06 February 2018

Patreon Lens is Snapchat for creators’ paid fans only


 Exclusive content is how creators get patrons to pay them a monthly subscription fee on Patreon, so the startup is equipping them with a Snapchat-like tool to turn their private lives into “behind-the-scenes” footage. Patreon Lens launches today within Patreon’s iOS and Android apps so that creators can share photos and videos that disappear in 24 hours just with those who… Read More

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The Best Food Delivery Service: UberEats vs. Doordash


ubereats-doordash-food

In this article, we’re going to conduct an experiment and compare the services of two of the biggest food delivery services in the market right now: DoorDash and UberEats. If you’re ready to continue working in your cubicle (or watching Netflix on your couch) rather than driving out to get your lunch, then sit back, take out your wallet, and get ready to order. Ordering Food From Uber Eats I’ve actually ordered many times from Doordash before, but never UberEats. I had a friend who ordered from UberEats one day, so I decided to try it myself. Actually, I decided...

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The NYT debuts its first augmented reality-enhanced story on iOS


 Apple’s investment in AR technologies has been ushering in a new wave of apps, from those that let you perform more practical tasks – like visualizing furniture placement in rooms – to those with mass consumer appeal – like AR gaming, including Niantic’s upcoming Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. But AR can also be used to create unique experiences within more… Read More

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The Instant Motion Tracking Behind Motion Stills AR




Last summer, we launched Motion Stills on Android, which delivered a great video capture and viewing experience on a wide range of Android phones. Then, we refined our Motion Stills technology further to enable the new motion photos feature in Pixel 2.

Today, we are excited to announce the new Augmented Reality (AR) mode in Motion Stills for Android. With the new AR mode, a user simply touches the viewfinder to place fun, virtual 3D objects on static or moving horizontal surfaces (e.g. tables, floors, or hands), allowing them to seamlessly interact with a dynamic real-world environment. You can also record and share the clips as GIFs and videos.
Motion Stills with instant motion tracking in action
AR mode is powered by instant motion tracking, a six degree of freedom tracking system built upon the technology that powers Motion Text in Motion Stills iOS and the privacy blur on YouTube to accurately track static and moving objects. We refined and enhanced this technology to enable fun AR experiences that can run on any Android device with a gyroscope.

When you touch the viewfinder, Motion Stills AR “sticks” a 3D virtual object to that location, making it look as if it’s part of the real-world scene. By assuming that the tracked surface is parallel to the ground plane, and using the device’s accelerometer sensor to provide the initial orientation of the phone with respect to the ground plane, one can track the six degrees of freedom of the camera (3 for translation and 3 for rotation). This allows us to accurately transform and render the virtual object within the scene.
When the phone is approximately steady, the accelerometer sensor provides the acceleration due to the Earth’s gravity. For horizontal planes the gravity vector is parallel to normal of the tracked plane and can accurately provide the initial orientation of phone.
Instant Motion Tracking
The core idea behind instant motion tracking is to decouple the camera’s translation and rotation estimation, treating them instead as independent optimization problems. First, we determine the 3D camera translation solely from the visual signal of the camera. To do this, we observe the target region's apparent 2D translation and relative scale across frames. A simple pinhole camera model relates both translation and scale of a box in the image plane with the final 3D translation of the camera.
The translation and the change in size (relative scale) of the box in the image plane can be used to determine 3D translation between two camera position C1 and C2. However, as our camera model doesn’t assume the focal length of the camera lens, we do not know the true distance/depth of the tracked plane.
To account for this, we added scale estimation to our existing tracker (the one used in Motion Text) as well as region tracking outside the field of view of the camera. When the camera gets closer to the tracked surface, the virtual content scales accurately, which is consistent with perception of real-world objects. When you pan outside the field of view of the target region and back the virtual object will reappear in approximately the same spot.
Independent translation (from visual signal only as shown by red box) and rotation tracking (from gyro; not shown)
After all this, we obtain the device’s 3D rotation (roll, pitch and yaw) using the phone’s built-in gyroscope. The estimated 3D translation combined with the 3D rotation provides us with the ability to render the virtual content correctly in the viewfinder. And because we treat rotation and translation separately, our instant motion tracking approach is calibration free and works on any Android device with a gyroscope.
Augmented chicken family with Motion Stills AR mode
We are excited to bring this new mode to Motion Stills for Android, and we hope you’ll enjoy it. Please download the new release of Motion Stills and keep sending us feedback with #motionstills on your favorite social media.

Acknowledgements
For rendering, we are thankful we were able to leverage Google’s Lullaby engine using animated Poly models. A thank you to our team members who worked on the tech and this launch with us: John Nack, Suril Shah, Igor Kibalchich, Siarhei Kazakou, and Matthias Grundmann.

How to Use Amazon Echo and Alexa to Be More Productive


amazon-echo-productivity

Maybe you recently got an Echo or a similar voice-activated gadget from Amazon. Or perhaps you are a long-time owner who uses the device regularly. In either case, you may wonder how to use the Alexa personal assistant for improved productivity. Asking Alexa to tell you a joke is amusing but it doesn’t help you make progress. Fortunately, there are numerous ways to use Echo and Alexa to get more done in a day. Download: Alexa for iOS | Android (Free) 1. Set Automated Updates With Alexa Routines The Alexa Routines capability is relatively new. It allows you to trigger...

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Samsung is bringing bokeh camera effects to cheaper phones


 Portrait mode-style bokeh camera features have largely been the realm of high-end flagships to this point. That’s due, in part to the fact that many device makers rely on a dual-camera system to create the effect, driving up prices in the process. Samsung is getting ready to change that soon, however, with a plan to bring its version of the tech to mid-range and entry-level handsets.… Read More

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SimpliSafe upgrades the DIY home security experience


 SimpliSafe, a Boston-based home security company, launched their first security products in 2009 and the devices were a hit. Thanks to their home-security-in-a-box solution the average homeowner could install door sensors, glass-break microphones, and motion detectors without having to run wires or even have a salesperson visit their home. The Lego-like system of removable components was… Read More

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SocialRank’s new product helps marketers understand why tweets go viral


 The team at SocialRank has spent the last few years building ways for brands and marketers to get a better sense of who’s following and engaging with them on social media. Until now, they’ve been doing that on an account level — plug in an account and you get a SocialRank report covering things like your most valuable followers. With a new product called SocialRank for… Read More
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Everything You Need to Know About Spotify Premium


premium-spotify

If you’ve finally decided to get with the times and sign up to a music streaming service, you’ll first need to determine which service is right for you. The four most significant players are Spotify, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, and Apple Music. Assuming you pick Spotify, you’ll have another choice to make: are you going to stick with the free version or sign up for Spotify Premium? It’s not an easy decision to make, as both tiers have pros and cons. In this article, I’m going to make your choice a little clearer. So if you’re not sure which...

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Apple Watch shipments jumped in 2017, according to analysts


 The Apple Watch continues to be a bright spot in amongst the middling world of wearables, according to new numbers from Canalys. The analyst group’s figures put the smartwatch at 18 million shipments for 2017, representing a 54-percent jump over the device’s 2016. Apple’s wearable popped for a couple of reasons, LTE functionality being chief among them. For one thing,… Read More

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How Do I Start a Blog as Quickly as Possible?


start-a-blog

Starting a blog is an incredibly gratifying, rewarding, and feasible endeavor. With a bevy of content management system (CMS) options, hosting alternatives, and blogging resources, beginning a blog has never been easier. Ever wondered how to start? Read on for a primer on blogging! Steps to Start a Blog as Quickly as Possible Although creating a blog might sound like a complicated task, it’s truly only as complex as you make it. The first steps in creating a blog are: State your blogging mission Pick a CMS Find a web host Decide on a domain Choose a blog theme or...

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Cortana in Windows 10: Everything You Need to Know


windows-cortana

Microsoft’s Cortana can be a handy and helpful tool for Windows users. Initially released for Windows Phones in 2014, Cortana showed up one year later on Windows 10. But, even though it has been a few years since this digital personal assistant popped onto the scene, many still have unanswered questions. From what Cortana is to what it can do to how to turn it off, we have answers for you. Here is everything you need to know about Microsoft Cortana. What Is Cortana? Cortana is a virtual assistant that can help you perform tasks. You can use Cortana to...

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A four sentence HomePod review (with appendices)


 Apple’s HomePod delivers superior sound quality and solid Siri performance but still lags behind competition on breadth of voice commands. Read More
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Review: The Kube speaker is overpriced and underwhelming


 This speaker is huge. It’s the size of a cooler a person would take camping for a week. It weighs 48 lbs. And for a good reason, too. The Kube speaker from Thomas and Darden is solid and packed with power. The company says it can put out 122 dB of sound. But it’s not a good sound. That’s the rub. This is a massive speaker that gets really loud but doesn’t sound great at… Read More

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No Internet? No Problem: Play These 10 Best Offline Games on iPhone or iPad


offline-ipad-iphone-games

With today’s digital age and portable pocket computers, we’re almost always online in some way. That is, until we’re not. Most smartphone owners have a cellular data plan to go along with them. But sometimes, you just can’t get a signal, such as underground commutes on the subway or out in the middle of nowhere. After a hard day’s work, we just want to relax. So we have games on our iPhones and iPads. And while there are a ton of gaming options to consider on the App Store, what if you’re looking for something that you can play even...

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Chuwi SurBook Mini 2-in-1 Tablet Review and Giveaway


Our verdict of the Chuwi SurBook Mini:Solid performance in a neat package. Buy it if you don't mind ship-in costs to China (if it breaks) and a non-standard USB-C port.710Looking for a small tablet and a laptop? The Chuwi SurBook Mini 2-in-1 tablet combines both into a 10.1-inch package. While the SurBook’s build quality and specifications are very good for $250, is it worth your money? Read on to find out what we thought of the Chuwi Surbook Mini, and to enter our competition to win one for yourself! About Chuwi Chuwi has a reputation as a fairly reliable manufacturer of low-cost...

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How to Send Text Messages With Alexa


amazon-echo-smart

Amazon’s Echo devices started out as simple voice assistants, but they’ve grown to include much more. Now you can place voice calls and send messages to other Echo users. And the new Echo devices, such as the Show, include a screen for even more possibilities like video calling. Alexa just revealed yet another new trick: you can now send SMS messages to anyone using your Echo. However, it’s only available for Android devices at the moment. Apple doesn’t let third-party apps use its messaging API, so it’s unclear if this will ever come to iOS. How to Send Text Messages...

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Apple continues to dominate the tablet market as sales decline once again


 Bitcoin and crypto aren’t the only things on the decline, sales of tablet devices once again dropped in 2017, according to new data. Figures from analyst firm IDC show that overall tablet shipments fell by 6.5 percent to 163.5 million units last year. That’s down from 174.9 million in 2016, when the annual decrease was in double digits. Despite demanding falling overall, Apple… Read More

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How to Delete Your Spotify Account


spotify-myths

With all kinds of alternatives like Google Play Music, Amazon Music, and Apple Music cropping up, you may be wondering whether Spotify is still right for you. After all, Google Play Music is the same price, but also offers YouTube Red shows and an ad-free YouTube experience. And it doesn’t have the same reputation as Spotify for stripping away much-loved features. If you’ve had enough of Spotify, you might want to delete your account. Here’s how. How to Delete Your Spotify Account To delete your Spotify account, just follow the simple step-by-step instructions below: Navigate to support.spotify.com/us/contact-spotify-support/. Click on Login in...

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How to Stop Facebook Friends or Pages From Taking Over Your Feed


facebook-restrictions-annoyances

If certain friends or pages are taking over your Facebook feed, there’s a simple fix. Rather than unfriending or unliking, there are two easy ways to temporarily or permanently remove their posts from your Facebook feed. How to Permanently Stop Facebook Feed Spam Go to your your friend’s profile or the Facebook page Hover over the Following button. Under In your newsfeed, click Unfollow. If you are unfollowing a friend, you will remain Facebook friends with them and they won’t know you unfollowed them. If you unfollow a page, you will still be listed as a Facebook user who likes their page. You...

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Spotify Can Now Create Custom Playlists for You


A Spotify engineer has invited users to try a new tool that lets you create custom playlists. Called Nelson, this Glitch project lets you choose various genres and change various parameters to create the playlist of your dreams. And while it isn’t perfect, it sure is a lot of fun. Spotify is famous for its ability to create personalized playlists for each individual user. It does this by analyzing what you’ve already listened to and recommending other songs of a similar nature. And it’s rather shocking quite how well Spotify knows you after years of listening. Parameters Personalize Playlists Nelson...

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Why I decided to install Messenger Kids


 I’ve been struggling with whether or not to download Facebook’s new app aimed at children, Messenger Kids, onto my daughter’s iPad. This weekend, I took the plunge. I sat with her as she typed her first message and sent a selfie. I watched as she discovered GIFs. I wasn’t sure I had done the right thing. No one wants to surrender their kids to online social networks,… Read More
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5 Smart Home Office Ideas to Streamline Your Day


These five simple smart home automations can transform your home office into a space that helps you focus, create, and stay productive!

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How to Program and Control an Arduino With Python


control-arduino-python

Python has taken the coding world by storm. Alongside the rise of this new language, the DIY electronics scene has also flourished. Development boards and single board computers from companies like Arduino and Raspberry Pi have changed the way people create home brewed electronics. Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could program an Arduino with Python? There is no better feeling than combining two cool things. Sadly, it is impossible to directly program an Arduino with Python, as the boards have no option for onboard interpretation of the language. What is possible however, is direct control over USB using a...

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Snapchat slips our features like fonts and do not disturb amidst redesign


 Snap is waking up to the “Time Well Spent” movement Facebook is already addressing. Snapchat is offering a way to mute specific people without formally blocking them. Meanwhile, the sweeping redesign that’s slowly rolling out comes with ways to jazz up your Snaps with colorful text styles. Read More
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Snapchat slips our features like fonts and do not disturb amidst redesign


 Snap is waking up to the “Time Well Spent” movement Facebook is already reckoning with. Snapchat is offering a way to mute specific people without formally blocking them. Meanwhile, the sweeping redesign that’s slowly rolling out comes with ways to jazz up your Snaps with colorful text styles. The new features focus around making Snapchat the most flexible visual messaging… Read More

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How to Protect Yourself From Extortion Phishing Scams


phishing-scams

Sometimes it feels as though everyone online is out to get you. A cursory look at any spam folder will reveal a bunch of emails from scammers for any given day, all after a piece of you. Perhaps they offer free Bitcoin, or the prospect of developing relations with an exotic partner. Maybe it’s a fake tax demand, or a fake PayPal scam… the list goes on and on. And that’s before we even consider those with ransomware attachments, ready to lock the data on your PC until the ransom is paid. Since late 2017, a new scam has been...

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