Snapchat updates their facial recognition filters almost every day, with today’s being particularly apt.
Bob Marley Snapchat filter – setting a bad example?
The filter Snapchat added today allows you to become Bob Marley, complete with reggae hat, dreds and No Woman No Cry playing in the background. This is all a bit of fun in given the date; 4/20. Not everyone has seen the humourous side, with some going as far as saying it’s effectively a modern day take on a “blackface”.
So what do we think Twitter? @snapchat‘s ‘Bob Marley’ filter is effectively ‘digital blackface’ right? pic.twitter.com/BTq1x2lpZf
— Ant Meads (@austerityrecs) April 20, 2016
“Blackfacing” was a practice where white actors would wear black makeup to play black parts in theatre. Others have gone beyond these claims, believing the filter encourages smoking of marijuana, illegal in most parts of the world. This in no way shines a negative light on Marley, who did smoke regularly, making no effort to hide this. So what has this got to do with Bob Marley and the filter?
What’s special about 4/20
Well the date is relevant for a random enough reason.For those of you that aren’t aware of 4/20, it’s basically an international holiday. It started by a group of California High school students meeting every day and twenty past four to smoke weed and soon the trend spread. Eventually 4:20 became 420, then 4/20, and so a national holiday was born. The popularity of the date grew so much that the State of Colorado was forced to replace its 420 mile sign with a 419.9 as marijuana enthusiasts kept stealing the original.
And what better way to celebrate the legend that is Bob Marley than lighting up on a day he would have relished in his time and celebrated like the rest of us.
Is the Bob Marley Snapchat filter disrespectful?
In my opinion, the filter is neither disrespectful nor is it harmful. Those who celebrate 4/20 were likely to do so regardless of a filter, and the filter allows Snapchatters to engage in some harmless banter. It’s important to recognise in all of this, the Marley estate actually gave their blessing to Snapchat to make the filter public.
What do you think? Let us know below.
Originally launched in 1993, Doom is quite possibly the most iconic game in history. Ridiculous levels of violence coupled with multiplayer mayhem, Doom had a little bit of everything for everyone. Such was the popularity of the networking side of things, internet providers and network maintenance teams had to release anti-Doom protocols to stop people from playing.
Thimbleweed Park is a fascinating approach to game design by Gilbert and his partner in crime Gary Winnick. This duo, now known as Terrible Toybox are the very same t
Dead Secret absolutely nails this. Slipping in the role of the female journalist was a little unusual of course, but the game intelligently opens with you looking in a mirror. This tricks the mind and from that point on you are in a different world.
We recently updated you with news that the world’s 
Left your smart watch at home too? You’re having an awful day, but even for people like you, another solution is in sight. For nearly five years now, since being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in America, people have been having chips, about the size of a grain of rice, inserted into their wrists. It’s a very simple procedure, requiring a small injection and a chip. The chip itself can last up to 10 years and withstand strenuous physical abuse. It can store information such as your name, date of birth, medical history, and of course, your bank details.
Unibody. It’s as standard as a camera these days. Oh and chamfered. Chamfered is essential. The HTC 10 ticks both boxes with a gorgeous design, blending together glass and metal seamlessly. The manufacturer has finally included a fingerprint sensor on a flagship handset (as we don’t consider the A9 to be flagship).
A rear facing 12MP camera aligns the HTC 10 to many of it’s competitors, also going after low-light quality similar to the Samsung Galaxy S7. In a growing trend, it’s not really about the amount of pixels but the size of them. HTC describe the camera as being 12 Ultrapixels due to the 1.55um size, allowing more light in. Echoing efforts in the much loved HTC One M7.
When Mark Zuckerberg announced his belief that VR would be the next platform, this is exactly what he meant. A surgery team at the Royal London Hospital are preparing to partake in the world’s first virtual reality surgery. Teaming up with 
We strongly recommend that when playing Jump JR, and indeed other VR games, that you remain seated as you will be completely taken into the world. When testing it out, I took off the headset to be facing a completely different part of the room to what I expected. For this the game rates extremely highly on what is one of the most important aspects; immersion.