Look For Samsung’s ‘Ultra Thin’ Glass on Other Phones; Facebook Trials Tabbed Newsfeed; Face Scanning Software Checks Live Skin; Twitter Scoops Up Chroma Labs; Kickstarter Unionizes

After the easily scratched plastic screens on the Galaxy Fold, Samsung rolled out ‘Ultra-Thin Glass’ for the new Z Flip. Now, according to 9to5google.com, we find that Samsung itself is making the glass, and will produce enough in the future to make it available to other handset makers. The ultra thinness makes the glass foldable (although how many times without causing a permanent crease or breaking is still being debated.) In addition to their own Z Flip, the Ultra Thin Glass could soon show up on phones from Motorola and TCL if Samsung has their way.

Facebook is apparently experimenting with a prototype tabbed newsfeed. This could let more users break away from their newsfeed ranking algorithm (which I already do, but have to use and add on called FB Purity to force the feed to show the latest stories.) Techcrunch.com says the different tabs would be the default Most Relevant feed, the present Most Recent feed in reverse chronological order, and an Already Seen feed of posts that so far has just been available on the desktop via the obscure URL facebook.com/seen. One would assume that if Facebook goes ahead and releases the tabbed feed, they have developed a new algorithm to further catalog your data as it observes your preferences! It’s always good to keep in mind that YOU are the product…or at least your data is!

Software and hardware being developed by German company Trinamix will make it impossible for zombies to use Face ID in the coming apocalypse. Cnet.com reports that they are working at bringing live skin sensing tech to phones…a way to 3D scan faces to unlock devices that will ensure the user is actually alive. The company is already working with Qualcomm on future 3D face-scanning phone tech. Without getting too gross, apparently dead skin provides a different ‘backscatter’ to the cams and sensors, and they can therefore detect live skin. Creepy? Maybe, but it will ensure that no one can off you, then hack your phone and drain all your accounts.

Twitter has picked up photo and video editor maker Chroma Labs. Engadget.com says the company makes software specifically for editing Instagram and Facebook Stories, in addition to Snapchat. This may or may not point to Twitter launching a temporary posts feature. The employees from Chroma will be jointing Twitter’s product, design, and engineering teams, ‘to give people more creative ways to express themselves on Twitter.’ AS for the Chroma Stories app, it will no longer be updated unless an iOS update breaks it, and it won’t be adding any new features.

A first fr Kickstarter….workers there voted to unionize yesterday. arstechnica.com notes that it’s also the first time white collar workers at a well-known high tech company have formally chosen to be repped by a union. Time will tell if the movement will spread to the likes of Google or Amazon…where there has been a degree of unrest. Many think unions are going to have to change their approach and offerings in order to really break into the tech economy.