future legal battles.

Via: Reuters

Source: Washington State Attorney General

NASA to release Voyager Golden Record as a vinyl box set

Speaking as a space-loving child of the ’70s and a music fan, it was hard to contain my excitement when NASA took to Kickstarter to fund a pressing of the space agency’s Voyager Golden Records. Sent into space in 1977, the Golden Record contained sounds of nature, greetings in many different languages and classical and rock music in the hopes that any aliens that found the space probe would better know humanity. The crowdfunding was successful, thankfully, and you can now get a box set of the watershed discs, this time on vinyl (or CD, if you must).

Released by Light in the Attic and Ozma Records, the $50 box set will contain two CDs containing all the audio content from the original, plus the encoded images — each scanned from a set of the master slides. There’ll also be a 96-page hardcover book with an original essay by journalist Timothy Ferris, who produced the Carl Sagan-curated Voyager Interstellar Record in 1977. The book will also have a gallery of photos sent back to Earth from the Voyager probes. You’ll be able to purchase the 3 LP Box Set in February of next year for $98. You can pre-order either edition now, with delivery for Christmas only available for the CD version.

Ozma Records notes that Voyager I entered interstellar space in 2010 and is currently almost 21 billion kilometers away from Earth. Voyager 2 is just finishing up its own, slower run of our solar system, but will end up “out there” as well. Whether aliens ever listen to the sounds on the Golden Record or not, at least we can own a piece of space history that embodies a hopeful viewpoint on our own.

Via: Pitchfork, Washington Post

Source: Ozma Records, Light In The Attic

Apple May Be Testing Autonomous Vehicles at Arizona Site

Apple may be leasing a former Fiat-Chrysler vehicle testing site in Arizona for autonomous vehicle research purposes, according to an unnamed source that spoke to Jalopnik.

Apple has reportedly been recruiting automative test engineers and technicians from vehicle proving grounds around Arizona to work at the site, located in Surprise, Arizona, but neither Apple nor Fiat-Chrysler would confirm Apple’s presence at the location.

Fiat-Chrysler in the early 2000s used the site to test the impact of hot temperatures on cars and their components. The location is said to contain multiple road surfaces, a high speed oval, steep grades, and areas dedicated to wet weather testing.

A Google Earth image of the test site in Surprise, Arizona, via Jalopnik
It was sold to a developer for $312 million in 2005 as a housing location, but the plans fell through and it has been unused for the past several months. Jalopnik says that records suggest recent activity has been spotted on the site, which has now been leased to a company called Route 14 Investment Partners LLC.

There’s no clear link between Apple and Route 14 Investment Partners LLC, but Apple has been known to use shell companies for leasing properties, trademarking, and other purposes.

It would also not be unusual or surprising for Apple to lease an autonomous vehicle testing site, as the company has made it clear that an autonomous system is something that’s in the works.

While Apple was originally said to be working on developing a full autonomous electric vehicle, the company’s focus shifted to an autonomous driving system in 2016 after the return of Bob Mansfield, who took over the project.

One of Apple’s autonomous driving test vehicles
Apple is already testing its autonomous driving system out on public roads using several Lexus RX450h SUVs outfitted with a slew of sensors and cameras.

In June of 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly confirmed Apple is working on autonomous driving systems.

“We’re focusing on autonomous systems. It’s a core technology that we view as very important. We sort of see it as the mother of all AI projects. It’s probably one of the most difficult AI projects actually to work on,” he said.

Related Roundup: Apple Car
Discuss this article in our forums