Seriously: Dubai police get Google Glass to go with their Lamborghinis
If every police force was like Dubai’s, they’d have to beat back the crowds of recruits. On top of having million-dollar Bugati Veyrons and $350,000 Lamborghini Aventadors as pursuit cars, Reuters said detectives on the Gulf force will soon be using Google Glass. The wearable will help cops identify crooks using facial recognition tied to an online database (while still keeping their gun-hands free). Traffic cops there are already getting Glass, and the tiny emirate has thrown piles of cash at its police force despite a recent recession and relatively low crime rates. Still, looking like a cyborg and driving a Lambo? Eight-year-old boys everywhere definitely approve.
[Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under: Wearables, Google
Source: Reuters
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Google Play Newsstand gets a redesign and new magazine view
Google is working is working its way through all its apps and updating them in anticipation of the release Android L. Next on the list is Play Newsstand, which most obviously is getting a Material Design facelift. That means a card based UI with bigger images and lots of transitional animations. But a visual revamp on its own isn’t particularly exciting. The best news is that the reading experience for print magazines has been revamped. Until now reading a magazine meant scrolling around a PDF version of the print editions, with a few notable exceptions that had “interactive” editions. Now, you’ll actually be able to browse a list of articles in the issue and open them up in a format that’s much more phone friendly. You get clean easy to read text, without having to sacrifice the big images. Newsstand is also getting much more fine grained control over the topics in the explore section. So instead of just Food & Drink, you can get articles dedicated to vegetarian cuisine or the paleo diet delivered straight to your phone. The new version of Google Play Newsstand will be rolling out on Android over the next week. iOS users will probably have to wait a long while…
Filed under: Software, Mobile, Google
Source: Google
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Apple may bring back the Camera Roll to iOS 8
Sometimes it’s all about the small things. With the release of iOS 8, Apple waved goodbye to its renowned Camera Roll, the hub where pictures and videos lived in previous versions of the operating system. Instead, the Cupertino company replaced it with a “Recently Added” section — and let’s just say some users weren’t too happy about that. Fortunately, if you were one of the people disappointed by this, Apple appears to be having a change of heart. According to the site Product Reviews, which points to release notes of the most recent iOS 8 beta seeded to devs, the Camera Roll is back in its original spot, right where it once belonged. Of course, there’s always a chance Apple could decide not to reverse course at the last minute, so don’t get too, too excited. We won’t know for sure until the next version, likely to be iOS 8.1, gets pushed out to the public; for now, you’ll have to make due with what you have on your shiny new iPhones.
Photo by Will Lipman.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Apple
Via: Business Insider
Source: Product Reviews
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Marc Newson Hired Part-Time at Apple for Specific Undisclosed Projects
Designer Marc Newson recently spoke to architecture and design magazine Dezeen in his first interview since joining Apple. Though most of the conversation focuses on a new consumer beer machine he created along with Heineken, Newson does reveal some interesting tidbits about his current role at Apple.
Marc Newson with Jonathan Ive, courtesy of Vanity Fair
Newson confirms to Dezeen‘s Amy Frearson that he is working for Apple part-time and was hired for very specific reasons he would not disclose. He will remain in the UK while continuing to work on projects for his existing company.
Amy Frearson: You’ve taken on quite a major role with Apple, do you think you’ll still have time to work on these kinds of project as well?
Marc Newson: Yes absolutely, because my role at Apple doesn’t necessitate all of my time and that was for very specific reasons, so absolutely, my company still exists and I remain based in the UK.
When asked about his role in the design of Apple’s new Watch that is slated to arrive early next year, Newson was tight-lipped, answering only questions about the future of the traditional watch.
Amy Frearson: Can you tell me if you were involved in the watch design?
Marc Newson: Apparently I can’t.
PR Lady: Sorry we can’t answer that, sorry.
Amy Frearson: Maybe I could ask you another question. With your background in watch design, can you tell me what you think is the future of the traditional watch?
Marc Newson: There will always be a place for mechanical watches. Apart from telling the time – which is all they do – they’re about something completely different. You know, I think that the mechanical watch industry will continue to exist in much the same way as it does right now. To be honest I’m not really intimately aware of what’s happening with the world of mechanical watches right now.
Newson has worked closely with Apple lead designer Jony Ive, collaborating on several products for a Product (RED) benefit auction. Newson also is rumored to have worked on previous Apple products before officially joining the company.
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Twitter for Mac Updated With Support for Multiple Photos and Photos in Messages [Mac Blog]
Twitter for Mac received its last major update in December 2013 in the form of a revamped look with some new features, and the app has finally received another update bringing support for several additional photo features. Among them is the ability to post and view up to four photos in a single Tweet, a feature rolled out for the service in general some six months ago.
What’s New in Version 3.1
This update brings new photo features to Twitter for Mac.
– View and post Tweets with as many as four photos (click each image preview to view the full photo)
– Share photos privately in Messages
– More performance improvements and bug fixes
Twitter for Mac [Direct Link] is a free download from the Mac App Store.
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Advanced Apple TV Remote Interface for iOS and Macs Outlined in Apple Patent Application
A recent Apple patent application (via AppleInsider) reveals some of the company’s efforts looking into ways of improving the Apple TV and iTunes desktop experience using iOS. The newly published patent application, titled “Browsing remote content using a native user interface,” describes a mobile application that would serve as a second screen for a connected media device.
Mobile devices and computers displaying native interfaces for viewing content and sending controls to media device
This smarter iOS-based remote detailed in the patent moves away from the current Remote app that mimics a hardware remote by providing a robust Apple TV or iTunes interface on the mobile device. Users could then browse, search or perform other advanced functions right from the mobile device.
The disclosed technology relates to receiving media signals from a media device and rendering a user interface that is native to the device receiving the media signals based on information encoded in the media signals. The device receiving the media signal interprets information received from the media device describing media content and semantic information describing a type of interface page, and displays the content based on the semantic information in a graphical user interface (GUI) on the electronic device based on the interpretation.
Other descriptions in the patent application, which was filed in March 2013, suggest iOS owners could use the remote to search the web for information, such as the cast of the movie they are watching, and display that information on the big screen.
Apple is rumored to be working on a new Apple TV that could launch sometime in 2015. The company reportedly is working with cable companies to negotiate access to live and on-demand content, but has run into numerous obstacles on the content front.
The new Apple TV may include an App Store, Siri integration and more. It is not yet clear whether the device will be a cable-supported set-top box, an updated version of the current Apple TV, or a combination set-top box and streaming media device, as Apple has been rumored to be working on a variety of different options.
As with many Apple patent applications showing unreleased inventions, there are no assurances the disclosed inventions will ever be released, but they can sometimes reveal hints about the company’s areas of interest and research.
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Spotify Adds CarPlay Support in Latest iOS Update [iOS Blog]
Spotify today released a new version of its iOS app [Direct Link] that adds Apple CarPlay integration. Spotify was among several iOS apps, including CBS Radio, iHeartRadio and Beats Music, that pledged support for the in-car iOS feature when it was unveiled earlier this year, and Spotify’s update arrives just as Pioneer is rolling out CarPlay firmware support for several existing aftermarket systems.
The updated music player will allow users to access their Spotify account using the car’s in-dash receiver and a compatible iPhone. Other changes in version 1.8.0 include support for spoken Swedish and Québécois on iOS 8 and other various iOS 8 bug fixes.
What’s new
New: Now supports Apple CarPlay! Play Spotify in your CarPlay equipped vehicle. Just connect a compatible iPhone.
New: Spotify can now speak Swedish, and Québécois on iOS 8.
Fixed: Various new bugs on iOS 8.
Apple’s CarPlay technology brings iOS features such as navigation, messaging, music playback and more to car dashboards, making it easier for users to interact with those services while in the vehicle. Several automobile manufacturers, including Audi, Ferrari, Ford, Hyundai, and others, have partnered with Apple to bring the technology to their cars in upcoming model years.
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Enjoy these Nexus 6 renders while we wait for the real thing to be announced
With each passing day, it feels like we get to know the Nexus 6 a little better. Codenamed the Motorola Shamu, Google‘s rumoured next smartphone device is set to shake things up in the Nexus category by shipping a 5.9-inch monster of a phablet sometime in mid-October, which has so far gotten varied reactions. Regardless, the fact that the device is likely going to resemble its spiritual brother in the Moto X 2014 means that it is a very familiar device and means Nexus 6 renders that have been springing up, like the one above, are looking really quite accurate. These renders are courtesy of Sir Dave Kover who’s added the Nexus inscription on the back of the device that we have all been waiting to see.
While it’s not certain that the device will end up looking exactly like these renders, it’s a pretty good bet that overall the device will look like this – I’m a fan of the white myself. Behind that Quad HD, 5.9-inch display is a Snapdragon 805, 3GB RAM and a 13MP OIS camera, which all sounds very snazzy, but has us questioning whether the Nexus 6 is going to be as cheap as we’ve come to expect from a Nexus device. All conjecture of course, and we’ll be patiently waiting to find out some solid details whenever Google decides to divulge them
What do you think about these Nexus 6 renders? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Droid-life
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The post Enjoy these Nexus 6 renders while we wait for the real thing to be announced appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
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Phone number payments may soon come to the high street
While carrier billing might be changing the way we buy digital products like apps, music and ringtones, it hasn’t yet become a mainstream method of payment. That could be set to change, however, after the UK’s three largest carriers agreed a new deal that may soon let you pay for physical goods using only your phone number. EE, Vodafone and O2 have teamed up with payment provider Boku to offer carrier billing through the company’s new e-Money service, which allows stores to request your number and have the purchase added to your phone bill. Of course, retailers will need to actively support the service, but with the major operators already pledging their support, we imagine stores would jump at the chance to make it easier for customers to pay.
[Original image credit: Clint Randall, Flickr]
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile
Via: TechWeekEurope
Source: Boku (Businesswire)
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Playing ‘Portal 2’ might make you smarter
“Them games’ll rot your brain, you know,” said the fictional midwestern mom that we’ve invented for the purposes of this story. Grudgingly, we’d accept her admonishment, put down our copy of Sonic the Hedgehog and go back to playing “educational” titles like Oregon Trail and Carmen Sandiego. Now, however, it turns out that a game like Portal 2 is better for your brain than an actual brain-training game like Lumosity.
A team down at Florida State University sat 77 lab rats undergraduates in front of the games for eight hours, with their problem solving, spatial skill and persistence tested before and afterward. The results showed that the Portal 2 players showed “significant increases” in their scores once they’d spent time with Wheatley and GLaDOS while the Lumosity gang, er, didn’t. It’s only one study with a limited sample set, for sure, but maybe the next time that fictional midwestern mom starts moaning about your rotting brain, you can hand her the report and tell her to shove it.
[Image Credit: Alphacoders / Medowar]
Filed under: Gaming
Source: Gamasutra (Scribd), Science Direct
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AIVAnet 