Slack gives its desktop app a performance boost

Slack is making life easier for its Windows and macOS users. The collaboration software has been rebuilt for both Windows and macOS to make it load 33 percent faster and use 50 percent less RAM than before. Many Slack customers will notice the change, but it’ll be particularly evident for those who use multiple workspaces. The company has been working on this overhaul for two years, and they have been modernizing parts of the code along the way. The new underlying code is now multi-workspace aware, meaning it won’t create a standalone copy for each workspace and take up RAM for each instance. What the program does is reuse components and rely on a modern codebase. The app itself still runs on Electron, but all the UI parts have been rebuilt using React.

For those who use Slack calls, that feature should be faster as well. And when you’re offline or suffer from a bad internet connection, the app now caches your session better. The app doesn’t get an offline mode per se, but you can now look back at messages in a channel or view conversations you were having before your connection dropped. All these changes have started rolling out to Slack users now.

Source: The Verge

Canadian Apple Watch Series 4 owners can now use the ECG app, get irregular heart rhythm notification

Here’s some great news for Apple Watch Series 4 owners. You can now use the ECG app and get irregular heart rhythm notifications as part of the free watchOS 5.3 update. Apple has received a Medical Device License from Health Canada for these two features. You can now take an electrocardiogram right from your wrist. This Apple Watch model can capture your heart’s rhythm in a moment when you experience symptoms like a rapid or skipped heartbeat. This in turn helps provide critical data for physicians. At the same time, the Apple Watch can now occasionally check heart rhythm in the background and send a notification if an irregular heart rhythm that appears to be atrial fibrillation is identified. watchOS 5.3 update is now available for download.

Google Photos on Android gets live video preview

Google Photos is making it easier to look for a video clip you need with its latest update. Version 4.20 of the Android app will automatically play back a video as you scroll through the main Photos tab. These clips have a white play icon and clip length at the top-right corner of the thumbnails. Google Photos will run through the entire recording without audio, and it’ll loop the video if you keep it in view. If there are multiple videos side-by-side, Google Photos will preview these in reverse chronological order. The feature is available in both the Month and Comfortable view options.

This feature isn’t limited to local content either. Those that are backed up to the cloud from other devices will get this option, too. However, it isn’t available in the search screens or in the album portion. This feature isn’t available on iOS yet and the web version only gives you a preview if you hover your mouse over a clip.

Source: 9to5Google

Marvel's Kevin Feige wants to bring Fantastic Four to be at a 'level they deserve'

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It seems like a dig at 20th Century Fox for not being able to successfully bring the Fantastic Four to the big screen. But Marvel Studios' head Kevin Feige also seems like he's making a promise to fans who have been clamoring for the longest time to see these heroes get an MCU treatment. While speaking to Variety at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, Feige answered when asked about their plans for the characters, "All of that is spoilers, but I'm extremely excited about those characters, and about bringing Marvel's first family up to the sort of platform and level they deserve." Feige didn't specifically say when we can expect a Fantastic Four film (or maybe even series), but just acknowledging it now makes us excited.

Source: ComicBook.com