In social media, a story is a function in which the user tells a narrative or provides status messages and information in the form of short, time-limited clips in an automatically running sequence. == Definition == A story is a short sequence of images, videos, or other social media content, which can be accompanied by backgrounds, music, text, stickers, animations, filters or emojis. Social media platforms typically advance through the sequence automatically when presenting a story to a viewer. Although the sequential nature of stories can be used to tell a narrative, the pieces of a story can also be unrelated. Social media platforms that offer stories will typically have a primary story for each user which consists of everything the user posted to their story over a certain period of time, usually the most recent 24 hours. Most stories cannot be changed afterwards and are only available for a short time. Stories are almost exclusively created on a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet computer and are usually displayed vertically. == History == In October 2013, Snapchat first introduced the story function as a series of Snaps that can together tell a narrative through a chronological order, with each Snap being viewable by all of the poster's friends and deleted after 24 hours. Stories soon surpassed private Snaps to become Snapchat's most-viewed type of post. After 2015, Snapchat introduced a feature allowing users to post private stories viewable by a chosen subset of their friends. Later other apps would copy this feature. In August 2016, Instagram introduced a stories function that deletes the content after 24 hours. Various commenters have accused the site of copying Snapchat. In February 2017, the instant messenger WhatsApp introduced the Now Status stories function in beta, which was later renamed Status. In March 2017, a story function was introduced in Facebook Messenger. In February 2018, Google launched AMP Stories, bringing a story-style format to certain Google search results on mobile devices. In August 2018, YouTube introduced a stories function that initially was limited to pictures, but was later expanded to support short video clips. The feature was shut down in June 2023. In August 2018, the GIF website Giphy introduced a story function. In March 2022, TikTok added a story feature which allowed users to create 15 second long videos that delete after 24 hours. In June 2023, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced stories for Telegram would be released in July 2023. In July 2023, the feature was released for premium users, and in August 2023 it was rolled out for all users. == User motivations == In 2022, a study performed by Jia-Dai (Evelyn) Lu and Jhih-Syuan (Elaine) Lin examined the various motivations for updating stories on Instagram. The researchers found a new configuration of motivations for using Instagram Stories: exploration, self-enhancement, perceived functionality, entertainment, social sharing, relationship building, novelty, and surveillance. The findings also highlighted that contribution and creation activities are likely to result in positive emotions, while creation alone predicts negative emotions while updating stories on Instagram. == Usage statistics == In 2019, around 1.5 billion people worldwide every day on average used the stories function in a social network or messenger. Younger people in particular use this function. More than 20% of people aged 18 to 24 use Instagram stories, while it is just under 2% of those over 55. In a Facebook survey of 18,000 participants from 12 countries, 68% said they used the stories function at least once a month. Stories in the areas of fashion and tourism are particularly popular. The website Fanpage Karma analyzed several Instagram accounts and determined the average reach of posts and stories per follower, concluding that posts have a higher reach than stories, which often have less than half the reach.
DryvIQ
DryvIQ is a software application that enables businesses to migrate on-site system files and associated data across storage and content management platforms, as well as create synchronized hybrid storage systems. == History == Before it was DryvIQ, the software SkySync was released in 2013 by Ann Arbor, Michigan based company, Portal Architects, Inc. The company created SkySync, a back-end, administrative application designed to transfer content across storage platforms, after abandoning 18 months of development on a desktop application called SkyBrary in 2011. Between 2014 and 2015, Portal Architects established partnerships with the following companies: Autodesk, Box, Dropbox, Egnyte, EMC, Google, Syncplicity, Huddle, IBM, Microsoft, OpenText, Oracle, Citrix ShareFile, Hightail and Internet2. SkySync (currently DryvIQ) was named a "Cool Vendor in Content Management" by Gartner in 2015. In 2022, SkySync changed its name to DryvIQ, which is now what the company is currently known as. == Overview == DryvIQ is a software application that syncs, migrates or backs up files including their associated properties, metadata, versions, user accounts and permissions across on-premises and Cloud-based storage platforms. The software deploys on a server, virtual machine or within Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services or other cloud computing services.
Apache Kudu
Apache Kudu is a free and open source column-oriented data store of the Apache Hadoop ecosystem. It is compatible with most of the data processing frameworks in the Hadoop environment. It provides completeness to Hadoop's storage layer to enable fast analytics on fast data. The open source project to build Apache Kudu began as internal project at Cloudera. The first version Apache Kudu 1.0 was released 19 September 2016. == Comparison with other storage engines == Kudu was designed and optimized for OLAP workloads. Like HBase, it is a real-time store that supports key-indexed record lookup and mutation. Kudu differs from HBase since Kudu's datamodel is a more traditional relational model, while HBase is schemaless. Kudu's "on-disk representation is truly columnar and follows an entirely different storage design than HBase/Bigtable".
SwissCovid
SwissCovid is a COVID-19 contact tracing app used for digital contact tracing in Switzerland. Use of the app is voluntary and based on a decentralized approach using Bluetooth Low Energy and Decentralized Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (dp3t). == Development == The app was developed in collaboration with the FOPH by Federal Office for Information Technology, Systems and Communications FOITT, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) as well as other experts. == Non-interoperability with applications in European countries == There is an agreement between EU countries to make applications compatible. However, there is no legal basis for the SwissCovid application to be part of this portal even though technically speaking it is ready, according to Sang-Ill Kim, head of the digital transformation department of the Federal Office of Public Health. == Criticism == === Not full open source and dependence on Google and Apple === In June 2020, researchers Serge Vaudenay and Martin Vuagnoux published a critical analysis of the application, noting that it relies heavily on Google and Apple's exposure notification system, which is integrated into their respective Android and iOS operating systems. Since Google and Apple have not released the full source code of this system, this would call into question the truly open source nature of the application. The researchers note that the dp3t collective, which includes the developers of the application, has asked Google and Apple to release their code. Moreover, they criticize the official description of the application and its functionalities, as well as the adequacy of the legal basis for its effective operation. === Cyber attacks === Professor Serge Vaudenay and Martin Vuagnoux identify also various security vulnerabilities in the application. The system would thus allow a third party to trace the movements of a phone using the application by means of Bluetooth sensors scattered along its path, for example in a building. Another possible attack would be to copy identifiers from the phones of people who may be ill (for example, in a hospital), and to reproduce those identifiers in order to receive notification of exposure to COVID-19 and illegitimately benefit from quarantine (thus entitling them to paid leave, a postponed examination, or other benefits). The system would also allow a third party to use a phone using the application by means of Bluetooth sensors scattered along the way. Paul-Olivier Dehaye of Personaldata.io and professor Joel Reardon of the University of Calgary published in June 2020 several examples of AEM (Associated Encrypted Metadata) replay and manipulation attacks via software development kits (SDKs) found in benign third-party mobile applications downloaded by the general public and having the phone's Bluetooth access permissions and in September 2020 a paper indicating that "Bluetooth-based proximity tracing apps are fundamentally insecure with respect to an attacker leveraging a malevolent app or SDK". === Costs === According to a publication by the federal administration, "the costs of developing the software for the mobile phone application, the GR back-end and the code management system as well as the costs for access management for the cantonal doctors' services are estimated at a one-off amount of 1.65 million francs. However, the Zurich-based company Ubique, responsible for the development of the application, was finally awarded the mandate to develop the application for an amount of 1.8 million francs. Through the Botnar Foundation based in Basel, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne received 3.5 million Swiss francs for the development of the application
Foodsi
Foodsi is a Polish mobile application that connects customers with restaurants, convenience stores, bakeries and cafes that have a surplus of food, allowing its users to buy the surplus at a reduced price. The service launched in 2019 in Warsaw and has expanded to other major cities in Poland. In 2023, a new feature was introduced in the app, allowing users to buy packages not only with self-pickup but also with delivery. The products range has also been expanded to include unsold magazines, cosmetics or plants. == History == The company was created in 2019 in Poland by Mateusz Kowalczyk and Jakub Fryszczyn. During studies in their home country and abroad, when they made a living working in restaurants and bakeries, they recognized the problem and the scale of food waste. They launched the application by themselves, having previously raised PLN 100,000 on their own for the purpose. Initially, Foodsi was an Android-only app, but over time, an IOS version was developed. In 2022, the startup raised PLN 6 million in a seed round from VC companies including CofounderZone and Status Starter, as well as private investors such as founders of Pyszne.pl. As of December 2023, it claimed more than 5000 businesses, serving over 1,5 million users, have saved nearly 3 million bags of food. == Purpose == Foodsi aims to significantly reduce food waste, which contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals. The application bridges the gap between the customers who are looking for shopping deals and the companies that want to reduce surplus products but are unable to sell them at a normal price. This allows the customers to buy unsold products for as little as 30% of the normal price. The company claims that every 4 out of 5 packages are sold on average. As of 2019 Foodsi employed more than 30 people. By 2024 it was more than 50. For now, Foodsi operates in major Polish cities such as Warsaw, Kraków, Trójmiasto, Wrocław, Poznań etc. However, in the upcoming years, Foodsi plans to expand to other countries. == Use == To start selling surplus, a company must leave Foodsi its contact information to register in the system. Registration in the app is completely free of charge. Then, companies offer available packages anticipating what won’t be sold and post them in the app along with the price so that users can buy them and pick them up. Companies can put their packages in the app at any time during the day. Users can pick up packages from bakeries, grocery stores, restaurants, but also florists and beauty stores. Foodsi charges a small commission on each package from the cooperating companies. If a user wants to start ordering packages from Foodsi, he or she needs to install the app on their mobile phone (Android or IOS) and register an account. The app displays a list of restaurants and other venues available in a specific region set by the user's location. Customers can see the price, address, distance and time range for package pickup. Packages are usually in the form of so-called 'surprise-packages', meaning that customers do not know specifically what kind of food/product will be inside. Some restaurants offer a choice of different package sizes. Prices are up to 70% lower than those of the original products. Customers have to show up at the restaurant to pick up the package using their phone at a time specified in the app. == Awards == Auler All-Stars 2025 - 3rd place Deloitte Technology Fast 50 - 2025 Central Europe Executive Club - Innowacja Roku: Żywność i Rolnictwo - Wyróżnienie (2025) Stena Circular Economy Award - Lider Gospodarki Obiegu Zamkniętego (2025) - wyróżnienie w kategorii start-up wdrażający GOZ na rynku polskim 255th place in the international poll FoodTech 500 2025 Finalist for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2025 Wpływowi 2024 - Laureat w kategorii “Zrównoważony rozwój” Supplier of the Year 2024 - XXII Food & Business Forum Supplier of the Year 2024 - VII Sweets & Coffee Forum Innovative Leader 2024 - Leader in Food / Food-Tech Category - Executive Summit “Orzeł Innowacji - Start-up z potencjałem Polska-Świat” (Rzeczpospolita, 2024) 102nd place in the international poll FoodTech 500 2024 Auler 2023 Startup of the Year 2023 according to money.pl Start(up) w zrównoważoną przyszłość Kongresu Kompas ESG 2023 Marka Godna Zaufania according to My Company Polska 2023 184th place in the international poll FoodTech 500 2023 In 2023, Foodsi co-founder Mateusz Kowalczyk was recognized by Forbes magazine and included in its "30 before 30" list.
XLeratorDB
XLeratorDB is a suite of database function libraries that enable Microsoft SQL Server to perform a wide range of additional (non-native) business intelligence and ad hoc analytics. The libraries, which are embedded and run centrally on the database, include more than 450 individual functions similar to those found in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. The individual functions are grouped and sold as six separate libraries based on usage: finance, statistics, math, engineering, unit conversions and strings. WestClinTech, the company that developed XLeratorDB, claims it is "the first commercial function package add-in for Microsoft SQL Server." == Company history == WestClinTech (LLC), founded by software industry veterans Charles Flock and Joe Stampf in 2008, is located in Irvington, New York, United States. Flock was a co-founder of The Frustum Group, developer of the OPICS enterprise banking and trading platform, which was acquired by London-based Misys, PLC in 1996. Stampf joined Frustum in 1994 and with Flock remained active with the company after acquisition, helping to develop successive generations of OPICS now employed by over 150 leading financial institutions worldwide. Following a full year of research, development and testing, WestClinTech introduced and recorded its first commercial sale of XLeratorDB in April 2009. In September 2009, XLeratorDB became available to all Federal agencies through NASA's Strategic Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP-IV) program, a government-wide acquisition contract. == Technology == XLeratorDB uses Microsoft SQL CLR(Common Language Runtime) technology. SQL CLR allows managed code to be hosted by, and run in, the Microsoft SQL Server environment. SQL CLR relies on the creation, deployment and registration of .NET Framework assemblies that are physically stored in managed code dynamic-link libraries (DLL). The assemblies may contain .NET namespaces, classes, functions, and properties. Because managed code compiles to native code prior to execution, functions using SQL CLR can achieve significant performance increases versus the equivalent functions written in T-SQL in some scenarios. XLeratorDB requires Microsoft SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2005 Express editions, or later (compatibility mode 90 or higher). The product installs with PERMISSION_SET=SAFE. SAFE mode, the most restrictive permission set, is accessible by all users. Code executed by an assembly with SAFE permissions cannot access external system resources such as files, the network, the internet, environment variables, or the registry. == Functions == In computer science, a function is a portion of code within a larger program which performs a specific task and is relatively independent of the remaining code. As used in database and spreadsheet applications these functions generally represent mathematical formulas widely used across a variety of fields. While this code may be user-generated, it is also embedded as a pre-written sub-routine in applications. These functions are typically identified by common nomenclature which corresponds to their underlying operations: e.g. IRR identifies the function which calculates Internal Rate of Return on a series of periodic cash flows. === Function uses === As subroutines, functions can be integrated and used in a variety of ways, and as part of larger, more complicated applications. Within large enterprise applications they may, for example, play an important role in defining business rules or risk management parameters, while remaining virtually invisible to end users. Within database management systems and spreadsheets, however, these kinds of functions also represent discrete sets of tools; they can be accessed directly and utilized on a stand-alone basis, or in more complex, user-defined configurations. In this context, functions can be used for business intelligence and ad hoc analysis of data in fields such as finance, statistics, engineering, math, etc. === Function types === XLeratorDB uses three kinds of functions to perform analytic operations: scalar, aggregate, and a hybrid form which WestClinTech calls Range Queries. Scalar functions take a single value, perform an operation and return a single value. An example of this type of function is LOG, which returns the logarithm of a number to a specified base. Aggregate functions operate on a series of values but return a single, summarizing value. An example of this type of function is AVG, which returns the average of values in a specified group. In XLeratorDB there are some functions which have characteristics of aggregate functions (operating on multiple series of values) but cannot be processed in SQL CLR using single column inputs, such as AVG does. For example, irregular internal rate of return (XIRR), a financial function, operates on a collection of cash flow values from one column, but must also apply variable period lengths from another column and an initial iterative assumption from a third, in order to return a single, summarizing value. WestClinTech documentation notes that Range Queries specify the data to be included in the result set of the function independently of the WHERE clause associated with the T-SQL statement, by incorporating a SELECT statement into the function as a string argument; the function then traps that SELECT statement, executes it internally and processes the result. Some XLeratorDB functions that employ Range Queries are: NPV, XNPV, IRR, XIRR, MIRR, MULTINOMIAL, and SERIESSUM. Within the application these functions are identified by a "_q" naming convention: e.g. NPV_q, IRR_q, etc. == Analytic functions == === SQL Server functions === Microsoft SQL Server is the #3 selling database management system (DBMS), behind Oracle and IBM. (While versions of SQL Server have been on the market since 1987, XLeratorDB is compatible with only the 2005 edition and later.) Like all major DBMS, SQL Server performs a variety of data mining operations by returning or arraying data in different views (also known as drill-down). In addition, SQL Server uses Transact-SQL (T-SQL) to execute four major classes of pre-defined functions in native mode. Functions operating on the DBMS offer several advantages over client layer applications like Excel: they utilize the most up-to-date data available; they can process far larger quantities of data; and, the data is not subject to exporting and transcription errors. SQL Server 2008 includes a total of 58 functions that perform relatively basic aggregation (12), math (23) and string manipulation (23) operations useful for analytics; it includes no native functions that perform more complex operations directly related to finance, statistics or engineering. === Excel functions === Microsoft Excel, a component of Microsoft Office suite, is one of the most widely used spreadsheet applications on the market today. In addition to its inherent utility as a stand-alone desktop application, Excel overlaps and complements the functionality of DBMS in several ways: storing and arraying data in rows and columns; performing certain basic tasks such as pivot table and aggregating values; and facilitating sharing, importing and exporting of database data. Excel's chief limitation relative to a true database is capacity; Excel 2003 is limited to some 65k rows and 256 columns; Excel 2007 extends this capacity to roughly 1million rows and 16k columns. By comparison, SQL Server is able to manage over 500k terabytes of memory. Excel offers, however, an extensive library of specialized pre-written functions which are useful for performing ad hoc analysis on database data. Excel 2007 includes over 300 of these pre-defined functions, although customized functions can also be created by users, or imported from third party developers as add-ons. Excel functions are grouped by type: === Excel business intelligence functions === Operating on the client computing layer Excel plays an important role as a business intelligence tool because it: performs a wide array of complex analytic functions not native to most DBMS software offers far greater ad hoc reporting and analytic flexibility than most enterprise software provides a medium for sharing and collaborating because of its ubiquity throughout the enterprise Microsoft reinforces this positioning with Business Intelligence documentation that positions Excel in a clearly pivotal role. === XLeratorDB vs. Excel functions === While operating within the database environment, XLeratorDB functions utilize the same naming conventions and input formats, and in most cases, return the same calculation results as Excel functions. XLeratorDB, coupled with SQL Server's native capabilities, compares to Excel's function sets as follows:
Excalidraw
Excalidraw is an open-source, web-based virtual whiteboard and diagramming application. It is used to create diagrams, wireframes, and sketches within a web browser without requiring account registration. The software features a characteristic hand-drawn visual style and supports real-time multi-user collaboration using client-side end-to-end encryption. Excalidraw is released under the MIT License and is maintained by Excalidraw s.r.o., a company based in Brno, Czech Republic. == History == Excalidraw was created on 1 January 2020 by Christopher Chedeau, a software engineer at Meta Platforms. Chedeau, who previously co-created React Native and Prettier, initially developed the application as a personal project before registering the domain on 3 January 2020. Within its first months, the project attracted open-source contributors who assisted in expanding its features and rewriting the codebase into TypeScript and React. By early 2021, day-to-day operations moved to Czech developers David Luzar and Milos Vetesnik. In May 2021, the team incorporated Excalidraw s.r.o. in Brno and launched a commercial cloud-based version named Excalidraw+ to fund the open-source project's development. By May 2026, the main open-source repository on GitHub had accumulated over 123,000 stars. == Features and architecture == The application provides an infinite canvas for geometric shapes, lines, arrows, text, and freehand drawing. Its visual presentation relies on Rough.js, a JavaScript graphics library that alters standard vector paths to mimic irregular, hand-drawn lines. Excalidraw operates as a Progressive web application (PWA), allowing local installation and offline usage, saving data natively to local browser storage. Files use a native, JSON-based extension format (.excalidraw), and canvases can be exported to PNG or SVG formats. Real-time collaboration sessions are executed using Socket.IO via a relay server. Data transmission uses the browser's native Web Cryptography API to achieve end-to-end encryption. A symmetric AES key is generated on the client side and appended to the sharing URL as a fragment identifier (following the # character). Because web browsers do not transmit URL fragments to HTTP servers, the data remains unreadable to the distribution server. == Ecosystem == Excalidraw is distributed as an npm package, allowing third-party developers to embed the whiteboard component directly into external React web applications. Community-developed extensions integrate the application's file format into text editors and note-taking systems, including Visual Studio Code and Obsidian. The platform also has native integrations in commercial platforms such as Notion and HackerRank. == Reception == Google's developer relations team published a technical case study on Excalidraw as a reference implementation for Progressive Web Apps. The analysis highlighted the software's adoption of advanced web platform capabilities, specifically its utilization of the File System Access API and native Clipboard API to replicate desktop software behavior within a web browser environment.