Code hints that Facebook Messenger will let you pay your friends
If you’ve ever had a Facebook friend in need of some money, you may soon have a way to pay them without much fuss. Stanford student Andrew Aude has shown off hidden code in Facebook Messenger’s iOS app that will let you send funds much in the same way that you share a photo; you just have to add a payment card and a PIN code. The transaction is private and appears to be free at the moment, although it won’t be surprising if Facebook eventually takes a small cut of each transfer.
It’s not certain when payments will be available, and there’s a good chance that you’ll be waiting a while. Security guru Jonathan Zdziarski found the first traces of e-commerce code last month, and Facebook’s own Mark Zuckerberg warned that there was “so much groundwork” necessary before the social network could flip the switch. However, the company recently hired former PayPal CEO David Marcus to head up its instant messaging efforts — there’s no question that money will eventually play an important role.
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Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Facebook
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Andrew Aude (Twitter), Josh Constantine (Instagram)
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Feedback Loop: Bad Apple, app automation and more!
In this week’s edition of Feedback Loop, we discuss Apple’s rough September, share our favorite tools for automating tasks and talk about Google’s Project Ara. Head past the break to find out what Engadget readers like you have to say.
What’s going on with Apple?
September was a rough month for Apple, thanks to things like iCloudgate, U2gate, bendgate and updategate. This runs counter to a company that’s commonly recognized for having some of the best customer service and quality products around. What’s happening inside 1 Infinite Loop? Head over to the forums and share your thoughts.
Let’s get automated
Services like IFTTT make our lives way easier by automating simple tasks. Frank shares some of his favorite apps for getting things done, automatically. From things like Alfred and Launchy, to Huginn and Zapier, there’s a lot of great tools out there. Check out his list and then share your own preferred apps right here.
Are modular smartphones the way of the future?
Google’s Project Ara has the lofty goal of giving users the ability to customize smartphones to their hearts content. Is this the way of the future or are super thin (and sometimes bendable) phones here to stay. Tell us what you think about Project Ara right here.
Other discussions you may also like:
- Where do you go for sightseeing tips?
- Authy: 2-factor authentication without texts
- Operation Finish all the Games, September 2014
That’s all this week! Want to talk about your favorite gadget or have a burning question about technology? Register for an Engadget account today, visit the Engadget forums and start a new discussion!
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Lenovo’s fitness-minded Smartband shows up unannounced at the FCC
Lenovo doesn’t want to miss out on the wearable device trend, it seems. A couple of months after filings hinted that a Smartband was in the works, the unannounced activity tracker has surfaced at the FCC. Between photos and a user manual, the approval leaves little to the imagination. The Bluetooth-based device will keep tabs on your running, heart rate and sleep habits while syncing up with Android, iOS and Windows 8 devices. It’s not certain that the Smartband will launch in the US any time soon, if at all — it was a no-show at last month’s IFA event despite rumors to the contrary. If this fitness-savvy wristwear does arrive stateside, though, its black-and-orange design could be the perfect complement to your Yoga 2 laptop.
Filed under: Wearables, Lenovo
Source: FCC
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Nexus 9 gets more real as device gets FCC approval
Everything is falling into place for the Nexus 9 ahead of it’s October 16th release, as the Nexus 9 has received the FCC approval.
Whilst the documentation doesn’t reveal too much about the device, it does confirm that the device doesn’t support the usual 16:9 aspect ratio as seen on most Android devices.
HTC, who are expected to be manufacturing the Nexus 9, is expected to be make a press announcement next week regarding the device.
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The post Nexus 9 gets more real as device gets FCC approval appeared first on AndroidGuys.
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Download the Moto G (2014) wallpapers
If you don’t own a Moto G (the 2014 version) but you still want the wallpapers that come bundled with the device, then here they are for you.
To download an image, simply click on the image in question, right click, and save as. Alternatively, if you want to download all of them, they’re bundled in a convenient .zip file for your enjoyment using this link.
Deals, Discounts, Freebies, and More! Click here to save today!
The post Download the Moto G (2014) wallpapers appeared first on AndroidGuys.
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HP is reportedly splitting into two companies
HP’s home-focused and business divisions have frequently seemed at odds with each other, and apparently the company agrees. The Wall Street Journal claims that the tech giant is about to split into two companies, one focused on PCs and the other dedicated solely to corporate hardware and services. If the report is accurate, the separation could be announced as early as Monday. The exact reasoning behind the move hasn’t been mentioned, but the PC-centric group would be headed by one of its existing executives, Dion Weisler; current CEO Meg Whitman would run the business group and keep an eye on the other company by serving as its chairman of the board. However true the rumor may be, such a move wouldn’t be all that surprising — much of the computing industry has been restructuring and rescaling to cope with a world where the PC’s role is rapidly evolving.
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, HP
Source: Wall Street Journal
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Netflix for Android now lets you quickly spot what you’re searching for
Netflix’s Android app hasn’t made searching very easy so far. While it’ll give you thumbnails, the heavy emphasis on text in results has sometimes meant scrolling through gigantic lists. It should be much more elegant as of today, however; a just-launched update has brought visual search (previously found just about everywhere else on Netflix) to Google’s platform. Look for a title and you’ll get nothing but pictures, making it easier to find an iconic movie or TV show based on its artwork.
Prefer iOS instead? Don’t worry, you’re getting a treat as well. As on Android, visual search on the iPhone can now help you track down actors, creators and directors. You can find everything Netflix has from David Fincher (such as House of Cards), for example. Whichever device you call home, you’ll find your illustration-heavy upgrade at the source links.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD, Mobile
Source: Netflix, Google Play, App Store
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Action cameras: an extreme point of view
Not everyone wants to be in the driver’s seat when it comes to experiencing extreme action — in fact, most people prefer to do it remotely. But with today’s ultra-small wearable cameras and high-def resolutions, the less outdoorsy among us can experience a bit of the rush without any of the broken limbs. The action camera tech we now use is the product of decades of experimentation by fearless filmmakers and adrenaline junkies alike. Join us in the gallery below as we explore the emergence of the action camera from its clunky early days to today’s go-anywhere POV devices.
Filed under: Cameras
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Inhabitat’s Week in Green: solar hourglass, urban tornadoes and the world’s tallest garden
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.
Japan is the birthplace of high-speed rail, and it continues to be a leader train travel — officials just unveiled the nation’s new magnetic-levitation train to the public for the first time! The new train can hit speeds of up to 311 MPH using “L-Zero” technology, and it will be able to zip passengers from Tokyo to Nagoya in just 40 minutes. In other transportation news, Tesla is gearing up to unveil something big this week — Elon Musk recently tweeted a mysterious photo of the upcoming project, although we’ll have to wait until Thursday for the full details. China’s Foxconn may be best known as the manufacturer of Apple products, however the company is getting ready to throw its hat into the EV ring with a $15,000 electric car. And Spanish firm Opbrid is aiming to revolutionize public transportation with a new system that can recharge an entire electric bus in five to eight minutes flat.
Copenhagen is one of Europe’s major design capitals, and the Danish city soon could boast one of the world’s most ingenious renewable energy plants. Argentine designer Santiago Muros Cortés just won the 2014 Land Art Generator Initiative design competition with his proposal for a gigantic solar energy-generating hourglass that could produce enough electricity for 1,000 Danish homes. In other green energy news, Burlington, Vermont, is now powered by 100 percent renewable energy. The city of 42,000 gets its electricity from a combination of hydro, wind and a biomass facility. Solar farms are great, but they take up a lot of space. That’s why the folks at Ciel et Terre just installed the UK’s first floating solar farm in Berkshire. The array features 800 photovoltaic panels and has a capacity of 200kW. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced plans to install solar panels on 24 public schools by 2016. The solar schools are part of a larger plan to install 100 megawatts of solar power on 300 public buildings over the next decade. And with ski season just a couple months away, snowboard maker Signal just launched a solar snowboard that charges your electronic devices as you cruise down the mountain.
Sydney is now home to the world’s tallest vertical garden, and it’s a sight to behold. The 550-foot building was designed by architect Jean Nouvel and French botanist Patrick Blanc, and it features 250 species of native Australian flowers and plants. In other green architecture news, North America’s largest green wall is now complete in Vancouver. An amazing time-lapse video shows the installation of the 10,150-square-foot, double-sided green wall. Urban development is responsible for many environmental changes, ranging from water pollution to the urban heat island effect. But is it possible for urban design to cause tornadoes? A new report published in a Turkish newspaper blames Istanbul’s rapid urbanization for a series of “freak mini-tornadoes” that recently hit the city. Beehives have long served as inspiration to designers, and the UK Pavilion at the 2015 Milan Expo will bring awareness to the plight of vanishing bees with a virtual beehive made of a fine steel lattice and LEDs.
It’s early October and Halloween is coming up fast — do you know what you’re going to be? If you’re at a loss, fear not — we’ve got lots of great DIY costume ideas! You can play out the iPhone/Android debate by masquerading as your phone of choice, or you can bring your favorite game to life by dressing as a Minecraft character, Tetris blocks or a Rubik’s Cube. Robot costumes are also a tried-and-true favorite, or you can get more elaborate with a DIY R2D2 getup. Best of all, most of these costumes can be assembled with cardboard boxes and materials you have lying around the house!
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Super BoxMan App Review
Super BoxMan is a game from BigMoth Studios that puts you as a small box that has to dodge walls that come down at you from above by moving left and right across the screen to make it through the space in the walls. A good concept with an addictive quality, unfortunately there are a few issues that make the game more frustrating than playable.
To be honest, I’m not a huge mobile gamer. Generally when it comes to games I download they’re the pick up and play games, or puzzle games. Games that I can put down at a moment’s notice, but also play for hours if I let myself. This game fits in this category though, making it a good time killer while waiting in line at Starbucks. However, I think that because I don’t regularly play mobile games, this game is harder than it might be for hardcore mobile gamers. That being said, I enjoy playing on my Xbox and computer, so by no means am I alien to hand-eye coordination.
So when I opened this game, and tapped my way through the somewhat confusing menu (Just keep tapping, and you’ll be in the game soon enough) and started to play, I was immediately thrown by a few things. First of all, the controls are really sensitive. All you do is simply tap and hold the left or right side of the screen to get your BoxMan to move to the respective side. But he goes flying across that screen! Also, the colors of the entire game change at a constant rate, from red to green to blue to purple and so on. This would not be so bad, and even be a great distraction to achieving your goal, if it weren’t for the fact that the screen also constantly zooms in and out. This makes for a headache of a game to play, and should probably include a warning for those prone to seizures.
After getting used to those things though, the game does become quite addictive, with the desire to get just a little farther strong enough to tap “Retry” several times. That is, until you need to put the game down to take some Advil.
To recap: great playability in terms of the game’s addictive quality and concept, OK controls that take some time to adjust to due to their sensitivity, and bad graphics not in terms of looks per se (as I believe they purposefully go for a pixelated look) but rather in terms of the constant zooming in and out and color changing combination.
I recommend downloading it to see if you like it and can get past these issues. Just have a bottle of Advil nearby.
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The post Super BoxMan App Review appeared first on AndroidGuys.
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AIVAnet 