Author: Juan Carlos Bagnell

Juan has been obsessed with consumer electronics since before computers had GUI’s. Out of college he worked on a JIT computing contract which supported DOE facilities in New Mexico. He’s been featured on numerous podcasts and radio shows lending his tech insights. You can also find him in LA directing voice over actors and producing spoken word recording.
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First Google Voice App update in 9 Months Brings No Updates or Improvements

google voice updateWell now you’re just teasing us Google.

Google’s telephony service Voice is seeing its first update in months, and what new awesome features or improvements can we look forward to?

Well… None actually…

No seriously. Firing up the app just brings a new pop up about how international rates will be announced before calls. I guess that’s… Cool?

Voice is starting to feel a little neglected. When Android 4.4.2 was released, it changed how Android handles defaults, and Voice can no longer be selected as the default SMS app. This is supremely frustrating for those of us who have been using Voice as our primary phone number.

default sms apps android kitkatWe can be pretty sure that Voice will get swallowed up by the Hangouts app eventually, but there are no indications of this transition happening in this new Voice update.

Kind of a bummer. The update should be rolling out over the next couple days on Google Play, but it’s really no big deal if you get it anytime soon.

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Google Buying Satellite Manufacturer Skybox Imaging for $500 Million

Google_logoAP breaking news today that Google is pushing into the space business.

Skybox-ImagingTheir purchase of Skybox Imaging for $500 million will first be utilized for improving map data in Google Maps and Earth. Eventually however, we could be looking at numerous satellites being used to provide data and broadband services around the globe.

Google’s optioned drone manufacturers, consumer and home automation products, location and in-door mapping services, they’re working on AI, and now they’re launching into space. I’m avoiding making the obvious dystopian sci-fi joke here….

Full AP story below: Continue reading “Google Buying Satellite Manufacturer Skybox Imaging for $500 Million”

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Netflix to End “Network Congestion” Warnings Following Verizon Cease and Desist

netflix-logoNo company has been working harder to illustrate streaming performance on different ISP’s networks than Netflix, and they’ve collected years worth of data on which companies are actually living up to their “high speed” claims.

This month’s speed report from the video service is chock full of all kinds of inside baseball info on what the relationship is like between companies like Netflix and ISP’s like Verizon. Following a controversial deal in which Netflix agreed to pay Verizon for more stable streaming service, we’ve actually seen speeds on Verizon’s networks dip, with their FiOS service now slotting in behind two DSL carriers. What exactly is Netflix getting here for their “Fastlane” money?

netflix congestion warning

Starting out as a test platform, Netflix started broadcasting “congestion” warnings, alerting customers that Verizon’s network was having difficulty streaming high quality video. This prompted a cease and desist from Verizon, and Netflix countered with this letter.

To ensure that these customers get the level of service they pay you for, it is your responsibility to make sure your network, including your interconnection points, have sufficient capacity to accommodate the data requests made by those customers. To try to shift the blame to us for performance issues arising from interconnection congestion is like blaming drivers on a bridge for traffic jams when you’re the one who decided to leave three lanes closed during rush hour.

Continue reading “Netflix to End “Network Congestion” Warnings Following Verizon Cease and Desist”

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Post-Play Netflix Streaming Comes to Android – Chromecast to Follow

netflix post play android updateOh happy day for folks who like to binge watch their shows on Netflix.

Announced on the Netflix blog, Android devices will receive an update allowing phones and tablets to Post-Play, which is a fancy way of saying that when you finish one episode, the next episode of your show will automatically start playing.

Best of all, we also have word that this functionality will be coming to Chromecast “in a couple months”. Now that most Android phones now have the ability to act like a universal remote, I might never need to leave my couch ever again.

Read the full PR below.

Continue reading “Post-Play Netflix Streaming Comes to Android – Chromecast to Follow”

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Viewer Pro Tip: Transfer Apps from Your Phone to an SD Card in Windows Phone 8.1

Got a great viewer tip from the comments on one of my other videos! This is how you can move an app from your phone’s storage to a memory card in Windows Phone’s Storage Sense!

This is why I love the comments you folks post!

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Native Wikipedia BETA App for Android Hits Play Store

wikipedia app android beta somegadgetguyWikipedia is going native for Android users!

Previous versions of the app have essentially been web browsers wrapped in a candy coated app-like shell. With a proper app, Wikimedia boasts a new UI, more responsive design, and better tools for editing articles.

The design of the app is super clean and simple, befitting the look and feel of the desktop version of the service. Plus, as you can see in the picture for this article, searching Wikipedia for the term “Wikipedia” will not actually break the internet.

Wikipedia BETA (on Google Play)

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Android Youtube App Updated – Allows User to Control Streaming Quality

youtube android app streaming quality screenshot somegadgetguyQuick update for Youtube from Google!

It always bothers me when I can’t control streaming video quality (Netflix I’m looking in your general direction). On desktop browsers we can set the quality for Youtube. The user can make a choice between the speed and stability of a stream and a higher resolution.

Well now we can do the same on our mobile devices, which should have been a no-brainer feature when you think about how many of us are on some kind of metered plan, and fast 3G and 4G networks can be kind of spotty at times.

When playing a video in the app, tap the three-dot menu button, and you see an option of a gear icon. Tap on that, and you’ll get a menu where you can select what quality you would like to stream the video at. Interestingly enough, Android apparently only supports streaming up to 720p. Good to know.

This updated Youtube app (build 5.7.36) should all ready be rolling out now, so hit the Google Play Store to see if you’ve gotten it!

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AT&T HTC One M7 Updated with Sense 6 – New Blinkfeed and Camera App

HTC One M7 Update Blinkfeed Sense update ATTPlaying with this year’s flagship devices, it’s been great going back to see how good our phones were last year. In an era of premier phones all sporting 5+ inch screens, the HTC M7 stands as one of the last high end phones with a SLIGHTLY smaller screen. It’s a joy to use one handed, so that makes updates like these even more enjoyable.

HTC has really stepped up on the support front, and are following Google’s example in separating apps and services from full OS updates. The M7 is now getting updated to the newest version of Sense (the skin HTC developed to customize their phone experience). Now services like Blinkfeed and HTC’s TV remote app can be updated through Google Play. This brings much faster support to the ecosystem, as individual services can get updates and bug fixes without having to push OTA updates through carriers.

HTC One M7 updated camera app screenshot somegadgetguy

The M7 gets a great new Blinkfeed, it adopts the nicer camera app from the M8, and a few other goodies alongside the normal slate of patches and bug fixes. It breaths a little more life into on of the best Android’s from last year, and should prove to keep the phone running current software longer into the future.

You can check to see if you have the update by jumping into your settings, and AT&T’s changelog is below.

Continue reading “AT&T HTC One M7 Updated with Sense 6 – New Blinkfeed and Camera App”

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