Twitter removes Vine ads that could trigger epileptic attacks
Twitter acted quickly to remove two Vines advertising the network's #DiscoverMusic campaign after warnings from an epilepsy charity. Epilepsy Action advised Twitter that the two ads could be dangerous to those suffering from photosensitive epilepsy.
The charity made a public appeal to Twitter in a tweet, and the company was fast to respond. Communications director Rachel Bremer thanked Epilepsy Action for drawing attention to the ads which were removed. The epilepsy charity was not alone in sending warnings to Twitter -- quite a few concerned tweeters got in touch with the company to point out the problem.
Twitter says Apple Music is more hit than miss, but there's a lot to hate
Apple Music launched yesterday and Oxford University's TheySay sentiment analysis company monitored Twitter to work out the overall feeling towards the new service. When the firm monitored the sentiment towards Apple’s WWDC keynote three weeks ago, the announcement of Apple Music received an overall 85 percent approval rating from tweeters, but now that it’s here, the actual service is proving far less popular.
Dr Karo Moilanen, Oxford University professor and co-founder of TheySay, observed: "Compared to the sky-high positive sentiment ratings that Apple products and announcements typically reach on Twitter, this time Apple Music invoked a healthy dose of strong negative sentiment (ca. 24 percent) amongst tweeters".
Medium.com ditches passwords to increase security
Remembering all of the passwords required to gain access to all of your online accounts is a pain. You could opt to use a password manager, or you might decide to use the same password for everything. But Blogging platform Medium.com has another option -- just don't use one!
The site has been anti-password for some time; users log into their accounts using an existing Twitter or Facebook account. For people who are not social network users, however, there's a new option. Working in a similar way to the 'I've forgotten my password' system used by many sites, Medium allows users to log in using nothing but their email address -- and says the system is more secure than regular passwords.
Apple Music to quadruple iTunes Match limit to 100,000 songs
Apple Music has managed to cause quite a storm before it even launches, and Eddy Cue has revealed something that will be music to the ears of subscribers. Writing on Twitter he confirmed that Apple Music subscribers will be able to take advantage of an iTunes Match-like feature that allows tracks to be stored in the cloud.
This in itself is nothing new, but the Apple executive also talked numbers. He explained that while Apple Music would have the same 25,000 as iTunes Match to start with, there are plans to increase this fourfold. The jump to 100,000 songs is penciled in as a feature for iOS 9.
Anti-trolling site aims to stamp out online abuse, sexism, and homophobia
The day after the US Supreme Court voted to legalize same-sex marriage in all 50 states, the self-explanatorily named Stop Abuse Online website has launched. While the site has been set up with the intention of combating online abuse and trolling in general, female and LGBT victims are a particular focus.
The aim of Stop Abuse Online is to offer advice to those who find themselves falling victim to abuse -- be it online harassment, stalking revenge porn, or blackmail -- complete with legal tips about how to deal with different circumstances. The site is run by seven voluntary organizations in the UK and looks to bring the same protection to the web that people expect in the real world.
Instagram battles Twitter with updated Explore and Search features
One of the defining features of Twitter is trending topics. It's easy to catch up on what's hot right now, and it's something that Instagram is borrowing in its latest update. The millions of users of the photo service now have access to a new Explore page that includes not only a trending component that highlights events and topics that people are posting about, but also trending tags and places.
These new options make it easier to home in on content of interest, and changes have also been made to Search. You have the option to search Places, Tags, and People separately, or you can use the Top section to search all at once.
Taylor Swift denigrates Apple Music as 'shocking, disappointing'
There are only a few days until Apple Music launches, but already there is quite a backlash against the music streaming service. It's not just smaller, independent labels that are complaining about Apple's refusal to pay artists any royalties during the initial three month free trial period. Taylor Swift has added her voice to the growing number of complainants, writing an open letter to Apple in which she says she will withhold her new album 1989 from the service.
In the letter, entitled "To Apple, Love Taylor", the singer says that the company's decision not to make royalty payments is "shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company". Swift is an artist who could afford to shoulder the cost of three months of not being paid by Apple, but she has chosen to make a stand and stick up for those who are less fortunate.
Twitter apes Facebook with autoplaying videos
Videos that automatically play when they appear on screen are making their way to Twitter. Taking the lead from Facebook, the microblogging service is introducing the feature to reduce the need to click in order to watch a video.
It's something that will be loved and loathed in just about equal measure -- and if you fall into the latter camp, you'll be pleased to hear that it's possible to revert to the old click-to-play method. Twitter thinks that autoplay will help to ensure that you miss fewer videos about breaking news, but it remains to be seen just how popular it proves.
Twitter to remove 140 character limit -- on direct messages
Limitation breeds creativity. When a person's proverbial hands are tied, their humanity will always shine through. In other words, the human mind finds a way. Humans are very resourceful; for example, prisoners can make alcohol in a toilet. Yum.
Twitter is another good example of a limitation breeding creativity. You see, the 140 character limitation can make it difficult to communicate, forcing the user to think outside the box. While some people find it to be harmful to the English language -- use of abbreviations and lack of punctuation -- I find it to be healthy exercise for the mind. Today, Twitter announces that it will be removing this limitation -- on direct messages (DMs), that is. Is this change good or bad?
Twitter's block lists make it easier to avoid trolls and spam
You don’t have to be following too many accounts on Twitter for it to become overwhelming; there is an incredible amount of data created every minute. To make things more manageable, lists make it possible to organize content into different categories so it can be quickly filtered. Today Twitter announces an extension of the lists concept that can be used to tackle spam and trolling.
It is now possible to not only create lists of accounts you would like to block (so you are invisible to them), but also share these block list with others. It's a technique that has already been implemented by some third party Twitter clients, but it is now officially supported. Privacy and abuse have long been issues for Twitter, and this is just the latest move to try to tackle the problem.
Bruce Jenner becomes Caitlyn Jenner, gains one million Twitter followers in record 4 hours
Earlier today, Bruce Jenner inspired the world by revealing herself as a beautiful woman named Caitlyn Jenner. If you haven't been following her journey, the former Olympian did an interview with Diane Sawyer in April where she announced she was transitioning to a woman. The interview was both interesting and powerful, as it furthered the understanding of LGBT people -- transgender to be specific.
As soon as I saw Caitlyn joined Twitter today, I rushed to follow her to show support and acceptance. Evidently, I was not alone. In what is apparently a world record, Ms. Jenner gains one million followers in four hours. Whoa.
Strange things happening during Lyft, Uber rides
An average Lyft or Uber passenger can come across some really strange and hilariously twisted things, and for some of us reading these experiences is quite entertaining.
That’s why I would like to personally thank Hilary Mason for creating Twitter bots that retweet when someone includes the words "my uber driver" or "my lyft driver".
Twitter releases Periscope for Android
Periscope from Twitter seems to get mixed reviews from users and the tech community. However, it isn't going away, at least as far as we know. The video sharing app received a lot of attention, which really is what Twitter wants from any improvement or new apps.
Periscope isn't new, but the app for Android is. It boasts the ability to replay your live broadcast to your followers, it can be private if you only want certain followers to see it, you can also share these broadcasts via Twitter, manage notifications and Hearts, which tracks how many viewers like your broadcast.
Google starts to show tweets in search results
Twitter has become more than just a soundboard for those looking to voice an opinion -- although obviously it is still that. It has morphed into a valuable resource for delivering information in real time. This is particularly useful when it comes to keeping up to date with breaking news.
Starting today Google will tap into this wealth of information for its search results. The feature is starting life in Google apps on iOS and Android mobile devices, but will spread its way around the world and to the desktop soon.
Pirates can upgrade to Windows 10 for free but they won't be supported by Microsoft
Microsoft has given up trying to stop people from pirating Windows. We already knew that Windows 10 was going to be free, but now Terry Myerson has revealed that it will be free to everyone, including people who are running pirated copies of earlier versions of the operating system.
Speaking to Reuters the Windows chief said: "We are upgrading all qualified PCs, genuine and non-genuine, to Windows 10". The move is an admission that the fight against piracy was a battle Microsoft was never going to win, but the benefits that will be felt extend far beyond just a free copy of Windows.
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