Spotlight
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Snapchat tests mid-roll ads in Stories from Snap Stars
Snapchat is introducing a new way for some of its most popular users to earn money.
Snapchat launches TikTok rival ‘Spotlight’
TikTok now has another competitor to contend with: Snapchat. The app's new Spotlight feature will pay users for popular videos.
Teenage Engineering’s IKEA collection lands in stores next month
If IKEA's Sonos speakers are a little bland for your taste, you might be happy to know that the FREKVENS line, a collaboration between IKEA and Teenage Engineering, arrives in February. The collection is meant to get funky house parties started, and it includes everything from speakers to spotlights, spill-resistant furniture and a raincoat -- all with Teenage Engineering's signature colorful quirkiness.
D-Link brings AI-powered person detection to its home security cameras
Ahead of CES, D-Link is bringing new features to its home security cameras. Today, the company announced that its devices can now detect people and breaking glass. The added capabilities are powered by AI that runs on the edge, and D-Link says it's able to provide faster, more accurate results than it would with cloud-powered AI.
Philips seems to be working on more Hue outdoor lights
The Philips Hue smart lightbulb lineup already includes some outdoor lighting, but rumor has it that Philips will introduce more outdoor options, likely at CES. According to a leaked product catalog, found by Hueblog.de, Philips Hue is planning a pretty big expansion of its offerings.
Sex, lies, and surveillance: Something's wrong with the war on sex trafficking
Silicon Valley's biggest companies have partnered with a single organization to fight sex trafficking -- one that maintains a data collection pipeline, is partnered with Palantir, and helps law enforcement profile and track sex workers without their consent. Major websites like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and others are working with a nonprofit called Thorn ("digital defenders of children") and, perhaps predictably, its methods are dubious.
What's coming to Netflix in December: 'Mowgli,' 'Roma' and Springsteen
You might already be preparing to spend the holidays watching Avengers: Infinity War on repeat after it arrives on Netflix on Christmas Day, but there will be plenty of other new shows and movies for you to check out on the streaming service over the last month of the year. Among the big original movies are a version of The Jungle Book called Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (December 7th) and Gravity director Alfonso Cuarón's Oscar contender Roma (December 14th). Another awards hopeful, Susanne Bier's Bird Box, will be available December 21st, and a Jennifer Aniston vehicle, Dumplin', debuts December 7th.
Uber adds new features to ensure a smooth pickup
Uber is rolling out some new features aimed at making the pickup process simpler and more efficient. First, while the company began offering advanced booking in 2016, it's now going to start guaranteeing your pickup time. If your driver doesn't arrive within the time period you selected for the ride, Uber will give you credit towards your next ride.
Spotify's revamped podcasts will include more photos and video
Spotify announced today that it's launching a new multimedia format called Spotlight that will pair visual elements like photos and videos with podcasts, audiobooks and other audio content. It's the first big feature from Courtney Holt, Spotify's head of studios and video who joined the company last September after Tom Calderone left in August. When Holt was hired, Spotify said that he would be focusing on expanding premium video content as well developing podcast and audio programming offerings. "We are excited to launch Spotlight, a new format that merges great storytelling, news, information and opinion with visual elements all delivered in playlist form across a number of content categories," Holt said in a statement. "Playlists play an important role in the daily lives of our users bringing them closer to the creators they love."
Flickr takes advantage of iOS 9 and your iPhone 6s
The pressure-sensitive touch on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus was practically tailor-made for quickly glancing at photos, so wouldn't it make sense that major photography apps let you do just that? Flickr sure thinks so. It's launching an updated iOS app that takes full advantage of iOS 9, including 3D Touch on the iPhone 6s line. You can peek at photos, people and notifications with a firm push. It'll even flip through your camera roll if you swipe at the same time, giving you a quick way to share the right snapshot. As you might've guessed, that extra dimension also gives you home screen icon shortcuts that help you post photos that much sooner.
YouTube montage celebrates 10 years of wasting your time
From screaming goats to Russian meteorites, YouTube has been making us unproductive since 2005. What better way to celebrate than with an artsy montage (below) featuring categories like "fails," "memes," and "animals" from YouTube's own Spotlight channel? It's set to Alpha Aerobics by Blackalicious, and will take you back to the day with Nyan Cat, Charlie the Unicorn and -- who could forget -- Kicked in the Head by a Train. Best of all, there's a full list of all 76 videos, which by my reckoning should let you blow a whole other day.
Apple is reportedly working on its answer to Google Now
Apple has made some efforts to give you relevant info when you need it (such as iOS' Today screen), but it hasn't really had a response to Google Now, which brings you everything from timely directions to cheap flights. According to 9to5Mac's sources, however, that's going to change soon. The crew at 1 Infinite Loop is reportedly working on Proactive, an effort to unite Siri, contacts, schedules and apps in a way that surfaces info at just the right time. A revamped Spotlight search screen in iOS will automatically fill with content based on your schedule and habits. If you're going on a trip, for example, it'll pop up your Passbook ticket when it's time to go; if you always check Facebook in the morning, you'll get an app shortcut. There are also promises of restaurant suggestions showing up at meal time.
Apple is crawling the web to help your Siri and Spotlight searches
Apple doesn't have to rely solely on outside web providers like Google or Microsoft to fuel your iOS and Mac searches. The company has confirmed the rumored existence of Applebot, a web crawler that collects site information for the sake of Siri and Spotlight queries. It behaves much like Google's crawler, looking for the familiar "robots.txt" file that tells it what results to exclude on a given site; it'll follow typical Google instructions if there isn't any Apple-specific rule set. It's not clear how long Cupertino has been running its bot, or whether there's anything more in the works. However, it's evident that Apple wants its online searches to work no matter what its partnerships look like in the future.
OS X Spotlight Search glitch can expose your IP address and other details to spammers
If you use Spotlight Search and the OS X Mail application, you should take a moment to look at your settings. A recently uncovered glitch in Spotlight Search for OS X may leak private information, such as your IP address, to email spammers. The glitch causes Spotlight's preview functionality to ignore Mail's remote content settings, meaning it can unintentionally transmit data to some email senders. The glitch has been tested and confirmed by IDG News Service. When an email is shown in the preview window of Spotlight Search it also loads images shown in the email, even if Mail's "load remote content in messages" setting is turned off. Some email spammers include tracking pixels in their messages, which send information back to the spammer when they're loaded. At the moment the only way to fix the glitch is to turn off "Mail & Messages" in your Spotlight settings. You can find these settings in the System Preferences of your Mac.
Mac 101: Use Spotlight to quickly solve math problems
OS X's search tool, Spotlight, does more than just file and web searches. The handy utility also can be used to do semi-complex math equations with the answers appearing within the results section of the app. To use Spotlight for math, just open the utility by selecting the magnifying glass icon on the right side of the menu bar or typing Command-Space on the keyboard. Type in your equation using the standard math symbols (+, -, *, /) and brackets. Spotlight automatically produces the answer in the results section, and you can easily copy it using Command-C. Spotlight supports constants like pi (type in pi) and advanced math functions such as square root (type sqrt), sine (sin), cosine (cos) and tangent (tan). If you use a function, you must type the function name and follow that with the number inside parentheses. For example, the square root of 49 would be entered as sqrt(49). If you need more than Spotlight's basic math, you also can hit enter after you type in your equation to launch the calculator. If you have any other Spotlight tips, please share them in the comments.
MIT's Local Warming system warms you while you wander
Thought experiment time, folks: what would do you if you wanted to warm up a few people in a big, chilly room? Prevailing logic says to crank up the heat, but let's be honest here: sometimes the prevailing logic sucks. The folks from MIT's Senseable City Lab project have cooked up a more efficient (if slightly kookier) way to go called Local Warming. Their approach? To create a prototype LED spotlight that shoots a beam of heat at you as you walk around the room. In case you were curious, yes, it's all much safer than it sounds.
Apple picks Bing over Google to power Spotlight search on OS X Yosemite and iOS 8
While Google is the 800-pound gorilla when it comes to search, Apple is becoming increasingly flirtatious with Microsoft's Bing. While it wasn't necessarily clear during Monday's keynote, Microsoft has since confirmed that Bing will be the default search engine in Spotlight for both OS X Yosemite and iOS 8. Google certainly can't be too thrilled with this as the bulk of its revenue is tied to search-based advertising, a fact certainly not lost on Apple. In a statement provided to Search Engine Land on the matter, Microsoft said: Last year Bing became the default web search for Siri, and will now also be the default web search provider in the redesigned Spotlight search feature for the next generation of iOS and OS X. We're excited about extending the Bing platform to help iOS and Mac customers find what they need to get things done. And while Google will remain the default search engine in Safari, Apple is adding the privacy-focused DuckDuckGo search engine as an option for the first time.
How to find an app that's missing on your iOS device
I'm an app-aholic. I have far too many apps on my iOS device, and I add more almost every day. I don't always take the time to organize them, so my homescreen panels sometimes become a jumbled mess of random apps.The chaos is occasionally fun, but most of the time it is frustrating as I can't find the app that I want to open. Is the app on screen #4 or #7? Or is it in a folder I created last month and then forgot about? If you can't find an app that you installed on your iOS device, don't fret, just fire up Spotlight search by simply swiping down from the top of your home screen. Type the name of your app into the search field and the app will show up in the search results, if it is installed on your phone. If you are not sure how to use Spotlight for iOS, you can follow Steven Sande's handy video tutorial, which will walk you through the process. If you can't find the app in your Spotlight search, then it is possible the app was deleted by gremlins (or your kids) when you weren't looking. To find apps that you have purchased but are not installed on your device, you need to hop over to the iOS App Store. Launch the App Store app and then tap on the "Updates" button in the right, bottom corner. At the top of the screen, you'll see a link for "Purchased" apps. Tap on that "Purchased" link to list all of your purchased apps. You can view the full list of purchased apps or filter it by showing only those that are not installed on this iPhone.
Defiance spotlights a new kind of arkfall
If you've played Defiance for a while you're pretty familiar with how the game as a whole works. There are rules, an ordered nature to the whole thing. Arkfalls happen a certain way. Except the game's latest DLC pack has introduced a new wrinkle in the form of Dark Matter arkfalls, events pitting players against waves of Dark Matter enemies with the goal of being the only side left standing. Which is easier said than done. Players will encounter four types of event in both Minor and Major categories; the former lasts 20 minutes and the latter runs for 60. Extractor and Mayhem events pit players in an escalating shootout with Dark Matter forces, Obliteration tasks players with destroying an arkfall core, and the Extraction Force event pits players against the strongest of the forces that the Dark Matter troops can rally. Take a gander at the video past the break for some of the feel contained within these new events.
Storyboard: Sharing the spotlight
We roleplayers tend to be a little... self-centered. Kind of the nature of the game, seeing as how you're creating a persona and then trying to flesh out an entire life story for that persona. It's natural that you'd want to be on the center stage a little more often. The problem here is obvious. Heck, you can see it in day-to-day life. If only one person thinks, "I'm the star," everything flows fine. If everyone thinks that, you're surrounded by a screaming cacophony of people who all think that their individual problems are more important than anyone else's problems. You have a band full of lead guitarists and no one on drums, a full team of pitchers without anyone at second base. You need to learn how to step away from the spotlight. To let someone else be important for a bit. To give up the spotlight and be the supporting cast for a while. So how and why do you do that? I'm glad you let me assume that you asked.
