How to sign up for Google Play Family Library
How can I share all my Google Play apps, movies and music with my family?
Sharing your Google Play apps and media with your family has never been easier, thanks to Google Play Family Library. It lets you connect up to five of your family members to a shared library of content, including a shared family-use credit card, so everyone can share their favorite movies, TV shows, music, books and apps.
While this was designed for families, you should also be able to create a shared library of content between your group of best friends, so you can all stay caught up with your favourite movies and TV shows, and play that cool new game your friend has been raving about.
Setting up a Google Play Family Library is an easy process, you just need to ensure you use your personal gmail account. Google accounts for Business are unable to be used for creating a Google Play Family Library.
- How to sign up and get started with Google Play Family Library
- How to accept a Google Play Family Library invitation
- How to access content from your Google Play Family Library
How to sign up and get started with Google Play Family Library
Launch the Google Play Store from your home screen or app drawer
Tap the Menu icon. It’s on the left side of the search bar.
Tap Account.
Tap Family.
Tap Sign up for Family Library.
Tap Sign up.
Tap Continue to set yourself as the Family manager.
Tap Continue. Doing so accepts the Google Play terms of service and Google’s -privacy policy.
Tap Set up to set up a family payment method.
Confirm your preferred credit card is selected and tap Accept. (Editors note: Google Play won’t let you take a screenshot on screens related to credit cards)
Tap Continue to begin adding things to your Family Library.
Decide whether you want to add all eligible purchases now, or add them individually later, then tap Continue.
Tap Continue to invite family members to your group. They must be 13 years old or older with a personal google account to join. Alternatively, you can tap Skip and add family at a later date.
You’ll be asked to verify the CVC for the credit card you entered in step 10. Enter the three digit code found on the back of your credit card, then tap Verify.
It’s time to start sending invitations! Swipe to scroll through your Contacts and find the family (or friends) you wish to add to your share group. Alternatively, tap Add recipients at the top to search or manually enter a Gmail address.
Tap Send once you’re ready to send your invitations.
Tap Got it to complete the setup process.
You’re all set up! Once you’re family members (or friends) accept their invitations, you’ll all be able to enjoy your shared Google Play content.
How to accept a Google Play Family Library invitation
If you’ve been invited to join a Google Play Family Group, you will have received an email invitation. We’ll start with accepting the invitation via the email on your phone.
Launch the Gmail app from your home screen or app drawer
In the invitation email, tap Accept Invitation. This will launch Chrome.
Tap Get Started.
Enter your account password and tap Sign in to login to your Google account. This will launch the Google Play Store.
Tap Use account to confirm you want to use this account to join the Family group.
Tap Join. This also accepts the Google Play terms of service and Google’s privacy policy.
Tap Continue to add your previously purchased items to your family library.
Decide whether you want to add all eligible purchases now, or add them individually later, then tap Continue.
Tap Got it.
You’re now set up for the Google Play Family Library. Next, we’ll show you how to check out the shared content available.
How to access content from your Google Play Family Library
Once you’ve got your Google Play Family Library set up and everyone has joined and added their personal content to the shared folder, it’s easy to access and install them right from the Google Play Store on your phone. For this example, we’ll access the shared apps and games.
Launch the Google Play Store from the home screen or app drawer
Tap the Menu icon. It’s on the left side of the search bar.
Tap My apps & games.
Tap the Family Library tab.
You’ll see the list of apps and games available to your entire family group.
From there, it’s as easy as tapping the apps you want and going through the standard installation process.
MrMobile gets all nostalgic with the Motorola RIZR Z8
With the two newest Droids officially hitting the market as this post goes to press, it’s been a big month for the company formerly known as Motorola. So let’s take a break from Moto Z mania for a quick look back at one of the company’s most interesting efforts: the original “Banana-phone.”
The Motorola RIZR Z8 was announced in February 2007, and it bore the design language of a company that still had plenty of swagger. The RAZR, PEBL, and SLVR families were selling like gangbusters in the States, but the RIZR Z8 set itself apart with its characteristic kick-slide hinge that let it cradle your cheek when you were talking on the phone … and lay flat when you weren’t. That combined with the 2MP camera, Symbian UIQ interface and bold black-and-green paint job made for a distinctive package that I coveted from afar – but never managed to get my hands on.
That is, until today. Join me for a look at a mint-condition Bourne Identity edition of the Motorola RIZR Z8! We’ll celebrate its no-holds-barred industrial design, lament the loss of devices like it in today’s landscape, and even catch a second or two of Jason Bourne moping on a fishing boat … before checking in with Erica Griffin for her thoughts on carrying a dumbphone in 2016!
It may not be an Android phone, but the RIZR Z8 is a Motorola from a period we all remember and many of us cherish … and I think you’re gonna like this retro review. Enjoy!
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How can I check and see if my phone is rooted?
Did all this stuff work? Am I rooted? Here’s how to tell.
So you just went through a bunch of instructions you didn’t fully understand, or downloaded some program to your computer and let it run, and your phone is supposed to be rooted. (And yes, naysayers, this is more common than you think — not everyone lives and breathes this stuff.) How can you be sure it worked?
Because the people who make our phones (most of them, anyway) don’t want us to be able to root them it’s not as easy as installing an app from Google Play, and sometimes it doesn’t work out like it should. You’ll need to verify that it worked — and is working properly — before you use root to do whatever it is you wanted to do with it. Thankfully, that’s pretty easy to do.
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Look in your app drawer for a program that controls root access. There are several good ones, and most root methods install one during the process. If you don’t see one and you did get root permissions, you should install one right away. If the app is there and present, open it and make sure it tells you everything is A-OK.
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Install a root checker app from Google Play. Open it and follow the instructions, and it will tell you if your phone is rooted or not.
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Go old school and use a terminal. Any terminal app from the Play Store will work, and all you need to do is open it and enter the word “su” (without the quotes) and hit return. You might get a dialog asking you to allow the terminal app to run as root (that’s what you’re doing when you enter su) from a root control app. That’s a good thing. In any case, if your login prompt changes from $ to #, you are the super user. You can even do this via ADB from your computer.
No matter how you check, make sure that you have something watching so that apps can’t do root “stuff” without your permission. Any good root method will include something like the SuperSU app to act as a watchdog. If you are rooted and don’t have an app that monitors root access, ask for support from the folks who made the root method you used about it.
And as always, be careful. Using root permissions is a great way to ruin the software on your phone if you aren’t paying attention or do something without knowing what’s gonna happen. Read everything you can find on the internet, then look again and read some more before you break something.
Instagram is letting users filter words out of post comments
Twitter and Facebook have taken online harassment more seriously in 2016, though their approach is still light-handed, with the former taking years to finally ban one of its worst pitchfork-marshaling demagogues. Instead of coming down harder on moderation, Instagram is putting abuse-prevention in the hands of its users. They will soon be able to set up word filters, letting them control the tone of discussion below each image — or turn off comments in a post entirely. But is it enough to just let folks block triggering phrases?
The feature is already being tested on “high-profile” celebrity accounts, which conceivably field a large volume of comments from other users. It will officially roll out to those first and then to the masses in the next few weeks, according to The Washington Post.
It’s a tough balance to keep online communities safe but not overly restrict free speech: Land too hard on one side and you’ll enrage proponents of the other. But social networks’ previous hands-off strategy letting the community sort itself out has brought accusations of complicity when they don’t prevent harassment and abuse. Letting users block certain offensive or inflammatory words will hopefully prevent some escalation or term-specific targeting.
Of course, trolls and haters shielded with the anonymity of the internet will probably find a way around the block in the same way they have since AOL chatrooms got parental filters: misspellings, euphemisms, and coded language. The exact bigoted or derogatory terms might be banned, but determined thugs will always find a way to get their words heard.
It’s also unclear from the Post’s report whether Instagram will let users block comments only on a per-post basis, or if they will get to turn them off entirely. Meanwhile, we’re still waiting for a feature Facebook has had for years: allowing your posts to be visible or accessible by certain friends — or invisible to known trolls.
Source: The Washington Post
Google is turning on HSTS encryption across the web
Google has taken additional measures to strengthen its data encryption by implementing HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS).
While most of Google’s data is already encrypted, Google’s utilization of HSTS goes a step further by preventing users from mistakenly heading to HTTP URLs by converting potentially unsafe HTTP URLs into more secure HTTPS URLs. For instance, you might accidentally type in a URL without protocols and find yourself redirected to an unsafe destination. HSTS help curb those issues, especially among less internet-savvy users.
Google is looking to deploy the changes as soon as possible, but there’s still some additional work to be done before it’s ready to go. HSTS is now active for Google.com, however, in the meantime. It will be extended to additional domains and Google products soon.
Source: Google
Roundup: Spigen slim cases for the HTC 10
The HTC 10 is sexy smartphone. If you’re keen on keeping that slick metal casing pristine, then you must cover it up. Like many smartphone enthusiasts, I’m also not a fan of throwing a plastic case on top of a beautiful design. Fortunately, Spigen has a good variety of options that attempt to not be too invasive. Here are a couple of the slimmer cases the company offers that might just tickle your fancy.
Thin Fit Cases
Spigen’s Thin Fit cases are the slimmest ones in its lineup. They’re more your typical snap-on kind of case, in which you sacrifice some protection for slimness (also meaning that it’s super easy to install and remove). Strangely, Spigen only offers two variants: Gunmetal and…Mint. Not sure why there’s not a wider range of colors, but I figure that the Gunmetal model should set well with most people. Let’s check that out first.
Gunmetal Thin Fit Case
The find the Gunmetal case to be the most interesting out of the bunch, because of the choice of material and color. In practice, it’s just a hard, snap-on case, but the grippy finish puts it above the rest. It’s somewhat rubbery and sticky to the touch (not in a bad way), which makes handling leaps and bounds better than with the phone’s bare surface. The case is reluctant to leave your hand.
Additionally, the styling is a big plus. It’s superbly metallic in appearance, perfectly complimenting the HTC 10’s fancy build. On-lookers should be hard-pressed to tell that they’re not looking at a charcoal version of the phone. It even mimics the HTC 10’s exaggerated chamfer that’s along the rear perimeter.
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Being that these are snap-on cases, the top and bottom of the phone are exposed. The sides are pretty robust, though. They completely wrap around and leave a substantial lip on each side of the front. You should have no worry laying the phone face down on a table.
A slight concern I noticed is that the camera and back-facing microphone cutouts don’t line up perfectly.
Camera and microphone are slightly offset from the cutouts, but they still function just fine.
I’d expect that such an established case-maker would have impeccable cutouts. Tsk tsk, Spigen.
Spigen Thin Fit Gunmetal Case link
Mint Thin Fit Case
The shape and fit of the Mint Thin Fit variant is the same as the Gunmetal. But the material has a more typical hard plastic finish. It’s nicely matte, and despite being smooth, there’s still plenty of grip. But that color…
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I’m just not a fan, and while it looks a little better in person than the promo pics (not as bright), it’s still an eyeful of pale green. But I won’t dwell further on the color, it’s subjective. The Mint Thin Fit case offers the same amount of protection as its brother. But I found the cutouts to be better aligned on my Mint model. Maybe I got a bad Gunmetal unit.
Spigen Thin Fit Mint Case link
Crystal Shell Case
Spigen’s Crystal Shell case is a good alternative to the Thin Fit. You get a bit better protection, but while there’s more substance to the case, the fact that it’s completely clear allows the phone’s design to still be relevant. The case’s build is a combination of hard plastic (back cover) and flexible TPU material (around all sides).
This allows the Crystal Shell case to have a Military Grade protection rating for your phone (MIL-STD 810G). The case’s thickness slightly raises above the camera module and front glass. This is probably the best balance of protection and slimness.
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There are cutouts on the top and bottom of the phone for all the ports. The power and volume buttons aren’t exposed; there’s matching TPU inserts that push into the actual buttons. It works just fine.
Spigen Crystal Shell Case link
Final Thoughts
Spigen continues to do a great job. It could do better in some areas, but for the most part, these are solid cases. If you care about looks, I strongly suggest that Gunmetal model. I loved it. But I suggest Spigen to look into quality control of those cutouts.
For more info on these cases, or others available, check out Spigen’s HTC product list.
ZTE Axon 7 review – CNET
The Good The sophisticated and affordable ZTE Axon 7 has a zippy processor, expandable storage and loud speakers.
The Bad The phone is heavy and power users won’t appreciate the non-removable battery.
The Bottom Line The Axon 7 is ZTE’s best to date, but the OnePlus 3 is a better phone at the same price.
Visit manufacturer site for details.
You have to admire ZTE’s effort. Its Axon 7 is the best looking and most powerful phone the Chinese company has made to date. Its super speedy processor performs just as fast as the flagship devices of Samsung, LG and Google — a testament to how far the company has come since last year’s Axon Pro.
The phone also has plenty of storage space. The more widely available variant, which I reviewed, has 64GB built-in, 4GB of RAM and up to 128GB of expandable storage if you have a high-capacity microSD card. There’s also a variant for Asia, with 128GB of built-in storage and 6GB of RAM.
Plus, at $400 or £275 unlocked (that’s approximately AU$500), the Axon 7 is inexpensive compared to more popular marquee handsets that can run up to $700, £500, AU$800 or more.
But the phone market is ruthlessly competitive — and companies are offering better features for less money every day. Case in point: the OnePlus 3. Though that device doesn’t have expandable storage or booming audio speakers like the Axon 7, it’s faster, has a longer-lasting battery and has the exact same $400 price. (Though in the UK, the OnePlus 3 is a little more expensive than the ZTE at £329.) Unless you have your heart set on a high-end phone, your first choice should be the OnePlus 3.
ZTE’s Axon 7 is its prettiest phone yet (pictures)
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Design: Easy on the eyes
Solidly built, with an unbroken metal unibody chassis, the Axon 7 is ZTE’s best-looking phone ever. Its 5.5-inch display has a sharp 2,560×1,440-pixel resolution and the screen is bright enough (when cranked up) to easily see details in the sunlight.
Given its luxe looks though, I was surprised at how heavy it felt. Tipping the scales at 6.17 ounces (175 grams), it weighs more than its competitors (see chart below). It was still comfortable to hold and maneuver, however.
The handset has a luxe, polished aesthetic.
Josh Miller/CNET
The left edge houses slots for two SIM cards, which is useful if you travel a lot or have two phone numbers. Similar to the LG G5, it has a fingerprint reader on the back, which you can use to unlock the phone and buy stuff with Android Pay. The sensor works quickly, and I didn’t notice any lag between pressing the reader and the screen unlocking. If you don’t want to use your fingerprint, you can also use your voice: say a preprogrammed phrase and unlock the phone that way.
ZTE emphasizes the Axon 7’s audio expertise. In addition to the two speakers on the front, it’s decked out with Dolby Atmos audio technology and an advanced chipset that lets the device both play and record crisp, high-fidelity audio. When I played a few music tracks and movie clips, it was indeed loud and clear, with lots of depth. It didn’t come off as “crunchy” as phones with small, narrow audio grilles usually do.
Software: Voice controls and an optional app drawer
The Axon 7 runs Google’s Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software. This newest version of the mobile operating system includes a more advanced digital assistant called Now on Tap, security updates, support for Android Pay and more. It also has very few third-party apps (or annoying bloatware) preloaded.
The phone has a few voice and gesture controls — you can unlock the phone, play music and activate the camera shutter just by speaking to it. In comparison, the OnePlus has gesture controls too, which mainly entail drawing single letters to launch specific apps, but no voice commands like the Axon 7.
The Axon 7 can also switch from ZTE’s own MiFavor 4.0 user interface to another launcher labeled “stock” Android. By “stock,” I mean it’s really not the pure Android UI. In fact, both settings look pretty much the same (same layout, same app icons and so on). The main difference is that the pseudo-stock version has an app drawer, which keeps all your apps together in a grid, whereas MiFavor does not. I prefer to have the app drawer since it prevents my home screen from getting too cluttered.
AT&T Trek 2 HD Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
AT&T
They say phone contracts are dead — so how about a tablet contract instead?
That’s the catch with AT&T’s new Trek 2 HD tablet. You can walk out the door with the tablet for 99 cents beginning August 5, but you’ll need to sign a 2-year service agreement or pay $7.50 a month (for a total commitment of $180, not including data service).
The 8-inch Android tablet is the successor to 2015’s Trek HD, and has everything you’d expect in a middle-of-the-road budget tablet. Before you sign up, though, compare it to something like the $250 Asus ZenPad Z8 (which also offers 4G LTE, sans contract), as well as our other favorite budget slates.
The Trek 2 HD’s full specs are as follows:
- 8.0-inch HD Display
- Stereo speakers with Dolby audio
- Android 6.0 Marshmallow Software
- 5-megapixel rear camera
- 5-megapixel front camera
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.5GHz octa-core processor
- 16GB of internal storage with a microSD card slot for expansion
- 4,600mAh battery
Oxo Cold Brew Coffee Maker review – CNET
The Good Simple to use, the Oxo Cold Brew Coffee Maker offers an easy way to steep and strain grounds at room temperature. Coffee made with the Oxo Cold Brew is consistently strong, sweet and delicious. Included paper filters aid the metal strainer for an extra level of filtration.
The Bad The Oxo Cold Brew Coffee Maker costs double the price of basic coffee products capable of cold-brewing. The Cold Brew can’t brew with hot water either, and like traditional cold brew methods needs a lengthy 12 to 24 hours of steeping time.
The Bottom Line The Oxo Cold Brew Coffee Maker will wow die-hard cold-brew fans willing to spend more cash for extra convenience, but it’s too pricey for occasional drinkers.
Cold-brewed coffee is one of my favorite forms of joe. If done right, the drink’s sweet, syrupy texture and lack of bitterness is irresistible. Making batches of cold brew at home, though, is a tedious affair especially when it’s time to strain your grounds. Here to help is the $50 Oxo Cold Brew Coffee Maker, which eliminates much of the hassle out of creating this special kind of java.
You will pay a premium for Oxo’s cold-brew contraption. It costs twice the price of other cold-brew gadgets such as the Takeya Cold Brew Coffee Maker and Bodum French press machines. Still, if your priority is to whip up quality cold brew with as little aggravation as possible, then this Oxo device is splurge-worthy.
Oxo’s cold-brew gadget makes sweet, strong…
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Design
The Oxo Cold Brew Coffee Maker is deceptively simple. It has just one switch and uses gravity, not electricity, as its main power source. Even so, it’s clear plenty of thought went into the Cold Brew’s construction.
This hourglass-shaped appliance functions in much the same way as a typical drip brewer. Like a conventional drip coffee maker, the Oxo Cold Brew has a brewing chamber up top where you place ground coffee beans for steeping. Below this sits a carafe to collect the liquid that has been strained by a stainless-steel filter at the bottom of the brewing container.
The Oxo Cold Brew Coffee Maker is similar to a drip brewer, except it uses time instead of heat.
Chris Monroe/CNET
That’s where the similarities between the Oxo Cold Brew and drip machines end. The Cold Brew Coffee Maker uses water at room temperature or colder so it has no heater, electronic components, nor a power cord. Instead you manually pour cool water onto the brewing container’s perforated lid, which Oxo calls the “rainmaker”.
The Rainmaker lid has holes to let water drip evenly over coffee grounds.
Chris Monroe/CNET
Provided you decant water in a circular fashion over the indented lid, the rainmaker evenly saturates coffee grounds by showering them with small water droplets. A Brew-Release Switch either holds water inside the brewing container or releases it to drain into the glass carafe below.
Electrolux EW30IS80RS review – CNET
The Good The $3,749 Electrolux EW30IS80RS slide-in induction range has a speedy cooktop and a convection oven full of helpful cooking modes. It’s “Perfect Turkey” mode can cook a 13-pound bird in two hours, a feat that will be a game-changer at Thanksgiving.
The Bad The oven is a heavy-handed when it comes to broiling and convection baking, which left me with burgers and extra-brown biscuits. The large touchpad control panel can be unresponsive to your touch.
The Bottom Line The Electrolux EW30IS80RS’s fast cook times and useful add-ons make this range a worthwhile investment.
Can one really cool feature make a nearly $4,000 oven worth buying? In the case of the Electrolux EW30IS80RS, it depends on how important Thanksgiving is to you. Electrolux filled this induction range with a host of special features, but the standout is the “Perfect Turkey” cooking mode that can cook a holiday-meal worthy, 13-pound turkey in just two hours.
The Electrolux EW30IS80RS is a 30-inch-wide slide-in induction range.
Chris Monroe/CNET
Slashing the cook time of an intimidating piece of poultry is just one of the many noteworthy features included in the $3,749 Electrolux EW30IS80RS. The range’s induction cooktop boils water at breakneck speeds. And the oven’s two convection fans excel at moving air more evenly during baking, which results in biscuits that brown evenly across two racks.
The range has its drawbacks. The broiler chars hamburger patties before they’re completely cooked. Though the oven circulates heat well, it left my evenly browned biscuits about one minute away from being burnt. And controlling this range’s intricate touchpad controls can feel a bit like steering a stubborn spaceship.
Overall, the Electrolux EW30IS80RS is a formidable match to similar slide-in induction ranges such as GE PHS920SFSS and the Samsung NE58H9970WS. Though the Electrolux is more expensive, this impressive range is a good investment if you value quick cooking — especially on Thanksgiving.
Two-hour turkey and more with this Electrolux…
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First impressions leave much to be desired
The Electrolux EW30IS80RS is a 30-inch-wide, slide-in range with an imposing profile. Much of its heft comes from the touch-control panel, which juts out from the body of the range.
The smooth cooktop includes four induction burners. Induction cooktops use heat created from electromagnetism between your pot or pan and the burner to cook food (read more about the science behind induction here). Like the Kenmore 95073 induction range, the Electrolux doesn’t use circles to show you where the burners are located. Instead, there are four crosses that show you where you’re supposed to put your cookware. Each burner has its own set of touchpad controls that let you adjust heat levels with plus and minus buttons. Unfortunately, the controls don’t clearly indicate which burner they belong to, which will make your initial cooktop experience confusing if you don’t read the oven’s manual first.
The control panel has 11 different cooking modes.
Chris Monroe/CNET
The gigantic control pad also holds a labyrinth of oven controls, including 11 different cook settings. It can get overwhelming trying to access special features such as temperature probe settings or the convection converter (which lowers the temperature when you’re using a convection cooking mode), which require multiple button pushes and adjustment. And you have to press hard on the control pad’s buttons to get them to respond.
The Electrolux has two oven cavities: a traditional 4.6-cubic-foot capacity oven and a 1.4-cubic-foot capacity oven drawer at the bottom of the range. You can use the oven drawer to keep food warm, bake or slow cook, which is handy if you’re cooking a lot of dishes at once or if you want to heat up a frozen meal. But I’d rather get rid of the oven drawer in exchange for a larger main cavity, especially since it’s difficult to get food in and out of the drawer since it’s so low to the ground.
It’s time to talk turkey
It takes a lot of gumption for a manufacturer to include a special cook setting on an oven that’s designed for one specific dish, such as pizza or chicken. You expect such a feature to be flawless since it only has one job.
AIVAnet 