Twitter for Android gets ‘While you were away’ feature
While we like to keep a close eye on our timelines, it is nearly impossible to monitor Twitter at all times. That is why Twitter introduced the ‘While you were away’ feature to recap missed content that a user would find valuable. Twitter collects top tweets published between timeline checks. A banner at the top of the display reads “While you were away…” followed by the content. Initially, iOS devices were exclusive to the feature; however, Twitter is rolling it out for Android today.
The ‘While you were away’ feature does not appear to be included in a download-required update.
Source: Twitter
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Microsoft Lumia 435 review
Microsoft isn’t short on Windows Phones at the lower end of the price and hardware spectrum but that didn’t stop the launch of another. The Lumia 435 is the new entry level point for a Lumia Windows Phone.
It’s a crowded space, though. With even some of its own stable mates to compete against, does the Lumia 435 have what it takes?
Let’s find out.
What is full disk encryption in Android Lollipop?
Keeping your bits and bytes as safe as possible through encryption is a complicated affair.
There’s a lot of information out there about Android 5.0 Lollipop’s “default” full disk encryption (FDE). Some of it is good information, some of it is bad information, and plenty of it is just repeated snippets of speculation. While this makes for good conversation — and FDE is something worth talking about — we wanted to break down the finer points into an easy-to-read discussion.
This isn’t meant to be the be-all end-all document on Android encryption. Google has already posted that one. We’re going to tackle the consumer-oriented questions we keep hearing. As always, use the comments for discussion so we all can learn a little something.
HTC teases improved BoomSound experience for One M9
Yesterday, HTC USA’s Twitter brought us another teaser for the device being unveiled March 1st.
Rumor has it: BoomSound on the HTC [letter][number] is SO [adverb] powerful that it’ll [verb] your [noun] off. [interjection], bro.
#madlib
In all likelihood, this is the One M9. If it was the One M8, the company wouldn’t have much reason to withhold part of the name of an already released phone.
Additionally, HTC Ireland’s Twitter account featured a short video in order to emphasize BoomSound.
We only have five more days until the beginning of MWC and the reveal of this device.
The post HTC teases improved BoomSound experience for One M9 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Tim Cook Commemorates Steve Jobs’ 60th Birthday: ‘Love What You Do’
Tim Cook tweeted this morning to honor what would be the 60th birthday of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who passed away in October 2011 following a lengthy battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer. Cook shared a quote from Jobs’ heartfelt commencement address at Stanford University in 2005, in which he said “the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
Jobs co-founded Apple alongside Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in 1976, with the roots of the company based in the garage of his childhood home in Los Altos, California. After turning the Macintosh into a commercial success in the decade following, Jobs was essentially ousted from Apple in 1985 following a power struggle and went on to found NeXT Computer the same year.
Apple went on to acquire NeXT in 1997, bringing Jobs back as CEO, at which point he led the company to become one of the most valuable in the world on the strength of products such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Apple has continued to be successful under the leadership of CEO Tim Cook, reporting the most profitable quarter in the history of any company to close out 2014. The Apple Watch, set to launch in April, will mark the first major new product since the passing of Jobs.
Remembering Steve, who would have turned 60 today. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” pic.twitter.com/0YD0gZ7jvm
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 24, 2015
Today also marks the 15th anniversary of MacRumors, launched in February 2000 by Arnold Kim. MacRumors was a relatively early entrant in the Apple online community, arriving before the introduction of the iPod, iPhone, iPad, OS X and several other products and services used by millions of users today. As always, we express our gratitude to the several readers, contributors, sponsors and all those that allow us to continue sharing the latest Apple news and rumors.
Happy birthday, Steve.
Google Search now offers up health cards listing disease symptoms and more
Earlier this month Google revealed it was adding new health info cards to the Knowledge Graph, meaning that a quick voice search would bring back common questions to a variety of diseases. Now these cards have went live, and they certainly do a solid job of giving out basic details on various ailments.
It’s not just the lesser and more common illnesses that are being listed, either. In addition to more common stuff like the flu and chicken pox, there’s also malaria, smallpox, polio and countless others. Now some of these cards (especially on very rare diseases) don’t have fancy images to go with them, but they still provide at least some base details.
While not a world-changing feature, we find the health cards to be pretty handy, especially if you quickly need to know some symptoms or are looking up diseases for historical reasons (school maybe?), like smallpox. It’s also worth mentioning that all cards have a rating that shows how common or rare they are.
What do you think of the new health cards? Let us know what other ‘interesting’ ones you’re able to turn up.
Kyocera will unveil a solar charging smartphone prototype at MWC
Most of us are waiting on the edge of our seats for MWC, where the Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9 are expected to debut. With all the excitement these two anticipated flagships are building, it’s easy to forget that there are a lot of other players showing off the goods at MWC. One of these players is Kyocera, which is partnering up with SunPartner to bring a smartphone to MWC that is capable of charging via sunlight.
Unlike HTC, Samsung and many of the other phone makers that will be showcasing their products at MWC, Kyocera’s device isn’t aimed at immediate release and is instead a special prototype based on the rather old, ruggedized Kyocera Torque. The modified Torque utilizes a special technology called Wysips Crystal, which basically combines photovoltaic technology and optical technology, resulting in a product that can charge using both natural and artificial light. Even better, the modules used to make it all happen are flexible, invisible (placed below the touchscreen) and measure in at only .5mm.
Not a lot of details about how quickly the modified Torque will be able to recharge with the power of the sun or how much power the system will provide, but there’s certainly some real potential here. We can especially see this tech coming in handy for those times when you aren’t near a charger and just need enough juice to make a quick call, send a text, and so forth. Of course, here’s to hoping the first phone to utilize the tech is a bit more impressive than the current prototype, which is based on a two-year old low-end handset. For what it is worth, Sunpartner says they wish to push the technology into other OEM devices in the near future, though it’s unclear if that’s just a blanket statement or if they are already cooking up relationships with specific OEMs.
What do you think, like the idea of smartphones including solar charging as a built-in feature?
Algorithm determines which rappers have the slickest rhymes
The days of arguing over the worth of your favorite rappers might soon come to an end. Data mining student Eric Malmi has built Raplyzer, an algorithmic program that gauges the average length of a rap or hip-hop star’s multi-syllable rhymes (the key to the “dopest flows,” Flocabulary says) and ranks that person accordingly. Based on this math, the champions are a mix of veterans and relative newcomers. Wu-Tang Clan’s Inspectah Deck is on top, while big names like Rakim, Earl Sweatshirt and ASAP Rocky are near the front.
Malmi is quick to admit that this computer-driven charting isn’t perfect. It’s only looking for standard American pronunciations, so it won’t reflect accents or purposefully skewed words. Also, it assumes that multi-syllable rhymes are what you’re looking for — Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Snoop Dogg sit near the back of the chart, but few would doubt their impact on the rap world. Still, if you’re tired of having to explain why you think MF Doom is better than Kanye West, you now have some evidence to help settle that dispute.
[Image credit: Coup d’Oreille, Flickr]
Filed under: Software
Via: Prosthetic Knowledge
Source: Mining 4 Meaning
U.S. Cellular slashes pricing of its Shared Connect Plans
America’s fifth largest carrier, U.S. Cellular has announced the reduction of prices of its Shared Connect plans. The carrier has slashed the cost of its 1, 3, 6, 8 and 20GB plans while offering 1GB of additional data for customers of the 2GB plan.
“At U.S. Cellular, we are constantly striving to provide the best customer experience by offering national coverage and a high-quality network along with flexible plans that meet a variety of customer needs,” said Joe Settimi, vice president of marketing for U.S. Cellular. “These new price plans offer consumers and businesses unbeatable value no matter their data usage.”
The carrier’s new promo also lets a family of four access 8GB of shared data, along with unlimited calling and voice minutes for just $120 per month. This is a good $25 cheaper than Verizon’s plan.
U.S. Cellular is also offering ETF (early termination fees) for those who are coming from a rival carrier with up to $350 per line on offer.
Source: MarketWatch
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T-Mobile users can track Android updates with new website
T-Mobile customers worried about receiving the latest version of Android can now track the status in an official capacity. A newly launched Software Updates page helps subscribers pin down the update for their respective device.
Broken into three categories, the tool lets interested parties see where the update is along the development process. As of today the site is tracking Android 5.0 Lollipop for nine models spread over smartphones and tablets.
Noticeably missing as of this time are any Sony and LG products. What’s more, we imagine the page could be expanded to include all of its portfolio, even those not expecting Lollipop. Sure, it might not be the best of news, but it’s transparent.
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