Instagram adds Boomerang clips, mentions and links to Stories
Instagram has been making regular tweaks to its Stories feature since it debuted a few months ago. Today, the social network is adding a trio of tools to the collection of photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. First, you can now choose to use Boomerang to capture clips for Stories. All you have to do is swipe right from your feed to access the Stories camera. Under the record button there will be an option for Boomerang mode. Once selected, simply tap record to shoot the short burst of photos that will play forward and backward in your Story.
In addition to the new Boomerang mode, Instagram also added mentions and links to Stories. Mentions are the same as if you were tagging someone in a comment or caption, just use the @ symbol followed by the username. Inside your Story, anyone you mentioned will be underlined and tapping on the username will display a pop up that links to the person’s profile. If you’re mentioned by someone you follow, you’ll get a notification in Instagram Direct. If someone you don’t follow mentions you, a notification will appear in message requests.
Links debut in Instagram Stories as well, but only for verified accounts. The company says the feature is in testing right now, adding a “See More” option at the bottom of Stories. To access whatever the link is pointing to, all you have to do is swipe up to view it with Instagram’s built-in browser. Unfortunately, there’s no word on when or if all users will be privy to the tool. On the plus side, all of these new items are available now for iOS, Android and Windows 10 via the latest update in each respective app store.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Instagram
Adobe brings full RAW support to Lightroom on Android
While iOS users have enjoyed full RAW support in Adobe’s Lightroom mobile app since this summer, the Android faithful had to be content with the company’s own DNG RAW format. Thanks to an update to the software today, Android users will now get the same functionality. Adobe has revamped the version of Lightroom mobile to include a technology preview of full RAW support. The new feature set includes the ability to connect a camera directly to a phone or tablet to access files if you have the necessary cable to do so.
As you might expect, the update also means that you’ll be able to edit full-resolution RAW files with the Android version of Lightroom mobile. Adobe says that the app will play nice with all of the file formats the desktop version does, in addition to Adobe Camera RAW. The company also explains that the tools that allow you to edit white balance, access detailed color info, edit uncompressed files and more with the mobile app use the exact same tech that drives those tasks on the desktop version of Lightroom.
What’s more, any imported files to your mobile device will sync across all versions of the photo editing app so you’ll have them whenever or wherever you need them. Lightroom mobile also labels RAW files so you’re less likely to grab a compressed or low-res version of a photo before you begin working. The updated version of Lightroom mobile for Android is available now via Google Play.
For Lightroom on the web, Adobe is giving users more tools when it comes to sharing. You can now add a header image to collections and divide up groups of images into sections. Once you do so, you can also input details about the sections should the need arise. When the time comes to add files to your Adobe Portfolio, you can now do so straight from the web-based version of Lightroom.
Source: Google Play
Microsoft patches Google-outed Windows security hole
As promised, Microsoft has issued a fix for the Windows security flaw that Google disclosed before a patch was ready. The update tackles vulnerabilities in numerous versions of Windows (from Vista through Windows 10) that would let an attacker get control of your system through a malicious app. You’re already safe if you use Windows 10 Anniversary Update and an up-to-date browser, we’d add — this is for people who can’t or won’t move to a newer operating system.
You have a strong incentive to upgrade quickly if you’re affected. The attack is known to have been used by hacking group Strontium for a low-intensity but targeted phishing campaign. It’s not certain that other organizations used the hole, but you likely don’t want to find out about new attacks first-hand.
The patch ends a brief but tumultuous episode between Google and Microsoft. Google published details of the flaw after learning that it was already being used for real-world attacks, but Microsoft criticized the move as irresponsible. It put users at “potential risk” by making it easier for malware writers, the Windows creator said. Whether or not that’s true, the question is whether or not the two sides are taking steps to minimize these issues in the future — ideally, any security disclosure comes with a patch ready and waiting.
Via: ZDNet
Source: Microsoft
Snapchat adds animations for things that aren’t your face
One of the most fun things you can do with Snapchat is apply a wacky filter to your face and turn yourself into a licking pup or flower princess. But those effects have only worked for the front-facing camera and on faces it detects. The company’s latest update for both its iOS and Android apps brings a handful of these cool graphics to the rear-facing cam so those who don’t want to take selfies can enjoy adding weird stuff to the world around them.
The new feature, called World Lenses, are activated when you tap anywhere on the screen with the rear camera running. Right now, only seven new options are available, including three Election Day skins and a rainbow-puking clouds one.
You can also use existing face filters with the rear cam. That means you can now turn your buddy into a golden flower princess or a cute deer.
These AR-esque effects could potentially work great on the company’s upcoming Spectacles glasses, which let you record round video clips to share on the app. You could turn your head around and discover quirky characters in your environment, such as a cute seal we found by moving a phone around with the new snowflakes lens on. Want to start trying World Lenses out for yourself? Make sure you’ve got version 9.43.0.0 of the app, and you’re good to go.
Via: The Verge
Source: Snapchat on iOS, Snapchat on Google Play
Browser add-on caught selling identifiable web histories
When you include the word “trust” in your internet company’s name, you’re under more pressure than most to respect the privacy of your customers… and one firm is learning that lesson the hard way. Web of Trust Services’ browser add-on has left the extension libraries for Chrome, Firefox and Opera after a German broadcaster’s investigation revealed that Web of Trust was collecting and selling users’ web histories to third parties. While the company said that it was anonymizing data, that didn’t hold up under scrutiny. The broadcaster managed to identify over 50 people from sample data, and uncovered everything from active police investigations to the implied sexual orientation of a judge.
Also, a German data protection commissioner chastised WoT for not doing enough to get the consent of its users (and there are many of them, with 140 million downloads) before gathering and selling info. Moreover, there’s evidence that the software can run the code it wants on any web page. There aren’t any known in-the-wild exploits, but that’s not exactly reassuring.
To its credit, WoT is taking steps to mend its ways. It’s reexamining its privacy policy, offering an opt-out for the data you share and revamping the way it ‘cleans’ data to get rid of potentially identifying info. Its previous approach “may not have been sufficient” to fully anonymize your data, a spokesperson tells The Register. The company is quick to add that only Mozilla pulled the add-on — WoT says it voluntarily yanked the add-on from the Google and Opera portals to “make appropriate changes.”
You should see an improved version of the add-on in the weeks ahead. However, questions remain: why sell histories without explicitly warning users, and making absolutely sure there wasn’t identifying data? And why not make data sharing opt-in? No matter what the answers, the findings are a reminder that promises of anonymized data by themselves aren’t enough. A company has to make sure that your sensitive content remains a secret in practice, not just in theory.
Via: The Register
Source: NDR.de (translated), Web of Trust, GitHub
Adobe’s powerful Photoshop Fix app finally arrives on Android
Adobe isn’t always quick to bring new creative apps and features to Android. It took the company over a year to deliver a version of Photoshop Fix for those devices. After making its debut for iOS last October, the mobile software brings some powerful desktop editing tools to phones and tablets that run Google’s OS. Tools like the face-aware Liquify tool to adjust facial expressions are here alongside Heal, Smooth and other adjustments that can make precise changes to images from a mobile device.
Photoshop Fix for Android also offers tools to tweak more general characteristics like focus, color and paint as well as the ability to adjust exposure, saturation, contrast and more. When you get back to your desktop machine, Adobe’s CreativeSync tech takes the work you’ve started on mobile and packages it in a layered PSD file so you can easily continue the task. Of course, you’ll need a Creative Cloud subscription to employ that workflow.
If you aren’t paying for Adobe’s suite of creative apps, you can still use Photoshop Fix on an Android device, but you won’t have access to the handy sync features that allow the company’s mobile and desktop offerings to work together. If you’re looking to give it a go, Photoshop Fix is available for free at Google Play.
Via: Lifehacker, Android Police
Source: Google Play
The Engadget Podcast Ep 13: A Chicken with its Head Cut Off
Editor in chief Michael Gorman and executive editor Christopher Trout are in town this week and stop by to talk Peter Thiel, Vine and online voting with host Terrence O’Brien and reviews editor Cherlynn Low. Then, after they’ve had their fill of beating up on Thiel, the four will explore how dating and sex have changed in the age of apps. Warning, things get a little NSFW.
The Flame Wars Leaderboard
Wins
Loses
Winning %
Christopher Trout
5
1
.833
Mona Lalwani
3
1
.750
Dana Wollman
10
6
.625
Devindra Hardawar
10
9
.526
Chris Velazco
3
3
.500
Cherlynn Low
6
7
.461
Nathan Ingraham
4
6
.400
Michael Gorman
1
5
.167
Relevant links:
- Supporting Peter Thiel isn’t embracing ‘diversity’
- Facebook chief explains why Peter Thiel is still on the board
- Gawker settles with Hulk Hogan for a reported $31 million
- Is tech billionaire Peter Thiel prepping for a life in politics?
- Memories of a better Vine
- Twitter’s identity crisis killed Vine
- How to outsource your love life
- Ghosting redefined
- The incredibly sad world of niche dating apps
You can check out every episode on The Engadget Podcast page in audio, video and text form for the hearing impaired.
Watch on YouTube
Watch on Facebook
Subscribe on Google Play Music
Subscribe on iTunes
Subscribe on Stitcher
Subscribe on Pocket Casts
Opera’s latest browser can cope with your mountain of open tabs
Many web browser creators like to boast about performance in ideal conditions, where there’s only one tab and the app is already open. But that’s not how it works in real life — many people launch their browsers with numerous tabs left over from their last session, and that can be glacially slow if you don’t have speedy storage or loads of memory. Opera thinks it can do better. It’s releasing a new version of its desktop browser (41) with a smart startup sequence that prioritizes the tabs you’ve been using recently, dramatically reducing the time it takes to get going.
In the company’s testing (on a modest Lenovo Yoga 300 with a Core i3 and a hybrid hard drive), the browser typically loaded over 50 percent faster with 10 or more tabs open in the last session. The improvements only got larger for intensive multi-taskers, according to Opera. With 42 or more tabs, the speed-up was about 86 percent — whether or not the browser was already in memory. Where the previous version of Opera took almost 64 seconds to load from a cold start, the updated software is ready to go in less than 9 seconds.
Of course, whether or not you’ll notice a difference depends on your system. If you have a powerful system (particularly if you have a solid-state drive), you aren’t going to see the same night-and-day difference. Having said this, Opera 41 could be worth a go if your not-so-beefy PC regularly struggles to keep up with your tab habit.
Source: Opera
Amazon’s Fire TV software is getting a new look soon
Amazon’s refreshed Fire TV stick with Alexa-enabled remote started shipping today, and along with the new hardware, we’re getting a look at the new Fire TV software update. The new look is said to be a “cinematic” experience, with video trailers and screenshots aplenty. Another change is how it features content from non-Amazon providers, which may increase support from other services on the Fire TV platform.
As SlashGear points out, the primary navigation elements have shifted from the left side to a bar across the top, with category labels. As far as individual apps, those can be reordered at will, while the FireTV and compatible apps are also accessible to more people with a VoiceView screen reader. This updated software is coming to the new stick and most recent Fire TV box first, later this year.
Amazon:
New Update Makes It Easier To Browse and Discover Content – Coming Soon
Coming later this year, a free software update for Fire TV will give customers a new on-screen experience that makes finding what to watch next even easier and more enjoyable. Fire TV will present a cinematic experience, offering video trailers and content screenshots to help customers access the content they want more quickly – without the need to open and close multiple apps. Finding and enjoying apps and games will be easier too with new support for a customizable apps list on the home screen. Accessibility improvements will also be included, allowing customers to use Fire TV and any compatible apps with the VoiceView screen reader. These features will be available for all Fire TV customers as a free, over-the-air update, starting with the new Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote and latest generation Fire TV later this year.The all-new Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote is available for pre-order beginning today for $39.99 at http://www.amazon.com/fire-tv-stick and will start shipping to customers on October 20. Eligible customers who purchase online or from a participating retailer and activate their device by October 31 will also receive a free content bundle. This limited-time offer includes one month of Sling TV and two months of Hulu (Limited Commercials) for new subscribers, and a $10 credit for Amazon Video – a value of up to $65.
Source: Amazon
The Pixel’s wallpaper app is now available for all Android phones
If you’ve ever picked up a Chromebook, you’ve probably noticed that Google loads them up with dozens of gorgeous wallpapers. But for some reason, Google has only offered a paltry handful lately on its Android devices. That changed with the Pixel and Pixel XL, which came with a great Wallpapers app with the same variety and quality we’re used to seeing on Chromebooks, and now the app is available for all Android devices.
The Wallpapers app, which is now live in the Play Store, offers images in five different categories: Earth, landscapes, cityscapes, life and textures. Each category has more images than I wanted to count, and there’s an option that’ll cycle through a particular category with new options every day. Naturally, you can also access your device’s default wallpapers as well as your own photos in this app, as well.
If you want to see more from the photographer who took each shot, you can tap an “explore” button to see details on the artist and location — it’ll bring you to the shot on Google+ or the 500px photo-sharing community. And Google says it’ll keep adding more images over time. It’s not the kind of app that’s going to change how you use your phone, but it might just make it a little more pleasant to look at.
Via: Android Police
Source: Google Play Store
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