Ford is bringing Siri to 5 million SYNC-enabled cars
Most modern Ford cars come installed with its bespoke infotainment system called SYNC, allowing drivers to make calls and listen to various music streaming apps while keeping their eyes on the road. The system already lets some owners remotely start their car, but it will soon also offer services from an important partner: Apple. Starting today, owners of a Ford vehicle purchased in 2011 or later can download a new software update that will add Siri functionality to their SYNC interface.
Via: Ford Media Center
Source: Ford Owner Portal
Recreate the old-school internet with this web browser emulator
Sure, you can visit the Internet Archive if you want to see a website the way it looked years ago, but it won’t recreate the feel of browsing that site when it was fresh. What if you want both? That’s where the new Oldweb.today tool might save the day. It not only grabs an archived version of the website, but gives you a choice of old browsers for the visit. If you want to know what the Space Jam movie page looked like in an era-appropriate version of Netscape Navigator, you can do it.
Source: Oldweb.today, Rhizome Blog
Over 15,000 ‘unsafe’ hoverboards seized at UK borders
Self-balancing scooters. Hoverboards. Whatever you want to call them, they’re now a smash-hit in Britain. Companies are now scrambling to offer cheaper and sleeker versions in time for Christmas, but there’s a problem: the majority are unsafe, according to Trading Standards. Officers have examined more than 17,000 “hoverboards” at sea ports, airports and postal hubs since October 15th. Of these, more than 15,000, or 88 percent, were deemed dangerous due to “a range of concerns” related to internal batteries and cut-off switches, chargers, plugs and cabling.
Via: BBC
Source: National Trading Standards
Gods of Rome – a fighting game with a mythical touch
When it comes to making games, Gameloft is no amateur. They make some of the highest quality titles you can find in the Google Play Store, and their upcoming app seems to follow suit with all other games. Gods of Rome has just been announced, and though we don’t have much information on it, the little we know makes it worth our attention.
Gods of Rome revolves around… well, the gods of Rome. But someone over at Gameloft seems to have been confused, as the characters include Greek mythological personalities. Either that or the plot has a pretty sharp twist. Some of the main characters include Zeus, Spartacus and Atlas. These heroes fight against an ancient evil force that threatens to enslave their souls. That’s about as much as we know about the story, though.
See also: 13 best Android fighting games
What we can see is a bit of the gameplay, which is featured in the teaser video Gameloft has released. These clips showcase a series of active battles said to be intuitive (swipe and tap controls). Oh, and I must say this game certainly looks good. Those graphics look stunning for a mobile game.
By the way, the three characters mentioned above happen to be exclusive content. You can pre-register at the announcement post to possibly unlock these rewards.
See also: 10 best new Android games of November 2015
Also important to note is that it does seem like the game will feature in-app purchases. At least if the mentioned “gold, quest spheres and energy” are anything to go by.
We will have to wait and see how everything unfolds, but so far this is looking like a very promising game. I certainly can’t wait to try it.
Sony Xperia Z5 series to get Android 6.0 Marshmallow in January?
Now that both the trio of Sony’s Xperia Z5 devices and Google’s Android 6.0 Marshmallow are out, the next order of business is merging them together. While we have already seen a Sony concept launcher based on the new Android version, noteworthy new news has not been forthcoming about anything specific regarding devices. According to a new Tweet from leaker Ricciolo (@Ricciolo1) however, the big date has been set for next month:
As i said,an update has come yesterday, #marshmallow READY next month for #sony #z5 family..older #xperia models to follow shortly.. 😉
— Ricciolo (@Ricciolo1) December 2, 2015
While it’s not explicitly stated, it can be assumed that unlocked variants will see the first signs of sugary, sticky sweetness, with carrier variants having a delay as is typically the case with any and all firmware updates.
Those who purchased the Z4/Z3+ just months early might feel a bit upset they aren’t part of the new update’s initial phase however it will presumably follow after, as will possibly other Z-series devices. It is unclear just how far back in the hardware catalog Sony will extend the updates to.
The big questions
Perhaps the question on everyone’s mind is what kinds of benefits the new Android OS build will bring with it, given the changes in power management owing to Doze, Marshmallow’s power optimization architecture that seeks to severely negate battery drain when a device is not in use. Sony has already promised exceptional battery life on the Z5 series as is, thus the enhancements provided by 6.0 should theoretically make it even better.
Related, there is also the issue of just what will happen with the Xperia Z5 Premium‘s 4K display. As Marshmallow, unlike Lollipop before it, does include support for such a high native resolution, in theory the smartphone should be able to run at the 4K resolution full time. Currently the phone operates at Full HD when not performing a specific set of tasks that would activate the superior resolution, namely displaying 4K video or images.
Unfortunately nothing is likely to change given the Snapdragon 810 SoC inside and the battery situation. Qualcomm’s 2015 flagship CPU has been the subject of a large degree of scrutiny and criticism which has ultimately led to OEMs avoiding it. Sony has been one of the few to actively embrace the silicon, however given that it tends to run warm even without 4K, it would seemingly be a potential problem were tasked with powering such pixels 24-7. Likewise there would be a significant toll on battery life.
The waiting game
Given that the situation has yet to be confirmed by Sony itself, we encourage readers to remain somewhat skeptical. Likewise, it is impossible to say what will happen to battery life and the 4K display issue until the official update is made available, or at the very least Sony issues a press release to clarify.
With that said, are you looking forward to the potential bounty of benefits Marshmallow will bring to your Xperia Z5? Leave us your comments below and be sure to let us know!
Special thanks to Evan for the tip!
Opera’s latest iOS browser wants to replace your news app
As helpful as apps like Apple News or Flipboard might be for catching up on the day’s events, they can still be a bit of a hassle. After all, you have to switch apps the moment you want to surf the web on your own terms. Opera thinks it can save the day, though: it’s releasing a new version of Opera Coast for iOS with a “for you” feature that brings personalized news to your browser. Visit your home screen and you’ll get aggregated articles from favorite sites without having to switch apps or look for them yourself. If you’re on an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus, you can even peek at those stories with a finger press.
Source: App Store
Ford Brings Siri Eyes Free Support to 5 Million Vehicles Dating Back to 2011
While many carmakers are starting to roll out support for Apple’s CarPlay in-vehicle functionality, an older Siri Eyes Free feature is also designed to help minimize driver distraction by using Siri voice recognition and spoken responses to allow drivers to interact with an iPhone without needing to look at the screen.
Siri Eyes Free is generally activated through a hardware button on the vehicle’s steering wheel and is available in a number of makes and models, and Ford today is officially announcing the launch of Eyes Free support for over five million vehicles dating back to the 2011 model year via a software update to Ford’s second-generation SYNC infotainment system.
“SYNC, Ford’s entertainment and communications system, was designed to be flexible and updatable, just like other mobile technologies, so our customers are able to get the most out of their smartphones while behind the wheel,” said Sherif Marakby, director, Ford Electronics and Electrical Systems Engineering. “Siri Eyes-Free is another great voice-activated feature that not only adds convenience but helps our customers keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.”
Eyes Free support actually went live two months ago with the launch of version 3.8 of the second-generation SYNC software, but Ford has apparently waited until now to make the rollout official as it has worked to apply the update to new cars coming from the factory and make it available to owners of existing vehicles.
Apple also lists Ford as one of its CarPlay partners, but the automaker has yet to announce specific plans for supporting it in upcoming vehicles. The most recent information from Ford indicates CarPlay support will be arriving “relatively soon.”
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YouTube plans to add movies and TV shows to subscription service
When YouTube took the wraps off its Red subscription service, the video website confirmed that it’s developing a number of original shows. Now, a new report by the The Wall Street Journal says you can also expect to see movies and TV series among Red’s offerings. The Alphabet Inc. property has reportedly begun meeting with Hollywood studios and production companies in an effort to secure streaming rights. YouTube’s execs, including former MTV programming chief Susanne Daniels and former Netflix content executive Kelly Merryman, haven’t been snapping just up any old show you can watch everywhere else, though. They’ve apparently been looking for content that can be seen exclusively on Red, or those that can be streamed on Red at the same time they’re shown on TV or in the theatres.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Pay Humble Bundle $15, get $276 worth of maker know-how
Humble Bundle unveiled its latest book pack on Wednesday and, hoo boy, is it a doozy. The pay-what-you-want charity is teaming up with Make for a huge book pack that teaches the basics of Arduino and Pi programming. Pay anything you want for six Maker handbooks geared towards amateur roboticists. Throw down more than the current $10 average and Humble Bundle will double that figure to include a full dozen titles as well as a $5 – $10 discount off a year of Maker Magazine. You can also round out the deal for $15 total and receive two more titles — Make: Sensors and Making Things Talk. Proceeds from these sales will benefit Maker Ed.
[Image Credit: Getty]
Source: Humble Bundle
This $19.99 OnePlus iPhone case will net you a OnePlus X invite
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No doubt many of you will be confused about the title of this article, but don’t be alarmed – it’s just a OnePlus marketing campaign. In a bid to presumably win over iPhone users this Holiday season, OnePlus is trying to cash in on its greatest resource – its fans. The strategy is thus – if you buy a OnePlus iPhone case for $19.99 USD (it’s compatible with an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6S), the case will also come with a free invite for the recently released OnePlus X. I’m assuming this is the case (pun not intended), otherwise if the invite is locked to the person that buys the case, that kind of puts them $20 out of pocket if they buy the case for the iPhone and then the OnePlus X. Well, actually, it puts them however-many-dollars-the-iPhone-cost out of pocket.
This campaign definitely showcases OnePlus’ textbook bravado, but it’s yet another that might have missed the mark. Owners of the iPhone 6 and 6S will only be coming off a year, maybe even a year and a few months, with Apple’s flagship device, and while we would love nothing more than people changing from iOS to Android, we’re not sure the $249 USD OnePlus X holds a torch to the iPhone as a whole package. That’s my opinion though – for all I know, this might be a genius ploy to get all frustrated iPhone owners onto a OnePlus X, but we’ll let the numbers talk for themselves somewhere down the track.
What do you think about the OnePlus iPhone case marketing campaign? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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