Weekend Wrap-up: Snapchat Stories, Instagram Ads and More

Thanks for stopping by once more for this week’s edition of the Weekend Wrap-up, where we get you all caught up on the biggest tech stories from the past week.

Snapchat Introduces Stories

To most, Snapchat is used as a way to send discreet, self-destructing photos and videos between friends. With the launch of Snapchat’s new “Stories” feature on Thursday, the company behind the app hopes to change user behavior a little bit. Stories is a way for users to share snaps with all of their friends in rolling 24-hour windows. The feature transforms Snapchat from a simple messaging app into more of a social network that users can still check even if they don’t have new messages. We’ll have to see how users respond to Stories in time.

Instagram Ads Are Coming

Scrolling through your Instagram feed may be a way you check out what friends are up to, but pretty soon you’ll be hearing from brands, too. Instagram announced plans on Thursday to introduce ads into user streams, albeit very gradually. These ads are basically photos from companies that you may not be following already, so if you’re able to ignore a photo as you scroll through your home stream, the introduction of ads into Instagram shouldn’t be that big a deal. Users on the Internet have rioted over far less, though, so we’ll keep an eye on things.

Netflix Brings 1080p ‘Super HD’ to All

Netflix subscribers, rejoice: as of last Sunday, you’re now able to access the streaming video service’s content in “Super HD”, letting you tune in to your favorite movies and shows in less-compressed, glorious 1080p. Super HD was only available to subscribers on certain ISPs in the past, but now all who pay the company’s $7.99 per month fee will gain access to a wide library of content in true, better-quality high-definition. And it doesn’t matter which device you access Netflix from — all will support Super HD.

The Voice of Siri: Susan Bennett

Here’s a news story that I didn’t find all that fascinating but the world really seemed to eat up. The voice of Siri, the computerized assistant first introduced on the iPhone 4S, comes to us thanks to voice actress Susan Bennett. While Apple is not confirming nor denying the fact that Bennett is the voice of Siri, CNN has investigated the matter thoroughly (because it is super important, after all) and concluded that her voice is a match for Siri’s. Next up: let’s find the voice behind Google Maps. Unlike Siri, she’s never given me bad directions.