Facebook makes it easier to start a conversation in Messenger
After adding SMS messages to the Android version of the app earlier this week, Facebook tweaked its Messenger UI to get you sending messages faster. Underneath the list of recent messages, you’ll now see a collection of your favorite contacts so you can get chatting quickly. The app will also show you birthdays like the social network’s site and core app does, making light work of sending someone a note. That useful list of who’s online is there as well, tucked down below the aforementioned messages and groups of contacts. With these changes, it should be even easier to send one of Facebook’s new emoji when the time comes.
Source: Facebook
Bluetooth 5: Quadruple the range, double the speed
Bluetooth is so ubiquitous, it’s easy to forget it’s still an evolving technology. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) defines the standard, and late last year teased what’s coming in the next major version change since 2009. Today, the body shared a bit more about what we can expect from the release of Bluetooth 5, expected in late 2016 or early 2017. For starters, the next version will quadruple the range of connections and double their speeds, too, with no increase in power consumption over the current, low-energy standard.
The immediate benefits of these particular improvements are quite easy to grasp. Your next Bluetooth speaker shouldn’t stutter when you accidentally take your phone with you into the kitchen, for example, and your next smartwatch should receive those push notifications that bit quicker, thanks to more bandwidth for data transfer. This becomes a lot more important when internet of things devices and Bluetooth beacons enter the conversation, though.
Bluetooth devices that broadcast information, as opposed to the kind you pair with, are becoming much more common, independent and easier to communicate with. Bluetooth 5 increases broadcasting capacity eight-fold, meaning much more data can be sent (and received) in a single interaction. Instead of a Bluetooth beacon pinging your phone with an URL that then gives you more info on a museum exhibit, for instance, it could do that and pinpoint your indoor location… and send you a discount voucher for the gift shop, all in the one blast.
The Bluetooth SIG isn’t in the business of dreaming up specific applications for the technology, though. Instead, it’s interested in improving things like range and data capacity, and letting everyone else dream up the new applications and connected devices.
Source: Bluetooth SIG
‘1979 Revolution’ arrives on iOS following Iranian ban
Shortly after its release in Iran, the country’s government banned the sale of 1979 Revolution, a game that allows players to witness the unrest as a photojournalist. Created by former Rockstar Games developer Navid Khonsari, the title combines video games and documentary filmmaker for a first-hand look at the events in Tehran in the late 1970s. The Iranian government didn’t think too highly of the project, as the National Foundation for Computer Games (NFCG) announced a plan to block sites like Steam and others that were selling the game less than two days after its April release. The NFCG called it “Anti-Iranian” and proceeded to confiscate copies of the title as well.
As another way to offer 1979 Revolution, Khnosari’s Ink Stories studio worked on an iOS version that’s available today. Bringing the game iPad and iPhone was always part of the plan, despite a PC and Mac release earlier this year. Once you download it, you’ll play through the campaign as photojournalist Reza Shirazi, the main character who returned to Tehran to document the events of 1978. As you might expect, Shirazi gets swept up in the covert happenings of the revolution, needing to act carefully to save himself and others.
Khonsari, who worked on Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto franchise, was born in Iran and interviewed over 50 scholars on the events alongside is wife and co-producer. What’s more, he collected 1,500 photos in addition to home movies and audio recordings for use in the game. In fact, some of the audio is from speeches made by revolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini. The mobile game will set you back $5 and it’s available now in the iTunes App Store.
Source: iTunes
Samsung will take on Google and Amazon in the cloud
Cloud computing! Doesn’t the mere mention of it just get your blood pumping? Okay, it might be dull, but we all depend on those data centers for CPU-intensive services like Google Now and Siri, storage for photos, documents and video, and infinitely more. So, it’s big news that Samsung has acquired Joyent, a US-based cloud platform, for an undisclosed sum. The company will be able to power its mobile apps, internet-of-things (IoT) business and storage, and possibly break into artificial intelligence (AI), an area dominated by Google, IBM’s Watson and others.
The Korean company currently relies heavily on AWS, Amazon’s cloud company, to power apps and storage for its mobile customers. Joyent will be able to take a lot of those chores on right away, and handle more in the future. “As we heard Samsung’s vision — which included using [our services] for a new generation of mobile- and IoT-based applications — it was hard not to get excited,” Joyent CTO Bryan Cantrill said in a blog post.
As we heard Samsung’s vision — which included using [our services] for a new generation of mobile- and IoT-based applications — it was hard not to get excited.
Samsung wasn’t specific about what those apps are, but it has many that could likely use Joyent’s services like Knox, S Health and S Voice. It could also potentially market services like deep learning and cloud storage to other companies. Joyent currently services Fortune 500 companies and sites like Storify, and Samsung says that it will continue to operate as a standalone company.
Joyent shows that Samsung is acting more like Google by acquiring services instead of developing them internally, as it has traditionally done. For instance, the company recently bought LoopPay, which it developed into Samsung Pay. When it tried to go the internal route, things didn’t go as well — remember S Cloud? Samsung was developing the storage service for Galaxy devices but eventually scrapped it, reportedly because it couldn’t come to terms with a third-party storage provider. With Joyent in its pocket, it may be able to resurrect that and other ideas.
Via: WSJ
Source: Joyent
Meerkat team reportedly behind ‘Houseparty’ app
Once Facebook and Twitter had live streaming under lock, Meerkat said it was done with it. As promised, the company has now pirouetted to the next trend — group video chat. According to Recode, it has quietly launched Houseparty, a relatively simple app that lets you host video calls with friends. To use it, you just create a new group chat link and invite others using SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook and other social networks. If any of your friends are on the app, they’ll be able to join a new chat instantly.
Why, might you ask, is a company getting into something that Skype, Google and others have done so well for years? If the idea sounds familiar, it’s a lot like Sean Parker’s new group video chat app Airtime, but stripped of features like link, music and video sharing. Given the name, you might cynically think it’s yet another attempt to capture the youth and party culture market, sans the broken china and burnt carpets. Apparently the strategy is working, because Houseparty is already bigger than Meerkat ever was after just a few months.
The app launched quietly in February, and Meerkat CEO Ben Rubin hasn’t even confirmed that his company is behind it (it’s listed under “Herzick Apps”). However, he indicated earlier that he’d launch a social network “where everyone is always live,” and Recode’s sources say that Meerkat is “definitely” behind it.
Houseparty is now available on Google Play and the App Store, and the company is reportedly running a closed beta with upcoming features. Just bear in mind that the “What’s New” section says, “Guys. GUYS. We’re feeling this new version,” and “errryday,” in case you’re wondering if you’re in the target market.
Via: TNW
Source: Recode
Chinese firm claims Apple copied its design for iPhone 6
It’s tough for foreign companies to do business in China, so much that even Apple is having a hard time. After the iTunes Movies and iBooks Store ban back in April, the previous generation of iPhones have recently been accused of infringing the design patent of some random Chinese company’s “100C” smartphone under the “100+” brand. Don’t laugh, because the Beijing Intellectual Property Office has since ordered Apple to stop selling its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in Beijing, with the reason being the general consumers won’t be able to tell the “minute differences” between Apple’s design and the 100C. No, really.
Of course, Apple and its distribution partner aren’t having any of this, so they have initiated an administrative litigation to reverse the ban. But given Apple’s previous failed attempt in China, they’re going to need a lot of luck to win this fight.
Source: Beijing Morning Post, TENAA
ICYMI: Rock-like smartphone, stomach tap and more
Today on In Case You Missed It: The FDA has just approved a device for obese people that is first surgically inserted into the stomach, then used like a tap after meals to drain up to a third of the food inside. The Runcible ‘anti-smartphone’ is going up for sale for $300, designed to not make a single noise except to notify you of incoming calls. It includes a camera, bluetooth and touchscreen, but still clearly resembles a rock on the back.
And finally, It is this show’s first birthday, so we are touching on a few of our favorite stories from the last year. If you’d like to check out a brief clip of the pigeon video out of New York, that’s here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Samsung’s ‘Smart Glow’ reinvents the notification LED
One of the perks of owning an Android phone is that manufacturers often include a notification LED that tells you when you have missed calls, tweets or text messages that need a response. Samsung has installed them in its mobile devices from time to time, but it may soon ditch them altogether in favor of something it calls “Smart Glow.” SamMobile reports that the Smart Glow feature consists of a colored luminous ring that surrounds a device’s rear camera and notifies users of calls and texts, but also when the battery is low or has reached full charge.
The feature’s main purpose is to provide at-a-glance notifications, but it will also help with selfies. If a user attempts to take a photo using the more powerful rear camera on a Samsung device, Smart Glow’s “Selfie Assist” option will kick in and light up when it detects their face, automatically snapping a photo a few seconds later.
Reports suggest Smart Glow will head to the upcoming Galaxy J2, which is destined for India. Samsung has yet to publicize the feature, so there’s no official word on whether it will make it to flagship phones like the Galaxy Note 7 or future Galaxy S handsets.
Via: SamMobile
Source: Galaxy Club (Dutch)
Pinterest nabs Fleksy’s team to improve its digital scrapbook
When it launched in July 2012 as an app designed to help blind users type via muscle memory, Fleksy was one of the first apps to bring extended typing features to iOS. Today, Fleksy announced it has been acquired by Pinterest for an undisclosed amount and will be open-sourcing some of it’s accessibility features for the blind and visually impaired.
According to VentureBeat, Fleksy’s award-winning keyboard app and technology won’t actually be coming to Pinterest itself, although they will remain in the App Store and Google Play store “for the foreseeable future.” As part of the deal, half of Fleksy’s 10-person team just became part of Pinterest’s mobile and mobile platform engineering departments and will incorporate their knowledge of visual search into Pinterest’s platform.
“Pinterest is intensely focused on refining the mobile experiences that make it possible to flow effortlessly through our catalog of ideas — on any device, any place in the world,” Pinterest’s Head of Core Experience Scott Goodson said in a statement. Likewise, Fleksy Founder and CEO Kosta Eleftheriou said his company will “continue working on intuitive content discovery experiences on mobile. We’ll be bringing our expertise on both iOS and Android to join Pinterest in developing the most robust, beautiful and engaging ways to help people discover ideas.”
Although it’s never been the most popular third-party keyboard on either Android or iOS, Fleksy racked up a sizable user base and slew of accolades, including Apple’s Best of App Store 2012 and app of the month from Royal National Institute of Blind People. It was also used to break the Guinness World Record for fastest touch-screen text message in 2014.
Apple will only let you remove iOS 10 apps, not delete them
Apple confirmed that it’s giving you the power to drop native mobile apps on iOS 10 when it published an official support page detailing the feature for beta testers. What that page didn’t mention is that you can’t really delete stock apps, you can only remove them from your home screen. When you delete a stock application on iOS 10, it loses its configurations and purges any data you gave it. However, its binary file will remain in your system even if you can’t see its icon anymore, the company’s SVP of software engineering told Apple blogger John Gruber.
While that might not be good enough for people who have a seething hatred for stock iOS applications, it likely won’t have any effect on the way you use your device. Apple points that its pre-loaded apps use less than 150MB and don’t take up a big part of your storage space. That said, you’ll still need to redownload them from the App Store — Cupertino made them available on iTunes for this purpose — if you change your mind.
By the way, Apple’s support page also gives you the rundown on some possible complications when you remove certain programs. For instance, if you try to remove the Watch app while it’s paired with a smartwatch, iOS will prompt you to unpair it first. You can’t use the Music app with CarPlay if you drop it, and stock and weather notifications won’t pop up anymore if you choose to get rid of them.
Source: Apple, John Gruber
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