Facebook now uses Nokia Here maps

Ahead of the sale of Nokia’s Here maps, which doesn’t have a solid buyer yet, Facebook looks to be making its own deal with Nokia for their maps application. Nokia’s Here is being used on Facebook on mobile, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram on Android. Facebook also seems to be using the maps application’s geocoding behind the scenes so users can tag locations in posts.

The move from using Microsoft’s Bing to Nokia Here maps is said to “give us more control and flexibility in delivering a consistent maps experience.”

Source: The Verge

Witness is a livestream emergency app

Coming out of the TechCrunch Disrupt NY Hackathon is an app that takes livestream apps a step further. Marinos Bernitsas developed an app called witness that starts recording live audio and video as soon as you tap on the app’s icon. But it isn’t like Meerkat or Periscope that livestreams an event and shares it with your social networks. Instead, it only sends the feed to selected contacts. It also doesn’t show on the screen that you’re recording. It’s pretty much built to be used for emergency purposes. Bernitsas said it was built with personal safety in mind and with police brutality making headlines in the US, there doesn’t seem to be a better time for this app to surface.

Of course there will still be drawbacks for these kinds of apps but they do show us the possibility of how you can keep safe in the smartphone age.

Source: TechCrunch

Inspire your future self with Tomorrow app

Sometimes we need something to boost our energy and get us through the day. The Tomorrow app hopes to be that for you. It lets you record a message that you can play for the next day. You won’t be able to listen to it on the day you record it but you can play it the following day. Messages get deleted after the day is over whether you play them or not. If you’re feeling a bit cheesy, at least you won’t have a permanent (or at least we hope it isn’t permanent) record of your self-motivation. But if this is your kind of thing, we’re sure you’ll enjoy that extra boost.

Source: Lifehacker | Download: Apple App Store (Free)

‘Star Wars’ characters gets Vanity Fair cover

It’s not exactly news when big Hollywood celebrities grace the cover of Vanity Fair. But having some of the biggest names in the fantasy genre are on the cover, it’ll make news. The magazine just released a Star Wars cover with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca alongside newcomers Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and BB-8 droid. It was shot by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz for the magazine’s June issue. It seems to have been taken inside the cockpit of a spacecraft.

If having the characters isn’t enough to emphasize this is a Star Wars issue, there’s even a Yoda quote on the cover that says: “In a dark place we find ourselves – a little more knowledge might light our way.” Vanity Fair promises to release more photos and videos from the shoot this Monday.

Source: Mashable