Path
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Path is closing its private social network for good
Path, the Facebook rival and sticker pioneer that gained a million users a week at its peak, is officially dead. "It is with deep regret that we announce that we will stop providing our beloved service," the site announced. Founded by ex-Facebooker Dave Morin, along with Dustin Mierau and Shawn Fanning from Napster, the site is probably best known for its more private nature and helping to pioneer "sticker"-style emojis.
Lawsuit claims Disney illegally collected data in kids apps
The Walt Disney Company is being sued because a number of its apps geared towards children have allegedly been collecting personal information that the company has been sharing with advertisers. The class action suit, brought forth by a California woman, claims that Disney and three software companies involved in the development of 42 youth-aimed apps have used software to track the apps' users online activity, which was subsequently sold to advertisers without consent of the parents.
Path's social apps get sold to the company behind KakaoTalk
Remember Path, the social network for keeping in touch with your closest friends and family? Unless you live in Indonesia, probably not. And that's part of the reason why it ended selling its social networking apps to Daum Kakao, the Korean parent company of the messaging app KakaoTalk. Path was founded five years ago with a more intimate and well-designed take on social networking, and it snagged 10 million users in that time. But aside from some initial pickup in tech centers like San Francisco and New York City, most of its growth ended up being in Latin America and Southeast Asia (more than half of its users are based in Indonesia). Specifically, Daum Kakao is picking up the core Path app and Path Talk, a standalone chat app it launched last year. Path the company will live on with its animated GIF app Kong, and it likely has some other projects in the works too.
The first solar bike path is producing more energy than expected
Back in November, SolaRoad launched a test bike path that generates energy through solar cells embedded in the concrete. It sounds like an outlandish idea, but it's apparently paying off very quickly. The company has revealed that its road has generated much more energy than expected -- it produced 3,000kWh of electricity in the space of just six months, or enough to power a single person's home for a year. That doesn't sound like much, but SolaRoad notes that its path only covers a 230-foot stretch in a Dutch village. You'd get a lot more energy from longer, wider roads.
Path now lets you text UK businesses instead of calling
In another step towards ultimate convenience, Path has updated its messaging app so you can call local businesses with just a simple text. Originally tied to the US, the Places feature in Path Talk has come to the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, letting you make specific queries without ever dialling a number. Want to buy a copy of Halo: The Master Chief Collection on your way home from work? You can now text a nearby store to see if they have stock. Need to book a haircut for this afternoon? Send a message before you duck into the Tube and have an appointment scheduled by the time you re-emerge.
Path now lets you text businesses so you don't have to wait on hold
About three months ago, Path announced that not only was it rolling out a dedicated messaging app, it was also acquiring a company called TalkTo whose service allowed you to communicate with businesses via text. Today, Path is finally integrating the two together with a new feature called Places. Now in addition to messaging your friends on Path Talk, you're also able to send a text to any business or place, and no, you don't need to know the phone number to do so.
Messaging's mission impossible: One inbox to rule them all
My phone buzzes. I glance at it and see a text message from my husband, who wants to know if I can pick him up from work. Later that day, my phone buzzes again. This time, it's a Facebook Messenger notification from my mother, who wants to chat about an upcoming trip. At the same time, a friend pings me using Twitter's Direct Messages. Next, a colleague strikes up a conversation on Google Hangouts. Realizing it would be easier to handle all of these with a computer, I flip open my laptop so I can chat with everyone simultaneously. Within the span of a few hours, I've chatted with four different people on four completely different messaging platforms. And the juggling doesn't stop there.
The Game Archaeologist: World War II Online
The 1990s saw the rise of flight simulators that thrived on detailed, complicated controls and handling. Such games threw out accessibility and casual-friendliness for stark-raving realism, and a certain subset of gamers really thrived on them. I tried my hand at a couple and found myself breathing rapidly when pouring through keyboard charts and doing basic algebra just to get a plane off of the ground. Not for me, I said then. I don't think there's ever stopped being absurdly complex video games that aim for immersion through detailed realism, even though that appeals to only the fringe of the fringe. Some people have their gaming standards set exactly that high and no lower, and some devs refuse to water down their visions just to sell more box units. For these people, Cornered Rat Software (CRS) created World War II Online, an overly ambitious MMOFPS that stumbled out of the gate in 2001 but has gamely soldiered on since then. Over a decade now an epic war has been raging for control over a continent, and it's been up to the fiercely loyal fans to keep the fight going. Today we're going to take a look at the guts 'n' glory of this project to both praise its complexity and curse it for the same thing. If nothing else, it was a game that could only have arisen from the early landscape of 3-D MMOs, and for that it warrants our attention.
Path gets updates, stand-alone message app
After a long hiatus with no updates, several layoffs and a "realigning of the company," Path is back with some big changes. Messaging has broken off into a stand-alone app called Talk, the core app's navigation has been simplified, and newly-acquired messaging service TalkTo will exploit the popularity of text communication. Talk At first, I was confused by Path's decision to move messaging out the core app. Isn't it more efficient for one app to perform all functions? Path CEO Dave Morin believes that Talk will be a major part of his company's future business model. But before we get to that, we must discuss stickers. Path released "sticker packs" about 18 months ago. Shortly after that, the company added a yearly subscription option to let customers acquire early-release stickers. All this to say that the sale of virtual goods has been a big part of Path's revenue stream. The same was true of TalkTo. This service let people get answers from area businesses via text, like hours of operation, product availability, prices and more. Its premium subscription let customers pay a monthly fee to get their questions moved to the front of the queue. TalkTo founder Stuart Levinson noticed that three-quarters of the questions his customers asked were about buying something, and that's what Morin hopes to capitalize on. "We want to bring a differentiated and powerful new use case to our users," he told TechCrunch. "We want to bring commerce and messaging together in a way that is user-first." The core app The UI has received a big update. Now, all of the buttons are at the bottom of the screen, meaning that cool slide-out panel that was always "behind" your timeline is gone. Meanwhile, tapping to leave a comment on a friend's post offers two options: "Comment" and "Message." The former works as expected while the latter prompts you to install the Talk app or pushes you to Talk if it's already installed. Other changes include a boost in the number of friends you can have. Formerly topping out at 150, you can now have as many as you like. Finally, the sticker store is still there, though I think it's harder to find. You must tap to add a comment, then hit the emoticon button and finally the store icon in the lower left. No more "swipe, tap" to jump right to it.. I've fallen in and out of love with Path several times. Today, my extended family and I use it to keep tabs on each other's activities, and that's working out fine. Here's to seeing what's next.
Path spins out dedicated messaging app that'll let you text businesses too
Today, Path has joined the likes of Facebook by splintering off one of its most popular features -- messaging -- into its own app. Simply called Path Talk, the standalone messenger comes just a year after the introduction of private messaging to the social network. But that's not all. In concert with Path Talk's launch, the company has also announced the acquisition of TalkTo, a service that lets you text any local business like you would a person and get a response. And, you guessed it, one of the standout new features of Path Talk will include the ability to do exactly that.
World War II Online crowdfunds a client update
In an effort to update an aging client without breaking the developer's bank, World War II Online: Battleground Europe turned to the community to crowdfund the project -- and the community delivered. A $9,250 fundraiser on Indiegogo dedicated to the creation of a new test server, PC client, and Mac client was met and surpassed this past week. The update, which should roll out within six months, will include billing tools for Steam and improved audio and visuals. The crowdfunding campaign is now aiming for stretch goals that could add community upgrades, improved tech infrastructure, and additional marketing.
Path finally brings video to its Android app more than three years after iOS
In the fast and frenetic world of mobile, a three year wait for a simple feature Apple users already have might put you off using one of your favorite apps. But that's exactly what happened with Path, the once popular semi-private social network, which has taken an extraordinarily long time to bring video to its Android app. Following the launch of Path 3.4 on Google Play, Android users finally now have the option to record 30 second movies and apply a range of pre-selected filters, which can be shared to their private timeline alongside text, photo, location and other updates. While iPhone owners may welcome an influx of video shares by their Android counterparts, the fact it took over three years to roll out one Android feature and six months to fine-tune a new Windows Phone app means Path's recent mobile launches aren't likely to register on blip on Vine and Instagram's radar.
Better late than never, Path arrives on Windows Phone
Path for Windows Phone has had an unusually long development cycle for a mobile app -- we first saw it at a Nokia event in July, and the rest of 2013 came and went without a release. Still, fans of the smaller-scale social network will be glad to know that a Path beta is at last available in the Windows Phone Store. The software mirrors much of the functionality seen in the Android and iOS versions, including private sharing, although it also takes advantage of Nokia's imaging software and provides 50 unique photo filters. No, Path isn't as exciting as Instagram or Vine, but we doubt that Windows Phone owners will mind getting another well-known app on their platform of choice.
Sound your barbaric YAWP, it's the weekend news roundup
Happy Monday, folks. Back from a relaxing weekend, I take it? Here's a look at the news that popped up over the last two days. ClamCase Pro for iPad mini orders have begun. We'll post a review as soon as our unit arrives. Until then, the ClamCase Pro looks like a nice piece of hardware. These external keyboards are very nice for those who do a lot of typing on the iPad. Carpe diem, seize the ad! Apple has released a new iPad commercial and corresponding microsite that borrows narration from Dead Poet's Society. It's very well done, as you'd expect, and makes me feel guilty for not doing more with my iPad 2. Apple has posted a job opening for its Oregon-based data center. Print your resumes, eager candidates. Social app Path has nabbed US$25 million in funding. Goodness. Now that you're caught up, enjoy these features: Cupertino has always been a hive of rebel scum The SteelSeries Stratus is the most important gaming peripheral yet How to access Google Play music, TV shows and movies on your iOS device
Looking for a data center tech job? Apple's hiring: News from Jan. 10, 2014
Good evening! Here's the Apple news for Jan. 10, 2014: Apple has posted additional positions for its Oregon-based data center, including data center maintenance techs and a chief engineer for the center. As MacRumors notes, Apple has been seeking that engineer since last year. The story also notes that a land acquisition Apple explored last fall seemed to be geared toward building a solar farm. Apple will open its fourth flagship Beijing store on Saturday. The newest addition to the Apple Store family will be in the Chaoyang district's China Central Place. It's the 10th Apple Store in China. A U.S. appeals court said that Apple did not any of Motorola Mobility's patents in the production of the iPhone, upholding a decision originally handed down in April by the International Trade Commission. Motorola Mobility, now owned by Google, had accused Apple of infringing on six patents that ranged from the proximity sensor to reducing signal noise. NTT Docomo's acquisition of the iPhone helped it surpass the competition for the first time in two years, gaining far more new subscribers than its two biggest rivals thanks to the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. "From now, the ranking of the companies will be switching because Docomo offers the iPhone," Satoru Kikuchi, an analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. in Tokyo told Bloomberg Businessweek. "The iPhone strengthens Docomo's foundation." Path has managed to obtain $25 million in Series C funding, Re/code reported late Friday in an exclusive report. The largest of the backers this go-around is Bakrie Global Group out of Indonesia. Kick back and relax with some of these features: Romo: The cute robot with an iPhone for a brain Wearable tech shows promise but has a long way to go The strange, shady world of $1,000 iOS apps
The Nexus Telegraph: Talking a bit about WildStar's beta
As you probably saw last Thursday, the 1-15 beta experience in WildStar had its NDA lifted for us schlubs in the press, allowing us to chatter on quite a bit about the game. We've seen articles discussing the early levels, we've seen streams, and we've been treated to a surfeit of information on the game in its current beta state. I talked about all of that, and I want to talk about it some more because I am really excited about it. After playing the game through to 15, I've got a lot of stuff to look forward to as well as some definite criticisms. So above and beyond what I've already said, I want to talk some more about WildStar's beta.
Daily Update for September 5, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Path adds new privacy features, premium subscriptions
Popular mobile-only social networking site Path updated its iOS app to version 3.2 today with several new features, including Premium Subscriptions. For US$4.99 every three months (or $14.99 every 12 months), premium subscribers get instant and unlimited access to all filters and stickers, plus early access to items in the Path shop. Those stickers and shop items will still be made available to non-subscribers, but they'll have to wait longer for them. Two other new features affect user privacy settings. Private Sharing lets users set granular privacy controls per post, much like Facebook allows you to exclude certain people from seeing certain posts. However, Path's Private Sharing works by being private to everyone by default; the user must identify who's allowed to see each post. You can also review who has seen a post, as friends who have not yet viewed it will have their icons grayed out below the post until they do. The other new privacy feature is called Inner Circle. Inner Circle is essentially groups for Private Sharing. Instead of having to select people manually each time, users can simply add their closest friends to their Inner Circle, then tap the star button with each post to ensure that only those in their Inner Circle can see it. Path 3.2 is a free download. [via Engadget]
Path adds new privacy features and Premium subscription in 3.2 update, announces Deutsche Telekom partnership
One of the benefits of Path when compared to social networks like Facebook and Twitter is that it's more private than public. It's only accessible via mobile app and the service limits you to 150 friends to encourage you to add just the people you know. Yet, it's suffered a bit of privacy-related backlash due to the occasional hiccup and a private messaging feature that wasn't so private. However, the latest 3.2 version of Path might rectify that perception -- it's added two features called Private Sharing and Inner Circle that lets users have more control over who sees their content. We'll detail those along with a new Path Premium subscription model and a partnership with Deutsche Telekom after the break.
Samsung Galaxy Gear apps include Path, Pocket, RunKeeper and more
Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch will launch with 70 native apps, and it turns out that there's quite a few heavy-hitters in that bunch. Path is available to share photos taken from the Gear's wriststrap; Pocket users, meanwhile, can have Gear read saved articles out loud. And fitness apps will definitely be in vogue -- RunKeeper, MyFitnessPal, Phigolf and others have embraced Samsung's vision. There are too many other apps to list them all, although we've noticed big-name titles like Snapchat in the mix. If you're planning to pick up Samsung's wristwear in the next few weeks, there won't be any shortage of things to do with it. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
