Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 Android 5.1.1 factory images are live
Google has released factory images for the latest version of Android for both (WiFi only) versions of the Nexus 7 and the Nexus 10. The image brings the tablets up to Android 5.1.1, bringing a few bug fixes and performance enhancements, but no new features, unfortunately. The OTA updates for these tablets should start hitting devices relatively soon.
Funnily enough, Google has updated these older tablets to the latest and greatest of Android, but the newly announced Nexus 9 is still on Android 5.0.1. Android updates have always been a pain point, but the Nexus devices were supposed to be immune to the bogged down update process OEMs and carriers subject their devices to. Hopefully Google (or HTC) does something to get the Nexus 9 up to speed.
Hit the link below for the updates. If you need help flashing a factory image, we’ve got a handy guide to get you started.
source: Factory Images
Come comment on this article: Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 Android 5.1.1 factory images are live
VLC for Android gets background video playback in version 1.3.2 update
VLC is one of the better media players available on Android, and the app is about to get even better. In the newest update to version 1.3.2, VLC for Android is getting background video playback functionality, a new look for the audio player, and more.
What exactly is background video playback? Just like what you get in YouTube Music Key, videos will keep playing on your device, even if you press the home button or turn the screen off. It’s a very handy feature, and we’re sure many VLC fans will welcome this new addition. To turn on the feature after you update the app, head to Settings>Interface>Play videos in background.
A few other small changes are also present in this update, including a new look for the audio player, a new Album View, improved search, more Lollipop animation effects, a simplified video controller and a new file browser. On the backend, the VLC team has also fixed hardware acceleration for TS files, fixed SD cards browsing, and added better logging and updated codecs.
The new update is now live in the Play Store, so head to the link below to grab the newest version.
Android 5.1.1 factory images arrive for 2012 and 2013 Wi-Fi Nexus 7s and Nexus 10
Google has just published Android 5.1.1 factory images for the 2012 and 2013 Wi-Fi Nexus 7s and Nexus 10, all bearing build number LMY47V. This news comes after the new factory image release for the Nexus Player, which we just saw a little over a week ago.
So what’s new in Android 5.1.1? Well, Google released a ton of bugs with the original build of Android 5.0 Lollipop, and Android 5.1 fixed many of the noticeable ones. We’re not exactly sure what we’re going to see in this new update, but odds are, it’s filled with mostly bug fixes and performance improvements.
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We’ll be sure to let you know as more factory images begin to roll out to more Nexus devices. But in the mean time, if you own one of the three devices listed above, feel free to download the factory images by clicking the links below. If you aren’t sure how to flash a factory image, be sure to check out our walkthrough. While the guide was designed for Android 5.0 Lollipop, the same overall process should apply. Just remember that things can go wrong, so be sure to flash at your own risk.
Here’s what happens when a lithium-ion battery overheats
Lithium ion batteries are practically ubiquitous; they power everything from laptops and cell phones to cameras and tablets. But before they can start providing the juice for bigger and more demanding applications, research about their failure needs to happen. That’s where the fine folks at University College London come in — they’ve used 3D-and-thermal imaging to track exactly what happens when the power cells overheat, inside and out. As you can see in the GIF above, the results aren’t pretty. After cranking the heat on a pair of the batteries to 250+ degrees Celsius (482 degrees Fahrenheit) and keeping an eye on them with the aforementioned techniques, researchers witnessed one of the batteries blow its top. Prior to that happening, during what’s known as “thermal runaway,” the core collapsed.
What’s that mean?
Well, according to the paper published in Nature, the change in temperature that lead to a destabilizing further change in temperature elevates the risk for internal short circuiting and damaging any nearby components. That only happened in a battery without internal support, though. The cell that wasn’t lacking such a feature was a bit different. After hitting about 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit) the copper internals melted, the heat spread outward and caused thermal runaway. It sounds quite a bit less violent, actually.
This isn’t the sort of thing that would happen under normal operating conditions at all, and UCL’s Dr. Paul Shearing readily admits that. However! He says that this sort of testing provides invaluable knowledge regarding how the lithium-ion cells fail and will hopefully help how safety aspects are designed and considered in the future. I’d imagine that Boeing is paying pretty close attention to these experiments. Call it a hunch.
Via: University College London
Source: Nature
Xbox One game streaming on Windows 10 is a killer app
With the release of Windows 10, Sony won’t be the only company to offer game streaming from its consoles. Today we finally got our hands on Windows 10’s Xbox One game streaming feature, which lets you bring your entire Xbox gaming experience to any PC running the new OS. And even in its early state, it looks like it will satisfy even the most demanding gamers. Microsoft made a risky bet by demoing the feature with Sunset Overdrive, a fast-paced game where you’d notice the slightest hint of slowdown. And as you can see in the video below, it’s virtually indistinguishable from the native Xbox One experience while running on a Surface Pro 3.
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Windows 10 streamed Sunset Overdrive at its full resolution, and there weren’t any major issues or delatys. Having spent dozens of hours with the game on my Xbox One, I didn’t notice much of a difference playing it streamed. All of its acrobatic maneuvers and twitch-heavy gunplay felt as responsive as ever. Best of all, you don’t need any crazy hardware to stream games with Windows 10. The demo was running on a fairly typical Intel Core i5 system, and it can run on even slower computers if they have some form of H.264 encoding (because the stream is coming over as a video file). Naturally, your Xbox One gets locked down when you’re streaming something, since it’s still doing the heavy lifting.
So far, Windows 10’s game streaming only works with an Xbox One on your local network. But according to Kevin Unangst, senior director of marketing for Microsoft Studios, the company could eventually implement remote play. That’s something Sony already offers with the PlayStation 4 (and 3, to a lesser extent) over its Vita handheld and some Android devices. But for many people, streaming a game on a PC they already own sounds a lot more useful than having to buy a separate device.
Ford explains why Sync supports Apple and Google car apps
With both Apple and Google wrangling to become the infotainment center of your next new car, Ford will be choosing neither. Or both, depending on how you look at it. During an interview with Re/code, Ford CEO Mark Fields provided some details on how his company will be leveraging its in-house designed Sync system to act as middleman between smart devices and vehicles.
Like many other carmakers, Ford will equally support both Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto services, but Sync is still the primary system. The reason is simple, Ford CTO Raj Nair explained to Re/code, “We want to make sure you are not pushed into a decision on a $40,000 car based on your $200 smartphone.” And since neither Apple’s or Google’s offerings can do everything that the other can, Sync will be able to leverage the features of either regardless which OS drivers use. As such, Ford is touting a high level of flexibility with Sync — like letting drivers navigate with Google Maps through their phone but still play Sirius stations using the in-dash receiver.
When the Sync 3 platform debuts this summer, it promises a better touchscreen than its predecessor, new apps and the ability for future updates to occur over Wi-Fi, not just via the OBD-II port or USB. Ford is also working on adding cellular capabilities to its vehicles, and has its own tech for btoh semi- and fully-autonomous driving, though there’s no word on when those features will actually roll out.
[Image credit: Andrew A. Nelles/Associated Press]
Filed under: Displays, GPS, Transportation, Internet, Apple, Google
Source: Re/Code
Turn your home into a haunted house with AR game ‘Night Terrors’
You’re home alone. It’s the dead of night and all of the lights are off; you creep down the hallway with one hand dragging along the wall, your phone serving as a makeshift flashlight. You hear a young girl’s voice whisper from the bedroom in front of you and the hair on the back of your neck stands up straight. You pause. Your heart pounds. A dull ringing assaults your ears. You creep forward, holding the phone higher, when suddenly — a high-pitched shriek as your phone’s light starts rapidly flashing and a deformed, undead monster barrels down the hallway directly toward you. You drop your phone. Game over.
That’s basically the premise of Night Terrors, an in-development, augmented reality game for mobile devices that maps out the entirety of your house and fills it with terrifying creatures, turning a home into a real-life survival-horror game. It’s currently looking for $70,000 on Indiegogo — developers say they’ve already created a system that understands spatial elements such as walls and complex floorplans, and they’re using physical special effects rather than CGI. It sounds like an innovative and truly horrifying project, even as its narrative plays off of an overused gaming conceit: Save the girl and be the hero. That’s so close to being cliche, it’s scary.
Source: Night Terrors on Indiegogo
Microsoft wants third-party apps for its fitness tracker
Microsoft Band users might get to enjoy a lot more third-party apps in the near future. Redmond has released the full Band SDK, giving developers power to create fully functional apps for the fitness tracker. The company already launched a preview version back in February, which allowed devs to create tiles that send glanceable notifications to the wearable. However, that only gave them access to sensors and other basic features. According to the general manager of Microsoft’s personal devices division, Zulfi Alam, the newer SDK lets developers take advantage of all the device’s features/functions and comes with the ability to:
- Build apps that support Windows.
- Create own custom layouts for pages on third-party tiles using icons, text, buttons, and barcodes for payment options.
- Receive events and button-click callbacks from the Microsoft Band to the phone app. If you press a button on a page inside your tile, the app will know which button was pressed.
- Connect to the Band from background tasks.
- Tap into calorie subscription from the Microsoft Band.
Since the Band syncs with Windows, Apple and Android devices, Microsoft uploaded separate versions for all three platforms. Hopefully, developers design their applications for all three, so no user gets left behind.
Today we release the #MicrosoftBand SDK. Developers, start creating third party tiles now: http://t.co/5t9H9XMHD9 pic.twitter.com/yQ6FqrZcoZ
– Microsoft Band (@microsoftband) April 30, 2015
Filed under: Wearables, Mobile, Microsoft
Source: Microsoft, Microsoft Conversations
Marvel Future Fight bashes its way into the Google Play Store
Marvel has released a new superhero-packed game into the Google Play Store just in time for the new Avengers: Age of Ultron movie to hit U.S. theaters. The new free-to-play action RPG has actually been out for some time in select markets, but it’s just now making its way to the Play Store for everyone to download.
The game is called Future Fight, and it features all of the characters we usually find in Marvel games – Iron Man, Spider-Man, the Guardians of the Galaxy team, and many more. The aim of the game is to assemble your team of heroes to thwart off super villains as you make your way through the Marvel universe. You can choose to upgrade your weapons along the way, and teach your heroes new special attacks.
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Here are a few extra features you can find in the game if you choose to download:
- Epic 3v3 Battles – Test your mettle against other players in 3v3 battles! Choose from four unique hero types – Combat, Blast, Speed, and Universal – then pit your champions against your opponents’ teams for supremacy.
- Single Player Campaign – Wage epic battle against Super Villains in stage-based battles across a deep, immersive single player RPG campaign to unlock exclusive content, new costumes and rewards!
- Team Bonuses – Team up classic Marvel characters to earn special boosts and bonuses!
- Summon Allies – Need a little help to get through the next Super Villain battle? Summon your friends via the Ally System for reinforcements and claim victory as a team!
The controls are easy to learn and very simple, making it easy to jump right in to the action. The game is free to download, though you’ll quickly run into a ton of in-app purchases. It’s possible to play the game without spending any extra money, but you’ll probably get annoyed pretty quickly if you aren’t a fan of the free-to-play genre.
Where to watch Tesla’s ‘The Missing Piece’ livestream
Tesla is known for its amazingly quick electric vehicles, but if the chatter around today’s event is true, the Elon Musk-led company will be introducing a home battery solution this evening. The livestream will be viewable on the car company’s site beginning at 11 PM ET. So put on your pajamas and snuggle up with your computer to see if you’ll be adding a battery to your home in the not-so-distant future.
Fact: Of all the fossil fuel consumed in the US, ⅓ is used in transportation and ⅓ goes to electricity production.
– Tesla Motors (@TeslaMotors) April 30, 2015
2,000 million metric tons of CO2, is produced by electric power sector. That’s like burning 225 billion gallons of gas. Time for change.
– Tesla Motors (@TeslaMotors) April 30, 2015
Filed under: Household, Transportation
Source: Tesla
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