Twitter is testing new emoji reactions
Twitter users are getting the chance to experiment with some new implemented emoji reactions.
Shortly after changing the star to a heart, Twitter has now delivered a bunch of new emotions to express one’s feelings on a particular post. Twitter wants users who write a post to get a sense of how other people are feeling about their tweet. With this enhancement, people can see how someone felt when reading a particular tweet that one wrote. Twitter is hoping this will put an end to the complaints pertaining to the lack of expression. For now, only a few emotions are available so it may remain hard for some to fully describe exactly how they’re feeling. But it’s great to see that Twitter is experimenting with some new implementations.
It should be noted that the update is not permanent and is more of a test run to see if people enjoy the feature. So if you’re digging the new emotion emojis, be sure to let Twitter know!
Via: TechCrunch
Come comment on this article: Twitter is testing new emoji reactions
Twitter tests emoji reactions for the times a heart won’t do
Still bummed that tapping a heart is the only way to show your appreciation, sadness or any other reaction for a tweet? Well, that may change. Twitter user @_Ninji stumbled across emoji reactions in a jailbroken version of the social media app. Despite being included in the developer build, the feature still needs a lot of work, but it does allow users to employ the frown, party noisemaker and 100 emjois (just to name a few) to get their point across. The discovery comes right on the heels of Twitter swapping stars out for hearts when a tweet is favorited, much to the chagrin of most of the internet. Facebook recently added animated options for more appropriate reactions than a simple Like as well. Since the Twitter emojis appear to be a long way from finished, we’d surmise we’ll hear more about the tiny pictures in tweets soon enough. Here’s to hoping the taco and poop emoji make the cut. We’ve reached out to Twitter for more information, and we were sent the monkey with its hands over its mouth emoji.
Via: The Verge, @codeblue87 (Twitter)
Source: @_Ninji (Twitter)
Major firms show support after Friday’s attacks in Paris
Shortly after news broke of the attacks in Paris on Friday, major technology companies stepped up to show support.
https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js
Google acted quickly in supplying free calls to France using Hangouts. Through the rest of the weekend, anyone can use Hangouts in order to contact friends and family currently located in the country. The company will likely extend this for a few more days.
Immediately, Facebook activated the Safety Check feature to allow users nearby the attacks the ensure others that they are safe.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, commented:
“My thoughts are with everyone in Paris tonight. Violence like this has no place in any city or country around the world. We’ve activated Safety Check, so if you’re in Paris you can mark yourself safe or check on your friends and family.”
Facebook is also offering a special filter for profile pictures to show their support. Users can place the country’s flag over their own profile pictures temporarily or permanently. Facebook allowed the same thing earlier this year when the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the ban on gay marriage.
Amazon
Amazon quietly modified its homepage to show the flag of France raised above the French word for “solidarity.” The site also shows the Eiffel Tower next to the word on its banner, visible on every page.
While Twitter did not explicitly make a move, its users took on a huge social responsibility, offering care for those in the city of Paris. The hashtag #PorteOuverte, which means “open door,” was used by Twitter users throughout the city in an effort to provide shelter for those loose on the streets and unable to get to a safe location.
Twitter’s Moments feature, in addition to the straightforward timeline, became a way for people around the world to follow the sights and sounds of what went on in Paris on Friday. Moments is still updating as news follows the aftermath.
As stated last night, the thoughts of everyone at Talk Android are with the people of Paris.
Come comment on this article: Major firms show support after Friday’s attacks in Paris
Twitter’s Scratch Reel lets you scrub GIFs like digital LPs
Twitter debuted a new Scratch Reel feature on Thursday which allows users to hover a mouse or finger over GIFs and rewind or advance the image as they please. The functionality appears to only apply to GIFs created by third-party @SnappyTV publishers, so don’t expect to be go all Pam the Funktress on your GIF feeds just yet.
Source: Scratch Reel
Russia demands Twitter store user data within the country
Russia’s social media shenanigans continue. After first blocking Reddit over a thread on ‘shrooms, banning Wikipedia for a single entry on cannabis, threatening Facebook over gaymojis, outlawing memes and demanding Google loosen its Android policies, the Russian government has now reportedly ordered Twitter to move data on the country’s citizens to local servers.
Source: BBC News
Recommended Reading: The gadgets and cocktails of James Bond
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you’ll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read.
The (James) Bond Index
Bloomberg Business
With the latest installment in the Bond collection debuting this weekend, Bloomberg Business offers a guide to the drinks, gadgets, clothes and one-liners of the secret agent. The interactive piece is not only a handy reference tool, but it’s rather fun to scroll through, too. It’s certainly a must-read for the Bond trivia nerds.
Lead engineer at Twitter apologizes over diversity issues
Alex Roetter is a lead engineer at Twitter, who was recently called out for a post he made about diversity issues. He was questioned about suggesting to use job applicants’ names to determine their ethnicity. He planned on using this information to determine why some minorities weren’t hired as much.
Leslie Miley, a former engineer, and the one who singled Rotter out said:
“What I also found disconcerting is this otherwise highly sophisticated thinker could posit that an issue this complex could be addressed by name analysis,”
Roetter responded by saying he did a poor job at communicating his ideas.
“I realize that we have blind spots, myself included. One of mine is that I have a tendency to default to engineering-driven, quantitative solutions. The issues Leslie raise require so much more than that.”
Twitter has been trying to add more diversity amongst it’s staff recently. They have been using things like “inclusion training” and resource groups for minority employees. Roetter also said he wants Twitter to change so it can be a place where all the employees feel comfortable.
Source: Alex Roetter (Medium)
Via: Recode
Come comment on this article: Lead engineer at Twitter apologizes over diversity issues
New Android adware reportedly “nearly impossible” to remove
Lookout has discovered a new form of adware that roots a device after the user installs it, then entrenches itself as a system application. This makes it impervious to any normal means of deleting it, even factory resetting the device.
This is a new, more sophisticated version of typical adware, which tends to make itself annoying by constantly pushing ads at the user. Since this form of malware has root access, it doesn’t need to annoy the reader, and most users probably won’t even know they’ve been infected. It’s effectively a family of trojan viruses.
Lookout discovered that this family of trojans hides inside legit apps like Candy Crush, Google Now, Facebook, NYTimes, Okta, Twitter, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and over 20,000 others. Infected versions of these applications are not available on the Google Play store and must be downloaded from third party stores. Since most instances of this malware leave the host app virtually unaltered, users may not notice the sneaky little culprit that snuck in on it.
Lookout reports that successfully embedded instances of this malware are “nearly impossible” to remove, and that the only solution for most users will be to purchase a new phone. Adware with this kind of power is obviously a security risk. Apps typically aren’t given access to files created by other applications, but root access bypasses this safeguard and could expose infected devices to fraud and identity theft.
Lookout has identified three different families of this form of trojan malware: Shuanet, Kemoge (or “ShiftyBug”), and GhostPush. These families have separate designers but share 77% of their code, meaning that even if those responsible for creating them are not working together, they are at the very least aware of each other. The highest rates of infection are in the United States, Germany, Iran, Russia, India, Jamaica, Sudan, Brazil, Mexico, and Indonesia.
So is this really that big of a deal though? While the situation might sound dire, in reality, the odds of being infected by such a trojan probably is pretty low. As already mentioned, these infected apps are found in 3rd party stores, so if you stick to official channels — you should have very little to worry about.
Not a fan of Twitter’s Like button? This Chrome extension will bring the stars back to your timeline
If you are still in shock because Twitter changed over from using the Favourite button (indicated by a star) to the Like function (indicated by a heart) to acknowledge someone’s tweet, there may be help at hand to sooth your sorrow. There is now a Chrome extension available that will bring back the Favourite button.
I made a Chrome extension that brings stars back. It's all going to be okay. https://t.co/kBAh7B5OP5
— Reed Kavner (@reedkavner) November 3, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Developed by Reed Kavner, the Chrome extension is called Fav Forever, and promises to bring the stars back. All you have to do is install the extension on your Chrome browser, and the stars are back in your Twitter timeline. Of course, the Fav Forever extension will only work on your Chrome browser, it will not bring the stars back to other browsers. Fear not, don’t throw in the towel just yet, I’m sure that the developers for third-party apps will keep the Favourites button as an option for their respective apps, Microsoft Edge users will have to change over to a more functional browser.
Personally, I was never a fan of the Favourite button, for precisely the reason that Twitter changed it, because how can every tweet you like be your favourite? Sadly, I’m also not a fan of the Like button either, is it just me or is the Heart icon just too much? For me, a heart means love, and I doubt I will ever love a tweet. I’m not sure why Twitter couldn’t have just gone with a thumbs up icon? Yes, it’s like Facebook do things, but hey, Twitter has already changed to ‘Likes‘, they may as well go the whole hog. Perhaps a tick icon would have been adequate, but a heart? Really? I guess it’s back to the Favourite button for me, at least on my Chrome browser anyway.
Are you a fan of the Like button?
Source: Fav Forever (Chrome Web Store)
Via: The Verge
Come comment on this article: Not a fan of Twitter’s Like button? This Chrome extension will bring the stars back to your timeline
Who needs stars? Twitter is changing its star icon to a heart
You can say a lot with a heart. “LOL, adorbs, hugs, wow, high five, yes!,” is why Twitter is switching to a heart icon for favorites in place of a star. The star was apparently confusing to new users of Twitter and a heart icon is much more universal.
The heart, in contrast, is a universal symbol that resonates across languages, cultures, and time zones. The heart is more expressive, enabling you to convey a range of emotions and easily connect with people. And in our tests, we found that people loved it. – Twitter
Twitter’s live video streaming service, Periscope, uses hearts to show how you feel. Twitter’s other service Vine is also swapping the star for the heart to keep things consistent across its platforms. If you haven’t seen the heart yet, open up your apps and check because the change occurred today.
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