Top 5 Tech Reads: Feb 12–19

via Mashable

Facebook’s plan for 3D posts, a new Google Pay app, and a Chrome ad blocker. Check out our roundup of last week’s top tech reads!

1. Facebook’s plan to unite AR, VR, and News Feed with 3D posts. Facebook is polishing up stages one and two today after first debuting posts of interactive 3D models in News Feed in October that you can move and spin around. Now Facebook 3D posts support the industry standard glTF 2.0 file format, allowing for textures, lighting, and realistic rendering of roughy or shiny objects. New Graph API endpoints let developers build 3D modeling apps or even 3D cameras that directly share to the News Feed and make websites that show up as 3D posts. (TechCrunch)
2. Google Chrome now blocks irksome ads. That’s a good thing, right? The browser’s latest update filters out pop-up ads and other annoyances. But… it also strengthens Google’s already-powerful grip on the web. (NYT Tech)
3. Google has consolidated Android Pay and Google Wallet in a brand new app. Google has combined its two payment services, Google Wallet and Android Pay, into a new app: Google Pay.With Google Pay, you can digitally store your credit and debit cards, as well as gift cards and rewards cards. You can use the app to pay for purchases online and in stores, just as you could with its predecessor, Android Pay. (Mashable)
4. Construction begins on Jeff Bezos’ $42 million 10,000-year clock. Installation has finally begun on Jeff Bezos’ 10,000-year clock, a project that the Amazon CEO has invested $42 million in, with the goal of building a mechanical clock that will run for 10 millennia. (The Verge)
5. Instagram Direct one-ups Snapchat with replay privacy controls. Messaging is the heart of Snapchat, so after cloning and augmenting Stories, Instagram is hoping to boost intimate usage of Direct with privacy controls not found elsewhere. Now when you send an ephemeral photo or video from the Instagram Direct camera, you can decide whether recipients can only view it once, replay it temporarily or see a permanent thumbnail of it in the chat log. Previously, all messages could be replayed temporarily but then would completely disappear. (TechCrunch)

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