Daily Tech Headlines – October 3, 2016
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| Daily Tech Headlines – October 3, 2016 | |
| Number | 83 |
| Broadcast Date | OCTOBER 3, 2016 |
| Episode Length | 5:48 |
| Hosts | Tom Merritt |
Facebook competes with Craigslist and slims down Messenger while Google’s Pixel phones leak.
Headlines
- Facebook is launching Marketplace in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the US this week. The new section collects listings of products users are selling. The page will display listings algorithmically based on your previous behaviors on Facebook. All transactions regarding the items take place outside Facebook, similar to Craigslist. The section launches first on mobile where it replaces the Messenger icon. A desktop version is in the works.
- Facebook also began rolling out Messenger Lite, a simplified messaging app designed for older Android hardware. The 10MB app will allow messaging, sending and receiving links and photos, and receiving stickers but will not support things like video calling and payments. Messenger Lite is rolling out in Kenya, Tunisia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Venezuela, with availability in other countries to follow.
- The UK's Carphone Warehouse accidentally posted a listing for Google's Pixel phones which are expected to be announced at an event Tuesday. The 5-inch Pixel and 5.5-inch Pixel XL have large bezels and fingerprint sensors on the back as well as support for live cases which pair with screen wallpaper like in the Nexus phones. Both phones were listed as available in black and white.
- The USB Implementer's forum published its Audio Device Class 3.0 specification which standardizes audio over USB. The goals of the spec is to give manufacturers an alternative to the 3.5mm audio jack. The new spec includes power-saving features and better keyword detection.
- Toyota showed off the Kirobo Mini robot Monday. The robot mimics a baby by wobbling while seated and speaking with a high-pitched voice. It will sell for 39,800 yen (US$392) in Japan next year. Fortune reports Kirobo Mini's chief design engineer Fuminori Kataoka said it is a stepping stone to more advanced robots.
- Baidu released an Android keyboard Monday built around voice recognition that is supposed to be three times faster than typing in English with a 20.4% lower error rate. The numbers come from a study by Stanford. The app called TalkType is available in the Google Play store. The company is thinking about launching an iOS version as well.
- Messaging app Telegram has added a bot-powered gaming platform to let developers deliver visually appealing games that can be played in Telegram with contacts. The games have graphics and sound and will keep track of scores between you and the person you're messaging with. There will be about 30 games at launch.
- Internet.org announced winners of its Innovation challenge in Africa. Esoko connects businesses, governments and NGOs with farmers. mPedigree Goldkeys provides verification to prevent sales of counterfeits in areas like cosmetics, seeds and pharmaceuticals. SaferMom delivers health info to pregnant and new mothers. Hyperion Development is a platform for computer science education. Mutti by mPharma connects patients with affordable medicine. And Tuteria connects students with tutors, coaches, instructors and mentors.
- Twitch announced Saturday it will begin allowing users to upload video rather than just stream live. Unlike archived live streams which expire in either 14 or 60 days, uploaded videos will not expire.
- In a concurrence to decision Friday, US Circuit Judge Haldane Mayer argued that the Supreme Court's Alice decision in 2014 means software is not subject to patent. Judge Mayer called software "an “idea” insufficiently linked to any defining physical structure" Mayer also argued that software is a form of language and should be protected by copyright not patent. Friday's ruling is indicative of a trend in judicial thinking but is far from ending software patents.
- Ben Rubin, co-founder of Life on Air, announced Friday that the company was discontinuing its Meerkat app. The company has pivoted to a new video broadcasting app, Houseparty, which was released 10 months ago. Houseparty allows for private video chats with up to 8 contacts. As soon as a user begins a video chat broadcast, anyone on their friends list can enter into the chat.
- Mozilla announced Project Mortar, which aims to test the use of Chrome Plugins to replace internal PDF and Chrome implementations. The marketshare for the company's Firefox browser has decreased steadily over the past 5 years, and Project Mortar is aimed at saving costs to maintain the PDF.js and NPAPI flash plugins. The NPAPI plugin was already scheduled for sunset with the release of Firefox 53, scheduled for release next year. Mozilla plans to replace the plugins with the Google maintained PDFium and Pepper Flash, no exact release date was announced.
Links
| Preceded by: "Daily Tech Headlines – September 30, 2016" |
Daily Tech Headlines – October 3, 2016 |
Followed by: "Daily Tech Headlines Part 1 – October 4, 2016" |