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Chrome's RSS follow button is now available to all Android users
The feature should hit iOS next year.
Google tests an RSS follow feature in Chrome
Google is testing an RSS-based follow button to help you track your favorite websites in Chrome.
Facebook tests easier sharing for its Pinterest-like Collections feature
Facebook is testing changes that make it easier to share Collections publicly.
Google Maps' 'Follow' button gives you updates from real places
Google has launched a number of new features for Maps over the last few months. Now, it's rolling out a "Follow" function for locations, which will give you updates on events and offers from your favorite stores and restaurants. And it'll tell you about new places that are opening soon. In search results, dates will appear in bold, and the store card will be populated with its forthcoming address and website.
Twitter tests personalized 'unfollow' recommendations
Twitter works best when you have a perfectly-curated follower list. For many, it's an evolving process as their interests and opinions -- and those of the people they follow -- slowly change. For years, Twitter has recommended "Who to Follow," but as Slate reports, the company is also testing the reverse. That's right, some users are seeing prompts about accounts they might want to unfollow. As a spokesperson explained to Slate: "We know that people want a relevant Twitter timeline. One way to do this is by unfollowing people they don't engage with regularly." It was an "incredibly limited test," however, that may never be rolled out widely.
PUBG’s furious arcade mode comes to mobile
The developers of Player Unknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) has been adding features to their popular battle royale game since launch, with a roadmap that includes new maps and more stable gameplay. A new map, Savage, started testing a few weeks back, and a brand new war mode shakes up the game play in custom matches. Now, mobile players will see some cool new tweaks, according to Pocket-Lint, including a fast-paced Arcade mode that's out on Android and likely headed to iOS soon.
Skydio R1 review: The ultimate follow-me drone comes at a price
In a park, perched on San Francisco's East Bay, I set down Skydio's R1 drone, open an app on my phone, click "launch" and do something I would normally never do. I walk straight under a tree, knowing full well that the R1 will follow me and that the branches are directly in its flight path; I am trying to make it crash. I fail. I repeat this task a few more times, even with the drone flying backward, but try as I might, the R1 slips right under (and sometimes over) the tree's canopy. I am doing nothing but walking, no controller or phone in my hand; the R1 is figuring this all out by itself. Should I be surprised at this? In theory, no. When drone newcomer Skydio recently revealed the self-flying R1 ($2,499), the main selling point was its superior ability to follow a target and avoid obstacles at speed. But drones have offered various versions of follow-and-avoid for a while, and in my experience, none has really nailed it. Hence my surprise at how deftly the R1 avoided Californian topiary, right out of the box.
GoPro updates Karma drone with much-needed 'follow me' feature
When GoPro announced it was working on a drone, pretty much everyone thought that it'd have some sort of "follow" feature. It didn't. But it had the required technology all along. Finally, today, Karma is being updated to unlock that feature, along with a few other goodies.
Like being followed around all day? There's an app for that
If you like the feeling of being watched while you go about your daily routine, there's an NYC-based artist who will coordinate that for you. With the appropriately-named Follower project, you can apply to have someone keep tabs on your for an entire day. Once you're selected, you get access to an iPhone app that lets you know when the watching starts and stops. The software also uses your phone's GPS to track you during that time.
Facebook lets you choose what appears in your News Feed
If you're a regular Facebook user, you'll know that the posts that appear in your News Feed are visible because of an algorithm. It's part of the company's mission to reduce post overload, but it can often mean that you'll miss updates from some of your friends. In May, Zuckerberg and co. began testing a new feature that let users choose what they see in their feeds, but it was only available to a select few. From today, however, the new set of controls are rolling out to all.
AirDog's action sports drone followed me through the desert
If 2014 was the year that drones entered the (deeper) reaches of the mainstream mindshare (thanks to Amazon, among many other things), then 2015 is the year they start getting put to work. Videography is probably the most obvious consumer application -- evidenced by the sheer number of options. AirDog is one such contender, that offers something the others don't -- a wrist-worn "leash" that makes the drone follow you. Let's be clear, there are other drones that can follow things/people; in fact 3D Robotics made this technology available to everyone through open source. AirDog just took it to the next level, created the leash hardware (other systems use a mobile phone), ramped up the game by adding even more sensors to its craft and designed custom flying "profiles" for different action sports. We took it out for a spin in the Nevada desert to see if it could keep up with a quad bike (spoiler: It did).
Twitter: Yes, you're all going to see tweets from people you don't follow
Remember when tweets started appearing in your Twitter feed from people you weren't even following? Well, it's no longer an experiment. In a post outlining Twitter's "spirit of experimentation", the social network says it's happening across all accounts now, in the interest of surfacing tweets it "think(s) you'd enjoy." While many of Twitter's power-users might sigh collectively, Twitter is likely hoping it'll offer up faster follows, a richer experience and (possibly) boost activity, especially for those users that aren't already following hundreds of accounts. Alas, it's not an optional thing, and is now an integral part of everyone's Twitter timeline -- alongside those occasional promoted tweets and retweets.
Spotify's 'Follow' button lets you recruit listeners from any webpage
Looking to tempt others to check out your Spotify tracks? Before, any interaction with other users or artists had to be done within the various desktop and mobile apps, but there's now another option: you can embed a 'Follow' button into any website. The idea is to make it easier to promote your music (or musical taste) while expanding your follower base. Obviously, it'll also give Spotify itself a greater online presence and allow it to ensnare new subscribers who've yet to download the app. You can grab the code snippets at the source, but you may first want to weed out that playlist from your 'crunkcore' phase.
The Daily Grind: Are /follow commands taboo?
Earlier this week, World of Warcraft patched out a surprising mechanic present in the game for a very long time: the /follow command in battlegrounds. Blizzard community guru Bashiok explained that the primary goal was to curb botting in PvP, although apparently the team isn't too sad about the detrimental effect the change will have on at-the-keyboard multiboxing, either. What Blizzard doesn't appear to have anticipated was the effect the tweak would have on visually impaired players who rely on /follow commands to kick butt. World of Warcraft isn't alone in shunning the /follow command; Guild Wars 1 famously limits following, and Guild Wars 2, to the delight of some players, omits it entirely, which is sort of a pain in the butt when I need to go AFK and can't just follow on my guildies for 30 seconds as we run to the next orangie. I'm annoyed at that, so I can only imagine how upset people awesome enough to PvP blind feel at having their lifeline to fun stripped away after so many years. So what do you guys think? Is this a good change for WoW and other MMOs? Do you think the potential for harm to blind players or legitimate AFKers should outweigh the potential for harm by botters and multiboxers? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Updated: No more /follow in battlegrounds
Unannounced features are often par for the course with big patches, and this one is no exception. Blizzard Customer Support EU tweeted the following this morning: #Patchday fact number 1: /follow no longer works in Battlegrounds. #WoW - Blizzard CS EU (@BlizzardCSEU_EN) March 6, 2013 The reasoning behind this is, of course, not completely understood. It is possible that this is the latest strategy in Blizzard's unending battle against bots, which might occasionally, though definitely not always, use following as a way to help avoid being afk booted. However, it is more likely a decisive step to making it far more difficult for multiboxers to dominate in battlegrounds. While not against the terms of service, multiboxing in random battlegrounds is a big problem for many players, when five DKs or five elemental shaman are running around causing havoc, it's hard to enjoy yourself. We've all been there, and it is definitely annoying, although they can sometimes be taken out with a group effort. Based on the latter reasoning, it's probably a good thing for the overall enjoyment of casual PvPers, who vastly outnumber the people who want to five-box their way through battlegrounds. Anything that makes random battlegrounds more enjoyable is just fine by me, but should Blizzard have given multiboxers more warning? Or is this more part of the anti-bot measures, in your opinion? Updated: Hit the break for Blizzard Senior Community Manager Bashiok's input.
Who should I follow on Twitter? Android edition
Welcome to another edition of WSIFOT and this time we're broaching Android -- and some related Google services. After the break, we've collected some official Twitter channels, alongside writers, personalities, thinkers and tinkerers who follow Google's tablet and smartphone OS pretty closely. Our list is a work in progress, so if you think we've missed out any important Android-centric 140-character authors, let us know through Twitter or in the comments below.
Twitter's Discover tab now snags popular stories and commentary from those in your Twitterverse
If you fancy seeing what headlines those who you follow on Twitter are chatting about in one compact list, some new functionality in the Discover tab will offer their insight in a few clicks. Essentially, the new feature tracks stories that your pals in the Twitterverse post and allows you to see what the commotion is all about via the "View Tweets" option along the bottom of each article link. From there, you can tweet the link yourself and include your thoughts on the particular matter. While the outfit boasts ongoing improvements to the Discover tab, this particular feature will see daylight on the web while hitting both iPhone and Android apps in the next few weeks. Go on. Navigate to your Twitter home page to take it for a spin yourself.
Who should I follow at CES 2012? Engadget editors on Twitter
With CES 2012 drawing ever closer to us all, there are still a lot of mysteries yet to be unraveled. But there's one thing you can count on: you'll be able to keep track of all the action on Twitter as it happens. The question is, however, who can you follow to get the latest CES scoop? Why, us, of course! We're all hooked up with Twitter accounts, and we tend to spout stuff out on a fairly frequent basis. So scan through our completely comprehensive list of Engadget's ties to the social media service and feel free to follow us... if you dare.We also invite you to keep a close eye on #EngadgetCES, which will be our go-to hashtag during the show. And, if Twitter Lists are your thing, you'll find ours here.Update: Looking for us on Google+? You'll find the team and personal accounts right here.
Google wants you to add writers on Google+, so do writers
Find an interesting article, add its author. That's the very simple idea behind a very simple feature that Google has just begun testing. As TechCrunch recently noticed, Big G has started rolling out a new "add to Circles" button within some search results, allowing readers to more easily and instantaneously follow their favorite web authors on Google+. Writer profiles have already been integrated within search pages, but until now, users had to actually click on author pages before following them. This new circle button, on the other hand, cuts out that middle click and seems like a logical next step in Google's ongoing integration. It also seems like a great way to help writers feel better about themselves, which we always support. And if you're not seeing it, you're not going crazy -- Google's just rolling it out to only a few users.
The Daily Grind: Are you a leader or follower?
Today we want to know one very simple fact from you: Are you a leader or follower in game? Are you the take charge, "Follow me into the gaping maw of hell, gentlemen!" figure who grabs the reins of every situation? Do you get disgruntled when a group sits around, twiddling its thumbs because nobody can make up his mind? Are you a guild master, an officer, a raid leader or even a community leader for your game? Do you enjoy creating teams and being the one calling all the shots? Does being a leader even give you a heady rush of power? Or are you a laid back, "You guys decide what we're going to do and I'll do it!" gamer who likes lining up behind someone else? Is it less stressful being a follower because you can just play without having to worry about organizing and figuring things out too often? Is your personality just incompatible with being the go-to guy or gal? Would you much rather have someone take care of the big details so you can enjoy the smaller things in life? In MMOs, are you a leader or follower?
