a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Snapchat has a secret new way to add friends

Jan27
by on January 27, 2015 at 8:13 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Insider

Snapchat on iPhone 6 Plus
Snapchat launched a big update today that added a new feature called “Discover” that shows you the latest news, but what it didn’t talk about is the cool new way to add friends. The new feature (which doesn’t seem to have an official name yet, so I’m going to call it a “Ghostcode” for now) shows you a Snapchat logo with random holes in it. It looks innocent enough, but it’s actually a secret QR code for you to share with people outside Snapchat so they can add easily add you. You can access your Ghostcode from the Snapchat camera, then by tapping…

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YouTube will now default to HTML5 players for better support on more devices

Jan27
by on January 27, 2015 at 7:59 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Google, Insider

youtube html5
Today, YouTube announced that its Web video player will now default to HTML5 over Adobe Flash to add more flexibility for developers, bloggers and consumers. The team wrote that it waited on switching to HTML5 players due to numerous technical issues. For example, HTML5 previously lacked support for Adaptive Bitrate (ABR), which helps reduce buffering. With ABR support, YouTube says it is able to use MediaSource Extensions to run smooth live streams on a variety of devices, including the Xbox One, Playstation 4, Chromecast and most popular Web browsers such as Chrome, Safari 8 and IE 11. YouTube also says that since HTML5 supports VP9 codec, it can…

This story continues at The Next Web

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a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

YouTube will now default to HTML5 players for better support on more devices

Jan27
by on January 27, 2015 at 7:59 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Google, Insider

youtube html5
Today, YouTube announced that its Web video player will now default to HTML5 over Adobe Flash to add more flexibility for developers, bloggers and consumers. The team wrote that it waited on switching to HTML5 players due to numerous technical issues. For example, HTML5 previously lacked support for Adaptive Bitrate (ABR), which helps reduce buffering. With ABR support, YouTube says it is able to use MediaSource Extensions to run smooth live streams on a variety of devices, including the Xbox One, Playstation 4, Chromecast and most popular Web browsers such as Chrome, Safari 8 and IE 11. YouTube also says that since HTML5 supports VP9 codec, it can…

This story continues at The Next Web

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a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Google Fiber confirmed for Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville and Raleigh-Durham later this year

Jan27
by on January 27, 2015 at 6:45 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

Google Fiber
Just a few days ago we reported on rumors that Google Fiber would be coming to Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham this year. Turns out the rumors were right, but those aren’t the only cities involved. The gigabit internet service is now coming to Atlanta, GA and Nashville, TN in addition to the aforementioned North Carolina cities, making this the largest Fiber rollout so far. Google says it’s been working with city leaders over the past year in a joint planning process to build and upgrade the infrastructure necessary for the high speed connections. Google expects to wrap up the structural work in the…

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Apple releases OS X 10.10.2 and iOS 8.1.3 updates, reducing install size for iOS users

Jan27
by on January 27, 2015 at 6:26 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

os-x-yosemite-mac
Apple has today released updates for both iOS and OS X which are both significant bug fixing releases. The company has finally picked up that some of the slow adoption of iOS 8 can be attributed to the sheer size of the update, so Apple notes that this release reduces the size of the upgrade so more users can install it without needing to free up as much space on their phones. iOS 8.1.3 also fixes a number of bugs in iOS 8, but Apple doesn’t specify exactly what’s fixed. Yosemite’s 10.10.2 update is recommended for all users as it improves the stability and security of Macs. Other…

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