In a rather bizarre development, Instagram is currently testing out a new feature, changing the way its userbase views Stories, as first spotted by Alessandro Paluzzi, a mobile app researcher. Instead of swiping left and right in order to switch from story to story, Vertical Stories as the purported feature has been referred to, will allow users to swipe up and down.
While this recent feature doesn’t exactly come off at the next social media revolution, it’s addition is rather puzzling. Stories is a function that, despite being more or less purloined from Snapchat, perfectly fits into the Instagram layout just as it is. It fits perfectly with the app’s reliance on users posting pictures and videos as opposed to text-based material in order to engage on the social media platform. Swiping left and right was just an easy way that users could differentiate between Stories and the normal, vanilla Insta timeline.
It’s recent addition also begs the question, “why now?” Instagram and it’s naive userbase have been rather happily engaging with the Stories feature for years. In fact, considering the development of muscle memory, the actual transition from left and right to up and down will undoubtedly take take both time and a decent amount of frustration towards changing a feature that really didn’t necessitate changing.
That latter concern can be addressed in a rather simple word, however. That word being “testing”. Instagram is only testing a prototype version of this feature, rolled out to a painfully limited number of its community. Beta testing for such features itself can take quite a lot of time. Twitter, for example, took around a year as it tested the addition of threaded replies to its interface, only to ultimately decide against it. Instagram’s been rather silent on the matter until now, making all surrounding discourse speculative at best.
An interesting parallel that users can draw with the Vertical Stories feature is between it and the interface of almost every other social media app out there, such as Facebook posts, Twitter tweets, Instagram’s own feed, and Snapchat’s own snaps. A particular comparison, however, can be made with TikTok with it’s up and down scrolling interface that is also made up of short-form videos.
It’s no secret that Instagram’s trying to offer active competition to the Gen Z darling, with the incorporation of features such as Reels (an endeavor that Instagram’s own head, Adam Mosseri, admitted to be inferior to TikTok). Maybe this rather sudden development of Vertical Stories, even if they are never integrated, is simply a further extension of that, building upon a format that the younger and more tech-savvy generation clearly seems to resonate with.
MONTREAL – Lightspeed Commerce Inc. says it is conducting a review of its business and operations including talks relating to a range of potential strategic alternatives.
The Montreal-based payments technology company made the comments after reports concerning a potential transaction involving the company.
Lightspeed says it periodically undertakes a review of its business and operations with a view of realizing its full potential.
A strategic review is often seen by investors as a prelude to a sale by a company.
Lightspeed says its board of directors is committed to acting in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders.
Company founder Dax Dasilva returned to the role of chief executive officer earlier this year and has been working to return the company to profitability.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.
OTTAWA – Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says there is a lot of uncertainty around how artificial intelligence could affect the economy moving forward, including the labour market and price growth.
In a speech in Toronto at the Economics of Artificial Intelligence Conference, the governor said Friday that the central bank is approaching the issue cautiously to get a better understanding of how AI could affect its job of keeping inflation low and stable.
“Be wary of anyone who claims to know where AI will take us. There is too much uncertainty to be confident,” Macklem said in prepared remarks.
“We don’t know how quickly AI will continue to advance. And we don’t know the timing and extent of its economic and social impacts.”
The governor said AI has the potential of increasing labour productivity, which would raise living standards and grow the economy without boosting inflation.
In the short-term, he said investment in AI is adding to demand and could be inflationary.
However, Macklem also highlighted more pessimistic scenarios, where AI could destroy more jobs than it creates or lead to less competition rather than more.
The governor called on academics and businesses to work together to shed more light on the potential effects of AI on the economy.
“When you enter a dark room, you don’t go charging in. You cautiously feel your way around. And you try to find the light switch. That is what we are doing. What we central bankers need is more light,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2024.
CHICAGO (AP) — United Airlines has struck a deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to offer satellite-based Starlink WiFi service on flights within the next several years.
The airline said Friday the service will be free to passengers.
United said it will begin testing the service early next year and begin offering it on some flights by later in 2025.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
The announcement comes as airlines rush to offer more amenities as a way to stand out when passengers pick a carrier for a trip. United’s goal is to make sitting on a plane pretty much like being on the ground when it comes to browsing the internet, streaming entertainment and playing games.
“Everything you can do on the ground, you’ll soon be able to do on board a United plane at 35,000 feet, just about anywhere in the world,” CEO Scott Kirby said in announcing the deal.
The airline says Starlink will allow passengers to get internet access even over oceans and polar regions where traditional cell or Wi-Fi signals may be weak or missing.
