Blizzard is offering one free Battle.net name change
Sick of heading into games registered to your Battle.net account as ResidentsLover or BeautifulDarkness83? You’ve got one free shot to make a change on Blizzard with the release of Overwatch.
The official Heroes of the Storm Twitter account announced the news earlier this morning, likely much to the excitement of anyone who thought up a tag years ago for World of Warcraft based on their favorite song lyric at the time or a vampire OC they trolled AOL chats with (not that I’m guilty of that.)
Normally you get one free name change with every BattleTag, ever. Consider this a license to go crazy and change up your style. Just make sure you follow the naming conventions established by Blizzard here and go with something you’re not going to regret later. Again. And then when you’ve changed your BattleTag, remember that Microsoft is doing something similar, freeing up Xbox Live gamertags that you can jump on to give yourself an online rebirth of sorts.
With the release of #Overwatch, you can now change your BattleTag once! https://t.co/xK4nkBwyvk pic.twitter.com/bjn5Ax0t5w
— Heroes of the Storm (@BlizzHeroes) May 24, 2016
Hyundai Releases Software Update to Expand CarPlay Support to Additional Vehicles
Hyundai is releasing a software update that brings CarPlay support to eight new vehicles, including the 2016 Elantra GT, 2015 and 2016 non-hybrid Sonata, 2017 Santa Fe Sport, 2017 Santa Fe, 2015 and 2016 Genesis Sedan, and the 2016 Tucson.
The vehicles gaining CarPlay support through a software update join Hyundai’s previously announced CarPlay models, the 2016 Sonata, 2017 Elantra, and the 2017 IONIQ. Hyundai has not officially announced the news, but dealers were sent a notice about the update on May 19. Dealer information suggests the update is supposed to be available as of today, May 24.
Hyundai owners with an eligible vehicle can download the CarPlay update through the Hyundai website and are encouraged to go through the installation process themselves. A Mac or PC with an SD card slot or an external SD card reader is required to download the software and transfer the update to the vehicle’s in-dash system. Software download times range from 25 minutes for Display Audio to more than three hours for Navigation if a map update is required.
CarPlay took several years to roll out to new vehicles, but there are now dozens of 2016 and 2017 vehicles available with CarPlay support. Apple maintains a list of vehicles that come equipped with CarPlay on its website, which sees updates every few weeks.
(Thanks, Brad!)
Related Roundup: CarPlay
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Apple Hiring Lawyer With Health Privacy Expertise, HIPAA Experience
Apple is looking to fill a “Privacy Counsel” position with an attorney who has expertise in the health field and HIPAA compliance, according to a new listing on the company’s job site discovered by Business Insider. The job description calls for someone who has “health privacy expertise” and 5 to 9 years of experience as an associate at a top-tier law firm or business, among other qualifications.
Apple’s privacy counsel will help the company navigate U.S. HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) laws, which include a strict set of standards for managing the privacy and security of all health-related information. The listing also asks for CIPP certification, the first certification offered for information privacy law, and lists the following potential projects:
– privacy by design reviews and projects
– assist with privacy complaints and breaches
– support compliance and auditing frameworks
– advise on privacy aspects of licensing and procurement deals and corporate acquisitions
– assist with drafting of policies and procedures surrounding privacy laws
Apple has taken a significant interest in healthcare in recent years, introducing the Apple Watch and both ResearchKit and CareKit, two frameworks designed to help researchers and doctors interface with patients and gather invaluable health-related data. Given that interest, it is unsurprising Apple is looking for a lawyer with expertise in these areas, but it does perhaps signal Apple’s intention to further delve into medical research that would require HIPAA compliance.
As Business Insider points out, none of Apple’s current products require federal medical regulation and Apple does not offer a HIPAA compliant database for CareKit developers.
Earlier today, Apple CEO Tim Cook said health is an area where Apple is “very focused.” “We believe that health is something that is a huge problem in the world, a huge issue, and we think it is ripe for simplicity and sort of a new view,” he said. “We’d like to contribute to that.”
Tags: Apple job listings, ResearchKit, CareKit
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Apple Pay Support in Singapore Expands to Five Major Banks
Apple Pay launched in Singapore in April through a partnership with American Express, and at the time, the Apple Pay website in Singapore said Apple Pay would be available to Visa card holders and major banks in the near future.
Starting today, Apple Pay support is expanding beyond American Express. Apple Pay can now be used with major Visa, MasterCard, and American Express credit and debit cards from five of Singapore’s major banks, including POSB, DBS, OCBC, Standard Chartered, and UOB.
According to The Straits Times, the five banks account for more than 80 percent of the Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards issued in Singapore. Customers with an eligible card can add it to the Wallet app on the iPhone to make purchases within retail stores.
Apple Pay vice-president Jennifer Bailey told The Straits Times: “Now, almost everyone can leave their wallets at home. Apple Pay will be a natural extension of what users have been doing at payment counters.”
Apple Pay can be used at more than 30,000 retail locations in Singapore that accept contactless payments, and Apple’s Apple Pay Singapore website lists several official partners like Starbucks, FairPrice, BreadTalk, 7 Eleven, Toast Box, TopShop, Uniqlo and more.
Apple is working to bring additional banks on board to further expand Apple Pay support in the country.
Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tag: Singapore
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Gululu is a drink-tracking water bottle with a built-in virtual pet for kids
Remember Tamagotchi or Giga Pet?
Well, one company is hoping to bring back the digital-pet trend, but this time in the form of a water bottle. Bowhead Technology also wants to make the chore of drinking water into a game for kids, so it invented Gululu Interactive Bottle.
The interesting thing about this water bottle is that it features a display, home button, embedded sensors, Wi-Fi, and wireless charging. It needs all this tech in order to power a virtual pet that grows and evolves the more your child drinks water while using Gululu. Once you get the bottle, you must set a goal for how much your child should drink, and then it tracks your child’s water intake.
The pet grows every time your child meets the set goals, and you can check progress through a companion app on your mobile device. This app also lets you put Gululu in a school mode to prevent your child from getting distracted in school. The hope is your child will like the digital pet feature so much they’ll want to grow the pet and meet their daily drinking goals.
Gululu
Bowhead is throwing around a study as an excuse for why you should want your child to stay hydrated. Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health, for instance, determined more than half of US children aren’t drinking enough water each day. It’s unclear how much is enough, but that Harvard study linked dehydration to impaired concentration, cognition, and physical activity.
Gululu’s app can still recommend how much a child should drink each day, however. It uses stats like weight, height, and location, and it even accounts for natural water loss and the water your child intakes from food. If any of this interests you, Gululu Interactive Bottle has staretd a Kickstarter campaign in order to raise $100,000. You can get an early-bird special for $89.
The bottle should retail for $99 and start shipping in September.
ComiXology Unlimited offers all of the comics for $6 a month
ComiXology, Amazon’s online comic book service, unveiled a new unlimited content subscription option on Tuesday. The $6 per month ComiXology Unlimited plan gives subscribers unfettered access to the service’s archive, which includes titles from Image, Dark Horse, IDW and a bunch more — basically every notable publisher outside of Marvel and DC. ComiXology will continue to sell individual issues from the Big Two, it just won’t offer them on the unlimited plan.
Via: Android Central
Source: Comixology
Pebble Core Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
Meet the Pebble Core, one of the hardest-to-describe products I’ve seen recently. Unlike Pebble’s other wearable devices, this isn’t a smartwatch.
Think of it as a standalone, multipurpose, Android-powered smart button. Or a GPS fitness tracker that’s also a Spotify iPod Shuffle. Or, a 3G-optional GPS tracker. Pebble Core wants to be all of these things — and more.
Pebble Core can be a keychain.
John Kim/CNET
Maybe the best way to think of the Pebble Core is a product that takes features missing from the Pebble Time and offloads them onto a separate clip-on product. The Core has standalone 3G functions, and can track runs via GPS without a phone. Or, it could stream music over 3G cellular wireless (if you invest in a SIM card, and add it to your monthly phone bill). An included headphone jack plus Bluetooth make it, at the least, a Spotify mini-music player (it can play a downloaded Spotify playlists from its 4GB of built-in storage).
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According to CEO Eric Migicovsky, the Pebble Core is programmable and hackable. It can not only run software, but it has two large touch buttons on the front that can be assigned smart-button functions. Send an SOS ping via text, call an Uber, open a door, turn off a light — whatever smart buttons (such as the Flic) do, Pebble Core could theoretically do via a Pebble app interface.
Two buttons and a headphone jack.
John Kim/CNET
The Pebble Core runs for about 9 hours of music playback using GPS, or for days on standby. And it charges using the contactless Qi standard, meaning you don’t need to worry about a dongle, something that even the Pebble watches don’t have yet.
Pebble Core works as an accessory while wearing a Pebble watch, but it also works independently. It can pair with a phone or work on its own.
Pebble Core is available to back on Kickstarter, but it won’t arrive until January 2017. At its current $69 US promotional price, it’s affordable. But it’s not entirely clear whether what it does will be as good as what it promises.
Pebble
The Core could be a truly open type of online mini-computer hub, or hacker’s smart-button dream. Or, it could be a missing link for wearable off-wrist fitness. Or, perhaps it’s a testbed for the direction Pebble watches and products could evolve in the future.
That said, its lack of a screen and more buttons could limit its appeal, especially as a music player.
Features:
- Runs Android
- 3G SIM card slot
- Bluetooth
- Wi-Fi
- Two programmable touch buttons
- GPS
- Syncs with health apps (Runkeeper, Strava, MapMyRun, Google Fit, UA Record)
- Records voice notes
- Wireless Qi charging
- 4GB storage
Volkswagen pours $300 million into Gett’s ride hailing service
Ford and GM aren’t the only big car companies getting cozy with the on-demand transportation industry. Volkswagen has made a $300 million investment in Gett, one of the bigger ridesharing outfits in the world (particularly in Europe). The two are working together to expand on-demand ride services. For VW, this is the “first milestone” toward becoming a top-tier mobility service provider by 2025. The firm doesn’t expect this to be its only partnership, but it’s an important one.
VW also isn’t shy about one of the long-term goals for this deal: self-driving cars. Gett’s AI- and prediction-driven approaches to getting you a ride represent a good “foundation” for a driverless on-demand service, VW says. As with other alliances like this, the two companies are preparing for the day when you’re more likely to hail a car than own one.
Source: Volkswagen
‘Rocket League’ gets cross-network play for Xbox One and PC
Rocket League players will soon have an even wider breadth of teammates to choose from, as Psyonix has announced that Xbox One and PC cross-network play is going live for all today.
Players around the world will be able to match up with cross-network Rocket League aficionados beginning today at 6pm ET/3pm PT. If your buddy primarily takes to their Xbox One and you find yourself gravitating to PC, you can finally play together across both platforms.
This isn’t the first time a platform has allowed for cross-network play, as evidenced with games like Shadowrun back on Xbox 360, Portal 2 on PlayStation 3. But it is a first for the Xbox One, tracing back to an announcement from Microsoft itself back in March.
It’s the beginning of an exciting new precedent where we’ll be seeing Microsoft further expanding its online gaming offerings, and Rocket League is a great choice for kicking things off.
“We’re really excited to bring Xbox One and PC players closer together,” said Jeremy Dunham, Vice President of Psyonix. “Cross-network play has been something that Xbox One gamers have been asking us for since the day we launched, and thanks to Microsoft’s new cross-network policies, we’re proud to give it to them.”
Source: NeoGAF
Sony sells most of its media editing tools
Sony’s quest to get rid of unnecessary businesses continues. The electronics giant has sold off the “majority” of its creative software suite to Magix, a German firm that revolves around pro imaging apps. That’s right — Vegas Pro, Sound Forge Pro and other well-known Sony media editing apps are now in someone else’s hands. Sony will still offer its Catalyst broadcast and production tools, but Magix will be handling development and support from here on out.
Magix’s exact plans aren’t clear, but it already expects to make new versions of Vegas Pro and Movie Studio. It’s not just folding the technology into its own software, thankfully. Still, it’s an odd move for Sony: the company is giving up its rare advantage of making both video editing software and the cameras to record those videos. It suggests that the costs of competing with the likes of Adobe, Apple and Avid might have been too high.
AIVAnet 