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Create apps for your quadcopter with 3D Robotics' free 'DroneKit' software
3D Robotics develops the open source software that powers a lot of home brew UAVs. Today it's introducing a new tool to the public: DroneKit, software that allows anyone to create apps for, well, drones! DroneKit works with any craft that uses 3DR's "APM" autopilot (a small device you add to your 'copter), and apps can be created for Android, web and standalone "companion" devices (that you then connect to your quadcopter). What can you do with these apps? So far, mostly the same things you can do with existing flight planning software (like 3DR's own Tower app). That means controlling fly paths with waypoints, following GPS targets and access to all the telemetry of the drone. But, of course, now you can do it in new and creative ways. That's a good start, but its 3DRs promise to support the tool and keep adding new features that will change what we can do with these increasingly popular aerial craft.
Tinder hack pairs straight guys together, awkward flirting ensues
Tinder is sometimes hilarious. Tinder sometimes makes you despair for humanity. And would you believe it, Tinder sometimes leads to genuine, loving relationships. But back to the first point: what happens if you pit two unwitting heterosexual males against each other, when both think the other is a for-real woman? What do you think?
Google lets any app use its malware-blocking tools
If you've ever been saved from visiting a virus-laden website by Chrome's malware-blocking technology, we have good news: You can expect to see this safeguard in other apps, too. Google has added tools for spotting "unwanted software" to its Safe Browsing developer kit, so any program can stop rogue web downloads. It'll take a while before you see this show up elsewhere, but don't be surprised if future apps with built-in web viewers are smart enough to raise a red flag. [Image credit: Shutterstock/bioraven]
Google Now will soon show info from any app
Google Now only displays useful tidbits of knowledge from a handful of your apps right now, but the flood gates are about to fling wide open. Project director Aparna Chennapragada has revealed that Google plans to release a developer kit that lets any of your apps put their data into Now, not just those with special access. It's not clear exactly when this will turn up, but Chennapragada suggests that there shouldn't be collisions between competing software -- your app usage habits will determine which cards appear. While that may be a tad optimistic (it's easy to see two social networks vying for your attention), there's a good chance that Google Now will become a one-stop shop for things you need to know.
Super-efficient 'Vulkan' leaves your games more graphics power
Psst: the games you play might not look as good (or run as smoothly) as they could. In many cases, the overhead from graphics standards gets in the way -- Apple went so far as to develop its own technology just to make sure that iPhones and iPads could live up to their potential. That bottleneck may not exist for much longer, however. The alliance behind the OpenGL video standard has given a sneak peek at Vulkan, an open standard that lets app writers take direct control of graphics chips and wring out extra performance on many devices, whether it's your phone or a hot rod gaming PC. The software isn't a magic bullet (developers still have to make good use of it), but it could easily lead to richer visuals and smoother frame rates without demanding beefier hardware.
Google Maps Coordinate field-worker tool is closing down
Google's never shy about spiking its services (even popular ones). Today's victim? Google Maps Coordinate. As a refresher (and as the name suggests), this service was designed to help organize teams out in the field. Think sales reps, roadside repair crews etc. and you get the idea. Either way, it's not long for this world. Google sent an email out to users of the service stating it'll be absorbed back into the abyss as of January 21, 2016. Since Coordinate launched in 2012, Google created a broader API for maps which provides similar, more flexible functionality. In fact, if you were to try and sign up for Coordinate now, you'll find yourself being shuffled along directly to the all encompassing Maps for Work API product. Currently a Coordinate subscriber? You may want to check your inbox for further instructions on what happens next. But, the short answer is, you've got a year to figure out how to keep tabs on your crew.
The heart of the Smithsonian's design museum is an API
The Smithsonian Institute's Cooper Hewitt design museum got a recent overhaul, and at its core is something app developers are likely pretty familiar with -- an application program interface. We know what you're thinking, "What does a museum need an API for, anyway?" Well, it turns out that this basically makes cataloging its massive inventory and making it linkable on the web a reality. The interconnectedness of the inventory means one aspect of the museum can draw upon another in ways that are visitor-facing, as well. For example, The Atlantic notes that there's a so-called "immersion room" that projects patterns from the outfit's wallpaper archives onto the walls. Sounds pretty neat if you ask us.
Logitech wants to link the living room with the rest of your smart home
You might've written off the idea of a connected home up to this point, and if so, Logitech wants you to give it a second chance. Together with Harmony (its living room wing), the outfit's working on an API that allows developers to link all of the connected devices in your home so they work in concert. The example the firm gives is, say, once you started watching a movie on your Samsung flatscreen via Apple TV, the Philips Hue lights in your living room would dim accordingly. Harmony claims this programming tool is the first of its kind and gives developers access to over 270,000 home entertainment and automation devices, creating a platform of sorts for smart home experiences that haven't been seen up to this point.
Twitter goes on the road (and offers prizes) to get more apps
Twitter is determined to put its frameworks into as many of your apps as it can, and it's going to great lengths (in some cases, literally) to make sure that happens. The social network has unveiled Flock, a worldwide tour that will show developers how to put tweets into their apps through Twitter's Fabric programming kits. The campaign will start in Los Angeles on January 21st, but it'll eventually spread to other US cities and major international hubs like Bangalore, London, São Paulo and Tokyo. If you're curious enough to attend, you'll get to talk to Twitter engineers and developer evangelists that might just solve your problems with everything from ads to Digits sign-ins.
Mother welcomes developers into her creepy connected world
It's often said that "mother knows best," but sometimes, even mothers need council. Alright, so perhaps that's not true for tough, human matriarchs, but it does apply to Mother: the creepy-looking, internet-connected hub that's intended to make your dumb home smarter. You see, Mother communicates with small, multipurpose sensors called "Cookies," and instructs them to monitor one thing or another and report back, so it in turn can relay data and notifications back to you. Sense, the company behind Mother, has come up with various uses for Cookies, such as monitoring steps or sleep, but now it's seeking external inspiration. That's why, next month, it's launching a public API so developers can start dreaming up all kinds of new applications for the sensors. They'll also be able to plug data from Cookies into other apps and platforms -- your step count from a pedometer Cookie could be fed into a third-party fitness app, for example.
Google Earth's third-party app support is going away, for now
Google Earth's technology has led to some pretty cool third-party projects over the past six years, but you may not see many of those efforts for at least a little while. Google has announced that it's retiring Earth's app programming interface within a year. Any mapping software built using that kit will stop working on December 12th, 2015. As the company explains, it's simply a matter of security. Chrome and Firefox are phasing out support for the old, vulnerable Netscape plugin format that Earth uses for third-party web apps, and Google doesn't want to leave people open to attack. This isn't necessarily the end for broad Earth support, mind you. Google notes that "3D is in [its] blood," and is teasing that there's more in the pipeline. It's not clear that this includes a new toolbox, but you may not have to worry about a dearth of clever maps just yet.
EVE gives more market data tools to the mod community
EVE Online is such a mod-happy game that there's an official site for it, and it's on this site today that CCP said that it will be giving another valuable information-gathering tool to players with the advent of a new searchable resource. "We also are making available the MarketType resource. MarketTypes is a collection of all possible MarketType resources," the devs posted. Being able to search market history and orders will help modders pull in data from multiple regions and should be in the game with the Rhea content patch.
Google's setting Photo Spheres and Street View images free from Maps
It looks like soon enough we'll be seeing Street View pictures and those spiffy Photo Spheres making their way from Google Maps and onto our favorite websites. How's that, pray tell? An update to Mountain View's Maps Embed API (targeted at web developers) is setting those images free, naturally. The search giant says that this previously was an omission from the last API release, and that it was spotted by a Developers blog reader. Google also says there won't be any usage restrictions on the embeds either, so hopefully we'll get more 360 degree panoramas in various places sooner rather than later. If and when the average Joe will get this access, however, remains to be seen.
Netflix's public API is dead, but InstantWatcher is not
It's amazing how quickly five months fly by. Netflix announced in June that its public API would shut off and now we've reached the appointed day. As we mentioned then, several of the popular third-party tools built with access to Netflix's services have been chosen to continue on: InstantWatcher, FeedFliks, Can I Stream It?, NextGuide, Flixster, Fanhattan, Yidio and Instant Watch Browser for Netflix. These services matter -- once upon a time Netflix actually promoted them itself -- because they can often help you use Netflix in a more convenient way than its own website and apps do, with features like shareable lists, integration with popular ratings services and more. If you're not already using them, check out our breakdown of how to use Netflix better for more info on what they can add to your streaming experience.
Microsoft releases new Office 365 APIs and SDK tools for iOS developers
Microsoft has released a new series of tools for developers looking to improve integration between their apps and the company's Office 365 service. For iOS users and developers, the main point of interest will be the new 365 APIs for mail, files, calendar, and contacts. There is currently more than 400 petabytes of data stored via Office 365, and these news tools will allow developers to access that information from their own apps. These API's will provide better options for connecting apps to users who need to use Office 365. Microsoft hopes to see travel reservation apps that connect to your 365 calendar and sales automation apps that integrate with your mail and files to save and send receipts. The company is also launching an iOS SDK with support for Objective-C and, in the near future, Swift. This marks the first time there has been a iOS SDK for Office 365.
French students built an interactive celebration of Marvel comics' 75-year history
Keeping tabs on all of Marvel's superheros is pretty challenging work -- the company has been publishing comics for 75 years. Over 2,500 characters have lived in its pages, spanning more than 3,000 individual issues over more than 440 series. How did I know all that? Well, I stole the stats from Ultimate 75th, a student-made website that pilfer's Marvel's own database to celebrate 75 years of comics. Students at the Hétic school in France built the site in just four days using the REST API used on Marvel's official site. This allowed the group to pull comic and character data directly from the publisher's database. The result is impressive, but it isn't perfect.
EVE Evolved: Fixing EVE's player activity
It's been a sort of running gag in EVE Online throughout the years that players spend inordinate amounts of time docked in stations and spinning their ships around in the hangar, but this is oddly close to the truth. Those of us who have been hooked to EVE for years know just how intense the game can get at its most frantic and how incredible it is to be present for historic events and important PvP battles, but those moments are rare, and there's typically a lot of downtime between periods of activity. For every PvP battle fought, incursion fleet formed or wormhole op organised, players often have to spend hours in stations or in space amusing themselves or doing busywork. With gamers now spreading their increasingly limited free time across a growing catalogue of online games, some EVE players log in for only a few minutes per day to queue skills, chat with corpmates, and see if anything interesting is happening. The recent announcement that the upcoming Phoebe release will contain infinite length skill queues has some players concerned that people will lose the motivation to pop their heads into New Eden each day and see what's going on. Since the best sandbox gameplay is emergent in nature, just getting players to log in so they're available to take part in something awesome when it happens is extremely important. In this edition of EVE Evolved, I ask whether EVE is in trouble due to its recent decline in player activity, look at the impact of people with just a few hours per week to play, and suggest a new app idea that could help solve all of those problems.
Google wants to bring its Android copyright battle to the US Supreme Court
Google and Oracle are still arguing over code at the foundation of Google's mobile operating system, Android. Google this week filed a petition with the United States Supreme Court, which appealed a lower court's ruling that Oracle can legally copyright foundational code. The decisions have gone back and forth over the course of the last four years: First a judge in California ruled in favor of Google; then an appeals court ruled in favor of Oracle; and now Google's pushing for the Supreme Court to get involved. But what are the two internet giants even arguing about? At the heart of Android are a set of Java APIs that Oracle is claiming aren't available for commercial use without a licensing fee (approximately $1 billion). Google argues that the API code is functional -- not a "creative work" -- and therefore isn't copyrightable. The case is, of course, far more complex than our explanation, but that's the big picture (our own Chris Velazco goes into far more background detail right here).
Jawbone Up coming to Android Wear, Apple HealthKit and Windows Phone (update: Pebble too)
Until now, Jawbone's Up bands have had the best software of any fitness tracker on the market. The problem, of course, has been that if you wanted that slick app experience, you had to buy yourself some Jawbone hardware to match -- a risky proposition when the device has some documented sudden-death issues. Not anymore, though. A company spokesperson confirmed that Jawbone will be opening up its API, allowing the software to work on Android Wear smartwatches and anything running Apple's HealthKit (translation: if and when the iWatch comes, it'll be Jawbone compatible). That means going forward, you can run Jawbone's app on your smartwatch, and enjoy the software without having to wear an Up band if you didn't want to. Additionally, Up is at last coming to Windows Phone, so if you own a WP8 handset and have been eyeing the Up24, you can finally take the plunge.
Hailo matches Uber by letting other apps use its cab-hailing features
Uber and Hailo are forever playing catch-up with each other, and this week is no exception. Just hours after Uber announced it's now allowing developers to bake Uber features into their apps, Hailo's following suit by opening up its own platform. Information on ride availability, the time a car will take to get to you and, of course, the ability to hail one are among the first features third-party developers can make use of. Hailo first showed off these capabilities after it teamed up with travel app CityMapper, but is now opening them up to everyone. Given that Hailo only operates in a small number of cities across the US, Europe and Asia, these features will likely be added to just a limited number of apps for now. As Hailo expands its taxi and private car service further afield, however, there's a chance big name hotels, airlines and travel sites could get on board, too.
