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19
Feb

Score Snapchat videos with songs from your phone


Have the perfect song in mind for a Snapchat video? Well, now you can play music from your phone while filming it. Thanks to an update, the ephemeral sharing app no longer pauses whatever track is playing while it captures a few seconds of video footage. Of course, the music is recorded with your handset’s built-in mic, so don’t expect high-quality audio. However, you can play tunes stored on the device or streamed from services like. The update is available now for iOS devices, and we expect it’ll arrive for Android soon enough.

Filed under: Software, Mobile

Comments

Via: TechCrunch

Source: iTunes

19
Feb

Google’s fifth Science Fair rewards teens for saving the environment


A girl uses a robot arm

Google’s Science Fair competition regularly leads to clever inventions from teens, and this year’s event (the fifth ever) is giving junior pioneers an extra incentive to strive for a prize. On top of familiar rewards, including $100,000 in scholarships and trips to the Galapagos or Virgin Galactic’s spaceport, there’s a Community Impact Award that honors efforts tackling environmental or health issues — kids who clean up the planet or save a life may get special recognition. Teachers will also get their due through a new Inspiring Educator award. Young creators have until May 18th to submit their finished projects to Google, and you’ll hear about the winners at a finalist event starting on September 19th.

Filed under: Science, Google

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Source: Google Official Blog

19
Feb

Score Snapchat videos with songs from your phone


Have the perfect song in mind for a Snapchat video? Well, now you can play music from your phone while filming it. Thanks to an update, the ephemeral sharing app no longer pauses whatever track is playing while it captures a few seconds of video footage. Of course, the music is recorded with your handset’s built-in mic, so don’t expect high-quality audio. However, you can play tunes stored on the device or streamed from services like. The update is available now for iOS devices, and we expect it’ll arrive for Android soon enough.

Filed under: Software, Mobile

Comments

Via: TechCrunch

Source: iTunes

19
Feb

MIT’s light-up robot garden teaches you how to code


MIT's robot garden

If you’re teaching kids how to code, what do you do to show that software makes an impact in the real world? MIT has a clever idea: a robot garden. The project lets you control a grid of Arduino-linked “plants” through programming that makes them blossom and light up in pretty (and occasionally mesmerizing) ways. It’ll even teach the virtues of distributed computing — you can tell these leafy robots to bloom or change color in algorithm-driven sequences. The garden is just a demo for now, but it’ll eventually turn into an easy-to-replicate curriculum for students who’d otherwise have to settle for seeing their results on-screen.

[Image credit: Jason Dorfman, CSAIL]

Filed under: Science, Software

Comments

Source: MIT News

19
Feb

Motorola president states obvious: Apple charges too much


 

Rick_Osterloh_Code-Mobile_01

In a recent interview with the BBC, Motorola President Rick Osterloh took a moment to respond to criticism from Apple’s lead designer, Jony Ive. Ive, in an interview with the New Yorker, stated that the Moto-Maker allowed Motorola to abdicate its responsibility as a designer (note: Ive did not actually mention Motorola by name).

Osterloh told the BBC that Motorola believed in a different philosophy involving consumer engagement with the design process.

Ive’s full comment to the New Yorker was as follows: “Their value proposition was, ‘Make it whatever you want. You can choose whatever colour you want.’ And I believe that’s abdicating your responsibility as a designer.”

Osterloh did not take kindly to the assault on the Moto-Maker and fired back, “Our belief is that the end user should be directly involved in the process of designing products. We’re making the entire product line accessible. And frankly, we’re taking a directly opposite approach to them [Apple].”

The Motorola exec then went on to criticize Apple’s exorbitant pricing scheme for its devices: “We do see a real dichotomy in this marketplace, where you’ve got people like Apple making so much money and charging such outrageous prices. We think that’s not the future.”

Motorola’s budget devices, the Moto G and Moto E, and especially Motorola’s flagship, the Moto X, are all devices that offer feature-rich experiences to consumers at prices that fall well below that of Apple’s. Speaking of the Moto G and Moto E, Osterloh went on to say:

We believe the future is in offering similar experiences and great consumer choice at accessible prices.

The mobile phone industry’s greatest failure is also its greatest opportunity: to make really good, affordable devices for people who don’t want to spend a lot of money.

A great smartphone, and a great mobile internet experience, shouldn’t be an expensive luxury. It should be a simple choice for everyone.

Source: BBC

Come comment on this article: Motorola president states obvious: Apple charges too much

19
Feb

Motorola president states obvious: Apple charges too much


 

Rick_Osterloh_Code-Mobile_01

In a recent interview with the BBC, Motorola President Rick Osterloh took a moment to respond to criticism from Apple’s lead designer, Jony Ive. Ive, in an interview with the New Yorker, stated that the Moto-Maker allowed Motorola to abdicate its responsibility as a designer (note: Ive did not actually mention Motorola by name).

Osterloh told the BBC that Motorola believed in a different philosophy involving consumer engagement with the design process.

Ive’s full comment to the New Yorker was as follows: “Their value proposition was, ‘Make it whatever you want. You can choose whatever colour you want.’ And I believe that’s abdicating your responsibility as a designer.”

Osterloh did not take kindly to the assault on the Moto-Maker and fired back, “Our belief is that the end user should be directly involved in the process of designing products. We’re making the entire product line accessible. And frankly, we’re taking a directly opposite approach to them [Apple].”

The Motorola exec then went on to criticize Apple’s exorbitant pricing scheme for its devices: “We do see a real dichotomy in this marketplace, where you’ve got people like Apple making so much money and charging such outrageous prices. We think that’s not the future.”

Motorola’s budget devices, the Moto G and Moto E, and especially Motorola’s flagship, the Moto X, are all devices that offer feature-rich experiences to consumers at prices that fall well below that of Apple’s. Speaking of the Moto G and Moto E, Osterloh went on to say:

We believe the future is in offering similar experiences and great consumer choice at accessible prices.

The mobile phone industry’s greatest failure is also its greatest opportunity: to make really good, affordable devices for people who don’t want to spend a lot of money.

A great smartphone, and a great mobile internet experience, shouldn’t be an expensive luxury. It should be a simple choice for everyone.

Source: BBC

Come comment on this article: Motorola president states obvious: Apple charges too much

19
Feb

Motorola president states obvious: Apple charges too much


 

Rick_Osterloh_Code-Mobile_01

In a recent interview with the BBC, Motorola President Rick Osterloh took a moment to respond to criticism from Apple’s lead designer, Jony Ive. Ive, in an interview with the New Yorker, stated that the Moto-Maker allowed Motorola to abdicate its responsibility as a designer (note: Ive did not actually mention Motorola by name).

Osterloh told the BBC that Motorola believed in a different philosophy involving consumer engagement with the design process.

Ive’s full comment to the New Yorker was as follows: “Their value proposition was, ‘Make it whatever you want. You can choose whatever colour you want.’ And I believe that’s abdicating your responsibility as a designer.”

Osterloh did not take kindly to the assault on the Moto-Maker and fired back, “Our belief is that the end user should be directly involved in the process of designing products. We’re making the entire product line accessible. And frankly, we’re taking a directly opposite approach to them [Apple].”

The Motorola exec then went on to criticize Apple’s exorbitant pricing scheme for its devices: “We do see a real dichotomy in this marketplace, where you’ve got people like Apple making so much money and charging such outrageous prices. We think that’s not the future.”

Motorola’s budget devices, the Moto G and Moto E, and especially Motorola’s flagship, the Moto X, are all devices that offer feature-rich experiences to consumers at prices that fall well below that of Apple’s. Speaking of the Moto G and Moto E, Osterloh went on to say:

We believe the future is in offering similar experiences and great consumer choice at accessible prices.

The mobile phone industry’s greatest failure is also its greatest opportunity: to make really good, affordable devices for people who don’t want to spend a lot of money.

A great smartphone, and a great mobile internet experience, shouldn’t be an expensive luxury. It should be a simple choice for everyone.

Source: BBC

Come comment on this article: Motorola president states obvious: Apple charges too much

19
Feb

StackSocial Offers ‘Ultra-Premium’ Bundle of 8 Mac Apps for $39.99 [Mac Blog]


StackSocial began offering eight Mac apps in its “Ultra-Premium” bundle today, which includes Cultured Code’s Things 2, an Apple Design Award winner, and Realmac Software’s Typed, which was just released in December. The bundle is priced at $44.99, but StackSocial is offering MacRumors readers a $5 discount with coupon code MRULTRA5, bringing the price down to $39.99.

MacBundle_575x300
The total retail value of all eight apps is $469, so the bundle at $39.99 offers a significant savings compared to buying each app individually. The apps included are:

ScreenFlow 5 ($99.99) – screen recording tool
Things 2 ($49) – task manager
Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth ($49.99) – turn-based strategy game
ProSoft Data Rescue 4 ($99.99) – data recovery utility
ExpanDrive 4 ($49.95) – directly access files stored in many popular cloud services
AfterShot Pro 2 ($79.95) – photo editor
Typed ($24.95) – text editor
Snapselect ($24.99) – photo sorter for finding and eliminating duplicate and similar photos

Civilization: Beyond Earth was originally announced for Mac last April and debuted in the Mac App Store in November. ScreenFlow previously won an Apple Design Award several years ago.

The Ultra-Premium Bundle is available until March 5.

MacRumors is an affiliate partner of StackSocial.