Google has a beautiful new logo
After getting a new CEO last month, Google also has got a new logo. Google’s reasoning behind the new logo is that people are using Google differently today than they were 17 years ago. In the past the only way to use Google was through a desktop computer Today you can interact with Google in a variety of ways – mobile device, TV, watch, car dashboard, and even a desktop.
The new logo has more meaning today than ever. The new colorful microphone helps you identify and interact with Google, whether you’re talking, tapping or typing. The standard blue “g” in google has been replaced with a four-color “G” to match the new logo. The new logo is supposed to represent all of the ways Google works for you across Search, Maps, Gmail. Chrome, and others. This logo is the Google of today and the future.
Google also posted a history of their changes to their logo over the years. Check it out in the video above. Expect to see the rollout of the new logo across all Google products soon if you haven’t seen the changes yet.
The post Google has a beautiful new logo appeared first on AndroidGuys.
White House wants you to have online chats with the government
It’s getting easier to talk to the government online, but you’re frequently limited to one-way communication. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could chat with officials as easily as you do your internet friends? That might just happen. The White House has hired its first-ever Director of Product, former Facebook product lead Josh Miller, and he plans to do for government interaction what his startup Branch (which Facebook bought last year) did for group discussions. He wants officials to have a social network-like “conversation with you,” rather than issue statements. It’ll probably be a long while before you see the fruits of Miller’s efforts, but don’t be surprised if you can one day get your federal-level questions answered just by sending a message.
[Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images]
Filed under:
Internet, Facebook
Via:
TechCrunch
Source:
Josh Miller
Tags: branch, directorofproduct, facebook, internet, joshmiller, productdirector, socialnetwork, socialnetworking
Cortana for Windows 10 arrives in four more countries
Microsoft’s making good on its promise to release Cortana for PC in more locations after a limited launch. Now, the voice assistant is available as an optional download in Nihongo for Japan, as well as in English for Australia, Canada and India, but only if you’re running the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview build. According to the Insider program’s spokesperson, Gabe Aul, the Indian version isn’t quite finished yet, and it’s expected to get “an improved voice” — whatever that means — sometime this September. Cortana for PC was originally made available only in a handful of countries, including the US, when Windows 10 came out, as Redmond opted to tailor it for each location. After this tour, Microsoft is expected to prep the voice assistant and send it on its way to Brazil and Mexico, as well as release a French version in Canada.
Filed under:
Desktops, Microsoft
Source:
Windows Blog
Tags: cortana, microsoft, windows10, windows10insider
Tesla has a new $29,000 battery upgrade for its old Roadsters
In August 2014, Tesla CEO Elon Musk talked about “a fairly exciting upgrade” (i.e., an improved battery pack) to the company’s first car, the Lotus-based Roadster. Today, we can finally put a price tag on what it’ll cost you to give your aging all-electric sports car around 35-percent more energy capacity and around 40-percent more range. In short, getting the new, roughly 70-kWh pack will set you back $29,000. Be warned: The new pack is heavier than the older one.
In April, Musk said that the new Roadster battery would likely be available by August. Well, that didn’t happen, but you can at least now reserve your new pack for $5,000. Tesla says the cost is so high (higher per kWh than the Model S pack) because it has to build these by hand and then just two or three a week. Add in the time and cost to replace the pack and the power electronics, and you can see why this upgrade costs a bit more than a purchase from the App Store. Tesla says it does not expect to make money at this price point and it not talking about any warranty for the new battery.
It may still be worth it, to the right Roadster drivers. The Roadster originally came with a 245-mile range, and the idea of now driving for 400 miles will certainly appeal to some. There are posts on the Tesla Motors Club forum from people who say they’re already dropped their $5,000, even though this upgrade will not make the Roadster compatible with Tesla’s Supercharger network. There’s also no option to order a lighter pack with less energy capacity. All we’ve got is what Tesla says about the battery in the announcement below.
Upgrade your Roadster to a battery that stores roughly 40 more energy than the original battery. There is a slight increase in the battery weight but the total range increases over 35 from the original Roadster.
The price of the battery upgrade is $29,000, including all labor and logistics, which is equal to Tesla’s expected cost. It is not our intention to make a profit on the battery pack. The reason the cost per kWh is higher than a Model S battery is due to the almost entirely hand-built, low-volume (only 2 or 3 per week) nature of Roadster battery packs. It also includes additional work to remove, upgrade, and reinstall the power electronics module (PEM.)
All removed battery modules will be fully recycled or reused if possible, and we will reuse many other components from the old battery. Batteries are currently being upgraded in Fremont, CA and we will need sufficient time when scheduling your service to ship and pre-position the needed parts to your local service center. Depending on local service team workload the upgrade will only take a few days once the parts are in place.
Deposit & timing
A $5,000 deposit is required to reserve your upgrade with the balance due upon installation. Place your order today and you’ll be contacted to schedule an installation appointment as inventory becomes available.
Related Video:
Filed under:
Transportation
Tags: autoblog, battery, batterypack, ElectricVehicle, ElonMusk, EV, partner, roadster, syndicated, tesla, upgrade
HTC might announce a new smartphone on September 6th, HTC Aero incoming?
HTC has just posted an image to its Weibo microblogging account, hinting at a possible device launch slated for Sunday, September 6th. Although we’re not entirely sure what to expect next Sunday, the image attached below shows off what looks to be a new smartphone, rumored to be the upcoming HTC A9 (Aero) handset.
We weren’t exactly able to translate the text in the image, but the caption next to it reads:
September 6, “Meng Yao,” the listing, so stay tuned!
According to recent rumors and leaks, the device could feature MediaTek’s high end deca-core Helio X20 SoC, a 5.2-inch Quad HD display, 4GB of RAM and a big 3500mAh battery. It’s also rumored to come with 2.5D glass and a full metal unibody design. According to a few leaked images of the device, it looks like it will closely resemble an iPhone 6, as well. For a better look, check out the leaked photo attached below:
It looks like we won’t need to wait much longer to see what HTC has up its sleeve. What are your thoughts? If the leaks end up proving true, are you excited for HTC’s newest high-end smartphone?
Google’s new branding is slowly coming to web and Android icons
Earlier today we told you Google has updated their logo and would be bringing the design change to all of it’s products. They have already started updating some of their major apps with new logos on web and Android.
The new upper case “G” will be carried over to any apps that previously had the old lower case “g”. Web apps, so far, with changes are: Google+, Maps, Translate, News, and Search. On Android, only Maps and Translate have made the change. Maps also got an update with some new changes too.
We are not sure when all the other Android apps will see the new icons changes, but we would imagine it won’t be long. What do you think of the new icons?
Source: Android Central
Come comment on this article: Google’s new branding is slowly coming to web and Android icons
Could this be the HTC One A9?
Just yesterday we heard that HTC’s upcoming flagship type quality smartphone will be called the One A9. Today, the device might have been caught on camera.
The video below briefly shows us a glimpse of what could be the HTC One A9. HTC has plans to announce a so-called “handsome” smartphone on September 6th in Berlin. The device will include high-end flagship type specifications in addition to an industry first deca-core processor. The device is also expected to include a ground-breaking camera, much improved over the One M9 smartphone that came before it. Recent rumors suggested the device wouldn’t make it in time for IFA 2015, but it turns out the device may be ready ahead of schedule. The video shows a quick glimpse of the upper body of the device showing off a front-facing camera and what looks to be a front-facing flash. Hopefully we’ll find out more over the course of this week.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Source: TechTastic.nl
Come comment on this article: Could this be the HTC One A9?
Pokémon Shuffle Mobile is now available to all
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Back in June, it was announced that Pokémon Shuffle Mobile was coming to mobile platforms after some success with Pokémon Shuffle on the Nintendo 3DS. After a brief period in a closed beta, Pokémon Shuffle Mobile is now available to everyone around the world. In case you haven’t heard, Pokémon Shuffle is a match-3 puzzle game, not unlike Bejeweled, but with a Pokémon theme. Really, it doesn’t have that much to do with Pokémon, but we’ll take it in the vain hopes that we’ll eventually see a Pokémon game on mobile platforms.
For those who are still interested, Pokémon Shuffle Mobile is a free-to-play game, meaning it utilizes tokens to control how much you can play at any one time – you’ll start off with 5 hearts, with each diminishing after a “battle”, and takes 30 mins to recharge another. Naturally, you’ll be able to instantly do away with this by paying real money, and you’ll also be able to purchase power-ups to use in-game. If this still sounds like a game you want to play, we’ve included the Play Store link down below:
http://playboard.me/widgets/pb-app-box/1/pb_load_app_box.js
What do you think about Pokémon Shuffle Mobile? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Android Police
The post Pokémon Shuffle Mobile is now available to all appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Nest releases 3rd generation Learning Thermostat with slimmer profile and hi-res display
Nest Labs, Inc. , a pioneer in home automation, has just released the third generation Nest Learning Thermostat. The new unit comes with a slimmer profile, a high-resolution display that is 40 percent larger than the last, and it also comes with an updated user interface to make it easier to read temperatures, alerts and messages.
The Nest Learning Thermostat has been proven by third-party researchers to save people, on average, about 10 to 12 percent on their heating bills and about 15 percent on their cooling bills – Maxime Vernon, head of hardware product marketing.
That’s quite an accomplishment and proves that the investment in the Nest Learning Thermostat can pay for itself in a matter of time, depending on your monthly cost for electricity. The next generation Nest will be available at 7,000 retail locations and from 25,000 Nest Pro Installers. It will also be available through partners like Southern Company, Direct Energy, SunEdison, amongst many others who will provide the Nest Learning Thermostat at a discount or no cost.
Here is a list of new features in the 3rd generation Nest Learning Thermostat:
Sleek new design – The Nest Thermostat has a 40 percent larger, brighter, high-resolution screen and new graphics so you can see it easier from far away. The crisp display has 229 pixels per inch (PPI), 25 percent more than the 2nd generation Nest Thermostat. The 3rd generation Nest Thermostat also has a slightly thinner profile to be more flush against the wall.
Farsight – Previously, you had to be pretty close – about 3 feet (1 meter) away – to get the Nest Thermostat to wake up and turn on the display. Farsight takes advantage of the new highresolution screen so that you can see useful information on the Nest Thermostat from across the room. You can set the thermostat to display target temperature, an analog clock or digital clock, or turn Farsight off.
Furnace Heads-Up – Most heating and forced air furnaces have an automatic shutoff to avoid overheating. The Nest Thermostat will look for shutoff patterns that indicate there’s a persistent problem and if so, you’ll get a Heads-Up message in the Nest app and on the thermostat screen twice per year, and you’ll also get a notice in your monthly Home Report. (Furnace Heads-Up will be available for 1st and 2nd generation customers later this year.)
And, like the 1st and 2nd generation, the 3rd generation Nest Thermostat will also include the following integrations with Nest Protect and Nest Cam.
• When Nest Protect sounds a Heads-Up or Emergency Alarm for smoke or carbon monoxide (CO), in addition to a Nest app notification you’ll see a message on the Nest Thermostat display to help you know what’s going on. The Nest Thermostat can automatically shut off fossil fuel based heating systems, which is the leading cause of CO leaks in the home, in case that is the source.
• Nest Protect enhances the Nest Thermostat’s Auto-Away feature by improving Nest’s knowledge of when you’re home or away.
• You can set your Nest Cam to begin automatically recording when you switch your Nest Thermostat into Home or Away mode.
The 3rd generation Nest Learning Thermostat can be purchased today for $249 through Nest.com, Amazon.com, and Bestbuy.com. It will also be available for purchase to Best Buy stores, Google Store, The Home Depot, Sam’s Club, Target and Verizon Wireless soon. Now that the 3rd generation has been released, you can save $50 dollars on the 2nd generation Nest Learning Thermostat for a price of $199 while supplies last.
If you have a Nest, let us know how you like it in the comments section below.
The post Nest releases 3rd generation Learning Thermostat with slimmer profile and hi-res display appeared first on AndroidGuys.
California Uber drivers can join in class-action lawsuit
Uber drivers are not employees of the ride hailing company. Instead they are contractors responsible for their own gas, vehicle upkeep and if anything happens to the driver or car while they are searching for a passenger, it’s on them. Three drivers are challenging the way Uber does business by saying that the current situation violates California labor laws. Today that challenge got a boost when a San Francisco federal court judge said that their suit against the company is entitled to class action status. That means drivers can sue the company as a group over their employment status. The suit only applies to California drivers that started driving for the company before June 2014. But if the drivers are victorious, it could seriously change Uber’s business model.
The three drivers are suing Uber because they believe they are employees and are entitled to compensation for expenses related to driving passengers around. Uber says that drivers are independent contractors and that it is not liable for gas and vehicle maintenance. The class-action certification only applies to employee status and tips, not for expenses.
If the drivers are victorious, the outcome could be extremely damaging to Uber’s business model. Even if the ruling is is for California drivers only, it could set a precedent that other states could follow. By using contractors instead of employees, Uber has been able to reduce its bottom line. But that methodology isn’t without its detractors. The company has come under fire for how it classifies its workers from critics that include presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
This isn’t the first time Uber has been dragged to court about a worker’s status. In June, the California labor commission ruled that a single driver was an employee. Uber plans to appeal the court’s decision.
[Image credit: Associated Press]
Filed under:
Transportation
Source:
Reuters
Tags: ClassAction, Lawsuit, RideSharing, Uber
AIVAnet 