Apple just invented an incredible technology that would help the iPhone further distance itself from every other smartphone

The iPhone consistently offers one of the best camera experiences on any smartphone, but Apple could pull ahead of the pack should it choose to implement its latest patent published on Tuesday.

Apple's patent calls for a "digital camera with light splitter" that would be small and thin enough to fit in a wireless device, like an iPhone.

This technology is not new at all — in fact, this system of three charge-coupled devices (CCDs) is commonly found in high-end video cameras, since it's very good at capturing lights and colors and negating any wobbling on behalf of the user. But, it would be a major coup if Apple would be able to miniaturize this system to fit inside the iPhone. And here's why.

In the iPhone's current camera system, individual pixels can capture red, green and blue lights, which are scattered all over a single image sensor. But that means each color only gets one-third of the space on the sensor. By splitting the light with this proposed cube, each color can have an entire sensor to itself, which would allow for more accurate colors, and much better images in low-light scenarios.

US Patent and Trademark Office

This would be a major achievement for Apple, since it would effectively make its camera much more powerful and it'd do that without taking up any valuable space within the phone — Apple prides itself on thin devices, and its powerful-albeit-bulky camera already protrudes from the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Implementing this light splitter would help Apple stay on the forefront of mobile photography.

We first learned about this patent over at Apple Insider.

SEE ALSO: The camera in Apple's next iPhone might get a major upgradeNOW WATCH: 5 hard-to-find iPhone tricks only power users know about

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Why you need to go download Instagram's new app right now

Instagram's latest app, Layout, gets rid of a big problem users have with other photo collage apps. Produced by Matthew Stuart

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Google HR boss says to ace any interview you need to 'predict your future'

You've perfected your résumé, submitted your application, and landed an interview for your dream job. Now, how do you ace it?

Laszlo Bock, Google's senior vice president of people operations and author of the upcoming book, "Work Rules!" recently shared a few tips on how to convince the person on the other side of the table to hire you.

In a LinkedIn post, Bock says predicting your future is one of the smartest things you can do.

"You can anticipate 90% of the interview questions you're going to get," he writes. "It's an easy list to generate. 'Why do you want this job'?' 'What's a tough problem you've solved?' If you can't think of any, Google 'most common interview questions.' Write down the top 20 questions you think you'll get," he suggests.

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Laszlo Bock, Google's senior vice president of people operations.

When you do this, you'll be able to better plan your attack 

"For every question, write down your answer," he says. "Yes, it's a pain to actually write something. It's hard and frustrating. But it makes it stick in your brain. That's important."

You'll also want to have a backup plan, he warns. "Actually, for every question, write down three answers." You need to have different, equally good answers prepared for each question because as you get to know your interviewer, you might decide one story will resonate more than another. 

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Here's everything Facebook just announced

At today's Facebook F8 event in San Francisco, Mark Zuckerberg and other folks on the team announced a bunch of new features, most of which were leaked ahead of time.

This is a conference for developers, so the announcements were pretty geeky, but the biggest deal was probably the ability for people to build apps that integrate directly into Facebook Messenger.

So, for instance, ESPN will have an app that lets you insert funny animated GIFs of sports events directly into a Messenger message.

Another big move was a video player that any site will be able to embed directly on their site, like you can do with YouTube videos today. Video has been a huge focus for Facebook recently, and this will extend its video reach to the entire web. It's a huge strike against Google's YouTube.

Facebook also announced an update to a mobile advertising product called LiveRail. It will help publishers show so-called "native" ads -- ads that integrate directly into the stream of content -- and make money from them. It's basically a big strike against Google's DoubleClick platform, which is the dominant force in online advertising. You can read more about the move here.

There were a few other interesting bits as well. See below for our coverage of the event as it happened:

• 12:53 PM

 

• We're all waiting outside Fort Mason, where the conference is happening. Here's the line.

• 12:55 PM

 

• OK, entering the building now. Weird symbols.

• 12:58 PM

 

• Here's the inside of the room. More weird symbols. What do they all mean?

• 12:59 PM

 

• The crowd is milling around. We'll be taking our seats soon.

• 1:05 PM

 

• We're having some pretty serious problems getting online here. The event is in sort of a concrete bunker, so it's hard to connect. We're monitoring the live stream, but it's having troubles as well. Stay tuned....

• 1:08 PM

 

• Mark is on stage now. Talking about how popular Facebook is for developers.

• 1:09 PM

 

• There are more than 30 million apps and sites on Facebook's platform now.

• 1:10 PM

 

• "We want to make sure we always put people first....Because when people feel good about their privacy and security, that's when they're open to new experiences, like all the apps you're building."

• 1:12 PM

 

• New platform called Threat Exchange, helps companies exchange info about malware and cyberattacks. Hackers assume that developers aren't communicating. Facebook wants to fix that.

• 1:14 PM

 

• "Now, let's talk about the future....Facebook used to be this single blue app, and it did this thing. Now Facebook is a family." 1 billion+ use Facebook, but 700 million use Groups, 700 million use WhatsApp, 300 million use Instagram every month.

• 1:16 PM

 

• People are sharing many more times each day than we've been able to in the past, thanks to mobile. "This is a really big opportunity. But we can't do it alone." Because the sharing is happening in other apps.

• 1:17 PM

 

• Spherical videos -- videos that let you move around in a 360 degree view. They'll be supported in the News Feed, and of course coming to the Oculus Rift VR headset.

• 1:18 PM

 

• Here's another angle on that spherical video. You can really move around the whole range of vision.

• 1:19 PM

 

• Sharing is confusing, so they're working on a consistent way to share from different apps.

• 1:20 PM

 

• Now, Messenger.

• 1:21 PM

 

• Messenger now accounts for more than 10% of voice-over-IP calling globally.

• 1:22 PM

 

• Here's the big announcement: Messenger Platform. "It's a new platform that developers can use to build apps that connect with more than 600 million people who use Messenger every day."

• 1:23 PM

 

• Two big things today. First, a new way to discover apps that allow sharing within Messenger. Here's what that looks like.

• 1:24 PM

 

• Second, direct messaging to businesses.

• 1:25 PM

 

• So, for instance, messaging receipts, tracking for packages, that kind of thing.

• 1:27 PM

 

• Now, David Marcus is going to come up to talk more details about Messenger Platform. He was the former president of PayPal and joined Facebook last summer.

• 1:27 PM

 

• More background on Marcus if you're interested:

PayPal president David Marcus is stepping down to join Facebook.

• 1:29 PM

 

• He's showing how you can add Giphy from within Messenger, giving you access to millions of animated GIFs right inside Messenger.

• 1:30 PM

 

• NOTE: David Marcus pronounces "gif" with a hard "g." Not like "jif."

• 1:32 PM

 

• ESPN has a Messenger app that lets you put animated GIFs of funny/interesting sports events into messages.

• 1:32 PM

 

• I can't wait to send animated GIFs of Richard Sherman picking off Colin Kaepernick next year, honestly.

• 1:34 PM

 

• E-commerce has lost some of the personal experience of buying things in a shop. Facebook wants to make it a little more personal.

• 1:34 PM

 

• When you buy something online, you get an email. When it ships you get an email, and so on.

• 1:36 PM

 

• Now, you can get instant shipping notifications and enhanced receipts in Messenger.

• 1:37 PM

 

• Basically, Messenger can show you info every step of the transaction. It's all in one thread, not a bunch of disconnected emails.

• 1:38 PM

 

• You can even track when the shipment is getting close to you!

• 1:38 PM

 

• Zulilly, Everlane are partners, Zendesk is providing customer service.

• 1:39 PM

 

• Next up is Ilya Sukhar, the leader of Parse. That's a mobile development platform that Facebook acquired a couple years ago. It makes it easier for developers to create apps that work on different platforms -- Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and so on.

• 1:40 PM

 

• This is going to get pretty geeky here. But basically, Parse takes care of a lot of stuff -- like security, and signing people in -- so app developers don't have to do that themselves for every app they create.

• 1:42 PM

 

• Oh, they just started playing the snowman song from "Frozen"

• 1:43 PM

 

• A lot of apps are using Parse for sending push notifications. Orbitz pushes airport walking directions. CBS Interactive pushes news alerts. And so on.

• 1:46 PM

 

• Now Sukhar is talking about the Internet of Things. For instance, a garage door that sends a signal to your phone when it's open or closed. Parse has a new set of tools for developers to interact with these little sensors that are popping up everywhere.

• 1:47 PM

 

• They're announcing a lot of other things that will be of interest only to developers.

Details will be on the Parse Blog soon, Sukhar says.

• 1:48 PM

 

• Deborah Liu is now on stage. She's the director of Facebook's platform business.

• 1:49 PM

 

• "I am a voracious reader of parenting articles online." But she wanted to comment on it on HuffPo, but also have it show up on Facebook.

• 1:49 PM

 

• Voila! Now that's possible. People see comments in both places at once.

• 1:53 PM

 

• Liu introduces Facebook Analytics for Apps. New tools to help developers understand how people are using their apps. What they're doing, where they're dropping off, and so on.

• 1:55 PM

 

• "Finally, we want to help you monetize your app." Last year introduced Audience Network, a way for devs to display ads in app.

• 1:56 PM

 

• "The best part of the Audience Network is native ads." These are ads that appear right in the app, and seem like part of them. "Ads now support the user experience, not interrupt it."

• 1:58 PM

 

• Live Rail. New ad platform that extends native ads.

• 1:59 PM

 

• And that's a wrap! Over in an hour.

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Jack Harper's dad warns Scotland could lose Real Madrid starlet to Spain after Under-19s snub

Scotland coach Ricky Sbragia snubbed Harper for the Scotland Under-19 squad, labelling him a luxury – and within 24 hours Spain were on the phone

Getty

Pointing the way: Harper could opt to play for Spain

The father of Real Madrid starlet Jack Harper has warned Scotland they are in danger of losing his boy to Spain.

Scotland coach Ricky Sbragia snubbed Harper for the Scotland Under-19 squad and tagged him a luxury – and within 24 hours Spain were on the phone checking on his international status, report the Daily Record.

Sbragia says he needs more height in his squad for games against Austria, Croatia and Italy in Vienna, but Harper, who has just turned 19, already stands 6ft 1in.

Harper, born in Malaga, is committed to the country of his parents’ birth but dad John admits his son will have to consider his international future if he continues to be overlooked by Scotland selectors.

John, originally from Barrhead, said: “The day after Scotland announced the under-19 squad, and Jack wasn’t included, Spain were on the phone asking about his position and international status.

“Their national academy is just a few miles from Real Madrid’s own training ground, so they know about Jack because they watch his team often enough.

“Jack wants to play for Scotland. I’m Scottish, so is his mum and the rest of the family. He is committed to Scotland, but if nothing is happening by the time he is 21 then he will have a decision to make because he has a life and a career to fulfil. Hopefully, it won’t come to that.

“To describe Jack as a ‘luxury player’ is a bit harsh. The word ‘luxury’ is a bit strong, but I have no wish to verbally assassinate the Scotland coach.

“He probably wishes he could back track on his choice of words because I certainly don’t believe Jack is a lazy player.

“He is not the type who will put in tackles all over the pitch and his game is more about passing and movement, but it’s better to let him do his talking on the football pitch.

“There have been many positives for him this season with Real Madrid. He has played and scored in the youth elite level for the club in the Champions League and that has helped his confidence.

"He is still fighting for the league and a couple of other major trophies with the club between now and the end of the season.

“He has still to fill out a bit, we appreciate that, but he’s already 6ft 1in and I know for a fact he will get there.”

Overlooked: Sbragia has not selected Harper for his squad

Harper failed to secure of of the 18 spots available in Sbragia’s squad as they bid to secure a place at this summer’s European Championships in Greece.

Sbragia said: “At Real Madrid, Jack can float all over the place, which he does. But with us he has to be more disciplined. He’s an exceptionally gifted lad but we can’t carry him. He can be a luxury sometimes.

“We’ve deliberately gone for more height in our squad. That’s one of the reasons why Jack isn’t in it.

“I’ve gone for a physical side and runners. Hopefully I’m proved right in Austria. It’s purely a tactical decision.”

John added: “Jack was surprised and gutted when he wasn’t included in the squad. He was looking forward to the games, they had been pencilled in his calendar.

“The banter had been flying in his dressing room at Real Madrid with other lads who were looking forward to representing Spain, Norway and Lithuania at the European Championships.

“However, Jack’s time will come.”

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