WhatsApp getting VOIP
Like anything in an open market, competition allows for changes to be made rapidly in a market space. Recently many chat applications have been adding VOIP calling as a standard feature. Apps like Google Hangouts, WeChat, and Viber allow, mostly, free calls to users over the internet. Recently the team at WhatsApp has entered the fray. According to Reddit user Pradnesh07, this feature was enabled on his device by someone else calling him. Click here to check out a video of screenshots he took of VOIP enabled in WhatsApp. In short, a user with the VOIP feature enabled called Pradnesh07 lighting it up for him. Reportedly, this feature will work on any Android device with WhatsApp build number 2.11.508. Right now, due to its lack of presence in Google Play, side-loading the app is the only option for installation.
The video released by Pradnesh07 shows clearly that the app is segmented into three parts: calls, chats, and contacts. All the standard internet phone features are there like speakerphone, instant messaging, and mute. You can even send IMs while in a call. Since this is a huge feature not officially released by the team at WhatsApp, it seem like it has rolled out to a small group of test users.
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Launchpad Toys’ services are free as Google acquires company
The company behind popular services such as Toontastic and TeleStory will be joining Google. Launchpad Toys announced today that it has been acquired by the Mountain View giant and will continue to create digital toys and tools. The aforementioned current offerings will become available to everyone at no cost as the company works on new projects. In fact, Launchpad Toys could share a peek of its future as soon as tomorrow.
Here is the statement from Launchpad Toys on the company site:
We’re proud to announce that our little toy company is pairing up with a great big team of tinkerers to empower GAJILLIONS of playful storytellers around the world. Launchpad Toys is joining Google to create even more amazing creativity tools for kids. Today, we’ve made our digital toys and tools free to creative kids everywhere. Tomorrow… well, we can’t wait to share
– Your friends at Launchpad Toys
Ironically, none of Launchpad Toys’ services are available on Android. Both Toontastic and TeleStory are iOS-only for the Apple iPad. The acquisition of Launchpad Toys likely means that Google will be directing the company to give attention to Android.
Source: Launchpad
Via: 9to5Google
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Silk Road creator found guilty on all counts
After a trial of several weeks, a federal jury has found Ross Ulbricht guilty of running and operating the online black market known as Silk Road. He was found guilty on all seven charges, which include money laundering, narcotics trafficking and computer hacking. Ulbricht was accused of being the “Dread Pirate Roberts,” the so-called kingpin of Silk Road, which he apparently started back in 2010 in order to sell hallucinogenic mushrooms. It then grew into a digital marketplace for narcotics which was cloaked in the Tor anonymity network to hide it from view. Silk Road also used bitcoin as its mode of currency because it’s assumed that bitcoin’s electronic nature makes it more difficult to track. The site was eventually shut down in 2013 when the FBI seized its servers and arrested Ulbricht.
The case against Ulbricht was seemingly overwhelming. When arrested, his laptop was seized, and showed him logged into Silk Road under his pseudonym. Law enforcement also allegedly traced thousands of bitcoin transactions between Silk Road servers and Ulbricht’s laptop, stating that a total of nearly $13.4 million was transferred to Ulbricht. Additionally, police found a “crumpled piece of paper” with details that contained a ratings system similar to one that was discussed on a Silk Road forum. Law enforcement was also able to track chat logs, forum posts, messages and emails that all point to the Dread Pirate Roberts dealings in drugs and, yes, even plotting the assassination of would-be blackmailers. Prosecutors accused him of spending almost $730,000 to arrange the hits, though there’s no evidence that these murders actually took place.
The defense, for their part, said that though Ulbricht started Silk Road, he left a few weeks later, and that the Dread Pirate Roberts was someone else. They cited as evidence the fact that Silk Road 2.0 cropped up shortly after Ulbricht was arrested and that personal accounts are often duped or faked. Defense lawyers also pointed out that Mark Karpeles, the former head of Mt. Gox, the now-defunct bitcoin exchange, was once under investigation as being the head of Silk Road. Unfortunately, the latter was not admissible in court as the judge deemed it merely law enforcement suspicion rather than anything concrete.
Ulbricht faces a maximum penalty of life in prison from the narcotics and criminal enterprise charges.
[Image credit: Getty Images]
Filed under: Misc
Source: Wall Street Journal
Under Armour spent half a billion dollars on two fitness apps
Under Armour just outed its own fitness-tracking app at last month’s CES, but the company seems keen on continually improving its software arsenal. To do so, the Baltimore-based sports outfitter paid $85 million in early January Endomondo: an app for Android, iOS, Windows Phone and BlackBerry that keeps tabs on data from running, walking, cycling and other distance sports. Endomondo also plays nice with wearables from Jabra, Garmin, Fiitbit, Withings and more. But that’s not all: Under Armour also announced alongside its Q4 earnings report that it had nabbed MyFitnessPal for $475 million, too.
MyFitnessPal offers the nutrition piece of the healthy-living puzzle, allowing users to tally daily stats on their food habits. With 100 million registered users between the two, it’s easy to see why UA for be interested in the pair, and for now, they’ll operate individually as subsidiaries of the larger company. Of course, Under Armour has activity-tracking gadgets, and in late 2013, it nabbed MapMyFitness to bolster the software of things. One thing’s for sure: the folks in Maryland are getting serious about grabbing a share of the fitness tech space, unafraid to shell out some serious coin to do it.
Source: Under Armour (1), (2)
Gold and silver Mario Amiibo will test your figurine addiction
You might want to make some more room on your shelves, Amiibo fans. Nintendo is apparently working on some gold and silver variants of its popular Mario Amiibo figurines, which can be used together with the Wii U and the new 3DS. At this point though, it’s unclear when you’ll actually be able to get your hands on them. An eagle-eyed NeoGAF poster dug up the furtive figurines on Nintendo’s site, but it looks like the box art is all the info we’ve got so far. We’ve asked Nintendo what’s up, but for now you can start prepping your riot gear to ensure you make it out of the store alive when the bloodbath for these toys begins. Nintendo’s already sold more than 2.6 million Amiibo, and the demand doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon.
Via: Tiny Cartridge
Source: NeoGAF
Netflix’s next expansion could reach Japan
During Netflix’s last earnings call executives announced plans to reach 200 countries (up from the 50 or so currently served) over the next two years, and now CNBC’s Julia Boorstin is hearing that will include Japan by this fall. Hulu actually beat Netflix there back in 2011, but sold off its service to a local broadcaster last year. Currenty, Netflix is active in South America and Europe with a launch in Australia and New Zealand coming next month, but this could be a part of its first push in Asia. Otherwise the company is “exploring modest options” in China, but we expect there should be plenty of places to watch those Marvel series by the time they’re all released next year.
Sources familiar with the situation tell us Netflix is entering Japan in Fall 2015 $NFLX
– Julia Boorstin (@JBoorstin) February 4, 2015
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Julia Boorstin (Twitter)
Google Search can now calculate your mortgage for you
Google is rolling out an update to Google Search that brings a mortgage calculator right to your smartphone. You can ask Google things like “How much can I borrow at $200 per month?” or “At 5% APR how much can I borrow over 10 years?” The mortgage calculator will even let you adjust your mortgage amount, interest rate and mortgage period. You can also get monthly payment information, as well as the maximum loan amount available. Additionally, if you don’t have any specific numbers in mind, you can simply search the term mortgage calculator on Google to pull up the new feature.
Heading to financial websites or other online loan calculator sites can be a huge hassle, since many of them require a username and password to use their services. This certainly isn’t the most groundbreaking feature of all time, though it could come in handy if you’re in a pinch while house hunting.
The update will be pushed to Google Search automatically, so you won’t need to go to the Play Store to update.
Time Warner Cable fights against municipal broadband by giving lawmakers a vacation
As I have written about in the past, cities around the country are so fed up with their current broadband situation that they are left to either begging Google Fiber to come to their city or starting the process of building their own municipal broadband network.
Rather than increasing speeds or lowering prices, incumbent broadband providers have instead turned towards trying to outlaw municipal broadband networks through increased political contributions. In some cases, lobbyists for the broadband providers actually have written the language found in proposed anti-municipal broadband laws. No, really.
But in Maine, we have a state with maybe the worst broadband situation in the country. According to some rankings, Maine is dead last or near dead last in terms of broadband speeds. Several cities in Maine responded to their lack of current broadband competition by formulating plans to start their own municipal broadband network.
How did Time Warner Cable respond to this plan? As the Portland Press Herald notes, Time Warner Cable hosted Maine lawmakers at a resort by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. At this meeting, Time Warner Cable “tried to convince legislators that government owned-broadband is a bad idea.”
Just as the legislative session was starting in January, Time Warner invited Maine lawmakers to an overnight “Winter Policy Conference” at a resort in Cape Elizabeth, where the company tried to convince legislators that government owned-broadband is a bad idea. The guests were served steak dinners and some were put up for the night in rooms that retail for $205 to $355 per night. – Portland Press Herald
Essentially, they are trying to influence lawmakers behind closed doors. What makes this even more unbelievable is that some of the lawmakers tried to pass off this trip as an “educational forum” about Maine’s broadband situation. It was educational enough for Time Warner Cable to also pay for any lawmakers “partners or spouses.”
But what exactly were they told?
Attendees were given a presentation by two New York legal scholars who asserted that, contrary to what the legislators might think, government-operated networks are neither necessary nor a good public investment. They were also given a presentation by pollster Mary Anne Fitzgerald on a Time Warner-commissioned survey. State Rep. Sarah Gideon, D- Freeport, who attended only Friday’s session, was skeptical of the survey’s section on broadband because some the questions were “leading.” – Portland Press Herald
This isn’t the first time that Time Warner Cable bribed hosted Maine lawmakers to starve off municipal broadband plans. In 2013, Time Warner Cable hosted a similar event. Additionally, since 2008, Time Warner has donated more than $240,000 to Maine politicians.
In Kansas, Time Warner Cable (along with Cox Communications and others) put forward a proposal to impose the strictest municipal broadband bans in the country if a city/area was already served. The bill was even nice enough to make sure that anyone with the slightest cellular connection was deemed “served.”
But at the end of the day, do customers really want faster broadband speeds? Shouldn’t we listen to Time Warner Cable who has publicly told cities like Louisville, KY, that the resident didn’t “need” faster speeds even though the city was begging other telecom companies to come to their area? Time Warner Cable has even reminded us that nobody really wants Google Fiber.
Verizon will discount most More Everything plans by $10 starting Thursday
Verizon will debut new discounts to the majority of More Everything plans beginning Thursday, February 5th. The carrier is also adding a few more data tiers, including 6GB, 8GB, 12GB, 14GB and 16GB options. These new plans will additionally allow some users to save up to $25 on Verizon’s Edge plan. The new data plans are as follows:
- 500MB of data – $20
- 1GB of data – $30 (previous price: $40)
- 2GB of data – $40 (previous price: $50)
- 3GB of data – $50 (previous price: $60)
- 4GB of data – $60 (previous price: $70)
- (NEW) 6GB of data – $70
- (NEW) 8GB of data – $85
- 10GB of data – $100 (previous promotional price: $80)
- (NEW) 12GB of data – $110
- (NEW) 14GB of data – $120
- (NEW) 16GB of data – $130
- 20GB of data – $140 (previous price: $150)
On top of seeing $10 discounts across the board, users can also save some cash if they choose to take advantage of Verizon Edge. Customers that choose lower data tiers (between 500MB and 4GB per month) will receive a $15 discount on Verizon Edge. Anybody with a data tier above that (between 6GB and 20GB per month) will receive a $25 discount.
If you’re on one of these plans currently, you don’t have to do anything. Verizon will automatically discount your plan starting Thursday. If one of the new data tiers interests you, head to the My Verizon site or call customer service to change your plan. The carrier says that these changes will be available for a limited time, though they didn’t give an end date for the promotion.
Asus launches the low-cost ZenFone C in Taiwan
Asus has just announced that the budget-friendly ZenFone C is making its way to Taiwan. While this new device doesn’t have the best specifications on the market (even for the low end), it should be a decent option for folks who don’t want to break the bank.
The ZenFone C has a 4.5-inch IPS LCD display with 480 x 854 resolution and a pixel density of 218ppi. It also comes with a dual-core 1.2 GHz Intel Atom Z2520 processor backed by 1GB of RAM, a 5MP rear-facing camera, a VGA front-facing camera, a 2100mAh battery and ships with Android 4.4 KitKat. The ZenFone C also comes with only 8GB of internal storage though it supports MicroSD card expansion up to 64GB. This is a relatively small device, measuring 136.5 x 67 x 10.9 mm and weighing only 149g. The device is only 3G compatible, but that’s par for the course for sub-$100 devices. The best part? It will launch for NT$2,990 (~$95 US).
For anyone who lives in Taiwan, this seems like a decent option if you’re looking for a cheap Android device. Like I said, the ZenFone C isn’t the best option out there. But Asus has been known to put out some great hardware, even on their low-end devices. Head to Asus’ website for more information on the ZenFone C.
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