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Netflix is making the internet's Rihanna/Lupita buddy movie
According to Entertainment Weekly, a movie dreamed up on social media based on nothing more than a picture of Lupita Nyong'o and Rihanna is actually going to happen. The two were captured sitting next to each other during Paris Fashion Week 2014 when a writer named Roxy posted this caption on Tumblr "They look like they're in a heist movie with Rihanna as the tough-as-nails leader/master thief and Lupita as the genius computer hacker." The idea resurfaced as a tweet this past April and quickly became a viral meme "Black Twitter" and beyond, with fans tagging both stars and tossing in more suggestions for the flick they'd like to see.
Tumblr's Cabana app lets friends watch video along with you
Tumblr has released a new standalone app called Cabana, where you can hang out with your friends through video chat and force them to watch cute animal videos. It's far from a being a new concept: Google already did it with YouTube party mode for Hangouts and Uptime. A simple search for "watch videos together" will bring up a lengthy list of choices, as well -- there's even an in-app option for Apple's iMessage. Still, the company says the prototype was a hit among teens aged 13 to 18 during their tests. If you're partial to Tumblr and you're looking for a virtual party app anyway, Cabana might be worth a shot.
Astronaut Jessica Meir will answer your questions on Tumblr
If you've got dreams of donning a spacesuit and going on trips outside the planet, don't miss Tumblr's Answer Time session today, March 11th. NASA's Jessica Meir will answer your questions starting at 4:30PM Eastern time, and it's a great chance to ask a real astronaut, especially if you missed Scott Kelly's Q&A session last year. Meir was part of the 21st NASA astronaut class in 2013 -- the first one that was 50 percent female -- and was cleared for actual missions in 2015, so you can ask her about what it's like to train for the job.
Designers dream of electric dresses at Paris Fashion Week
In the middle of Paris Fashion Week, Ghost in the Shell "Prototype" (hosted by Paramount Pictures and Tumblr) aimed to show off cutting-edge fashion that makes use of technology. Weirdly, the event actually didn't have much to do with the movie at all, other than trying to demonstrate how humans can enhance themselves via smart clothing, much like in Ghost in the Shell's fictional near future. Rather, it gave us an up-close look at the future of couture, including Intel's Adrenaline dress that gets "upset" when you do, a "smart coat" that warms you up with infrared tech and fabrics that can sense the amount of air pollution. The showcase was provocative, and designers were excited to work with the new creative formats offered by wearable tech, but it also demonstrated why wired-up clothes aren't quite ready for prime time.
Apple, other tech giants will support transgender student's case
Several tech titans plan to sign an amicus (friend of the court) brief in support of a 17-year-old transgender student's fight in court, according to Axios. Apple, Microsoft, IBM, PayPal, eBay, Airbnb, Box, Yelp, GitHub, Salesforce, Slack and Tumblr are expected to back Gavin Grimm's legal battle against his school board for the right to use the bathroom that matches his gender identity. The amicus brief, created by LGBT organization Human Rights Campaign, will be filed in favor of Grimm for the Supreme Court hearing scheduled to take place on March 28th.
Tumblr's mobile apps finally have photo filters and stickers
In a move possibly inspired by Snapchat, or even Instagram, Tumblr is bringing photo filters and stickers to its iOS and Android apps. But that's not it: The feature will also work with GIF posts, which is going to let you spice up your feed even more than you already are. Tumblr says you can choose from over 100 "extremely relevant" stickers, so you shouldn't have a problem finding one that fits the message you're trying to get across. And fret not if you don't see these in your Tumblr app yet, as the update just started rolling out today to the App Store and Google Play.
Tumblr on desktop plays nicely with Apple's Live Photos
Tumblr's website is now almost as Live Photo-friendly as its iOS app. The microblogging social network has finally added support for Apple's animated image format on desktop, nine months after introducing the capability on iOS. When you see the Live Photo icon -- check out those concentric circles on the top left in the picture above -- simply click and hold the image to play it. And yes, it comes with sound! Only reason we say the website is "almost" as Live Photo-friendly is because if you're using an iPhone, you can also turn the moving images into GIFs using the iOS app's GIF maker.
Tumblr is bringing ads to user blogs
Tumblr is planning to quietly introduce a new advertising program that means users will start seeing ads across their blogs.
Recommended Reading: Life lessons from Mario
Mario is living the American dream Rob Harvilla, The Ringer This week The Ringer has been discussing that unique group of people and things that we can all agree are enduring and iconic parts of culture. We're talking the likes of Google Maps, Woz and The Rock -- all on the list, by the way. One particular selection caught my eye: Mario. Yes, the Nintendo Mario. When you stop and think about it, that plumber can teach us a lot about life.
Tumblr officially joins the live video party
It's official: today, Tumblr joins Facebook, Twitter and Amazon as the latest platform to add live video streaming. In a post on Live Video dot Tumblr dot com, Yahoo's quirky social network laid out the crucial details.
Tumblr to launch live video with an hour of wacky streams
It seems Tumblr is planning to jump on the live video bandwagon to join Facebook, Twitter and Amazon. The blog platform has posted eight updates on a subdomain that features a logo with the words "Live Video on Tumblr," accompanied by a caption that says, "Launches Tuesday, June 21."
Tumblr rolls out 'GIF posts' for iOS users
Do you use Tumblr? Do you love GIFs? Do you also have an iPhone? Beginning today, you can start creating GIF posts via the official Tumblr app on iOS.
Tumblr Labs lets you experiment with new, optional settings
Care to take some risks with your personal Tumblr? Well, today's your day as the microblogging platform's launched a new Labs feature to let users opt-in for "experimental features." The option, accessible via Tumblr's web interface, adds four settings offering varying levels of usefulness. There's one, themed posts, which the company cheekily notes will turn your Tumblr into a "beautiful illegible rainbow" since it aligns the color of your Tumblr with that of your posts (see? questionable utility). The other three available settings will, respectively, give users the ability to add a button to posts to track reblog history; add granular scheduling options; and grant access to something cryptically referred to as "Inside Tumblrs." As the company notes in some fine script on the Labs site, these experiments are in-development and therefore prone to not work or suddenly disappear at any given time. So tread carefully if you decide to participate. All you need is an active Tumblr and a desire to microblog dangerously.
Drop Google Drive files and GIFs into your Yahoo emails
Yahoo's been busy bulking up its Mail app and its latest feature follows their strategy to play nice with other email and service providers. Now you can include files from Google Drive and even drop in Tumblr GIFs.
Yahoo asks potential buyers to bid before April 11: WSJ
Despite Marissa Mayer's best efforts, Yahoo is struggling to stay relevant. The company is still worth a lot of money, but most of that can be attributed to its stake in Alibaba, an enormously successful e-commerce firm in China. Now, according to the Wall Street Journal, the ageing technology giant has put itself up for auction. A letter sent to possible buyers, and seen by the broadsheet newspaper, states that Yahoo has asked for preliminary bids by April 11th. These could be for some or all of its business, including Yahoo Japan and web services like Tumblr and Flickr.
Tumblr revives Replies to restore the art of conversation
Were you miffed when Tumblr replaced its longstanding Replies feature with instant messaging, effectively forcing you to have private chats about a funny GIF? The social service heard your gripes -- it's not only bringing back Replies, but making them more useful. Authors can finally reply to their own posts, and you can reply to a post multiple times if you're embroiled in a conversation. To prevent chaos, Tumblr will let you limit replies to service regulars or only those you follow.
Indonesia blocks Tumblr because it hosts pornography
Indonesia has banned Tumblr, the internet's GIF factory and pizza pleasure palace, because the site hosts pornographic content, the BBC reports. Indonesia's Information Ministry apparently didn't consult Tumblr or its parent company, Yahoo, before blocking the site. "We must ban the site first and tell them later," Information Ministry e-business director Azhar Hasyim told the BBC.
Astronaut Scott Kelly will answer questions from space on Tumblr
Scott Kelly, the NASA astronaut with a green thumb, is hosting Answer Time on Tumblr right from the ISS. What's "Answer Time," you ask? It's like Reddit's AMA where the host fields questions from readers, so if you missed Kelly's AMA earlier this year, now's your chance. Here's a short background on Kelly, in case you're still thinking of what to ask: he's known as the American who has spent the most time in space and is currently on a year-long mission aboard the ISS.
Tumblr isn't doing as well as Yahoo expected
Yahoo had high hopes for Tumblr when it bought the blogging platform for $1.1 billion in 2013, but it hasn't lived up to its expectations. The troubled company has lowered its valuation to $760 million, down $230 million from its previous $990 million value (Yahoo only snapped up Tumblr for over a billion due to its liabilities). Marissa Mayer and her colleagues expected the startup to boost its userbase to a billion. While that did eventually happen over a year after the acquisition, the number was called into question, as the company used a new methodology to measure its audience across devices.
Share your iPhone 6s' Live Photos on Tumblr
Tumblr is a bit more animated now thanks to Live Photo sharing from the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. The GIF-dominated social network's app on iOS bumped to version 5.0 and with that milestone brings support for the more prominent features on Cupertino's latest handsets. In addition to easy sharing for your animated selfies, Tumblr's making use of 3D Touch to view them. If you have a 6s or 6s Plus, 9to5Mac notes that when you're scrolling through the dashboard and see the Live Photo icon over an image, simply deep-press on your device and it'll play the motion and audio captured with the photo.