15th March 2021 by 
Friday. The golden child of the weekdays. The superhero of the workweek. The welcome wagon to the weekend.
It’s Friday people, which means it’s high-five time. Here are five things from around the world that have excited us this week at Heckford HQ!
1. Google plans to introduce an ad-blocking setting in both the mobile and desktop versions of its Chrome browser, according to The Wall Street Journal. The option would be opt-in, and it would remove all ‘unacceptable’ ads as defined by Coalition for Better Ads industry group. Those types of ads include pop-up ads, autoplay videos, and what are known as prestitial ads, or those ads that are often fullscreen and show up before you’re taken to the homepage or desired website. It may sound counterintuitive for a corporation whose entire business pretty much depends on internet advertising to consider an ad-blocking feature in the world’s most popular web browser. However, Google has a vested interest in ensuring web users don’t turn to third-party ad-blocking tools that Google does not control. I think we can safely say that Google AdWords is the safe option for your online advertising!
2. In Japan, the Green Newspaper that becomes a plant again. One of the most famous national dailies has invented a one hundred percent sustainable newspaper. If you plant it, it will bloom! It’s no secret that Japan is advanced when it comes to inventions and innovation, but this is amazing!
3. This week Snapchat has rolled out world lenses, a new twist on its popular face filters that continues the company’s exploration of augmented reality. Now, tapping the camera screen while using the rear-facing camera will bring up new 3D lenses. A cloud, a rainbow, flowers, and a floating “OMG” are part of the initial lineup, which will change daily according to the company blog.
4. Facebook is working on a way to let you type with your brain at speeds faster than physical typing. Facebook has unveiled a project that’s currently being worked on by its secretive Building 8 research group to create a brain-computer interface that lets you type with your thoughts. Can you imagine if all of the thoughts in your brain poured out onto a computer screen for the world to see? Scary?
5. SketchAR’s amazing new app puts virtual images on paper to let you trace drawings from your phone. How awesome? SketchAR is the latest iteration of the augmented reality drawing concept that hit the App Store this week. It works by laying out a virtual image on the paper or object you’ll be drawing on, which is displayed on your phone screen. Sounds confusing but look at this neat video on how it all works.
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