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Yahoo confirms it will remove Facebook and Google sign-ins from Flickr after June 30

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The Next Web:

Yahoo earlier this year announced plans to phase out Google- and Facebook-based sign-in from its services. The feature was initially removed from a sports service and now it is Flickr’s turn, after Yahoo emailed users of the photo site with notice that Google and Facebook IDs will no longer be accepted there after June 30.

Instead, Flickr users must create a Yahoo account and connect it to the photo storage site. Those with an existing Yahoo ID which is not connected to Flickr are encouraged to link it up before the end of this month.

I just went to the site to make the changes to my Flickr log in and OMG that Yahoo! page is butt ugly.

How to watch the World Cup like a true soccer nerd

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Grantland:

With this summer’s World Cup just around the corner, it’s time for you to find out just how much you already know about how soccer is played.

Soccer is a seemingly simple game but very nuanced.

Inside Apple’s WWDC Developer Labs

WWDC is full on sessions, teaching developers about the newest technologies for iOS and OS X. These sessions can have hundreds or even thousands of people in them, trying to get a handle on what’s best for their apps. […]

Beats “The Game Before The Game” video

A really well done video showing how important soccer is to so many and how fanatical its fans can be. I wonder what that phone is they using in the ad?

Who wants to shoot an elephant?

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GQ:

What kind of person looks upon the world’s largest land animal — a beast that mourns its dead and lives to retirement age and can distinguish the voice of its enemies — and instead of saying “Wow!” says something like “Where’s my gun?”

It’s a stomach turning story but told well in an interesting way.

WWDC 2014: A love letter from Apple to developers

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Macworld:

Apple put the spotlight squarely on software—and software developers—right from the start, and gave iOS/OS X chief Craig Federighi a chance to shine. Federighi introduced a laundry list of new features and technologies that will quietly revolutionize the way the company relates to third-party apps.

Many developers I’ve spoken to are beyond excited over not just the news from WWDC but the possibility of a sea change in Apple’s relations with developers.

Behind the Scenes: Tank Man of Tiananmen

. New York Times:

Few images are more recognizable or more evocative. Known simply as “tank man,” it is one of the most famous photographs in recent history.

Twenty years ago, on June 5, 1989, following weeks of huge protests in Beijing and a crackdown that resulted in the deaths of hundreds, a lone man stepped in front of a column of tanks rumbling past Tiananmen Square. The moment instantly became a symbol of the protests as well as a symbol against oppression worldwide — an anonymous act of defiance seared into our collective consciousnesses.

One of the most amazing and important photos ever taken.

Apple’s Eddy Cue receives the Spirit of Life Award

City of Hope’s Music, Film and Entertainment Industry group has awarded Apple’s senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue, with its highest honor, the 2014 Spirit of Life Award. According to the group, the award recognizes an individual whose work has fundamentally impacted the music, film and entertainment industries. […]

Some genius found a way for dogs to play fetch without humans

. Mashable:

Imagine a world where your dog could play fetch by himself. It’s not the future; it’s this lucky dog’s reality.

Instead of playing the usual game of fetch (when you get tired after 10 minutes), someone removed the human element from the game completely.

The dog is cute as all get out and congratulations to the owner for teaching the dog the trick but, come on! How lazy are you you can’t play catch with your dog for ten minutes!?

Top 10 finalists in the 2014 “optical illusion of the year” contest

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Neural Correlate Society:

Every year, the Neural Correlate Society (which promotes scientific research into how sensory perception affects the brain) holds a contest for the best illusions of the year, and it’s announced its top 10 such brain-benders for 2014.

My brain hurts.

FBI’s $10,000 reward seeks to curb cases of laser flashing at aircraft

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LA Times:

Citing a massive increase in reports of illegal flashing of lasers toward aircraft, the FBI said Tuesday it would expand a program that offers a $10,000 reward for information leading to arrests in connection with the “dangerous and irresponsible” incidents.

Reports of people pointing lasers at aircraft have ballooned nationwide, jumping from 384 in 2006 to 3,960 in 2013, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

I honestly don’t get why someone would do this. What do they hope to accomplish – bringing the aircraft down?

Grilling steak directly on coals

I’m completely incompetent around a grill but even I could pull off Alton Brown’s “non-recipe for skirt steak”.

Will Apple’s Photos app solve ‘photo bankruptcy’?

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CNET:

For the past year or so, I’ve been struggling to get my photo situation in more order. I’ve felt overwhelmed with the number of pictures that I and my family take. Ensuring they’re backed up and organized made me write about wanting to declare photo bankruptcy last year.

I want one place where all my pictures are kept secure and organized. And I want the photos to be easily viewable on a variety of devices, whenever I want to see them. And if I want to tag the shots, adjust dates, geolocate them, and so on, I want to be sure all those photos will retain that information if I move elsewhere.

I see this problem in my photography seminar all the time – people overwhelmed by their own photo collection. Hopefully, the promise of Apple’s WWDC demo will come true and help users get this under control.

How to create a test partition for the OS X Yosemite beta

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Ars Technica:

The final version of the software won’t be available for a few months, but Apple developers (and, for the first time ever, one million public beta testers) can download and install the first Yosemite beta version now. Developers will be used to the process of testing new OS X versions on their hardware, but those people in the public beta may be wading into uncharted waters.

This guide is for those people, the ones who want to test the new OS X beta without wrecking their Mac—you never want to put your data at risk by installing beta software on your main partition. This way, you can play with all the shiny new features without risking the comfortable, stable, non-beta OS X installation you need to get all your work done.

You don’t want to install the Developer Preview or the beta on your main machine without doing something similar to this.

Apple to developers: “Apps we can’t live without”

Apple:

“I think a developer would look like a geek – nerdy, plaid, unshaven, glasses, spiky hair beard…

Another typically well done video from Apple. This is the same video that played at the 2014 WWDC Keynote yesterday.

WWDC: A new world of possibilities

I’ve spent the last couple of days walking the halls of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, talking to developers about the announcements yesterday. One common theme emerged from those discussions: Possibilities. […]

Instagram 6.0 adds photo editing tools

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Re/code:

This morning, Instagram is rolling out the sixth version of its mobile photo-sharing app, loading it up with 10 creative tools, including the ability to manipulate images in a variety of new ways like saturation, sharpening and highlighting.

The new version for the 200 million monthly active users of the Facebook-owned service will be available for both Apple iOS and Google Android, adding a number of tools that users pay for when using other photo apps.

Are you an “Instagrammer”? Are these new features of interest to you?

AltBeard Bash is tonight

The AltBeard Bash, done in conjunction with AltConf, is happening tonight in San Francisco from 7-11 pm at the Children’s Creativity Museum at Moscone.

Interest from developers has been overwhelming. Be aware that entry to the party is on a first come, first serve basis—it doesn’t matter if you received an invite or not—those that are at the venue first will get in first.

We will also be supporting Home To Stay Dog Rescue at the party. This is my wife’s project to help save, vet, and find new homes for dogs in need. If you have a few extra dollars in your pocket and see her walking around, please consider donating to help the dogs.

We’re grateful to have two sponsors for this year’s AlBeard Bash: Microsoft Azure and Sling Media. Sling is offering $50 off a Slingbox for The Loop readers.

The “Apple of finance”: Betterment combines elegant design & automation for smarter investing [Sponsor]

Imagine if poring over your finances were as easy as using your favorite app, or smartphone. – “The Apple of finance,” Quartz.

Now it is, with Betterment.

Betterment is a groundbreaking automated investment service, with over 35,000 customers already benefiting from Betterment’s integration of technology and years of investment expertise, combined in one elegant online application.

Betterment’s UX and UI are adored by tech and design enthusiasts, without the red tape of other investment providers. Betterment is delightful on the outside, with killer technology under the hood, and our free iPhone and Android apps help you stay connected to your diversified portfolio at all times.

Betterment has eliminated the unnecessary costs and complications of investing intelligently. It’s straightforward investing for all, whether you have $10,000 or $10 million.

Ready to invest? We’re excited to offer readers of the Loop up to 6 months of Betterment automated investment management for free.

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One year of unlimited cloud storage with Backblaze – $24.99

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Stacksocial:

License purchased is good for 1 year of service, upon expiration, the Backblaze service can be renewed for $5/month or $50/year.

These services (Crashplan is another) are very dependent on the amount of data you have and your upload speeds but, if you can take advantage of it, it’s a good deal even at the full price. I always tell people you need multiple backups in multiple places. Having an online backup is an option for some.

Robert Capa’s iconic D-Day photo of a soldier in the surf

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TIME:

The story behind Robert Capa’s iconic shot of a soldier in the surf at Normandy, one of the most celebrated pictures of the Second World War, is nearly as complex as it is incredible.

The D-Day anniversary is June 6th. Watch the video on the site for more of this incredible story.

Apple has (partly) lifted the NDA for beta releases

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Ole Begemann:

With the release of the beta versions of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite at WWDC 2014 yesterday, Apple has also updated the legal agreements for registered iOS and Mac developers. I am not a lawyer, but if I am reading this correctly, it means that beta version of the operating systems and SDKs are still under NDA, but Apple allows developers to discuss new APIs and features that have been introduced at WWDC in public. That should cover pretty much all the new stuff in iOS 8, Yosemite and the Developer Tools.

Apple has always had very restrictive NDAs (I’ve signed some Apple NDAs that say I can’t even say I’ve signed an NDA with them!) but they have historically ignored all the sites, rumour and otherwise, who have “broken” NDAs for the developer program. Good to see them loosening the reins a little bit to reflect reality.

Can your Mac/iOS device run Yosemite/iOS 8?

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Ars Technica:

The downside of new Apple software is that it usually displaces old Apple hardware. With rare exceptions, new versions of iOS and OS X usually don’t make it to a handful of older iDevices and Macs, leaving owners of those gadgets stuck with old software or pushed into upgrading.

Luckily, most iOS and OS X users are getting off easy with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite. Any Mac that can run OS X 10.8 or 10.9 can also run 10.10, a list that includes Macs from as far back as 2007. Here’s the full list.

Always happily surprised to see how far back Apple provides compatibility for the latest and greatest OS.

Pixar Renderman software set free so you can make your own Toy Story

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Geek:

Aspiring animators, listen up! Pixar’s working on a brand new version of Renderman, the in-house software they use to render (duh) all their awesome digital creations. There are a slew of improvements coming, but the big news is that there’s a version you can download for free.

That’s a pretty amazing giveaway — Renderman is a $500 piece of software. Between Autodesk offering students a free download of Maya and the new Renderman v19 being completely free, young amateur animation enthusiasts have access to two of the tools that power some of the highest-grossing animated features in the history of cinema.

No guarantees you’ll create something amazing but at least the tools are getting cheaper for animators.

Apple announces 2014 Apple Design Award winners

. Apple:

Recognizing apps that raise the bar in design, technology and innovation.

The list includes the usual mix of games, productivity and information apps ranging from free to $5 – but all good.

Apple’s awesome iOS Camera feature they didn’t mention on stage

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TUAW:

Apple spent a whole lot of time talking about photos today during its WWDC 2014 keynote address. From iCloud Photo Library to smart image adjustments, there is clearly a lot to be excited about for iOS shutterbugs. But there is one feature that wasn’t mentioned on-stage, yet it has appeared on Apple’s iOS 8 teaser page: time-lapse videos.

I don’t know about “awesome” but it does go to show there’s lots of things Apple is rolling out that they didn’t have time to mention in the Keynote. Expect to see more of these little tidbits as developers get their hands dirty with the new OS.

Thoughts on the WWDC keynote

There are a few things that struck me during the WWDC keynote presentation this morning. The first, and perhaps most important, is how much fun the Apple executives were having on stage. I’m not talking about the normal smiles and jokes, I mean they genuinely looked like they were having a good time. […]