Netflix brings ‘choose your own adventure’ style to ‘Black Mirror’

You’ve probably heard of Netflix’s latest attempt to enter or start a new genre for visual entertainment. Netflix is introducing the “choose your own adventure” format to its more adult content. The company has started playing around with this format with some of its kid’s offering but now it’s the parents’ turn to play as they watch. The Black Mirror universe seems to be an apt place to play around with this genre. The streaming service just put up the movie Bandersnatch, which follows a young programmer named Stefan. The movie is set in 1984 and has Stefan working on a game adaptation of a famous “choose your own adventure” book. This interactive film will require you to, well, interact with it. There is no linear version of the film—meaning you can’t just watch it without making choices for the character.

This also means it doesn’t work on all devices. Bandersnatch was written using proprietary technology. And this means not all machines can translate this experience. According to Netflix, you can’t watch (or experience) the movie on Chromecast, Apple TV, and “some legacy devices,” which no longer support Netflix software updates. These include the likes of the PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Wii U, and the like. It will, however, work on “most newer devices, including TVs, game console, web browsers, and Android and iOS devices running the latest version of the Netflix app.” A small icon will appear on top of the title card to let you know that you can stream Bandersnatch.

Source: The Verge

New code change suggests Google will move its Messages web app to Google.com

Google seems to be moving away bit by bit from the Android brand. A new code change seems to suggest it’s doing it this time with its Messages web app. In case you didn’t know, Android has a Messages app that lets you manage your messages from a browser. It’s hosted at the URL messages.android.com. But the code change spotted in Chromium’s Gerrit source code management suggests Google plans to move it to messages.google.com. The code itself shows a simple mechanism that remotely tells Chromebooks to stop using the former URL and switch to the Google.com one. The latter isn’t available yet but we might see the change soon or at least a couple of versions of Chrome in Chromebooks down the line.

Source: 9to5Google

Snapchat introduces Lenses for dogs

After making Lenses available for cats, dogs are getting the love this month from Snapchat. Snapchat Lenses is now available for dogs. This means that when you add filters or masks to your four-legged baby, the app will be able to detect your canine in the frame and put funny masks or stickers on them. Right now, there are only a handful of filters available but Snapchat promises to bring more in the future.

Source: Ubergizmo

Samsung might be introducing a party trick to the Galaxy S10’s camera

We might see that illuminated ring around the upcoming Samsung flagships

The leaks for the Galaxy S10 keep coming. One of the latest ones might be more of a party trick than anything else. According to Ice Universe on Twitter, there will be an illuminated ring around the front-facing, pinhole camera. But it’ll be making its debut first in the Galaxy A8s before making its way to the S10 and S10+. Supposedly the S10 will be getting a single front-facing camera, while the S10+ will be getting dual front-facing shooters. Both will be getting the illuminated ring. It’s said the ring will glow when you fire up the camera or use facial recognition to unlock the handset. Not much else is known at this point, but it might be safe to assume these won’t be bright enough to act as a flash for the camera.

Source: TechRadar