Forget detention: Illlinois students might have to forfeit their Facebook passwords
A law that went into effect at the start of 2015 will allow Illinois school districts to demand the social media passwords for students that break the rules or are suspected of cyberbullying. Motherboard received a copy of the letter sent to parents, which details the law:
“If your child has an account on a social networking website, e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, ask.fm, etc., please be aware that State law requires school authorities to notify you that your child may be asked to provide his or her password for these accounts to school officials in certain circumstances.”
However, the law doesn’t explicitly state that officials are allowed to demand the passwords: rather, that schools must have a “process to investigate whether a reported act of bullying is within the permissible scope of the district’s or school’s jurisdiction.”
Parents would be notified before the the school asks for a students’ password. Refusal to cooperate could (and we mean could) even lead to criminal charges being pressed. There’s also concerns that how the law is being implemented could be unconstitutional. Talking to Motherboard, Kade Crockford, director of Massachusetts’s American Civil Liberties Union, noted that there are already mechanisms to obtain Facebook data is cyberbullying is bad enough – through the police.
Source: Motherboard
Spotify for iOS Adding Streamlined ‘Touch Preview’ Controls After Record-Breaking 2014 [iOS Blog]
Spotify today announced an update to its iOS app that will bring more streamlined controls into its music browsing software, most notably allowing users to get a sneak preview of a song, album, or artist with a simple tap and hold on the screen.
The new feature, dubbed “Touch Preview”, is aiming to get Spotify users to find their preferred music faster and with less hassle. The update also brings a swipe-left gesture into the app — doing so on any song quickly saves it into Your Music for listening to later. The update to Spotify’s iOS app will be rolling out later today.
Spotify also announced last week that by the end of 2014, the service had accumulated 15 million subscribers and 60 million active users. Those number were up from 10 million subscribers and 40 million active users reported by the company in May 2014.
As users continues to shift to streaming services for their music consumption, Apple’s efforts in the subscription streaming market are rumored to be seeing a new focus with an upcoming revamp of the Beats Music service, and its integration into iTunes, sometime in 2015. Apple most recently acquired media analytics company Semetric, likely integrating some of that company’s Musicmetric tracking service into Beats and other aspects of iTunes.
Another year of falling profits expected at Samsung
2014 was not a great year for Samsung. Despite still leading the smartphone market with huge sales, the company saw quarter after quarter of declining revenues and falling profits, reversing consecutive years of financial growth. While still far from struggling, 2015 looks to be another year of smaller profits for Samsung, although the flood gates appear to be closing.
According to data compiled by FnGuide Inc, Samsung is expected to generate 20.8 trillion won ($1.91 billion) in net profit by the end of 2015, a decline of 6 percent from the estimated end of 2014. Between 2013 and 2014, profits are anticipated to have declined by a far more substantial 27.3 percent, from highs of 30.5 trillion down to 22.1 trillion won. Samsung will release official figures for 2014 later this month.http://embed.chartblocks.com/1.0/?c=54c0f3dbc9a61d040cfd3026&t=fd615be3eb12abfUnfortunately for Samsung, both revenues and operating profits have been falling over the past twelve months. Revenue is estimated to have declined to 205.4 trillion won in 2014, a fall of 10.5 percent year-on-year. This marks the first time in nine years that Samsung’s revenues have shrunk YoY. Even worse, Samsung’s operating income is estimated to have dipped 32.2 percent YoY to 24.9 trillion won in 2014, possibly due to the company’s ever increasing R&D budget, amongst other factors.
Although profits are expected to fall again this year, the rate of decline appears to be coming closer to a halt in 2015. A show of stability throughout 2015 could reassure unnerved investors that Samsung is settling into a more stable role in the smartphone market, following years of successive growth as the mobile market quickly expanded with new technologies.
“The record-high earnings in 2013 were possible because Samsung was ahead of everyone else in the competition,” – Roh Keun-chang, HMC Investment & Securities Co.
As we saw throughout 2014, lacklustre revenues from Samsung’s gigantic smartphone business are mostly to blame for the drop in profits. A combination of Western market saturation, stagnation in mobile technologies and the rise of low-cost OEMs in the world’s fastest growing markets are all said to have contributed to a tougher year for the tech giant. Analysts at HMC Investment & Securities Co. forecast a 32 percent YoY fall in profits from Samsung’s mobile division this year.
On the plus side, Samsung’s semi-conductor business is expected to help prop up profits come the second half of 2015. Samsung is moving ahead with smaller manufacturing processes this year and will be well placed to provide products to competing technology firms.
2015 may be the start of a new year, but Samsung still has many of last year’s problems to overcome if it wishes to return profits to an upward trajectory.
Verizon expands data options for prepaid users
Verizon prepaid users are getting a bump in data to start the year. Those who are on the $45 plan and previously allotted just 500MB, now receive double the data at a full 1GB. As if that’s not enough, enrolling in Verizon’s Auto Pay will net you another 500GB of data. The plan also includes unlimited talk and text, as well as unlimited text to Mexico and Canada.
Dropbox now an alternative to OneDrive on all Windows devices
Filed under: Storage, Internet, Microsoft
Source: Dropbox
Windows 10 goes mobile, what does it mean for Android?
Microsoft made a few huge announcements yesterday, primary of which was the introduction of Windows 10. One huge feature stood out for us, the fact that Windows 10 will work across all of your available platforms, from the PC to your tablet, and even on your phone.
Microsoft has been struggling a bit in playing catch up with the leading mobile hardware and software vendors around the globe. Windows 8 began down the road to mobile friendly functionality, it was certainly built with touchscreen input in mind, but it somehow felt like an incomplete operating system to many, with a UI that made sense for a tablet experience, but lacked in old school Windows functionality on the desktop.
While Windows 8 is still the prevalent desktop OS, Microsoft has had to rely on a separate OS altogether for mobile. Windows Phone 8.1 is the current iteration, found mostly on the Microsoft owned Nokia devices, plus a small selection of HTC and other handsets.
Windows 10 is a new approach, the same OS is capable of installing on the various devices, where it offers a differing UI for each form factor. From what Microsoft showed off in their announcement, the phone UI brings with it the typical functionality we have all come to expect from our mobile devices. Home screens, settings menus, a phone book, a web browser and more.
What’s new
Windows 10 will rock a new web browser, code named Project Spartan. Cortana is a huge element to the new OS. Universal Apps make for a consistent experience across devices. Action Center eases settings control and syncs data and notifications across devices. Expanded Xbox integration goes beyond sharing game clips, streaming full games to your Windows 10 PC or tablet.
Looking at the new Universal Apps approach, there will be a few limitations as developers work around the x86 vs ARM architectures, but the goal is for one app to work on all of your gear. In addition to the app itself, there has been a focus on services.
Users familiar with the advanced photo functionality of Google+ should be comfortable with most of the Windows 10 Photo capabilities.
Your photos will show together in the Photos app, they will be automatically organized into sections and albums. Small touch-ups will happen automatically as well, such as red eye reduction. Best of all, photos will be a part of the new synchronization technology available on your Windows 10 phone in the Action Center. As is true for Google+ users, you’ll be able to get to your full photo collection regardless the device you are using.
A new messaging app seamlessly jumps between your SMS and IM communications, with Skype integration bringing video to the mix.
There is even a floating on-screen keyboard in Windows 10. Just swipe with your finger to re-locate it wherever you need it.
Should Android and other mobile be worried?
This is a tough one to answer. When it comes to walking into a cell phone store, one usually has to go looking for the Windows Phones hidden on the back shelf. Android and iOS devices have all but monopolized the industry. In these spaces, Microsoft has a long road ahead of them.
When viewing Windows 10 as a service, as many business and educational institutions may do, Windows phones and tablets take on a new appeal. If outfitting a large group of your employees or students with Windows PCs, a matching Windows tablet or phone is an easy sale.
Android, for many, is a powerful OS because it integrates so well with the Google ecosystem of apps and services. Microsoft has a growing user base of OneDrive and Outlook.com users that may become very interested in a phone that directly ties into those services.
As Microsoft expands their services, Windows 10 becomes a larger threat to Android. As a side note, with all of that said, Samsung has worked hard to build their own ecosystem, a roughly mirror image of Google’s own Android apps and mobile related services. Yet, Samsung’s Tizen OS has struggled to take off, so far.
Perhaps one move that Microsoft has done right with Windows 10, is adjust their pricing structure to be more in-line with other Mobile OSs. That’s right, as you have probably already read, for a wide selection of upgrade paths, Windows 10 is free. We are eager to learn what the price will be for those not upgrading. Android remains free, and open, Microsoft will have to keep that in mind as they try to compete.
Final thoughts
If the going success of Windows Phone and the once-great Nokia are to be considered when measuring future threat to Android, we might just say that Android’s market share has nothing to worry about. However, Microsoft has had time to watch and learn, by all accounts, it appears that they are doing things right with Windows 10. We’ll have to wait and see if that translates into smartphone sales.
What do you say, is Windows 10 a viable threat to Android market share, or is this just another Microsoft OS, doomed to be mocked and kept to your PC?
Spotify lets you preview and quickly save songs in the latest app update
Hunting down new songs on any music service, including Spotify, can prove to be such a chore. Especially when you’re on your smartphone and aren’t anywhere near the computer. That’s about to change with the latest Spotify update. Say hello to Touch Preview and some cool new gestures.
Loading up new songs, trying them out and making sure they’re the ones you want is almost an impossible task without hampering the experience when attempting to listen to your own music. This is where the new Touch Preview comes into play. Simply tap and hold on any song to hear that particular track play.
Once your finger lifts off the screen, whatever was playing prior to the previewed track will kick back in. It’s a neat feature. Should you come across new music you wish to have added to your collection, Spotify has also added new swipe gestures. Swipe left to add the song to your collection, or swipe right to queue the track for playback.
The new features detailed above will be available for iOS users from today. So check the App Store for the Spotify update.
- Free – Download Now
Microsoft will beta test a patch for the still-busted ‘Halo’ collection
343 Industries is beta testing its latest patch for the horribly crippled Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Yes, you read that right: Redmond’s internal Halo studio is asking a portion of MCC‘s players to be canaries in the Covenant coal-mine ahead of the latest (hopefully last?) update that’ll address the myriad issues still surrounding the game’s multiplayer. The test is available to North Americans in the Xbox One Preview Program, and furthermore, if you opt in it’ll limit who you’re playing with to those also in the beta. The test surrounds changes to the game’s matchmaking and party systems according to 343i, with further details coming once the update gets closer to a final release. Sign-ups start this Friday, and only those with the “highest levels of engagement” with the game are going to be selected. Everyone else? You’re just going to have to dream of what a revamped “Relic” will look like.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft
Source: Halo Waypoint
Oppo unveils U3 phablet with FHD display and octa-core processor
Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo has recently unveiled its U3 phablet in its home turf. The 5.9-inch phone features a 1080p display panel along with a powerful octa-core processor.
The Oppo U3 sports a 13-megapixel rear camera with Sony’s IMX124 sensor and a 5-megapixel front shooter for selfies and video-calling. Surprisingly, the handset runs the slightly outdated Android 4.4 KitKat.
In terms of memory, it comes with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. The device features a MediaTek MT6752 SoC clocked at 1.7 GHz and 3,000mAh battery that comes accompanied with Oppo’s fast charging technology. The VOOC technology can charge a device up to 75% in just half an hour. Also, the audio output is expected to be quite great as the device features a dedicated audio-processing chip, AK4961.
As far as its pricing is concerned, you will have to shell out around $450. However, you might have to wait before the device becomes available in the US as there is no word on when will that happen.
Source: Oppo
The post Oppo unveils U3 phablet with FHD display and octa-core processor appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Alleged HTC M9 “Hima” press render and cases leaked
It’s clearly hip to be square, as just days after French language site NowhereElse brought us pictures of what was claimed to be the HTC One M9 “Hima”, we have an even larger leak, part of which looks to come from a Chinese website, mscellphone.1668.com. This time the offering comes in the form of not just a press render of the back side, but for the cases as well, all of which highlight the angular nature of the device’s single rear camera.
From the front end, you would literally never know this *wasn’t* the M8.
Given that Bloomberg recently published a story that suggested the M9 would look very similar to last year’s handset, these images would definitely seek to not only validate the story, but go a step further and suggest that the device practically is last year’s handset minus the Duo Camera and with the power button now positioned on the right side, below the volume rocker. Thankfully the IR port still seems to be located along the top right portion of the device.
Perhaps the most damning piece of evidence to highlight the similarities comes directly from nowhereelse.fr’s Editor-In-Chief himself. On his Twitter page, Steve Hemmerstoffer has done the dirty work and superimposed the “M9″ onto the M8 and the results are positively pretty (similar):
The images would suggest that the changes are trivial in terms of the front. Red arrows point out the slightly diminished bottom bezel (though still replete with the HTC logo) and slightly thinner side bezels. The front camera looks slightly larger than the M8’s. The “prototype” also seems to do away with the trim along the border of the phone’s front, though it could be due to the blurry image quality, or simply the color choice.
With the design issue possibly now out-in-the-open, this would mean the “Hima” has to chiefly rely on its alleged inclusion of superior hardware to last year’s model, which is said to include a Qualcomm 810 CPU (the same one that Samsung may have just dumped due to overheating), Full HD screen, a 4 Ultrapixels front camera, and 20 megapixel (square shaped, single) rear camera.
While it must be stressed that none of these images are confirmation of a finished product, suffice to say that by the time press renders start to surface along side of a leaked “prototype”, it becomes more likely to be true. Should that be the case, Samsung may have a major upper hand on HTC this year provided the Galaxy S6 is indeed rebuilt from the ground up and features truly premium parts. There would indeed be a certain twinge of bitter irony should the decision to reuse last year’s design be the M9’s undoing at the hands of the S6, or even the LG G4. Still, HTC seems pretty confident it’s on the right track in 2015.
Assuming these are in fact, a legitimate look at the final product, what do you think? More than a few commentators in the previous post expressed disgust with the camera module in particular, but what of the other design changes (or lack thereof)?
AIVAnet 