Watch Facebook’s F8 opening keynote at 1PM ET
After a few turbulent weeks for Facebook, it’s now time for the company to host its annual F8 developers conference in San Jose, California. And kicking off the event is none other than embattled CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who’s expected to talk about a wide range of topics. That, of course, includes user data and privacy — the thing everyone wants to know about right now, after what happened with Cambridge Analytica. But, that won’t be it: Zuckerberg will likely also touch on the overall state of the business, like the present and future of Messenger, Oculus, Instagram, Whatsapp and much more. You can tune in at 10AMPT/1PM ET right here.
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UK warns Zuckerberg will face summons if he doesn’t testify
The UK has reiterated its request for Mark Zuckerberg to testify before its Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Parliamentary Committee and this time it says if the CEO declines, he’ll be compelled to appear the next time he steps foot in the country. In March, following reports that Cambridge Analytica improperly obtained information on millions of Facebook users, the committee asked Zuckerberg to testify on the company’s “catastrophic failure of process,” but the CEO declined. Instead, Facebook sent a letter summarizing its recent data privacy changes and offered up some other high-level employees in place of Zuckerberg.
Last week, Mike Schroepfer, Facebook’s chief technology officer, appeared before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee and according to the committee’s chair, Damian Collins, he didn’t do a very good job. The committee was left with nearly 40 unanswered questions, which led it to re-request an appearance from the CEO himself. “As you may have seen from my press statement, the committee feels that the evidence lacked many of the important details that we need,” Collins said in his letter to Facebook UK Head of Public Policy Rebecca Stimson. “We therefore re-state our invitation to Mark Zuckerberg.”
In his letter, Collins included the list of questions that remain open and they stand in stark contrast to those presented to Zuckerberg by the US Senate and House committees earlier this month. While Congressional leaders asked the CEO many of the same questions repeatedly and inquired about rather basic concepts, such as how Facebook makes money, the UK committee’s questions dive into audits of third-party developers, the legalities of storing non-Facebook users’ data and dark ads. Zuckerberg’s mediocre performance in the US may shed light on why he’s so hesitant to testify before a more tech-savvy group of politicians.
The UK committee has asked for responses to its questions and its invitation by May 11th and it would like to host the CEO by May 24th. “We hope that he will respond positively to our request, but if not, the committee will resolve to issue a formal summons for him to appear when he is next in the UK,” wrote Collins.
Via: The Verge
Source: Parliament
Facebook will let users see which sites are tracking them
Facebook is kicking off its F8 conference by heading off everyone’s most pertinent question: What is the platform doing to address user data concerns? The answer, it seems, is Clear History, a new feature the social network is building to give users more control over the information it collects from your browsing history.
By popular demand from users and Congresspeople alike, Facebook’s chief privacy officer announced in a post that Clear History will be both a monitoring tool and a set of controls. It allows users to see which websites and apps using Facebook ads and analytics (including those with the ‘Like’ button) send your browsing information back to the social network. Then users are given the choice to stop associating this data with their personal account.
These sites will still collect data on user activity and send it to Facebook, but if a user opts-out under Clear History’s settings, the social platform won’t link the info to your personal account. This may sound trivial, but it means when the network repackages that information into advertising insights to sell to sites and apps, user data is folded into general demographic insights — not personally-identifying info.
As Facebook is only just announcing Clear History, it’s unclear when the feature will go live for users.
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Source: Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook)
Sony adds a slew of PS2 games to PlayStation Now
Sony’s PlayStation Now hasn’t been of much use for nostalgia trips unless most of your memories revolve around the PS3, but that’s about to change: the first wave of PS2 titles is available through the game streaming service. They’re not must-have blockbusters, but they’re definitely titles you’ll recognize, including Ape Escape 2, Dark Cloud 2 and Hot Shots Tennis. And importantly, these aren’t straight content dumps — each of these games plays in HD (no 4K, alas) with trophy support.
This same batch also includes a handful of high-profile PS3 titles like Limbo and Metal Slug 3.
This doesn’t include PS1 titles, and it’s safe to presume that many of the PS2 favorites of your youth aren’t here. It’s a start, though, and it makes PS Now considerably more compelling. If you no longer have access to your PS2 or never owned one in the first place, this gives you a chance to revisit the games of yesteryear without hoping for a remaster or digging through your closet.
Source: PlayStation Blog
Facebook continues AR push with tracking, audio and location tools
Last year, Facebook revealed Camera Effects Platform and the associated AR Studio — tools to make it easier to create interactive experiences using the Facebook camera. The latter enabled developers to add animated frames, masks and effects for Live broadcasts. Today at the F8 summit in San Jose, California, Facebook is announcing a new version of AR Studio that the company says will make it even easier to create and distribute AR experiences.
The draw here is the ability to create 3D objects to seamlessly integrate with the real world via your phone’s camera. AR Studio has new visual programming abilities that will let anyone drag-and-drop custom animations with their own actions and logic without having to write any code. Don’t want to create your own 3D models? Facebook partnered up with Sketchfab, which provides a library of models you can download and use in your own projects.
AR Studio will also have new capabilities, including a tracking system that gives your AR experience the ability to track targets like faces, hands and bodies. There will be a patch editor to control audio, manipulate virtual material, add interactions and even create custom shaders without any knowledge of code. The tools can separate people from the backgrounds, too, letting developers put people in a variety of real and unreal places. In addition, developers can connect their AR apps to specific locations and contexts, like AR tied to a movie theater or heat waves that show up when a coffee cup is recognized in a scene.
Analytics are coming soon, too, which will let you track the reach and engagement of your AR experiences. Finally, all these cool effects will be able to leave the Facebook app proper; you’ll be able to distribute AR apps that can be viewed with Instagram and Messenger, a system that’s already in closed beta on each of the platforms.
Click here to catch up on the latest news from F8 2018!
Source: Facebook
Oculus Rooms gets Hasbro games and a major redesign
Alongside the Go’s launch today, Oculus also announced an updated version of Rooms, its app for hanging out with friends in VR. The new app sports a swankier design, and it also features Hasbro board games, which will really make it feel like you’re relaxing in your living room. Boggle will be available this month, and Oculus says Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit will arrive in the future. As for other new features, you’ll be able to customize your rooms environment, and you’ll also have higher-quality avatars to customize.
With the previous version of Rooms, it was as if Oculus was just dabbling in the social VR space. But this update seems a lot more useful. For example, you’ll also be able to sit on a couch and watch movies from the Oculus Store. The company is also working on integrating Netflix and other streaming apps. The best part? You can keep the video on in the background while you play boardgames with your friends in another corner of your virtual living room.
Additionally, Oculus offered a few more details about its Venues app, where you can sit and enjoy concerts, sports or just about any live performance in VR. It’s kicking off with Major League Baseball games, Vance Joy and School Night at the Bardot concerts, as well as shows from the Gotham Comedy Club. There’s no update on when these events will happen, but Oculus says it’ll have a performance schedule soon. At first, Venues will target the Go and Gear VR — Oculus hasn’t said anything about Rift availability yet.
Facebook provides more ways to help in a crisis
Facebook is offering two new ways to contribute when lives are on the line. For starters, it’s launching a Blood Donations on Facebook feature that moves beyond signing up for donations to a full-fledged hub where you can find people and facilities looking for donations. You’ll not only see nearby requests, but the urgency and specific details (say, the eligible blood types). From there, you can get in touch if they don’t accept walk-ins.
The feature is rolling out to India, Bangladesh and Pakistan over a two-week period starting on May 15th. It’ll only be available on mobile to start with. Facebook told Engadget that it’s focused on what’s “most applicable” to people in these countries, many of whom primarily use their phones to get online. Expansions to other countries will depend on what Facebook learns from this initial launch — it’s serving these initial countries due to demand.
Regardless of where you live, the Crisis Response feature is adding a feature that lets you share important information with other affected people, such as the state of your neighborhood, a damage video or a road closure. It’ll be available sometime later this year. And in case you’re wondering, Facebook is keenly aware of the potential for abuse: you can only contribute if you’ve marked yourself safe (in other words, you have to be in the affected area), and you’re still subject to community standards. In theory, you’ll only see updates from those in a position to know.
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Source: Facebook
Instagram allows you to post to Stories from other apps
Today, Instagram announced a new way to share your favorite moments to Stories. You can now post to your Instagram Story directly from a third-party app, so you can easily share what you’re doing, what you’re enjoying or what you’re listening to without having to leave the app you’re in. Instagram will automatically pull the image into its camera, at which point you can edit or tweak it. The feature will debut with Spotify and GoPro, with more on the way, and will go live today on Instagram and later on Facebook.
It’s always nice to be able to seamlessly use a feature that you love like Stories, but the cherry on top here is that you don’t have to connect your Instagram account with these third-party apps to use it. That means you aren’t required to share your account information or other private data with apps in order to use this feature.
Instagram is also introducing video chat, as well as AR face and world filters for third-party developers, thanks to Facebook’s Camera Effects Platform. The company is debuting the feature with filters from Kylie Jenner, the NBA, Ariana Grande, Vogue, BuzzFeed and more. Of course, more partnerships will be announced in the future.
But wait, there’s more! Instagram also announced a redesigned Explore section, which is to come in the next few weeks. There’s a lot to look forward to, and it will be interesting to see how Instagram implements these various features.
Click here to catch up on the latest news from F8 2018!
Oculus TV launches this month with a ton of streaming partners
Given that the main function of an Oculus headset is to let you escape reality for a while, using one to watch TV seems almost pedestrian. Yet it’s a feature that’s often overlooked, until now. Oculus TV is launching later this month and it’s got a raft of entertainment partners on board, including Hulu, Showtime, Red Bull and Pluto TV, with more, including ESPN, in the pipeline.
The company has built a 3D environment specifically for the experience, where you can watch TV solo or with friends on a massive screen from a huge seating area. The platform will also serve as an app-launching area for other VR entertainment apps, including Netflix and Facebook Video app for TV. The exact launch date and complete partner line-up is yet to be announced, but expect it before the month is out.
Click here to catch up on the latest news from F8 2018!
Instagram adds video chat to its stable of social features
Live video has been a popular feature on Instagram, and now the social network is taking that one step further. Soon, Instagram will roll out video chatting, allowing a user to talk one-on-one or with a small group of people directly through the service.
Starting a video chat will be easy. All you have to do is tap the camera icon at the top of a Direct thread (assuming the recipient hadn’t opted out of using Direct messages). The really fun thing is you can continue video chatting as long as Instagram is open; if you want to scroll your feed while you’re talking, you can minimize the video and keep using the app as you normally would.
It’s an interesting move for Instagram, to be sure. While social networks are all about connecting people, video chatting brings another, more personal level to Instagram. It’s clear that the app is looking to be the place you go to in order to connect with new and old friends alike for a younger generation, whether publicly or privately, and is introducing new features with that in mind.
Click here to catch up on the latest news from F8 2018!
