Apple wins lawsuit claiming messages to Android were blocked
You certainly have reason to be upset at how Apple handled iMessages for users switching away from iOS, but it’s clear that not everyone has raised those gripes the right way. Judge Lucy Koh (from the Apple-versus-Samsung case) has dismissed a lawsuit arguing that Apple effectively wiretapped iMessage chats to prevent them from reaching Android users. There’s no mention of the reasons for dismissal in the court order. However, Apple had asked the judge to toss the case when it learned that two of the plaintiffs dumped their iPhones after the case began — they’d eliminated important evidence.
As it stands, the wiretapping connection was strained. The issue wasn’t that Apple was looking at and blocking iMessages, but rather that it didn’t have a way to deliver those texts when recipients ditched their iPhones without deactivating iMessage first. Think of it as moving without leaving a forwarding address — the post office can’t give you a letter if it still thinks you’re at your old place. This doesn’t excuse the headaches involved with ditching iOS, but it’s clear that this suit didn’t have much chance of success.
Source: Business Insider
Samsung’s Galaxy A9 comes with a gigantic 6-inch display
If you’re looking for a phone that can double as a serving tray you’re in luck. At its Galaxy A Party 2016 event in China, Samsung announced the high-end Galaxy A9 with a six-inch 1080p super AMOLED display. Never again will you have to squint to see the tiny text on lesser phones like the relatively diminutive Nexus 6P (5.7 inches), iPhone 6s Plus (5.5 inches) or Galaxy Note 5 (5.7 inches). Just be sure to invest in some cargo pants because your jean pockets probably won’t cut it.
The 7.4mm thick phone sports an impressive 4,000mAh battery, Snapdragon 652 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and a 13MP rear facing camera. The front facing camera is 8MP. While the hardware on the high-end phone looks great, unfortunately it ships with Android 5.1.1.
Another bummer is that it’s only going to be available in China starting next month. Fingers crossed it hits other countries soon. No word on pricing.
Source: SamMobile
Samsung makes the Galaxy A9 official: Snapdragon 652, 3GB of RAM, 4000mAh battery
After getting caught by China’s TENAA earlier today and a few big leaks from the beginning of December, Samsung has finally taken the wraps off its heavily-rumored Galaxy A9 handset in China.
As of right now we don’t have the entire list of specifications, though the ones we do know are pretty nice. The Galaxy A9 sports a 6.0-inch AMOLED display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, a newly-renamed octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32 gigabytes of on-board storage, microSD card expansion up to 128GB and dual-SIM card support. It also has a 13MP rear camera with OIS, 8MP front camera, a pretty big 4,000mAh battery and support for Qualcomm’s Quick Charge. In typical Samsung fashion, there’s also a home button-mounted fingerprint sensor that brings along support for Samsung Pay. It will also ship with Android 5.1 Lollipop on board.
See also: Best dual-SIM Android phones (December 2015)
We aren’t entirely sure why this device is launching with Android 5.1 Lollipop as opposed to Android 6.0 Marshmallow, as Google announced the latest version of its OS way back in May of this year. Also, the display might not be at a high enough resolution for some folks out there, but we’re hoping the price point makes up for these two potential caveats.
While the phone is finally official, we still have no information on pricing or availability. We’re assuming this device will start hitting store shelves in China sometime very soon. What are your thoughts? If the price is right, do you see yourself carrying around the Galaxy A9? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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Apple wins lawsuit claiming messages to Android were blocked
You certainly have reason to be upset at how Apple handled iMessages for users switching away from iOS, but it’s clear that not everyone has raised those gripes the right way. Judge Lucy Koh (from the Apple-versus-Samsung case) has dismissed a lawsuit arguing that Apple effectively wiretapped iMessage chats to prevent them from reaching Android users. There’s no mention of the reasons for dismissal in the court order. However, Apple had asked the judge to toss the case when it learned that two of the plaintiffs dumped their iPhones after the case began — they’d eliminated important evidence.
As it stands, the wiretapping connection was strained. The issue wasn’t that Apple was looking at and blocking iMessages, but rather that it didn’t have a way to deliver those texts when recipients ditched their iPhones without deactivating iMessage first. Think of it as moving without leaving a forwarding address — the post office can’t give you a letter if it still thinks you’re at your old place. This doesn’t excuse the headaches involved with ditching iOS, but it’s clear that this suit didn’t have much chance of success.
Source: Business Insider
Apple wins lawsuit claiming messages to Android were blocked
You certainly have reason to be upset at how Apple handled iMessages for users switching away from iOS, but it’s clear that not everyone has raised those gripes the right way. Judge Lucy Koh (from the Apple-versus-Samsung case) has dismissed a lawsuit arguing that Apple effectively wiretapped iMessage chats to prevent them from reaching Android users. There’s no mention of the reasons for dismissal in the court order. However, Apple had asked the judge to toss the case when it learned that two of the plaintiffs dumped their iPhones after the case began — they’d eliminated important evidence.
As it stands, the wiretapping connection was strained. The issue wasn’t that Apple was looking at and blocking iMessages, but rather that it didn’t have a way to deliver those texts when recipients ditched their iPhones without deactivating iMessage first. Think of it as moving without leaving a forwarding address — the post office can’t give you a letter if it still thinks you’re at your old place. This doesn’t excuse the headaches involved with ditching iOS, but it’s clear that this suit didn’t have much chance of success.
Source: Business Insider
Streaming The Beatles on music services is possible from Christmas Eve
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Over the last few months, a lot has been made about music streaming services and the fact that they are missing the libraries of quite a few popular artists, such as Adele and Taylor Swift. However, many music streaming aficionados will also know that streaming The Beatles has also been impossible on any service out there – until now. As of 12:01am on Christmas Eve (wherever you are in the world), all of The Beatles’ music will be available to stream on nine different services, including Google Play, Spotify, Amazon Prime, Rhapsody, Slacker, Tidal, Deezer, Microsoft Groove and Apple Music.
As part of the festivities, you’ll be able to stream thirteen remastered albums and four collections from the iconic band – we’re assuming that The Beatles’ music will be available to all users of the various services, whether you’re a paying subscriber or not. Hopefully now that one of the greatest bands of all time has joined the streaming revolution, Ms Adele and Ms Swift might consider to come down from their lonely mountain peaks – it’s Christmas after all.
What do you think about streaming The Beatles? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: The Beatles via engadget
The post Streaming The Beatles on music services is possible from Christmas Eve appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
‘Rock Band 4’ and ‘Guitar Hero Live’ are basically board games
The puppies always get excited when I open the hall closet. As the heavy, wooden door slides open with a twist and a pop, my two tiny dogs run over, tails wagging, because opening that closet means one of three things: The pups are going for a walk, I need to sweep, or it’s time to play Rock Band 4. My boyfriend and I store the plastic guitars in that closet, and as I slide them out, brushing past jacket sleeves and cardboard boxes, even the puppies understand what’s going on. We’re having a party.
In my house, peripheral-heavy music games are more like board games than video games. I don’t play Rock Band 4 or Guitar Hero Live the same way I do League of Legends, Life is Strange or Fallout. I don’t regularly boot up Rock Band 4 and bang on the drums for a few hours by myself, largely because I don’t crave that experience when I’m alone. I enjoy playing music games exclusively with other people by my side, looking as ridiculous as I do.
2015 is the 10-year anniversary of Guitar Hero, the granddaddy of peripheral-based music games, and it signals the return of the genre after roughly four years of radio silence. When it released in October, Rock Band 4 earned the fourth-largest amount of money of any game on the market, according to the NPD. Guitar Hero Live, which launched two weeks later, came in sixth.
These stats aren’t bad for two franchises that fizzled out in spectacular fashion around 2011. After an avalanche of Guitar Hero and Rock Band iterations, spin-offs and tie-ins over the years, it seemed that peripheral-based music games had finally, truly died. Players were done with the rockstar genre. I certainly was, for a long while.
But now, I’m excited to break out a new music game the same way I’d happily throw Cards Against Humanity or The Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit on the table. I’m thrilled to play these games, but just as I’m never going to play CAH solitaire-style, I’m disinclined to play Rock Band 4 or Guitar Hero Live as solo acts.
And that’s just fine.
This is what the return of music games means to me. Most days, my Rock Band 4 instruments sit idly in the closet — except for the drum set, which migrates around the house, from a spot behind the couch, to an awkward corner of the bedroom, to the den, and eventually back to the living room. The drums don’t quite fit in that closet with the guitars, but one day we’ll clean out the boxes in there and the set will have a permanent spot… One day.
I love having Rock Band 4 close at hand, even if I don’t play it every day — and I’m not alone on this one. I conducted a highly unscientific Twitter poll on December 10th that asked, “If you bought Guitar Hero Live or Rock Band 4 at launch, are you still playing it? (Why / why not?).”
Some of the responses were familiar:
@JessConditt There needs to be a “Sometimes.” Choice. RB4 is great fun in a group, but the price for new guitars is absurd.
— Cody Lee Rhodes (@socialcody) December 10, 2015
@JessConditt Yup. @rockband is still a great party game, and the return of weekly DLC is a godsend.
— Lawrence Chubacca (@LoopyChew) December 10, 2015
@JessConditt bought RB4. Stopped playing until the exports are actually implemented. Still play a tiny bit here and there.
— Christmas Dan (@stevens_dan) December 10, 2015
Other responses were surprising (to me, at least):
@JessConditt Play RB4 at home at lest 5 times a week, and get together with other people who enjoy the Rock Band franchise
— Daniel Kennedy (@macdannyk1) December 10, 2015
@JessConditt GH:L – 120hrs played and no signs of stopping. Absolutely love the game and it’s DLC structure! pic.twitter.com/BghKB65vhi
— Kevin Weiler (@kevinsolecki) December 10, 2015
@JessConditt Great party game, great quality-time game with my SO, and great downtime game.
— Domenic Sherony (@DSherony) December 10, 2015
@JessConditt @joystiq Got RB4 day one and still playing it pretty much every other day or so because I find it helps me stay sharp.
— Ken Kringle (@ssj4raditz) December 10, 2015
And at least one response was revelatory:
@JessConditt — We play together almost every other weekend, have never stopped since RB 2/3 days, even after official new DLC stopped. —
— Jason Thanksoweenmas (@XaiaX) December 10, 2015
@JessConditt — oh shit. Oh no. Am I in a guild?!
— Jason Thanksoweenmas (@XaiaX) December 10, 2015
Music games are back, though that means different things to each player. To me, Rock Band 4 and Guitar Hero Live are board games. Other players use them as a nightly escape into a rockstar fantasy, or as a way to keep in touch with friends (and fellow guild members).
Whether you store your guitars in the hall closet or permanently propped against the couch, at least one thing seems certain: Puppies love music games.
@JessConditt Still playing Rock Band 4, though not as much because I have a new puppy who likes chewing the drums. Would play more w/ piano.
— Advent Calendarrett (@im_adam_barrett) December 10, 2015
If you own Rock Band 4 or Guitar Hero Live, do you play it regularly?
Livestream alerts customers it may have been hacked
Nothing says yuletide cheer like a cup of egg nog, a roaring fire and reseting the password on a video streaming service. Livestream is alerting customers that an “unauthorized person may have accessed our customer account database.” If you have an account with the service, now is a good time to head over there and change your password even if you haven’t been emailed by the company.
The streaming service goes on to say that customer names, encrypted passwords, email addresses, phone numbers and birthdates might have been compromised during the breach. Even without an unencrypted password, it’s treasure trove of information for identity thieves.
So just a friendly reminder that you should never use the same password twice and use a fake birthday for all your online accounts especially Facebook.
Source: Livestream
AIVAnet 