Tech News Today for April 11, 2017
Tech News for Tuesday April 11, 2017
It's Windows 10 Creators Update day and it will immeasurably change your life. And when I say "immeasurably," I mean that it will change your life in such a small way you won't even be able to tell the difference. If you're a gamer, Windows 10 Creators update will prioritize CPU and GPU resources to reduce background tasks and speed up your experience. And you can start streaming your games from any PC at lower latency than you can with TWITCH. Other than that, it's mostly behind the scenes updates. Unless you can't wait, Paul Thurrott from Windows Weekly suggests you see how the upgrade goes and wait 2-4 weeks and then get the Creators update on your own schedule. Read more at thurrott.com.
Another day, another Snapchat feature ported over to Instagram. An update to Instagram Direct brings ephemeral messaging into the app's one-on-one and group messaging functionality, allowing for the sharing of disappearing photos and videos inside the chat threads and outside of the existing "bubble up top" approach. Though an item might disappear after a certain amount of time, the thread will still show that someone shared a photo or video, even if it can’t be viewed anymore. Read more at techcrunch.com.
Qualcomm is suing Apple, claiming that the company intentionally limited the performance of the iPhone 7 running Qualcomm chips and then tried to cover it up. Qualcomm also attests that Apple breached and mischaracterized agreements. This is less than 3 months after Apple sued Qualcomm over royalties. Read more at bloomberg.com.
Google’s Artificial Intelligence is going to make you the Picasso of clip art. AutoDraw is a new site (autodraw.com) by Google that gives users a host of drawing tools to roughly sketch out an image to the best of their ability. When using the AutoDraw tool, Google’s AI will analyze the image being drawn with every stroke and update a series of thumbnail images it thinks match the item being sketched. If it’s what the user wants, they tap it and their piece of junk is turned into a piece of art. Read more at techcrunch.com.
A new Kickstarter lets you hug your children remotely. Parihug is a huggable friend designed to keep you connected to those you love most. Pari, who stands for Paribus Huggus is a battery powered, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connected stuffed animal with a twin. You take one on your very important business trip and leave one home with your kid. When you hug, the twin hugs back, from miles away. For $75 you can be one of the first to have a Pari of your own, if they reach their kickstarter goal. Find out more at kickstarter.com.
Megan Morrone and Jason Howell are joined today by Mike Murphy of Quartz to talk about Apple's manufacturers of hardware and components. Tech News Today streams live weekdays at 4PM Pacific, 7PM Eastern at twit.tv/live. You can subscribe to the show and get it on-demand at twit.tv/tnt