Author Archives: Carol Edwards

Slack’s latest feature is one you might not expect: email. 

A new feature, announced during the company’s Frontiers conference, allows Slack users to message coworkers via email in an update designed to “bridge” the gap between Slack and email.

The feature, which will be rolling out over the next couple months, is meant to give people who don’t use Slack a way to keep up with conversations their coworkers are having inside the messaging app. 

“When they’re mentioned by username in channels or sent a direct message, Slack will route those messages into their email inbox so they don’t miss out on important information while they’re getting themselves set up,” Slack writes in a blog post. Read more…

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Some pictures are worth a thousand words. For other pictures, there are no words.  

A cursed image of well, of something, has been making the rounds on Twitter recently. Upon first glance, it seems to be a hodgepodge of items. Stare at it for more than a couple of seconds, though, and it quickly descends into murkier territory. 

The caption is a simple challenge: “Name one thing in this photo.” Except it’s not easy. It’s a game that sets you up to fail.  Read more…

More about Twitter, Weird, Cursed Images, Culture, and Web Culture

First things first: A musical? About Tootsie? It has no business working as well as it does. 

I mean, really. Who could have predicted this? A show-to-stage extravaganza, based on the beloved, Oscar-nominated 1982 comedy about a desperate, out-of-work actor who disguises himself as a woman because he thinks it’ll be easier to get parts that way (HA), and winds up falling in love with a co-star and learning a few things along the way is one of those tales you’d be forgiven for thinking is best left in the past.

Happily, this thoroughly modern update is a genuine thrill, mostly thanks to Robert Horn’s smart book, which excises a lot of the more cringe-y aspects on the original comedy, and instead invites audiences to laugh at Michael Dorsey. The show begins with Michael interrupting the opening number to complain about his character’s motivation, for goodness sake! Packed with jokes, the show is completely ridiculous, but it totally works.  Read more…

More about Theater, Broadway, Musicals, Entertainment, and Movies Tv Shows

Nothing will prepare you for Avengers: Endgame. 

The culmination of over 10 years of MCU movies will release in a matter of days but until then, spoiler-free reviews of it are finally in. 

Mashable’s own Angie Han has dubbed it Marvel’s biggest flex, and understandably so. It manages to wrap up with an immensely satisfying end.

For more spoiler-free goodness on what to expect, read on: 

Keep those tissues handy

A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Brian Tuitt, USA Today Read more…

The payoff for long-time fans is worthwhile indeed

More about Entertainment, Marvel, Avengers, Movie Review, and Avengers Endgame

The subtweet is coming from inside the house.

Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey was on the receiving end of a not-so-subtle own today following an April 23 Oval Office meeting with Donald Trump. It seems that Biz Stone, one of the company’s original co-founders, doesn’t think too highly of the CEO’s justification for meeting with the President. And so, Stone did what many frustrated Twitter users do: he used the platform to make his displeasure known. 

“I’ve got a meeting today that could result in division,” wrote Stone. “I’m letting you know so you don’t hear it from someone else first. I’m volunteering at a grade school math center. I’m hoping both parties will learn from the exchange.” Read more…

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The following is a SPOILER-FREE review of Avengers: Endgame.

Avengers: Endgame is not the best Marvel movie ever made. It’s not the prettiest or the funniest; it won’t blow your mind with new ideas or complicated character development.

But it is the most Marvel movie ever made, and there’s something incredible about that.

This is Marvel flexing, building on over 10 years and 20-plus films of careful groundwork and intricate planning to show us what it can do that no other movie franchise can. As such, it’s an immensely satisfying finish to this era of the series. 

Its magic does require some prior buy-in. This is a film designed for fans, stuffed as it is with callbacks, cameos, and Easter eggs. Certain arcs come full circle after years and years; others are revisited and refashioned into something different. Newcomers will likely find themselves totally lost in this tangle of characters and relationships and mythologies.  Read more…

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Last year Ford brought on the startup Autonomic to create the Transportation Mobility Cloud, or TMC, to build “smart” car applications for real-time data and connectivity in cars. On Tuesday, Ford announced Amazon Web Services will power the cloud-based platform.

The platform has since been available for all car makers, not just Ford. It creates a space for services and apps, like those used for parking, real-time traffic information, and in-car payment options. Think of it like the Apple App Store, but with apps and services made solely for the car.

More about Ford, Android Auto, Carplay, Connected Car, and Infotainment

A lot of viewers are feeling an exaggerated smiley-squint from Daenerys during her heart-to-heart  stand-off with Sansa in the most recent Game of Thrones episode. 

The Daenerys-Sansa exchange didn’t get the same notice as, say, Brienne’s knighthood or Daenerys’ other big Stark one-on-one conversation, but it’s pivotal all the same as it sets up a potential ongoing feud between the Mother of Dragons and, maybe, the Queen of the North. 

Provided they survive the upcoming Battle of Winterfell, of course.

In the meantime, though, the moment got meme’d as Twitter user @reallyhalalfood called for a caption contest of the moment and, yes, Twitter delivered.  Read more…

More about Memes, Game Of Thrones, Sansa Stark, Daenerys Targaryen, and Culture

If you go to Coachella without taking pictures in front of the ferris wheel, did you really even go? 

YouTuber Gabbie Hanna decided to do a little experiment in which she faked a weekend at Coachella using Photoshop and footage from friends who actually did go to the festival. With the help of some photographers and colorful wigs Hanna posted three very different (and very convincing) looks to Instagram. 

The 28-year-old vlogger was inspired to pull off the stunt by other YouTubers who have faked trips before. Hanna says that while she has “nothing against” Coachella, she doesn’t think an introvert like herself would be that into it. Plus, she wanted to prove just how easy it is to lie on social media.  Read more…

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Is it too soon to call this a turnaround? Maybe, but things are starting to look up for Snap.

The company just reported its results for the first quarter of 2019 and delivered investors some long overdue good news: Snapchat added new users for the first time in a year.

The app now counts 190 million daily active users (DAUs), up from 186 million last quarter. Overall, DAUs are still down from its previous peak of 191 million, but the new growth suggests the company has been able to reverse the momentum caused by an unpopular redesign last year.

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