Vine’s biggest stars asked for money to save the app
Vine’s collapse didn’t surprise some of the platform’s biggest stars. For months, they had seen the views on their videos fall as users left the app for Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube. They considered leaving Vine themselves, but — as BuzzFeed first reported in March — decided to give the Twitter-owned team an intriguing one-time offer: money for Vines. Now that Vine is winding down, Mic has published new details about the deal which never came to fruition. Eighteen users reportedly asked for $1.2 million each in exchange for 12 original Vines, per user, every month.
These clips, they argued, would keep the public interested in the service. If the team declined, each of the ‘stars’ would naturally transition to rival platforms, where audiences and money-making opportunities are greater. The group demanded some product changes too, including better comment filtering for overly negative and harassing viewers. (Vine eventually rolled this out, according to one user, but it was “too little, too late.”) Ultimately, the company turned down the deal, trudging along the path that led to last week’s sad but not all that surprising decision.
Would the proposal have changed its fate? Probably not, however the fact it was deliberated at all shows just how much power social media “influncers” can wield, particularly when their platform is struggling.
Via: Gizmodo
Source: Mic, BuzzFeed
Apple Says Touchscreen Macs ‘Not a Particularly Useful or Appropriate Application of Multitouch’
CNET has published an extended interview with Jony Ive in which the Apple design chief discusses some of the design decisions that went into developing the Touch Bar in the company’s new MacBook Pro lineup.
The contextual OLED Touch Bar replacing the function keys on the new Macs was developed for at least two years, during which time Ive’s team explored the idea of larger, haptic-rich trackpads. According to Ive, “a number of designs” were explored that “conceptually make sense”, but were later rejected.
When we lived on them for a while, sort of pragmatically and day to day, [they] are sometimes less compelling. This is something [we] lived on for quite a while before we did any of the prototypes. You really notice or become aware [of] something’s value when you switch back to a more traditional keyboard.
Ive explained that his team’s point of departure was to see if there was a way of designing a new input that could be contextually specific and adaptable, yet also something that was mechanical and fixed. This required the development of a “difficult prototype” with a mature software environment, in order to work out if the idea had any real-world traction.
One of the things that remains quite a big challenge for us is that you have to prototype to a sufficiently sophisticated level to really figure out whether you’re considering the idea, or whether what you’re really doing is evaluating how effective a prototype is.
Ive said that after testing the designs, his team were unanimously “very compelled” by the Touch Bar as a viable input device, but that the real challenge was to integrate it into a specific product without compromising its existing design.
You sort of change your hat, because you have to figure out how do you then productize it, and develop the idea, and resolve and refine to make it applicable to a specific product. To do that in the context of the MacBook Pro — while at the same time you’re trying to make it thinner, lighter and more powerful — the last thing you want to do is burden it with an input direction that now has a whole bunch of challenges specific to something like touch.
Asked if the Mac community’s expectations and emotional ties to their devices affects his design considerations, Ive emphasized that his team “don’t limit ourselves in how we will push – if it’s to a better place”, although “what we won’t do is just do something different that’s no better”.
Apple has published detailed design guidelines on how developers should use the Touch Bar, steering them away from use cases that would suggest it functions as a second display. When pushed, Ive refused to elaborate on why Apple “doesn’t think a touchscreen is a particularly useful or appropriate application of multitouch”, because it would lead him to have to talk about things his team are currently working on.
However, reiterating comments made in an earlier interview with Apple executives Phil Schiller and Craig Federighi, Ive said that incorporating the Touch Bar “is the beginning of a very interesting direction” for the Mac. Rumors have circulated recently that Apple is considering introducing a customizable e-ink keyboard in future Macs, possibly next year, although the veracity of these claims remains unclear.
You can read CNET’s full interview with Jony Ive here.
Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Tags: Jony Ive, Touch Bar
Buyer’s Guide: Retina MacBook Pro (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums
The Morning After: Monday October 31st 2016
While today officially marks Halloween, we’re sure you’ve already made, worn and irreversibly damaged your costume over the weekend. That’s fine; we all have to come back to reality some time. And at least there are dinosaur brains, rep-counting headphones and a tour around Xiaomi’s HQ — the world’s next tech giant — to soften the blow of those Monday blues.
Clever girl.This brown lump was once a dinosaur brain.
Scientists say they have discovered the first known example of a dinosaur brain tissue fossil. It’s a particularly rare find: the researchers think they got lucky, theorizing that the dinosaur’s brain was preserved in highly acidic water (possibly from a bog or swamp), protecting its form before the whole animal was buried. It’s already offered a better insight into how dinosaurs’ brains differed from reptilian and bird gray matter.
Foodie TV without restriction.Alton Brown’s internet cooking show is the spiritual successor to ‘Good Eats’
If you were a fan of ‘Good Eats’, it’s time to get excited about Alton Brown’s new internet cooking show. As he revealed on a live Facebook chat, Brown will be looking to explore cooking beyond the constraints of mainstream TV broadcasting. That might include rabbit and sous vides — and that’s just the entree.
C’mon, just two more pull-ups.These headphones count reps so you don’t have to
Jabra’s new Sports Coach earphones can measure and coach not only your running but also cross-training style bodyweight exercises. Well, most of the time. Mat Smith struggles with push-ups in this heartwarming tale of man vs. gravity vs. sports headphones.
But wait, there’s more…
- Touring Xiaomi’s HQ – and its Apple-esque store
- Teen arrested for sharing an exploit that almost brought down 911
- Apple’s MacBook Pro isn’t the touchscreen laptop it ought to be
Gator Watch review: Parental peace of mind
When do you buy your kids a mobile phone? Age 15, 12, eight? With such hectic lives, perhaps separate lives, being able to keep in touch with your kids on the way home, when at a friend’s house, or your ex-partners house, is becoming more the norm.
Buying a fully-fledged smartphone and the multitude of questions that brings can be a lot, especially for children under 12. The Gator Watch is an alternative idea: a smartwatch for kids and designed to let you phone the wearer or have them phone you without all the baggage that comes with a traditional mobile phone.
We’ve tested it on two of the Pocket-lint kids to find out whether it works, whether they are happy to wear it, or whether it’s a flash in the pan device.
Gator Watch review: Design
Coming in blue, black, or pink, the Gator Watch is a fairly chunky device that is simple in its design. The rubber strap and rubber body is easily cleanable. It’s surprisingly hefty and large for a kids watch though.
Pocket-lint
The sides are adorned with a series of sealed buttons, but the main focus is on the basic colour LCD screen that delivers the time, plus other pertinent information. The watch face can display in either a digital or analogue style.
There is a small dedicated charger socket on the back of the watch that lets you charge from a USB socket. A magnet ensures it stays in place when connected.
Setup and management of the watch is achieved via the accompanying iPhone or Android app. Which is a good thing.
Gator Watch review: More than just telling the time
Where the Gator Watch becomes more than just a watch is the inclusion of a GPS tracker and mobile phone SIM card that roams between EE, O2, and Vodafone for the best signal.
The watch can be programmed, via the app, to be able to call up to 10 numbers and receive calls from 10 numbers. Only numbers on the safe “whitelist” are allowed – and in most cases you’ll probably only allow your kids to dial you or your partner.
Pocket-lint
To make a call you just have to long press on the volume controls, rather than having to worry about typing in any numbers, and that’s incredibly handy given your child doesn’t have to remember any long string of numbers.
In the £9-a-month subscription you get 60 minutes of calls from the watch, and unlimited calls to it. There is no text/SMS support.
Receiving a call is easy: you press a button, and just like the Apple Watch are expected to talk to your wrist, Dick Tracey style.
The speaker and microphone are surprisingly good, and the kids will love it. Okay, so it’s unlikely to work in a busy bar, but your kids aren’t going to be in a busy bar are they? Well, hopefully not.
Gator Watch review: Tracking your kids
Aside from being able to make and receive calls, the Gator watch also features a GPS tracker. With the aid of the app, you are able to track your kids or be alerted when they walk a certain distance away from you.
The app captures the data live and then plots it on a map for you to look at either in real-time or historically. It’s fascinating to see where your kids have been, whether that’s at school, or a friend’s house, and as long as the device has battery and a signal it will continue to ping you updates of the watches whereabouts… whether on a wrist or not.
Pocket-lint
In our tests we were able to see our kids had gone to school, where they went with a friend at a play date, even what route they took to get home.
Whether you tell your child is your decision, there is no way to tell from the watch that this information is being recorded and shared with the parent.
Gator Watch review: Battery and boredom
The battery will need recharging every four days, or sooner if you make lots of calls or travel a lot (the GPS sucks battery like nobody’s business).
At first that’s all your kids will want to do: call you. It’s new, it’s exciting, and initially quite fun.
“Dad, I’m upstairs,” “Mum, I’ve made it to the other side of the park,” “Dad I’m sneakily phoning you from the playground during first quarter,” will be the first barrage of calls you’ll receive.
Pocket-lint
But once you’ve told them that it’s really only for emergencies or for when there is a problem, the novelty quickly wears off. Then they’ll forget to charge it one night, and then they’ll start forgetting to wear it, until it is getting dusty in their bedroom along with the remote control car and the solar powered robot you spent one Christmas building together.
That’s not to say that’s going to be the case for everyone, but this is a gadget that will soon lose its excitement once the initial play is over. Partly because there’s not exactly much play on offer: there are no games to be found here.
The Gator watch suffers the same fate of most smartwatches: when it’s not telling the time it doesn’t do anything to entertain the user. That’s fine when you aren’t having to remember to charge it twice a week, but for this watch to be the success it has the potential to be, you have to remember to charge it, and for your kids to actually wear it.
Verdict
From a parent’s perspective, the Gator Watch is great. It lets you keep in touch with your kids while they are wearing it, saves you having to invest in a mobile phone – a tricky situation for kids under 12 we feel – and then track them so you know they are safe.
For kids, however, the experience isn’t so exciting after the first couple of days. The seemingly constant need to charge it can be a drag, too, especially alongside all the other things they have to remember for school.
For the Gator Watch to work you need to build it into your routine, that’s for sure. But having used it with the kids we can certainly see its potential.
Facebook tried to buy Snow, the ‘Asian Snapchat’
Facebook was rebuffed in its attempts to buy Snapchat and Mark Zuckerberg’s been like a jilted nerd ever since. The latest entry in his burn book comes courtesy of TechCrunch, which reveals that the social network tried to buy Snow, a Snapchat-esque service used in Asia. Snow was built by Navver, the South Korean company that created Line, to take advantage of Snapchat’s apparent lack of interest in all things Asian.
But not even a big stack of cash and a personal phone call from the Zuck himself was enough to seal a deal. Instead, Naver’s leaders believe that it can make Snow a big success without the help of the world’s biggest social network. Similarly, Snapchat has seen its value increase dramatically post-Facebook, and is in line to go public next year at a valuation of nearly $25 billion.
Like every good high school revenge movie, however, Zuckerberg isn’t going to let Snapchat ride off into the night. Facebook has been doing its best to rip off draw inspiration from its rival for the last few months with products like Instagram Stories. In addition, the core Facebook app now includes a selfie-filter camera (like Snapchat’s) and disappearing images that fade away after 24 hours (like… you get the idea).
Source: TechCrunch
Apple drops its iconic startup chime from the new MacBook Pros
Aside from the ports that didn’t make the cut, there’s something else that Apple’s taken away from its new MacBook Pro family: the startup chime. Yep, it’s taken out the F-sharp chord that accompanies the boot-up whirr of previous MacBooks, and that’s at least partially because the late-2016 MBPs (all three of them), will turn themselves on and boot up when you open them. So while the power button still turns the machine off, there’s no need to use it to turn it on.
This means your new MacBook won’t blare out said startup chimes when it’s opened up in public places or mid-meeting. According to Apple, the automatic start-up (as in, not from sleep mode), kicks in when you start up your MacBook Pro by opening it or plugging it in, when connecting it to power while the lid is open, and even when it’s closed if you’ve connected the machine to an external display.
Pingie, which discovered the change in Apple’s support notes, added it brings (at least part of) the MacBook series in line with the rest of the Apple product family: there’s not startup noise on iPhones, iPads or the Apple Watch. And here’s all those startup chimes, all in a row:
Via: Pingie, 9to5Mac
Source: Apple Support
Steam runs out of ‘Splinter Cell’ game keys during a sale
Digital stores by their nature usually have unlimited inventory, right? Don’t tell that to recent Splinter Cell: Blacklist buyers. Steam began a sale on Splinter Cell games on October 28th, and almost immediately ran out of Blacklist keys — you just received a “failed to contact key server” error (or similar) when trying to play the stealth action title. Steam support and developer Ubisoft promised that keys would arrive on October 30th, but there were still reports of CD key issues as of that afternoon.
We’ve asked both Valve and Ubisoft for their responses and will let you know if they say more. Some users say they’ve received refunds, but that’s not much comfort if you were determined to get Sam Fisher’s adventures at a discount. And no matter what, it’s clear that there wasn’t adequate planning. You don’t run a sale when you’re unprepared to handle the inevitable increase in demand, especially not in a digital era when customers simply expect software to be available.
Via: Kotaku
Source: Steam Community, Reddit
Humanity’s corner of the Milky Way may be larger than expected
If you accept conventional views of the Milky Way, humans live in a sort of cosmic cul-de-sac: our star is in the Orion Arm (aka Local Arm), a small spur sitting in between the much larger Sagittarius and Perseus arms. A team of international researchers might just shake up that sense of place, however. They’ve published a study indicating that our arm is much, much larger than once thought. Instead, it incorporates a large arm that extends almost all the way to the Perseus Arm, and another long spur that branches between the Orion and Sagittarius arms. It’s now believed to be about 25,000 light years long, or several times longer than expected.
The findings come after discovering several Orion Arm masers, or bright spots of radio emissions frequently caused by gas. Compare them to a readily available source of light on Earth (here, the light from a handheld red laser) and you can gauge their relative distance and speed.
It won’t surprise you to hear that verifying this data could be difficult. The study relied on the northern hemisphere’s Very Long Baseline Array of telescopes, and you’d need info from the southern hemisphere to form a more complete view. It’s not as if you can fly above the galaxy to get a better look, either. Even so, what’s here is enough to suggest that our segment of the Milky Way isn’t just a tiny offshoot, and that we don’t know as much about our galactic home as we think we do.
Via: Space.com
Source: Science Advances
Pirate Party victory gives it a real chance of influencing politics
As of now, the Pirate Party is more than just a symbolic vote for internet freedom, copyright reform or straight-up democratic change — in Iceland, it could have a tangible effect. The party just won 14.5 percent of the total vote and 10 seats in Iceland’s parliamentary election, giving a national Pirate Party its first real chance at forming a government (if only as part of a coalition). While the conservative Independence Party came out ahead with 21 seats, it’s unlikely to have any choice but to partner with one or more left-wing parties. Outrage over corruption forced the once-leading Progressive Party down to just eight seats, and there’s no guarantee that Independence will want to side with the Left-Green Movement (which also garnered 10 seats) or other parties.
To be fair, the Pirate Party didn’t make giant strides forward solely (or even primarily) because of its technology policy. It’s more likely that its values of free speech, privacy and government transparency appealed directly to citizens frustrated with shady politics. Also, this wouldn’t be nearly as feasible in many other countries. Iceland’s small population (less than 400,000 people) and approach to democracy increased the Pirates’ chances of scooping up enough votes to have meaningful power.
No matter how the results came to be, they could easily amount a litmus test for the Pirate Party. If it joins a ruling coalition, it gets to show whether or not its tech-savvy ideology can make a difference on a national scale. And even if it’s left out, it’s large enough in Iceland that it could ally with sympathetic parties on key votes. No, the election probably won’t have a tremendous effect on other countries, but it could give other Pirate Parties some added credibility.
Source: TorrentFreak
Alton Brown’s internet cooking show will be a ‘Good Eats’ sequel
Do you miss Alton Brown’s classic cooking show Good Eats? You’re about to get more of it… and then some. In a live chat with fans, Brown has revealed that his previously hinted-at internet cooking show will be a spiritual sequel to Good Eats, but without the corporate limits that kept him from cooking certain meals or exploring techniques while on TV. He may cook rabbit, for example, or work with sous vides — those just weren’t options on the Food Network, Brown says.
As a sign of the change in direction, the chef spent most of his chat soliciting ideas from fans. You could see him cooking with only a microwave, trying Hawaiian food or making poutine. He even floated the idea of making a Brunswick stew with squirrel meat. The internet-only show won’t debut until sometime in 2017, but it’s already evident that Brown plans to take full advantage of his online freedom — this won’t be sanitized for the sake of nervous broadcasters.
Source: Alton Brown (Facebook)
AIVAnet 