Welcome to Tech Brief, your weekly wrap-up on all that’s happened in the tech and startup industries this week!
THIS WEEK, WE’RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE TRAITOR THAT IS INSTAGRAM. THAT IS ALL.
The World’s Largest Photo-Sharing Platform Just Pissed Off ALL Its Users
In a blog post released on 15 March (“BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH”), Instagram tried its best to convince its few hundred million users that switching to an algorithm-based feed is really the best decision.
Wrong.
I’m not entirely sure where they plucked that observation that “people miss on average 70 percent of their feeds” because I, for one, scroll till I recognise a post that I’ve already viewed. To do this at the peak of their fame is truly a feat that could have only been initiated by their Facebook overlords.
Not surprisingly, there’s now a petition (a la Facebook 2008 style) to oppose the new update. It worked with Twitter, but good luck with that.
Remember Kodak? They’re Still Around; Pretty Ambitious Too
After we reported on an “Uber for Photographers” two weeks ago, it seems struggling film company Kodak has been developing something similar for months now. According to Tech In Asia, the app “is available only in Singapore for now, and lists around 200 freelancers”. It also reportedly takes a 20 percent cut of each transaction.
Kodakit is now available on the App Store and Google Play, in that signature marigold yellow that true 90’s kids grew up with.
Never Go Out Again, Thanks To VR
Have a meeting on the face of a mountain! Or in the Arctic! What about the freaking space station?!
vTime is “the world’s first sociable network in Virtual Reality on mobile”. More proof that the future is now: It’s already available on Samsung Gear VR and on Google Cardboard in early access for a limited number of devices.
Speaking of VR…
Do Coachella Without Spending A Cent On Tickets, Airfare, or Drugs!
Cocachella VR is letting festival fanatics around the world do exactly what its name suggests. The premier summer music festival has unveiled that it’ll be streaming its concerts, along with exclusive backstage content, via VR!
There’s plenty of chance this might just blow up though. Think of the amount of tech that could potentially go wrong: the 360˚ video, the live streaming, viewers’ data speeds, and maybe just one festival-goer blocking the concert cam with a banner. We’re hoping for the best.
Butter. Spray.
The best video you’ll see all week.
Paula Deen’s probably already bought a million of these.
More Random Stories (Can’t Top The Butter Spray Thing Though)
- Flirt with a screen to pay: Amazon is determined to make you look like an idiot with it’s new handsfree paying method. Spoiler: It involves winking.
- YouTube‘s co-founder has launched a live streaming app to watch people eat. Ok.
- Google still refuses to call Google+ a failure. Here’s why it has a shred of hope though.
- Samsung just made the lives of bedroom musicians a whole lot better: This upcoming app will transcribe your humming into scores, complete with accompaniment!
Video Of The Week: Jet Ski vs. Drone Camera
Place your bets now. The fun starts at 3:47.
The DANamic.ORG Tech Brief arrives every Friday, except last week. We got busy last week. Oops.
Go back in time and read edition from 2 weeks ago here.
