DMs
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Instagram users can now join group chats in Messenger
After introducing cross-messaging between Messenger and Instagram last year, Facebook has made it more useful with the addition of cross-app group chats.
Twitter's latest round of updates are about to hit your DMs
Twitter is introducing several improvements to direct messages the company says it plans to roll out in the coming weeks.
Twitter follows up voice tweets by testing voice DMs
Prepare for your DMs to get noisier.
TikTok gives parents more control over their kids' accounts
TikTok was recently fined $5.7 million for violating the child privacy act and has been criticized for putting children at risk from predators. The company is now trying to give parents more control over their kids’ privacy and security with a feature called Family Pairing. It lets parents link directly to their kids accounts and remotely disable direct messages, set screen time limits and enable “restricted content” mode.
Instagram starts rolling out web DMs to everyone
After Instagram made the feature available to a small number of users at the start of the year, it's now rolling out to everyone.
Instagram adds direct messaging on Windows 10
If you use Instagram on your Windows 10 PC, you may notice a subtle change the next time you open the app. Instagram has updated its Windows software to make it into something called a progressive web app (PWA). What this means is that you're effectively interacting with the Instagram website through a wrapper that makes it feel like a native application.
Reply to Instagram messages with pictures and video
Instagram users have a new means of expressing themselves via direct messages as of Thursday. They can now reply to shared Direct posts with images and video of their own.
Twitter’s new interactive cards help you slide into brands’ DMs
Twitter has been working hard to find new ways for brands and advertisers to connect with its users, especially since becoming a public company in 2013. Hey, shareholders need to make that money. But while customer service experiences are clearly a major focus for the social network, its latest business feature is more about brands luring you into their DMs with "fun and engaging" promoted tweets. With the new Direct Message Card, advertisers can create up to four customizable actions and pair them with images or videos to, hopefully, get you to click and see their pitch.
Twitter nixes 140 character limit in Direct Messages
Twitter's push to make DMs a full on messaging service continues. Beginning today, the 140 character limit for Direct Messages has been lifted in the iOS, Android, Mac apps, Tweetdeck and on Twitter.com. The new limit of 10,000 characters pretty much gives you license to write as much as you want in a message. The company has been expanding Direct Message features to compete with Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Google Hangouts for some time. In January it introduced group chat support to DMs. Twitter had originally planned on removing the 140 character limit in July. But, I guess later is better than never.
Twitter will finally let you see -- and delete -- all of your direct messages
If you've been on Twitter long enough, chances are that you've sent at least one or two direct messages (DMs) that you'd rather not see again. Deleting any regretful conversations in one fell swoop should you use the service across multiple devices isn't as simple as it should be, though, and as of now, destroying a private-picture thread from your phone might not mean it'll be missing when you load Twitter.com from your laptop. Well, the microblogging giant knows how much of a pain this is and is working to address it. The company issued a tweet (naturally) saying that it's rolling out an update to make deleting DMs "more consistent" across web and mobile over the next few weeks. What's more, Twitter says that it's working on an update to bring your entire DM history to the Android and iOS apps as well. Whether or not that's a good thing depends on your messaging habits, we'd imagine. [Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
HDHomeRun Prime is the first CableCARD tuner to deliver live TV to DLNA Devices
Our favorite shows, anywhere, that's all we really want. Of course that is asking too much but we'll be closer to the dream now that Silicondust has announced its three tuner HDHomeRun Prime CableCARD is a certified DLNA Digital Media Server (DMS). While the options this opens are seemingly limitless, one specific use case is watching premium cable on a PS3. CableCARD tuners aren't exactly known for their ease of setup, but once you do get this working with your cable company and on your network, it'll show up like any other DLNA source to your PS3. From there you can browse the list of channels and watch any you happen to subscribe to. The PS3 isn't the only DLNA Digital Media Player (DMP) or Digital Media Renderer (DMR) that works with a DLNA DMS, and plays MPEG2 video. However, at this point it's the only one we know of that also supports DTCP-IP, which is the DRM required to play premium content. A representative of Silicondust told us he's confident more compatible devices are on the way, while even more devices will support the unprotected content. Keep an eye out for an official list of compatible hardware on its site some time after this update starts rolling out later this month. Finally, yes, you will be able to use your DLNA Digital Media Controller (DMC) to record content to your other Digital Media Servers -- is that enough acronyms for you? If this interests you, then stay tuned for CES where Silicondust plans to announce phase 2, which is where we think things could really get interesting.
Plug and Play Ultrasound Probe
We can't really remember the last time we walked into a Best Buy looking for a nice portable USB ultrasound solution, but it's comforting to know that such a future might be in store for us. The new Plug and Play Ultrasound Probe System (PPUPS) from Direct Medical Systems forgoes the usual ultrasound cart by letting you use your laptop or desktop computer to process the ultrasound signal from the USB 2.0 probe. The PPUPS weighs a mere 7.5 ounces, and comes in different frequency versions to match common ultrasound applications. DMS is still waiting on FDA approval for the device, but once that goes through you should be able to pick one of these suckers of up for $3700.[Via Medgadget]
