Apple Maps Vehicles Surveying 13 More U.S. States Later This Month
Apple’s fleet of vehicles collecting street-level mapping data in the United States will begin surveying 13 more U.S. states between July 15 and July 31, including Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wyoming. Apple Maps vehicles have been spotted in 15 states to date and will have reached 28 states in total after this next wave.
Apple Maps vehicle driving in Monroe Township, New Jersey in May 2015
Apple confirmed last month that it is driving vehicles around the world to collect data to improve Apple Maps, and the mapping imagery is almost certainly being used to create a Google Maps “Street View” competitor. Apple Maps vehicles are also taking photos of businesses and storefronts in major metropolitan areas to replace current imagery provided by third-party sources such as Yelp.
The cities and counties in the 13 U.S. states where Apple Maps vehicles will be surveying:
Colorado
DenverIdaho
Ada County (Boise)Indiana
Marion County (Indianapolis)Kentucky
Jefferson County (Louisville)Maryland
BaltimoreMinnesota
Hennepin County (Minneapolis), Ramsey County (St. Paul)Missisippi
Harrison County (Gulfport)New Mexico
Santa FeOhio
Hamilton County (Cincinnati)Oregon
Lane County (Eugene), Marion County (Salem)Pennsylvania
PhiladelphiaSouth Dakota
Pennington County (Rapid City)Wyoming
Laramie County (Cheyenne)
Apple has posted a complete list of new areas in the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland where it will begin surveying throughout the last two-and-a-half weeks of July on its Apple Maps vehicles website. In addition to 12 new U.S. states, Apple will continue surveying unmapped areas in California, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Texas, Utah and Washington.
Google Earth celebrates it 10th birthday
On June 29th, Monday, Google Earth celebrated its 10th birthday. I know 10 years is a blip on the timeline, but for digital content and tech, 10 years is old. 10 years ago was 2005; we didn’t have the iPhone from Apple, and mobile companies like Nextel and Cingular were dominating the cellular networks. The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2005, and like Google Earth, 10 years later they still rule their domain. Although Google didn’t need to cheat to be great. Even the almighty Facebook was just over a year old. More importantly, online maps and GPS were expanding, allowing drivers to migrate away from ancient paper maps and Google Earth was at the forefront of that expansion. It was also free and still is free to this day.
How times have changed and let’s discuss the changes and value in Google Earth that have occurred over the last 10 years.
I remember when my older brother, Klinton, told me to check out Google Earth; he was a big fan of Google and their beta products so he was always the first to know about Google’s latest releases(although now he has an iPhone so I have disowned him). I opened up Google Earth and started exploring the world in a new and interactive way I was never able to do using a good old globe. I could type in a destination and then zoom in on a satellite image, something I could never do before, and I visited places from Hawaii to China all in a matter of seconds. The Forbidden Palace is quite a sight to see on Google Earth.
When was the last time you used a globe for directions?
More importantly Google Maps had a large impact after Hurricane Katrina, with before and after satellite imagery so rescue workers could locate where people were stranded after the flooding.
The benefits of Google Earth didn’t stop there as it has helped enable people of all ages discover new coral reefs, journey to the moon, find long-lost parents, clear land mines and much more.
Google Earth Voyager
Google Earth 10th birthday opening page
Voyager is available in the desktop version of Google Earth and it takes you to the newest and most interesting imagery around the world.
From the Google blog:
In this first edition of Voyager, you’ll find five sections to explore:
- Street View: highlights from Street View, including the Taj Mahal and the Grand Canyon
- Earth View: striking landscapes around the globe as seen from space (more below)
- 3D cities: a showcase of cities and towns available in photorealistic 3D (don’t forget to tilt!)
- Satellite imagery updates: a map of our most recently published satellite imagery
- Highlight tour: with thousands of Voyager locations to choose from, take a quick tour of a few to whet your appetite
The Kemgon Gompa – available in the Street View layer in Google Earth
Earth View
Earth view offers scientists and casual enthusiasts the opportunity to admire Earth’s natural beauty. It also allows for scientists to track global events like glaciers melting and deforestation.
CLASlite online: This shows deforestation and degradation in Rondonia, Brazil from 1986-2008, with the red indicating recent activity using Google Earth.
From Google Earth – the Hammar Marshes of Iran are an uncharacteristic yet beautiful wetland feature in the otherwise arid climate
For Google Earth’s birthday, Google is expanding the Earth View collection to 1,500 landscapes from every continent and ocean.
If you haven’t checked in Google Earth in a while it is definitely worth trying as it has evolved and added countless features.
Happy birthday Google Earth!
The post Google Earth celebrates it 10th birthday appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Now, simply tap once to view images on Snapchat
Remember the days when you had to press and hold your screen to view images and texts on Snapchat? Well, of course, you do – because until yesterday that’s how things worked at the self-destructing photo sharing app. Not anymore! Now, you can simply tap once to view images and stories shared by your friends on Snapchat.
“Simply Tap to View! This means no more tired thumbs while watching a several-hundred-second Story… and a little getting used to for anyone who has been Snapchatting for a while. We think you’re going to love it!,” Snapchat stated in its official blogpost.
Snapchat has also added a new feature called, Add Nearby, that will help you befriend new people who are around you at the moment.
“Add Nearby is (also) a quick way to add a group of friends when you’re all hanging out together. If everyone opens Add Nearby, a list of your friends will appear on the screen. Just tap to add,” the blogpost read.
To make it easier for you to add friends, the social networking app now lets you add a selfie to the center of your Snapcode, so that it’s easier for friends to recognize you when send them an add request. To add friends through Snapcode, all you have to do is, take a screenshot – and voila – they are added to your Snapchat friends list.
Source: Snapchat
The post Now, simply tap once to view images on Snapchat appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Snapchat is gaining new features that will make watching videos and finding friends easier
If you’ve ever used the Stories feature in Snapchat, you’d know that it can get pretty annoying having to hold your finger down on the screen to view each and every video. Today, that all changes, as the Snapchat team has just announced a slew of new features including the handy ‘tap to view’ functionality. Now, if you’d like to view a video, all you need to do is press once to play, and that’s it!
Also included in this update is a way to find friends more easily, which Snapchat is calling “Add Nearby”. If you’re nearby someone who you’d like to add on the messaging service, it’s pretty easy. Once you both open up the Add Nearby section, each person will appear on the screen, giving you the option to add them with a single tap. Additionally, Snapchat is allowing users to add selfies to their Snapcodes, which will make finding familiar faces much easier.
Last but certainly not least, Snapchat is also getting two-factor authentication, which will make it much more difficult for other users to access your account.
The update is now live in the Google Play Store, so be sure to grab the latest version if you haven’t yet.
Samsung’s new Level U earbuds appear for $69.99
Samsung has released a new addition to their Level line of audio products, dubbed the Level U. For $69.99 the Level U is a U-shaped set of Bluetooth earbuds that is designed to wrap around your neck.
In addition to playing audio from your smartphone, the two microphones that are built-in provide access to voice commands and even allows phone conversations. If you were wondering why the Level U has two microphones; one of them collects your voice and the other collects environmental noise and blocks it, making for clearer calls and voice commands. You can enable and disable voice commands through the Samsung Level app. No piece of wearable technology is useful without some solid battery life and the Level U (according to Samsung) will give you up to 10 hours of audio, 11 hours of talk time, and 500 hours of standby. This should be enough battery for a couple of days with moderate usage. The Level U is not charged via micro USB but rather a 5-pin connector.
For now, the Level U can be purchased from Samsung’s website and will likely hit other retailers later. For $69.99 the Level U is a solid deal if you are looking for some affordable earbuds with extra functions.
Snapchat update brings new “Tap to View” functionality and other improvements
Snapchat released an update this morning with a new way of viewing your snaps. Instead of having to hold your finger down in order to view the snap you can now just tap a new snap or story once to view it all. The update also brought a new feature that allows users to customize their Snapcodes or so called BooR code. You can now take a selfie and add it to you code and make it a little more personal or make it easier for others to recognize you when wanting to friend you. The update allows you to share your code to your contacts in case they haven’t added you to make it even easier to friend someone.
Source: DroidLife
Come comment on this article: Snapchat update brings new “Tap to View” functionality and other improvements
Full Lineup of Colors for Upcoming iPod Refresh Includes New Blue, Gold, and Pink Options
As we reported this morning, astute iPod owners with iTunes 12.2 have discovered an image that depicts the iPod touch, nano, and shuffle in new colors, suggesting an update could be in the works. A bit more digging around in iTunes 12.2 has unearthed additional iPod images, giving us a look at each of the new color options we might see should Apple be planning to release new models.
The images depict six different color options for the iPod nano, shuffle, and touch, showing each model in silver, space gray, red, bright pink, deep blue, and light gold. The latter three colors, pink, blue, and gold, are new shades that are not currently available. The space gray model may be slightly darker than the existing color, but it’s difficult to determine from images alone.
Aside from new color options, the devices appear to be largely the same, except perhaps for an external change for the iPod touch that does away with the attachment for the wrist loop. It is not clear if Apple plans to update the internals of the devices or if the company is simply going to introduce new color options, but the images make it clear that a potential update is not going to feature a major external redesign.
Apple’s iPod lineup has not seen new color additions since 2013, due to a sharp decline in sales over the past several years. The last update saw Apple change the “slate” color to “space gray” in September of 2013, and no major changes have been made since that date.
The Calendar app on the iPod touch in the images reads “Tuesday 14,” leading some of our readers to speculate that Apple might plan to introduce new models on Tuesday, July 14, which is two weeks from now.
Magic Leap adds former Vevo CEO to its mysterious team
Magic Leap is as mysterious as it’s ambitious. Ever since the Google-backed startup raised a whopping $542 million, it’s been pegged as the next big thing in mixed reality. But apart from it being a platform that incorporates digital lightfield technology, little is known about the experience or the headset so far. What’s known is that the company is building a rather unorthodox yet stellar team for its “techno-biology” mission. After appointing acclaimed sci-fi writer Neal Stephenson as the company’s Chief Futurist late last year, the company has brought on Rio Caraeff, former CEO of Vevo, as its Chief Content Officer.
Caraeff’s new role will include development and operations of the company’s cloud-based ecosystem and media network. Before setting up Vevo in 2009, he was a long time music executive with leading labels like Universal Records, Sony Music Entertainment and Capitol Records Group. According to a press release, his experience with music and media fits right into Magic Leap’s vision. “Rio grew up around musicians and computing, and he and I both share a love of creativity, art and technology,” says CEO Rony Abovitz. “This mutual passion for building new mediums and experiences with artists and creatives is the heart and soul of Magic Leap.” Those new mediums, however, continue to be the best kept secret in the world of reality-altering headsets.
[Image credit: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg, Getty Images]
Source: Variety
The iPhone 6 Plus won’t fit Fallout 4’s Pip-Boy (and I’m sad)
Thanks a lot, Bethesda. After the outfit’s first E3 media briefing, I pre-ordered the Pip-Boy Edition of Fallout 4 because of course I want to put a real-life version of the game’s stat-tracker and menu system on my forearm. All good, right? Well, I’m also in the market for a new phone and was eyeing an iPhone 6 Plus because it has a better camera and battery life compared to its smaller sibling, the iPhone 6. That’s where the problems arise: Bethesda recently announced that the real-world Pip-Boy comes with foam inserts that fit the iPhone 4 and 4s, 5 and 5s and the 6 in addition to the Samsung Galaxy S4 and S5. The company also promises a customizable foam insert that’ll accommodate “most other popular” handsets.
You’ll notice that neither the iPhone 6 Plus or Galaxy S6 are listed there. Bethesda says that the reasoning behind the size restrictions is because it wanted to keep the dimensions of the real-life Pip-Boy faithful to those of the in-game model. However, this seems a bit short-sighted. The iPhone 6+ and the Galaxy S6 might be bigger, but they’re also pretty popular and represent the best handsets made by their respective manufacturers.
The fact is, this isn’t a life-or-death situation and I’ll survive either way. But I do have a conundrum on my hands. Do I go for a smaller phone that’ll work with the now sold-out Pip-Boy edition of the incredibly anticipated game, or do I stick with my original plan and buy Apple’s flagship device? I’m not the type to upgrade my phone that often, and with what a contract-free 6 Plus will run me I’m going to use it until its metaphorical wheels fall off (or it’s rendered obsolete via firmware update). I’m not a cosplayer either, so having a totally functioning Pip-Boy on my wrist isn’t a huge deal. If my handset won’t fit into the plastic sleeve, though, I’m not sure I need to drop $120 after all.
And just when I thought I’d had my new phone issues sorted, too…
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Bethblog
Hulu’s free, ad-powered shows are heading to Pluto TV
Up until now, Hulu has limited free videos to its desktop website, but this won’t be the case for much longer. Thanks to Pluto TV, a startup that offers an internet television service at no cost, Hulu’s taking its ad-supported streaming content to more places. According to Variety, Pluto TV landed a deal that gives it access to everything available on Hulu’s site, including shows from ABC, NBC, FOX and other TV networks, as well as movies. Most importantly, the partnership is a big win for Hulu too, since it will be able to deliver its free, ad-powered programming through Pluto TV’s web and Android applications. There’s no specific timeline on when Pluto TV plans to roll this out, but it is expected to happen “soon.”
[Image credit: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff/Flickr]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Source: Hulu
AIVAnet 