20 HD Star Wars wallpapers to channel your inner fanboy (or fangirl)
Last week, the most anticipated movie of 2015 hit the big screen; Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The film is shattering movie records left and right and still hasn’t even been shown to the entire world yet. In celebration of the beginning of the new trilogy, we are here with some awesome Star Wars wallpapers for your devices.
This time, we are looking at wallpapers from a different view point. Instead of the normal Star Wars wallpapers that can be found, we are featuring some fan-art, with the emphasis on the “art” portion.
The wallpapers are all in the scrolling images above, and if you want to save them, follow these instructions:
- Click the left/right arrows to scroll through the images
- Maximize the image you like by clicking on it
- Long press or hold down on the image and click “save”
- Go to your gallery or Google Photos and find your image
- Click “use as” and then click wallpaper
If you see a wallpaper that belongs to you and you would like to receive credit, I would love to give it to you! Just drop a comment in the section provided below with some proof (You know, just so we don’t have people claiming things that are not theirs…) So, please choose those that you like and enjoy!
Some of my favorites can be found below:
The post 20 HD Star Wars wallpapers to channel your inner fanboy (or fangirl) appeared first on AndroidGuys.
YouTube is unhappy about T-Mobile throttling video data
T-Mobile recently launched its “Binge On” unlimited video streaming promotion, which allows customers to stream video content from a number of popular services without eating into their data allowance. The trade-off is that T-Mobile limits the quality of videos that users can stream from services within the program to save on bandwidth. However, YouTube and other companies are now complaining that video quality is being lowered outside of the program as well.
Unlike services from Hulu, Netflix, HBO Go, and others, YouTube videos aren’t part of T-Mobile’s Binge One program and therefore still count towards data consumed. However, users are still apparently seeing video quality reduced by default. The only way that customers can restore full quality videos appears to be to shut off Binge On through their account settings.
“Reducing data charges can be good for users, but it doesn’t justify throttling all video services, especially without explicit user consent,”– YouTube spokesman
“T-Mobile’s new ‘streaming optimization’ program appears to involve throttling of all video traffic, across all data plans, regardless of network congestion,” – Internet Association
This could raise a new issue for federal regulators, as the Federal Communications Commission’s net-neutrality rules are designed to prevent internet providers from offering different tiers of service to different websites. Some consumer advocate groups are worried that data throttling could be an attempt to circumvent these rules, but T-Mobile argues that its program is in line with the regulations.
See also: T-Mobile will let its customers stream Netflix, Hulu and more for free
T-Mobile has not officially commented on the case, but CEO John Legere reiterated that customers can turn the throttling feature on and off at will. In addition, the FCC has recently sent letters out to T-Mobile, Comcast and AT&T to gather additional information about their latest services. There isn’t a formal investigation underway, yet, but this probably isn’t the last we will hear about mobile data throttling.
Judge Dismisses Android-Switching iMessage Lawsuit Against Apple
U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh has dismissed [PDF] a lawsuit against Apple over a long-standing issue that prevented some former iPhone owners who switched to Android smartphones from receiving text messages from other iOS users, as reported by Business Insider.
Koh originally ruled against granting the lawsuit class-action status, because it was not clear enough that all Android smartphone switchers were actually affected by the issue, but a trio of plaintiffs Adam Backhaut, Bouakhay Joy Backhaut and Kenneth Morris persisted with their case.
The three alleged that they switched from iPhones to Android phones in 2012. After that, texts sent to them from other iPhone users were not delivered. They were probably stuck in Apple’s iMessage system, which was notoriously unreliable at delivering texts to Android phones until late 2014, when Apple introduced a fix for the bug. That constitutes a violation of the Federal Wire Tap Act, the three claim. Apple denied the allegations.
Apple launched a web tool in November 2014 for users to deregister their phone number from iMessage in the event they switched to a non-Apple device, and Koh ruled that Apple would face a federal lawsuit over the issue just two days later. As of Koh’s ruling on Tuesday, however, all lawsuits against Apple related to the matter have come to a close with no punitive damages against Apple.
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[Deal] Save 75% on Sticky Password and keep your passwords safe
We can never be too sure how protected our passwords are. Accounts get hacked left and right, and it’s becoming an increasingly troublesome problem. Today, we are bringing everyone a great deal on a password management service by the name of Sticky Password.
Sticky Password is available on Windows, Mac, Android and iOS, and helps with trying to remember the boat loads of passwords that we have in today’s world. On top of that, there is built-in security to help ensure that your passwords will never fall into the hands of anyone other than you.
Here are some of the features that Sticky Password offers:
- Strong, unique passwords, whenever and wherever you need them
- Automatically log-in to recognized sites
- Created by the team behind AVG Antivirus
- Fill out forms instantly
- Unbeatable Security
- Support for all your devices
- Intuitive interface
The deal that we have for you, is if you head on over to our Deals page, you can get a lifetime subscription to Sticky Password Premium for 75% off. Normally priced at $100, you can grab this deal for only $24.99. Be sure to grab the awesome deal from our Deals page here.
You can find this, and many other great tech bargains through our Deals page. Backed by Stack Commerce, there are daily promos, giveaways, freebies, and much more!
AndroidGuys Deals: Sticky Password Lifetime Subscription
The post [Deal] Save 75% on Sticky Password and keep your passwords safe appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Pandora ends its war with two major music publishers
If there’s one thing that Pandora likes, it’s a fight, but even the firm that bought an FM radio station to stick it to the man has limits. The outfit has decided to make peace with two of its most formidable adversaries: music licensing agencies ASCAP and BMI. Pandora has revealed that it’s signed a new, multi-year deal with both entities that’ll see it pay what’ll probably be a higher fee every time one of their songs is played. Naturally, the terms of the agreements are being kept secret, but USA Today thinks that it’ll be above the 2.5 / 1.75 percent that BMI and ASCAP, respectively, currently earn.
As an internet radio station, Pandora is a different beast to Spotify, Deezer or Apple Music, since you can’t pick what songs you listen to on-demand. The rules for radio mean that, unlike the others, it doesn’t have to ask for permission before it plays a hip new tune to its customers. The recording industry felt that this was an outrage, and spent the last few years throwing lawsuit-shaped grenades at Pandora’s bunker. The signing of this accord caps off an interesting year for Pandora which saw it lose big in court, but it did manage to swallow a rival.
[Image Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images]
Via: USA Today
Source: Pandora
YouTube says T-Mobile downgrades its video quality without consent
YouTube was nowhere to be found in T-Mobile’s list of partners when Binge On was launched, but the Google-owned website claims the carrier’s been downgrading its videos anyway. A YouTube spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that T-Mo’s been lowering the quality of its videos to 480p even though the company hasn’t agreed to anything. “Reducing data charges can be good for users,” he told the publication, “but it doesn’t justify throttling all video services, especially without explicit user consent.”
YouTube has admitted to Ars Technica that it has been talking to T-Mobile about joining the service. If the company’s not pleased with this development, though, it’s safe to say they haven’t agreed on the details of partnership yet. We’ve reached out to the wireless operator for its side, and we’ll update this post when we hear back. But, it’s worth noting that when Ars asked for its response, a spokesperson reportedly pointed the publication to a tweet from John Legere that says users have “complete control to turn [Binge On] on/off at will.”
As a reminder, Binge On is the carrier’s controversial product that allows users to stream videos on from select services without it eating into their data allowance. The FCC has recently summoned T-Mobile for a discussion about the product, as net neutrality advocates believe it makes “certain video apps more attractive to others.”
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Vodafone brings WiFi calling to the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge
Vodafone launched its seamless WiFi calling service in early autumn, opting for a native experience over the kind of apps O2 and Three use. For several months, only iPhone 6s and 6s Plus owners have actually been able to use the feature, but today the carrier announced it’s added Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge to the list of compatible handsets (as long as you got yours from Vodafone directly). While it’s good news for a subset of customers, it also highlights the sluggish rate at which native WiFi calling is being made available across the network. In the three-plus months since switching on the service, Vodafone has managed to enable the feature on a grand total of four handsets.
To be fair, EE isn’t exactly setting a record pace itself. The provider was the first to launch app-free WiFi calling back in April, meaning it’s had a good few months to bake the feature in to roughly 20 different handsets. Most relatively new phones support native WiFi calling, but only when a carrier gets round to issuing the requisite software update will it become available. WiFi calling is a simple but useful feature, and native integration has promised to be streets ahead of app-based approaches. So far, however, we can’t say that’s really rung true. Is it better to have a seamless experience only a certain proportion of your customers can use, or an app that’s available to everyone?
Source: Vodafone
ICYMI: The best health innovations of the year
Today on In Case You Missed It: It’s been a pretty magical year for medical innovation, with something for everyone but most especially Star Trek fans. The FDA approved 3D-printed medicine for the first time, prosthetic arms for kids got awesome and researchers helped a man with a severed spine walk, with sensor connections on either side of his spine.
Please share any interesting science or tech videos with us! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd. Tomorrow’s show will cover the innovations of the year in transportation news, so please check back in for that.
This is why ‘Prince of Persia’ has the legacy it does
Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time defined how the company looks at its properties. But before the publisher began pumping out annual sequels with a startling cadence at rapidly diminishing returns, there was just the Prince and his snazzy ability to rewind time while jumping, wall-running and shimmying from stone column to stone column. And it’s the latest episode of DoubleFine Productions’ “Devs Play” series that focuses on that seminal game and finds its director, Patrice Desilets, explaining what went into development.
Desilets admits that when doing background research for 2003’s incredible, genre-defining Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time that he’d only played an hour of Jordan Mechner’s 1989 original. Honestly, his explanation of what he took from the game when making Sands sounds a lot like Square Enix Montreal’s approach when it makes mobile AAA games: he took the “essence” of the original and translated it into new approach. “There was no rewind in the first one, but maybe there should have [been],” Desilets says with a hint of bravado.
Comparing it to the original, Desilets mentions that game development isn’t about animation when making a platformer, it’s about the transition between short animations and long ones. You know, they type of idiosyncrasies that give a character’s movement weight and, well, character. “Animators are more behavior crafters than animators in the movies,” he says early on. “It’s really important that you’re always there and your character feel alive and credible.
“That’s one thing: I don’t want people to go back into their living room, right?” he asks DoubleFine’s vice president of business development Greg Rice. “That’s why they play; they want to be out of there. And if your character isn’t fluid enough, the suspension of disbelief will be gone.” All that to say, it’s up to a skilled animator to keep the player present in the game and not looking at their phone or other distraction.
Like previous episodes in the series, this one isn’t short by any means, but the hour-long video offers a wealth of insight into one of gaming’s touchstones that you likely won’t get outside of the annual Game Developer’s Conference.
Source: DoubleFine Productions (YouTube)
HTC rolling out Android 6.0.1 for the One A9, Android 6.0 for the One M9
HTC’s Mo Versi, VP of Product Management, announced that Android 6.0.1 is on its way to the Unlocked One A9, followed by Android 6.0 coming to the Unlocked One M9. Updates for both smartphones should be available to download within the next 12 hours.
The Taiwanese-based company is ending 2016 on a positive note, making sure that the One A9 and One M9 are receiving their updates on schedule.
Happy Holidays! Updates to the Unlocked A9 6.0.1 and Unlocked M9 6.0 will be able to be downloaded within next 24 hours! Enjoy 
— Mo Versi (@moversi) December 23, 2015
The upgrade to Android 6.0.1 on the One A9 brings fixes some critical security issues, but also brings with it the much-anticipated set of new emoji.
HTC hasn’t given any official word or confirmation on when the One M9 will receive Android 6.0.1, so users holding out for the new emoji on the One M9 will still have awhile to wait.
source: Mo Versi (Twitter)
Come comment on this article: HTC rolling out Android 6.0.1 for the One A9, Android 6.0 for the One M9
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