London’s black cabs become moving traffic billboards
Driving around London can be nightmarish at the best of times, but no more so than when you end up sandwiched in an inescapable gridlock. Transport for London’s latest tech trial is hoping to make journeys though the capital that bit more pleasant, by using taxi-top signage that tells nearby vehicles where to avoid. Kicking off today, the six-month experiment sees 200 of London’s finest black cabs fitted with digital advertising boards that also broadcast live traffic warnings. For now they’re able to give you a heads-up on delays in up to London 50 areas, but should the signage be more widely deployed, the idea is to provide richer, real-time updates on congestion as traffic jams are taking shape. Whether we can get our Uber drivers to take the cautionary advice on board? Probably not.
Source: Transport for London
PlayStation Now offers 12 months of game streaming for $100
For a game streaming service to succeed, it needs three components: a decent library, competitive pricing and reliable, silky-smooth performance. PlayStation Now struggles on all three fronts, but slowly those shortcomings are being rectified. For instance, there’s now a better value subscription plan — $99.99 will net you 12 months of access, which works out at just over $8 per month. Compared with Sony’s existing one-month ($19.99, or $240 per year) and three-month ($44.99, or $180 per year) plans, it’s a steal.
Via: Polygon
Source: PlayStation Now
Hubble spots faint galaxy with ‘natural magnifying glass’
NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer have been ridiculously successful at spotting distant objects, but some galaxies are too faint to spot directly. Thanks to gravitational lensing, the space telescopes have found the dimmest object ever from the early universe — a galaxy that existed 13.4 billion years ago, or a mere 400 million years after the big bang. Dubbed “Tayna,” or new-born, the object belongs to a new class of faint, newly formed galaxies that have evaded detection until now. It’s roughly the size of the Magellanic Cloud near our own Milky Way galaxy, but makes new stars at around ten times the rate.
Source: NASA/JPL
Glowing bandages can reduce the chances of antibiotic-resistant bugs
Bacteria that can shrug off antibiotics is a medical problem that still needs answering, but this prototype could help reduce how much antibiotics are used on patients, and decrease the chances for bugs to become resistant. The experimental bandage from researchers at the University of Bath glows green when it comes into contact with unfriendly bacteria, (hypothetically) alerting medical staff when a wound is infected. A film formed by the body when defends against bacteria releases toxins that react with the bandage, puncturing the membrane of dye capsules stored in the bandage. That dye then glows (in case bright green didn’t stand out enough) when it dissolves in the gel around it.
Via: Technology Review
This is your closest look yet at a Kuiper Belt object
That moving dot you see in the picture above may not seem like much at first glance, but it’s a pretty big deal — it’s humanity’s closest-ever look at an object in the Solar System’s distant Kuiper Belt. NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft recently caught 1994 JR1 on camera from ‘just’ 170 million miles away, or 15 times closer than any Kuiper Belt object has been seen before. That’s no mean feat when the celestial body is a whopping 3.3 billion miles away from the Sun, putting it beyond Pluto’s current position and into the realm of even tinier dwarf planets like Haumea and Makemake.
Via: Gizmodo
Source: New Horizons
Order the Cyanogen powered Lenovo ZUK Z1 at Gearbest
“CyanogenMod (pronounced /saɪ.’æn.oʊ.dʒɛn.mɒd/) is an enhanced open source firmware distribution for smartphones and tablet computers based on the Android mobile operating system. It offers features and options not found in the official firmware distributed by vendors of these devices.
Features supported by CyanogenMod include native theming support, FLAC audio codec support, a large Access Point Name list, an OpenVPN client, an enhanced reboot menu, support for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and USB tethering, CPU overclocking and other performance enhancements, soft buttons and other “tablet tweaks”, toggles in the notification pull-down (such as wi-fi, Bluetooth and GPS), app permissions management, as well as other interface enhancements. CyanogenMod does not contain spyware or bloatware. In many cases, CyanogenMod may increase performance and reliability compared with official firmware releases.
CyanogenMod is developed as free and open source software based on the official releases of Android by Google, with added original and third-party code.” – From Wikipedia
There are not many many devices that come with Cyanogen OS installed direct from the manufacturer, especially here in the U.S. But for fanatics of customization, which are many of our AndroidGuys readers, Cyanogen is a must have for you. The first smartphone from OnePlus came with Cyanogen installed directly which was one of its best features. Now gearbest.com has a full featured smartphone from Lenovo for you for the low price of $320, with free shipping and a 45-day satisfaction guarantee.
I recently have been writing about how unlocked budget and mid-range devices will rule the market in 2016 and the Lenovo ZUK Z1 is proof of why that will happen.
Not only does the unlocked Lenovo ZUK Z1 run Cyanogen OS 12.1, it also comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, 64GB of memory, 3GB of RAM, a 13MP rear camera, dual SIM capability, 1080p IPS display, and a HUGE 4100mAh battery. What more could you ask for in an unlocked smartphone. It also comes with a built-in fingerprint reader and a gorgeous metal frame. Head on over to gearbest.com to check it out. With a 45-day 100% satisfaction guarantee and free shipping, you have nothing to lose.
Specs
| Brand: Lenovo Type: 4G Smartphone Service Provide: Unlocked OS: Android 5.1 SIM Card Slot: Dual SIM, Dual Standby SIM Card Type: Dual Nano SIM Highlight: 3GB RAM 64GB ROM |
 Hardware
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 |
 Network
Wireless Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth, GSM, 3G, 4G, GPS |
 Display
Screen type: Capacitive |
 Camera
Camera type: Dual cameras (one front one back) |
 Media Formats
Picture format: PNG, JPEG, GIF, BMP |
 Other Features
Microphone: Supported |
 Battery : 4100mAh Built-in Battery
|
The post Order the Cyanogen powered Lenovo ZUK Z1 at Gearbest appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Kickstarter project of the week: Fleye is a “safe, fun and autonomous” drone
Kickstarter is a bit of an interesting website. There’s a plethora of innovative products being funded in there, but there’s also a bunch of worthless projects. In the Kickstarter project of the week series we hand pick the best and bring them to your attention. And do remember we will be featuring a different campaign every single weekend, so keep checking back if you want to stay in the loop!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gofleye/fleye-your-personal-flying-robot/widget/video.html
With that said, let’s jump right into Fleye, a drone that aims to be the robot of the future. But what is it that makes it different? For starters, it’s darn cute! Fleye has a spherical shape and certainly doesn’t look like it will stay in the air, but it is it’s design that actually makes it a great flying machine. People can even push it in mid-air and the Fleye keeps its stability.
See also: Kickstarter project of the week: Lumenus is “designed to save lives”
But even that isn’t too special. We have all seen drones with interesting designs before. What really makes the Fleye unique is what is inside, and what it can do with it. Fleye tries to take on the robot concept, as opposed to sticking with a simple drone mentality. The idea is that there will be a future in which drones are just flying around improving our lives. And Fleye has everything it needs to operate autonomously.
The basic version of the Fleye comes with an 800 MHz dual-core processor and 512 MB of RAM, WiFi and a 5 MP camera that can record at 1080p 30 fps. Getting the Power Edition would upgrade you to a quad-core processor and a whole GB of RAM. And the great part about it is that all of this power is unlocked to developers and tinkerers. Fleye is offering an API and SDK so devs can go ahead and create their own apps for it.
See also: All drones in the USA may soon need to be registered
As for its basic functionality, the robot can definitely hold its own as it is. Its features include the ability to take selfies as it backs away from you, shoot panoramic images and hover with 10 cm precision. But there’s also a slew of sensors that make it space aware and can really turn it into a smarter robot. Imagine using one of these as some kind of guard that patrols an area! Oh, and of course, you can also control it with your smartphone.
So, what’s the damage? Needless to say this thing isn’t exactly cheap. The lowest priced early bird special starts at 599 Euros, and all the spots are gone. As of the time of this publishing, the cheapest you can get one for is 699 Euros. It’s totally worth it if you want to have your own apps and functionality developed, and even casual drone enthusiasts will get more out of this bad boy in the long run.
I just hope developers actually do something with it. That’s really the key to Fleye’s success. Are any of you signing up?
A new report suggests that people are naming their children off of Instagram filters
Based on a new report, the hottest trends in baby names came from shared monikers with Instagram filters.
Instead of using a family name for a baby, it turns out there’s a large sum of people who use the internet/social media as their source. Believe it or not, photo-sharing apps were among the most popular this year, with the most apparent name being Lux. Others such as Ludwig, Amaro, Kelvin, Reyes, and Hudson also saw major gains on the list of most popular names for newborn boys. Some of the most popular names for girls included Willow, Juno and Valencia. The results come from data taken by BabyCenter, which included a set of 340,000 parents scattered all throughout the world.
Source: BabyCenter
Come comment on this article: A new report suggests that people are naming their children off of Instagram filters
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 gets updated to Marshmallow in Hungary before its successor
Not many smartphones outside of Google’s Nexus devices have received the Marshmallow update. Interestingly, in Hungary, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 owners are reporting that the update is hitting handsets now.
One would think the Galaxy Note 5 should get the Marshmallow update first, however this is not the case in Hungary. Owners of the unlocked Samsung Galaxy Note 4 model from last year can now install the latest version of Android from Google. And just in case you don’t believe us, a screenshot has been uploaded thanks to NapiDroid.
The update brings all the newest tastes from Google such as doze mode, now-on-tap, individual app permissions, and more. In addition, the update also touches upon some of Samsung’s touchwiz capabilities. A new air command menu has been included as well as the ability to write white on black using the S Pen when the screen is locked, just like that on the Galaxy Note 5.
Now that Nexus devices and a slew of Android One handsets have been updated to Marshmallow, it’s only a matter of time before updates start rolling out to current flagships. Hopefully, those living in other places around the world will get the same feature enhancements that Hungarian users received on their Galaxy Note 4. Only time will tell.
Source: NapiDroid
Via: Phone Arena
Come comment on this article: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 gets updated to Marshmallow in Hungary before its successor
A fix is coming to those experiencing a slightly tinted display on their Nexus 5X, 6P or Player
If you own one of Google’s newest Nexus smartphones or a Nexus Player that’s experiencing screen issues, you’ll be happy to know that a fix is coming.
Google has finally found what’s causing the display problems on select Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X units. If you’re unaware of the issue, colors on select handsets were reported slightly washed out. The company is now on top of it and is finalizing an update containing a fix. Nexus owners are very fortunate that the issue turned out to be software related and not a hardware problem in the display itself. Google is planning to push out the update containing the fix to all Nexus 5X and 6P owners in the near future. Nexus Player owners that reported a similar issue will also be glad to know that a fix has been made and will be sent out shortly via OTA. Have you experienced any problems with your Nexus device?
Source: Google
Come comment on this article: A fix is coming to those experiencing a slightly tinted display on their Nexus 5X, 6P or Player
AIVAnet 