Watch Russia launch crucial Space Station cargo at 12:55AM ET

The International Space Station has had a tough time getting supplies lately between two rocket explosions and an orbital failure, but it’s going to get an important lifeline in the near future… hopefully. Russia is about to launch Progress 60, a cargo ship that will ferry over 3 tons of much-needed food, fuel and other equipment to the ISS. You won’t have to wait until its expected Sunday arrival to find out how it fares, though. NASA is streaming the launch at 12:55AM ET — tune in below and you’ll have a sense of whether or not Progress 60 fares any better than its ill-fated predecessor.

Filed under: Transportation

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Via: Space.com, NASASpaceflight

Source: Federal Space Agency, NASA (Ustream)

How to manually create a Story in Google Photos – Android customization

While Google Maps has proven to be the best real-time traffic tracking navigation tool on my Android device, last week’s Android customization using Zooper Widget has been a priceless addition to the experience. I hope it has helped you speed up your usage of Maps as well.

If you are like me, you’ve been getting in some travel this summer. While on the road, many of us go a little snap happy with our cameras, and then have dozens, hundreds or more images to sort through when we get home. While I am leaving you to sort your own photos for today, I would like to show you how to force Google Photos to create one of those cool Stories that sometimes pop up on their own.

Before we begin

To follow along today you will require a current gen Android device with the new Google Photos app installed. Google Photos is free in the Google Play Store, as is the storage space you’ll need to store the photos that you wish to work with. Go ahead and get the photos uploaded, either through your Android device or by using the Windows uploader.

Manually create a Google Photos Story

As mentioned, Google Photos is pretty clever, and often pumps out a Story from your uploaded photos from a trip. However, you may have taken a photo or two that just don’t belong in the Story, or you have another set of photos altogether that you would like to turn into these shareable short clips. This is where the new Google Photos app on Android comes in handy.

Now, we’ve discussed before that Google Photos can create several nifty types of photo and video presentations through the new Assistant section of the app. Albums, Movies, Stories, Animations and Collages are all ready to be created either automatically through what was once called Autoawesome, or you can now make them happen on command. Let’s build a Story.

Head into the Google Photos app, it will just be called Photos in your app drawer.

Start by heading into the left hand menu and choosing Assistant.

Once in Assistant, you can view all of the auto generated items, be sure to save the ones that you like, and, who knows, it may have already created the Story you were hoping for.

If your desired Story does not exist, head into almost any section of the app and tap the “+” button in the top right corner.

In the list of items that you can create, tap Story.

You will now need to select photos and videos, run through your list and grab all that you want included in this Story.

When ready, tap the Create button in the top right.

That is really all there is to it. If the photos relate and are geo-tagged, Google Photos is smart enough to attach a title and fill in a few other blanks for you. Run through the Story to add some descriptions and fine tune image placement, then go ahead and share with the world.

What’s next

You may not know this, but you just went through the exact same basic steps required to create any of the fancy image tools in the new Google Photos. Each has their own settings and abilities on the other end, but simply tap new and select your photos to get started, Google Photos will do all the heavy lifting.

Next Week

I hope this little Android customization project helps you get some awesome image and video presentations out of Google Photos this summer. Next week we want to get back to manipulating how Android actually operates on your device, we’ll take a quick look at Google Now, or at least at the swipe up gesture and what you might like to use it for instead.

Do you use Google Photos as your image storage solution?

Chicago kicks in ‘cloud tax’ on streaming services like Netflix

Citizens of Chicago need to prepare themselves for a “cloud tax” that went into effect on July 1. The nine-percent tax to cloud services like Netflix, Spotify and Xbox Live is the result of an “amusement tax” ruling that items “delivered electronically” for entertainment purposes are subject to a tax that has traditionally been levied against the sale of concert tickets, sporting events and the like. The ruling does not affect the sales of movies, songs and games delivered electronically. So purchases from the iTunes store and Steam are not taxed. But, a subscription to Apple Music or Spotify is subject to taxation. If your streaming entertainment service of choice hasn’t already started charging, you may have a few months before your bill goes up. The ruling gives companies until September 1, 2015 to comply.

[Image credit: Getty/wsfurlan]

Filed under: Misc, Internet

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Via: Ars Technica

Source: Chicago

Leaked sketches reveal details of the upcoming OnePlus 2

The OnePlus 1 experienced a huge amount of success in 2014, and the Chinese startup OnePlus will soon be unveiling the successor of their popular device, the OnePlus 2, on July 27th. Business Insider recently acquired a few sketches of the yet-to-be released device, giving us a hint of what might possibly be new on the successor of one-of-the most talked about Android smartphone of 2014. It was previously reported that the OnePlus 2 will feature an all glass and metal design and the sketches seem to confirm this claim. Although the design looks quite similar than the OnePlus 1, the top sketches reveal new features such as a USB Type C connector and an 8-megapixel front facing camera.

In addition to a fingerprint sensor, the bottom sketches reveal a dual camera setup on the back of the device. This might be a similar type of technology as the one used on the HTC One M8, which allows for a second camera to record depth perception data so that the user can change the focus of an object after the picture has been taken.

Although the sketches might not confirm anything, the alleged specs are realistic and seem to make sense. Finally, according to a report form Droid-Life who have spotted the OnePlus 2 in a Bluetooth SIG authority filing, the device will come into three different variants; A2001, A2003, and A2005, that each might slightly vary in specs

Source: BusinessInsider

Via: BGR

Come comment on this article: Leaked sketches reveal details of the upcoming OnePlus 2

22 Massachusetts towns will build their own gigabit internet service

The FCC made it clear that towns should have the freedom to build their own broadband services, and one cooperative group is determined to take advantage of that liberty. WiredWest has gained the support of 22 Massachusetts towns for a municipal broadband effort that will give them all fiber optic service. It won’t be the cheapest option, but it’ll be much faster than the pokey DSL, fixed wireless and satellite data that residents have had to settle for in the past. It’ll start at $49 per month for 25Mbps speeds, with 100Mbps and a lightning-quick 1Gbps respectively available for $79 and $109 per month.

There’s still work to go before this becomes a reality. The burgs have only racked up about $34.5 million of the necessary $79 million in funding, and town councils have to approve the costs. Another 10 towns have yet to formally join. If the effort succeeds, though, it’ll go a long way toward not just improving small-town internet speeds, but legitimizing the very notion of city-run broadband. Telecom giants have spent years trying to outlaw municipal broadband in an attempt to stifle competition, even in areas they have no intention of serving — if successful, this would show that the concept works.

[Image credit: Barta IV, Flickr]

Filed under: Networking, Internet

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Via: Motherboard

Source: WiredWest

Uber will give you a free ride to jury duty in one US county

Jury duty may be an annoying (if vital) civic responsibility, but one US county is experimenting with a ridesharing offer that could make it a little more bearable. The County Clerk in Macomb, Michigan is partnering with Uber on a 60-day trial that gives jurors a total of $40 in credit for their rides to and from the courthouse. Ideally, this will save you from having to fight bad weather or pay through the nose for parking when you’re trying to serve.

Of course, the big challenge is that this is merely an experiment. Uber is footing the bill during the trial, but what happens when the county has to pay up? If there’s a dozen jurors in each trial, the local government is looking at a minimum $480 per case. That could add up if the the county always makes free ridesharing available, rather than reserving it for special circumstances. However, it could be worthwhile if it sees fewer people skipping jury duty — we’re sure that Uber wishes it could offer this courtroom service in France.

[Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]

Filed under: Transportation, Internet

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Source: Macomb County Clerk, Uber Newsroom