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Apple Music's Android app adds voice search and social features
Apple announced that it would bring your friends' listening habits to Apple Music at WWDC this past summer. iOS users who use the streaming music service will be able to start using the feature after updating to iOS 11. Now, Android-using Apple Music fans will be able to see their friends' listening habits, too, with a new update to the app in the Google Play store.
Facebook helps you celebrate birthdays with videos and fundraising
Whether you're a fan of Facebook's birthday-centric features or not, it's still pretty handy to know when your buddy's next celebration day is so you can mark the occasion. The social network keeps adding new ways to celebrate, with recap videos that extend your birthday another few days to simple text-based wish-sending. Facebook has just added two more ways to celebrate: fundraisers and personalized videos for your close friends.
'Tinder for BFFs' app makes more sense than you'd think
For most of my adult life, I've had trouble making friends. As a shy, introverted person, I don't go out often, and when I do, it's hard for me to talk to people. What do I say? How do I jump into conversations? After many failed attempts, I became increasingly self-conscious, developing deep-seated social anxiety and a fear of rejection. As a result, most of my friendships are cultivated through the internet, where the usual social barriers don't apply. Over the years, I've gotten better at relating to people in real life, but I still struggle occasionally. So when I heard about a friendship app, I was intrigued. Could this be the solution to my woes?
Google's Uptime is all about snarky YouTube parties
Last year, Google created Area 120, an incubator where employees with (approved) ideas can spend their "20 percent time" on side projects. One of the groups has just released Uptime, an app that lets you meet friends, share YouTube videos and add stickers, "sparkles," hearts and snarky comments. You can search for video content within the app, which can also will help you find friends "based on common connections within Uptime," according to the FAQ. Ironically, it's only available on iOS and not Google's Android, at least for now.
AI 'friends' will help you pass the time on autonomous drives
Even more so than last year, CES 2017 was the unofficial auto show for the tech world. Automakers filled the North Hall and the Gold Lot of the Las Vegas Convention Center with self-driving prototypes and concept cars. But instead of talking about the power of Lidar or number-crunching processors, many started focusing on what the hell their passengers will do once they take their hands off the wheel.
Invite all your Twitch friends to a stream or broadcast
Twitch's social network-like Friends feature just got more useful if you want more company for streaming or broadcasting. A new feature called "Activity Sharing" will notify your entire Friends list if you're doing something interesting so they can join in. Conversely, you can check your Friends list to see what others are doing and join in, as shown in the GIF below. Users can keep broadcasts or streams private, if they prefer, by un-ticking the "share my activity" box.
LG G5's VR headset, 360 camera and other accessories hit the US
When LG announced its modular G5 phone last month, it also revealed a line of "Friends" companion devices to go along with it (See what it did there?). Included in the lineup are the 360 VR headset, 360 Cam, the Harman Kardon-powered Tone Platinum audio headset and the Cam Plus camera grip. While the phone itself is already available in the US, these gadgets that the company intends for you to use with the handset were not until now.
Twitch starts rolling out access to its 'Friends' feature
Last month, Twitch continued its transformation into a fully fledged social network with a feature called "Friends." And now the streaming service is opening it up to users, albeit in limited beta form. The list, which can have up to 500 people per account, will let you see who's online and, if need be, send private messages (aka Whispers) with a single click. Right now, Twitch says it has activated accounts for anyone who signed up at PAX East in April, as well as a few other members of the community.
Twitch transforms into a social network with new 'Friends' feature
It's been happening in subtle increments, but the transformation is nearly complete. After launching private messaging, Party Chat and profile updates to Twitch, Amazon's livestreaming service will finally become a niche social network with today's announcement: Friends. Twitch users can add up to 500 friends to a list that shows who's online and allows them to send Whispers (private messages) with a click.
LG G5 will hit the US in early April, and it's bringing 'Friends'
Samsung's Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are getting rave reviews, but don't forget about the other, more ambitious Korean flagship barreling down the pipeline. Though it fell short of offering a firm release date, LG just confirmed that its modular G5 will hit the US in "early April." Yeah, not exactly a surprise, especially since LG Canada already confirmed our friends to the north will get the G5 on April 8.
Most of your Facebook friends couldn't care less about you
Even if you have thousands of Facebook friends, you can probably only count on a handful in a pinch, according to a new study. The author, anthropologist Robin Dunbar, should know. He's the guy who came up with Dunbar's number, which shows that in the real world, people can only maintain about 150 stable relationships. For his latest research, Dunbar analyzed a UK study of 3,375 Facebook users between the ages of 18 and 65. On average, folks had 150 followers but said that they could only count on 4.1 of them during an "emotional crisis," and only 13.6 ever express sympathy.
Google's 'Who's Down' app is here because no one replies to your texts
Never let it be said that Google doesn't like throw weird ideas at the wall and see what sticks. Take the quietly-released "Who's Down" Android app that just hit the Google Play store, for example. It's an invite-only app that simply shows you whether you're "down" to hang out -- presumably, once you have confirmed that you are indeed "down," your friends nearby will see that status and include you in whatever wonderful activities they have planned.
The After Math: Spam kings, Microsoft milestones and a bionic penis
It's been a wild week, and not just for our stock portfolios. The internet's self-described "Spam King" admitted to posting more than 27 million ads on Facebook. Microsoft celebrated the 20th anniversary of Windows 95 by dredging up a promo video featuring Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry. Because Friends is never not topical. And a British man endured an 11-hour surgery to have the world's first bionic penis installed. Good times!
Charity ads subvert Facebook to highlight the UK's lonely elderly
If you live in the UK, you've probably seen Facebook's new "Friends" ads on TV or the London Underground. They're refreshingly simple and focus on what the goliath social network was originally designed for -- staying connected with the people that matter most in our lives. However, soon you might see some new billboard ads, featuring a few subtle but incredibly powerful tweaks: namely, the use of the phrase "No Friends." They were designed by the J. Walter Thompson London communications agency for the charity Age UK, and highlight the loneliness experienced by many older citizens. We suspect more than a few passersby will do a double-take after seeing these, and hopefully they'll raise awareness for an important issue and the organisation trying to tackle it.
EVE Evolved: EVE Online vs. Elite: Dangerous
Like many EVE Online players, I grew up playing early sci-fi games like Elite and its sequel Frontier. In fact, CCP's recently released stats on the distribution of ages within the EVE community shows a peak around 29 years old, meaning that most players grew up in that same gaming era. A big part of what initially drew me to EVE Online was the prospect of playing the same kind of massive trading and space exploration game with other people, and for over 10 years it's scratched that sci-fi sandbox itch. I've watched EVE grow from a relatively unknown game with around 40,000 subscribers and laggy cruiser skirmishes into a vast game where thousands of players wage war for territory, profit, or just the adrenaline rush of PvP with something valuable on the line. Now that Elite: Dangerous is finally here, I want to see whether it can scratch the same sandbox itch as EVE and to what extent the two games can be compared. Both feature customisable ship fittings, open-world PvP with a criminal justice system, and real financial loss on death, for example, but the end result is two very different gameplay styles. And both also have that same intoxicating notion of exploring the unknown and try to make you feel like you're in a living world, but they take very different approaches to world design, content, and travel. Elite may not be a full-fledged MMO, but with a sandbox made of 400 billion procedurally generated stars and an open play mode that seamlessly merges players' games together, does it matter? In this edition of EVE Evolved, I compare my experiences in Elite: Dangerous to my experiences in EVE Online and look at their differing strategies with regard to server model, active and passive gameplay, and the new player experience.
The Think Tank: Keeping in touch with the friends in the magic box
Earlier this week in the comments of the article about MMO social network ZergID, readers went off on a tear about how MMO players keep in touch and communicate with guildies and friends beyond the game -- as my mom used to say, the people in the magic box. What quickly became obvious is that there's no one accepted method. Social media, forums, chats, IMs, Steam, and this crazy invention called a telephone were all mentioned. I thought we could use a more formal discussion, so in today's Think Tank, I asked the Massively writers how they keep in touch with guildies and MMO friends when they're not playing or when they're between games... if they keep in touch at all.
Barely Related: Marvel's Civil War, DC movies galore
Welcome to Barely Related, a conversational Friday column that presents the non-gaming news stories that we, the Joystiq staff, have been talking about over the past week. And no, we're not stopping our focus on industry and gaming news. Think of this as your casual weekly recap of interesting (and mostly geeky) news, presented just in time to fill your brain with things to discuss at all of those weekend shindigs. Grab a fresh drink, lean back in your armchair, and get ready to talk nerdy with us.
Snap up Xbox One's October system update now
Microsoft rolled out the new October system update for the Xbox One, which we've verified is available to download now. As detailed last month, the new firmware overhauls the Snap feature, which lets you view a main and side window on screen simultaneously. Now, bringing up the Snap Center brings links to Friends, Achievements, Party, Messages and Game DVR apps, as well as a wee battery icon and clock. Also, double-tapping the Xbox button brings up a Snap quick menu, cutting down the hassle of bringing apps in and out. Snap now supports the Messages and Friends apps, with the latter spruced up including the addition of GamerScore leaderboards. The boards are based on your GamerHaul over the last 30 days, so long-term Achievement hunters just have to console themselves with their six-figure scores. Or, they could use the new captioning feature when sharing Achievements to rub it in friends' faces - you know, things like "Hah, look at 50G you're never getting, bub" or "I spent the last 42 hours getting this cheevo and I regret nothing!"
The entire 'Friends' series is coming to Netflix next year
Look, folks, Netflix is (kind of) in the business of making you happy. So, what better way to do just that than by adding Friends to its content portfolio, right? Well, thanks to a new deal with Warner Bros., Netflix announced today it is bringing all 10 seasons of the popular series to its streaming service next year, on January 1st, 2015. The bad news, though, is that the Friends episodes will only be available in the US and Canada when it debuts on the platform, and there's no word on whether this will change anytime after the fact. For the rest of you, it's only a matter of time before you can reunite with Chandler, Joey, Monica, Phoebe, Rachel and Ross -- you know, in case you haven't already.
Do we need bigger friend lists?
This is a problem I hear about, but don't actually have, because I'm not a terribly friendly person. Try not to be shocked. But I do have some friends, and a lot of those friends are very friendly people (they'd kind of have to be to be my friends, I suppose) and they often complain that they're full up on friends. I'm not sure how one can possibly manage that many friends, but nevertheless there are folks who have completely used up all one hundred potential friends and want/need more. However, it seems they may have to wait a while. Bashiok had this to say on twitter: @BulletCatcher02 It's something I hear tale of our http://t.co/OzS6N5CG1E team actively working toward, but it's actually a complex issue. - Bashiok (@Bashiok) October 8, 2014 This is one of those issues that makes me wonder. For one thing, the battle.net friends list actually extends past World of Warcraft - it has to be coded to work with Diablo III, Starcraft II, Hearthstone and soon Heroes of the Storm. That's a lot of different games with different code, and WoW is certainly the oldest of them. I can imagine the limits of the oldest game holding back the development. Still, for the friendly souls among us, I hope it gets solved soon.
