Argentinean football club to offer dermal implants to its fans

Buenos Aires-based football team, Club Atletico Tigre, has taken an unusual step in managing access to its stadium. The club is considering offering its fans an implantable microchip that would grant them faster access through the gate turnstiles.

The team’s director, Ezequiel Rosino, recently acted as a Guinea pig for the experimental program by having a chip injected under his club tattoo. He assured the Associated Press that the chips will not be able to track fans, but rather will only carry basic information about them. The program still has a long way to go before it actually debuts and will need to first be cleared by health and security agencies — not to mention the Argentine Football Association itself.

This isn’t the first time technology has been leveraged by the beautiful game. In the last year alone Adidas has rolled out self-lacing boots, The UEFA Champions League instituted new goal-line scoring system, Univision boosted its video quality to 4K and startup Virtual Live introduced its gameday VR experience.

Apple Music for Android now lets you check out music videos

The latest version of the Apple Music beta for Android is here, and it should be quite attractive for the music video lovers out there. If you’ve opted for Apple’s streaming music offering on Android, you can now check out a whole host of music videos on the go. Music videos were previously only available through Apple Music on Apple’s own mobile platform, iOS.

That isn’t all, though, as Android users can now subscribe to Apple Music’s family plans through the app. Incase you’re interested, that family option will set you back $14.99 per month for up to six users. That’s compared to $9.99 per month for an individual plan.

This is the latest in a string of consistent updates to Apple’s first foray into offering one of its services on Android. Prior updates have added features such as a home screen widget and the ability to save songs to your SD card.

Periscope now lets you sketch on live streams, and here’s how

Not to be outdone by Snapchat and now Facebook, Periscope has added a live-sketching feature to its iOS app.

With this new feature, which Twitter-owned Periscope began testing in early April and has only recently launched for all users of its iOS app, you can now slide your fingers across your screen to doodle on live streams. Anything you sketch will disappear after a few seconds, though viewers can still screengrab your broadcast and keep your doodle forever.

Snapchat doesn’t let users broadcast in real-time, but it does let them post pictures and videos as well as doodle on said pictures and videos, which anyone in the world can view once they’ve been posted to a story. Facebook, on the other hand, does offer a live-broadcasting tool, and it recently launched a sketching feature so users can doodle on streams.

If you don’t care about Snapchat nor Facebook and would rather take a closer look at Periscope and how you can use it to get all artsy and creative in real-time on broadcasts, we’ve explained what you need to know.

Pericope: How to start a broadcast

• Download the Periscope app for iOS or Android
• Once you have created an account, in the iOS app tap the Camera icon at the bottom center, or in the Android app, tap the red Camera icon on the bottom right
• Enter a title that describes your broadcast
• Using the three icons above the Start Broadcast button, manage your settings for whether you want to share your location, set your broadcast to private, limit your chat, or tweet the live stream
• Tap Start Broadcast
• To end a broadcast, swipe the screen down and tap Stop Broadcast

Periscope: How to sketch on broadcasts

• Open the Periscope app for iOS (the sketching feature is iOS-only for now)
• Start a broadcast/live stream (see above)
• Tap the screen like you normally would to flip the camera or hide the chat but instead select the new Sketch option
• You can then use your finger to gesture on the screen and create doodles
• Your sketch will appear to you and your viewers for a few seconds before disappearing

Apart from the new sketching feature, Periscope also recently added viewer graphs for iOS, allowing you to see how many people watched your live streams as well as how many people replayed them after the stream ended.

Eliminate key clutter with KeySmart, now 27 per cent off

When you’ve had enough of the pocket-poking bulky mess of your standard key ring, a handy solution is available in KeySmart – an award-winning compact key organizer.

For just £15.27 ($22) from Pocket-lint Deals, KeySmart eliminates key clutter once and for all. Creator Michael Patrick describes his invention as “The minimalist key ring with maximum strength”. Attach up to 14 keys to your new KeySmart device with its unique ’S’ design, maximizing use of very little space.

It’s made from quality titanium and stainless steel hardware, making it both lightweight and durable. You can even attach your key fobs to the built-in polished loop to accommodate car keys. 

KeySmart offers a unique, practical, and stylish solution to the annoying pocket bulge. It’s also available in blue for those who enjoy a little flash of color on their keyring. Pick up KeySmart for £15.27 ($22) from Pocket-lint Deals.

Will.i.am’s Dial smartwatch is now available for preorder through Three in UK

Will.i.am, the musician who has spent a lot of time and money making ill-conceived tech products, is launching pre-orders for his second smartwatch called the Dial exclusively through Three in the UK.

Dial is a voice-activated wearable that runs on an operating system called AneedA, which is also the voice assistant. The Dial’s design resembles its predecessor, the Puls, as it has a cuff band but with a slightly wider screen (1.63-inch AMOLED). It also features a 2-megapixel front camera, fitness functions, and the ability to text, call, and play music.

Speaking of music, the Dial comes with an “unlimited music service” featuring more than 20 million tracks. The service is called i.am+ and is free of adverts and monthly costs. In fact, Three is providing all streaming and downloads free of any data charges on all Dial plans, meaning you can download tracks and listen them without affecting your data allowance.

The Dial – which supports 3G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS – only works with a Three SIM card and operates completely untethered from a smartphone. It even has 32GB of onboard storage for music downloads or selfies taken with the front-facing camera. If any of this interests you, pricing for the device now starts at £22 a month with a £49 upfront cost.

Alternatively, you could get the Dial through Three in the UK for £25 a month with a £19 upfront cost on a 24-month contract. Pre-orders kick off 29 April.

Will.i.am

Uber affirms tipping drivers ‘is not expected or required’

In most parts of the world, tipping for certain services has been a long-standing tradition. Still, Uber made sure that was never the case between its riders and drivers, unless a yellow taxi was involved. But after a recent $100 million class-action settlement in the US, speculation grew that Uber would start encouraging tips. Not so fast. Today, in a Medium post and an email sent to users, Uber clarified that tipping isn’t expected or required, citing a hassle-free experience as to why it doesn’t give riders the option to add a tip to their fares.

“Nothing has changed. As we’ve said for many years, being Uber means you don’t need to tip,” Josh Mohrer, Uber’s NYC general manager, said in the email. “We decided against including [an option] because we felt it would be better for riders and drivers to know for sure what they would pay or earn on each trip — without the uncertainty of tipping.” That said, Mohrer did say you’re more than welcome to tip drivers, and they’re more than welcome to accept it, but you shouldn’t feel compelled to do so.

“Riders tell us that one of the things they like most about Uber is that it’s hassle-free,” he said. “And that’s how we intend to keep it.”

Source: Uber

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone relaunches failed Jelly app

Biz Stone’s resurrected Jelly app officially relaunched today, and where the original 2013 app was something like Instagram-meets-Yahoo Answers, Stone sees the latest version as a return to his original vision and an alternative to Google.

Unlike the first version, everything is anonymous and you don’t necessarily have to rely on your social network for answers this time around. “We think the future of search engines is just ask a question, get the answer,” Stone told TechCrunch. The goal is to save users those “ten or 15 minutes you didn’t have to spend looking around on links.”

Users can sign up to answer questions and, like other services, responses are rated based on whether or not they were actually helpful. But there’s a bit of artificial intelligence involved as well. “Yes, we’ve developed a routing algorithm,” Stone wrote in an announcement post on Medium. “Each query and every answer is freighted with metadata. But all this science is in service of getting you the right responses from the right folks.”

In other words: If you’re asking where to get lunch in Barcelona, for example, Jelly wants to make sure you get an answer from someone who has actually been there. Users will also be able to follow up with the person who answered their query, in case they need more information.

The app is live now in the App Store and on the web at askjelly.com.

Apple Maps Gains New Flyover Locations, Spotlight Suggestions Expand to Denmark, Norway and Sweden

Apple today updated its iOS 9 feature availability page to note the expansion of several iOS features to new countries.

Apple’s Flyover feature for Apple Maps has expanded to encompass Akron, Ohio and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, allowing Maps users to see photorealistic 3D views of the areas, with tools for zooming, panning, and rotating to get a closer look at notable landmarks and points of interest.

In Thailand, Apple Maps users now have access to traffic information, bringing the total number of countries with traffic data available to 34.

Finally, Spotlight Suggestions have expanded to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, making the feature available in 19 countries. Spotlight Suggestions show suggestions from the Internet, iTunes, the App Store, Maps, and more when conducting a spotlight search on an iPhone or Mac.

Tag: Apple Maps
Discuss this article in our forums

A Bluetooth speaker to withstand the elements: WAE Outdoor Rush review

As the weather gets increasingly nicer we find ourselves venturing outside more and more. Some of us have a lot of yard work to catch up on before we can chill on the back deck and take in the smells and sights of spring. Others, though, we’re already looking forward to cookouts and relaxing poolside.

Regardless of what we’re doing, one thing that tends to be constant, is our desire to have music on in the background. Be it some old school classics while the family gathers around a bonfire, or hip hop while we mess about in the garage, we like our tunes. Indeed, we’re always bringing along some form of portable speaker; music on a phone is just no good.

One speaker we’ve had the privilege of testing out is the WAE Outdoor Rush, by Hercules. This little guy is not only small in stature, but he’s also IP67-certified against dust, sand, snow, and rain. That’s right, he’s good for a dip in the pool; it withstands submersion up to one meter for a half hour. Not that I was able to test it out, but the grilles are specially treated with a nickel electroplating process to hold up to salty seawater.

The WAE Outdoor Rush isn’t much bigger than a 20 ounce water or soda bottle, but it puts out quite the sound. In fact, we found that it gets louder than we feel comfortable with.

Generally speaking, we wouldn’t want to necessarily play music as loud as it gets in our small gatherings or outdoor hangouts. Moreover, there’s a 1/4-inch screw thread that lets you connect the speaker to a bike mount or standard attachment. You’d never find us riding around with this much sound hitting us in the face.

Although there’s somewhat of a triangular shape to the speaker, music comes from only one of the faces. Should you mount it on your handlebars, you can direct the sound to play toward you and not broadcast your impending arrival.

Sound quality is impressive considering the size, but it can definitely get distorted at the highest volumes. Again, we’re not comfortable with that level of audio as it is. Keeping it at about fifty percent was more than enough to fill the yard or room with music. At a beach, with white noise from the ocean, however, we might appreciate setting it louder. Playing EDM, hip hop, podcasts, audiobooks, and a host of other audio types were pleasurable. There’s certainly a case of “don’t let the size fool you” going on here.

Across the top of the unit are eight buttons, many of which you’d expect to see. In addition to the power and volume options, there’s also play, pause, track advancements, and Bluetooth (for pairing).

Rounding things out is a button for FM, too. Yep, the WAE Outdoor Rush also comes with a built-in FM tuner. You’ll need to download and install the app so you can edit and toggle channels, but doing so is quite easy. An added touch we appreciated is the indicator light for FM and Bluetooth to show connectivity.

On one end of the tube you’ll find a cap that screws in tightly. Open it up and underneath is a USB port so you can charge your phone with an additional 500mAh of juice. The microUSB port is where you’ll plug in to replenish the internal battery. Also present is the 3.5mm headphone or auxiliary input port. The screw-on cap is a nice touch in that it comes with a tether so you won’t lose it, and the waterproof feature in the process.

Battery life is rated at 12 hours of playback which we found to be rather accurate. For us, we get in the habit of charging up every few uses, just to be safe. There’s no indicator light to let you know how much is left; we’d rather error on the side of safety.

We’ve tested a lot of Bluetooth speakers over the years, many of which tend to receive favorable marks. The WAE Outdoor Rush is definitely one of those devices which we’d have no problem endorsing.

You can learn more about the Hercules WAE Outdoor Rush at Hercules.com. Retail pricing is listed at $129.99 with availability expected soon.

HP Spectre x360 (2016) review – CNET

The Good Two years running, the HP Spectre x360 offers incredible value for the money. Its slim, premium aluminum frame houses a speedy processor, comfortable keyboard and touchpad, plenty of full-size ports, a beautiful touchscreen and a surprising amount of battery life under the hood.

The Bad While attractive, it’s a little chunkier than some of the competition. The glossy screen can generate distracting reflections — the price you pay for touch — and the 15-inch model’s speakers sound muddy.

The Bottom Line If you’re looking for a full-featured Windows laptop with major bang for the buck, the HP Spectre x360 is it.

“Which Windows laptop should you buy?” That’s no longer a tough question: these days, I almost always recommend a Dell XPS 13 or an HP Spectre x360. When these notebooks first hit shelves last year, they offered more style and performance than we’d ever seen for under $1,000.

In 2016, none of that has changed. The only difference is a new generation of Intel processors that are slightly faster. And I like it that way.

View full gallery

The 13-inch HP Spectre x360.

Josh Miller/CNET

Starting at $999 (£849, AU$1,999), the 13-inch HP Spectre x360 has everything I need in a thin-and-light laptop. I don’t ask for much: just a comfortable, lightweight machine with great looks, long battery life, plenty of speed and an excellent selection of ports.

I’ve been using the Spectre x360 for weeks now, and it ticks every one of those boxes. It’s like an Apple MacBook Air with a slightly worse touchpad, but more connectivity and a far better screen — one that bends over backwards to become a Windows 10 tablet in a pinch. Literally.

One big difference for 2016: there’s a new 15-inch model that starts at $1,149. I tried both the 13- and 15-inch models, and they’re practically identical. That’s a very good thing. (From here on out, you can assume my notes apply to both models unless I specifically say otherwise.)

View full gallery

13-inch vs. 15-inch.

Josh Miller/CNET

Why do I love HP’s laptop? Keep on reading.