YouTube gets HDR treatment

Simulated SDR vs HDR comparison (seeing true HDR requires an HDR display)

YouTube has always readily adapted new audio and video formats into its service. This time around, it adds High Dynamic Range (HDR) support in the mix. What this promises to give to you is videos with “higher contrast, revealing precise, detailed shadows, and stunning highlights with more clarity than ever.” Colors should come out more vibrant in HDR mode. The feature will come to support devices, like HDR TVs with Chromecast Ultra or soon on 2016 Samsung SUHD and UHD TVs. You can see some sample content from YouTube creators like MysteryGuitarMan and Abandon Visuals. If you’re a creator, you can learn about uploading HDR videos from this link.

Google speeds up and redesigns Gmail on iOS

Google revamps the Gmail app for iOS and gives it a new look, the “undo send option,” and faster search capabilities. Two years might be a bit too long of a wait but at least the five second “undo send” feature is now in the iOS app. But the biggest but probably something that will go unnoticed is the quicker search capability of the email app. According to AppleInsider tests, a multi-term search of a 55,000 email archive returned results almost instantly instead of around 11 seconds that takes to complete said search. Scrolling is also faster as well as receiving notification. Google has also added spelling suggestions into the app and lets users swipe on an email to archive or delete the message.

Twitter might be looking into offers to keep Vine online

Twitter might be willing to keep Vine alive. According to TechCrunch, Twitter is reportedly entertaining possible buyers for the video sharing service. It has supposedly whittled down the candidate pool from over ten to around five serious contenders. Offers are said to be coming in at below US$10 million, which is significantly less than the $30 million Twitter paid for the startup. But a way Twitter could earn from the sale is through sponsored content deals arranged by social marketing startup Niche, which the company bought in 2015, or through Vine-infused ad buys. Twitter announced during an Oct. 27 conference call that it intended to close Vine in the “coming months.” We just have to wait and see what happens.

What to expect from Windows 10 Creators Update

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Formerly codenamed 'Redstone 2,' Microsoft's next update to Windows 10, coming in early 2017, is called the 'Creators Update,' and this says a lot about the direction the company is trying to go to. The PC market continues to shrink, yet Microsoft expanded its Surface Pro and Surface Book lines while introducing what they believe is a creator's dream machine, the groundbreaking Surface Studio desktop.

There's a lot to discuss regarding Microsoft's entry into the PC desktop game and I'll reserve that discussion until I've had an opportunity to see the hardware for myself and judge what it can do. Grabbing a key slice of the creative market and moving users to Microsoft hardware looks like a good gamble, specially since Microsoft is unique in offering a fully fleshed out multi-touch and pen-input capable OS which it introduced over four years ago with Windows 8 and the first Surface devices.

Click to read more ...