Weekly Recap: it's Over Between Google and Flash, the New Twitter Timeline, Windows 10 and its Patch Notes, the Tesla Model 3 Soon Unveiled, and an Amazon Game Engine
Google Will Soon Stop Supporting Flash-based Ads
Flash has been moribund for a while, but its death might now be real. Google announced that starting from June 30 of this year, it will no longer be possible to upload Flash-based ads on its two main marketing platforms: AdWorks and DoubleClick digital. And in January 2017, this kind of ads will not longer be played, period. Google has been offering HTML 5 development tools to encourage advertisers to make the switch; it is after all the default for its YouTube player. Even if Flash played an important role in the modern Web we know today, it was no longer viable, due to both its vulnerability and its absence on the mobile world. Even Flash creator Adobe recently renamed its Flash Professional product (now sold as Adobe Animate CC). http://on.mash.to/1o2i9xf
The New Twitter Timeline
The much-hyped new Twitter timeline is now a reality. Instead of presenting tweets in reversed chronological order, it can arrange them according to their "relevance". The gradual rollout, which was only made available to a minority of users this week, will not be automatic; interested people will have to activate it themselves. In the top pane, it presents a selection of "best tweets" (up to a dozen) before accessing the usual chronological timeline. But how will the algorythm choose these relevant tweets? According to Twitter, it will have a look at "the accounts with which the user interacts, its most engaging tweets, its interests, and what's going on with its network." http://on.mash.to/1Q9utCk
The First Windows 10 Patch Notes
When it launched Windows 10 last year, Microsoft also initiated a series of "padadigm shifts" that did not exactly go well with the community. Among other things, the giant had decided that it would not release patch notes for all its updates anymore, rather only the security-related ones. The thing is, not being able to understand the exact scope of a specific update made troubleshooting OS-related problems a lot more difficult, and both domestic and business users were very vocal about it. So Microsoft recently accepted to publicly release the rudimentary notes it usually sent to its EOM customers. The February 9 update is thus the first to come with basic explanations on its purpose, for instance authentication and Windows Store app install bug fixes. Even if analysts would have preferred the notes to be a little more on the verbose side, they still agree that it's "a good start". http://bit.ly/1ouKVqJ
The New Tesla Model 3 is Coming Soon!
It's official, the car that could very much change everything when it comes to electric adoption will soon be here. The Tesla Model 3 will be unveiled on March 31, and should be ready to ship in late 2017. Elon Musk even stated that starting next month, it will be possible to preorder it, with a $1,000 US deposit. Tesla also confirmed that the Model 3 is still on target to cost around $35,000, while offering a much greater range (expected to be around the 350 km mark) than other electric vehicles from the same category. In order to be able to offer the Model 3 at that price, while also addressing increased demand for both its Powerwall battery and its other models, Tesla just opened a mega-factory in Nevada. http://engt.co/1RqTFtt
A Free Game Engine for Amazon
Amazon will soon officially launch its own engine for game development, named Lumberyard. Its download is free, and unlike rival products such as Unity and Unreal Engine, it will not come with seating or licensing fees. Lumberyard is based on the Crytek CryEngine platform, with which Amazon signed a costly licening deal last year. The only fees developers will face are linked to the integration of Amazon Web Services for the multi-player mode. A beta version is already available. http://bit.ly/1T3qqwA
