YouTube is testing GIF-like video teasers for desktop users

YouTube wants to show you bits and pieces of a video while you’re browsing on the web. The streaming site started testing out video previews a couple of weeks back but they’re now rolling it out to more users. If you hover your pointer over a video, you’ll start to see a three-second teaser of the clip. It supposedly works for videos that are longer than 30 seconds. Not all creators are getting this preview though. According to YouTube, it’ll depend on “topic and content.” You’ll see the previews on the Home page, Search results page, Watch page, Subscriptions tab, and Trending tab on Chrome and Opera.

Source: YouTube Help Forum

Facebook starts rolling out GIF shooting capabilities on its camera

If you use the built-in camera in Facebook, you might notice that there’s a new feature there. Facebook has started to roll out a new GIF function to its users. From the top part of the window, you’ll see “Normal” and “GIF” options. Just swipe right if you’re in the Normal setting. The GIF mode has different frames and filters for you to play around with. The caveat is that these can only be shared on Facebook, whether through your stories or as a post on the service. Other than that you can save them as videos, which means it’s not meant to be used outside of the service. The feature hasn’t been released for everyone yet so you may or may not see it. If you have, how is it? Do you see yourself using it more?

Source: Engadget + The Verge

Review: Microsoft Surface Laptop

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

After years of Surface and Surface Pro tablets refining the 2-in-1 segment and advancing Windows 10’s touch-first interface, introducing the powerful Surface Book, Microsoft has released an all-new premium notebook with its very own version of Windows 10 called Windows 10 S. 

At first glance, the Surface Laptop seems to be everything that anyone clamouring for a Microsoft made, non-detachable all-day laptop, has wished for.

Click to read more ...

US Customs says it can search devices but not data stored in the cloud at border

Ilya Ilyukhin/Unsplash

If you’re entering or exiting the US anytime soon, we have a bit of news for you. Border officials can search your devices with or without probable cause but, according to acting US Customs and Border Protection commissioner Kevin McALeenan, they can’t touch information stored “solely” in the cloud. The quoted word is important here as that means border officials can still look at the information on your phone and check things on your email or social media accounts or even files from your cloud storage apps that are stored on the device itself.

McALeenan revealed these conditions in his reply to Senator Ron Wyden’s letter to Homeland Security about the sudden increase in searches of devices at US’s borders. In February alone, Wyden says, CPB looked through 5,000 devices of travelers, whereas that number was the total for the year 2015. McALeenan says they conduct searches to see if a gadget has things like child pornography or anything that can be considered a threat to the US’s national security. The commissioner has also mentioned that you can refuse to give the password to your personal devices but they also have the right to detain your device and if you aren’t a citizen, then this might mean you get denied entry into the country.

Source: The Verge