Promo Codes is like the lottery for apps
Are you mad you didn’t win the Powerball lottery and become a billionaire? Well, it’s not quite as good, but a new app called Promo Codes offers you a chance to win promo codes for paid Play Store apps.
Very similar to the lottery only with a much greater chance of winning, even better, no loss of money to you. Basically, each day a new paid app is featured and you hit the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button for your chance to win it. If you do end up winning, a code will be added to your clipboard for you to redeem in the Play Store. If you didn’t win, no big deal, it just directs you to the app’s page.
The app is still very new and there are not that many developers participating yet, but more will be added soon. The current ones are Nova Launcher, Franco Kernel Updater, Today Calendar Pro, Focus, Impressions, Relay for reddit, Twee, Shuttle, and Progression. Pretty good ones to start off with at least.
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Now you can make VR friends in AltspaceVR
There are so many reports out there talking about how kids these days are less social because of the internet and social media. That they never actually go out and meet people anymore. However, we now have the best of both worlds with AltspaceVR.
AltspaceVR plans to merge the gap between social media and real life. Their new app for the Samsung Gear VR aims to provide a place where users can “hang out together”, but in virtual reality. Users will be able to sit down and watch online videos, stream Netflix, play games, just talk, and more. All without actually going anywhere in real life.
AltspaceVR Founder & CEO Eric Romo said:
“Our focus at AltspaceVR is creating the most natural and fulfilling communication experience possible online, and we’re thrilled to bring it to Gear VR,”
AltspaceVR is also trying to be more than just a VR social network, but eventually turning into a new way to teleconference. Hopefully, one day being able to be used to work on team projects together without everyone actually being in the same room.
AltspaceVR was already out on the PC, but this is its first mobile app. Due to the lack of mobile controls compared to on the PC, AltspaceVR has to think of the best apps and games users can collaborate on. Feel free to suggest what you think would be awesome in the comments.
If you have a Gear VR and would like to try out AltspaceVR, head over to the Oculus Store now. Don’t forget to say “hello” if you see me there.
Source: AltspaceVR
Via: TechCrunch
Come comment on this article: Now you can make VR friends in AltspaceVR
A bidding war could ensue over the NFL’s TNF streaming rights
Earlier this week, the National Football League announced it reached a deal with CBS and NBC to provide both networks with five games each from its Thursday Night Football package. Another eight games will be aired exclusively on NFL Network. Overall, the NFL will get a combined $450 million for giving up ten games to outside parties. But the league isn’t done cashing in on Thursday Night Football’s success in the 2014 and 2015 season. Thursday Night Football averaged over 16 million viewers per game on CBS while NFL Network-only games enjoyed a weekly average only a few million less. So why not try to get another partner and add even more money to the lucrative sport? When Monday’s deal with CBS and NBC was made, the NFL stated it was engaged in “active discussions with prospective digital partners.”
The NFL is shopping exclusive streaming rights to the Thursday Night Football package to the largest technology firms around. Variety is reporting Google, Apple, Amazon, and Verizon are all among those seeking to make a bid and score the most valuable content in the United States.
Scenarios for each of the aforementioned companies are simple to see.
Google would, without question, use YouTube to stream the games live to people around the world. YouTube has experience in showing major events live; therefore, Google wouldn’t need to the service’s infrastructure and the NFL could breathe easy about YouTube being slammed with a large influx of viewers. What’s likely more important to the NFL is choosing a partner open to supporting as many platforms as possible. And that’s exactly what YouTube offers. Also, Google has the added bonus of having devices to really push streaming Thursday Night Football on phones, tablets, and Chromecast-connected displays.
Another possibility for putting the games on YouTube would be for Google to push YouTube Red, the monthly subscription that removes advertisements and unlocks original programming.
Apple is probably the most confusing potential bidder because of its lack of multi-platform support. The company generally sticks to keeping its services solely on its own hardware, meaning people without an Apple device would be kept from watching Thursday Night Football unless they sat down in front of a television. Plus, Apple doesn’t have a proven track record in video streaming (live or pre-recorded) outside of the annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). The NFL wants an experienced partner and Apple wouldn’t be one.
Amazon’s situation doesn’t make it a very appealing partner, but it’s one that’s much better than Apple’s. Amazon actually has a video streaming service but never put up any live content to test strength. But, if Jeff Bezos opens his wallet and shells out big bucks for Thursday Night Football, Amazon could get new eyeballs on Prime Video and grow Prime memberships with ease.
Thursday Night Football would likely fare best (assuming Google and YouTube do something wrong) by having Verizon carry the games. The carrier already streams each and every game of the regular season live and on-demand on an exclusive basis, which should give the league a jump in confidence when reviewing Verizon’s bid. Here though, the games wouldn’t be shown to just Verizon customers. Go90, the video streaming service targeted at millennials, would be the place for Verizon to stream the games.
Go90, while not profitable at this time, already hosts content from the NBA and Verizon adding in NFL content in the form of live games would be huge. Millions of people would be forced to turn to Go90 to watch games, and Verizon could then push the service’s other content. Advertisers’ would be salivating after seeing Go90 cater to elusive millennials and stream NFL games.
What every interested company should be aware of, and I’m sure they are, is the flop that occurred when Yahoo streamed a London game on October 25. Yahoo paid $20 million for a game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills. Despite those teams being perennial underwhelming teams, Yahoo couldn’t put up a seamless stream. Viewers endured buffering and stuttering issues.
Yahoo averaged just 2.36 million viewers at any given time during the game’s broadcast.
The games, which might include the handful of London-based showdowns, could even end up being distributed by multiple companies if the league wants to ensure fans aren’t limited in accessing Thursday Night Football away from a television. Giving more than of the interested companies non-exclusive streaming rights would practically guarantee fans could watch Thursday Night Football games from anywhere.
Google, Apple, Amazon, and Verizon all have billions to spend. It comes down to whether or not they think enough people will stream Thursday Night Football games to generate advertising revenue surprising the expense to win those streaming rights. That’s why streaming Thursday Night Football games simultaneously on multiple services could be the best case scenario for the NFL and the potential bidders.
Source: Variety
Come comment on this article: A bidding war could ensue over the NFL’s TNF streaming rights
Report: Facebook is deleting medical marijuana pages
NJ.com reports that Facebook has deleted the business pages of medical marijuana dispensaries — three in New Jersey so far as well as a handful of others across the nation — for violating the site’s terms of service. In their place, the dispensaries found note reading “We remove any promotion or encouragement of drug use. Your page is currently not visible on Facebook. It looks like content on your page does not follow the Facebook Community Terms and Standards.”
New Jersey law strictly regulates what information can and cannot be displayed on a dispensary’s website, which has led many of the organizations to use Facebook as a supplemental information source. Strain names, for example, cannot be listed on a New Jersey-based dispensary website. The move has left many patients that rely on these Facebook pages angry. “It seems high-handed to simply shut down important resources for sick patients without even saying why or giving organizations a way to ask for reconsideration,” Peter Rosenfeld, a NJ medical marijuana patient told NJ.com.
When asked for comment, a Facebook spokesperson told Engadget, “These pages have been removed for violating our Community Standards, which outline what is and is not allowed on Facebook. Here is a link to our standards.” However, the community standards appear to only “prohibit attempts by unauthorized dealers to purchase, sell, or trade prescription drugs, marijuana, or firearms.” Given that these organizations are legal within the states that they operate, they don’t technically meet that standard. However, going by federal law they would.
Via: FastCo
Source: NJ.com
PayPal has a Super Bowl ad, too
At the rate companies are releasing their Super Bowl ads prior to this Sunday, it’s a wonder why they even spent the millions to air them during the big game at all. The latest in that YouTube-approved trend is none other than PayPal, which is hoping to sell viewers on the idea that it’s “new money.” The under-a-minute clip has everything an ad needs these days to garner attention amid the cacophony of macro-brewed beer commercials and flashy spots for monsters that reside in red and white spheres.
Namely, a beat that’s awfully reminiscent of Kanye West’s “Black Skinhead;” hip, pretty people both young and old; dancing robots; a 3D printer and… Oh, some bills in a currency counting machine. Wait, that last one is old, just like the folks printed on the paper. New is digital money. Right. I doubt the company’s promise of being fresh dinero will extend to transferring funds from a PayPal account to your bank account any faster, though.
Honestly, the ad feels more appropriate for the outfit’s younger sibling Venmo than it does the former eBay property. Maybe the ad agency responsible got the two mixed up? Regardless, it’s embedded for your viewing pleasure below.
Via: The Verge
Source: PayPal (YouTube)
NYC’s parking meters are getting a big upgrade this year
Driving in New York City is stressful enough as it is and that’s before you have to try finding a parking spot only to realize that you’re out of quarters. Mayor Bill de Blasio has a plan in place for making the latter easier, however: upgrading Gotham’s 85,000 parking meters so they all accept smartphone-based payment systems by year’s end. Rather than printing out a slip and putting it on your dashboard, soon you’ll be able to just flash your phone at the new Muni-Meters.
A statement from the Mayor’s office says that there’s an official department of transportation-developed app en route and that there’s “no budget impact” from the proposal seeing as funds were already earmarked via an existing tech upgrade for the department. The whole thing is an extension of a pilot program in the Bronx’s Belmont neighborhood. In case you’re curious how police will be able to identify between cars using the app and folks trying to skirt the system, well, they’ll have purpose built tablet apps of their own.
Source: NYC.gov
Amazon Echo owners can now listen to Spotify
When asked to play some tunes, Amazon Echo’s hostess Alexa has long been able to play Amazon Music, Prime Music, iHeartRadio, Pandora, and TuneIn. A major player absent on this list has been Spotify, and the A-to-Z company says that this product was one of the most requested streaming services their users have been asking for. Today, Amazon finally secured Spotify functionality, bringing millions of songs to millions of users overnight.
Toni Reid, the director of Amazon Alexa, says that streaming music is one of the most used feature of Amazon Echo. Bringing Spotify to the voice-controlled wireless home speaker has been in the plans for a while, but it seems that securing access to this massively popular music service was something of a hassle. Now 20 million paying Spotify subscribers just got a new device to play their favorite songs on.
See also: 10 best podcast apps for Android
Paying is the key word here. This service is only available through Amazon Echo for paid Spotify subscribers. Those who are coasting along on the free version won’t be able to access this feature, alas. Still, this is a big move for Amazon. Echo was something of an unexpected success, so bringing new services to the platform is a sign of good health for the device. Amazon will also be tauting the Echo in their first-ever Super Bowl commercial come game day this year.
What are your thoughts regarding Spotify’s arrival to the Amazon Echo? Personally, I’d like to see Google Play Music make it to this list, since that’s my go-to music streaming service. Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Next: (Update: live now in the app) Spotify to launch video content on Android this week
Deezer partners with Huawei to bring music streaming to millions
A full third of the world’s population operates on Huawei’s mobile network, and since Deezer is the world’s leading web-based music streaming service, a deal between the two is a match made in heaven. Today Huawei announced that Deezer’s catalogue of over 40 million tracks, podcasts, and audiobooks would be arriving stock on honor devices going forward.
In case you don’t know, Deezer is a worldwide music streaming service currently making waves in over 180 countries. It boasts over 6 million subscribers, and uses curated playlists and algorithmic recommendations to help users discover new music that they will love. The Paris-based company makes their streaming services available on tablets, PCs, home sound systems, and now Huawei honor smartphones.
OUR HONOR REVIEWS
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“Honor customers are always looking to find new ways to be entertained on their mobile devices. And Deezer is at the forefront of innovation and entertainment,” said Liu Dan, Chief Strategy Officer and VP of honor, Huawei Consumer Group. “We are delighted to partner with Deezer as its extensive selection and variety of music and audio services will no doubt, surprise and delight our customers.”
What are your thoughts regarding Deezer’s partnership with Huawei? Do you own a Huawei device or subscribe to Deezer’s streaming music services? If so, let us know how your experience with either has been so far in the comments below!
How to use Android to save on auto repair – Android customization
Your Android device may not be able to fix your car, but you can certainly use it to help narrow down automotive electrical problems and possibly save some money on auto repair and prevent multiple trips to the DEQ. This Android customization project takes us outside, to your car, to tackle a task usually reserved for the professionals.
In the automotive world the task we are looking at is referred to as checking for faults. As I am sure you are aware, your vehicle is largely controlled, or at least analyzed by a computer system. As you can imagine, there are ways to interface with this computer, and they are done through your OBDII port. That’s the port under your dashboard that your local DEQ connects to, the same port your local auto repair shop connects to when your engine light turns on. Now it’s your turn.
Before we begin
To follow along today, you will need a fairly modern car, most vehicles after 1996 support the current OBDII connector and standards. From there, you will need to purchase an OBDII Bluetooth scanner, this may not be very easy, or inexpensive, or you can get lucky like I did, more on that in a moment.
Torque Pro – Google Play StoreFinally, you will also need to invest in some software, I have opted for Torque Pro, a $4.95 app in the Google Play Store. Do try the lite version before you invest.
As far as that OBDII connector goes, I have been successful with the now $6.49 ELM 327mini. This exact product had only a few reviews when I purchased it in 2013, since then, it has gained a 2.3 star overall review, bottom line, most purchasers are receiving dead units, or the unit simply does not work with their car.
Unfortunately, this is a reality with any purchasing class of OBDII Bluetooth device. You can spend into the $100 range for better results, but still may end up with a failed connection. Please proceed with both caution and the desire to experiment for best results.
The ELM 327mini I am using has worked flawlessly on both a 2004 Chevrolet Aveo and the 2000 Toyota Tundra in the project today. Further, the app and scanner have successfully paired on a number of devices, including the first gen Moto G, Nexus 7, HTC Desire 510, MediaPad X2, Nexus 5, Nexus 6 and Nexus 6P. I can’t promise this scanner will work for you, but as you can see, it’s worked well for me.
Alternatives include:
4.4 star review, $51.25 ScanTool 427201
4.5 star review, $22.99 BAFX 34t5
Many more
How to use Android to save on auto repair bills
I hope my title is not too misleading, I am speaking exclusively from experience on this one, the tools saved me over a thousand dollars on one repair alone last year. The A/C stopped working on the Aveo, the first diagnosis was to replace the A/C compressor and some lines, a $1200 fix. A quick scan with Torque Pro and the ELM 327mini revealed an electrical/sensor problem, looking into the sensor it turned out to be a broken wire (stupid mice) and I was back up and running in no time for almost no cost.
My success story may not be true for all, but I obviously believe it is worth the cost to try it out. Not to mention, as we’ve discussed before, Torque is a pretty cool app to turn your phone or tablet into an advanced and customizable dashboard companion.
Let’s get started.
Today we have a Tundra that has its engine light engaged. Uh-oh. It is also more of a work/camping/hunting vehicle, please excuse the mess. It is time to get this vehicle DEQ’d, that is, it goes through emissions testing before it can be re-registered for legal use on the road. You know how this is done? I hope you guessed that they connect an OBDII scanner and search your vehicle for faults. They also look at other emissions aspects of your vehicle, but that is a little beyond our scope here today.
So, your emissions test involves an OBDII scan, why not do this at home instead of waiting in line for an hour?
With OBDII connector in hand, and an app like Torque Pro installed on your Bluetooth enabled Android device, head on out to your car.
Plug the OBDII Bluetooth scanner into the OBDII port, usually found under the steering wheel in the dash. The Tundra has it just above the gas peddle.
Give it a moment to connect with your car and engine, then fire up Torque on your Android device. Of course, you may need to go into your system Settings, into the Bluetooth section, to manually connect to the scanner. Just have a look in the Adapter Status section to see if you are connected.
Once connected, you can ignore the prompts to setup a car Profile for now, instead just hit that Fault Codes button.
Tap here to scan for faults, an aptly named button, go ahead and tap it.
The process will take a minute or two, just leave your car idle while this works. Unless you have a reason to try higher RPMs or throttling up/throttling down actions, don’t bother at this point.
Once the scan completes, I hope you see no fault codes found. On the other hand, there is a fairly extensive database of known fault codes attached to the app, as in this case, the fault presented is specific, calling out a particular sensor failure.
Please resist the urge to clear the fault code without actually fixing the problem with your car. Clearing it will not hide it from your emissions test, and that engine light will be back on in no time anyway. However, the save log option is fairly handy, you know, for those older vehicles that are prone to issues.
Fault code in hand, use the built-in database or connect to the web to learn more about what ails your automobile. Hopefully your fix is easy.
What’s next
If you are not comfortable performing automotive repair, please do not attempt it. I mean, I’ve got four years of automotive training, plus a few years of on the job experience, and I’m still pretty unsure of what I’m doing under the hood. Don’t be ashamed to head to your local repair shop.
When you do go to your local mechanic, share the information you’ve gathered. They may not reduce their rates on the repair, but you may certainly help cut down the diagnostic time involved, and by giving them a specific problem to fix, they may not go overboard suggesting unnecessary repairs.
Another quick note on the available OBDII scanners, the basic units discussed today are very much entry level devices. The professionals have thousands of dollars in advanced equipment, tools that are capable of performing far more actions than the consumer scanners we have looked at here. My point is, if you are an aspiring mechanic, these are not the caliber of tools you are looking for, and if your mechanic wants to scan again, let them, their equipment may find something that yours has missed.
Next week
I am inspired to follow up with Torque, to show off some of the fun things it can do, but I am also itching to get back to the root tools on that Nexus 7 or play with Android Wear. No matter what, I’ll do my best to make next weeks Android customization something fun, we’ve been too serious lately, it’s time for some games or practical jokes or something.
Do you have any fun stories of how Android has impacted your driving experience?
More Android customization projects:
- How to extend your Android’s battery life
- How to use Tasker
- Build real-time battery drain warnings using Tasker – Android customization
- How black wallpaper can save your Android battery
- Xposed module and installer basics – Android customization
- Improve battery life with Xposed, Amplify and Greenify – Android customization
Apple Says U.S. Supreme Court Should Reject Samsung’s Appeal Request
In December, Samsung asked the United States Supreme Court to hear a final appeal in its ongoing patent battle with Apple, which would potentially nullify a $548 million settlement awarded to Apple. In a lengthy document filed with the court this afternoon (via Foss Patents), Apple urges the Supreme Court to deny Samsung’s request, accusing the company of raising issues that do not “deserve review” in an effort to prolong court proceedings.
Samsung has claimed that the jury did not adequately understand the patents in question because members weren’t provided with enough explanation by the court. The South Korean company has also suggested the case has wider implications that could encourage design patent trolls, an assertion Apple refers to as a “doomsday warning” based on “extreme hypotheticals.”
Samsung’s effort to make this case seem certworthy depends on a made-up narrative in which Samsung, not Apple, is the innovator, despite the overwhelming evidence that Samsung copied the iPhone’s innovative design. […]
Once Samsung’s diversions are swept aside as they should be, the actual issues it presents do not deserve review. The decisions below broke no new legal ground; they simply applied the statute and well-settled law to the extraordinary record of infringement and copying in this case.
Apple goes on to say that Samsung has had its day in court and while the litigation is “high-profile,” it is “legally unexceptional” and Samsung has not presented a legitimate reason as to why the court should prolong it.
While Apple doesn’t feel Samsung’s case is worth the Supreme Court’s attention, Facebook, Google, and other technology companies have all urged the court to take on Samsung’s appeal to overturn the ruling in Apple’s favor. A major concern is the amount that Samsung was forced to pay for its design patent infringement — nearly $400 million — and the implication it has for similar disputes in the future.
Samsung has already paid the agreed upon $548 million settlement to Apple, but should the Supreme Court take on the case and rule in Samsung’s favor, Apple would be required to pay back the money. Samsung’s Supreme Court appeal was a last ditch effort, and should the Supreme Court refuse to hear the case, Samsung will not be able to recoup its money, putting an end to a patent battle that’s been going on since 2012.
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