Dear Veronica: Picking your penguin
Welcome back to another episode of Dear Veronica! This week, we have some great responses from you guys from our most recent “Question to the Crowd” from Tiyana. Watch to see how you guys think we should handle cross-timezone texting!
Viewer David also has a question about which Linux distro is the best in terms of privacy and usability, and to answer that one we have Engadget editor Terrence O’Brien on give us the details.
To wrap everything up, we have a Lightning Round! Make sure you keep sending on in those questions to me via Twitter using the hashtag #DearVeronica, or send me in a video question! See you next time.
Dunkin’ Donuts takes aim at Starbucks with mobile ordering and delivery
You can already order your coffee from Starbucks before you get there, and soon you may be able to do the same from another popular purveyor of the brew. Dunkin’ Donuts is testing mobile ordering through its app at 124 locations in Portland, Maine. What’s more, a few stores in Dallas are trying their hand at delivery and some in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington will begin coffee drop-offs soon. The move follows coffee giant Starbucks getting into both ordering ahead and delivery, so it’s likely Dunkin’ Donuts is looking to keep pace by offering its customers an easier way to get their caffeine and sugar fix. Of course, a number of other restaurants also offer similar services, including the likes of Chipotle and Taco Bell. As both ordering and delivery are in the trial phase, there’s no word on when the services will expand nationwide in the US or to the company’s limited footprint in the UK and other countries.
[Image credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Source: Bloomberg Business
6 futuristic cars powered entirely by the sun
By Cat DiStasio
Innovators around the world are obsessed with harnessing the power of the sun. Solar energy has been used to power lamps that light up the night, to run desalinators that create clean drinking water, and to offset fossil fuels on utility grids. But what about solar cars? The world hasn’t seen many sun-powered vehicles, but it’s not for lack of innovation or competition. In fact, many such cars have competed against one another in the World Solar Challenge, which goes down in Australia. The race has spurred the creation of some of the world’s fastest and most efficient sun-powered vehicles, but there’s more out there. Some are born purely from a love for clean tech and the rush of innovation that comes from creating something once dismissed as impossible.Slideshow-341721
Too good to survive: The rise and fall of Rdio
Spotify is probably how most Americans were introduced to streaming music over the last four years or so — the service has grown by leaps and bounds since it launched in the US in July of 2011. But a relatively small group of music fans were enjoying pretty much all that Spotify had to offer months before it hit the US. That group was using Rdio, and we’ll now have to find a new option: Rdio will be dead soon, sold off to Pandora in a bankruptcy deal. The service will remain a cautionary tale about the brutality of survival in the streaming music world. A great product is important, but it’s clearly not enough.
Deal: get an LG G3 and a whole year of service for only $289.99
Looking for a good phone? We know how limiting budgets can be, but in this day and age you can get some pretty awesome smartphones for a low price. You could get a mid-end handset or an older generation high-end device. Today the AA Deals Store is offering the latter at a very good price.
You can now grab an LG G3 for only $289.99. That may not sound like that great of a deal at first, as you can actually get the same phone for slightly cheaper on Amazon, but you are not getting just a phone here. This deal comes with a year of unlimited text & talk, as well as 500 MB per month from FreedomPop. In addition you get premier service, which includes premium voice, voicemail, data rollover, tethering, usage alerts, internet security, VPN and more.
It’s going to save you a bunch of cash! This happens to be a 72% discount over the original value, so you are definitely in for a treat here. There is one thing to keep in mind, though. Coverage is not everywhere, especially if you want 4G LTE. Your best bet is to check out FreedomPop’s website to see if you are covered (they use Sprint’s network). You can also learn all about FreedomPop in there. It’s actually a very interesting wireless service provider, and some casual users could even handle using it for free after that year.
If you are sold on the service, you should also read the great review we gave the LG G3. It’s actually a hell of a phone, even if it’s a previous generation handset. Specs include a 5.5-inch 2560x1440p display, a Snapdragon 801 processor, 2 GB of RAM (or 3 GB for the 32 GB version), 16/32 GB of internal storage, a 13 MP rear camera and a 2.1 MP front shooter, as well as a 3000 mAh battery.
Want in? A year of free service is always good, so I say you should jump on this deal if your area is covered by FreedomPop. Just hit the link below to sign up!
Moto X Pure gets three limited time back choices in time for the holidays
Motorola is no stranger to creating “special edition” customization options with the Moto Maker, with one example being the limited time football leather that was introduced to the Moto X (2nd gen) last November. This time around, Motorola is teaming up with well-known designer Jonathan Adler to give Moto X Pure Edition fans three unique options just in time for the holiday season.
As you can see in the picture above, these are certainly different than your typical Moto Maker backings. One thing is for sure, if you are looking to stand out from the crowd, these new designs certainly do the trick. Whether that’s a good or bad thing probably comes down to personal taste, but it’s always nice to have more options.
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The three new backs are exclusive options for the 32GB Limited Edition Moto X Pure, which will go on pre-order November 24th. The limited edition Pure will be available starting December 3rd and will be priced at $475. Breaking it further down, that’s the same price as you’d pay for a 32GB Moto X Pure with a leather or wood back.
What do you think of the new backs? If you aren’t a fan, what’s your favorite back choice for the Moto X Pure Edition? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Microsoft’s Graph is an easy way for devs to access all the data in the Microsoft cloud
Microsoft today officially unveiled Microsoft Graph (formerly known as Office 365 Unified API) at the big Connect() conference in New York. Microsoft Graph is an easy way for developers to give applications unified access to digital work and digital life data throughout the Microsoft cloud. In other words, with the Microsoft Graph, developers will now be able to bring together smart machine learning algorithms and user data and behavior using just a single authorization token.
The Microsoft Graph, which can be found at graph.microsoft.com, exposes APIs, data and intelligence across both Office 365 and Azure AD. Any developer that’s able to make an HTTP request can call the API from any platform, and all Office 365 services can now be directly navigated via Graph. Microsoft is also releasing the SDKs to make Graph as useful as possible, starting with .Net, Android and iOS, then expanding to other platforms like Node.js, Python, Java and Ruby. Code samples can be found on GitHub.
Here’s what’s available through Graph today:
- General availability (ready for production) – Users, Files, Messages, Groups, Events, Contacts (personal), Mail, Calendar, Devices and other directory objects and docs.
- Preview (available to explore) – Notifications, SDKs, People, Organizational contacts, Office Graph, Planner, OneNote, Converged Auth. flow support, OneDrive Files and Outlook.
For developers, what used to be 50+ lines of code are now cut to five
Microsoft Graph is basically a gateway for devs to access the data living in Microsoft’s cloud. In the Office 365 area alone, you’ll have access to more than 18 million consumer Office 365 subscribers, 60 million commercial 365 monthly active users, more than half a billion people managing their documents and photos in OneDrive and much more.
Developers can get started now for free with an Office 365 developer tenant. Access to the Office 365 APIs and data through Graph will be included in your Office 365 license. This includes all APIs currently available with the general release today. Access to intelligence is paid, and some intelligence features are included in the 365 license and some are licensed separately. Additional capabilities will be added to the Microsoft Graph that may also be licensed separately.
To learn more, head to the link below to get all of the relevant documentation, code samples, SDKs, graph explorer and more. You can start the sign up process by visiting office.com to get access to an Office 365 license. And if you want all of the details, check out the official announcement at the source link attached below.
42 QHD Star Wars wallpapers
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens is literally just a month away. We’re as excited as the rest of the world and all we can do is wait. While you wait for what will be one of the biggest movies of 2015, check out these QHD wallpapers we’ve curated from around the web, and drop one of them onto your background to show your love for Star Wars.
The wallpapers are all in the scrolling images above, and if you want to save them, follow these instructions:
- Click the left/right arrows to scroll through the images
- Maximize the image you like by clicking on it
- Long press or hold down on the image and click “save”
- Go to your gallery or Google Photos and find your image
- Click “use as” and then click wallpaper
If you see a wallpaper that belongs to you and you would like to receive credit, I would love to give it to you! Just drop a comment in the section provided below with some proof (You know, just so we don’t have people claiming things that are not theirs…) So, please choose those that you like and enjoy!
The post 42 QHD Star Wars wallpapers appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Sprint’s new promotion cuts competitor rate plans in half
Sprint on Wednesday announced its latest promotion a limited time deal which sees the carrier slashing competitor prices by 50 percent. Indeed, the deal is available to anyone from Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile who ports their phone number to Sprint before January 7th 2016.
According to Sprint, there are no gimmicks or anything that will come back to bite customers. In short, the promotion gives customers the same amount of data and talk time that they were receiving with their previous carrier but at half the price.
The 50 percent deal works for not only single line plans, but multi-line accounts as well. Sprint will allow for up to ten lines on an account.
Here’s an example of what T-Mobile customers can expect when they take advantage of the promotion.
In addition to the three major players, Cricket and MetroPCS customers can also bring their lines over and save 50 percent off their rates. Once locked into the half off promotion, customers will see this price through January 8th 2018.
Sprint did not forget about its own customers and wants to reward them for their loyalty. Any existing Sprint subscriber who wants to, can take advantage of a free tablet with a 2-year contract. Worth roughly $360 according to Sprint, it is the Alcatel One Touch Pixi 7. Note that this is limited to supply on hand.
The 50 percent off rate plan begins on November 20. Learn more at Sprint’s website.
The post Sprint’s new promotion cuts competitor rate plans in half appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Microsoft Launches Redesigned ‘Bing’ App With Focus on Quick Interactions and App Discovery
Microsoft today launched an entirely revamped Bing search engine app for iOS, which it is hoping will reimagine search on the iPhone. The Bing app has a new design with a much cleaner interface and a series of quick action buttons that aim to cut down on the amount of typing a user needs to do to get relevant search results.
According to Microsoft, existing mobile search engines are a copycat of PC-based search engines – long lists of links – but the needs on mobile are much different. On a phone, people are looking for faster ways to get what they want while minimizing the number of interactions, an experience Microsoft is planning to deliver with Bing.
The main focal point of the app is a search button that launches a standard search for any topic, using either words, voice, or an image. This search interface includes popular search topics, like “restaurants near me,” and it also includes links to search images, videos, or news, in addition to the web.
On the main Bing screen below the search button, there’s a series of quick tap buttons that will bring up things people often search for. “Near Me,” for example, displays a list of venues that are nearby, and additional buttons like “Dinner” or “Coffee” let users drill down further in the search results without ever having to type a word.
There are also quick links to bring up local restaurants, current movies, images, videos, and maps, while scrolling down will open up a list of breaking news stories. Microsoft has put a lot of thought into the Bing search engine, and its results cover everything a person might be looking for.
As an example, if you tap the Movie quick link on the home screen, it shows movies in theaters, but it also shows new movies that have been added to Netflix and Amazon Prime, along with popular movies on both services. Tapping on one of these movies brings up information like actors and movie reviews, along with a long list of relevant apps. From the search results, a movie like Nightcrawler can be opened in Netflix, purchased on iTunes, rented on Amazon, or opened in VUDU.
Microsoft has made deep linking a major focal point in its new Bing app, and app-based search results that open the relevant app are available for many different types of searches. For example, searching for a popular restaurant nearby and then tapping that result will include all relevant associated apps.
A search for a local Chipotle brings up a map, a phone number, and a list of associated apps. Yelp, Foursquare, and Zomato are offered up as apps where reviews are available, while AllMenu is listed as a way to view the menu and Apple Maps, Uber, Google Maps, and Lyft are provided as options for getting there. For a restaurant with food delivery, Bing might offer up the relevant app, or for a restaurant that takes reservations, Bing will provide something like OpenTable as an option.
A search for a television show might bring up an option to open it up directly in Netflix, while searching for a particular song includes app links to watch it in the YouTube app or buy it in iTunes. In addition to helping people find things faster, Microsoft is hoping its deep linking will aid users in app discovery, helping them find new ways to do things via apps.
The new Bing app also takes advantage of Microsoft’s Knowledge and Action Graph, which incorporates 21 billion facts, five billion relationships between entities, and 18 billion actions to give users answers to common questions quickly. That’s been coupled with extensive work on indexing apps to build the backbone for the new Bing mobile experience.
Bing can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
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