Category: Articles

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Hangouts 2.1 for Android Improves SMS, adds Homescreen Widget

google hangouts_resultGoogle has thrown a lot of muscle into improving the Hangouts experiences. It’s a one stop shop for group IM, video calling, and it can replace your phone’s stock app for text messaging.

Alongside some bug fixes and performance improvements, Hangouts 2.1 also brings a merged conversation interface for SMS and Hangout IM. This makes it easier to move conversations back and forth between SMS and IM-ing as it’s now all under the same view.

There’s also a new widget to throw on your homescreen to help you keep up to date on all your communication endeavors.

Full press release below, and the Hangouts update is rolling out now on Google Play! So Google, think you can turn some of that attention to Google Voice anytime soon?

Continue reading “Hangouts 2.1 for Android Improves SMS, adds Homescreen Widget”

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Alton Brown’s Lifehack for Organizing Annoying Mustard Containers

alton brown mustard bottle caddy lifehackI wish Good Eats was back on the air. Until that time, I’ll just have to make do with Alton Brown producing his own amazing videos on the Youtubes.

If you enjoy mustards like I do, then you also know the frustration of how poorly designed most mustard bottles are. Alton has an ingenious solution for those afflicted with this terrible malady…

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Quadcopter Flown Through Fireworks Show Captures Incredible Footage

quadcopter fireworks videoSo first of all, it’s just kind of fantastic that the little copter wasn’t hit by one of the explosions.

VIMEO user Gasper C uploaded this video showing what it would look like if you could safely get up close and personal to an exploding fireworks show. Enjoy.

DJI PHANTOM FIREWORKS from Gasper C on Vimeo.

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Netflix to raise prices on new subscribers, arrive on Cable DVR’s

netflix-logoQueue the tirades of angry internetizens threatening to cancel/never do business with Netflix ever again…

In their shareholder earnings call, Netflix detailed their first quarter 2014 numbers. Subscribers are up 2.2 million,  They’re seeing strong growth internationally, and overseas losses shrank by almost half, expecting profitability by end of year. Revenue was up around $200 million, but costs also rose in the light of the number of original programs to be produced and advertised. No fewer than eleven new series or new seasons of established season are in the pipeline.

A Netflix app will be coming to cable services which use TiVO DVR’s, with a hopeful nod at additional cable DVR’s in the future. Continue reading “Netflix to raise prices on new subscribers, arrive on Cable DVR’s”

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r/Technology no longer a default on Reddit

reddit bannerI covered some of the turmoil recently, that moderators of the Technology section of social news site Reddit were blocking specific topics, and that the community of people subscribed and submitting stories to the subReddit were unaware of the ban on certain words and terms. This came to a head when it was discovered (via a snarky moderator message) that all posts related to Tesla Motors had secretly been banned.

Late yesterday it was leaked that r/Technology would no longer be a default subReddit. It’s an important distinction for the community. Default status means that every person who signs up a new account automatically gets subscribed to a number of communities. It pretty much guarantees that the community will remain popular as all new members are more likely to encounter it. At the time of this writing, r/Technology had over 5 million subscribers.

Popularity might actually be the kiss of death for some of these subs. As Reddit’s work force is largely volunteer, communities which get too large can be difficult to manage, and there is always the fear that a few people at the top of the moderator list could be co-opted by an outside party looking to profit off of a community. r/Technology now joins r/Politics and r/Atheism on the list of former defaults which crumbled.

Reddit user Doctor_McKay  posted a timeline on the r/Technology scandal. What remains to be seen is if another technology community will rise to take their place on the list of defaults.

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Project Ara Modular Phone Will Arrive January of 2015 for $50

ara1blogpostThis is maybe the phone I’m most looking forward to. Project Ara is a modular phone, allowing users to swap out specific pieces when they wear out or want upgrades. You’ll no longer have to toss your whole phone for a better camera, faster processor, or new battery.

Originally developed by Motorola, Project Ara will remain at Google after Moto is sold to Lenovo. While we’ve seen teasers and rumors have been pointing to release dates, we haven’t had any concrete info on pricing and availability until now. Project Ara will arrive in January of 2015 at a starting price of $50.

Now that’s a bit of a misnomer as that $50 is basically an unusable “motherboard” and you’ll have to buy other components to piece it together into a working device. We still don’t know what hardware will be available at launch, but the first color will be a “boring grey” to encourage customers to customize their phones.

It’s a fairly aggressive timetable. Only two years from concept to delivery. Ara will run Android, but that means adding driver support to the OS so it can recognize different hardware components, something our phones are very poor at doing outside of SD cards and mass storage. Carrier certification is expected by November.

Are you looking forward to Ara? At $50 will you take the plunge on a modular phone? Leave us a comment below!

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Product Advisory Issued for European Nokia Lumia 2520 Chargers

nokia lumia 2520 ac 300 chargerReleased this morning, apparently there might be some design issues with the European and travel charger variations on the Lumia 2520 charger. Nokia has released a safety advisory, though details are slim on what the problem might actually be.

 “While there have been no confirmed consumer incidents related to this potential quality issue, product quality and safety are top priorities at Nokia,” said Jo Harlow, EVP Smart Devices. “We apologize to the owners of the Lumia 2520, and we are working with urgency to minimize the inconvenience.”

Thankfully the 2520 uses a very unique charger, so this shouldn’t affect any other Nokia devices out there.

You can read the full press release below.

Continue reading “Product Advisory Issued for European Nokia Lumia 2520 Chargers”

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My Week Without a Smartwatch…

qualcomm toq activity tracker update smartwatchI’ve been super critical of the smartwatch. I make no effort to hide the fact that I hope people will move directly to heads up displays soon. I think they’re an evolutionary midpoint, a convenient way to continue the conversation on wearable computing started by Bluetooth headsets. Having worn watches like the Toq, Martian, and Pebble for a couple months now though, my opinion on smartwatches has changed a bit, and lately I’ve been more positive on the experience.

During my recent trip to Vancouver, I opted for a Windows Phone instead of an Android. It provided me a better camera and the ability to store maps for offline use, handy as data was something of a premium on my pre-pay SIM. Unfortunately this meant no smartwatch support. I was surprised by how much I missed wearing one… Continue reading “My Week Without a Smartwatch…”

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