Google throws a virtual ‘Global Happy Party’ for the International Day of Happiness
Today, March 20, is the International Day of Happiness, and to celebrate, Google has teamed up with the United Nations Foundation and Pharrell Williams to create a website for the occasion.
The website, called “Global Happy Party,” presents GIFs of people being happy set to the tune of, you guessed it, “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.
Reuters: FAA to ease approval process for commercial drones
The Federal Aviation Administration wants to make it easier to operate commercial drones, it’d seem. The idea is to make it so companies that are already are exempt from the drone ban don’t have to get a new certificate of authority for additional use case scenarios for UAVs, according to Reuters‘ sources. This could happen as early as next week Tuesday’s congressional hearing on drones and, if approved, it might not be long before the sky gets a little busier. So far the amount of exemptions is slim thanks to the slow approval process. Of the over 750 requests, only 48’ve been awarded and the companies that have them (including State Farm’s auto insurance wing and Chevron) would have more leeway in terms of what their fleets can do should the changes come to pass. It isn’t quite the ban getting completely reversed, to be sure, but it’s another step to speed up the typically lethargic wheels of bureaucracy.
Filed under: Transportation
Source: Reuters
BlackBerry updates its BBM app to bring support for “Protected”
Yesterday, BlackBerry updated its official BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) application in the Play Store to bring support for “Protected” — a new ” enterprise-grade secure instant messaging service.”
So, what exactly is BBM Protected and how does it work?
Well, according to the Canadian manufacturer:
“BBM Protected offers an enterprise-grade secure instant messaging service with all the features of a consumer IM app, the hardening of on-premise security together with the convenience of a cloud service. All messages are encrypted using keys generated by the communicating mobile devices themselves. This BlackBerry innovation effectively prevents ‘man in the middle’ hacker attacks, providing greater security than competing encryption schemes, and earning BBM Protected FIPS 140-2 validation by the U.S. Department of Defense.
With the announcement this week, organizations using BBM Protected can now let their employees chat securely using BBM Protected to non-BBM Protected workers at other companies, or customers. The result: instant federation and bulletproof security for messaging communications with partners outside of your enterprise.”
BBM Protected is available via an extra subscription through BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Services), but to get you acquainted with the service, a 30-day free trial can be accessed. It’s available for all Android devices running Ice Cream Sandwich or above, version 2.6 of the BBM app or higher.
Source: Play Store
Come comment on this article: BlackBerry updates its BBM app to bring support for “Protected”
Android Central 228: Hot Hot Heat!
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Strap in, folks. This week is gonna be fun. Perhaps most exciting is that Android Auto has been released — and we’re taking it for a test drive! If you’ve got questions, we’ll have some answers.
Plus, Peter Chou is out as HTC’s CEO — we’ll talk about what that means as we get ready for the release of the HTC One M9. And, yes, we’ll talk a tad about the damned Snapdragon 810. Is it hype? Or overheating?
Plus, more on the Galaxy S6, and we answer more of your questions live!
Also: Enter our Huawei Friendly User Testing Contest at androidcentral.com/huawei.
This week’s sponsor
- Lynda.com: Learn from more than 3,000 professional courses online, and try it free for a week! Click this link for your free trial!
Listen to Kendrick Lamar on Xbox Music or watch Interstellar on Xbox Video this weekend
Every week, new stuff drops on Xbox Music and Xbox Video that it becomes hard to keep up. Well, that’s where we come in handy. Every Friday we’ll highlight some of the hottest albums and singles on Xbox Music. We’ll also let you know what movies and television shows just dropped on Xbox Video for your viewing pleasure. It’s the weekend, and we’ll help entertain you.
Motorola posts Android 5.1 release notes for the 2014 Moto X
Motorola has just posted the release notes for the Android 5.1 Lollipop update for the 2014 Moto X Pure Edition.
While it doesn’t appear that the update is currently rolling out to users, this could indicate that the software is in testing, keeping up with Motorola‘s penchant for quick updates to its devices.
Should you buy the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon?
The Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon is a fine laptop, but should you get it?
We’ve had some time with the Thinkpad X1 Carbon and are amply impressed, but when it comes to making a final purchasing decision, we want to provide you guys with a broad range of reviews. Here you’ll find a quick run-down of what the Thinkpad X1 Carbon costs, what the critics have to say about it, and what owners in our community have experienced. Despite the whole Superfish fiasco, Lenovo still makes a mean laptop.
Apple Collected Over 18,000 Hours of Health and Fitness Data for Apple Watch
ABC was recently invited to Apple’s top-secret health and fitness lab for the Apple Watch for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the testing facility, accompanied by Apple executives Jeff Williams and Jay Blahnik. The network shared a preview of its visit on Good Morning America earlier today, and has now provided a closer look at the facility on the latest episode of late night show Nightline.
The five-minute interview behind closed doors revealed that Apple collected over 18,000 hours of health and fitness data based on over 10,000 workout sessions that Apple employees participated in over the past two years at the company’s secretive fitness lab. Blahnik, director of fitness and health technologies at Apple, also confirmed that the company tested the Apple Watch outdoors based on a variety of activities.
Apple Watch will be available April 24, with pre-orders starting April 10 in the first wave of launch countries: United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and United Kingdom. The wrist-worn device starts at $349 for the Apple Watch Sport, while the stainless steel models will retail for between $549 to $1,099 and the 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition will cost up to $17,000.
More details emerge about TAG Heuer’s Google/Intel collaboration smartwatch
We know TAG Heuer is jumping into the smartwatch game, backed by Google and Intel, but we haven’t heard any concrete details about the watch just yet. Some new details have surfaced from Jean-Claude Biver of Swiss watch-making fame.
He didn’t divulge too much about the inner workings and specs of the watch, but he did give some insight into how much the watch will cost and how it’ll fare against Apple’s upcoming watch.
When asked about how likely it is that people would want a TAG Heuer luxury smartwatch, Biver seems to think there will be plenty of appeal for the device, even at $1,000. That direct, specific number seems to hint at what price point the companies are planning on going for, which is pretty high comparatively speaking. However, this is one of the first efforts by a major watch-maker to step in and create something that would sell like a traditional watch, and if you compare that $1,000 price tag to some other watches TAG Heuer makes… well, let’s just the the $1k comes in at the very low end against some of the other styles they offer.
So, for $1,000, you’d think you’d get a ton of functionality that beats out Apple’s watch, right? Not quite. Biver admitted that there will likely be some things that Apple’s watch will do that the TAG watch won’t, and vice versa. However, he’s not expecting to blow Apple away on the feature list. That might be some disappointing news to some, but I think it’s becoming pretty apparent that this watch is going to appeal to traditional luxury watch buyers, not the tech crowd that the likes of Pebble and Motorola are trying to snatch up.
It’s tough to say just how this will pan out since it’s the first of its kind, but it’ll be fun to see whenever it does hit the market later this year.
source: Hodinkee
Come comment on this article: More details emerge about TAG Heuer’s Google/Intel collaboration smartwatch
Vector smartwatches promise a 30-day battery life
Tag Heuer’s Android Wear device wasn’t the only smartwatch at this year’s Baselworld. Other devices were also shown and launched during the annual luxury watch fair in Switzerland, including the new Vector Watch. It’s slated to come out in two different shapes — Luna with a round face and Meridian with a rectangular one — but the most intriguing thing its developers are promising is its 30-day battery life. Not 30 hours, but 30 days, though we’ll bet the watch can’t last that long if you use its features often. It can display your messages on screen, which you can dismiss with a flick of the wrist, and it works with IFTTT commands.
The company, headed by a team of execs including former Timex CEO Joe Santana and ex-Nike Designer Steve Jarvis, didn’t delve into those features’ specifics. It didn’t even say what platform the watch will run, but the devices’ PR mentioned that it will be compatible not only with iPhones and iPads, but also with Android and Windows devices. Vector Watch will hit the shelves this late summer, but you can pre-order some models right now.
A Luna with either a black nylon or a brown leather strap will set you back $349, while a Meridian with a black nylon strap has a much affordable price tag of $199. There are fancier models with stainless steel straps on the way (as you can see in the images in the gallery above), but those look like they will cost quite a bit more $$$.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/122553046?color=ffffff&portrait=0
Filed under: Wearables, Mobile
Source: Vector Watch
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