Google to announce changes to its productivity apps on September 2nd
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Google has typically had a monopoly on productivity apps on the Android and Chromebook platforms, but with Microsoft strengthening its presence in Google’s territory, it’s clear some changes are needed to get Google’s apps back in the game. To that end, Google has called for an event on September 2nd at Google’s headquarters which aims to announce updates to its productivity apps including Docs, Sheets, Slides and Google Classroom – that last one allows teachers to manage their lessons and content better.
The focus of the improvements will be for students, teachers and professionals in general and invites to the event have been sent out expressing that these updates will be detailed at the event. We’re excited to see what Google is going to bring to the table as education (and productivity) is an area that could really benefit from more integration with Google’s core services.
What do you think about Google taking more interesting in productivity apps? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: PC World via TalkAndroid
The post Google to announce changes to its productivity apps on September 2nd appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Someone accidentally pushes the button on Play Daily button on the Play Store
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Sometimes new features go live before they are intended to which is exactly what happened to the Play Store earlier today. Astute Android users would have noticed today that a mysterious Play Daily button on the Play Store appeared out of the blue and didn’t appear to go anywhere – click on it only seemed to result in a server error. Also curious is that a “Dogfood Apps” button appeared in the Apps section of the Play Store, which predictably led to a number of Google apps that are already available to the public – no, not Google’s internal special version of apps.
While we’re not sure what purpose these new buttons would serve, it appears that it has all been an accident on Google’s side, with Googler Kirill Grouchnikov confirming that it was accidentally put into the production build:
https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js
We’d expect the buttons to disappear soon, if they haven’t already, but it’s almost nice to know that even Google can be human sometimes. What do you think about the Play Daily button on the Play Store? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Android Police
The post Someone accidentally pushes the button on Play Daily button on the Play Store appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
NASA technologies star in One Direction’s music video
Ah, pop stars. They can be anyone they want in their music videos: spies, goddesses and, in One Direction’s case, astronauts blasting off to space. The boy band’s latest music video for the single Drag Me Down features a number of NASA tech, which is why the agency’s been promoting it in its social media channels. In addition to donning NASA’s bright orange suits and shooting at the Johnson Space Center, the boys got a taste of the ISS crew’s training using the Partial Gravity Simulator and the ISS Mockup Bike.
They also got to bond with Robonaut, take the Space Exploration Vehicle (a rover in development for Mars and other deep-space missions) for a drive around the facility and dance in a hangar with T-38 jet trainers used for flight simulations. Finally, the boys got to climb aboard a mock-up Orion spacecraft, because clearly, magical things happen to them that don’t happen to the rest of us.
From @OneDirection‘s #DragMeDownMusicVideo: Roving in the Space Exploration Vehicle: http://t.co/N4wQNe9Iwo pic.twitter.com/98IHwFmg4R
— NASA (@NASA) August 21, 2015
From @OneDirection‘s #DragMeDownMusicVideo: Here’s how you can become @NASA_Astronauts: http://t.co/K0OIDlCMVS pic.twitter.com/Yl309z1aS7
— NASA (@NASA) August 21, 2015
From @OneDirection‘s #DragMeDownMusicVideo: @NASA_Orion takes flight. Learn more: http://t.co/V2alO9n0Zk pic.twitter.com/UOmmkY8zOm
— NASA (@NASA) August 21, 2015
From @OneDirection‘s #DragMeDownMusicVideo: @AstroRobonaut is ready to assist the crew. More: http://t.co/kjyw4qioMX pic.twitter.com/w2rcLwNjXi
— NASA (@NASA) August 21, 2015
Filed under:
Misc
Source:
NASA
Tags: astronaut, musicvideo, nasa, onedirection, space
OneDrive’s Groups feature shutting down October 16th
Microsoft officially announced it’s axing the Groups feature in OneDrive in the coming weeks, meaning stalwarts still using the online storage service for collaborating will need to start migrating their data to new locations. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, though: The feature has been largely shuttered for months. As it is, users haven’t been able to create new groups; they can only work within existing ones.
However, that’s no longer the case: People who still use Groups received an email today informing them that the feature will not be available after October 16th, 2015, and that any data stored in a group file will be deleted. If you want to keep your data currently contained in Groups, follow these instructions to migrate it to a different folder in OneDrive. This means you’re essentially downloading files to a desktop, then uploading them into a different folder in OneDrive. (Oddly, these instructions claim that Groups will no longer be available after September 30th 2015 but our contacts at Microsoft have assured us that October 16th is the correct date.) The email also contains instructions on how to share files and folders after moving them out of Groups. It’s worth mentioning that individual OneDrive accounts already include free access to Office’s online version, which has real-time co-editing so it doesn’t matter if a file is owned by a group or a single person.
Source:
onedrive
Tags: CloudStorage, groups, Microsoft, microsoftonedrive, onedrive
Weird noises emerge from a Frankenstein cassette-tape keyboard
Of course everyone knows what a Mellotron is (no, everyone doesn’t), but allow us to briefly explain anyway. The Mellotron is a keyboard hooked up to analog tape — press a key and the instrument plays a corresponding section of sound on the tape. It’s the original sampler, popularized by the Beatles, the Moody Blues and a handful of other bands in the 1960s and ’70s. And now, it’s back with a modern twist. The Crudman, from Brooklyn’s Crudlabs, isn’t exactly a Mellotron, but it operates similarly by connecting a keyboard to a hacked Walkman. Users can even chain together a few Crudman units for polyphonic sounds. You could even call them polyphonic sprees, if you’re feeling saucy.
Despite the similarities to the Mellotron, Crudlabs wants to make it clear that the Crudman is not a Mellotron. “It is a monophonic, tape-based instrument designed around a single cassette Walkman,” the Crudlabs site says. “No, it is not designed to replace a Mellotron and it does not sound like a Mellotron. It’s its own thing which has its own unique sound and features. It is a new instrument and a tool to find new and interesting musical and atonal sounds using the unique lo-fi characteristics of cassette tapes.”
As for those unique sounds, hear for yourself below.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/136749073?color=c73e26&title=0&byline=0&portrait=0
Filed under:
Misc
Via:
Motherboard
Source:
Crudlabs
Tags: Cassette, crudlabs, crudman, mellotron, music, sampler, walkman
10 people will get to play a 24-screen game of Minesweeper
I’m not quite keen on playing a massive game of Minesweeper when a tiny one is enough to make me go nuclear. But hey, if you’ve aways dreamt of playing it on 24 high-definition displays, you can send in an application to participate in the Minesweeper Super Challenge by a company called Cinemassive. To celebrate Minesweeper’s 30th anniversary, Cinemassive is having 10 people compete on a gargantuan screen. Because, obviously, nothing quite celebrates pushing gamers everywhere to the edge for 30 years than having to clear 38,799 mines. The project page says you’ll be able to play “from the comfort of your home,” so we’re assuming you’d be able to control the company’s setup remotely if you’re chosen. Before you apply, note that you get three tries before you’re out, and you only have 12 hours to beat the game. I’d definitely understand, though, if you ragequit somewhere in the middle.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/135286899?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0
Filed under:
Gaming
Via:
Boingboing
Source:
Cinemassive
Tags: minesweeper
Tinder gets a lo-fi makeover in ‘Millenial Swipe Simulator 2015’
If you’ve been using Tinder for long enough chances are that you’ve opened the app in the morning with some rather surprising matches. Brainlessly swiping right on whoever fits the bill for you in the hopes that they’ll do the same and you’ll potentially have a love connection is part of the experience. It’s this sort of activity the web-based Millenial Swipe Sim 2015 aims to replicate. In the “game” you have to keep swiping (regardless of direction) to keep your boredom meter from filling lest you die. Seriously. Funnily enough, developer Will Herring (a Buzzfeed creative director and former GamePro (R.I.P.) editor) managed sneaking some of the app’s quirks in. Like people in group photos and the same profiles that keep popping up repeatedly, for example. What’s missing though are wedding shots from the altar or church steps and profiles consisting entirely of photos of one’s children. Maybe in the next update?
Herring tells Motherboard that the concept of app-based dating is something he’s still trying to wrap his head around given the weird dichotomy of people not taking it seriously despite it becoming “the standard” for how people meet and start relationships. I mean, if a literal piece of meat can do it, that’s saying something. How many swipes can you hit before departing this mortal coil? My record is 19 and not once did I see someone holding their newborn in the delivery room or lounging at a rooftop bar in a bikini.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Gaming, Mobile
Via:
Motherboard
Source:
Millenial Swipe Simulator 2015 (Dropbox)
Tags: 8bit, appdating, buzzfeed, gaming, hope, humanity, indiegame, love, lowfi, mobile, mobilepostcross, onlinedating, tinder, willherring
Dr. Dre’s ‘Compton’ is no longer an Apple Music exclusive
Dr. Dre released his final album, Compton: A Soundtrack by Dr. Dre, two weeks ago as an exclusive for Apple Music and the iTunes Store. The 14-day window has come to an end and now the album is available through Google Play along with music streaming services such as Tidal, Rdio, and Rhapsody. Compton includes sixteen tracks that run for around sixty minutes.
Plan on seeing Straight Outta Compton in theaters? The album pairs pretty well with that film considering Dr. Dre was a member of N.W.A., the group that Straight Outta Compton chronicles.
Source: Google Play Music (Twitter)
Come comment on this article: Dr. Dre’s ‘Compton’ is no longer an Apple Music exclusive
PSA: Apple will replace your iPhone 6 Plus’ wonky camera
Did you buy an iPhone 6 Plus sometime between last September and this January? Do you notice that your shots taken with its back camera come out all blurry? Yeah, it’s not just you. Turns out, a limited number of these phones shipped with a manufacturing defect. However, Apple is aware of the issue and has already begun issuing replacements for the iSight camera. If you think that you have one of these borked units, go to this website and type in your phone’s serial number. If your unit is part of that bad batch, Apple will replace the camera (not the entire phone) at no charge. Also, if you’re rocking one of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6’s, don’t worry; none of those units suffered from the defect.
[Image Credit: Getty Images]
Filed under:
Cellphones, Cameras, Wireless, Mobile, Apple
Via:
9to5Mac
Source:
Apple Support
Tags: apple, iphone, iphone6, iphone6plus, isight, mobilepostcross, PSA
‘Half-Life 2’ plus ‘Hotline Miami’ equals ‘Half-Line Miami’
What’s better than a pixelated, top-down gorefest set to frenetic synth music? A pixelated, top-down gorefest set to frenetic synth music with a gravity gun. Half-Line Miami is an unapologetic mix of Half-Life 2, Valve’s massively popular 2004 first-person shooter, and Hotline Miami, the ultra-violent top-down action franchise from Dennaton Games. Both games have secured their places in video game history and they’re now together at last in one free PC game, complete with a level editor.
Half-Line Miami comes from developer Thomas Kole, with music by Sung. Kole created Half-Line Miami at Belgium’s Digital Arts and Entertainment, a school for video game development and visual effects. In the release trailer’s YouTube description, Kole adds, “I made this game as a declaration of my love for these two games, and as an experiment in game design.”
Via:
Kotaku
Source:
Half-Line Miami
Tags: HalfLife2, halflinemiami, hdpostcross, HotlineMiami, Indie
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