‘Star Wars’ promo turns your Google account to the dark side
One downside of being a billion-dollar movie studio that owns one of history’s most popular film series is that it’s hard getting the word out about new releases. Take Disney, which is struggling to inform the population that there’s a seventh episode of the Star Wars saga coming out in a few weeks. Thankfully, the folks at Google have noticed the studio’s plight, and decided to help out by offering customized themes for everyone’s favorite internet services.
Source: Google Blog, Google Star Wars
Nano-sized diamond thread may be a super-strong wonder material
Move over, graphene — you’re not the only miracle material in town. Australian researchers have discovered that diamond nanothreads (one-dimensional diamond crystals capped with hydrogen) could be extremely strong. While scientists thought they were brittle when announced just a month ago, it turns out that they become supremely flexible (and thus durable) when you introduce the right kinds of defects. You could create nanoscopic structures that are just as strong as you need them to be, with a ‘perfect’ mix of bendy and rigid shapes.
Via: MIT Technology Review, Gizmodo
Source: ArXiv.org
T-Mobile starts rolling out Marshmallow OTA for the Nexus 6
If you’re the proud owner of a Nexus 6 on T-Mobile, you’ll be glad to hear that the carrier has finally started rolling out the long-awaited Marshmallow upgrade for the handset. The update brings the latest build of Android to the device, in addition to LTE band 12 and Wi-Fi calling.
The full changelog can be seen below:
- Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
- Exercise greater control over app permissions
- Purchase easily and securely with Fingerprint support and Android Pay
- Experience enhanced battery-life through Doze
- Redesigned App Drawer
To see if the update is ready for your device head into Settings, scroll to the bottom and tap on “About Device”, hit “System Updates”, then select “Check for updates”. Alternatively, you can wait until you receive a push notification prompting you to install the update.
Source: T-Mobile
Come comment on this article: T-Mobile starts rolling out Marshmallow OTA for the Nexus 6
Two-player synthesizer looks just as wild as it sounds
Noodling on a synthesizer is normally a solo affair, but Ben Bengler and Fiore Martin have found a way to spice things up. Their Collidoscope lets two musicians play in tandem thanks to the combination of twin keyboards and a clever sample-grabbing mechanism: all you have do is record something and use a hybrid knob/slider to determine what you’re sampling. It looks cool (somewhat like a musical, multiplayer Pong), but the big deal is that dueling artists can quickly create a track without breaking their flow. Perfect for live sets, we’d say. The team isn’t selling the Collidoscope right now, but there are hints that you’ll one day get to buy this competitive composition tool.
Source: Doctor Mix, ISAM
Pushbullet team holds Reddit AMA over Pro account concerns
Pushbullet fans have been going nuts the past week, after the popular service announced a new Pro service that costs $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. What do users get with this paid subscription? A few things; among them are an extra 98 GB of storage, file deliveries of up to 1 GB (as opposed to 25 MB and no messaging limits.
The main issue here is that some of these features used to be free. Not to mention the fact that those prices are a bit high for a secondary tool like Pushbullet. This is normally an app I would prefer paying a one-time fee for, but that is only my opinion.
The point is Pushbullet needs to somehow be monetized. It’s either that or shutting down. And no one wants Pushbullet to go under the bus, right? The only real concern is finding out whether Pushbullet went with the right pricing system or not, and that is what the team wanted to touch on during a recent Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) session.
Overall, the Pushbullet developer Guzba explained how the Pro pricing should have been added long ago. Overall, he seemed very accepting of commentary and willing to work with users. Most people go on to suggest that the price is a bit too high, or that it doesn’t offer enough premium features to justify the investment. Regardless, the situation is a bit tight for Pushbullet, which now struggles to survive and is asking fans for support.
See also: Irritated with Pushbullet? MightyText’s desktop app just went live
There were different propositions the host at least seems to have put thought into. Some people suggested a promotional cost for early adopters (a la Google Play Music All Access), others thought the prices should go down altogether. Since the product is not really at a “pro” level yet, others also thought a lower price point during at least only during that transitional period.
You can read the whole AMA session by clicking through the link below. What do you guys think about this whole ordeal, though? Pushbullet needs to make money to survive, so staying completely free is definitely not an option. What pricing would you say is a more fair alternative?
See the Pushbullet AMA on Reddit
New feature: sending texts from your tablet
Text messaging via Pushbullet can be easily done from a PC, but tablet users have been out of luck until today. Aside from trying to appease angry Pushbullet users, the company has announced a new feature we know many of you will love. You can now sync with your smartphone and send SMS messages from any tablet connected to the same account!
The only trick is that you have to have SMS Syncing on, but that is the only real requirement. The rest of it is just as natural and intuitive as Pushbullet has always been.
Samsung broadcasts first Gear VR TV ad
To celebrate its official release in the United States, Samsung has today broadcast its first official TV advert for the Gear VR. The 30-second clip shows just how easy the unit is to use and highlights the capabilities of virtual reality.
Check it out after the break.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Come comment on this article: Samsung broadcasts first Gear VR TV ad
T-Mobile starts rolling out Lollipop OTA for the Nexus 6
If you’re the proud owner of a Nexus 6 on T-Mobile, you’ll be glad to hear that the carrier has finally started rolling out the long-awaited Marshmallow upgrade for the handset. The update brings the latest build of Android to the device, in addition to LTE band 12 and Wi-Fi calling.
The full changelog can be seen below:
- Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
- Exercise greater control over app permissions
- Purchase easily and securely with Fingerprint support and Android Pay
- Experience enhanced battery-life through Doze
- Redesigned App Drawer
To see if the update is ready for your device head into Settings, scroll to the bottom and tap on “About Device”, hit “System Updates”, then select “Check for updates”. Alternatively, you can wait until you receive a push notification prompting you to install the update.
Source: T-Mobile
Come comment on this article: T-Mobile starts rolling out Lollipop OTA for the Nexus 6
Goodbye, EverythingMe launcher – popular app shutting down despite popularity
Launchers are a tricky business, which is why we are always interested in those developers who decide to go out of the norm and really get creative with their apps. And then we have a few that get pretty popular, which makes them extra special. But popularity doesn’t always translate to revenue, a lesson many of us have to learn the bad way.
Today we are saying goodbye to one of our favorite launchers (literally; we listed it in our top launchers) – EverythingMe. The team has announced the app is shutting down and support will end in the coming days. Te reason? Money.
What made this UI replacement app special was that it was the first to offer a contextual experience that evolved along with your daily routine. The user would get recommended apps and services depending on the time of the day, as well as the location.
Their monetization system worked very similarly to their UI, which seems to be at least one of the causes of the app’s demise. Profits come from advertising, which is also contextual. EverythingMe will recommend apps and services of different types, depending on the time and location.
The company is not being very clear about all the details, but it seems that despite breaking industry expectations in popularity, the team couldn’t transform this into money when growing in emerging markets. It has been over a year since the global launch, so we believe they really have put enough time and consideration into this decision.
All we can say is that we tip our hats to the EverythingMe team, which has created one of the best third-party launchers we have seen. It does seem like the project is completely dead, but keep in mind that the app will continue in your phone if you already have it. There just won’t be any support for it. That is, unless they decide to open the source code and the community takes over (go bug them about it!).
But tell us – which is your favorite launcher? Will you miss EverythingMe?
Scientists create quantum entanglement at room temperature
Quantum entanglement, where two particles are inextricably linked, is a real thing. However, creating that odd behavior has been extremely difficult so far — you have to cool things down to near absolute zero to pull it off on a significant scale. Or rather, you did. Researchers have successfully produced macro-scale quantum entanglement at room temperature through the one-two combo of an infrared laser (which aligned magnetic states) and electromagnetic pulses (for the actual entanglement). The experiment only included enough electrons and nuclei to fill the space of a blood cell, but that still amounts to linking “thousands” of particles.
Via: SciTechDaily
Source: University of Chicago, Science Advances
Verizon makes travelling for Thanksgiving easier with free gifts starting Nov. 25
Travelling for the Thanksgiving holiday can be a nightmare. The day before and the days after are fraught with massive amounts of travellers, terrible weather, delays, traffic and crowded airports.
Verizon is creating a new holiday called “Thanksgetting.” Thanksgetting is the day before Thanksgiving and in hopes of making travelling just a little easier, Verizon is making it available to all mobile customers. Hopefully this will help travellers stay in a better mood if they’re just not having it with crowds and delays.
“Verizon worked with a number of top partners to create Thanksgetting, which is centered around a suite of offers that will help keep travel boredom at bay. Best of all, these offers are available to anyone who visits vzw.com/thanksgetting between Thursday, November 19 and Wednesday, November 25, regardless of whether or not they’re a Verizon customer.”
Verizon is helping consumers ease holiday travel with:
- Movies, TV shows, music, e-books and apps from Amazon
- A $5 gift certificate to iTunes from Apple
- A 30-day Pandora One trial for new subscribers
- A $20 credit toward a ride on Thanksgetting Day (November 25) from Lyft
- Airport Wi-Fi from Boingo
- In-flight Wi-Fi from Gogo
- MyRewards+ points from Verizon Fios
In addition to these special offers, Verizon does have an extra gigabyte of data that can be used now and another gigabyte for the next bill cycle. This is especially useful for Verizon customers who get delayed on their flights or who are stuck in traffic.
If you want to make your journey a little easier, whether you’re an AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon cusomter, go to vzw.com/thanksgetting to see what Verizon has to offer. Thanks Verizon! Happy Thanksgiving to you too.
Amazon offer details
Pandora offer details
Offer subject to Pandora One Terms + While Supplies Last
Lyft offer details
Ride credit code is redeemable for up to $20 in ride credit to be used on the Lyft platform for the first 2500 existing users. Ride credit is redeemable for up to $20 in ride credit to be used on the Lyft platform for an unlimited amount of new users. Credit is not redeemable for cash and can only be used on the Lyft platform. Credit must be redeemed on the day of this offer, 11/25, all unredeemed Credit will expire. Cannot be combined with other offers. Can only be used once. All tips and any charges exceeding the Credit value will be applied to your personal payment method. Participation is subject to Lyft’sTerms of Service.
Gogo offer details
- 30 minutes of FREE in-flight connectivity
- Email address required
- Please read Gogo’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Source – Verizon
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