Microsoft's OneDrive gets better at showing and sharing your photos

Microsoft has long wanted you to use OneDrive to store your photos, but actually viewing those photos isn't ideal -- you're ultimately using a file browser that just happens to have some photo-related features. That's going to change in the next couple of weeks, though. The folks in Redmond are rolling out a photography-focused update to OneDrive that gives your image library some TLC. You can organize photos into albums with edge-to-edge photo collages and larger single-picture views. It should be much easier to find and share your snapshots, as well. OneDrive now draws on Bing image recognition to give your pics basic tags (like "beach" or "dog"), and PCs running Windows 7 or 8 can automatically sync photos from devices as soon as you plug them in. Only web and iOS users will see the new photo tricks right away, but they'll reach Android and Windows Phone in the days ahead.

Google now lets Brits send money over Gmail

Instead of smartphone apps and traditional bank transfers, Google is hoping that its Gmail and Google Wallet integration can strike a chord with people wanting to send money in the UK. The feature has been available in the US for ages, but finally it's headed for British shores too. Once you've finished writing an email, you'll soon see a new "£" symbol at the bottom of Gmail's composer: type in an amount, select the source of your funds and then hit the "attach" option. Job done. It doesn't matter if the recipient has a Gmail address and, in addition, when someone sends you some cash Google will give you the option of redeeming it or returning it straight away. You can keep it in your Google Wallet account for further transactions, or transfer it to your bank account if you need it immediately. Google says the feature will roll out in the UK "over the coming weeks," so hang tight if you're not seeing it straight away. Is this a precursor to a full Google Wallet roll-out, with contactless mobile payments and physical cards galore? We aren't getting our hopes up. Instead of smartphone apps and traditional bank transfers, Google is hoping that its Gmail and Google Wallet integration can strike a chord with people wanting to send money in the UK. The feature has been available in the US for ages, but finally it's headed for British shores too. Once you've finished writing an email, you'll soon see a new "£" symbol at the bottom of Gmail's composer: type in an amount, select the source of your funds and then hit the "attach" option. Job done. It doesn't matter if the recipient has a Gmail address and, in addition, when someone sends you some cash Google will give you the option of redeeming it or returning it straight away. You can keep it in your Google Wallet account for further transactions, or transfer it to your bank account if you need it immediately. Google says the feature will roll out in the UK "over the coming weeks," so hang tight if you're not seeing it straight away. Is this a precursor to a full Google Wallet roll-out, with contactless mobile payments and physical cards galore? We aren't getting our hopes up.

Shyp for Android is now shypping

Shyp, an app that helps making shipping goods easier, is now available for Android. The app has been on iOS for the past eight months or so (though it was in beta for awhile before that), and is currently live in San Francisco, New York and Miami, with plans to expand to Los Angeles. The way the app and service works is this: You snap a picture of the thing you want to send, enter in the relevant shipping and payment details and request a pickup. A guy from Shyp will pick it up -- you can even track his or her movements with the app -- package it and ship it for you. The cost is $5 plus the retail rate of the shipment, which is often on par with what UPS or FedEx would quote you.

I tried the new Android app out recently, and it seems to be pretty similar to the app on iOS. I logged in with my Facebook credentials, entered in my payment info and then took a picture of the Sony Smartwatch 3 review unit that I was returning. I didn't even bother packing it. Then I entered in the recipient's address along with my current location plus whether I would prefer an "economy" shipment, which would typically take three to five days, or an "express" shipment, which is a little faster. I then requested a pickup.

Within seconds, the app notified me that my "Shyp Hero" had been summoned, and that his name was Patrick. I was able to track his movement towards the building, similar to the way you would track a delivery person on Postmates or a car from Uber or Lyft. In 15 minutes, he was at the door. I simply gave him the watch, told him the box needed a bit of taping together -- he bundled the watch in a bag for safety -- and that's it. The whole process was really easy, and I can see myself using the service again.

Kevin Gibbons, Shyp's CEO and co-founder, tells us that Shyp manages to keep prices competitive by sheer volume. Additionally, he tells us that if you're just returning an item from Amazon or another e-commerce site, all you have to pay is the $5 and they'll pack and ship it for you using your pre-printed return label. "It's a courtesy," he says, adding that it's a nice little bonus to help spread the word of Shyp. However, if you're the sort to print your own shipping label from FedEx or UPS for non-return-related shipments, they won't accept it. After all, you paying for the shipping is how they make their money. Oh, and each shipment is automatically insured for up to $1,000, just in case you're concerned.

So what took the company so long to get an Android app? "For us, it was important to get the business down first, and then look to expand," he says. In the end though, he says the demand for it was so high that he couldn't ignore it. "Our goal is to remove the hassle of shipping for everyone." So if this sounds like something up your alley and you live in one of the aforementioned cities, you can go ahead and download it and try it out -- whether you're on iOS or Android.

Investors Thow Datadog A $31M Bone

Datadog, a cloud service that helps customers monitor infrastructure and software, whether all in the cloud or a hybrid on-premises-cloud environment, announced $31M in Series C funding today. The round was led by Index Ventures with help from RTP Ventures, Openview Partners and what they referred to as “other equity holders.”

Dropbox now reports when non-US governments want your data

While Dropbox was quick to embrace transparency reports, it's been pretty opaque about data requests from outside the US. How do you know which countries want your info? You don't have to wonder any longer. The cloud storage outfit has published its first transparency report revealing data requests from beyond American borders. There aren't many at all (just 20 in total), but it's clear that some governments are nosier than others. Half of all requests came from France and Germany, while the rest are spread between nations as far-ranging as Australia and Brazil. The report now covers the number of accounts affected by these demands, too. More detailed stats won't do much to end intrusive surveillance, but they'll at least let you know who might be poking around your online files.

Sony is reportedly cutting 1,000 jobs in its smartphone group

There's no doubt that Sony's smartphone division is struggling, and it sounds like that's about to exact a big toll on the company's workforce. Nikkei reports that Sony expects to cut 1,000 jobs in its mobile group, adding to the 1,000 layoffs it announced alongside its less-than-stellar summer earnings. All told, Sony will have slashed 30 percent of its phone team's staff by the end of its next fiscal year, in March 2016. The Japanese tech firm hasn't confirmed anything, but further cuts would make sense. Smartphones represent a big drag on Sony's finances, and its accountants are likely doing everything they can to right that sinking ship.

Registration for Facebook’s F8 developer conference is open now

Facebook today started selling tickets for its F8 conference taking place on March 25 and 26 in San Francisco. One of the major selling points for the conference this year is the inclusion of all of Facebook’s major properties, among them Oculus, Messenger, Parse, Instagram, WhatsApp and, of course, Facebook itself. You can see the full schedule of events here. Tickets for the two-day event cost $495. These tend to sell out quickly, so make sure to register as soon as you can if you’re interested in attending. If you’d rather enjoy from the comfort of your home, you can sign up for a livestream feed of keynotes

Quantum Dot Displays Could Lead To Cheaper, Thinner Screens

Devices can’t get thinner for a few reasons. While a lighter, thinner battery would be amazing, screens still take up a lot of gadget real estate, a fact that is mitigated slightly by e-ink and other “flat” displays. Now, however, researchers are turning to Quantum Dot displays, screens that use light-emitting nanocrystals to display multiple colors in a screen

Apple releases OS X 10.10.2 and iOS 8.1.3 updates, reducing install size for iOS users

Apple has today released updates for both iOS and OS X which are both significant bug fixing releases. The company has finally picked up that some of the slow adoption of iOS 8 can be attributed to the sheer size of the update, so Apple notes that this release reduces the size of the upgrade so more users can install it without needing to free up as much space on their phones. iOS 8.1.3 also fixes a number of bugs in iOS 8, but Apple doesn’t specify exactly what’s fixed. Yosemite’s 10.10.2 update is recommended for all users as it improves the stability and security of Macs.

Pinterest Brings Ads To Users’ Home Feeds

More users will be seeing ads on Pinterest, the company announced on Tuesday, detailing an expanded test of its advertising product which will now place ads in the form of “Promoted Pins” directly in users’ home feeds. Because the home feed is the first thing you see when landing on Pinterest’s site, this will make the advertisements more visible to users

YouTube Now Streams HTML5 Video By Default

Here is one more nail in Flash’s coffin: starting today, YouTube defaults to using HTML5 video on all modern browsers, including Chrome, IE 11, Safari 8 and the beta versions of Firefox. YouTube first introduced HTML5 support back in 2010. At the time it was still highly experimental. Over the years, as the HTML5 standard — and with it, its video implementation — matured,

Snapchat has a secret new way to add friends

Snapchat launched a big update today that added a new feature called “Discover” that shows you the latest news, but what it didn’t talk about is the cool new way to add friends. The new feature (which doesn’t seem to have an official name yet, so I’m going to call it a “Ghostcode” for now) shows you a Snapchat logo with random holes in it. It looks innocent enough, but it’s actually a secret QR code for you to share with people outside Snapchat so they can add easily add you. You can access your Ghostcode from the Snapchat camera, then by tapping…

Apple sold 74.4 million iPhones during the holiday quarter

Surprise! Apple sold a whole bunch of iPhones. Today it announced during its 2015 first quarter report that it sold 74.4 million (74,468,000 to be exact) iPhones during the last quarter. An increase of 46 percent over sales last year. The first quarter results also revealed that Apple sold 5.5 million Macs (an increase of 14 percent over last year) and 21.4 million iPads (a decrease of 18 percent compared to last year). Overall the company made$74.6 billion with a net profit of $18 billion. Clearly the company is doomed. ➤ Apple Reports Record First Quarter Results [Apple]

Apple Sells 5.5 Million Macs In Q1 2015

Apple sold 5.5 million Macs over the holiday quarter (ending December 28), according to the company’s Q1 2015 earnings report released today. Analysts estimated that Apple would sell 5.68 million Macs this quarter, putting the electronics maker just under estimates but still showing growth YOY. With this past quarter’s 5.5 million units sold

What is Guvera and what does it have planned for Blinkbox Music?

Tesco has had a tough old time of late, with falling sales and a fresh investigation into its accounts. The battered supermarket needs to turn itself around, and fast, so it's been looking to offload any nonessential services that may have been dragging down its balance sheet. Unsurprisingly, that means its various Blinkbox offerings have been some of the first to face the chop. After selling Blinkbox Movies to TalkTalk, Tesco announced yesterday it had auctioned off Blinkbox Music and plans to close Blinkbox Books. The supermarket still has its Hudl tablets, of course, but some of the more interesting services that came pre-installed are now no longer under its control. Clearly, Tesco just couldn't make enough money from them, but any chance it had of fixing the problem has now been lost.

So who took Blinbox Music off its hands? That would be Guvera, a music streaming service based in Australia that's currently available in 20 markets, including the US, India and Thailand. Both Guvera and Blinkbox Music are focused on free, shuffle-based playlists, although dedicated users can unlock extra features with a subscription. Despite these premium tiers, both services are aimed squarely at casual listeners that want a cheaper, but still legal, alternative to Spotify and Rdio. It's one of the reasons why Guvera has targeted emerging markets such as Argentina, Indonesia, Mexico and the Philippines.

Self-destructing chat app Wickr uses cat pics to hide photos in plain sight

Doing its part to contribute to the feline takeover of the internet, the secure chat app Wickr is now relying on adorable kitties to protect your private photo posts. The company is pulling the wraps off a new self-destructing photo feed feature for iPhone users today -- dubbed "Wickr Timed Feed" -- which lets you share photos with up to 151 friends securely on its app for 24 hours. But what makes it truly unique is that you'll also be able to link to those photos on Facebook under the guise of cat pics. Yup, it's steganography via kitty. Your friends on Wickr browsing your Facebook feed will be able to click through those photos and find their way to your private post on the service, while everyone else will just see random cats. It's not exactly perfect security -- your non-Wickr friends will probably start wondering why you've gone a bit cat crazy -- but it's a unique way for a small app like Wickr to take advantage of Facebook's social media dominance.

Wickr is one of many young chat apps, like FireChat, focusing on secure messaging. The company says it keeps your chats completely anonymous (it doesn't track any metadata), it heavily encrypts everything, and it also lets you maintain ownership of everything you share. It also lets you set specific expiration times for your messages, which gives you more control than something like Snapchat.

"Our main mission is to create the private web," founder and CEO Nico Sell told us. "I think Facebook has done a good job of creating the public web, but that's only one half of it." But she added Wickr also plans to move more into the public realm eventually, it just won't be the company's main focus.

Apple Tops Smartphone Shipments In China For The First Time, Says Canalys

Apple has topped smartphone shipment numbers in China in Q4 2014, according to analyst firm Canalys. The popularity of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus helped push the California gadget-maker ahead of its homegrown competitors, seeing it ship more than Xiaomi and Huawei, and putting it out in front of Samsung, which placed third overall. Canalys credits the large screen of the newest smartphone…

Snapchat Launches Discover

Snapchat now has a Discover feature, which will let you see content from brands like ESPN, CNN, Vice and Warner Music. According to the blog post and video (embedded below), users will be able to watch daily stories compiled by artists, publishers, and even Snapchat’s own editorial staff. These stories will feature “full screen photos and videos, awesome long form layouts

Facebook Continues To Dominate Social Logins, Expands Lead To 61% Market Share

Facebook has long been the dominant player in social logins and it continues to expand its lead, according to the latest data from identity management platform Gigya. For the first time since 2011, Facebook surpassed the 60 percent mark and powered 61 percent of all social logins on Gigya’s network in the last quarter of 2014