Microsoft is abandoning its technical support forums for a range of different products, including Windows 7, Office 2013, and the Surface Pro. This means users looking for advice for these products will have to rely on other people for help.
All Microsoft products have a limited lifecycle. When that comes to an end, Microsoft stops supporting it. However, even after official support ends, there are Microsoft employees lurking in online support forums waiting to help users out.
Microsoft Pulls Support
Microsoft has announced it’s pulling out of some official support forums. This means that, from July 2018, Microsoft staff will “no longer provide technical support,” and there will be “no proactive reviews, monitoring, answering or answer marking of questions”.
Ironically, the affected forums will “still be moderated by Microsoft agents to ensure participants can engage in a safe and positive environment”. So, as far as Microsoft is concerned, stopping harassment is more important than providing tech support.
Microsoft support forums;
"I have Issue A, I tried the things."
"Issue A is solved like this!" *Marked as answered*
"No that didn't work"
Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2, Surface RT, and Surface 2
Microsoft Band
Zune
Some of these are more understandable than others. I’m pretty sure no one is going to miss the Zune forums, for example, because, well, no one has used a Zune in years. However, plenty of people are still using some of the other products affected.
A Kick in the Teeth
This move shouldn’t come as any great surprise. After all, Microsoft stopped supporting the products affected years ago. However, for those products— such as Windows 7—which are still used by many millions of people, this feels like a kick in the teeth.
It should go without saying that if you do have any issues with the Microsoft products affected by this decision, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to find help on MakeUseOf. And if not, there’s always these sites for troubleshooting and tech support.
The recent string of successful Marvel and DC movies coupled with an increase in the availability of digital comics has helped fuel the revival of the comic book industry.
Unfortunately, going down to the local comic shop to pick up your favorites can be expensive. Single issues can cost $3 or more, and that adds up fast.
Thankfully, you can save some money by using these sites to read comics online for free. No matter what kind of comics you’re into, you should find them on one of these sites.
ReadComics.io is one of the best sources of free comics online. The A-Z list, genre browser, and advanced search make it easy to find what you’re looking for. You’ll find a lot of recent issues here from popular series like Star Wars, Saga, The Wicked + The Divine, and Old Man Logan.
Again, people have uploaded all sorts of issues here, and it’s up to you to respect the copyrights of the creators. If you’re not breaking any laws, though, this is the best place to read comic books online for free.
Whether you’re looking for comic books from Marvel, DC, Image, Vertigo, or other major publishers, View Comic is a good bet. The interface doesn’t give you many features, and it’s not the best reading experience. But if you’re willing to search through the collection, you’ll find a lot of great issues lurking within.
View Comic has only been around for about five years, but it has thousands of issues available. The books here cover everything from popular mainstream superheroes to more obscure books.
Because the collection has been uploaded by View Comic users, and not the staff, you’ll find many copyrighted issues. It’s up to you to only download comics that you have the right to (or to deal with the consequences if you don’t).
This is a great place to read Marvel and DC comic books online. You’ll also find many issues from smaller publishers. Browse the category pages or use the search function to find what you’re looking for.
One thing that sets GetComics apart from other comic book sites is that there’s no online reader. You need to download issues to read them. The site does provide a link to readcomics.ru, though, where you can read comics online for free.
If you want to read comics online, comiXology is tough to beat. It’s primarily an online comic shop (and one of the best apps for digital comics), so most issues cost money. But there’s a large, frequently updated collection of free comics as well.
In addition to Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and other big-name publishers, you’ll find manga, independent releases, and issues from smaller publishers. If you find a series you like, you’ll probably have to pay for the rest of it. But the mobile app provides a great reading experience, so it may be worth it.
You won’t find the big names here: Marvel and DC are absent from the list of publishers on DriveThru.
However, there’s a large collection with a variety of comics that span genres and styles. Many first issues are free, and if you like the series, you can buy subsequent issues from the store. Many of those that aren’t free are pay-what-you-want.
The filters in the search menu on DriveThru can be used to browse genres, formats, publishers, and prices. Use them to narrow down the selection of comics and start exploring. It’s hard to know what you’ll find here, but DriveThru is always a good place to read free comics online.
You might not think of Amazon as a good bet for free comic books online. But there’s a surprising amount of free content available if you know where to look. A good place to start is the Comics & Graphic Novels Best Sellers list. Click Top 100 Free to see the most popular free titles available for download.
You can also filter the list by genre on the left, helping you find the comics you’re interested in. The list is updated hourly, so check back regularly for new titles.
This award-winning independent comic has been running since the late 1970s. Every issue released before 2014 is available for free on its website. If you like sprawling fantasy worlds, this is for you. There are several series available that detail the adventures of different characters and story arcs.
The series has now concluded with the Final Quest story arc, which can be purchased from Dark Horse. The publisher has also released the complete ElfQuest series in collected editions. But you can get a good headstart on the series by reading the rest of the comics online for free.
If you want to see where today’s comic books got their start, check out the Digital Comic Museum. You can spend days reading free comic books from the Golden Age (1930s-1950s). The titles and characters may not be familiar (though Captain Marvel does show up), but you can see how the Golden Age books had a strong influence on today’s works.
If you’re looking for modern comic books, you won’t find any here. But it’s fun to browse through some of the classic titles from 60 years ago and see how far the artwork and storytelling have come. It might seem anachronistic to read comics online when those comics were produced long before the internet existed. But it’s a great contrast.
The Internet Archive has thousands of free graphic novels and comics available online. There aren’t many mainstream issues here, but you can find some gems (especially if you enjoy manga). Unfortunately, this repository can be very difficult to navigate.
Because of the huge amount of material and inconsistent labeling, searching for the name of a comic or a character is probably your best bet. But if you’re just getting into comic books and you want to see what’s out there, away from the mainstream, scrolling through the Archive and clicking on a few random comics might be a good tactic.
Start Reading Comics Online for Free Now!
The sites listed above let you read comics online for free. Free comics online let you jump into the world of comics, revisit your favorites, and get a glimpse into the past to see what the Golden Age of comics was like.
Juul Labs, the company behind the ever-popular Juul e-cig, has today announced a new policy around social media.
This comes in the midst of Juul’s effort to get FDA approval, which has been made more arduous by the fact that the FDA has cracked down on Juul after learning how popular the device is with underage users.
As part of the new policy, Juul will no longer feature models in pictures posted on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. FWIW, Juul doesn’t even have a Snapchat. Instead of using models to market the e-cig, Juul Labs will now use real former smokers who switched from combustible cigarette to Juul.
Juul has also initiated an internal team focused on flagging and reporting social media content that is inappropriate or targeted to underage users.
The company mentioned that it has worked to report and remove more than 10,000 illegal online sales since February from various online marketplaces.
We reached out to Juul to see if any changes have been made to the way that Juul targets ads on social media and elsewhere. We’ll update the post if/when we hear back.
Here’s what Juul Labs CEO Kevin Burns had to say in a prepared statement:
While JUUL already has a strict marketing code, we want to take it one step further by implementing an industry-leading policy eliminating all social media posts featuring models and instead focus our social media on sharing stories about adult smokers who have successfully switched to JUUL. We also are having success in proactively working with social media platforms to remove posts, pages and unauthorized offers to sell product targeted at underage accounts. We believe we can both serve the 38 million smokers in the U.S. and work together to combat underage use – these are not mutually exclusive missions.
In April, the FDA sent a request for information to Juul Labs as part of a new Youth Tobacco Prevention Plan, which is aimed at keeping tobacco products of any kind out of the hands of minors. The information request was meant to help the FDA understand why teens are so interested in e-cigs (particularly Juul) and whether or not Juul Labs was marketing the product intentionally to minors.
In response, Juul announced a new strategy to combat underage use, with an investment of $30 million over the next three years going towards independent research, youth and parent education and community engagement efforts.
Since August 2017, Juul has required that people be 21+ to purchase products on its own website, but online and offline third-party retailers have not been so diligent.
It’s been a year and a half since Google announced App Maker, its online tool for quickly building and deploying business apps on the web. The company has mostly remained quiet about App Maker ever since and kept it in a private preview mode, but today, it announced that the service is now generally available and open to all developers who want to give it a try.
Access to App Maker comes with any G Suite Business and Enterprise subscription, as well as the G Suite for Education edition. The overall idea here is to help virtually anybody in an organization — including those with little to no coding experience — to build their own line-of-business apps based on data that’s already stored in G Suite, Google’s Cloud SQL database or any other database that supports JDBC or that offers a REST API (that that’s obviously a bit more of an advanced operation).
[gallery ids="1656332,1656333,1656334"]
To do this, App Maker provides users with a low-code application development environment that lets you build applications through a straightforward drag and drop environment. Though it takes a bit of work to set up the database connectivity, once that’s done, the actual design part looks to be pretty easy — and thanks to a set of responsive templates, those final applications should work, no matter whether you are on a phone or desktop.
While many applications will likely rely on a database, it’s worth noting that developers can access Gmail, Google Calendar, Sheets and other data sources as well. In total, App Maker offers access to 40 Google Services. Unlike other low-code services like Mendix, K2 or even Microsoft’s PowerApps tools, Google’s App Maker seems to focus mostly on Google’s own services and doesn’t offer built-in connectivity with third-party services like Salesforce, for example. Chances are, of course, that now that App Maker is out of preview, Google will start adding more functionality to the service.
It’s student orientation, and you’re sitting at a table with a bunch of other students. You’re staring at a course catalog and trying to decide which classes to take next semester. You spot a few programming classes, and wonder if they’re right for you. Do you even need them with your major?
If you’re an Engineering or Computer Science major, the choice is made for you. Programming classes are usually a core part of the curriculum. But if you’re studying any number of other fields from biology or psychology to telecommunications or nursing, the choice isn’t so clear.
The answer is that the actual course to choose, and your reasons for choosing it, can vary from person to person.
Is Programming Scary? Yes… And No
If you’ve never done well in classes like math in high school, you may be wary about taking on a computer programming class.
You’ve probably heard upper-level students telling horror stories about a programming class they attempted to take, and failed miserably—or dropped out before the class could destroy their GPA.
There’s good reason to fear taking a programming class that’s too advanced for your level of computer knowledge. The students who tell these stories usually chose coding courses the wrong way.
To choose the right programming course, you should ask the following questions:
Is it geared toward students with yourlevel of computer knowledge?
Does it teach a technology you might actually use in your career?
Does the course description describe a skillset that could enhance your resume?
Could the class give you a competitive advantage in your field of study?
These questions aren’t always easy to answer.
What a Programming Course Will Teach You
A nursing student may not know that when he enters the nursing field, he’ll need to use spreadsheet-based software for collecting patient information. Understanding how to automate spreadsheets using code could give him an advantage over other new nursing hires.
A biotechnology student may not know that when she goes to work for a large pharmaceutical company, she’ll end up having to crunch very large datasets, which she could automate using a simple Java application.
So, if you don’t already know what challenges await you in the industry you’ll be entering, how do you know what course to choose?
There are three ways:
Find a mentor already working in the industry and ask what programming skills they’ve needed.
Understand from the course description, the specific skills the course will teach you.
Select the course that’s right for your current knowledge level.
First, let’s look at important skills you’ll learn from a programming class.
4 Important Skills Programming Will Teach You
Many people think that if you take a programming class, you’re going to be stuck sitting in a class with a bunch of computer geeks, listening to a professor use terms you’ve never heard before.
The reality is that every programming class is different.
In fact, introductory programming classes are nothing like that at all. Usually the professor starts from ground zero, teaching you everything you’ll need to know to succeed in the class. Once you’re done with the intro class, you’ll know all the lingo you need to know to take more advanced classes later on if you want to.
The following are most valuable skills you’ll learn from these classes.
1. Problem Solving
Planning to code involves drawing a flow diagram of the program logic. This process teaches you to think in terms of making decisions using logic like IF-THEN-ELSE or WHILE.
This process checks if something is true, then makes a decision based on those truths. Managing each “truth” in the decision logic will eventually achieve some end solution. This problem solving process works in many other fields outside of computer science.
It can help doctors analyze symptoms and make a diagnosis, for example.
2. Decision Making
Programming involves defining all of the variables that could influence some process. Then, you use those variables to perform calculations or make comparisons.
Understanding and defining all variables is an important part of any decision making process.
In the financial industry for example, defining all variables that influence changes in a company’s stock price can help you offer good investment advice.
3. Working Well With Others
An important part of programming is learning how to structure your code in a modular way that can be “plugged into” any other module of code and work properly.
Many programming classes have group project work where each person in the group writes their module of code.
Learning to collaborate with a group to define and solve smaller parts of a large problem is a very valuable skill to have when you enter the workforce.
4. How to Be Creative
A core part of defining the flow and logic of a program involves a lot of creativity.
You’ll need to design graphical user interfaces that are intuitive and aesthetically pleasing for users. You’ll also need to learn how to handle unexpected user responses.
This thought process builds empathy and outside-the-box thinking, as you put yourself in the shoes of the user and see the world through their eyes rather than your own.
Which Programming Courses Are Right for You?
As mentioned above, a great first step in making this decision is talking to a mentor who’s already working in the industry you’re hoping to enter. Find out what types of computer skills, software, or hardware are commonly used throughout the industry.
You should also try to find out what expertise employers need, but have difficulty hiring qualified people for.
Asking the following questions can help you choose the programming course that’ll give you a huge competitive advantage when you’re looking for a job in your field:
Are you terrified of computers?
There are programming courses available for every experience level. There’s nothing wrong with taking Introduction to Computers 101 if that’s your starting point. In fact, taking introductory courses often introduces you to an area of computing you absolutely love, and never would have known about otherwise. Don’t feel like you have to jump into advanced classes. If you know you’ll need to learn VBA for Excel automation as part of your business major, then start off with an introductory course and work your way toward more advanced Visual Basic courses each semester.
What are the core industry technologies?
If you’ve learned from your mentor that the medical industry is heavily invested in mobile database applications, then mobile-based data analytics classes may be ideal. If you learn that a lot of people in the digital media field are creating their own websites to build their porfolios, then taking an HTML or web design class might be exactly what you need. Don’t dive into programming blindly. Understand what programming skills will give you the most competitive advantage when you graduate and start job hunting.
Do you have new ideas for your industry?
You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing in your industry either. Often, speaking with your mentor, you may learn there are existing gaps. For example, the medical industry may be struggling with how to share patient information via the cloud, while respecting federal privacy regulations. The indusry may lack any viable solution. By exploring those technologies through the classes you take, you could very well become the person who solves that industry problem!
Tips for Your First Day of Programming Class
So, you’ve made the decision to dive in and start learning to code. You may be a little bit nervous about your decision. The following tips will help you prepare for your class and walk in on day one with confidence.
Learn to Google code: If you’re challenged with an assignment using a programming technique you’ve never used before, don’t be afraid to ask Google how other people have accomplished it. There are search results on nearly any programming issue you might come across. Usually the code samples you find won’t do exactly what you need, but they can help you understand the correct syntax, and how to correctly structure your code. It isn’t cheating, so long as you don’t use the exact code you’ve found on the internet. But it’s okay to learn from existing code examples!
Test drive coding first: There are lots of websites for learning to program online for free. Some examples include CodeAcademy, Coursera, or Udemy. Some universities even offer free courses as well. Working through one of these free courses will help you gauge whether or not you want to dive deeper by taking a full college course on the topic.
Don’t Give Up! Learning to Program Is Worth It
Learning a new programming language is a lot like learning any other language. It can appear overwhelming at first, but once you immerse yourself into the experience you may discover that you love programming after all.
Give the class time to grow on you, and take full advantage of lectures, assignments, and the professor’s office hours.
Once you’ve identified a programming skill that’s in demand in your industry, devoting time in a class to hone those programming skills will make you extremely valuable new hire when you’re job hunting.
And even if you never use it again, programming will teach you a new approach to problem solving and critical thinking that you may never have considered before. That’s always something worth investing in.
Netflix is piling most of its money into producing original content—but that doesn’t mean viewers are actually watching it. The majority of streamed content still consists of licensed non-original content, meaning users are binge-watching the classics.
This is rather unfortunate, because Netflix produces some amazing original shows. Perhaps there are now so many of them that you simply don’t know where to begin? Or perhaps there just isn’t enough time in the day to try out a show you’re not sure you’re going to enjoy.
Either way, we have a solution for you. Here’s what you need to know to find Netflix Original series that will match your tastes and that you’ll actually enjoy watching.
If You Like… Award-Winning TV
Let’s start with the acclaimed series. That’s not to say the rest of Netflix’s catalog isn’t great; merely that these shows have charmed critics and grabbed the awards.
You’ll certainly have heard of Stranger Things, a supernatural homage to 1980s pop culture. It begins with a group of kids searching for their missing friend, aided by Eleven, a girl with pyrokinetic powers. Its award nominations are far too numerous to list here, but suffice to say, it’s one of the most popular Netflix Originals.
Another runaway hit, Orange is the New Black sees wealthy businesswoman, Piper Chapman, sent to prison for drug-smuggling. While it’s a funny series, it also has a lot of serious things to say about the penal system.
If You Like… Comedies
Looking to Netflix and chill? Few things help you settle down with your significant other better than a good sitcom.
There are series to cater for everyone, including Americans who like British humor. If you love your comedy vibrant and nostalgic, GLOW (“Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling”) is ideal for you. If you prefer something sharp and gag-filled, try the madcap The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Or if you’re looking for something darker and more tongue-in-cheek, A Series of Unfortunate Events is perfect. In this context, “more tongue-in-cheek” means “includes a subtitled baby with wisdom far beyond her years and a penchant for biting things.”
If You Like… Superheroes
Comic fans are a dedicated bunch, so if you subscribe to Netflix just for its Marvel exclusives, you’ve probably binged them already.
Binging isn’t always a positive thing, but we can’t blame you for ploughing through Daredevil in particular. Focussing on the blind superhero of Hell’s Kitchen, this is the first Marvel show made for Netflix. After this, carry on with Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Defenders, and (unless you’re squeamish) The Punisher.
Science Fiction remains an immensely popular genre—in film, in TV, and in print. So it should come as no surprise that there’s a vast array of sci-fi on Netflix.
The remake of Lost in Space is surprisingly good. Altered Carbon, based on the cyberpunk novel of the same name, will stay with you long after the credits roll. And when you’ve seen The Rain, you’ll want to check your windows are shut tightly.
Anthology titles showcase the sheer ingenuity of the television industry. If you used to love The Twilight Zone, its spiritual successor can arguably be found on Netflix.
This is Black Mirror, created by Charlie Brooker and starring a host of big names like Bryce Dallas Howard, Letitia Wright, and Benedict Wong. Its first two seasons debuted on UK TV, but it was subsequently picked up by Netflix. And man, are we glad!
The series features plenty of dark humor, but you might alternatively like Easy, a rom-com which has attracted actors like Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Orlando Bloom, and Emily Ratajkowski.
If You Like… Gritty Dramas
Netflix gives a home to quite a few mad conceits, like Twin Peaks, which has a big cult following. Fans of Twin Peaks should enjoy Hemlock Grove. This horror/mystery tale concerns the murder of two girls in the titular town. The main suspect is a boy who might just be a werewolf.
However, if you prefer something more realistic, try the acclaimed 13 Reasons Why. This unravels the events leading up to the suicide of Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford), raising awareness of mental health issues and proving to be one of the best Netflix Originals of 2017.
If You Like… Political Dramas
As good as House of Cards is, the series is now wrapping up. Fortunately, there’s an ideal political thriller waiting in the wings.
Keifer Sutherland plays Thomas Kirkman, the titular Designated Survivor who becomes President after everyone in the line of succession before him is killed in an explosion. He must get to grips with a job he’s not experienced enough to do. while investigating the circumstances that led to his ascension.
Netflix streams this internationally, and could be its future after ABC cancelled it in the US. Fingers crossed—because Season 2 ends on a cliffhanger.
If You Like… Historical Dramas
They say you should always learn from the past, so why not delve into the superb historical dramas that lurk on Netflix? The two prime candidates are poles apart: one is largely overlooked and the other proved an international hit.
The former is Marco Polo, which didn’t do very well despite the money Netflix spent on it. The problem may be that it’s a slow burner, which means you have to make it past the first couple of episodes before you get hooked.
Then there’s The Crown, reportedly Netflix’s most expensive series. And it’s all on the screen: the cinematography is gorgeous, the writing incredibly sharp, and the cast—including Claire Foy (Breathe), and Matt Smith (Doctor Who)—is outstanding.
If You Like… Kids’ TV
While many of the above series are appropriate for children, they might not keep them fully entertained. Netflix is there for you, whether you need something to occupy your kids, or want something to watch with them.
Turbo FAST was the first Netflix original for children, and picks up after the DreamWorks animation, Turbo. This revolves around the quaint idea of a snail gaining superspeed. You’d be surprised at how well this seemingly-small notion plays out across 52 episodes.
And Mark Hamill is the voice of Breakneck, which is awesome. Speaking of which, Star Wars enthusiasts need to check out the long-running Clone Wars.
Alternatively, if you’re trying to limit the amount of time your child plays video games, Skylanders Academy is a solid choice. It’ll only become more popular when its main protagonist, Spyro the Dragon, is revitalised in the Spyro Reignited Trilogy.
If You Like… Documentaries
Big kids should definitely check out The Toys That Made Us, a documentary series which recounts the histories of popular franchises. It began with Star Wars, a “small” brand rejected by Hasbro and Mattel but picked up by Kenner Products.
Subsequent episodes have focused on Star Trek, LEGO, and He-Man. This is a real hidden gem.
But if you’d like something darker, try Making a Murderer. It was filmed over a whole decade and tells the true story of Steven Avery, wrongly convicted for 18 years before being exonerated in 2003 based on DNA evidence. It’s an eye-opening experience.
Make Netflix Worthwhile With More Original Content
The price of Netflix may have increased, but Netflix is still worth it. And the company is so intent on creating exclusive series and movies that Netflix has shrunk its catalog considerably over the past few years.
Today Snapchat finally gets a true developer platform, confirming TechCrunch’s scoop from last month about Snap Kit. This set of APIs lets other apps piggyback on Snap’s login for sign up, build Bitmoji avatars into their keyboards, display public Our Stories and Snap Map content, and generate branded stickers with referral links users can share back inside Snapchat.
Snap Kit’s big selling point is privacy — a differentiator from Facebook. It doesn’t even let you share your social graph with apps to prevent a Cambridge Analytica-style scandal.
Launch partners include Tinder bringing Bitmojis to your chats with matches, Patreon letting fans watch creators’ Stories from within its app, and Postmates offering order ETA stickers you can share in Snapchat that open the restaurant’s page in the delivery app. Developers that want to join the platform can sign up here.
Snap Kit could help the stumbling public company colonize the mobile app ecosystem with its buttons and content, which might inspire Snapchat signups from new users and reengagement from old ones. “Growth is one of our three goals for 2018, so we absolutely hope it can contribute to that, and continue to strengthen engagement, which has always been a key metric for us” Snap’s VP of product Jacob Andreou tells me. That’s critical since Snapchat sunk to its lowest user growth rate ever last quarter under the weight of competition from Instagram and WhatsApp.
“There have been areas inside of our products where we’ve really set standards” Andreou explains. “Early, that was seen in examples like Stories, but today with things like how we treat user data, what we collect, what we share when people login and register for our service . . . Snap Kit is a set of developer tools that really allow people to take the best parts of our products and the standards that we’ve set in a few of these areas, and bring them into their apps.”
This focus on privacy manifests as a limit of 90 days of inactivity before your connection with an app is severed. And the login feature only requires you bring along your changeable Snapchat display name, and optionally, your Bitmoji. Snap Kit apps can’t even ask for your email, phone number, gender, age, location, who you follow, or who you’re friends with.
“It really became challenging for us to see our users then use other products throughout their day and have to lower their expectations. . . having to be okay with the fact that all of their information and data would be shared” Andreou gripes. This messaging is a stark turnaround from four years ago when it took 10 days for CEO Evan Spiegel to apologize for security laziness causing the leak of 4 million users’ phone numbers. But now with Facebook as everyone’s favorite privacy punching bag, Snapchat is seizing the PR opportunity.
“I think one of the parts that [Spiegel] was really excited about with this release is how much better our approach to our users in that way really is — without relying on things like policy or developer’s best intentions or them writing perfect bug free code, but instead by design, not even exposing these things to begin with.”
Yet judging by Facebook’s continued growth and recovered share price, privacy is too abstract of a concept for many people to grasp. Snap Kit will have to win on the merits of what it brings other apps, and the strength of its partnerships team. Done right, Snapchat could gain an army of allies to battle the blue menace.
Snapvengers Assemble
Snap’s desire to maintain an iron grip on its ‘cool’ brand has kept its work with developers minimal until now. Its first accidental brush with a developer platform was actually a massive security hazard.
2017 saw Snap cautiously extend the drawbridge, inviting in ads, analytics, and marketing developer partners to help brands be hip, and letting hacker/designers make their own AR lenses. But the real transition moment was when Spiegel said on the Q4 2017 earnings call that “We feel strongly that Snapchat should not be confined to our mobile application—the amazing Snaps created by our community deserve wider distribution so they can be enjoyed by everyone.”
At the time that meant Snaps on the web, embedded in news sites, and on Jumbotrons. Today it means in other apps. But Snap will avoid one of the key pitfalls of the Facebook platform: over-promising. Snap Deputy General Counsel for Privacy Katherine Tassi tells me “It was also very important to us that there wasn’t going to be the exchange of the friends graph as part of the value proposition to third party developers.”
How Snap Kit Works
Snap Kit breaks down to four core pieces of functionality that will appeal to different apps looking to simplify signup, make communication visual, host eye-catching content, or score referral traffic. Developers that want access to Snap Kit must pass a human review and approval process. Snap will review their functionality to ensure they’re not doing anything shady.
Once authorized, they’ll have access to these APIs:
Login Kit is the foundation of Snap Kit. It’s an OAuth-style alternative to Facebook Login that lets users skip creating a proprietary username and password by instead using their Snapchat credential. But all the app gets is their changeable, pseudonym-allowed Snapchat display name, and optionally, their Bitmoji avatar to use as a profile pic if the user approves. Getting that login button in lots of apps could remind people Snapchat exists, and turn it into a fundamental identity utility people will be loathe to abandon.
Creative Kit is how apps will get a chance to create stickers and filters for use back in the Snapchat camera. Similar to April’s F8 launch of the abilitu to share from other apps to Instagram and Facebook Stories, developers can turn content like high scores, workout stats and more into stickers that users can overlay on their Snaps to drive awareness of the source app. Developers can also set a deep link where those stickers send people to generate referral traffic, which could be appealing to those looking to tap Snap’s 191 million teens.
Bitmoji Kit lets developers integrate Snapchat’s personalized avatars directly into their app’s keyboard. It’s an easy way to make chat more visually expressive without having to reinvent the wheel. This follows the expansion of Friendmoji that feature avatars of you and a pal rolling out to the iOS keyboard. But Bitmoji Kit means developers do the integration work instead of having to rely on users installing anything extra.
Story Kit allows developers to embed Snapchat Stories into their apps and websites. Beyond specific Stories, apps can also search through public Stories submitted to Our Story or Snap Map by location, time, or captions. That way, a journalism app could surface first-hand reports from the scene of breaking news or a meme app could pull in puppy Snaps. Snap will add extra reminders to the Our Story submission process to ensure users know their Stories could appear outside of Snapchat’s own app.
One thing that’s not in Snap Kit, at least yet, is the ability to embed Snapchat’s whole software camera into other apps which TechCrunch erroneously reported. Our sources mistakenly confused Creative Kit’s ability to generate stickers as opposed a way to share whole stories, which Andreou called “an interesting first step” for making Snapchat the broadcast channel for other apps.
Additional launch partners include bringing Bitmoji to Quip’s word processor, RSVP stickers from Eventbrite, GIF-enhanced Stories search in Giphy, Stories from touring musicians in Bands In Town, Storytelling about your dinner reservation on Quandoo, music discovery sharing from SoundHound, and real-time sports score sharing from ScoreStream.
While other platforms have escaped their host’s control, like Facebook’s viral game outbreak in 2009 or Twitter having to shut down errant clients, Snapchat’s approval process will let it direct the destiny of its integrations.
Bitmoji Kit in Tinder
When asked why Snapchat was building Snap Kit, Andreou explained that “We think that giving people more tools to be able to express themselves freely, have fun and be creative, both on Snapchat and other apps is a good thing. We also think that helping more people outside of Snapchat learn about our platform and our features is a good thing.”
Without much data sharing, there’s a lot less risk here for Snapchat. But the platform won’t have the same draw that Facebook can dangle with its massive user base and extensive data access. Instead, Snapchat will have to leverage the fear of being left out of the visual communication era and tout itself as the way for apps to evolve. The biggest driver of the platform might be teens demanding their Bitmoji be available everywhere.
Snap needs all the help it can get right now. If other apps are willing to be a billboard for it in exchange for some of its teen-approved functionality, Snapchat could find new growth channels amidst stiff competition.
Compact, wireless, and with a GPIO interface that allows you to hack pretty much any existing hardware, the Raspberry Pi is amazing. But it’s not the only amazing technology of the past 50 years.
Home arcade games, color TVs, stereo systems, video players: at their time, these were also much loved pieces of technology. Perhaps you’ve got some kicking around in your loft, garage, or basement, waiting for its time to come again?
That time is now. You already know your Raspberry Pi is awesome, so why not use it to turn your old tech into awesome tech? That’s the beauty of upcycling, and in this article, we’ll show you how a Raspberry Pi can be used in this way.
1. Retro Hitachi Info-TV
We’re going to start with one of the most awesome Raspberry Pi builds you’ve ever seen. Built my Martin Mander, this is a 1975 Hitachi I-89-311 portable TV that has been repurposed as an information center.
Content is displayed in full-screen Chrome tabs, with the tuning dial set up to switch between pages, rather than channels. Along with adapting the volume slider to scroll up and down the page, the TV also features a PIR motion sensor, switching off the screen when you’re done viewing.
Inside is a Raspberry Pi 3, some custom switches that facilitate the original TV controls, and a 4:3 8-inch display from Pimoroni. Check this Instructables guide for a full tutorial.
Smart mirrors are a popular build for DIYers looking for a Raspberry Pi project. This example takes that idea and winds the clock back with a truly retro reflector.
Its creator explains how he worked on the project for around three weeks, employing a two-way mirror, 32-inch flat screen display, and a Raspberry Pi 3. Additional wood was added to the 117-year-old lowboy dresser to support the weight of the display.
Various views are on offer with this project, such as a calendar and weather report, news feed (RSS), and information from the household’s Nest box. The mirror also displays the current Spotify track, a picture of the moon showing its current phase, and a view of the earth from the Deep Space Climate Observatory Satellite.
3. Tomy Turbo Outrun
One of the most popular toys of the 1980s was the Tomy Turnin’ Turbo Dashboard, a mini car racing game with a mounted steering wheel and gear stick. Missing any significant digital components, the Turbo Dashboard relied on basic lights and a track that seemed to be mounted on some sort of reel.
Very low-tech.
YouTuber and blogger CircuitBeard has taken an old Tomy Turnin’ Turbo Dashboard and combined it with a Raspberry Pi running Turbo Outrun. Seemingly a match made in 8-bit racing heaven, the build uses the original wheel, key, start button, and gear stick. Aesthetically, the only real difference is to the display, which is now a 3.5-inch TFT screen.
However, inside you’ll find a Raspberry Pi 3, a PowerBlock PCB for handling the Pi’s power up/down requirements, and a Picade PCB to deal with the analogue steering wheel. Check the blog post for full details.
Remember the 1980s? Perhaps you’ve seen it in movies, or nostalgic TV shows like Stranger Things. Or you maybe took the daily time travel from then to now. Whatever the case, a boombox—a portable, battery-powered cassette and radio player with powerful speakers—was a must-have piece of tech for many teenagers.
Here, the original Panasonic device has had the cassette player replaced with a 5-inch touchscreen display, the batteries with a rechargeable bank, a compact audio amplifier, and a USB audio adaptor.
The end result is a slightly ostentatious touchscreen digital music player with retro trappings. Find out more in the dedicated Reddit thread.
5. Bang & Olufsen Internet Radio
Upcycled by Martin Mander is this, a Bang & Olufsen radio and cassette deck from 1979 that has been cleverly modernized. Inside now is a Raspberry Pi, speakers recovered from a cheap sound bar, an LED mood light, LED track display mounted on the cassette desk itself, and an AD557 digital-to-analogue converter to make the VU meters work (although not in time to the music).
The end result is a wireless internet radio player that looks absolutely authentic!
6. Make an Old Car Digital
These days, any device can be connected to a car via the OBD-II port. But what if your automobile pre-dates OBD-II technology?
In the video above, YouTuber 240SF demonstrates how to connect a Raspberry Pi 3 to a Nissan 240sx s14. The resulting digital dashboard displays live speed, RPMs, and coolant temperature. Using the Chromium browser, the dash is basically a Raspberry Pi Touch Screen, which has the Pi mounted behind it, along with a 3A car power supply/switch, complete with USB ports.
This project requires a vehicle equipped with a Consult port—sadly, there’s no (easy) method to enhance analog-era cars in this way.
7. Raspberry Pi Cassette Player Streams Spotify
Lovers of retro music players and mixtapes will be particularly interested in this build. With cassettes hiding NFC tags that are linked to Spotify playlists, this player contains a Raspberry Pi, an NFC reader, an amplifier, and a custom PCB to connect the physical buttons of the cassette player to the GPIO.
The end result is remarkable. Using the MusicBox app, the Raspberry Pi connects to Spotify and loads playlists into memory, waiting for the prompt to play one. Each NFC tag is associated with a particular playlist, and pressing play on the tape deck will begin the song.
8. Thermal Paper-Printing Polaroid
Anyone who has owned a Polaroid camera, new or old, knows that they can be very expensive to run. Spotting a solution to this, DIYer Tim Alex Jacobs took a 1980s Polaroid Sonar Autofocus 5000, and fitted a $3 thermal printer into the photo dispenser. Along with this, the upcycled device features a Raspberry Pi Zero and Raspberry Pi camera module.
Although some components were gutted, Jacobs retained some. For instance, the upgraded camera still relies on the same shutter button. Having spent some months on this build, Jacobs has managed to reduce boot time to just 2 seconds. We recommend you check his mammoth blog post for details on building your own.
9. Teddy Ruxpin Digital Assistant With Alexa
YouTuber Tinkernut demonstrates how he converted an old Teddy Ruxpin into an Alexa-powered smart teddy bear. Inside is a Raspberry Pi, a Raspberry Pi Camera Module, and a battery pack, as well as some audio hardware.
This is complemented by a digital-to-audio converter, which syncs the movement of Teddy Ruxpin’s mouth to the audio.
The end result is a Teddy Ruxpin that responds to commands, Alexa-style. Which should mean that like the original Teddy Ruxpin, it should tell stories. Alexa is capable of telling stories when commanded, but you should also be able to listen to Audible talking books, too!
10. Turn a CRT TV Into a Retro Games Console
Perhaps the ultimate hack of all time is the one that repurposes a CRT TV as a retro gaming console with a Raspberry Pi. Not just any Pi, however: a Raspberry Pi Zero, small enough to actually fit inside the TV itself.
Obviously, this project comes with a warning. Cathode ray tubes are dangerous for the untrained. There is a very real danger of fatal electric shock from one of these, so we would only recommend this project if you have full electronic knowledge.
Once complete, however, you have a great retro gaming machine, with all of the games already built in! The project uses Retropie, one of several Raspberry Pi retro gaming suites.
Raspberry Pi Is Perfect for Upcycling Old Devices!
Perhaps you have an old 8-track cartridge system that could be augmented with modern technology? Fancy bringing a 1970s VW Camper up to date? Whatever the case, your Raspberry Pi can be front and center of any modern enhancements you give to old technology.
Whether you’re into thrift and upcycling, or just want a great new project for your Raspberry Pi, there should be something in this list to get you thinking.
Today Snapchat finally gets a true developer platform, confirming TechCrunch’s scoop from last month about Snap Kit. This set of APIs lets other apps piggyback on Snap’s login for signup, build Bitmoji avatars into their keyboards, display public Our Stories and Snap Map content, and generate branded stickers with referral links users can share back inside Snapchat. Snap Kit’s big selling point is privacy — a differentiator from Facebook. It doesn’t even let you share your social graph with apps to prevent a Cambridge Analytica-style scandal.
Launch partners include Tinder bringing Bitmojis to your chats with matches, Patreon letting fans watch creators’ Stories from within its app, and Postmates offering order ETA stickers you can share in Snapchat that open the restaurant’s page in the delivery app. Developers that want to join the platform can sign up here.
Snap Kit could help the stumbling public company colonize the mobile app ecosystem with its buttons and content, which could inspire Snapchat signups from new users and reengagement from old ones. “Growth is one of our three goals for 2018, so we absolutely hope it can contribute to that, and continue to strengthen engagement, which has always been a key metric for us” Snap’s VP of product Jacob Andrea tells me. That’s critical since Snapchat sunk to its lowest user growth rate ever last quarter under the weight of competition from Instagram and WhatsApp.
“There have been areas inside of our products where we’ve really set standards” Andreou explains. “Early, that was seen in examples like Stories, but today with things like how we treat user data, what we collect, what we share when people login and register for our service . . . Snap Kit is a set of developer tools that really allow people to take the best parts of our products and the standards that we’ve set in a few of these areas, and bring them into their apps.”
This focus on privacy manifests as a limit of 90 days of inactivity before your connection with an app is severed. And the login features only requires you bring along your changeable Snapchat display name, and optionally, your Bitmoji. Snap Kit apps can’t even ask for your email, phone number, location, who you follow, or who you’re friends with.
“It really became challenging for us to see our users then use other products throughout their day and have to lower their expectations. . . having to be ok with the fact that all of their information and data would be shared” Andreou gripes. This messaging is a stark turnaround from four years ago when it took 10 days for CEO Evan Spiegel to apologize for security laziness causing the leak of 4 million users’ phone numbers. But now with Facebook as everyone’s favorite privacy punching bag, Snapchat is seizing the PR opportunity.
“I think one of the parts that [Spiegel] was really excited about with this release is how much better our approach to our users in that way really is — Without relying on things like policy or developer’s best intentions or them writing perfect bug free code, but instead by design, not even exposing these things to begin with.”
Yet judging by Facebook’s continued growth and recovered share price, privacy is too abstract of a concept for many people to grasp. Snap Kit will have to win on the merits of what it brings other apps, and the strength of its partnerships team. Done right, Snapchat could gain an army of allies to battle the blue menace.
Snapvengers Assemble
Snap’s desire to maintain an iron grip on its ‘cool’ brand has kept its work with developers minimal until now. Its first accidental brush with a developer platform was actually a massive security hazard.
2017 saw Snap cautiously extend the drawbridge, inviting in ads, analytics, and marketing developer partners to help brands be hip, and letting hacker/designers make their own AR lenses. But the real transition moment was when Spiegel said on the Q4 2017 earnings call that “We feel strongly that Snapchat should not be confined to our mobile application—the amazing Snaps created by our community deserve wider distribution so they can be enjoyed by everyone.”
At the time that meant Snaps on the web, embedded in news sites, and on Jumbotrons. Today it means in other apps. But Snap will avoid one of the key pitfalls of the Facebook platform: over-promising. Snap Deputy General Counsel for Privacy Katherine Tassi tells me “It was also very important to us that there wasn’t going to be the exchange of the friends graph as part of the value proposition to third party developers.”
How Snap Kit Works
Snap Kit breaks down to four core pieces of functionality that will appeal to different apps looking to simplify signup, make communication visual, host eye-catching content, or score referral traffic. Developers that want access to Snap Kit must pass a human review and approval process. Snap will review their functionality to ensure they’re not doing anything shady.
Once authorized, they’ll have access to these APIs:
Login Kit is the foundation of Snap Kit. It’s a OAuth-style alternative to Facebook Login that lets users skip creating a proprietary username and password by instead using their Snapchat credential. But all the app gets is their changeable, pseudonym-allowed Snapchat display name, and optionally, their Bitmoji avatar to use as a profile pic if the user approves. Getting that login button in lots of apps could remind people Snapchat exists, and turn it into a fundamental identity utility people will be loathe to abandon.
Creative Kit is how apps will get a chance to create stickers and filters for use back in the Snapchat camera. Similar to April’s F8 launch of the abilitu to share from other apps to Instagram and Facebook Stories, developers can turn content like high scores, workout stats and more into stickers that users can overlay on their Snaps to drive awareness of the source app. Developers can also set a deep link where those stickers send people to generate referral traffic, which could be appealing to those looking to tap Snap’s 191 million teens.
Bitmoji Kit lets developers integrate Snapchat’s personalized avatars directly into their app’s keyboard. It’s an easy way to make chat more visually expressive without having to reinvent the wheel. This follows the expansion of Friendmoji that feature avatars of you and a pal rolling out to the iOS keyboard. But Bitmoji Kit means developers do the integration work instead of having to rely on users installing anything extra.
Story Kit allows developers to embed Snapchat Stories into their apps and websites. Beyond specific Stories, apps can also search through public Stories submitted to Our Story or Snap Map by location, time, or captions. That way, a journalism app could surface first-hand reports from the scene of breaking news or a meme app could pull in puppy Snaps. Snap will add extra reminders to the Our Story submission process to ensure users know their Stories could appear outside of Snapchat’s own app.
One thing that’s not in Snap Kit, at least yet, is the ability to embed Snapchat’s whole software camera into other apps which TechCrunch erroneously reported. Our sources mistakenly confused Creative Kit’s ability to generate stickers as opposed a way to share whole stories, which Andreou called “an interesting first step” for making Snapchat the broadcast channel for other apps.
Additional launch partners include bringing Bitmoji to Quip’s word processor, RSVP stickers from Eventbrite, GIF-enhanced Stories search in Giphy, Stories from touring musicians in Bands In Town, Storytelling about your dinner reservation on Quandoo, music discovery sharing from SoundHound, and real-time sports score sharing from ScoreStream.
Bitmoji Kit in Tinder
When asked why Snapchat was building Snap Kit, Andreou explained that “We think that giving people more tools to be able to express themselves freely, have fun and be creative, both on Snapchat and other apps is a good thing. We also think that helping more people outside of Snapchat learn about our platform and our features is a good thing.”
Without much data sharing, there’s a lot less risk here for Snapchat. But the platform won’t have the same draw that Facebook can dangle with its massive user base and extensive data access. Instead, Snapchat will have to leverage the fear of being left out of the visual communication era and tout itself as the way for apps to evolve.
Snap needs all the help it can get right now. If other apps are willing to be a billboard for it in exchange for some of its teen-approved functionality, Snapchat could find new growth channels amidst stiff competition.
The European Commission has announced the names of 52 experts from across industry, business and civil society who it has appointed to a new High Level Group on AI which will feed its strategy and policymaking around artificial intelligence.
In April the EU’s executive body outlined its approach to AI technology, setting out measures intended to increase public and private investment; prepare for socio-economic changes; and ensure an appropriate ethical and legal framework.
The High Level Group is a key part of the Commission’s AI strategy as the experts will feed its policymaking here by making detailed recommendations on ethical, legal and societal issues.
The EC put out a call for experts for this “broad multi-stakeholder forum” back in March.
The group announced today is comprised of 30 men and 22 women, and includes industry representatives from AXA, Bayer, Bosch, BMW, Element AI, Google, IBM, Nokia Bell Labs, Orange, Santander, SAP, Sigfox, STMicroelectronics, Telenor and Zalando.
Google is represented by Jakob Uszkoreit, an AI Researcher in the Google Brain team.
Also in the group: Jaan Tallinn, a founding engineer of Skype and Kazaa, and a former investor in and director of the Google-acquired AI company DeepMind.
European civil society bodies represented in the forum include consumer rights group BEUC; digital rights group Access Now; algorithmic transparency advocacy group AlgorithmWatch; the EESC civil society association; the ETUC which advocates for workers rights and well being; and Austrian association that supports the blind and visually impaired.
The list also includes representatives from several technology associations, along with political advisers and policy wonks, and academics and legal experts of various stripes.
Back in April the Commission said it hoped to be able to announce a “coordinated plan on AI” by the end of the year — after saying, in March, that a “comprehensive European strategy on AI” was on the way “in the coming months”.
“As any technology that has a direct impact on people’s lives and work, the emergence of AI also raises legitimate concerns that should be addressed to build trust and raise awareness,” it wrote then. “Given the broad impact AI is expected to have, the full participation of all actors including businesses, academics, policy makers, consumer organisations, trade unions, and other representatives of the civil society is essential.”
The multi-stakeholder forum is also intended to serve as the steering group for the work of another, even broader multi-stakeholder forum — also announced in April, and called the European AI Alliance — which the Commission said will include an online platform to allow for anyone who wants to participate to sign up and join in the discussion.
So the High Level Group is basically an AI expert talking shop intended to support this more public AI talking shop — to try to achieve some kind of pan-EU consensus on how to respond to the myriad socio-economic and ethical challenges that flow from the increasingly use and capabilities of autonomous technologies.
In terms of specific tasks for the group, the Commission says it will be tasked to:
advise it on next steps addressing “AI-related mid to long-term challenges and opportunities”, feeding policy development, legislative evaluation and next-gen digital strategy;
propose draft AI ethics guidelines — covering issues such as “fairness, safety, transparency, the future of work, democracy and more broadly the impact on the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, including privacy and personal data protection, dignity, consumer protection and non-discrimination”;
and help with “further engagement and outreach mechanisms to interact with a broader set of stakeholders in the context of the AI Alliance, share information and gather their input on the group’s and the Commission’s work”
There may be certain situations when you need to replace text with a graphic or image. Microsoft Word doesn’t have a Find and Replace search box for text, but there is a workaround you can use, and it involves the Clipboard.
How to Find and Replace Text With Images
You can use this process to replace a specific placeholder text with an image. This image insertion trick can be used to insert repetitive icons in a large document too. For instance, you may want to complete the content first and then insert the same image at specific places in the document.
Open a Word document and insert a placeholder text (e.g. ImageFile) if it is not present. Enter it where you want to insert the graphic or other element.
Copy the image you want to insert to the Clipboard.
Press Ctrl + H to display the Replace tab in the Find And Replace dialog box.
In the Find What box, type the placeholder text.
In the Replace With text box, enter ^c to indicate the last item copied to the Clipboard.
Click Find Next and then click Replace, or click Replace All.
Make sure that the dimensions of the image can fit into the space you want for them. Otherwise, you will have to manually tweak the images in place. The Find and Replace trick is definitely not a hidden feature of Word, but it can be used to save you a lot of time.
Services like Spotify and Google Play Music are making people less reliant on locally-saved music files, but if you’re like most people, you still have some music stored on and played from hard drives.
Sadly, organizing music on hard drives can be difficult and a hassle, especially if you have thousands of tracks that need to be correctly tagged with the right metadata. Making playlists out of those tracks can also be headache.
Let’s say you have a mix of MP3s shoved in a random folder somewhere in the depths of your computer. How do you create a playlist out of those tracks as quickly and efficiently as possible?
How to Make Playlists From MP3 Files in a Folder
You need to use a music manager with an auto-playlist feature, and we recommend using MediaMonkey. While iTunes offers the same functionality, we all know it’s a bloated mess that’s difficult to make usable again.
Here’s how to automatically create a playlist of MP3 files in one folder:
Open the MediaMonkey app.
Go to Edit > New AutoPlaylist.
Set up one rule with the desired folder as the music source.
Save the playlist.
Whenever you add a new MP3 file to the source folder, the playlist will automatically update itself to reflect the changes. You can export your playlist to another music app, but it will no longer be “smart” (i.e. it won’t update itself when you add new MP3s into the source folder).
This feature is only available in MediaMonkey Gold. If you’d rather not pay for MediaMonkey Gold, you may be able to achieve similar results using one of these free music players, but MediaMonkey is definitely the easiest and most convenient way to do it.
If you sleep next to someone who snores you know that the endless horking and honking isn’t very fun… and it makes the snorer’s life even worse. Some students and doctors in Baltimore, Maryland, however, have created something that acts like an internal breathing strip to help you breathe better and snore less.
Called assistENT, the company uses small, reusable rings that fit into the nostril and open the septum. You insert and remove them yourself with a little pair of forceps and they can survive sneezing and, one would assume, a good, hard midnight snoooorrrrrk. Patrick Byrne and Clayton Andrews created the product and it recently won the $10,000 “Use it!” Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for best product. Other members of the team include Melissa Austin, Talia Kirschbaum, Harrison Nguyen, Theo Lee, and Eric Cao.
The team will be running a Kickstarter soon and is looking into a seed round for manufacture. The product, called N-Stent, costs 15 cents to make and will sell for about $4 a pair.
“The design is inspired by the typical cartilage grafts used in functional rhinoplasty to improve nasal breathing. In essence, the device is a tapered silicone stent consisting of two flexible beams bridging two soft pads whose shape closely follows the complex internal nasal anatomy,” said Byrne. “When deployed, one pad grips the nasal septum and the other presses against the lateral nasal wall to dilate the passage and stent it open. This dilation force comes from the two flexible beams, which bend to provide a gentle spring force while forming a lumen to accommodate airflow.”
The product fits into the nasal vestibule and to get it in and out you can either use the simple applicator or just stick it up there with your finger.
The team is excited about the possibilities, especially since this can help people without forcing them to get surgery.
“Although the mechanism for reversing nasal obstruction is straightforward, there is no viable alternative to surgery for those who struggle with nasal breathing throughout the day. Breathe Right strips lead this nighttime nasal dilator market with annual revenues of $145M, amounting to an 80% market share. However, experts estimate a $250M market opportunity for less-invasive nasal obstruction treatment,” said Byrne.
“We have heard stories from dozens who have had surgery to correct nasal obstruction – with limited success and great expense – and hundreds who are reluctant to undergo surgery in the first place and feel they have no alternative for breathing better throughout the day, at night, or during exercise. This invention has potential to radically change the standard of care for nasal obstruction and provide a convenient, sensible solution to this widespread problem,” he said.
Look for this anti-snort-hork-honnnnnking device in the next few months.
Southeast Asia-based internet firm Sea is raising $400 million through the sale of notes in what would be its first fundraising activity since it went public via in an October 2017 IPO that raised over $1 billion.
The Singapore-based company, formerly known as Garena, said that the senior note offering will put toward general costs and business expansion. Long-time investor Tencent is expected to buy up $50 million of the notes on offer, and the offering itself could be extended by a further $60 million.
Sea’s IPO was a landmark for Southeast Asia, where startup exits are few and far between, but the company hasn’t exactly set Wall Street on fire since making its public bow. Its share price is $16.40 at the time of writing, having debuted at $15. It has risen thanks to gains over the past month following its most recent earnings but initially the company spent a lot of time priced under $15.
So what got investors excited? In short, signs of growth.
Revenue for Q1 jumped 81 percent year-on-year as its Shopee e-commerce service doubled its GMV and the firm’s AirPay payment unit quadrupled its transaction volume, but ultimately the business remains unprofitable. Losses jumped from $73 million to $216 million and Sea’s cost of revenue more than doubled, indicating that it is still chasing growth for its businesses.
While AirPay and Shopee, which competes with the likes of Alibaba-owned Lazada for the attention of Southeast Asia’s 600 million consumers, are growing, the same can’t be said of Sea’s main business. It rose to prominence selling games via its Garena service, with Tencent a particular ally here, but that business is seeing new user growth flatten and revenue gains slow.
Sea said previously that it expects Shopee to reach $8.2-$8.7 billion in GMV in 2018, an increase that’s potentially as high as 112 percent year-on-year. That’s up on its previous guidance of $7.5-$8 billion but, since it is GMV, it doesn’t translate to direct revenue for the company itself. Sea had previously boosted Shopee by allowing a high burn rate to fund merchant and buyer promotions. It only began to monetize the service last year.
This focus on privacy manifests as a limit of 90 days of inactivity before your connection with an app is severed. And the login feature only requires you bring along your changeable Snapchat display name, and optionally, your Bitmoji. Snap Kit apps can’t even ask for your email, phone number, gender, age, location, who you follow, or who you’re friends with.
Third-party apps promising a way to secretly screenshot messages asked users to login with their Snapchat usernames and passwords, then proceeded to get hacked, exposing some users’ risqué photos. Snap later cut off an innocent music video app called Mindie for finding a way to share to users’ Stories. Last year I wrote how
