Facebook tries to take on Snapchat with new teens-only app Lifestage

If you follow a logical line of thought Facebook really is trying to win back the teens they’ve lost to the likes of Snapchat. Now, the company is trying out a new teens-only iOS app developed by one of its younger product managers, 19-year-old Michael Sayman. Called Lifestage, it sort of harks back to the days of slam books but focuses more on your interests. It’s also like a video diary of sorts as you get asked questions about yourself but instead of typing things out you, you record small clips to answer and when you answer a new question, your friends will be able to see what’s new with you.

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Site turns your words into the ‘Stranger Things’ title card

If you don’t know or at least heard of the Netflix original Stranger Things at this point, we’ll be wondering if you’ve been hiding under a rock someplace. The popularity of the show has reached fever pitch and before the fever breaks, a site is banking on its popularity. Developed by creative studio Nelson Cash, you can now “make stranger” anything you want with Make It Stranger.com. Sarah Gless, a designer and self-proclained Mother of Dragons at Nelson Cash, writes about why she loves the typography on the show.

Twitter helps keep harassment at bay… sort of

Photo taken from 9to5Mac

If you want to insulate yourself from the negativity that spawns on Twitter, the social network is offering all its users a way out. Twitter is making available to all its users the ability to limit the notifications you see. You can opt to just see notifications sent by users you follow. Of course, this doesn’t take you entirely out of the conversation, it’s just like putting blinders on to not see distractions. It’ll still be there, though.

Twitter has been trying various means to help lessen incessant abuse and harassment that happens on its platform but we wonder if this is the solution for it. If it’s something you want to try though, then you should be able to make the changes now. Twitter also introduces quality filter setting, which lets you filter out “lower-quality content.” It supposedly improves the quality of tweets you see based on criteria like account origin and behavior. 

Uber’s working with Volvo to further its autonomous driving initiative

Uber and Volvo have announced a new industrial partnership to help with the ride-hailing company’s autonomous driving program. Volvo has already sent some of the 100 cars they plan to send Uber before the year ends, plus they are working to create new vehicles designed to incorporate autonomous driving technology. But Volvo won’t be supplying the self-driving tech, Uber will be using the technology they’ve developed on their own, which the company plans to start public trials soon.

The new autonomous they will be working on will be using Volvo’s Scalable Product Architecture, which is the same platform used by its XC90, S90, and V90 cars. This will be the main focus of the collaboration between the two companies. And both will be using said vehicle for their own autonomous vehicle development.

Source: The Verge