Google Play Music deleting downloaded music from SD cards
Users of the Google Play Music app may have noticed that music cached or stored for offline playback was disappearing from their devices whenever they rebooted their smartphones. Despite some initial attempts to pin this on some DRM-based scheme, Google now appears to have acknowledged this is a bug for users who store their music on microSD cards.
According to a statement received from Google support,
“…music that has been downloaded for offline listening, either to the internal storage or SD card, should never be deleted without the user initiating the deletion. This is an actual known issue with this service.”
The known issue referred to is the fact that music downloaded to a microSD card is getting deleted without user action, much less the user initiating the deletion. Research into the issue has also revealed that the problem only exists for music stored from All Access as opposed to a user’s library.
Outside of a lengthy response from Google support to a user who was trying to solve the problem of missing music, Google has not issued any other comment regarding the problem.
source: Android Police
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Alcatel OneTouch debuts new white style of its smartwatch
Starting today, you can purchase the Alcatel OneTouch Watch in a new all-white style. The device, which has been around for just a few months, was previously offered in a black and red color option. The white color option looks much more stylish with the white, text band matching the chrome accents. So, if anything, you will have a smartwatch on your wrist that is more fashionable while counting steps, monitoring heart rate, and analyzing sleep.
Alcatel OneTouch will sell this color option at the same $149 price, but it is only available in the small/medium band size.
Hit the break for additional images of the Alcatel OneTouch Watch in white.
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[Deal] Amazon Fire Phone fire sale today
Amazon’s attempt to jump into the smartphone market with the Amazon Fire Phone fell far short of their success in the tablet and e-reader markets. This could be good news for buyers who are actually interested in the Fire Phone as Amazon likely needs to move some stock and to do so is running a special today only. The unlocked smartphone is currently listed for only $159 on Amazon.
The deal is really better than it initially sounds as Amazon is throwing in a free year of Prime membership valued at $99. If you are already a Prime member, you can still take advantage of this offer as Amazon will add the additional free year on your account when your existing membership comes up for renewal. Amazon also includes free cloud storage for all photos taken with the Fire Phone. Finally, a pair of Amazon Premium Headphones, valued at $19, will be included with the device. With the Fire Phone itself ending up being about $40 out of this whole package, one can see how far the device has fallen since being launched at a cost of $650 for the unlocked variant.
Hit the source link if you want to get more details and maybe even place your order for an unlocked GSM version of the Amazon Fire Phone.
source: Amazon
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Android 5.1 Lollipop now rolling out to the AT&T Motorola Moto X (1st Gen.)
If you’re the lucky owner of a Motorola Moto X (1st Gen.) on AT&T’s network, you’ll be happy to hear that the update to Android 5.1 Lollipop is now making its way to your device. The update comes in at a hefty 701MB download and will bring your device’s system version up to 222.26.1.
The update to Android 5.1 Lollipop brings with it a number of bug fixes and performance improvements, along with a few other notable changes. You’ll now be able to manage your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections directly from the quick settings panel, and you should notice a few other improvements to the screen pinning functionality, system volume controls, and more. Aside from a few other improvements on Motorola’s side, our own Joe Hindy made an informative video that lays out most of the big changes you’ll find in the update. Check it out below:
As is the case with most other updates, it might take a few days to make its way to your device. To check for your update manually, head to Settings>About phone>System update>Check for update. Be sure to let us know when it comes to your device!
Spotify Encourages Customers to Cancel App Store Subscription, Resubscribe via Web to Save $3
Spotify is sending emails to its customers encouraging them to stop paying for the Spotify music service through Apple’s App Store, reports The Verge. The email informs customers they can save $3 per month on their Spotify fees by canceling their App Store Spotify subscription and resubscribing through the Spotify website.
Spotify subscriptions that people signed up for using the App Store are priced at $12.99 to account for the 30 percent fee that Apple collects for all app and subscription revenue routed through the App Store. The same service is priced at $9.99 through Spotify’s website.
Customers who subscribe to Spotify through the App Store might mistakenly think that Spotify is more expensive than Apple’s new streaming service, Apple Music, which is also priced at $9.99 per month. That’s true, but only when the service is purchased via the App Store.
Spotify’s emails are accompanied by a step-by-step tutorial that walks customers through the process of turning off auto-renew on their App Store subscriptions and then instructs them to wait for the service to run out before resubscribing to the Spotify service on the web.
Spotify continues to be the dominant on-demand streaming service in the music industry with 75 million active users and 20 million paid subscribers, but it is unclear what impact Apple Music will have on the company’s business.
Apple Seeds Third OS X 10.11 El Capitan Beta to Developers
Apple today released the third beta of OS X 10.11 El Capitan to developers for testing purposes, just over two weeks after releasing the second El Capitan beta and a month after unveiling the new operating system at its 2015 Worldwide Developers Conference.
The update is available through the software update mechanism in the Mac App Store and through the Apple Developer Center.
OS X El Capitan largely builds on the features introduced with OS X Yosemite, focusing on improving performance and user experience. Behind-the-scenes improvements in El Capitan have made a number of apps and processes on the Mac much faster, and the introduction of Metal makes system-level graphics rendering 40 percent more efficient.
Along with a new systemwide font, El Capitan includes a revamped Mission Control feature, a new Split View feature for using two full-screen apps at once, deeper functionality for Spotlight, and several new features for Safari, including Pinned Sites for housing frequently-visited websites and a universal mute button that quiets all tabs.
OS X 10.11 El Capitan is currently only available to registered developers, but Apple plans to offer a public beta of the software in July. Following testing, El Capitan will see a final release in the fall of 2015.
Apple Seeds Third iOS 9 Beta to Developers
Apple today seeded the third beta of iOS 9 to developers for testing purposes, just over two weeks after releasing the second beta and exactly a month after unveiling the new operating system at the 2015 Worldwide Developers Conference.
The update, build 13A4293f, is available through Apple’s over-the-air updating system on iOS devices and is also available for download through the Apple Developer Center.
As promised by Eddy Cue last week, today’s beta should include the updated Music app, allowing those running iOS 9 to access the new Apple Music service and the Beats 1 radio station. Other changes that are new in the third beta of iOS 9 will be added to this post as they are discovered.
iOS 9 is Apple’s newest operating system, focusing on intelligence and proactivity. It allows iOS devices to learn user habits and act on that information, providing recommendations on places we might like, apps we might like to use, and more. Siri is smarter in iOS 9, with the ability to create contextual reminders, and search is improved with new sources.
Many of the built in apps have been improved, including Notes, Maps, and Mail. Apple Pay has been renamed to Wallet, and iOS 9 introduces split-screen multitasking for the iPad along with a revamped keyboard. In addition to these consumer-facing features, iOS 9 brings significant under-the-hood performance improvements.
With battery optimizations, iOS devices have an additional hour of battery life, and a new Low Power Mode extends the battery even further. iOS updates take up less space in iOS 9, and many app install sizes are smaller due to a feature called app thinning. iOS 9 is capable of running on all devices that support iOS 8.
iOS 9 is currently only available to developers, but Apple plans to introduce a public iOS 9 beta in July before the final release of the software in the fall.
Apple Seeds Third WatchOS 2 Beta to Developers
Apple today seeded the third watchOS 2 beta to developers, just over two weeks after seeding the second watchOS 2 beta and a month after announcing the new operating system update at its Worldwide Developers Conference.
watchOS 2 requires iOS 9 and can be downloaded over-the-air through the Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General -> Software Update.
watchOS 2 is the first major update to the software that runs on the Apple Watch. The new software brings many new features that Apple Watch developers can take advantage of, including native apps that run on the Apple Watch itself instead of the iPhone. It also allows developers to access the Taptic Engine and a number of other sensors in the Apple Watch, including the heart rate monitor, the microphone, and the accelerometer.
Along with these features for developers, which will lead to much more complex and full-featured third-party Apple Watch apps, the update introduces new watch faces (photo albums and time-lapse), third-party Complications, Time Travel for viewing upcoming events in a watch face Complication, and a Nightstand mode that’s activated when the watch is charging, displaying the time.
watchOS 2 is currently only available to registered developers who have also installed iOS 9 on their iPhones. Apple plans to release the software to the public in the fall.
If records were tortillas, they’d sound like this
Time to ditch your vinyl (again), there’s a new format in town: tortillas. Intrepid Redditor “UpgradeTech” saw this video, and was bored/inspired/curious enough to see if you really could turn the Mexican food vessel into a record. It turns out, you can. All you need are some uncooked flour tortillas (corn or cooked are too lumpy), and a laser cutter. Well, there’s a bit more to it than that (converting audio to vectors, that kinda thing), but tortilla turntablists are, we’re sure, willing to go the extra mile to get their classics down on the flatbread format (.tort?).
Itching to commit your own library to the doughy discs? Know that you’ve got about 30-seconds per “disc, ” but if that doesn’t put you off, there’s a full Instructables guide here. Like regular ole’ records, sound quality is better when tracks are configured to play at 78 rpm, which UpgradeTech kindly explains in the tutorial, and demonstrates in a series of comparison videos (including one below). The all important question, after how does it sound,is, how do they taste? Apparently “rather burnt” — on account of that laser. Apparently MP3 tacos get you a longer play time, but a tortilla just sounds, “warmer.”
Via: Mashable
Source: Reddit
Watch how a CGI-heavy ‘Game of Thrones’ zombie battle was made
(Warning: spoilers ahead.) The spectacular Game of Thrones ‘Hardhome’ battle scene with white walkers, zombie-like wights and wildings is pretty VFX-heavy, judging by a new video from effects house El Ranchito. Highlights include Jon Snow slashing a walker into shards of crystal, battle scenes with the giant Wun Wun, and wights — so many hordes of wights. Despite having TV’s highest budget, the show doesn’t rely overly on digital effects, using them sparingly on gore and dragons, we imagine. However, Snow actor Kit Harrington said that the ‘Hardhome’ battle “is so CGI-heavy it’s unlike anything I’ve ever done on Thrones.”
He added that it was also the most grueling GoT scene ever, taking nearly a month to shoot. For his own fight scenes, he needed to “first go against a man in a (greenscreen) suit, the second with a man (in zombie makeup) and the third time I would just fight alone.” The scene had the biggest budget of any GoT scene, and required about 400 extras and 50 stuntmen. Check the video (below) to see how the VFX artists transformed dull greenscreen shots into a glorious battle in some seriously crappy-looking weather.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/132571771?color=990000&title=0&byline=0&portrait=0
Filed under: Home Entertainment
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