Uber’s new app gives drivers more incentives to pick you up
You might care the most about Uber’s app for customers, but the drivers’ app matters a lot, too — after all, you won’t get a ride if cars aren’t waiting for your request. Appropriately, Uber has revamped the driver app to make it far more informative and give workers more reasons to offer you a lift. The software provides a real-time status feed with notes, tips and (most importantly) extra chances at making money. It also has an always-available activity map that shows drivers where they’re most likely to get customers, even when surge pricing isn’t involved. Earnings and ratings are easier to understand, too. You may never catch more than a fleeting glimpse of this app, but it could make all the difference if you get a timelier trip home from a driver eager to make a buck.
Source: Uber Newsroom
Ambush a friend’s browser with this crazy Chrome extension
There’s an insane new Chrome extension called “Shove” that we’re sure nobody’s going to misuse. As spotted by Wired, it lets you drop a web page onto your friend’s browser, and vice-versa. Unlike skeevier apps like Peeple, however, it’s strictly opt-in. Once both parties agree, they can open up links in each others’ browsers anytime (seriously, there are no limitations) whether you want to see men in belted sweaters or not. Putting aside the off-the-charts security risks, I tried it with my UK colleague Matt Brian and it definitely works as advertised — not only does it open a page up immediately, but it puts it front and center as the active tab.
The app could be useful as a way to share links quickly or even for browser “conversations” with GIFs, images or music videos in the place of words. If you can’t find any friends who want to play, there’s even a “Shovebot” script that will let you hit it with links and will hit you right back. As for the rampant potential for abuse or bullying, the creators told Wired nobody can contact you unless you let them. In other words, “this (app) is… for people who have at least mildly good judgement.”
Via: Wired
Source: Shove
Facebook’s iOS app uses 3D Touch to make short work of status updates
When you find yourself needing to post to Facebook quickly, the social network’s app leverages tech on Apple’s latest handsets to do just that. Thanks to the newfangled 3D Touch tool that arrived with the new iPhones, a press on the app’s icon will reveal options for taking a photo/video, uploading a photo/video and composing a status update. With the addition, Facebook joins a collection of apps (like Dropbox) that have already taken advantage of the new iOS feature. If your trusty device hasn’t alerted you to the update yet, nab it from iTunes via the source link below.
Via: iMore
Source: iTunes
TuneIn adds NFL broadcasts to its $8 premium radio subscription
Back in August, radio-streaming app TuneIn announced its $8/month premium streaming option that included music, audiobooks and live sports. Today, the company revealed that NFL games are now part of its on-field coverage. Thanks to a multi-year deal with the league, TuneIn will offer live broadcasts for all 32 teams, including both home and away play-by-play feeds. What’s more, all national and Spanish radio broadcasts will be included as well. There’s an NFL on TuneIn station too, serving up football coverage around the clock with news and commentary from NFL Network shows and podcasts. Starting in November, there will be a live “look-in” show streaming through the app that’ll offer news, stats and clips of in-progress games on Sundays from 1 PM to 8 PM ET. If you’re willing to follow the action the gridiron without the visuals, TuneIn is certainly a cheaper option that the NFL Game Pass which offers video replays in addition to live gameday audio for $99/year. NFL streams join MLB, Barclays Premier League, Bundesliga and more sports coverage that’s already available through the TuneIn subscription service.
[Image credit: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images]
Via: The Verge
Source: TuneIn
Apple’s News app is disabled in China
The News app in iOS 9 is officially available only in the US, but you can still access stories when you’re traveling abroad… unless you’re visiting China, that is. A New York Times source understands that Apple has completely disabled News access in China, preventing you from reading anything new even if you’re using one of the country’s few uncensored connections on a US device. Apple hasn’t commented on why it’s switching things off, but the theory is that it would rather turn off News access altogether than deal with the many hassles of censoring individual sources and articles.
This kind of nation-specific deactivation isn’t new. Apple automatically disables Maps’ regular data when you’re in China, replacing it with government approved maps that blot out details of most other parts of the world. As software testing service head Larry Salibra notes, though, there are worries that Apple is a little too willing to automatically change features the moment you set foot in China, even if you’ve turned location services off. While the company’s current approach is arguably necessary if it wants to keep selling iOS devices in China (and it definitely wants to), the concern is that officials may ask Apple to selectively disable other apps that challenge the nation’s political status quo.
Source: New York Times
The best podcast app for iOS is now completely free
Overcast is widely considered to be the best podcast app on iOS, if not all mobile platforms. For many, its no-nonsense interface and slick features (such as cutting dead air and boosting voices) make Apple’s official app seem crude. You’ve had to pay $5 to see everything it has to offer, though… until now. App creator Marco Arment (he of Instapaper fame) has released Overcast 2, which switches to a completely free business model. As he puts it, he didn’t like seeing the majority of users (80 percent) miss out on the features he wrote — he’d rather make sure you see everything. You can still donate $1 per month if you want to help, but that contribution is strictly optional.
The new version isn’t just about unlocking existing features, as you might have guessed. You can now stream podcasts rather than downloading everything in advance, and keep tabs on your storage so that your collection doesn’t get out of control. There’s long overdue support for chapters, too, and you’ll get 3D Touch shortcuts if you happen to own an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus. All told, Overcast 2 is likely worth trying even if you passed on it the first time around — you can find out if it lives up to the hype without denting your bank account.
Via: Marco Arment
Source: App Store
GLAAD updates Spirit Day app for 2015’s anti-bullying event
A lot of people have been tinting their social media profile pics in purple every mid-October for the past five years as a way to support the LGBT youth and to take a stand against bullying. One easy way to do that is to use the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation’s (GLAAD) “Go Purple for #SpiritDay” app, which it has just refreshed ahead of this year’s event on the 15th. In addition to generating purple profile pics, the app has a direct donation link to GLAAD, as well as new anti-bullying resources and sharing options. It’s now available for download from both iTunes and Google Play devices — just note that you’d have to watch a video ad from its sponsor (Toyota Financial Services) when you first fire it up.
Source: GLAAD
Adobe ditches the Creative Cloud requirement for Lightroom mobile
Adobe’s Lightroom mobile apps were already free to download. However, the software still required a Creative Cloud login or for you to own the desktop version to get any real use out of it. Well, that’s not the case anymore. Adobe nixed the membership requirement for Lightroom on iOS this week, and it’ll soon to the same for the Android version that debuted earlier this year. Now that the photo-editing app is really free to use on your phone or tablet, you’re free to add it to your photo-editing arsenal. There’s a smattering of new features as well, including a Dehaze filter to improve photo quality, Targeted Adjustment tool for focused tweaks, an in-app camera for snapshots and more. As we previously reported, you can also select photos for retouching in Photoshop Fix before easily returning to Lightroom thanks to the newfangled Creative Sync technology. New versions of both Lightroom mobile for iPhone and iPad are available in iTunes now.
Via: Apple Insider, The Next Web
Source: Adobe
Adobe teases ‘Monument Mode’ for better photos of crowded landmarks
During its Max design conference this week, Adobe previewed a number of features that are currently in the works. For example, the company is building a tool called Monument Mode that’ll allow you to remove unwanted people, cars and other objects from those vacation photos with a single click. The idea here is that when you visit a popular landmark (or monument), it can be difficult to snap a good photo in a crowd. Monument Mode employs an algorithm that distinguishes between moving and stationary objects, so if someone walks in the frame, you can make the necessary edits quickly. The tool actually captures live footage, nixing those moving objects to create the shot you can actually use.
While Monument Mode may be the most attractive tool Adobe teased, it has a whole lot more up its sleeve. The company is working on a faster way to rid images of photobombers and other unwanted items, too. This tool employs “an artificial intelligence engine” to do the heavy lifting without all of the steps that are currently required. Details are scarce on the tech for now, unfortunately, but it could do wonders for a photographer’s retouching workflow. There’s also a feature for adding enhanced perspective to photos, a quicker method for creating printable 3D portraits from flat photos, Project Faces to lend a hand with custom typography and a load of other items. Adobe is clear that these are very much in the R&D stage right now, and there’s a chance they may not make it into any of its Creative Cloud or mobile apps. It’s still neat to have a look at what’s in the works, though, even if this show-and-tell ends up being nothing more than a tease.
Source: Adobe
Chromecast app for iOS gets content and app recommendations
The Chromecast app for iOS no longer has a sad, bare interface, now that the major overhaul Android users have been enjoying for weeks has arrived. Since it’s the same update Google released for its homegrown platform the same time the new Chromecast was announced, it comes with the new “What’s On” and “Get Apps” tabs. The former shows popular and trending content from the apps you already have on your device (like movies and TV shows on Netflix and Hulu), while the latter shows you lists of Cast-enabled applications you can get. It also comes with a Search function that you can use to easily find titles from compatible apps. The update’s now out on iTunes and ready to download and install, even if you only have the older media streaming stick instead of the shinier and rounder 2015 version.
Source: iTunes
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