Buttons Icon Pack Review: Samer Zayer does it again, pushes all the right buttons
Before there was the Arus Icon Pack, there was the Buttons Icon Pack, a beautiful new set of icons from one of our favourite icon designers, Samer Zayer. These icons take their functions literally – they are all buttons anyway. Each icon is round with an effect given to them to make them look like they pop off the screen, and my, do they look good. Check out our video review of the Buttons Icon Pack to get a better idea of what they look like in person:
The Buttons Icon Pack has 1100+ icons with regular updates made to the icon repository. There are also a number of wallpapers that are stored on the cloud, saving you precious storage space and makes it easier for new wallpapers to be added. If you want to keep track of updates and his new projects, be sure to circle Samer Zayer on Google+ here. The Buttons Icon Pack is available now for $1.49 USD, so if it pushes your buttons, be sure to pick it up at the Play Store links provided below.
What do you think about the Buttons Icon Pack? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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Twitch’s peak viewing numbers rival CNN and MTV’s prime-time audience
So we know that Twitch’s online broadcasts trump those of WWE and traditional sports, but how does it stack up against cable networks like CNN? According to the New York Times, the game-streaming giant’s peak viewership numbers have surpassed the average prime-time viewers for Headline News, CNN, E!, MSNBC and TruTV since this January. At its best, Twitch had over 720,000 viewers in July alone, but as the NYT points out, it’s still pretty far behind the likes of Netflix and YouTube when it comes to total hours-viewed per month. It’s all pretty fascinating stuff, and there are even breakdowns for what competitive gaming tournament broadcasts are getting the most eyes, too. Spoiler: for this month it’s Riot Games’ League of Legends. Considering that we’ve seen Twitch expanding into more than just gaming broadcasts recently (hosting concerts and even entire conventions) it’s pretty likely that the outfit’s numbers will only continue to climb. Surely Jeff Bezos wouldn’t mind.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Via: Joystiq
Source: New York Times
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Here’s how Google’s Project Loon retrieves its internet balloons (video)
Project Loon’s balloons could not be more different than your typical party variety — it’s loaded with research equipment and LTE capability, providing high-speed internet connection wherever they go. Obviously, Google’s X Lab researchers (the ones behind this crazy balloons-as-hotspot project) will want their data and expensive equipment back. So, they equipped their balloons with GPS and formed a special team to retrieve the floating hotspots when they land. Apparently, the researchers plan out when and where to land balloons for whatever reason (they mostly choose flat areas that are uninhabited but have decent road access), which the field personnel then seek out through their coordinates.
Since this process allows the Project Loon folks to clean up after themselves and reuse old equipment to save money, they take retrieval seriously. Once, team member Nick Kohli even traversed New Zealand’s waters in a small fishing vessel for two days, in order to collect balloons that landed in the area. Since he’s most qualified to talk about how retrieval operations work, you can listen to him explain it in detail and watch how it all goes down in the video below.
Source: Project Loon (Google+)
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Two HTC smartwatches apparently slatted for release in September
A concept image of a HTC smartwatch
With ASUS, Sony, LG and Samsung all showing their wearable technology hands early, we’ve been wondering if HTC‘s rumoured smartwatches will be making an appearance before IFA 2014 in a week’s time. We know HTC has been working on one for some time now – Drew Bamford’s words – and we’ve seen things in various HTC videos that look vaguely like a smartwatch that hasn’t been released yet. Right on cue, @upleaks has today leaked some information that suggests there will actually be two HTC smartwatches released, and they are both coming in September.
HTC WWY; Smartwatch, 1.8″ 32*160, 100mAh, IP57, coming in Sep.
— @upleaks (@upleaks) August 29, 2014
HTC CWZ; Android Wear powered smartwatch, coming to North America/EMEA/Japan/Brazil/Korea and Taiwan on Sep.
— @upleaks (@upleaks) August 29, 2014
The first of these two wearables, the HTC WWY is allegedly more of a Samsung Gear Fit competitor, and the screen resolution definitely suggests a more elongated display, like the Gear Fit. The HTC CWZ sounds more like a more traditional smartwatch, which is likely running Android Wear, but no details about its hardware were given. While both devices are said to arrive in September, the CWZ is also allegedly going to be available in North America, EMEA, Japan, Brazil, Korea and Taiwan; this suggests the WWY’s release might be restricted to certain regions. Whatever the case, if these rumours are true (and presumably these aren’t the devices’ real names), we’ll hopefully see more official material at IFA 2014, or sometime in September.
What do you think about the two HTC smartwatches? Let us know your thoughts.
Source: Twitter (1), (2) via Phone Arena
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Home-made vibrating gloves train your finger muscles to touch type (video)
You know what can teach you Braille and piano a lot more quickly than traditional means? Vibrating gloves, or gloves with haptic feedback, if you will. In fact, IEEE Spectrum senior editor David Schneider was so intrigued by the idea, that he put together his own version to serve as a haptic touch-typing tutor for his 11-year-old son. He admits that his gloves (made using transistors, $14 worth of vibration motors purchased from eBay and long cords connecting them to an Arduino Nano board) aren’t as sleek as Georgia Tech’s piano-teaching ones. But, hey, they worked, and once he created a program to go along with them, they did their job well enough.
Schneider’s program displays one among the 100 most common English words at random on screen — it does so one letter at a time, sending vibrations to the right finger as the letters appear. Not bad for something he merely cobbled together. But (as he realized later on), the program would’ve been a lot more fun and effective if it were more of a typing game than a boring digital tutor.
Filed under: Peripherals
Source: IEEE Spectrum
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BRAVEN announces the BRAVEN 705, a more colourful version of the 710
You’ve probably heard us gush about BRAVEN products before – most recently, I reviewed the BRAVEN 710 and it knocked my socks off with its amazing sound quality. BRAVEN is following up this pint-sized entry with another smaller form factor Bluetooth speaker, the BRAVEN 705. You will see that it closely resembles the 710, but the 705 is available in eight colours including bright cyan, magenta, yellow, purple, teal, bold black, grey and white. This is as compared to the two colours available to the 710.
It’s not immediately clear how different the 705 is to the 710, but I’d guess from the $99.95 USD asking price of the 705 that its construction is not of aircraft-grade aluminium. Having said that, the 705 is still going to be IPX5 water resistant which is sufficient for sustaining splashes and generally everyday use. Check out www.braven.com now if you’re interested on finding out where you can get one of these fab new Bluetooth speakers and let us know what you think of them in the comments below.
Press Release
BRAVEN Brings a New Spectrum of Color to the Audio World with BRAVEN 705 Speakers
Acclaimed portable Bluetooth speakers feature bold sound in vibrant colors for only $99.99
Salt Lake City – August 26, 2014 – BRAVEN paints the audio world in vibrant colors with the 705 portable Bluetooth speaker. The ideal mobile speaker for tune lovers wishing to add a pop of color to their everyday music companion, BRAVEN’s 705 features an outstanding combination of HD sound, striking design, and colorful personality.
Available in eight lively colors, BRAVEN 705 offers more than just stunning looks. The 705 delivers amazing sound for over 12 hours, has the modern style and vivid colors to fit every occasion, and doubles as a portable battery to charge your smartphone and other USB devices. A true multi-purpose speaker, the 705 is clutch-sized, can fill the room with loud and clear sound, and showcases a unibody design with clean lines and sleek curves.
“The BRAVEN 705 is a reflection of your style whether you’re hanging out in your bedroom, lounging by the pool, or walking to class,” states Andy Fathollahi, Chief Executive. “The colorful addition to the acclaimed BRAVEN 7 series delivers incredible sound in bright and bold exteriors that match any taste, personality, and décor.
BRAVEN 705 speakers are weatherproof and water resistant, with an IPX5 rating capable of surviving accidental splashes, drops, and bumps. It also sports an array of features, including an integrated noise-canceling microphone to make and take calls wirelessly and BRAVEN’s TrueWireless™ Technology that allows pairing of any two 7-series BRAVEN speakers for left and right channel stereo sound.
The BRAVEN 705 is now available in bright cyan, magenta, yellow, purple, and teal as well as bold black, grey, and white color options for only $99.99. For more information about BRAVEN 705 or the entire BRAVEN line, visit www.braven.com. Visit our YouTube page to see the BRAVEN speakers in action.
###
About BRAVEN
BRAVEN combines unparalleled style with cutting-edge technology to produce premium Bluetooth speakers for the outdoor adventurer and modern audiophile. Founded in 2011, BRAVEN’s focus on audio quality, ease of use and superior features has quickly transformed the brand into a major player in the portable speaker industry. For more information about BRAVEN, please visit www.braven.com or connect with on Facebook at facebook.com/bravenproducts and Instagram @bravenproducts.
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Engadget Daily: Google’s delivery drone, Nintendo’s new 3DS handhelds and more!
Today, we take a look at Google’s “Project Wing” delivery drone, go crazy with emoticons, learn about Nintendo’s new 3DS and 3DS XL handhelds and more. Read on for Engadget’s news highlights from the last 24 hours.
Filed under: Misc
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‘Party Down’ comes to Hulu Plus, first five eps are on free Hulu
Amazon is loading up a new pilot season of original TV shows, and while Netflix’s content juggernaut was shut out at the Emmys, at least it was nominated. So what can Hulu do? In addition to its own list of original shows, exclusively licensed content from UK channels and Criterion, it’s added the Starz hit series Party Down, just in time for your Labor Day weekend viewing binge. The show only ran for two seasons, but all 20 episodes are ready to watch for Hulu Plus subscribers, featuring Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan, Jane Lynch, Ken Marino, Martin Starr and Megan Mulally as employees of a Hollywood catering service. If you’ve somehow missed it until now, this is the perfect time to watch — we teared up when the show disappeared from Netflix along with all of the other Starz Play content a couple of years ago. Now Hulu has picked up the license, and even if you’re not a subscriber you can watch the first five episodes for free on the show page right here.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Source: Hulu Blog, Party Down (Hulu)
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Team Meat reveals Super Meat Boy Forever at PAX Prime 2014
It all makes sense now. After teasing something called ‘A Voyeur for September‘ which would be shown at PAX Prime 2014, Team Meat has instead announced Super Meat Boy Forever, a refreshed version of its similarly named Super Meat Boy. Some very astute people actually worked out quite early on that ‘A Voyeur for September‘ is actually an anagram for Super Meat Boy Forever, unlike us who were genuinely thrown off by Team Meat’s claim of developing a “live-action stealth game”.
Super Meat Boy Forever looks like it’s going to be coming to PC and tablets, but a release date has yet to be specified. We’re guessing it’s going to be much of the same frenetic, frustrating (in a good way) gameplay that made the original game such a fantastic game, which is great for tablets, and it is said to be an “auto-runner”, in the vein of endless side-scrolling runners, but not endless. Hopefully more details are divulged about Super Meat Boy Forever as PAX Prime 2014 wears on so keep your eyes peeled.
Are you excited by the prospect of Super Meat Boy Forever on tablets? Let us know your thoughts.
Source: Joystiq via Pocketgamer
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OnePlus settles for a pre-order system to purchase the OnePlus One, dumping invite system
The OnePlus One could have been the device of the year, and it still might be considered that from a technological and value-for-money standpoint, however its lack of availability has relegated it to a more disappointing place. This problem with availability is entirely the invite system’s fault, the system OnePlus chose to distribute its devices – whether this was due to supply constraints or a marketing ploy, it’s suffice to say it’s a system that has created far more disappointment than goodwill. Thankfully though, it looks like OnePlus is giving up on the invite system and instead opting (one might say ‘settling’) for a much more traditional pre-order system.
OnePlus claimed the pre-order system was supposed to come online in September, but background events have rendered it unable to until October. While the OnePlus One is still going to be a formidable device by October, there are going to be a number of powerhouse devices going to be announced at IFA 2014 in just a week, which can only add complication the the OnePlus One’s positioning in the market. We hope OnePlus has learned from this ordeal as they’ve basically made every possible mistake for a new company to make with failed marketing and disastrous public relations.
What do you think about the change to a pre-order system? Are you going to get a OnePlus One when the systems switch over? Let us know your thoughts.
Source: Reddit via Phone Arena
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AIVAnet 