Mitchel Broussard

An update rolling out to the iOS, Android, and Windows 10 Instagram app today has introduced the company's standalone app "Boomerang" directly into its new Snapchat-like stories feature. Boomerang allows users to take a burst of photos that cycle forwards and backwards quickly, creating an animated GIF that they can share to Instagram and Facebook directly within the app. Today, when users...

Apple recently expanded the universal search feature on its fourth-generation Apple TV to include MUBI, Hopster, and CW Seed. MUBI's universal search functionality has been added in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, while Hopster has been added in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Additionally, only users in the U.S. can take advantage of having CW Seed in...

Following Target's Black Friday ad shared yesterday, today electronics retailer Best Buy posted its Black Friday deals, showcasing doorbusters and all-day sales that include a few Apple products. Sixteen sales in total are even beginning now, one on the 13-inch MacBook Air with Intel Core i5, 8GB memory, and 256 flash storage, which is $200 off its original price of $1,199.00. For every other...

Pandora today began the rollout of a "completely overhauled" desktop site for its streaming radio service, coming on the heels of its rebranded iOS and Android apps last month. Pandora.com now has a couple of new features including an enhanced user interface and new additions for Pandora Plus listeners, which should begin appearing throughout the day as the rollout continues. The changes begin ...

Snapchat is joining in on the augmented reality craze today with an update to its iOS app that lets Snapchatters use both their outward-facing and self-facing cameras to discover objects hidden in the world around them through their iPhone screens. Called "World Lenses," the options include an Election Day filter, rainbow-vomiting clouds, floating glitter, snow, hearts, and a horror-themed lens...

In a lengthy blog post about Facebook's ten-year plan to "accelerate innovation and power new experiences with AI," chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer mentioned that one update coming to the company's mobile apps will be a "style transfer" tool that turns normal photos and videos into works of art using "high efficiency neural networks," all running directly on iOS and Android smartphones. ...

Ahead of Election Day in the United States tomorrow, November 8, a collection of popular iOS and Android ride-hailing apps have launched promos for customers to more easily make it to their polling location before the 8PM deadline (via BuzzFeed). As the biggest ride-hailing app in the U.S., Uber [Direct Link] recently announced that starting tomorrow an action sheet will pop up when users launch...

Last week, a new legal challenge arose for Apple's massive data center in Galway County, Ireland at the hands of three individuals in the nearby town of Athenry, who filed official complaints against the data center with the Galway County Council, local planning body An Bord Pleanála, and even the High Court. Today, the Irish High Court has ruled in Apple's favor and pledged to fast-track...

Apple is seeking financial incentives within India to make it easier to build a new manufacturing plant within the country (via The Economic Times). The company has asked for incentives specifically from the Department of Revenue and the Department of Electronics and Information Technology in India as a way to offset the high cost of building an entirely new iPhone manufacturing unit in the...

India's Forensic Science Laboratory is in negotiations to purchase the security bypassing technology used by Israeli mobile software developer Cellebrite, the company that the FBI enlisted to help unlock the iPhone of the San Bernardino shooter earlier in the year (via The Economic Times). The FBI needed Cellebrite's "mobile forensics solutions" to bypass the lock on the iPhone 5c in question, ...

It's been three months since Apple finally gained approval to build its massive data center just outside of Athenry in Galway County, Ireland, and now "a small handful of locals" have been reported as working to derail Apple's data center project since the company got approval in August. The residents have filed complaints with Galway County Council, local planning body An Bord Pleanála, and...

Reviews for Google's new smart home speaker system, Google Home, have released this morning, bringing a collection of opinions about the newest entry in the wireless Bluetooth speaker category, which Apple is rumored to be entering in the future. Google originally introduced Google Home at its I/O Conference in May, and then officially announced it alongside the Pixel Phone at an event in...

Kohl's will begin selling the Apple Watch at 400 of its 1,100 stores across the United States on November 15 as a way to boost its activewear business (via Fortune). Apple's partnership with the retail chain is said to help the Cupertino company reach into areas of the country that don't have Apple Stores or official Apple resellers with Apple Watches, as well as "reach a more modest-income...

During a quarterly earnings meeting yesterday, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg briefly commented on the status of the company's mobile app experience, mentioning a belief that "a text box is still the default way we share." As reported by Bloomberg, the CEO said that the next step for Facebook on smartphones is a camera-first experience that changes status updates from simple written...

Wireless headphone company Bragi today announced an incoming update to its flagship Bluetooth device, The Dash, which will bring with it an all-new way for users to interact with Bragi's "Kinetic User Interface." Coming November 21, Bragi OS 2.2 will introduce users to a beta of "MyTap," which lets them control the headphones through tap-based gestures placed directly on their cheek and not on...

Apple is "not interested" in buying media company Time Warner currently, according to "people familiar with the thinking at the company" who spoke today with CNBC. Two weeks ago, AT&T announced its interest to purchase Time Warner for $85.4 billion, but as noted today, the regulatory process taken in such acquisitions "could last for months," and at any time another company could swoop in with a...

Announced back at CES earlier this year, Netatmo today is officially launching its smart outdoor security camera, called "Presence," for $299.99. Using a "breakthrough deep-learning algorithm," the Presence security camera detects people, cars, and animals that appear outside the home, and reports all activity via notifications and recordings through the connected Netatmo Security app. [Direct...

Password manager LastPass today announced that all users are now able to sync their passwords across multiple devices for free, whereas previously the service's multi-device feature was locked behind its $1 per month subscription service. Now, users can gain access to their most secure sign-in information on a smartphone, tablet, desktop, or laptop using any of the company's free mobile and...

Glide recently announced a new Apple Watch band that includes both a 2MP front-facing camera, as well as an 8MP outward-facing one, with the ability to capture crisp images and HD videos "in a tap." Called the "CMRA," users simply have to tap a button built into the band to snap a photo or long-press to begin recording a video, and on one charge the CMRA can take "hundreds of photos," or about 30 ...

Mojang today launched "Minecraft: Education Edition" for macOS and Windows platforms, allowing educators and administrators to begin introducing the game to students and use its copious tools and in-game systems to teach lessons in science, technology, engineering, math, history, language, art, and more (via TechCrunch). The game will come with a "Classroom Mode" companion app so teachers can...