Cast your vote for the next crowd-selected Kindle books
Similar its original series’ pilot season, Amazon is opening up its Kindle publishing arm to crowd voting. The so-called Kindle Scout program allows you to peruse portions of unpublished works before nominating worthy pieces for proper e-reader release. If you’re looking to lend a hand with the vetting process, voting is now open for submissions that span sci-fi, romance, mystery and other genres. After a 30-day nomination window, the folks at Amazon will review the tallies before picking what gets made into a Kindle edition. In return for backing a chosen author, you’ll get the published book for free one week before it releases for the masses to download. Not too shabby.
Filed under: Amazon
Source: Amazon
Office 365 subscribers are getting unlimited OneDrive storage
Last week’s earnings report highlighted how Microsoft is doing quite well, and it has Office 365 to thank for some of its success during the last financial quarter. And now the company is about to make things better for people who subscribe to the productivity suite. Microsoft’s going to start giving Office 365 Home, Personal and University customers free unlimited storage with OneDrive, its cloud-based digital locker service — a very kind gesture, to say the least. First, the company says this will roll out to subscribers of the aforementioned plans starting today, but the plan is to bring it to all Office 365 customers over the coming months. If you’re using Home, Personal or University now, however, there’s now a site that can help you flip the switch on your new all-you-can-have OneDrive goodness.
Filed under: Storage, Internet, Software, Microsoft
Source: OneDrive
Spaceborne whisky returns to Earth
Interested in finding out what whisky matured in space tastes like? You may get a chance sooner than you think. Scottish distillery Ardbeg teamed up with the scientists at NanoRacks to put vials of whisky aboard the International Space Station three years ago, and those vials recently returned to Earth. The two companies are now analyzing molecules from the otherworldly beverage to see if they interact with oak any differently than otherwise identical samples that stayed on the ground. You’ll find out the effects of microgravity on your stiff drinks when the research finishes up in 2015. Space may not have any significant impact on the flavor, let alone a good one, but it’s easy to imagine distilleries eventually boasting of how long their whisky has remained free from the planet’s clutches.
Filed under: Household, Science
Via: PSFK
Source: Ardbeg
Amazon betting on newcomer talent to grow its comedy library
Netflix is looking to tackle the comedy genre with full force over the next few years — and it’s very serious about it too, having recruited Adam Sandler and Chelsea Handler to help along the way so far. Amazon, on the other hand, appears to be ready to take a much different approach. According to Reuters, the online retail titan has acquired Rooftop Media, an entertainment company focusing on recording comedy club performances (audio as well as video) and distributing them. Rooftop Media’s main property is the site Rooftop Comedy, which describes itself as a medium that “provides over 6,500 comedians services to help build and expand their careers.” Furthermore, Rooftop says it records stands-up comedy sessions in different venues throughout North America and the UK, doing so every day of the year.
While it is unclear what Amazon plans to do with the newly acquired platform, Reuters says the purchase of Rooftop Media is part of Amazon’s “intention of buying content to round out its online service.” Which is to say, there’s a chance of one day seeing some of these performances show up on services like Prime Instant Video or Prime Music. Who knows, maybe this means Amazon could have its own Adam Sandler very soon.
[Image credit: YoLoPey/Flickr]
Filed under: Misc, Internet, HD, Amazon
Source: Reuters
Alleged HTC Sense 7 screenshots highlight Material Design
A few hours ago a couple of screenshots appeared online allegedly showcasing HTC’s upcoming Sense 7 user interface that’s expected to roll out alongside the Taiwanese company’s release of Android 5.0 next month.
According to the unnamed source, these two images were captured on a Developer version of the One (M8) running the latest build of Lollipop — which is still being tried and tested by the Happy Telephone Company to ensure that it runs smoothly on its smartphones.
As you can see in the pictures above, the design of Sense 7 is pretty similar to Google’s newly-established Material Design standard, but it looks as if HTC has implemented one minor, yet extremely effective alteration to the theme: the background of the software keys are now able to change color according to the palette of the application being used.
Obviously, it’s more than possible that these images are not genuine — they’re certainly not hard to fake. They could be concepts of what enthusiasts expect Sense 7 to look like. Or they could just be the real thing.
Nevertheless, we think they look great, and if these do, in fact, turn out to be the real deal, we’ll be seeing a lot more leaked screenshots within the coming weeks — so be sure to check back for more information.
Source: YouMobile
Come comment on this article: Alleged HTC Sense 7 screenshots highlight Material Design
Fitbit Announces ‘Surge’ Fitness ‘Super Watch’, Two New Activity Trackers
Fitbit today announced three new wearable devices, including the Surge, described as a “fitness super watch,” the Charge, an update to the Fitbit Force activity tracker, and the Charge HR, which tracks a user’s heart rate.
Positioned as Fitbit’s most advanced wearable yet, the Fitbit Surge offers GPS tracking, continuous heart rate monitoring, and the activity tracking that’s been standard in Fitbit’s early wearables, keeping track of steps, distance traveled, calories burned, floors climbed, sleep quality, and various other fitness-based activities like running and cardio workouts.
Available in Tangerine, Black, and Blue, the Surge has a black and white touchscreen display. Aside from tracking various activities, it also allows users to control their music and it includes customizable watch faces able to display incoming smartphone information like call and text notifications. It is not possible to answer phone calls or texts from the device, but its limited capabilities allow it to offer up to five days of battery life on a single charge.
Compared to Apple’s upcoming Apple Watch, the Surge offers many of the same fitness capabilities, but cuts the vivid color display and the deep iPhone integration in favor of extended battery life. The device is also unable to offer many of the cutting edge vibration and pressure technologies built into the Apple Watch, but it is available at a lower price.
Alongside the Surge, Fitbit has also released two simpler wearable devices that are the successors to the Fitbit Force, the wearable activity tracker that Fitbit recalled for skin irritation issues. The Charge and the Charge HR take on the same design as the Fitbit Force, offering the same capabilities like monitoring sleep and tracking steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, stairs climbed, and more.
Both devices are identical, but the more expensive Fitbit Charge HR includes a heart rate monitor that continuously measures heart rate much like the Surge. The standard Fitbit Charge does not include heart rate monitoring capabilities.
Earlier this month, Apple removed Fitbit’s line of activity tracking devices from its stores and ceased selling the device. While it is unclear why the company pulled the activity trackers from its stores, the move did follow Fitbit’s announcement that it had no plans to integrate with Apple’s HealthKit and it comes ahead of the launch of Apple’s own wearable device, the Apple Watch.
Though it no longer offers the Fitbit line of activity trackers, Apple continues to sell other fitness tracking devices like the Jawbone UP and the Nike Fuelband. It is unclear if Apple will continue to allow these devices to remain in stores or if it will cease selling all competing activity trackers ahead of the early 2015 launch of the Apple Watch.
Fitbit’s standard activity tracker, the Charge, is available for purchase for $129.95. The Charge HR, which includes continuous heart rate tracking, will be available in early 2015 for $149.95, and the Surge, Fitbit’s sensor-laden fitness wearable, will also be available in early 2015 for $249.95.
Lenovo’s me-too Smartband will unlock your PC
Lenovo may be late to the activity tracker craze with its unannounced Smartband, but it could have an ace up its sleeve. The company has quietly posted the wristwear on its site, and we now know that the device can automatically unlock your PC so long as it’s nearby — handy if you hate entering passwords. While the Smartband otherwise clones what you’ve seen in other trackers, such as heart rate monitoring and basic phone notifications, that proximity-based sign-in could be a nice complement to your Yoga 3 Pro. Just don’t expect to pick up this wearable yet — although Lenovo has a listing for the Smartband, there’s no way to buy it at the moment.
Filed under: Wearables, Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Apple’s NFC Ambitions Extend Beyond Apple Pay to Building Security, Transit Ticketing
Apple is pushing NFC in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus for Apple Pay, but the company may have bigger plans for the wireless technology beyond mobile payments. A report from The Information claims Apple has been in talks with technology providers about using NFC for building security access and public transit ticketing.
The Apple representatives have talked to technology providers like HID Global and Cubic, which enable secure access to buildings and transit fare systems, respectively, said people briefed on the discussions. Spokespeople for the companies declined to comment about any discussions with Apple, but executives there discussed how they could integrate their systems with the iPhone.
Apple debuted NFC in its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and is using the short-range wireless technology for mobile payments processing.The technology has wide-ranging applications beyond payments, including a replacement for office and hotel security cards, home automation processes and more.
Besides the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Apple has also included an NFC chip in the new iPad Air 2 and Retina iPad Mini 3 to provide secure element of Apple Pay information for in-app purposes on those devices. Future iterations of the device, could however, add antennas and other components to enable NFC functionality for a variety of purposes.
Amazon introduces new Fire TV Stick, a HDMI dongle with remote for $39
Amazon has made an announcement this morning about a new connected device for your TV, the Fire TV Stick. Just like the name sounds, it is a HDMI dongle similar to the Chromecast and Roku. The Fire TV Stick packs in some hardware with a dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. It needs these boosts in hardware over the Chromecast because it has its own UI and ability to install its own apps. It also packs in dual-band, dual-antenna (MIMO) Wi-Fi and an exclusive feature called ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction) that will cut out buffers by predicting what movie and TV episodes you will want to watch and buffers them ahead of time.
Also unlike the Chromecast the Fire TV Stick comes with its own physical remote. There is also a free Fire TV app for your phone which also includes voice search functionality. If you want voice search ability on the remote then you will have to buy a separate remote that supports it. That little voice search enabled remote will set you back $29.99 all on its own. The device also lets you mirror your Kindle Fire tablets and Fire phone, along with Mirror cast capable devices to your TV. Toss in gaming ability with the remote, or separate purchase of a controller, and you a pretty powerful little media stick.
The Fire TV Stick is available for pre-order starting today for $39. If you happen to be a Prime subscriber then you can nab one for $19 for the next two days. You won’t see the price drop for Prime member orders until you check out. Hit the link below to get one pee-ordered.
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Press Release:
Powerful hardware—dual-core processor, 2x the memory of Chromecast, dual-band, dual-antenna (MIMO) Wi-Fi, and exclusive features like ASAP for instant streaming
Best of both worlds: included remote control means simple and easy navigation, plus you can use your phone as a remote with the free mobile app that includes voice search
Simple and easy to use—features Amazon Fire TV’s award-winning user interface—just plug it in and you’re ready to stream in minutes
Vast selection of the most popular video and music services, including Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, WatchESPN, NBA Game Time, Prime Music, Pandora, Spotify, and more for instant access to shows like Transparent, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Game of Thrones, and The Wire—plus the largest selection of movies and TV episodes to rent or buy from Amazon Instant Video
Fling or mirror content from your phone or tablet directly to Fire TV Stick
For two days only: as a thank you to new and existing Prime members, Fire TV Stick is just $19
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct. 27, 2014– (NASDAQ: AMZN)—Less than seven months ago, Amazon introduced Amazon Fire TV, and it quickly became the best-selling streaming media box on Amazon. Today, Amazon is bringing the same experience customers love about Amazon Fire TV—ease of use, great performance, and vast selection—to a smaller and even more affordable device. Introducing Fire TV Stick, a small stick that connects to the HDMI port on your HDTV for instant access to movies, TV shows, music, photos, apps, and games. Fire TV Stick is just $39 and is available for pre-order starting today at www.amazon.com/fire-tv-stick and will ship November 19. As a thank you to new and existing Prime members, Fire TV Stick is available for two days only for just $19 onAmazon.com.
“Fire TV Stick is the most powerful streaming media stick available—a dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of storage, dual-band and dual-antenna Wi-Fi, included remote control, voice search with our free mobile app, easy set-up, an open ecosystem, and exclusive features like ASAP for instant streaming,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “The team has packed an unbelievable amount of power and selection into an incredible price point—Fire TV Stick is just $39.”
Fire TV Stick delivers instant access to a vast selection of content, including the most popular video and music services such as Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, WatchESPN, NBA Game Time, Twitch, SHOWTIME ANYTIME, Prime Music, Spotify, Pandora, Vevo, Plex, A&E, PBS, PBS KIDS, WATCH Disney Channel, YouTube.com, and more. The number of video services and games available on Amazon Fire TV has tripled in just seven months, with more services and games being added every week. You can also rent or purchase over 200,000 movies and TV episodes from Amazon Instant Video, which has the world’s largest selection of videos to rent or buy, including new releases and blockbusters.
Amazon Fire TV Stick features:
- The most powerful streaming media stick—Dual-core processor, 1 GB RAM, and 8 GB storage for fast and fluid navigation and instant search results. Fire TV Stick has 50% more processing power and 2x the memory of Chromecast; it has 6x the processing power, 2x the memory, and 32x the storage of Roku Streaming Stick—this results in faster and more fluid navigation, plus more storage for apps and games. It delivers stunning 1080p HD video and immersive audio with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound. All of this power comes in an incredibly small package—Fire TV Stick is the size of a pack of gum.
- Simple to set-up and easy to use—Arrives pre-registered so you can simply plug it in and start streaming in minutes. Features the same fast and fluid user interface as Amazon Fire TV, with big, beautiful images and easy-to-discover content.
- Includes a remote control—Customers have told us they want to use a remote control, not just their phones, to watch TV. Now, everyone in the household can watch movies and TV shows without borrowing your phone—use the included remote to easily navigate and discover movies, TV shows, apps, and games.
- Free Fire TV Remote App (with Voice Search)—If you prefer to navigate using your phone as a remote control, the Fire TV Remote App for Fire phone, Android phones, and coming soon to iPhone, lets you navigate and manage playback from your phone. The app also features voice search that actually works—it is powered by the same voice search engine as Amazon Fire TV, enabling you to simply speak the name of a movie, TV show, actor, director, or genre into your phone, and you’re done.
- Fast, reliable streaming—Fire TV Stick features dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi with MIMO for fast and reliable streaming. Chromecast only has single-band, single-antenna Wi-Fi.
- Instant streaming with ASAP—No more waiting for your movies and TV shows to buffer—ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction) predicts which movies and TV episodes you’ll want to watch and buffers them for playback before you even hit play so videos start instantly.
- Fling movies and TV shows from your phone or tablet—Fling movies and TV shows from your Fire tablet or Fire phone to Fire TV Stick, turning your TV into the primary screen and freeing up your phone or tablet to provide playback controls, a customized display for X-Ray, or simply a place to email, browse the web, and more, while you watch a movie. Fire TV Stick supports standards like DIAL so you can also fling services like YouTube, Spotify, and coming soon, Netflix, from your Android phone or iPhone.
- Mirror your phone or tablet display—Wirelessly mirror your tablet display to your Fire TV Stick from Fire tablets, Fire phone, and Miracast-enabled phones or tablets including devices from Motorola, Samsung, LG, and Google without any additional apps or software.
- X-Ray for movies and TV shows—Using Second Screen on your Fire tablet or Fire phone, you can see X-Ray information as your movie or TV show plays on your TV via Fire TV Stick. See information about cast and crew, the names of songs as they play, as well as a list of music in the movie or TV show, trivia items in context with the action on the screen, and character backstories so you can easily remind yourself of the character’s history. X-Ray is exclusive to Amazon and is powered by IMDb.
- X-Ray for music—Lyrics display and scroll line-by-line automatically as the song plays, so you can follow along with songs.
- Great for casual gaming—Play your favorite casual games like Monsters University, Ski Safari, and Flappy Birds Family.
- Personal photos and videos—Play slide shows and choose your favorite album for the screen-saver on Fire TV Stick. Photos or videos you take on your phone or tablet can be automatically uploaded to Amazon Cloud Drive, so they appear on your Fire TV Stick.
Fire TV Stick is not a gadget—it’s a seamlessly integrated service that brings together the features customers expect from Amazon, including:
- Whispersync—Amazon’s Whispersync technology saves and synchronizes your video and music library across all of your devices. Start watching a movie on your phone or tablet, and when you get home, pick up where you left off on your TV. For games that support Whispersync, your place in the game will also sync across devices so you can always pick up where you left off.
- Watch on hundreds of devices—When you buy a movie or TV show on Amazon, you can watch it on hundreds of devices, including iOS, Android, and Fire OS devices.
- Worry-Free Archive—Automatically backs up your Amazon digital content in the cloud so you never need to worry about losing your collection.
- Top-Rated, World-Class Customer Service—When a customer shops on Amazon, buys a Fire TV Stick, or buys digital content from Amazon, they know that they are also getting Amazon’s world-class customer service. Customers with a Fire HDX tablet or Fire phone can also use the Mayday button to receive 24×7, free, live, on-device tech support for all their Amazon devices.
- Free Month of Amazon Prime—Amazon continues to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to bring Prime members new movies, TV shows, songs, and books to enjoy at no additional cost. Prime members enjoy unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes with Prime Instant Video. Eligible customers get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime when they purchase Fire TV Stick.
Fire TV Stick is available starting today for just $39—order at www.amazon.com/fire-tv-stick. As a thank you to Prime members, Fire TV Stick is available for two days only for just $19 on Amazon.com. Customers who are new to Prime can sign up for a free trial and also receive this special price.
You can also choose to upgrade to the Amazon Fire TV Voice Remote for $29.99.
Eligible customers get a free 30-day trial of Netflix and Amazon Prime when they purchase Fire TV Stick.
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Twitter removes itself from the MyGlass store
It would seem that Twitter has pulled the plug on their support for Google Glass. At least in the fashion that it was implemented. When Twitter launched support back in May of 2013 it came through to your Glass through a mirror API that mirrored your Twitter data to your eye-balls. It wasn’t an actual APK. To set it up you needed to visit the MyGlass store and turn it on. It now appears that Twitter has since pulled the plug on the service that brings your Twitter information.
According to Glass support Twitter is no longer developing their Glass app. This was one of my favorite and most used apps on Glass. If you remove Twitter from your Glass it disappears from Glassware and there is no option to reinstall it. –Reddit user and Glass Explorer pete716
As you can see from Pete’s information, if you remove Twitter from your Google Glass, you won’t be able to get it back. Cruising through the MyGlass app hub you can see that it has also been removed. That isn’t the end for Twitter though, reading through the comments from the Reddit post we get some more details from a Glass Community Member who points out that just last week the Glass Team released Notification Sync that uses Wear API’s and brings your Twitter notifications to Glass.
I am not privy to the Glass world, but I suspect there are a number of other ways to get Twitter to your Glass. If not, there are sure to be a slew of 3rd party apps on the horizon.
Source: Reddit via 9to5Google
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