ad: Annual 2024 Now Open For Entries!
*

The Week in Tech

Published by

Facebook is finally GIF friendly

A point of contention for many Facebook users is that the site has never really got on well with GIFs. This week, however, the social media giants confirmed the site will now support animated GIFs in its News Feed, with the update rolling out steadily over the coming weeks. This move represents a slight shift in direction for Facebook, which has historically made a conscious decision to avoid supporting GIFs, claiming that doing so would make its News Feed feel too cluttered and chaotic with low quality memes.

Facebook has confirmed the site will now support animated GIFs in its News Feed

That hasn't stopped Facebook from actively supporting video of course, but it's seems they've finally bowed to public pressure on the GIF front. The feature works by users pasting a link to a GIF hosted on an external website into their status update box. The GIF will be animated online after the post. You can’t currently upload GIFs directly, however, and see the same results. GIFs will auto-play on Facebook in line with your current video settings.

 

Apple take further steps into augmented reality

*

Apple has acquired the augmented reality (AR) startup Metaio, a company that launched back in 2003 as an offshoot of a project at Volkswagen. A legal document has confirmed a transfer of shares of the startup to Apple took place on May 21st/22nd. When asked about the acquisition, Apple kept pretty tight-lipped, stating: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.” Metaio boasts a sizeable community of developers with over 1000 customers and 150,000 users worldwide in 30 countries. All of them are probably wondering exactly what’s going on right now.

Apple has acquired the augmented reality (AR) startup Metaio

The acquisition could help Apple bolster its VR and AR efforts. Earlier this year, Apple patented a VR headset that works with iPhones, and earlier this week reports leaked that Apple is currently working on an augmented reality feature for its Maps app that could allow users to (for example) point their phones at a street to see what businesses are around, them or at a restaurant’s exterior to see the menu or specials. Metaio’s technology could certainly aid in these plans. Many, including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, have called virtual reality the next big computing platform after mobile phones. Apple has found enormous success as a platform for desktop and mobile computing, so maybe acquiring Metaio could help it power their next big step?

 

Xbox One controller gets a redesign

*

Whilst many would argue that the existing Xbox One controller is perfect as is, it appears Microsoft have made a few subtle changes to their proprietary wireless controller. The new model features a headphone port and a nifty camouflaged design, but very little else in all honesty. The fact that USB charging still doesn't come straight out of the box is a bit of a downer, but it looks pretty at least right? At any rate, the controller will be released this month.

 

Hyperloop takes pricing model from F2P games

*

Dirk Ahlborn, the CEO of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, revealed at a Q&A at the Pioneers Festival in Vienna this week that Elon Musk's revolutionary high-speed transportation system could be free to use. He also explained that this idea came from the free to play games model, which has proven so popular for games such as Candy Crush Saga and Clash of Clans. He said “When we think about video games, they are free and are making more money (than ever before) through up-sales in-game,” which is true, but on the flip side, that has resulted in a glut of pretty lacklustre games making a lot of underserved money.

The Hyperloop system could use payment model based on F2P mobile games

Ahlborn explained that tickets during off-peak times could be free, and very low cost during peak time, adding that they are looking for other ways to make money. A five mile test track for Hyperloop costing around $100 million is coming to Interstate 5 in California. However it is thought that the final project will end up costing between $6 and $7.5 billion! For the uninitiated, he Hyperloop is a proposal to transport people in a vacuum tube at close to the speed of sound, making the journey from Los Angeles to San Francisco just 30 minutes.

 

Turn your screenshots into playable Super Mario levels!

*

A new desktop application called Screentendo allows users to turn any computer screenshot into a classic level from Super Mario Bros. Aaron Randall, a software developer from London, recently showcased what his Mac app can do with Mario bouncing around a Google logo made of bricks. Launching Screentendo opens a window which can be moved and resized. Clicking inside the window causes the app to take a screen capture, which is transformed into a level of brick blocks, clouds, and, of course, Mario himself. The app works using a variety of filters, with images converted into a format that can be used to render a game level. Screen captures are simplified into a black and white image, which is then arranged into blocks that create the array needed for the transformation.

Screentendo

Screentendo allows users to turn any computer screenshot into a classic level from Super Mario Bros

Randall said: “There are two basic steps to Screentendo, image processing to determine the structure of the target region, and the level generation.” As fun and impressive as it is, however, Randall admits the app is far from perfect. He added: “This app is a proof-of-concept hack, and has a few shortcomings. Image processing is currently really, really slow so sub-blocking the image takes a long time. The current implementation also requires a reasonably distinct contrast in the underlying image for the block detection to work.” It's still a pretty ambitious concept though. We're certainly on board!

 

The $100,000 Star Wars arcade machine!

*

Star Wars: Battle Pod is an aerial combat game from Bandai Namco set in the Star Wars universe with five stages from the original trilogy, and it will set you back a cool £24,000. And that's only for the basic model! The Premium Edition comes with genuine leather seats that synchronise with the game's movements, a choice of two designs, and your name in the credits, and will set you back around £65,000 ($100,000). For those of us without bottomless wallets however, the game should be landing in local arcades by the end of the month.

Star Wars Battle Pod

Comments

More Leaders

*

Leaders

Inspiring Female Leaders: An Interview with RAPP CEO Gabrielle Ludzker

Gabrielle Ludzker is not just any CEO. The current head honcho at customer experience agency RAPP has spent her career breaking away from the traditional corporate CEO stereotype. and leads to inspire rule breakers. Gabby is an inspirational rule...

Posted by: Benjamin Hiorns
ad: Annual 2024 Now Open For Entries!