Snapchat’s Shared Stories will let you collaborate with friends of friends

Snapchat has updated its Custom Stories feature to allow more people to participate. While the original version of the feature only gives you a way to add friends to view and contribute to your Stories, the new version called Shared Stories allows the friends you add to add their own contacts. Say you’re cooking and want your friends to add their cooking Stories, too — just add them to the group, so they can add more people, as well. Snap says that makes it easier “for the whole soccer team, camp squad, or group of new coworkers to get in on the fun.”

Like regular Stories, shared ones will only be visible for 24 hours before disappearing, but it doesn’t have a chat component, probably because it’s assumed that not all participants would know each other. The app will also use automatic language detection and other review tools to monitor additions and make sure they’re all safe. Finally, you will get a notification if you’ve joined a Shared Story with someone you’ve blocked. That gives you the chance to leave the Story if you’re not comfortable sharing a part of your life with those users. 

Snapchat has released and promised a number of other new features over the past couple of months, likely in an effort to get people to use the app more in face of slowing revenue growth. In April, it introduced a new suite of creator-friendly editing tools called “director mode” that will help you produce more polished content. It also introduced an ASL alphabet lens that you can use to learn the ASL alphabet and released the capability to share YouTube videos directly on the platform. 

iOS 16 will reportedly include an always-on display feature for future iPhones

With WWDC 2022 little more than a week away, more details about what Apple could announce at its annual developer conference are emerging. In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman suggests the company will have a fair amount to share …

Hitting the Books: What the ‘Work from Home’ revolution means for those who can’t

The COVID-19 pandemic changed how we live, how we work, how we get from where we live to where we work or even if we have to leave where we live to get to where we work. But the number of workers that have had their commutes shortened from 45 minutes t…

‘Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II’ heads to Nintendo Switch on June 8th

One of the best Star Wars games ever made is making its way to Switch. Alongside the news that Respawn Entertainment will release Star Wars Jedi: Survivor in 2023, Disney shared yesterday that Aspyr is porting 2004’s Knights of the Old Republic II…

Valve’s latest Steam Deck update promises less fan noise

On Thursday, Valve began rolling out SteamOS 3.2 for Steam Deck, addressing one of the more prominent issues people have had with the handheld since its release. According to the company, the update introduces an “all-new OS-controlled fan curve” Valve claims allows Steam Deck’s internal fan to quickly and smartly respond to heat. In turn, the company says that allows the component to more quietly go about its job, particularly “in low usage situations.”

“This has been tested extensively, and we’re continuing to work on improvements – so please let us know what you think,” Valve said. Excessive fan noise is something many reviewers, including Engadget’s Jessica Conditt, mentioned in their Steam Deck reviews. In fact, when iFixit began selling replacement parts for the handheld early last week, it quickly sold out of Huaying fan units. Valve sourced fans for Steam Deck from two companies, with the ones from Huaying producing less noise, according to some owners.

SteamOS 3.2 also introduces an option to adjust the handheld’s display refresh rate while in-game. Valve recommends Steam Deck owners try setting their device to 40Hz for the sweet spot between responsiveness and battery life. It’s now also possible to push the volume of Steam Deck’s speakers even higher and the company has made formatting microSD cards faster. Check out the full changelog for SteamOS 3.2 on Valve’s website.

Judge rules Cydia’s antitrust case against Apple can move forward

Cydia’s antitrust case against Apple can move forward, according to Reuters. On Thursday, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, the same judge that oversaw the case between Apple and Epic Games, ruled Cydia’s creator, Jay “Saurik” Freeman, could present his claim against the company after rejecting a bid by Apple to dismiss the complaint.

Freeman first sued Apple at the end of 2020, alleging the company had an “illegal monopoly over iOS app distribution.” Judge Gonzalez Rogers dismissed Cydia’s initial complaint against Apple, ruling the suit fell outside the statute of limitations. But she also granted Freeman leave to amend his case, which is what he did. In its latest complaint, Cydia argues that iOS updates Apple released between 2018 and 2021 constituted “overt” acts that harmed distributors like itself. That’s a claim Judge Gonzalez Rogers found credible enough to explore.

“To the extent plaintiff’s claims rely on Apple’s technological updates to exclude Cydia from being able to operate altogether, those claims are timely,” the judge said in her ruling.

Cydia is seeking damages from Apple (the company stopped processing purchases in 2018) and hopes to force the tech giant to open iOS to third-party payments and app distributors. Opening the App Store to more competition is something US lawmakers are considering as well, with the Senate Judiciary Committee recently advancing the Open App Markets Act. If enacted, the law would force Apple to allow sideloading on iOS and prevent the company from locking developers into its payments system.

Senators ask Apple and Google to prohibit data collection that targets abortion seekers

A group of US senators led by Ed Markey of Massachusetts is calling on Apple and Google to implement new app store policies that prohibit developers from collecting data that would threaten women seeking abortions. In separate letters sent to the CEOs …

Recommended Reading: How ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ puts you inside an F-18

Welcome to Tom Cruise’s flight school for ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

Jake Kring-Schreifels, The Ringer

One of the biggest challenges in filming the original Top Gun was keeping all of the actors playing pilots from constantly vomiting in the cockpit. Any sequel to that ’80s classic would have to be even more realistic, since production eventually moved to a soundstage. The Ringer explains how GoPro footage from real Navy pilots was the initial inspiration for the new movie, how custom-built IMAX gear helped capture the angles from real F-18s and how Tom Cruise put the cast through intense training to prepare.

The era of borderless data Is ending

David McCabe and Adam Satariano, The New York Times

Over 50 countries are trying to make sure data created by their citizens, governments and industries stays within their borders — or at least stored in accordance with their laws. The quest for so-called “digital sovereignty” could impact services we use daily or some of the features they currently offer. 

Will AI lead to new creative frontiers, or take the pleasure out of music?

Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork

Artificial intelligence can now learn, perform and create music with skills that are more than just copying a human’s actions. Pitchfork explores some of the more notable projects in search of an answer to the question: Just because we can, does that mean we should?

iRobot’s Roomba j7+ and s9+ robot vacuums are $200 off for Memorial Day

Memorial Day weekend has brought back some of the best prices we’ve seen on Roomba robot vacuums. You can pick up the Roomba j7+ and the Roomba s9+ for $599 and $799, respectively, when using the code ENDGT200 at Wellbots. Both of those models come with clean bases, but if you think you can safely skip that extra piece of hardware, you can pick up the Roomba j7 for $399 instead using the same code.

Buy Roomba j7+ at Wellbots – $599Buy Roomba s9+ at Wellbots – $799Buy Roomba j7 at Wellbots – $399

The Roomba j7 series has some of iRobot’s newest machines in it. The line debuted at the end of 2021 and the robot vacuums come with new AI-driven computer vision technology that helps them better detect objects and clean around them. The company has focused on this in the context of pet poop, claiming the j7 machines are its first “pet-poop detecting” robots. Ultimately, that means that your fancy new robot vacuum should be able to avoid any accidents your pets have on the living room floor while cleaning your home.

Along with those smarts, the Roomba j7 has 10x the suction power of a standard Roomba, plus dual multi-surface brushes, smart home mapping and more. If you spring for the j7+, you’ll also get a clean base into which the robot automatically empties its dustbin after every job. That means you’ll only have to empty the clean base once every month or so, depending on how often your robot cleans.

Similarly to the Roomba j7 series, the Roomba s9+ made it into our best robot vacuums guide as a splurge pick. Normally costing $1,000, the s9+ is a premium dirt sucker that does more than most people need. But it’s an excellent vacuum with 40x the suction power of a regular Roomba, plus a 3D sensor for object detection and a corner-friendly design. If vacuuming is one of our least favorite chores and you want a robot that will almost ensure you’ll never have to do it manually again, the s9+ could be a good investment.

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