You can now try Firefox OS on your Android phone
Mozilla has dropped the latest version of Firefox OS into everybody’s lap, and there’s a special treat tucked inside for brave Android users. A new developer preview of the software can be downloaded and tried as an alternative home screen on your phone that, thankfully, doesn’t require you to wipe your device beforehand. Just install the APK and it’ll appear as an app that, with a single press of your device, will transform the handset into a Firefox OS phone. Naturally, in order to play nice with Android, there’s a few futzes and workarounds tucked inside, but it’s hoped that the move will enable more people — and developers — to engage with the burgeoning operating system.
Via: Android Central
Source: Mozilla
Grow your own edible mealworms in a desktop hive
The idea of eating insects isn’t new — there are several cultures around the world that actually rely on them as a major food source. But those in the Western world haven’t quite caught on, and that’s a bit of a shame. See, insects cost a lot less to produce and are far less harmful to the environment than raising livestock. Katharina Unger thinks so too. Not only that, but she also thinks that people need be more informed about where their food comes from. That’s why she and friend Julia Kaisinger created the LIVIN Farms Hive, which is what they’re calling the first ever edible insect desktop hive. With it, the two hopes to spread the gospel and value of growing, breeding, harvesting and, yes, eating your very own mealworms.Slideshow-340834
Source: Livin Farms Hive (Kickstarter)
Anywhere SIM helps avoid UK ‘not spots,’ but at a cost
Whether you live in central London or the northernmost tip of Scotland, you’ve probably experienced flaky mobile coverage at one point or another. Carriers say they’re working to fix the UK’s so-called “not spots,” but customers continue to complain about dropped calls and sporadic 3G coverage. What’s the solution? Blending all of the networks together, Anywhere SIM hopes. The Lancashire company has launched a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) SIM card today that lets you take advantage of O2, Vodafone and EE’s networks. Whichever has the best service, that’s the one you’ll be connected to automatically.
Source: Anywhere SIM
I used an app to make custom molded earbuds in only a minute
Earlier this week, we heard about the Revols, a pair of wireless earbuds that can be custom-fit to your ears in 60 seconds. In just a few short hours after it hit Kickstarter, Revols met and surpassed its $100,000 funding goal — it’s now earned a little over $326,000 in pledges. To learn what all the hype was about, I talked to the two co-founders and tried out a prototype version of the custom-fit earphones for myself. In sum? It works. In just under a minute, I had custom molded earbuds. Slideshow-340822
Apple to Create 1,000 New Jobs in Ireland Amid Tax Probe
Apple plans to hire an additional 1,000 employees at its Cork offices in Ireland, a country where the iPhone maker shelters multi-billion-dollar profits from corporate taxes in the United States, according to Reuters.
Apple’s offices in Cork, Ireland
Ireland’s main foreign investment agency, the IDA, said Apple was to add 1,000 jobs to its office in Cork by mid-2017 from 5,000 at present. It said the company had also added 1,000 jobs in the past year.
In September 2014, the European Commission accused Apple of receiving illegal state aid from Ireland in return for maintaining jobs. A decision in the investigation is due after Christmas, according to Ireland’s finance minister Michael Noonan.
Apple has paid a corporate tax rate of about 2.5% in Ireland on $109 billion in profits over the past five years, far less than an average 12.5% paid by many other companies in the country. The U.S. has an average corporate tax rate of about 15% to 39%.
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Jony Ive on Apple Pencil: A ‘Natural’ and ‘Familiar’ Extension of Traditional Drawing Tools
Alongside today’s launch of the iPad Pro and its Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard accessories, Apple design chief Jony Ive shared his thoughts on the new stylus accessory with The Telegraph.
Addressing the device’s strong resemblance to an actual pencil, Ive stresses that a familiar and natural feel is key to the user experience.
“We hoped if you are used to spending a lot of time using paintbrushes, pencils and pens, this will feel like a more natural extension of that experience – that it will feel familiar,” he says, carefully. “To achieve that degree of very simple, natural behaviour, was a significant technological challenge.”
Ive notes how that natural feel increases with usage to the point where the user forgets they are using a piece of technology and is able to simply focus on the task at hand. As an example, he points to his design team, which has experimented with tools other than traditional sketchbooks over the years but is finally finding the iPad Pro with Apple Pencil a natural combination.
“Many of us in the design team have worked together for 20 plus years. We’ve always drawn in our sketchbooks, and for the first time – despite flirting with some alternatives a couple of years ago – I’m seeing people starting to use the iPad and Apple Pencil. Our personal experience has been that there are definitely affordances and opportunities now that you have a much more natural and intuitive environment to make marks, there are clearly things you can do sketching and writing on the iPad which you could never dream of doing in the analogue world.”
The Apple Pencil is a $99 accessory sold alongside the iPad Pro, although early customers may need to wait a bit to get their hands on one. While the iPad Pro is in some cases available for in-store pickup as early as today, the earliest Apple Pencil orders are taking a few days longer to start shipping out and shipping estimates for new orders have quickly slipped to 3-4 weeks.
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F.lux for iPhone and iPad Launches in Beta Outside of App Store
F.lux, popular Mac software that adjusts the color of your computer’s display to adapt to the time of day, has been released for iPhone and iPad in beta outside of the App Store. The app can be downloaded and side-loaded on iOS 9 devices using Xcode 7 on a Mac running OS X 10.10 Yosemite or later.
F.lux will adjust your iPhone or iPad display to appear like sunlight during the day, and warm during nighttime hours to avoid looking at a bright screen. The app has settings to adjust the brightness level during the day and night, and you can also configure a time that you normally wake up each day.
Apple does not allow developers to access the Private APIs that f.lux requires to work on iOS, so the app is unlikely to appear on the App Store unless that policy changes. Since the app is side-loaded, there are no automatic updates, so the beta performs a daily update check and will display a message if a new version is available.
How to Sideload F.lux on iPhone and iPad
F.lux has provided step-by-step instructions on how to sideload the app on iPhone or iPad.
- Download and install Xcode 7 from the Mac App Store
- Download F.lux for iOS, unzip and open the “iflux.xcodeproj” project in Xcode
- Open Xcode > Preferences > Accounts and enter your iCloud or developer credentials
- Under Targets > iflux > General > Identity, give the Bundle Identifier a unique name
- Under the same Identity > Team menu, select your iCloud account or Developer profile
Next, connect your iPhone or iPad to a Mac using a Lightning cable and follow these steps:
- From the Xcode Product menu, choose Destination and select your iOS device
- Push Cmd-R when you’re ready to have f.lux
- When you first run, you’ll be prompted to open Settings > General > Profile on your device, and trust your developer account
- Run again, and allow location and notifications — the app needs to be able to constantly communicate to run well
F.lux for iOS was developed by Michael Herf and is free for iPhone and iPad. The app was released for jailbroken iOS devices in late 2011.
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[Deal] Get the Bluetooth Beanie and Touchscreen Gloves for only $35
It’s that time of the year. Time to break out the winter coats, and long johns. In addition to long johns and winter coats, you’ll need to keep your head and your fingers warm. Today’s deal is one to help out with just that issue.
The problem with most gloves nowadays is that your phone is rendered practically useless. You have to take the glove off, just to answer a phone call, or respond to a text message due to the fact that there is no tactile feedback in regular gloves. However, the Touchscreen gloves have rubber tips in the fingers to allow you to still interact with your device without freezing your fingers off.
- Built-in beanie speakers & microphone for easy one-touch music listening and call answering
- Seamless smartphone Bluetooth 33-ft connectivity
- Easy-to-use controls for skipping songs, answering calls & adjusting volume
- 60-hour standby time w/ 6 hours of continuous music/call playback
- One-size-fits-all & conveniently washable beanie
- Double-layered gloves for extra warmth
- Touchscreen compatible fingertips for easy navigation & screen use
- Convenient gripping material on the palms
Additionally, another problem that can arise after you answer the phone, is keeping your ears warm while you’re having your conversation. However, the Bluetooth Beanie solves that issue with a built-in speaker and microphone. This allows for “one-touch music listening and call answering”. There are controls on the side of the beanie that allow for music and phone controls, without ever having to get your head cold.
As for battery life, the Bluetooth Beanie touts 60-hours of standby time, with 6 hours of continuous music or call playback abilities. That standby time is ridiculous, and the 6 hours of continuous usage, is pretty darn good, even with today’s standards.
Normally, this great bundle would run you close to $100, but you can jump on this deal for the Bluetooth Beanie and Touchscreen gloves for over 60% off. At a price of $34.99, now would be the time to jump on this deal before it starts getting too cold for comfort out there.
Drop us a line below and let us know what you think about this great deal, and whether you signed up for it or not. You can find this, and many other great tech bargains through our Deals page. Backed by StackCommerce, there are daily promos, giveaways, freebies, and much more!
AndroidGuys Deals: Bluetooth Beanie & Touchscreen Gloves Bundle
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The Galaxy Note 5 is now available from T-Mobile in Gold-Platinum
Moving on from yesterday’s CarrierX event where T-Mobile unveiled its Binge On unlimited video streaming service, if you’ve thought about ordering a Galaxy Note 5, but you didn’t fancy the plain white or black options, you can now order the gold-platinum variant from T-Mobile in either 32GB or 64GB form.Regardless of which color variant you go for, the price is the same, depending on whether you buy the 32GB or 64GB version. We have the details below.
Note 5 32GB
- $699.99 off-contract
- $0 upfront charge and 24 monthly payments of $29.17 on EIP
- $0 upfront charge and 18 monthly payments of $15 on JUMP! On Demand
Note 5 64GB
- $779.99 off-contract
- $99 upfront and 24 monthly payments of $28.34 on EIP
- $99 upfront and 18 monthly payments of $14.50 on JUMP! On Demand
You can also save $50 on the price of the Note 5 by using this promo code – NOTE5DEAL, regardless of whether you are placing the order through T-Mobile’s website or on the phone. And if the Note 5 isn’t to your liking, don’t forget about T-Mobile’s ‘Why wait for Cyber Monday‘ promotion where you can save up to $100 off a 1015 flagship device.
Source: T-Mobile
Via: Tmo News
Come comment on this article: The Galaxy Note 5 is now available from T-Mobile in Gold-Platinum
[Deal] The Amazon Echo gets a $30 price cut on Amazon for today only
A day after announcing a massive product expansion, Amazon is now holding a one-day deal on its smart speaker, giving buyers $30 off the product. The Amazon Echo normally retails for $179.99, but for today only, consumers can get it for $149.99.
While some might say the Amazon Echo has the IQ of a bulldog, it’s an intelligent product that’s getting smarter everyday. With a seven-piece microphone array, users will be able to play music, add items to their shopping list, set alarms, create to-do lists, play podcasts, get the weather, and so much more using only their voice. Some more recent updates to the Amazon Echo software have added compatibility with different products, new features, and it can even tell jokes!
Those who plan on picking one up will need to act fast, as the Amazon Echo will no doubt sell like hotcakes during this sale. Anyone picking one up?
source: Amazon
Come comment on this article: [Deal] The Amazon Echo gets a $30 price cut on Amazon for today only
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