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Facebook AI can mimic text styles with a photo of a single word
Facebook has developed AI that can copy the style of text in a photo — your handwriting could become a font.
Instagram inexplicably adds a Comic Sans-like font to Stories
Instagram couldn't even get the real Comic Sans for Stories.
Microsoft warns Windows users of two security holes already under attack
Today, Microsoft warned billions of Windows users that hackers are actively exploiting two critical zero-day vulnerabilities that could allow bad actors to take complete control of targeted computers. According to a security advisory, the vulnerabilities are being used in "limited targeted attacks," and all supported Windows operating systems could be at risk.
'The Outer Worlds' is about to get a fix for its tiny in-game text
If there's one major criticism of The Outer Worlds, it's surely the bewilderingly tiny text size used for menus and dialogs. Squinting and scooching does not make for enjoyable game play, and for those with visual impairments, it renders the game unplayable. But that's about to change.
The Galaxy Note 10 S Pen is also a wand that controls your phone
Today, Samsung confirmed a poorly kept secret. The Galaxy Note 10 S Pen will offer gesture controls, or "Air Actions." This goes one step further than the Note 9 S Pen, which acts as a remote control. Now, you'll be able to control the Note 10 (and Note 10+) with a wave of the stylus. The S Pen will allow you to activate shortcuts and perform specific actions by drawing shapes above the screen. As you can with the Galaxy Tab S6, you'll be able to swish-and-flick to switch between front- and rear-facing cameras and toggle through camera modes.
Recommended Reading: Coachella was built for YouTube
Coachella 2019 review: A festival built for YouTube Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork For years, Coachella's opening weekend has been a huge event for YouTube. A weekend's worth of livestreams don't deliver all of the acts to your living room, but the site typically offers a lot of the big names so you don't have to travel to the desert. Pitchfork explains how the festival is now designed just as much for the viewers at home in its review of the 2019 event. "Especially after Beyoncé's Earth-rattling set last year, some stars and would-be stars lunged at the chance to make statements with their performances over the weekend, with productions designed to appeal as much to live streamers as to the crowd at Indio, California's Empire Polo Club," the site notes. And perhaps no one went all-in this year as much as Childish Gambino.
The National Parks ‘font’ has finally been digitized
Fonts are as synonymous with a brand as a logo, and these days every kind of company and organization (and some cities) have a design they call their own. Even America's National Parks have their own distinct lettering, found on wooden signs throughout parks across the country. But it wasn't until 2013 it became apparent that the iconic font isn't an actual typeface at all -- instead, it's simply the product of the chiseling gear found in the National Park sign shop. Now, the design has been digitized for others to use.
Uber hopes a new font will symbolize its turnaround
Uber has been through a lot since it booted Travis Kalanick: a new CEO, a new management team and an emphasis on doing things by the book (even if it proves costly). But how is it supposed to convey that it turned a corner besides ads? Through a new font, apparently. The ridesharing firm has unveiled a new look that revolves around a new typeface, Uber Move. It's unique, inspired by transportation fonts (think road signs and subways) and works in every country where Uber has a presence.
Netflix's latest original: A typeface
If you're averse to change, then you might not like Netflix's most recent announcement. According to It's Nice That, the streaming service is changing its typeface from the old reliable Gotham to Netflix Sans. It was developed with typeface designers Dalton Maag.
Tumblr adds three useful ways to post from your mobile device
Tumblr keeps improving its mobile apps, adding to already useful features like photo filters, instant messaging, stickers and GIF posts to keep your interactions fresh and interesting. The microblogging service just announced three new ways to post from the mobile apps, including images in reblog posts, fun new text styles for text posts, and the ability to drag and drop paragraphs and images within blog posts.
Pakistan's Prime Minister resigns following Fontgate scandal
Fontgate strikes again. Pakistan's prime minister Nawaz Sharif has stepped down following a Supreme Court order disqualifying him from holding office. The ruling also called for anti-corruption cases against Sharif and his family. After proving pivotal to the probe that led to today's decision, Microsoft's Calibri font could also make an appearance in the next stage of proceedings.
Microsoft's Calibri font is at the center of a political scandal
Pakistan's government is in trouble. And its fate may hinge on a Microsoft font. Judicial investigators probing the financial assets of the country's Prime Minister and his family allege his daughter (and apparent successor) forged documents to hide her ownership of overseas properties. How did they reach that conclusion? The documents from 2006 submitted by Maryam Nawaz (daughter of PM Nawaz Sharif) were in the Calibri font. That font, according to the investigation team's leaked report, wasn't publicly available until 2007.
Dubai is the first city to design its own Microsoft font
It's not as flashy as having the world's tallest building, but the city of Dubai can now claim a new achievement -- it's the first to create its own Microsoft font. The Dubai Font, which combines Latin and Arabic texts, can be accessed globally through Microsoft Office 365.
London Tube font redesigned for the internet age
The iconic typeface of the London Underground is getting a revamp. Design firm Monotype has been commissioned to rework the letters, numbers and symbols that people look at every day while they hurriedly board Tube carriages, stand on platforms and look at maps. The "Johnston" typeface was unveiled in 1916 and while it's undergone some changes since then, Transport for London (TfL) thinks it could use another tweak. The new "Johnston100" serves two purposes; to bring back some of the "soul" of the original typeface, which may have been lost in subsequent redesigns, and to make it more legible for apps and digital signage.
Recommended Reading: How Oculus took Netflix to the Gear VR
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. John Carmack on Developing the Netflix App for Oculus by John Carmack Netflix Tech Blog During this week's Oculus Connect 2 keynote, the virtual reality company announced that the upcoming Gear VR would include support for Netflix. What does is take to bring a streaming service inside the headset? Well, Oculus CTO John Carmack detailed the process on the Netflix Tech Blog.
Samsung's bringing back the TV 'set' with the Serif TV
The humble television wasn't always the ultra-thin, wall-mounted "appliance" we know today -- it used to be a piece of furniture, wrapped in an elegant case of wood, plastics and metal. Now, Samsung is bringing the idea of a stylized 'TV Set' back, introducing a an expensive, font-inspired television called the Serif TV.
Ferrofluid 'font' produces trippy, one-of-a-kind art
You may have seen ferrofluid (aka magnetic ink) used for clever science demonstrations in school, but it might just get a much cooler application before long. Linden Gledhill and Craig Ward have developed Fe2O3 Glyphs, wild-looking characters created by putting a ferrofluid between glass plates and subjecting it to spinning magnetic fields. The result is a sort of anti-font -- while the "letters" look like they could be part of an alien language, they're so unique that you'd likely never produce the same effect twice.
Windows gets an emergency security fix across most versions (update: Hacking Team link)
If you use Windows -- just about any recent version of it, in fact -- you're going to want to check for updates as soon as you can. Microsoft has released an emergency, off-schedule patch for a security hole that lets ne'er-do-wells hijack your system if you open documents or websites that use embedded OpenType fonts. The flaw exists in virtually every edition of Windows that Microsoft still supports, ranging from Vista all the way to your preview copy of Windows 10. There's no evidence that an attack exists in the wild, but you'll definitely want to get the fix before malware writers get their act together. Update: There are claims circulating that this fixes an exploit discovered in the Hacking Team breach. If so, it's not entirely true that this exploit has never been used. We've reached out to Microsoft for more answers. Update 2: Microsoft tells us that this is indeed in response to the Hacking Team vulnerability. The company is "not aware of any active attacks" right now, but it's not about to wait for them to show up.
Website writes up notes for you using Instagram font
Kidnappers who send out ransom notes made of magazine cutouts are so old school. Any self-respecting, tech-savvy abductor who finds ordinary fonts boring would use Type To Design's Instagram font generator instead. It's pretty easy to use, too. You just go its website, type in your sinister warning or whatever, and it will scour Type To Design's curated collection of letters and numbers taken from the photo-sharing network. Unhappy with how a particular figure looks? Refresh, and it will find alternatives for you. After that, save the note as a PDF to print it out or screenshot it like we did above.
The owner of Helvetica and Times New Roman just bought some emoji
Monotype just bought Swyft Media. Or, a company you probably haven't heard of just bought a company you probably haven't heard of. Monotype, for the uninitiated, is a company that helped revolutionize typesetting at the latter end of the 19th century, and owns typefaces you probably see every day like Helvetica, Times New Roman and Franklin Gothic. And Swyft? It's a startup that creates stickers and emoji. Recently profiled by Fortune, it works with brands to create custom sticker packs for apps like Facebook Messenger and Line. At first glance, an emoji advertising firm and a historic type company might seem an odd couple, but given the rate that stickers are replacing our written words, perhaps it's money well spent. The deal could (according to TechCrunch) cost Monotype up to $27 million -- a small price to pay for staying relevant in our emoji-filled future.
