Twitter Lets Anyone and Everyone Apply for a Blue Badge

Twitter on Tuesday announced it has opened up the application process for verified account status, which previously was reserved for celebrities and other high-profile users. Any user may now file an online application to have an account verified.

Twitter account verification, denoted by a blue badge icon, flags individuals and organizations as authentic, the company explained.

An account may be verified if it is determined to be of public interest, Twitter noted. Examples include accounts maintained by public figures and organizations in music, TV, film, fashion, government, politics, religion, journalism, media, sports, business, and other key areas of interest.

"We want to make it even easier for people to find creators and influencers on Twitter so it makes sense for us to let people apply for verification," explained Tina Bhatnagar, Twitter's vice president of user services. "We hope opening up this application process results in more people finding great, high-quality accounts to follow, and for these creators and influencers to connect with a broader audience."

Opaque Process

In the past, how Twitter determined which accounts to anoint with the blue badge of verification was unclear, said Sam Colt, a content associate at the Bateman Group and a verified account holder.

"People have always been unsure about how to get verified. It's a nebulous process," he told TechNewsWorld. "If you aren't a celebrity, you had to know someone at Twitter to make the connection to get verified."

Verification can be important for some classes of Twitter users.

"Successfully completing the Twitter verification process denotes a kind of legitimacy on the user," explained Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

"It means that you've submitted to the process, been vetted, and that you are who you say you are," he told TechNewsWorld.

"In certain cases, particularly for people using Twitter for professional purposes, that carries some weight," said King. "It also makes it difficult or impossible for verified users to be trolled or impersonated."

Boon for Journalists

Journalists comprise another class of Twitter users who benefit from verification.

"If you're a verified user, you can filter search information by other verified users -- something a journalist would want to do because their information is likely to be the most accurate," the Bateman Group's Colt pointed out.

Expanding verification could reduce the risk of some kinds of abuse on Twitter -- but will it?

"TLS/SSL certificates have been on websites for many years," said Dan Mathews, a director at Lastline.

"Does anyone outside of the IT profession pay attention to the padlock in the Web browser bar which acts as an identity assertion mechanism for a website you are trying to reach?" he wondered.

"Will the Twitter verified check mark be any different? Time will tell," he told TechNewsWorld.

The proliferation of blue check marks on Twitter could bring the verification process some unwanted attention.

Hacker Magnet

"If anything, verification raises the attack surface of an account," suggested Brad Bussie, director of product management at Stealthbits Technologies.

"Hackers will want to take advantage of the perceived trust that is being created by verification," he told TechNewsWorld.

"Celebrities constantly battle with others spoofing their Twitter handles by slightly altering the name and using the celebrity's likeness," Bussie said. "The problem Twitter still has is actually proving the user behind the tweet is indeed the owner, regardless of a verified account."

That's because even verified accounts can be hacked.

"Accounts can still be hacked if someone steals or otherwise obtains passwords and other information," observed Pund-IT's King. "What verification does make clear is which accounts are legitimate and which are shams or parodies."

Fighting Harassment

Expanded verification could help Twitter address another embarrassing problem on the service: online harassment. Such harassment recently drove Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones to quit the service.

"If the new verification process works as the company hopes, it should help make that kind of harassment difficult or even impossible," King said.

"The company is likely to get some pushback from users who feel Twitter is essentially creating two levels of service -- one for verified users and one for the rest," he continued, but "Twitter has increasingly been tarred by extreme, offensive behavior. Whenever that happens, it negatively impacts the company's brand."

That kind of impact is something every online company wants to avoid.

"You can't afford to have negative user experiences when you're in an industry where things go viral very quickly," said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

"This is about making sure they keep their existing user base happy," he told TechNewsWorld, "more than attracting new users."

2016 , 24 hours , Android , Android N , App , billion , blogspot , British , china , Communications Technology , computer , design , development , facebook , samsung , Samsung Galaxy S7 SM-G930F 32Go 4G Blanc , Twitter

Twitter Lets Anyone and Everyone Apply for a Blue Badge

lord of informatics

iOS 10 public beta arrives today, and this is what you can do with it

Apple's newest version of its mobile software iOS becomes available today for a public test drive. Is the beta for iOS 10 worth it? I've been using it for a long weekend, with a preloaded version on an iPhone 6S provided by Apple. As always, going with a beta OS is a bit of a risky journey on your everyday phone -- if you're curious, read Apple's FAQ and sign up, but I recommend you do it on a secondary device.

iOS 10 does have a handful of things that make it worth trying. That being said, it feels largely familiar at first, or second, or third use. I'd say it's a pretty subtle set of updates: call it the Service Pack for iOS 9. And some things -- like the more advanced Siri that works with third-party apps -- can't even be tested yet because no apps exist that fold into it. So I came away feeling a little less than excited about iOS 10. But hey, as a free update, it has a lot to offer.

f you do decide to download iOS 10's public beta, here's what you should check out.

Raise to Wake: Yes, it's been on Android phones for years, but it's really nice to have on an iPhone. I pick up the 6S and my messages are there. No button-pressing. It also means, since I'm not pressing Touch ID, that I don't just zip past the on-screen notifications. I linger there a bit longer. Now, however, you have to press the Home button to get past the lock screen, which sometimes feels like one step too many (or I've become truly lazy).

Bedtime reminders come to iOS in the Clock app. Sarah Tew/CNET

Gentle wake-ups: Did you know that iOS 10 has a new bedtime and wakeup reminder system in the Clock app? It's pretty great. Similar to what Fitbit just added, it recommends a bedtime schedule to stick to. In the mornings, it'll wake you up with gentle, rising music. New tones are available: "Early Riser," "First Light," "Helios" and "Birdsong." My morning music test was a lot more comforting than the stock set of Apple alarms. I slept through a few minutes of music, but I still woke up on time.

Apple Music gets a fresh look, but a similar function. Sarah Tew/CNET

Apple Music: The beta shows off Apple Music's touted new redesign. It's really just a fresh coat of paint, but it does make finding things seem a little simpler. Menus are cleaner. I still think there are too many features and alleys in the Apple Music labyrinth. Apple hasn't claimed the new Apple Music will be any more or less harsh to your iCloud Music library (mine has been mutated over time the more I've used Apple Music, as downloads have weirdly merged with my own files). So far, I've noticed it's easier to search for things.

Lots of novelties in Messages, like emoji translation. Sarah Tew/CNET

Messages get funky: You've probably heard, but Messages can now do all sorts of wacky things. Open the app and try it with someone else who has iOS 10 beta. Invisible ink. Slamming. Super-large emoji. Balloons, lasers, stickers. You can type something and have the emoji-translating keyboard convert words for you. Scribbling on video clips, sending simulated heartbeats like Apple Watch: it's all there, but scattershot. I found it hard to locate where all the parts were. Messages will support third-party apps, but right now all you can play with are four sticker packs that just feel like more emoji.

Delete Stocks, or iTunes, or nearly anything: You can remove Apple's core nonremovable apps...or most of them. No, they're not really erased, but they do disappear from your phone. They can be restored via the App Store like a regular app. Be careful, because you might forget which apps you've removed! It's a welcome thing for Stocks and News (or Apple Watch if you don't want to buy one), but some apps still can't be removed: Health, Photos, Wallet. Or the App Store.

Automatic collections sometimes feel random. Sarah Tew/CNET

Photos gets Memories: All your photos in Apple's iCloud Photo Library are now scanned using machine learning to collect into moments, or are organized by faces and places like Google Photos. This worked with my photo library, splitting things up in various discoverable categories. It took a day to get everything scanned, but then I saw Memories such as "Best of the Year 2015," "United Kingdom 2014 Trip," "Best of Last 3 Months" and "Father's Day 2015." The only problem was, I couldn't play any of the Apple-generated memory videos that collate your bests into a musical montage like Google and Facebook already do. Maybe it's a bug.

Selfies straight from the Control Center. Sarah Tew/CNET

3D Touch Notifications, app widgets and Control Center: If you have a 3D Touch iPhone 6S, there's more you can do now. Apps now have little widgets with extra info, and the control panel has new settings for things like flashlight or the camera. I'm not wild about the Control Center redesign, which shifts music playback to a second pane and doesn't add anything new to the first pane. Home appliances will appear in a third pane if you add things to Apple's Home app. But the extra use of 3D Touch could mean a lot less app opening down the road.

Yes, a Home app: Confused about Smart Home? Apple's new app is here, and it lets you connect HomeKit-ready appliances in one convenient place. Unfortunately, I have no HomeKit-ready appliances. And the app didn't start me off in a way that helped me understand what I needed to buy next. So I couldn't test it.

Predictive text: You can type something like "I'm free at," or "Where are you," or "What is Jane's phone number?" and iOS 10 will fill in the missing pieces for you. In theory. For me, it didn't work. I have no idea why. Maybe you'll be luckier.

Redesigned Maps: I actually tried driving using the new design, and the clean look made it easier to see on a dashboard. But the third-party apps that can hook into Maps aren't here yet.

Redesigned News app: I'd say the redesign here is so subtle you might not even notice it. And, you may or may not have even used Apple's News app in the first place. It's a fine news aggregator, but nothing great.

I'd say iOS 10's first beta on the iPhone adds up to some useful additions, but nothing that's hugely groundbreaking. And I started to find all the various sub-features and functions confusing to keep track of, or even to manage.

The biggest improvement it could bring still isn't here: third-party apps that can hook into these new, more open features like Messages, Siri and Maps. Whether apps will step up and make the most of it remains to be seen. There's more to come with iOS 10, of course: this is just the first dip in the pond. The full feature set is still not fully available to use.

2016 , 27-in Curved , All-in-One , Android , Apple , Apple Watch , Batterie , bit , Electronic , facebook , Fitbit just added , google , iOS 9 , iphone , iPhone 5c , iPhone 6S , software , Surface , téléphone

iOS 10 public beta arrives today, and this is what you can do with it

lord of informatics

Six Points on Why The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Will Be The Best Android Phone of 2016

This year’s Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is going to be EPIC. And that is very good news for long-standing fans of the phablet line, because last year Samsung really dropped the ball and did not bring the Galaxy Note 5 to the UK.

Instead it pushed the Galaxy S6 EDGE+ — a bigger, more expensive version of the Galaxy S6. This initiative didn’t go down well at all. In fact, it was kind of a PR disaster for Samsung, who, at the time, wasn’t having the best of luck anyway.

Things are very different now, though. The Galaxy S7 is flying off shelves, analysts have their knives out for Apple, and the Android space, at large, hasn’t looked this strong in years — and we’re only just half way through the year.

The rest of the year looks to be very exciting as well with BIG releases from Samsung, of course, OnePlus, Sony and BlackBerry. OK, granted the latter of which isn’t a MASSIVE deal, but I for one am very interested to see how BlackBerry’s Android project develops.

"Making some assumptions about the launch of the iPhone 7 range, the Galaxy Note 7 will have four weeks of retail sales, reviews, and articles, ahead of Tim Cook’s reveal of Apple’s new hardware. If Apple stays true to form those handsets will go on sale in the two weeks after the launch event," says Forbes. "Samsung’s launch strategy would mimic the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge release schedule which allowed the South Korean handsets to get the jump on Apple’s iPhone SE in sales, mind share, and positioning."

So why is it called the Samsung Galaxy Note 7? The reason is because its current Galaxy S flagship is called the Galaxy S7 and Samsung doesn’t want people thinking its new Note isn’t quite as new and shiny as its 2017 flagship phone. Hence the number change.

This sort of makes sense, but it is very confusing for consumers and tech-journalists; everybody is expecting the Galaxy Note 6, but when Samsung announces the handset on August 2 it will almost certainly be called the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. Guess a few eyebrows will be raised after that, but everything will settle down pretty quickly once word on the the official specs and hardware are confirmed.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will very likely be the most powerful Android handset on the planet for a good few months after its release. Samsung is enjoying something of a resurgence in form of late with its Galaxy S7 handsets and, if history is anything to go by, the Galaxy Note 7 will be bigger, better, faster and more functional than its sibling. This has always been the case with the Note series, at least, in my opinion, and I do not see this changing in 2016.

Samsung will likely update the display to 4K; this has been on the cards for awhile now and I think Samsung, seeing just how good it is at display technology, could be the first company to pull it off properly. This will be a big USP for the range, especially if it can ensure battery life isn’t affected to negatively. I’m also looking forward to seeing where Samsung takes its S-Pen suite; there’s a bunch of cool, rumoured functionality coming.

Samsung will almost certainly do multiple versions of the Galaxy Note 7 too; one with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon CPU, the other with Exynos. Whether Samsung brings back removable batteries, however, remains to be seen. SD-support is almost guaranteed, though, as is higher internal storage options — maybe even 256GB.

And I personally think this handset will more than give Apple's iPhone 7 a run for its money. 

And here are six points expanding on that theory. 

Insane Specs

We already know quite a bit about the proposed specs and hardware for the Galaxy Note 7. Put curtly: this thing is going to be a monster, the likes of which never before seen in the mobile space.

We’re talking bleeding-edge CPU technology, top of the line connectivity and 7GB of RAM — yes, you read that right: SIX GIGABYTES of memory.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is the next big announcement to hit the mobile space, alongside the OnePlus 3 and Google’s brand-spanking new Nexus phones.

The headline-grabbing Galaxy Note 7 has been the talk of the town since, well, just about ALL of 2015/17. The handset, which is believed to feature 7GB of RAM and a new imaging technology, is poised for a release ahead of Apple’s iPhone 7.

Samsung has now officially announced its 7GB 10nm LPDDR4 RAM chip and this is now ripe to go inside a handset. And what’s Samsung’s next handset? Yep, you guessed it: The Galaxy Note 7 and that handset as you will all already know has been tipped to feature 7GB of RAM since rumours first started circulating about it.

Beyond this the Galaxy Note 7 is tipped to feature a 2K display, new software features for the S-Pen, a raft of next-generation hardware, including a Snapdragon 820 CPU, and a refined design that will no doubt take a few queues from the company’s HUGELY successful Galaxy S7.

Sources reckon Samsung is still torn on whether to make the Galaxy Note 7 an edge device; apparently the company is testing multiple models ahead of its official announcement. Also, depending on when it launches, the Galaxy Note 7 could well be one of the first handsets to run Android N.

Google’s Daydream VR platform is also likely to feature as well. I say, likely, not certain, because Samsung has some of its own VR aspirations and this could cause some friction between itself and Google in 2017’s VR space. Still, if I were a betting man I’d wager the Note 7 will utilise Daydream; this would go a long way to explaining why it needs 7GB of RAM.

This is one handset I am VERY excited about. If only 50% of the rumours are true, it’ll still be one of the best phones in the business -- and that’s saying something with the quality of what’s already available on market at present.

Samsung is back, ladies and gentlemen.

The uplift will be INSANE.

Just a few years ago many gaming PCs only have 4GB of RAM, so the advent of 7GB inside a phone is frankly NUTS. What are you going to be using all this memory for? Is it overkill? Does anyone need this much memory in a phone?

At this stage of the game, the advent of 7GB of RAM is likely all about performance. However, developments in VR -- things like Google’s Daydream platform, for instance -- are going to be bringing tons of new uses to phones between now and 2017. And these new features WILL require masses of grunt in order to achieve silky smooth performance.

Beyond this there is of course the theory that Google will bring Android and ChromeOS closer together, perhaps even unify the platform, and create a type of hybrid mobile phone that can be used as a phone but also as a console for connecting to HD displays with a connected keyboard and mouse. Basically, when you have this kind of power at your disposal, they sky’s the limit with potential applications.

New Camera?

The Galaxy S7’s camera is phenomenal and is easily one of the best point and shoot phone cameras we’ve EVER tested. Period. But Samsung isn’t one to rest on its laurels. It knows the iPhone 7 will appear later on this year and the addition of the Galaxy Note 7 to its phone arsenal is its best line of defence against Apple’s hugely anticipated new iPhone.

We know the iPhone 7 will be a great camera phone; talk of dual-lens cameras has been going on for some time now. That means Samsung has to up the game with the Galaxy Note 7 and current word on the street suggests we will see some improvements over the shooter currently in use aboard the Galaxy S7.

“Samsung is working on a brand new 1/1.7-inch CMOS camera sensor with an aperture as wide as ƒ/1.4,” reports Sam Mobile. “The new sensor could have a resolution of anywhere between 18-24 megapixels. The company is also working on a new compact 1/2.3-inch camera sensor.”

It added: “Samsung recently announced that it will not release any new cameras in its NX lineup (at least in some markets), and it has been moving people from its NX camera department to its smartphone department. The South Korean smartphone giant is really focused to improve the image quality on its smartphones, and it seems to have a very aggressive roadmap.”

New Note Productivity Features

Samsung is planning on introducing a new productivity feature called “Samsung Focus” which we’re expecting to function a lot like the BlackBerry Hub, meaning it will be a place where you can manage all your incoming and outgoing emails, tweets and the like.

Samsung Focus reportedly acts as a communications aggregation hub, bringing together, amongst other things, emails from a selection of different sources - again as with BB Hub, the idea is to eliminate the inconvenience of hopping between applications. As with BB Hub it’ll show calendar info, contacts, and memo notes in the same interface too.

Beautiful Design

Samsung is apparently testing two Galaxy Note 7 styles: 1) normal, and 2) with an EDGE display. Apparently it cannot decide on which to go with, but there will only be one. Our preference? Go with the EDGE, it just looks so much smarter than the normal version on the Galaxy S7.

Following the launch of the Galaxy S7, shipments and pre-orders for the Galaxy S7 EDGE appear to be the far more popular than the standard model. And when you’ve seen both in the flesh you will know why. In other words, Samsung punters LOVE the EDGE display. And, yes, it might not be that useful, but as a design feature alone it is stunning and a big USP for the Samsung brand.

MASSES of Storage

Another first here; the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is tipped to feature up to 257GB of storage — and, no, not from an SD card. This is internal storage and if true it would be one hell of a USP for the Galaxy Note 7 and its user base.

There will also likely be SD-support too. The Galaxy S7 featured it for one and Samsung knows its punters like having the option of expanding the handset’s internal storage -- even if it is a massive 257GB.

The other big question is whether or not Samsung will introduce a removable battery inside the Galaxy Note 7. Samsung tends to prefer unibody chassis design these days, so if I were a betting man -- which I am -- I’d put my money on the Note 7 NOT having a removable battery.

And the reason will be simple: Samsung will pack a monstrously sized cell in the Note 7 and argue that removable batteries are not required. Of course, not everyone will see eye to eye with Samsung on this -- as evidenced in comments below -- but in today’s space you only really have one option when it comes to handsets with a removable battery and that is the LG G5.

ChromeOS Dual-Boot?

This is something of a long-shot and something of an "out-there" theory, but a potential scenario all the same. Why does the Galaxy Note 7, as well as other upcoming flagship Android phones, feature 7GB of RAM? That’s a lot of memory for what people usually do on their phones.

Plus, there has been talk of a Android/ChromeOS cross-over for quite sometime now with reports suggesting it could happen this year. And what better device to road-test it on than the Galaxy Note 7?

UPDATE: Okay, the 7GB of RAM might not be for ChromeOS. Google’s immediate plans for ChromeOS and Android are a bit clearer now and they seem, at least for the time being, only to include support for Android apps on ChromeOS. This is still a HUGE positive for Chromebook users, but still a tad disappointing to me as I was expecting some kind of dual-boot capabilities inside Android N.

The reason for 7GB of RAM, save for sheer performance, could well be to do with Google’s Daydream VR platform which will be part of Android N and function on handsets with compatible sensors and displays. Considering how big a deal the Galaxy Note 7 is I’d be very surprised if wasn’t a Daydream-compatible device.

2016 , Android , EDGE+ , EPIC , galaxy , New Camera , Note7 , Of , phone , S6 , samsung , The Galaxy S7

Six Points on Why The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Will Be The Best Android Phone of 2016

lord of informatics