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30
Jan

OxygenOS is the name of the new OnePlus ROM


OnePlus_New_ROM_OxygenOS_Forum

OnePlus held a contest to come up with name for their own ROM, and they just announced the winning name. It’s going to be OxygenOS, and the winner is @midifire.

With so many entries, what caught their attention to OxygenOS? According to their forum post, Oxygen is the epitome of simplicity, yet it’s also extraordinarily powerful.”

Oxygen is as they say, all around us and part of everything we do. Alone it’s simple, but when it’s part of something, it does amazing things, and that’s how OnePlus seem themselves.

They plan on releasing more information on February 12, so stay tuned.

source: OnePlus

Come comment on this article: OxygenOS is the name of the new OnePlus ROM

30
Jan

How to manage iCloud Drive syncing over cellular


If you store a lot of documents in iCloud Drive, and you’re on a limited data plan, you may not want apps moving large files around unless you’re on Wi-Fi. Cellular data use with iCloud Drive is nowhere nearly as intensive as streaming music or videos, but if you want to make sure not a bit goes by without your say so, you can manage it all in Settings.

How to turn cellular data on or off for iCloud Drive syncing

  1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Tap on iCloud.
  3. Tap on iCloud Drive.
  4. Scroll all the way to the bottom and turn Off the option for Use Cellular Data.

30
Jan

Of course ‘Law & Order: SVU’ is doing a GamerGate episode


Actually, it’s not about ethics in games journalism. NBC’s Law & Order: SVU will air an episode titled “Intimidation Game” on February 11th, and unless you’ve been living under a rock the circumstances will be pretty familiar. In a plotline following the recent “GamerGate” and the women many of its participants targeted for harassment, the show will feature a video game developer (played by Mouzam Makkar) preparing for a launch “amid a stream of online insults, intimidation and death threats.” Inevitably Detective Olivia Benson and Ice-T are called in and… you’ve seen Law & Order, right?

Hopefully, unlike in real life the cops know how to deal with online intimidation and threats, but we also hope that the dramatization doesn’t downplay the all-too-real events that are still occurring. As far as the real lives of some of the women the episode appears to be basing its main character on, Zoe Quinn has an online support network for those dealing with internet abuse called Crash Override, while Brianna Wu is working on “Women in Tech: The Book!“. Similarly, Anita Sarkeesian laid out 2015 plans for her organization, Feminist Frequency, and is working with “major social media and gaming platforms” to work on ending harassment.

“LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT”
“INTIMIDATION GAME”

02/11/2015 (09:00PM – 10:00PM) (Wednesday) : THE VIRTUAL WORLD BECOMES REALITY WHEN A VIDEO GAME CONVENTION TURNS INTO A CRIME SCENE

Video game developer Raina Punjabi (guest star Mouzam Makkar) solidifies the launch of her first game amid a stream of online insults, intimidation and death threats from the male-dominated gaming community. When a female employee is assaulted at a gamer convention, Detective Tutuola (Ice-T) investigates the crime but Raina refuses to delay the launch, and the cops must “level up” to protect her. Also starring Mariska Hargitay (Sgt. Olivia Benson), Kelli Giddish (Det. Amanda Rollins) and Peter Scanavino (Det. Dominick Carisi Jr.). Guest starring Peter Mark Kendall (Steven Kaplan), Susannah Flood (Sarah Keller) and Griffin Matthews (Leslie Connolly).

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Via: @Wario64 (Twitter)

Source: NBC

30
Jan

They have to be kidding: Google admits they can’t keep up with Nexus 6 demand


google_nexus_6_front

It’s starting to sound like a broken record with every Nexus phone. Google reported quarterly results today and CFO Patrick Pichette acknowledged that they can’t keep up with Nexus 6 demand.

He said, “While the Nexus 6 was well received as a new phone, we had real issues and were unable to secure sufficient inventory to meet the demand that we had forecasted.”

Why does this always seem to be the case with Google? It all started with the Nexus 4, which was a complete fiasco. The Nexus 5 wasn’t too bad, but things got bad again with the Nexus 6. It’s not like Google doesn’t have deep pockets to buy phones. Do they want people to believe the demand is so high?

Nexus phones are not big sellers no matter what anyone tells you. Just take a look at the latest distribution numbers in which Lollipop didn’t even make the list. That means that less than 0.1% of people are on Lollipop. That includes current and older Nexus devices, not to mention some other Motorola devices. We are talking very small numbers here. How could a company like Google and Motorola miss by that much.

The bottomline is that Google likes to keep the production lower than the demand to create excitement. Even if the demand is not all that high. The Nexus 6 is no iPhone folks. Ask anyone on the street if they ever heard of it and 99 out of 100 people will say “what?”

 

Come comment on this article: They have to be kidding: Google admits they can’t keep up with Nexus 6 demand

30
Jan

Sprint will apologize to AT&T and Verizon during the Super Bowl


Sprint_Sheep_Commercial_Screenshot_01

A couple of months ago, Sprint released a commercial about their family plan and kind of referred to AT&T and Verizon as sheep. Well apparently they have decided to issue an apology during the third quarter of some sort of big football game this weekend. Yup, it will be in the form of a commercial. Something tells me they really won’t be all that apologetic. And is AT&T and Verizon really wait for an apology?

Hit the break for the teaser they released earlier today along with the commercial from November that started it all.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Come comment on this article: Sprint will apologize to AT&T and Verizon during the Super Bowl

30
Jan

Jeff Williams and the continued success of Apple’s ops team


Jeff Williams, senior vice president of operations at Apple, took over day-to-day leadership of the ops team following Tim Cook’s transition from Chief Operating Officer (COO) to Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Since then Apple has shipped a flabbergasting number of iPhones, a huge number of Macs and iPads, and started ramping up to ship the first batch of Apple Watches. To say Williams runs the best ops team in the business does him and them a disservice — No one else even comes close. That’s no dount why he’s getting some much-deserved attention following Apple’s blow-out Q1 2015 results. Neil Cybart, writing for Above Avalon:

One thing became abundantly clear after analyzing Apple’s recent earnings report: Jeff Williams is doing a phenomenal job. As senior vice president of Operations, Williams is tasked with making sure the Apple machine is well-oiled and in tip-top shape, not only capable of producing more than 100 million iOS devices in a quarter, but building flexibility into the system to handle annual hardware updates that would make most hardware companies quiver with fear.

John Gruber, writing for Daring Fireball:

First, in terms of iPhone operations and considering nothing else, Jeff Williams has clearly done an amazing job. Apple sold a record 74 million iPhones last quarter, and though the company doesn’t break that down by models for competitive reasons, everyone knows that a huge chunk of those were the brand-new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. They were supply-constrained on both models, particularly the 6 Plus, but only by a few weeks. Operationally Apple did an incredible job meeting demand for iPhones — they sold more than ever but were less supply-constrained than in the last few launch quarters. For context, in 2008, Apple sold a total 10 million iPhones for the entire year. All credit to the hardware, software, and product marketing teams for the fact that 74 million people wanted to buy an iPhone last quarter. But the credit goes to Williams’s operations team that there were 74 million units available to sell.

There was a story, I believe passed along by Gruber, about how someone asked how the original iPad came to be, and the answer they got was Steve Jobs. When they asked how it came to cost only $500, the answer they got was Tim Cook. Today, Jeff Williams is running the Apple Watch team, and when it comes costing only $349, he’ll be a huge part of that answer.

Behind Tim Cook’s mantra of “making the great products” is Apple’s ability to make customers believe they’re getting value far beyond the cost. Part of that value equation, now like then, is thanks to the ops team, and at a scale that dwarfs anything else we’ve ever seen before.

For that, Jeff Williams and his entire org deserves not only a ton of attention, but ton of credit as well.

30
Jan

Google is offering Inbox invites until tomorrow morning


Inbox by Gmail 3

Oddly enough, Google still hasn’t opened up Inbox by Gmail to the general public months after its announcement. If you’ve been itching to try the service, today is your lucky day. Google is giving out Inbox invites until 9 AM PST/11 AM CST on Friday morning. All you need to do is send an email to inbox@google.com with your current Gmail address.

Inbox has been around for quite some time now, and the majority of users seem to be torn on the service. Some think it’s confusing and too limited, while others seem to think it’s an easier way to sort through their cluttered inboxes. No matter the case, Google has provided some interesting stats about how Inbox is doing. 70% of Inbox users are on Android, 28% on iOS and 34% on the web. 85% of all messages received on the service are grouped into a bundle of some sort, and 60% of users sweep away bundles twice a day. There are some other interesting stats listed, and you can find them all by following the Gmail link below.

If you want some more information about the app before you download it, head to our overview and hands-on video here. If you want to score an invite, hurry up and send that invite request!

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30
Jan

Saygus V2 pre-order date and price announced



The smartphone that grabbed a lot of attention at this year’s CES will be available to pre-order on February 2 at 11:59pm. The Saygus V2 is a high-end smartphone that packs a punch in terms of hardware that no other phone has been able to boast.

The smartphone will cost $549 off-contract and comes with many nice features, including wireless HD 60GHz streaming of the phone’s screen to any TV or monitor, and even root access right out of the box. The V2 also has multi-boot capabilities, meaning it come run a separate operating system off an SD card.

The hardware of the phone packs a nice 5″ 1920x1080p display covered in Gorilla Glass 4, a Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB of RAM, a 21-megapixel back camera, 13-megapixel front camera, 3100mAh battery, all covered by an IPX7 rated waterproof body.

More information about the Saygus V2 smartphone can be found here at their main website.

 

via Android Authority


The post Saygus V2 pre-order date and price announced appeared first on AndroidGuys.

30
Jan

Google X Labs made synthetic skin to test a cancer-detecting bracelet


If someone asks you to name a Google X Labs moonshot, you’d probably say Glass, self-driving car or maybe even Project Loon. But as you might remember from the WSJD Live conference last year, it also has a flourishing Life Sciences division that employs 100 doctors and scientists, and one of their main projects is a Fitbit-like bracelet that can detect cancer cells. Now, The Atlantic has taken a peek into the division’s headquarters in Mountain View. The publication’s video (below the fold) also explains why the team has to create synthetic human skin mixed with the real thing to cover disembodied arms.

See, those arms serve as testers for the Labs’ cancer-detecting bracelet project. For that to make sense, though, you need to understand how the system works: first you’ll need to take pills packed with nanoparticles that circulate throughout the body looking for cancer cells. If they find any, they’ll bind to those cells, which then literally light up. After that, the cell-particle combos make their way underneath the bracelet, since it has a magnet that attracts the nanoparticles.

Since the team wants to make sure that an illuminated clump of cancer cells is visible through human skin, they created those practice arms. They’re covered in skin exhibiting different properties (thickness, etc.), as well as skin mimicking those of different ethnicities and skin tones. The bracelet probably won’t be sniffing out cancer in the real world anytime soon, though, so watch the interview for now to see what it’s like inside Google X Labs’ Life Sciences department.

Filed under: Science, Google

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Source: The Atlantic

30
Jan

Android shipments reached 1 billion for 2014


android_shipping_picture1

Global research and analysis firm, Strategy Analytics, just posted a press release detailing the abundance of Android-powered smartphones that were shipped in 2014. According to the firm, just over 1 billion smartphones running Google’s operating system were shipped.

The exact figure was roughly 1.043 billion, a definite increase to 2013′s 780 million. In comparison, Apple only shipped 193 million smartphones. Trailing a distant third, Microsoft shipped 39 million units.

Strategy Analytics claims this brings the global market share of Android devices to 81%.

To read the full press release from Strategy Analytics, click the “Read more” link below.

BOSTONJan. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ – According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global smartphone shipments grew 30 percent annually to reach a record 1.3 billion units in 2014. Android accounted for 81 percent of all smartphones last year and shipped over 1 billion units worldwide for the first time ever.

Linda Sui, Director at Strategy Analytics, said, “Global smartphone shipments grew 30 percent annually from 1.0 billion units in 2013 to a record 1.3 billion in 2014. Emerging markets, such as China and Indonesia, drove the industry’s growth last year and they will continue to do so through 2015.”

Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Android shipped 1.0 billion smartphones worldwide in 2014, rising from 0.8 billion units in 2013. Android has become the first ever smartphone operating system to ship more than 1 billion units in a single year. Android accounted for a huge 81 percent share of all smartphones shipped globally in 2014, and Apple iOS remains its only serious threat for now. Apple iOS shipped 192.7 million smartphones worldwide in 2014, capturing 15 percent share. The new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models have recently re-energized Apple’s growth and their bigger-screen designs have swiftly gained traction among wealthy consumers.”

Woody Oh, Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Microsoft shipped 38.8 million smartphones for a relatively niche 3 percent marketshare worldwide in 2014. Microsoft’s Windows platform dominates PCs, but it continues to struggle in smartphones. Microsoft still lacks multiple major hardware partners to build its phones, while Microsoft’s retail presence in important countries like Chinaremains tiny.”

Exhibit 1: Global Smartphone Operating System Shipments and Marketshare in Q4 2014  [1]

Global Smartphone OS Shipments (Millions of Units)

Q4 ’13

2013

Q4 ’14

2014

Android

227.3

780.8

291.7

1042.7

Apple iOS

51.0

153.4

74.5

192.7

Microsoft

9.6

35.8

11.3

38.8

Others

2.3

20.0

2.6

9.3

Total

290.2

990.0

380.1

1283.5

Global Smartphone OS Marketshare (%)

Q4 ’13

2013

Q4 ’14

2014

Android

78.3%

78.9%

76.7%

81.2%

Apple iOS

17.6%

15.5%

19.6%

15.0%

Microsoft

3.3%

3.6%

3.0%

3.0%

Others

0.8%

2.0%

0.7%

0.7%

Total

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

Total Growth: Year-over-Year (%)

33.7%

41.4%

31.0%

29.6%

Source: Strategy Analytics

[1] Numbers are rounded.

The full report, Android Shipped 1 Billion Smartphones Worldwide in 2014, is published by the Strategy Analytics Wireless Smartphone Strategies (WSS) service, details of which can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/9djv7u8.

About Strategy Analytics:

Strategy Analytics is a global, independent research and consulting firm. The company is headquartered in BostonUSA, with offices in the UK, FranceGermanyJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanIndia and China. Visit www.strategyanalytics.com for more information.

Source: Strategy Analytics

Come comment on this article: Android shipments reached 1 billion for 2014