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Facebook is testing a feature that stops profile photo theft
Facebook has begun testing new tools in India that prevent anyone from sniping your profile picture for who knows what purpose. If you live in the country, you might see an option to turn on "profile picture guard" next time you visit your News Feed. When you have the guard up, other people will no longer be able to save your pic or even screenshot it with an Android device. People not in your friends list won't be able to tag anyone or themselves in your profile picture regardless of your tag settings, as well.
The Morning After: Thursday, June 22nd 2017
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Welcome to Thursday morning. We're reliving the '90s through, as Sega launches a selection of classic hits both with ads and without. We're also talking Instagram and its stealth shills, and new emoji. We hope you like fairies.
Caltech's 'lensless camera' could make our phones truly flat
Even as our phones get thinner, there's one spot that keeps sticking out: the camera lens. Taking good pictures and being able to focus at multiple distances requires a layer of glass that's a certain size, but there's really no getting around it -- or is there? Researchers at Caltech have devised (PDF) an "optical phased array" chip that uses math as a substitute for a lens. By adding a time delay -- down to a quadrillionth of a second -- to the light received at different locations on the chip, it can change focus without a lens.
Imagination puts itself up for sale after being dumped by Apple
Once the world learned that Apple will design its own GPU for upcoming iPhones and iPads instead of using Imagination Technologies PowerVR tech, the UK company quickly lost 70 percent of its value. While it's still in "dispute" with Apple over the breakup, it already put two of its units, MIPS and Ensigma up for sale, and today announced that the entire company is open to being acquired. Its board of directors said in a press release that "it has received interest from a number of parties for a potential acquisition of the whole Group...and is engaged in preliminary discussions with potential bidders."
'Pokémon Go' will flag creatures caught using cheats
Niantic has decided that forcing Pokémon Go cheaters to a life of catching Pidgeys isn't quite enough of a punishment. Now, any Pokémon caught using "third-party services that circumvent normal gameplay" will be marked with a slash in people's inventories and "may not behave as expected." The developer has announced its new anti-cheating measure on The Silph Road subreddit, explaining that they're meant to ensure its new features remain fun and fair for all Trainers. Niantic is probably talking about its recently announced raid battles, wherein up to 20 players can participate, that's expected to launch in the coming weeks.
Todoist team offers a less distracting take on Slack
Slack's team chat can be extremely helpful for coordinating with your coworkers, but it can also be supremely distracting. Do you really need a constant stream of alerts and unrelated funny GIFs when you're trying to get work done... or avoiding work on vacation? Doist (the team behind Todoist) doesn't believe so. Its newly launched Twist service is designed to offer collaboration without the endless pings and digressions of competitors like Slack. Rather than rely on real-time chat, it focuses on specific topics and otherwise does whatever it can to respect your free time. In a sense, it's a smarter alternative to email.
ESA throws its weight behind satellite-based 5G internet
The European Space Agency has joined forces with 16 European space companies to demonstrate and champion satellite-based 5G internet. They're calling their new initiative "Satellite for 5G," and they signed their agreement at the Paris Air and Space Show. The partners aim to deploy satellites for use in various trials to be performed over the next few years. By doing so, they hope to convince providers that satellite-based 5G can be better than terrestrial-based ones in many situations and to secure support from the European Commission. As Magali Vassiere, ESA's Director of Telecommunications, said in an interview embedded after the break, satellites can provide high-speed 5G connection even on mountains and islands far from cell towers. They could also ensure that you can reach first responders wherever you are on Earth.
Self-driving shuttles are coming to the University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a hotbed for self-driving car research, so it stands to reason that students and faculty should use self-driving vehicles to get around, right? The university clearly thinks so. Mcity (the university's public-private partnership) is launching a free driverless shuttle service that will see two 15-passenger Navya Arma vehicles transport people between the university's North Campus Research Complex and the Lurie Engineering Center. This will make the 2-mile trip easier for travelers tired of taking campus buses, as you might guess, but it'll also serve as an experiment in its own right.
Emojis for zombies, T-Rex and Colbert are almost here
Your phone chats are about to get more... fantastical. Right on cue, the Unicode Consortium has released its promised batch of emoji and text characters. The finalized set of 56 emoji (up from 48 when we last reported) includes a slew of outlandish people and beasts, including zombies, vampires, fairies and dinosaurs. It also does more to accommodate women with emoji for breastfeeding and the hijab, while Stephen Colbert fans might be happy with the familiar-looking raised eyebrow (second from the upper left).
Kuri home robot can tell your pets from people
Mayfield Robotics' Kuri isn't out yet, but that isn't precluding the company from giving it some big upgrades ahead of the robo helper's late 2017 debut. Kuri can now recognize cats and dogs -- it'll know the difference between your pet and your significant other. The robot's vision cameras are also receiving an upgrade to 1080p, so you can expect higher-quality views of what's going on at home.
eBay will match prices from Amazon and Walmart on certain items
eBay announced a new Price Match Guarantee today, ensuring many of its items will cost the same or less than those offered by other major retail competitors. It's the company's latest move in the ongoing business battle with giants like Amazon and Walmart.
Scientists may have solved a key barrier to fusion power
We've been working towards nuclear fusion, a near-limitless source of clean energy, for the past six decades, and now scientists have made a major breakthrough. A new article published in Physical Review Letters details how to solve a dangerous issue with runaway electrons that has, until now, posed a major problem for fusion reactors.
GE is working on a massive 3D printer for jet engine parts
3D printing is coming of age in numerous ways. On a large scale, MIT researchers built a 50-foot-wide, 12-foot tall igloo in just 13 hours. They've also debuted the first completely 3D-printed rocket engine. On a much smaller level, our own Sean Buckley printed a little d-pad for his Nintendo Switch, while medical researchers have produced a 3D-printed patch that can heal scarred heart tissue. Now we're seeing this technology coming to the industrial world with a new laser-powered metal 3D printer from GE.
Nike will team up with Amazon to fight fake kicks
Amazon has realized that counterfeit products posing as the real deal annoys consumers and dilutes trust in its marketplace. That's likely why it came down harshly on vendors last fall, requiring a hefty $1,000 to $1,500 fee and tons of paperwork to sell products from prime brands like Samsung, Adidas, Hasbro. But that was a stopgap move: Amazon has allegedly been working on a registry of approved vendors to assure consumers that the merch they buy is the real deal, and Nike might be the first brand to get this thorough vetting.
Apple eyes streaming terms on par with Spotify's label deals
Apple's iTunes and Apple Music agreements with record labels' are set to expire at the end of the month and both sides have been negotiating new terms. Today, Bloomberg reports that Apple is looking to reduce record labels' share of streaming revenue.
NBC is the next big TV network to jump into eSports
Seemingly every big TV network wants in on eSports. NBC Sports has revealed that it's launching an international two-on-two Rocket League tournament this summer. It'll start online July 22nd with regional qualifiers using Faceit's eSports platform, but players will eventually face each other in person through studio competitions and the grand finals on August 26th and 27th. Naturally, there will be plenty of video coverage: NBC is promising over 40 hours across both online sources and TV, including live coverage of the finals on NBCSN (in the US) and Syfy (in the UK and other countries).
Apple's paranoia about leaks is misplaced
Apple's inability to keep its secrets is so bad that even its internal presentation about confidentiality was leaked. But according to internal videos obtained by The Outline, the company is serious about secrecy. It reportedly conducted an hour-long briefing titled "Stopping Leakers -- Keeping Confidential at Apple" for about 100 employees to make sure they understood the importance of not leaking information. But that concern is misplaced: Clamping down on leaks won't help Apple's bottom line.
NASA goes all-out with livestreaming for this summer's total eclipse
The US will experience its first continent-wide total solar eclipse in 99 years on August 21st, and NASA wants to make sure you see it... including perspectives you just couldn't get otherwise. It's promising an hours-long livestream that will cover the eclipse from seemingly every angle. There will be video on the ground as the sky briefly goes dark, of course, but there will also be views from aircraft, high-altitude balloons and the International Space Station. If you don't live in an eclipse area or just can't afford to step outside, this is probably your best bet at seeing what the fuss is about.
Dailymotion is trying to clean up its act with major redesign
Dailymotion announced this week that it has completely redesigned its app and advertising strategy. And the company hopes to attract viewers with higher quality content created through partnerships with media and entertainment brands. Three new partnerships with Universal Music Group, CNN and Vice were also announced.
WannaCry ransomware causes Honda plant to shut down
WannaCry isn't done yet. Honda Motor Co. had to shut down its Sayama plant on Monday after finding the ransomware in its computer network. The plant's production resumed on Tuesday.
