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Android 8.0 Oreo has a nice string of new features.

So let’s go through them!

Under the hood : Functional Features

1. Background execution limits – The Android website states : “More control over how apps run in the background for better overall system performance.”
2. Autofill – Sure, we’ve had this for a while now, but now you can have it work alongside third party apps, such as Dashlane.
3. API function for high-performance audio including Native C/C++ audio API.
4. Easier APK installation per source

Eye Candy : Visual features

1. Deep Color – applications will “render richer visual content with more vibrant colors and subtler gradients”.
2. Picture-In-Picture – You can now minimize a video that’s playing in order to complete another task. The video will still play as a small window on the lower right hand side of the screen.
3. Tooltips : Support for tooltips (small popup windows with descriptive text) for views and menu items.

To read more on Android Oreo, check out PCWorld’s excellent article or go to the Android Oreo official site.

The Increasing Use of Social Media is Altering the Fabric of our Society

Two days ago a group of white nationalists marched to the University of Virginia, a largely liberal area in a state of mixed political leanings. They were protesting the proposed removal of a statue of General Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general during the US Civil War. The chants and clashes that ensued were documented. Everything was recorded from multiple points of view, even before the news outlets got there. From the altercations around the General Lee statue to the car plowing into a crowd of people, we have everything on video. Most of the time, on live video. Facebook and Instagram allow instant upload and real-time streaming.

Long gone are the days when we would wait until the 6 o’clock news to see what was happening in the world. What about the latest information on GMOs? Or breakthrough treatments on anything from the common cold to terminal illnesses? Just open Facebook or Instagram. If something major is happening, chances are that you will see it within the first few flicks of your thumb. Social justice issues, the alt-right’s latest moral missteps, or Trump’s Twitter storms… you name it. Depending on which poll you trust, anywhere from 44 to 66 percent of Americans get their news from social media, and we tend to check our accounts frequently. Fourteen times a day at least, according to this article.

It’s important to realize that the same methods that spread information also spread misinformation. Everything from the Pizzagate scandal to Alex Jones’ rantings on the falsehood of the Sandy Hook shootings. You can find it just as easily. Videos, blogs, heartfelt posts – they all go both ways. The trick is to know how to check your facts, and gather evidence.