HTC Blinkfeed rebranded to Sense Home, include HTC themes and more
The One (M7) was not only a big step forward for HTC in terms of design, but the handset also saw some significant advances on the software side of things, particularly with the introduction of Blinkfeed. Since then, Blinkfeed has evolved a bit, and with the One M8 even made its way to the Play store for quicker updating. Now with the One M9, Blinkfeed is being rebranded as Sense Home.
Sense Home isn’t just Blinkfeed with a new name, the app also includes the new Sense Home widget, HTC Themes, and a few other tweaks that bring some of the features from the M9 over to existing devices. HTC’s Google Play listing notes that some of the features for Sense Home require Sense 7, something the One M7 and One M8 haven’t seen just yet. One of the biggest new software features introduced with the One M9 is theming, and so we’re happy to say that the new Themes system reportedly works fine on older devices with Sense 6 — though we’ve yet to try it out for ourselves just yet. With HTC Themes you can change colors, icons, wallpapers, sounds, and more.
To download the new HTC Sense Home app, you’ll want to head on over to Google Play. Keep in mind that you’ll also need to update the HTC Service Pack. Have you downloaded it yet, if so, what M9 features have you found to be working — and what’s not?
Pong, Pac-Man and Space Invaders meet in mega mashup
We may have reached peak video game nostalgia. Mega-hybrid game Pacapong takes Pong, Pac-Man, and Space Invaders and crams them into a two-player mish-mash extravaganza. Players launch Pac-Man from Pong paddles through his maze hoping that he makes it to the other side without running into a ghost. If a player does launch the gobbling hero into a ghost, the other player gets to serve. Meanwhile, the players are also battling Space Invaders with the same paddles. It sounds confusing, but after few minutes, you’ll be wondering when someone will build a mashup of Galaga, Joust, and Dig Dug.
The game was built for a Mini Ludum Dare challenge where developers could build a Pong-inspired game using any engine, language, framework or art a developer desired. In fact, the only real rule was that developers could not build an exact duplicate of the original.
The two player Pacapong supports gamepads for a slightly more authentic arcade feel. More importantly it’s available for Windows, OS X and Linux, so you can enjoy a second childhood on whatever computer you happen to have, without burning through your parents’ quarters.
[Image credit: kingPenguin]
Filed under: Gaming
Via: Mashable
Source: kingPenguin
Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge review
Samsung outdid itself with the hardware and camera on the Galaxy S6, but there are a few compromises in other areas.
Bottom Line
The Galaxy S6 finally offers the hardware that we’ve long desired, and it’s included a wonderful camera. That’s going to cost a pretty penny, especially since the software experience and battery life just aren’t up to speed.
HTC One M8s gets announced with a Qualcomm 615 processor, 13MP camera and larger battery
HTC has gone out on a limb with a new device announcement this morning. One that seems a bit late, but still has its place in the world of phones. The Taiwanese manufacture has added an “S” model to its line up with the HTC One M8s. No, not M8’s, as in plural, M8s as […]
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Apple Seeds Seventh OS X 10.10.3 Yosemite Beta to Developers, Public Beta Testers
Apple today seeded the seventh beta of OS X Yosemite to developers, three days after seeding the sixth OS X Yosemite beta and two months after releasing the first OS X 10.10.3 beta.
The new beta, build 14D130a, is available for registered developers through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store and through the Mac Developer Center.
OS X 10.10.3 includes several new features, like the Photos for OS X app. Designed to integrate with iCloud Photo Library and the Photos app on iOS, the Photos for OS X app is a replacement for both iPhoto and Aperture. Reviews have suggested that while Photos is a suitable replacement for iPhoto, with more advanced tools and performance optimizations, it may leave professional users disappointed in its initial incarnation.
Along with the new Photos for OS X app, earlier OS X 10.10.3 betas have introduced a redesigned emoji picker that consolidates emoji into a single scrollable page with clear labels, new diversified emoji and emoji skin tone modifiers, new flag emoji and updated emoji for the iPhone, iMac, and Apple Watch, and support for Google 2-step verification when setting up accounts in System Preferences.
With the fifth and sixth OS X 10.10.3 betas, there were just two minor bug fixes, and today’s update likely includes similar small changes. Given that we’re on the seventh beta, OS X 10.10.3 is undoubtedly getting close to completion and we may see a public release of the software in the near future.
Google ATAP gives projects two years before moving on
For Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group, time is extremely valuable. Projects overseen by the mobile-focused research group are given two years before its fate is decided. And that could mean being shutdown, sent to Google, or sold. There are exceptions to the time limit but the Google ATAP group wants to keep things fresh rather than relying on projects that are dragging. Applying a time limit also lowers the cost if that a project fails.
Eric Schmidt, Google Executive Chairman, said this about the group’s time limit:
“We like this model because it puts pressure on people to perform and do relevant things or stop. I’ve spent an awful lot of time on projects that never end and products that would never ship.”
The intention given to the group by Google has increased as the company is providing additional funding and a dedicated building. The group is led by Regina Dugan, former DARPA head, and consists of one hundred permanent staff members. Working on different projects are around 1,000 people. Dugan feels that the time limit keeps everyone moving and forces decisions to be made.
Some of the notable projects currently overseen by Dugan and the Google ATAP group include Project Ara and Project Tango. This May, new projects will be unveiled at Google I/O 2015.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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Android malware was cut by 50 percent in 2014
Google’s crackdown on malware has been working, at least according to them. In a new Android Security Report, Google says that the global rate of malware installs fell by 50 percent in 2014.
According to Google, only 1 percent of all Android devices had a harmful application in 2014. There’s even better news for those that only install applications from the Play Store as that number drops to .15 percent.
Google also provided device manufacturers with 79 security patches, and improved their abilities in responding to potential vulnerabilities. 73 of these patches have been released to AOSP, while the remaining 6 will get released with next AOSP update.
Google’s report is 44 pages and includes more information about the vulnerabilities, malware, and more. You will find it in the source link below.
source: Android Security 2014 Year in Review
via: The Verge
Come comment on this article: Android malware was cut by 50 percent in 2014
First Gen Moto X, E and G with LTE will be updated straight to Android 5.1 Lollipop
If you own either the Moto X (1st Gen.), Moto E (1st Gen.) or Moto G with LTE (1st Gen.), you may be wondering where your Android 5.0 Lollipop update is. According to Motorola’s senior director of software product management, your devices won’t get the update, but they will get something better. In a Google+ post from earlier today, Moto’s David Schuster explained that given the improvements Google made in the most recent version of Android, Motorola is skipping the 5.0 update altogether and will update each device straight to Android 5.1.
From David Schuster:
As some of you might know, we’ve been testing Lollipop 5.0.2 upgrades on Moto X (1st Gen), Moto E (1st Gen) and Moto G with 4G LTE (1st Gen) in several regions. In parallel we have started testing Lollipop 5.1 which was recently released by Google. Given the improvements in Lollipop 5.1, we have decided to move all efforts to upgrade these devices directly from KitKat to Lollipop 5.1.
Schuster didn’t mention when the updates would begin rolling out to these devices, but we’re now sure that the company is testing it.
We know many of you may be irritated that your devices have yet to receive this big update, but this isn’t the first time we’ve heard about companies holding off until everything was perfect for users. Most notably, HTC was one of the first companies to delay the Android 5.0 update to the One M7 and M8 due to a number of issues in the first release of Lollipop. It may be difficult to wait, but this is definitely for the best.
If we get word that Android 5.1 is beginning to roll out to these devices, we’ll be sure to let you know right away.
DeNA’s Marvel Mighty Heroes fights its way to the Google Play Store
DeNA, the popular developer who has recently partnered with gaming giant Nintendo, has just released a brand new Marvel game to the Google Play Store. Marvel Mighty Heroes is a 4-player co-op brawler that pits your team of Marvel heroes up against numerous villains that we all love to hate. One of the more interesting aspects of this game is the ability to battle with up to three other players from around the world in real time, making it much more fun than just playing against computers.
Just like any other Marvel game, it’s your job to defeat forces of evil trying to take over the world. Most of the popular Marvel heroes have made their way into the game, including Captain America, Iron Man, Star Lord, The Hulk, Spiderman, Thor and many more. You’ll also be able to play against a number of villains like Green Goblin, Loki, Kingpin and Venom. The more matches you play, the more points you earn. You can use points to upgrade character attacks and abilities and even purchase new costumes that come with new attacks. DeNA has also included leaderboards and in-game multiplayer events. Additionally, the developer says the game will get regular updates that will add original content so players can stay interested.
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The game largely depends on button mashing with taps and swipes. Tap on the location where you want your character to move, tap again to attack, and swipe to avoid enemy attacks. The arenas are quite small, and since you’ll be playing with multiple people at once, each match can get pretty hectic.
The game is free-to-play, but offers a number of in-app purchases ranging anywhere from $4.99 to $99.99 per item. After playing this game for a little while, we’d say it’s pretty easy to get through the game without spending any extra cash. If you’re interested in checking it out, head to the Play Store link below.
DomiNations launches on Android for all your world conquest needs
Developer Big Huge Games and publisher Nexon have launched the free-to-play strategy game DomiNations today for Android devices.
Here’s what players can expect from this new far-reaching strategy game:
AIVAnet 