Facebook tries out temporary reactions starting with a flower for Mother’s Day

We’re not sure if this’ll show up on your feed but if you suddenly find a flower there, that’s Facebook way of helping you commemorate Mother’s Day. The social network giant is supposedly testing out temporary reactions to add to the six existing ones just for Mother’s Day. These digital flower reactions are said to be coming to a few markets in time for the special occasion. Facebook won’t say though which markets will be seeing the feature. But better keep your eye out on the 8^th and also if you can, please buy actual flowers for your mom or at least something she’d appreciate.

Source: Sreedev Sharma @ Twitter | Via: The Verge

Netflix helps manage your data use with new cellular data controls

Worried about exceeding your data cap or getting your line cut off because you spent too much time watching Netflix while on cellular data? The streaming service is introducing globally new data controls to help you manage how much you stream over data. The default setting will allow you to stream around three hours of TV shows and movies per gigabyte of data. When it comes to bitrates, this setting amounts to around 600 Kilobits per second, which Netflix says achieves a good balance between video quality and data usages. You have the option to set a higher or lower streaming quality but of course that also means better or less ideal streaming. You can set it to auto, as discussed earlier; low, which allows around four hours per GB of data; high, which allows one hour per GB of data; and unlimited for those with unlimited data plans. The last one promises to give you the highest quality possible, which also means it could use up like 1GB per 20 minutes or more depending on your device and network speeds. Of course, you can also turn this feature off and not stream over data.

To toggle these settings, simply head to the Menu icon and select App Settings. From there, head to Cellular Data Usage and then select the setting you prefer. If you set your data usage for all devices under the Playback settings on Your Account page, the streams on mobile devices will not exceed this setting.

Source: Netflix

Google Maps gives you a peek inside Brazil’s Olympic venues

Are you heading to the Olympics and want to see what’s in store for you? Google Maps has added indoor views of the 25 venues where the Olympic Games will happen in Rio de Janeiro. Aside from that, there are 12 outdoor venues with “enhanced views.” You also get a map for these stadiums and arenas that show the locations of things like restrooms, concession stands, information desks, and ATMs. Recently, real-time transit information was also added for the Brazilian city so there’s a way for you to get around. Even if you aren’t heading to Brazil, you can also still scope out the venue right from the comfort of your devices.

Source: Engadget

Puma develops robot to help train runners

Serious runners always need to better their times to make sure they stay competitive. But you won’t always have your fastest running buddy with you. Enter the Puma BeatBot robot. The ‘bot was created by Puma’s advertising agency: J. Walter Thompson New York with the help of a robotics engineer from NASA and a group of MIT students. This robot comes with nine downward-facing infrared sensors capable of tracking straight and curved lines on the ground. It can follow the existing lane-marking lines and make 100 steering adjustments a second so it stays on target. It runs on an Arduino microcontroller and a 9-axis accelerometer. It has front and rear row LEDs so you can keep an eye on it and it has forward and backward-facing GoPro cameras to record your performance.

Puma isn’t saying what the maximum speed of the BeatBot is but it can keep up with Usain Bolt’s 100-meter dash world record of 44.7km/h (27.4mph). It can be used with the accompanying smartphone app where you can input the distance you plan to go and the time you’d like to beat. And then you place the BeatBot o the starting line alongside you and wait for it to beep three times before you start running. It’ll move along with you on its own line and determines the speed and distance it travels by counting the wheel revolutions it does. If you end up beating it, then you meet your goal. Puma isn’t saying if this’ll make it into stores. But it could also just be for sponsored runners to use for training.

Source: Gizmag