Getting started with Flickr's overhauled mobile app

Getting started with Flickr's overhauled mobile app

Yahoo updated its Flickr app for iOS and Android, and version 3.0 introduces an entirely different design and new features including video capture

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Instagram must be blushing. Yahoo has rolled out version 3.0 of its Flickr app for iOS and for Android. I took the iPhone app for a spin and found it a big improvement over the previous version. It boasts a cleaner design that easier to navigate, faster search, and the newfound ability to capture video. Still, there is one seemingly basic feature that goes missing.Update: upon closer inspection and reader email, the basic feature of deleting photos is, in fact, included in the app.

To get started with Flickr 3.0, a Yahoo ID is required; you can no longer use Facebook or a Gmail address. Once you are signed in, you will see an Instagram-like single-column feed. Below each photo, there are buttons to favorite, comment, and share. Sharing options include Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, email, and text.

Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET

Flickr crops photos and videos to fit them in the feed, but a single tap expands a photo or video and for photos adds a fourth button to the aforementioned trio. Tap this info button to view metadata for a photo such as where and when it was taken and by what type of camera with what settings.

My feed was filled with recommended users, a few of which I chose to follow to get started building my feed. I also went into settings to the Find friends function, which lets you search Facebook, Twitter, and your contacts for Flickr users to follow. I added a handful of friends, but despite my efforts, my feed remained littered for roughly an hour with random recommendations and a recommended user I unfollowed and then blocked before it updated with the users I chose to follow.

If you swipe down quickly, a search box slides down from the top, along with an explore button. When searching, you can filter by photos, people, or groups. Results are returned with alacrity. The Explore view breaks you out of the one-column feed layout and shows you various-sized thumbnails of a sort of "best of" Flickr.

Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET

There are three buttons along the bottom of the screen. The left button takes you to your feed, the center button puts you in camera mode, and the right button shows you your profile, where you can view your photos and videos, albums, and any groups you have joined. To delete photos and videos, tap the Edit button when viewing the All tab of your photos, which lets you select photos and videos to delete or adjust privacy settings.

Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET

In photo/video mode, you have access to the 14 live filters that were introduced last year. You can apply prior to or after snapping a shot. The big addition here is video capture. There are video camera and still camera icons to either side of the shutter button. Select video mode and the shutter button turns red. Now, you can capture up to 30 seconds of HD video. And the same 14 live filters can be applied to videos, but you must pick one prior to shooing. And you don't get the other edit tools, such as brightness, hue, and contrast controls as you do with photos. When capturing video, however, you can stop and start during the 30-second capture time to create multiple clips. And you can delete the last clip you captured and then continue shooting.

Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET

In settings, you can turn on auto-sync, which sends a backup to Flickr of every photo you snap on your phone; choose to save photos snapped with the app to your camera roll, and set your privacy settings.

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Reset your Android phone to the default launcher

Reset your Android phone to the default launcher

Few third-party launchers have an "exit" option. So how do you undo this change?

One of the cool things about Android is the way you can replace the stock app launcher with any number of third-party alternatives.

During my recent dalliance with the Moto X, for example, I tried a number of them: Espier Launcher 7, Nova Launcher, and, most recently, Aviate. And if you're new to Android yourself, or just looking for a way to give your phone a makeover, launchers can be a lot of fun to experiment with.

Just one problem: It's not always clear how to switch back to the default launcher if you decide you don't like the new one (and elected to make it the new default by selecting "Always" after tapping the Home button).

Fortunately, even if the new launcher lacks a clear exit strategy, you can get the old one back. Here's how. (For purposes of this tutorial, I used a Motorola Moto X running Android 4.4. The process should be very similar on other Android devices, though it could vary in screens and/or nomenclature.)

Step 1: Run the Settings app.

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Step 2: Tap Apps, then swipe over to the All heading.

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Step 3: Scroll down until you find the name of your current launcher, then tap it.

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Step 4: Scroll down to the Clear Defaults button, then tap it.

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Step 5: Now, when you tap the Home button, you should see an option to choose the launcher you want (just as you did after installing the new one). Tap Launcher (i.e. Android's native one), then tap Always.

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How to install Amazon Appstore on your Android device

How to install Amazon Appstore on your Android device

Even if you don't have a Kindle Fire, you can take advantage of Amazon's app deals and giveaways. Here's how.

For a limited time, Amazon is giving away 31 Android apps that have a combined value of over $100. And that's on top of the company's daily freebie app.

This being Amazon, though, you no doubt need an Amazon product -- Kindle Fire tablet, Fire Phone, etc. -- to take advantage of these offers, right?

Wrong! Android apps are Android apps, and you can access the Amazon Appstore via pretty much any Android-powered device. It just requires a little tweaking. Here's how (on a device running Android 4.4 -- the process is virtually identical in earlier versions):

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Step 1: On your phone or tablet, tap Settings > Security. Scroll down to "Unknown sources" and tap the check box to enable this feature. (The "unknown source" in this case is the Amazon Appstore.)

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Step 2: Fire up your mobile browser and head to www.amazon.com/getappstore. Tap the button labeled Download the Amazon Appstore. This will download (but not install) an APK file.

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Step 3: Once the download is complete, swipe down from the top of the screen to open your notifications view, then tap the Amazon Appstore entry to start the installation. Agree to the conditions by tapping Next or Install (whichever appears).

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Younity streams DRM videos from your iTunes, legally

Younity streams DRM videos from your iTunes, legally

Unlike Home Sharing, Younity works even when you're not connected to your home network. And it requires no device storage.

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Looking to stream video from your computer to your iPhone or iPad? That's a good option if your device lacks the storage needed to hold your entire video library.

There are plenty of solutions for doing that -- Plex and VLC Streamer come to mind -- but none of them can handle DRM-protected files. In other words, if you want to stream movies or TV shows purchased in iTunes, you're out of luck.

Not anymore. Streaming-media app Younity just added support for DRM-encrypted iTunes videos, and because it technically leaves the DRM intact, it doesn't violate any terms of service -- at least according to the developers.

It works like this: You install the Younity desktop client on your Windows or Mac machine, then let it scan your hard drive (or the folder/s of your choice) for media. While that's happening, youinstall the app on your iDevice. Once everything is done, run the app and check the Videos section. You should see, among other things, all iTunes purchases that have been downloaded to your computer. Those which are DRM-protected will have a small thumbnail badge designating them as such.

When you tap a DRM video, Younity will open a Safari browser tab and play it there. (Other media plays within the Younity app proper.)

Why not just use iTunes' Home Sharing feature? It allows for PC-to-device streaming, but only if you're connected to your home network.

Why not just stream your iTunes videos from iCloud? Technically, it's not streaming -- it's downloading, which is fine in some instances but requires storage you may not have available. In fact, while I was testing that very option, my iPhone produced a "storage almost full" message. There's also the benefit of having all your videos -- not just iTunes stuff -- under a single app roof.

In my tests, Younity worked flawlessly at streaming the DRM stuff, and scrubbing through video was remarkably quick. Obviously it does require you to leave your PC running, but that's the only real downside to this free app.

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Remove metadata from Office files, PDFs, and images

Remove metadata from Office files, PDFs, and images

Make sure you're not communicating more than you intend to when sharing files and uploading images by excising some of the data about your data.

MIT Media Lab's Immersion project translates the metadata from your email into a map of your relationships with correspondents.Screenshot by Dennis O'Reilly/CNET

Your metadata says a lot about you. When I ran 10 years of Gmail messages through MIT Media Labs'Immersion email metadata visualization tool, the resulting image (shown above) predicted relationships with my frequent correspondents with uncanny accuracy.

Immersion scans only the From, To, Cc, and Timestamp fields of messages in Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or MSExchange. A scan of my Gmail account indicated I have received more than 50,000 messages in the 10.1 years I've used the service. Immersion identified 189 collaborators, and it predicted how many new collaborators I would have this year, as well as the number of messages I would send and receive through the rest of 2014.

Email metadata is easy to access but difficult to delete. MakeUseOf's Guy McDowell explains how to view header information in Gmail messages, and how to decipher the metadata that gets attached to your mail. The eDiscovery Evangelist explains all the types of metadata that are included with your messages and includes a link to the metadata definition in the Internet standards document RFC 2822.

As The Guardian's Guide to Metadata explains, there's not much you can do about most of the metadata associated with an email, apart from disabling location services on your phone. However, you can remove metadata from the files you attach to emails. Here's a guide to deleting metadata from Office files, PDFs, and images.

Strip the metadata from your files
Microsoft offers the free Document Inspector for removing "personal or sensitive information" before you share an Office file. The Microsoft Support site provides specific information on deleting metadata from Word 2013 and Word 2010; Excel 2013 and Excel 2010; PowerPoint 2013 and PowerPoint 2010; Word 2007, Excel 2007, and PowerPoint 2007; and Word 2003, Excel 2003, and PowerPoint 2003.

Likewise, Adobe's Help site explains how to remove metadata from PDFs in Acrobat X Pro and Acrobat X Standard. A thread on B4Print.com's forum provides step-by-step instructions for excising metadata, or "hidden content," from PDFs using the Examine Document tool in Acrobat 9.

Windows Explorer (File Explorer in Windows 8.1) lets you view and delete metadata from a file via the Properties dialog box. The quickest way is to click Properties > Details > Remove Properties and Personal Information > "Create a copy with all possible properties removed."

The Remove Properties dialog in Windows Explorer/File Explorer lets you create a version of the file with "all possible properties removed."Screenshot by Dennis O'Reilly/CNET

Windows Explorer Remove Properties dialog box
The Remove Properties dialog in Windows Explorer/File Explorer lets you create a version of the file with "all possible properties removed."
Screenshot by Dennis O'Reilly/CNET
However, as MakeUseOf's Chris Hoffman points out, this method may not work when you try to clean the EXIF metadata from image files. Hoffman recommends the free Metability QuickFix program for removing GPS data from multiple photos at once.

Another metadata-removal tool for Windows image files is the free JPEG & PNG Stripper from Steel Bytes. Mac OS X users can delete EXIF data from image files by using the free ImageOptim program, as described on OS X Daily.

Photography Life's Nasim Mansurov explains how to remove EXIF and XMP data from files in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. Mansurov's tutorial includes a link to Phil Harvey's free ExifTool.

Don't tag your location to your phone's photos
Facebook, Twitter, and other social sites and image-sharing services automatically hide the location information and other metadata attached to the images you upload to prevent viewers from downloading the information along with the photo. However, you're still sharing the data with the service itself. Maybe you're OK with that, and maybe you'd prefer to prevent the services from knowing where you were when you took the photo.

iPhone Location Service settings
Remove location tags from photos taken with your iPhone or iPad via the Location Services settings.
Screenshot by Dennis O'Reilly/CNET
To disable location services for the camera in an iPhone or iPad, choose Settings > Privacy > Location services and toggle Camera to off.

As Martin Brinkmann explains on the gHacks site, the simplest way to remove GPS data from images on Android phones is to use the free Image Privacy app, which adds a "Strip metadata" option to the Android Share menu. After you select the option, the menu reappears following a short delay. Now when you select a service (Twitter, Facebook, Dropbox, Flickr, etc.), the image is uploaded minus its location data.

Another option for removing location information from images is the free VerExif.com service. (Note that the site opens in Spanish by default but can also be viewed in English.) Select the Choose File option, navigate to and select an image, and click Open. You can either remove the EXIF data or view it; the remove option also appears on the view screen.

VerExif.com works on only one image file at a time, unlike the programs referenced above that let you remove location information from multiple image files at one time.

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How to change your eBay password

How to change your eBay password

eBay users need to change their passwords following a security breach. However, the process isn't as easy or upfront as it could be.

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET

eBay is asking users to change their passwords following a security hack that compromised a database with user passwords. So just how and where do you change your password?

eBay's home page now sports a Password Update notice with a "Learn more" link to another page that explains what happened. But neither page links directly to the option to actually change your password, leaving users in a lurch if they don't know what to do or where to go.

For all you eBay users, here's how you can change your password:

1. Sign into your eBay account at eBay's home page.
2. After you have logged in, hover over the down arrow at the top of the page next to your name. A dropdown menu displays a few options, including one for Account settings. Click the Account settings option.
3. Your account page appears. On the left side, under my eBay Views, click the link for Personal Information.
4. At the Personal Information page, a section called Account Information appears at the top with a setting for Password. Click the Edit link to the far right of the word Password.
5. eBay prompts you to enter your email address or user ID. Type either one and then click Continue.
6. eBay asks how you want to reset your password, either through email or a text message. Click the option you wish to use.
7. Assuming you selected the email option, eBay sends you a Reset Your Password message. Click the link in the email. That link brings you to a page where you can enter your new eBay password. If you picked the text option instead, eBay displays a form to enter a PIN and texts you that PIN. Type the PIN in the appropriate field on that form, and the page to enter your new password appears.
8. As always, try to devise a password that's as strong as possible yet one you'll remember. I know, I know, that's not easy. As one idea, a good password manager can make the process of creating, storing, and using your passwords a lot more palatable.
9. Enter your new eBay password once and then again to confirm it. eBay then prompts you to log in again with your new password.

You can shed a few steps off the process by not initially signing into eBay. Simply click the Sign in link at eBay's home page. Then click the "forgot your password" link. eBay deposits you at the Reset your password page where you can pick up the process at Step 5 above.

In light of the security breach, eBay needs to make the process to change your password much easier and much more accessible. But for now, these steps should help you change your password without too much agita.

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How to control your Facebook privacy

How to control your Facebook privacy

The social network has changed a key setting to ensure your updates aren't shared with the wrong people. What else can Facebook users do?

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET

Facebook offers several tools and settings through which you can safeguard your privacy. But it's still up to you to control your own socially networked destiny.

On Thursday, Facebook tweaked the default option for new members so that updates are shared only with friends and not with the public. In line with that change, let's take a tour through Facebook's basic privacy settings. Tightening these settings can help ensure that you're as well-hidden as possible on the world's largest social network.

First off, you can change the default audience for all your updates and control each update individually. To do this, log into your Facebook account and click the Privacy Shortcuts icon in the upper right.

From the Privacy Shortcuts menu, click the link for "Who can see my Stuff?" Under the setting for "Who can see my future posts?" click the button and select the appropriate default audience for your updates. You can select Public (usually not the best choice), Friends (probably the best option), or Only Me (not much point putting it on Facebook then). You can also choose a custom option if you want to share your updates only with specific lists of Facebook friends.

You can then override the default setting for any individual update. In the update (or What's on your mind?) field on your Facebook page, simply click the default sharing setting and change it to something else. For example, you may want to set your default audience to friends but share a specific update only with a more limited group of people.

Further, you can change the audience for updates you've already posted. To do this, again click the Privacy Shortcuts icon in the upper right and click the link for "Who can see my Stuff?" Under the setting for "Where do I review who can see or find things I've posted or been tagged in?" click the link to Use Activity Log.

Facebook displays a timeline of all the updates you've posted, liked, or commented on. Hovering over the small audience icon to the right of the text shows you who can see the update.

You can't control who sees updates from other people, but you can control your own. Simply click the audience icon for one of your own updates and change the selection. For example, you may decide that an embarrassing update should no longer be shared with all your friends but only with a few people. Of course, all of your friends may have already seen this update, but at least you can limit its exposure for the future.

Want to see how your timeline looks to other people? Again, click the Privacy Shortcuts icon in the upper right and click the link for "Who can see my Stuff?" Under the setting for "What do other people see on my timeline?" click the View as link.

By default, Facebook shows you what your page looks like to the public. You can change that by clicking the link to View as Specific Person at the top and then typing and selecting the name of one of your Facebook friends.

Next, you can determine which types of messages you want to appear in your Facebook inbox. Click the Privacy Shortcuts icon in the upper right and click the link for "Who can contact me?" Under the setting for "Whose messages do I want filtered into my Inbox?" choose either basic or strict filtering. The former allows messages from friends and people you may know, while the latter restricts messages from just your Facebook friends.

Under the setting for "Who can send me friend requests?" click the button to choose between Everyone or only Friends of Friends.

Finally, what can you do if someone keeps pestering you on Facebook? Click the link for "How do I stop someone from bothering me?" Type the name or email address of the person you wish to block, and that individual will be unfriended and won't be able to start conversations with you or see your updates.

Facebook offers still more tools and settings worth exploring. Click the See More Settings link at the bottom of the Privacy Shortcuts window.

A section called "Who can look me up?" controls who can look you up on Facebook using your email address or phone number. The Timeline and Tagging page lets you manage who can post on your timeline and what they can see. And the Blocking page allows you to block specific users and apps on Facebook.

Facebook has often been criticized for not caring about users' privacy. But the site does provide tools to help users control their own privacy. Reviewing and managing these settings is something all Facebook users should do.

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When and where to get Android 5.0 Lollipop

When and where to get Android 5.0 Lollipop

Find out when your device will be updated to the latest version of Android.

Google

Google unveiled Android 5.0 Lollipop at its I/O Developer Conference in June, though at the time it was referred to as Android L. The operating system is the most drastic change to Android since the release of Ice Cream Sandwich in late 2011. Lollipop features a redesigned user interface referred to as Material Design, along with improvements to the lock screen and notification menu. The update also delivers improved battery life and performance.

The first two devices to run Android 5.0 Lollipop are the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9, but what about your existing device?

Nexus

Google announced that the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 will be updated to Android 5.0 in "the coming weeks." The Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 will be available in early November; we expect to see updates to begin rolling out around this time.

Google Play Edition

Along with its line of Nexus devices, Google said that Google Play Edition devices will also see an update to Android 5.0 in the coming weeks. The company didn't mention specific devices, which leads us to believe that all of them will be seeing the update. Current Google Play Edition devices include the Moto G and HTC One M8, while Google previously offered the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One (M7), Sony Z Ultra and LG G Pad 8.3 on the Play store.

HTC

HTC previously announced that it will begin rolling out an Android 5.0 Lollipop update to the HTC One M8 and HTC One M7 worldwide "within 90 days of receiving final software from Google," meaning we should see the update sometime before February. The company will also update other One family members and select devices "shortly thereafter."

Samsung

Samsung has yet to announce plans on which devices will see the update, but we fully expect most (if not all) of its 2014 portfolio to be updated and quite possibly the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3. The question is when will these devices get updated? Samsung has had a poor track record with delivering timely updates in the past.

Motorola

Motorola announced that Android 5.0 Lollipop will be coming to various devices later this year. Motorola plans to update both the first- and second-generation Moto X and Moto G, along with the Moto G with 4G LTE, Moto E, Droid Ultra, Droid Maxx and Droid Mini.

LG

LG has not yet confirmed when or which devices will be receiving the Android 5.0 update. We expect to see it on the LG G3 and G2 Pro, and quite possibly the G2 and original G Pro.

Sony

Sony is another company that hasn't revealed its update plans. As has been the case with other companies, we expect Sony's current lineup of devices, such as the Xperia Z3, Xperia Z3 V and Xperia Z3 compact, to see an update at some point.

Kyocera

Kyocera has also not yet announced a timeline for a Lollipop rollout.

This article will be updated as more information about Android 5.0 Lollipop is released.

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