Facebook lets you choose what happens to your profile after you’ve died
You can’t take your Facebook friends with you to the afterlife, but at least you can now prevent your snarky comments about Drag Race serving as a poor memorial. The social network has announced that users will be able to designate a legacy contact that can maintain their accounts after they have died. According to the Wall Street Journal, a new group of options will let you pick a digital executor to run your page as a memorial, or elect to have your profile deleted once it’s proven that you’ve passed away.
Currently, if the site learns of your death, your page is frozen, and although no adverts are run, this can sometimes have unfortunate consequences. According to the paper, US users will begin to see the options appearing from today, with other nations coming on shortly afterward. Privacy-conscious users will also be reassured to learn that your nominated Facebook friend will be able to see your photos and public posts, but not your private messages. In addition, Facebook says that if a person hasn’t been nominated on the site, but was asked to do the same job in a will, then the site will respect the deceased’s wishes.
[Image Credit: Ambientideas/Getty]
Filed under: Internet, Facebook
Source: Wall Street Journal
Amazon offering $140 worth of apps for free in latest giveaway
Amazon’s latest app giveaway is here, and includes over $140 worth of premium content that is available for free from now until February 14. The giveaway features a total of 37 apps, including Listure, Sleep as Android, Runtastic Pro and more.
ZeptoLab’s King of Thieves is now available for iPhone and iPad
From the creators of Cut the Rope comes King of Thieves, a new freemium multiplayer game now available for iPhone and iPad. Sporting high quality art and animations, players are tasked with avoiding deadly traps, competing to break into customized dungeons to steal enemy gems and gold. The only problem is the player dungeon will come under attack too so it’s best to invest some time in building some defences.
And since it’s a multiplayer title, you’ll have to remain on top of the evolving threat from other players. Could you become the wealthiest thief in the world? If not, there are always guilds to join to help bolster your efforts and focus on that seemingly unbeatable thief. 80 single-mode levels are available, as well as user generated content for the time when you’d like to dive into the unexpected.
Everything in King of Thieves comes down to the leaderboard. Your job is to top it. Download King of Thieves from the App Store today.
- Free – Download Now
Microsoft’s latest ad shows how Cortana can help new parents
Microsoft has published a new advert for the Lumia 735, focusing on becoming a new parent. Using the power of Cortana, there’s not only the selection of features available at hand from the get go, but the personal assistant is also able to get to know interests and habits of the Windows Phone owner.
Google is working on a new Bluetooth-based payment service
If Google has its way, you will one day be able to pay for your pizza at Papa John’s by simply saying your initials to the cashier.
That’s the gist of a report from The Information about a new mobile payment service that Google is working on, called Plaso (pronounced play-so.) Details are lacking for now, but here’s how the system presumably works – to pay for a good or service, the customer only needs to run Plaso on their Bluetooth-activated device and tell the cashier their initials. Based on the initials, the cashier picks up the right customer from the list of Plaso users within range and operates the transaction, potentially through Google Wallet. It’s not clear how the system works when there are more than one user with the same initials within range, nor what infrastructure this service requires.
Plaso could make it possible to pay for transactions without even needing to touch your device
In theory, Plaso could make it possible to pay for transactions without even needing to touch your device. Just walk into a café, pick up your latte, and tell the barista your initials. Payment utopia, right there. If you’ve been following mobile payment systems, Plaso may sound familiar – it’s because Square launched a very similar system three years ago, called Wallet. The difference is that, with Square Wallet, you had to check in the location, and the cashier looked at your app profile photo to recognize you. Square discontinued Wallet last year, citing lack of adoption as the main reason. And that’s the biggest issue that every payment system has to overcome in order to become mainstream.
Despite being around for yours, Google’s current payments app, Wallet, has failed to make a meaningful dent in the market. Plagued by limited compatibility (at least in the beginning), the opposition of carriers and payment processors, and insufficient promotion, Wallet remains a product that its few users love, but is largely unknown to the public. Now Apple has entered the market, and despite Google’s head start, Apple Pay is already ahead, at least when it comes to consumer recognition.
With Google rumored to be interested in buying Softcard (formerly Isis, the payment system developed by US carriers) and this new Plaso service, it looks like the Mountain View company is still eager to solve the riddle of mobile payments. It remains to be seen if that will ever happen.
Google rigged 300 devices to sing the ultimate Android chorus
“Be Together. Not the Same.” Android’s new motto is pretty much perfect. It describes the dual nature of Android and it’s a great reminder that, at the end of the day, we’re all just tech fans no matter the brands or models we prefer.
Google’s last Android ad had cute animals, lots of them. But for this newest project, Google’s getting back to the funky Androidified characters first introduced in the days before Lollipop’s arrival.
Google’s Japanese team set up a mesmerizing rig comprising 300 Android phones and tablets, each with its own animated character, each singing their part in the ultimate Android chorus. The result is an exuberant interpretation of Ode to Joy, sang in a distinctly… Googley fashion.
If you happen to be in Tokyo, you can see the Android chorus for yourself at Omotesando Hills until this Sunday.
Now, how can I make this my ringtone?
UK makes ‘revenge porn’ illegal with punishment of up to two years in jail
Posting “revenge porn” in England and Wales is becoming a criminal offense. Thanks to an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill, passed last year by the House of Lords and due to receive Royal Assent later today, anyone found guilty of distributing explicit images to force victims into sexual activity or to humiliate them will now face up to two years in prison. It’s designed to cover photos and videos that are shared without permission both on and offline, including those posted to Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and other social networks.
The Bill classifies revenge porn as “photographs or films which show people engaged in sexual activity or depicted in a sexual way or with their genitals exposed, where what is shown would not usually be seen in public.” Before, victims needed to navigate complex copyright laws to get images removed, which many feared because it could often draw more attention to the media in question. In the US, officials are catching people who post or are hosting revenge porn, but they are forced to prosecute based on related offenses. UK prosecutors can now bring specific charges against malicious posters, ensuring they’re met with swift justice.
[Image credit: Maurizio Pesce, Flickr]
Filed under: Internet
Source: BBC News
Anyone can buy the Redmi Note 4G in India as Xiaomi ends flash sales
Xiaomi has announced on Twitter that it is ending flash sales of the Redmi Note 4G in India as the vendor believes it has sufficient stock to make the device available for open sale. Starting today, anyone can purchase the device directly from Flipkart by shelling out Rs. 9,999 ($160).
Uber goes live in Birmingham, its fourth UK city
While there’s tonnes of competition between app-based private hire services in the US, if you want to move about UK cities, you’ll find the market is largely dominated by local taxi firms. Uber and Hailo are both intent on disrupting the space, though, and are slowly widening their presence. Today, Uber’s taken another step forward with its UK expansion, announcing that it’s now ready to accept fares in Birmingham. That takes the company’s city count up to four, with the Midlands city joining London, Manchester and Leeds. Currently, Uber’s footprint in Birmingham is quite small, meaning customers might have to wait for a car. However, with its driver loyalty program now fully operational, the company can offer new drivers more incentives than its traditional taxi counterparts.
Filed under: Internet
Source: Uber
Carriers in the U.S. are legally obligated to unlock your phone
Do you remember when it was illegal to unlock your cell phone in the United States? Don’t worry, those days are behind us now. Effective immediately, all U.S. carriers must unlock customers’ phones or tablets upon request, with a few small caveats.
Back in 2013, the FCC came to an agreement with carriers that by February 11, 2015, all provisions of said agreement should be met, following the previous three out of six provision requirement that landed May 11, 2014. With the agreement in full effect, your carrier must abide to the following terms:
Postpaid Unlocking Policy. Carriers, upon request, will unlock mobile wireless devices or provide the necessary information to unlock their devices for their customers and former customers in good standing and individual owners of eligible devices after the fulfillment of the applicable postpaid service contract, device financing plan, or payment of applicable early termination fee.
Prepaid Unlocking Policy. Carriers, upon request, will unlock prepaid mobile wireless devices no later than one year after initial activation, consistent with reasonable time, payment or usage requirements.
But wait, there’s more. You will now be able to find unlocking policies on your carrier’s website, they will be getting back to you within 2 business days for unlocking requests, they will even inform you when your device is eligible to be unlocked to take to another carrier, should you so choose.
Best of all, deployed military personnel need not be strapped down, your carrier should unlock your device, almost no questions asked.
Let me say again, however, your carrier must determine that your account is in good standing, you have completed your contract, device payment plan and/or have paid any applicable early termination fees. Failure to meet any of these conditions could result in a refusal to unlock your device, so be careful.
Finally, this new policy does not actually require the carrier to unlock your device for you, but simply to allow your device to be unlocked. They will provide instructions, at the very least, but you may end up having to push the buttons for yourself. I assure you, from my own experience, this can be nerve wracking, especially if they provide you with multiple potential unlock codes, but only limited unlock attempts before it bricks your device.
For all the details, head over to the CTIA Wireless Association’s Consumer Code page.
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