Facebook takes on Periscope and introduces new Collage feature

If you own an iPhone and are in the US, you might be one of the lucky few who get to test out the new feature from Facebook that reminds us of Periscope (it’s basically Periscope, really). The social network is testing out the ability for people to share live videos on Facebook. Those who have access to the feature just need to tap on Update Status and select the Live Video icon. You can tap out a quick description and choose who gets to watch the video live. While you broadcast, you’ll see who’s watching the stream, how many are viewing this live, as well as real-time stream of comments. Once you’re done broadcasting, the video can be saved on your Timeline for other users to watch at a later time. Or you can also opt to delete your video. If you like watching these videos, you can select the Subscribe button while watching a clip so you’ll be notified once the broadcaster goes live.

Facebook’s also introducing a new Collage feature that will make it easier for you to group photos and videos from a particular event or place together. When you select Photo, you’ll be able to see your recent moments in the camera roll arranged in a collage format. You can arrange the photos and videos to your liking, take out or add images and clips, and then add a title to the collage before you share the image. This feature is rolling out on the iPhone today and will be coming to Android early next year.

Source: Facebook Newsroom

The BB-8 gets gold and shiny for charity

This could be the droid you’re looking for… if you like them gold and sparkly, that is. Kay Jewelers pimped the BB-8 droid by throwing in some gold and diamonds on it. The gold droid comes in at four inches tall and weighs over 1.5 pounds. It’s covered with 18-karat yellow gold and 18 carats of diamonds that top at 860 stones. As for the price, it’s been appraised at US$135,000. The golden droid was created by Kay Jewelers as part of the Force 4 Fashion event held on Wednesday in New York City. It’s a fundraising event where fashion designers are prompted to reimagine Star Wars costumes. This luxurious BB-8 droid is up for auction with its proceeds going to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. No details on the auction are up just yet.

Source: CNET

Apple releases Swift programming language into open source

Apple has released its Swift programming language, used for developing iOS and Mac OS applications and programs, into open source. Swift was developed two years ago as a replacement to Objective-C as a simplified yet powerful deveilopment tool.

Apple says Swift is, "the fastest growing programming language in history and combines the performance and efficiency of compiled languages with the simplicity and interactivity of popular scripting languages.

Apple today also launched the Swift.org website with detailed information about Swift open source, including technical documentation, community resources and links to download the Swift source code.

Click to read more ...

Earn cash by watching ads through Caddle

A new iOS app and service called Caddle is hoping to make it easier for consumers to earn money from watching and engaging within the app. Users can earn up to $20 per hour by interacting with Caddle. You can earn this by watching short ads and providing feedback about Caddle’s advertisers. This product-focused app hopes to compensate users for their efforts of engaging within the app as well as entice them in a way to check out the products seen within the app. It’s your call to engage with the app when you want to and even share your discoveries via social networks like Facebook and Twitter.