Don’t miss out on this Quick Charge 2.0 charger for just $5

Aukey is once again offering its Quick Charge 2.0 wall charger for just $5 at Amazon with coupon code URYA2AKG. Normally priced at $12, you’ll save $7 on this charger that will help get your phone charged up at a quick pace. The charger comes with both the charging brick and a 3.3-foot microUSB cable in the box, so whether you need one for the office, your travel bag or to have around at home, you won’t want to miss this deal.

This deal has been extremely popular in the past, so it may not last long. If you are interested, you’ll want to act quickly so it doesn’t sell out. Remember, you’ll need coupon code URYA2AKG for the full savings.

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HTC 10 review: The best Android phone you’re not buying

The HTC 10 is a stellar smartphone from the company that brought you the aluminum unibody. Unfortunately, it’s not quite the Perfect Ten its name implies – a reality reinforced by T-Mobile’s decision to drop the phone from store shelves amid rumors of sluggish sales.

Still, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that the HTC 10’s shortcomings would be totally forgivable ones … if only the price were a little lower. The HTC 10 has been on the market for months, MrMobile has used it for much of that time, and you wouldn’t stop asking for a review in the comments – so settle in for Michael Fisher’s HTC 10 review to learn why it’s the best Android phone you’re not buying!

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Your Nexus phone will soon automatically connect to open Wi-Fi networks

Google’s Nexus phones get yet another great exclusive value-added feature.

Google’s awesome Wi-Fi Assistant, which was previously available only to Project Fi phones, will be opening up to all Nexus phones in the coming weeks. The feature lets your Nexus — with your permission — connect to all open Wi-Fi networks that it finds, offloading data usage that would otherwise end up costing you on a limited mobile data plan.

With Wi-Fi Assistant enabled, which you’ll soon find behind a settings gear in your Wi-Fi settings, your phone still always be scanning and will latch onto any open network that it can find that doesn’t require a login or captive portal check before connecting. The best part about this is that it does the checks for you without any of your input, so you don’t have to bother hunting around to find a Wi-Fi network — just use your phone and let it do its thing.

One of Project Fi’s best features comes to all Nexuses

For your protection, when your phone connects to an open network via Wi-Fi Assistant, all of your traffic automatically passes through a Google VPN, keeping the data safe from the potential dangers of an open Wi-Fi network. Wi-Fi Assistant is also regularly checking the speed of the networks it connects to, and is very willing to drop off of the Wi-Fi if it’s slow or unstable, which gives you the best experience. After using a Project Fi phone for well over a year now, I never turn off Wi-Fi anymore and simply let it handle things, saving me dozens of megabytes per month.

Together with the ability to switch between multiple mobile data networks, Wi-Fi Assistant was actually one of the biggest selling points of Project Fi — bringing us closer to the idea of just connecting to any data source that was available, without you having to worry about the specifics. With that feature coming to Nexus phones, it’s yet another one of Google’s great value-added services that can be a huge benefit to Nexus owners, currently and in future buying decisions.

The feature will roll out to all Nexus phones running Android 5.1 or newer, and in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, UK and Nordic countries. The process will take a few weeks, but we will start to see it on some phones right away.

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HTC reverses course, starts displaying Android Security Patch date on HTC 10

Making sure your HTC 10 is up to date is now a little easier.

We were admittedly disappointed when we noticed that the HTC 10 was missing the line in the settings to let you know which Android Security Patch was installed. It didn’t make the phone any different, and the good things about the 10 were still the same good things (and likewise with the not-so-good) but it just feels like that’s one of the things we all should be able to see and check. Having the patch date displayed didn’t make anything better, but it did let us know when the last update was and if we needed a new one.

HTC has changed that policy, and you can see when your HTC 10 was last updated with the latest patch.

While it’s tempting to get silly and make light of this, we shouldn’t. Whether or not you take the security of your private data seriously enough to make sure you have the latest patches for your phone, we do. It’s our job to care. There are other easy ways we can check when the phone was last updated, but having it displayed with the rest of the software information makes it easy for the average user. Google designed it this way — they want you to be able to tell if you have the latest security “fixes” they provide. Hiding that means most people weren’t likely to know.

We’re not sure why HTC originally decided to not display the patch date, but it’s no longer an issue, at least on the 10. Thanks for that, HTC. Little things mean a lot.

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Uber partners with startup Betterment to offer retirement accounts

Previously, Uber hasn’t exactly treated its drivers with the same kind of respect and fairness you’d expect from an employer of its stature. With several lawsuits in the works surrounding the company’s avoidance of offering traditional benefits, it seems like Uber could finally be taking a step in the right direction with its partnership with Betterment, at least in terms of managing finances.

Betterment is a firm that offers automated investing solutions for customers, a startup with over 175,000 customers and over $5 billion in assets. It’s offering Uber drivers traditional or Roth Individual Retirement accounts, according to their preferences.

Uber’s fleet of 300,000 drivers will both benefit from Betterment and offer a boon for the startup in turn. Flexible retirement accounts through the service will be offered to the first year exclusively to Uber drivers, which could ensure those with accounts continue to use the service even if they decide to part with the company in the future.

Drivers in Seattle, Chicago and Boston will gain access to Betterment first, with the rest of Uber’s drivers across the nation joining in at a later date.

Uber’s lack of 401k or insurance for its employees, which are considered to be independent contractors, has been a subject of debate among ride-sharing companies, namely Juno, which has made it a point to compete with Uber by treating its drivers better, going so far as paying Uber drivers $25 a week to switch sides, so to speak.

Offering its drivers Betterment’s services doesn’t mean Uber is doing an about-face or anything like that, but it could mean a brighter future for its drivers if the company continues down this path.

Via: Business Insider

People will lie to robots to avoid hurting their feelings

In the future, it’s possible that robots will be able to prey on our emotions. Or at least, behave in a way that makes us sympathetic towards them. Research carried out by the University College London (UCL) and the University of Bristol has discovered that humans prefer robots who are expressive and apologise for their mistakes — even if they’re less efficient than a silent alternative. Fleshy controllers are also more likely to forgive a robot’s shortcomings if they think it’ll make them sad as a result.

In a test lab, Bert2 — a humanoid robot with three separate displays, allowing its eyes and mouth to express different emotions — performed in three different ways. One was silent and made zero mistakes, while a second was mute and programmed to make a single blunder (which it would then correct, quietly). A third was able to speak and could accept simple “yes” or “no” responses from the user. In a basic kitchen scenario, the vocal android would apologise for its mistakes — dropping an egg, for instance — and give a heads-up when it was about to try a new technique.

While the slowest, it was the robot that most people preferred.

But here’s where it gets interesting. At the end of the exchange, the robot would ask for a job. Some participants were reluctant to say no — even if they preferred the silent, more efficient robot — because they thought it would upset the machine. “It felt appropriate to say no, but I felt really bad saying it,” one of the test participants recalled. “When the face was really sad, I felt even worse. I felt bad because the robot was trying to do its job.”

Another said “maybe” at first, but — because Bert2 can only accept “yes” or “no” responses — quickly changed their answer to “yes.” Later, in a post-experiment questionnaire, they revealed that they actually preferred the silent, more reliable robot. According to the research team, one test subject wrote “emotional blackmail” on their notepad during the experiment.

It’s already been proven that humans can feel empathy towards robots. (We also have a good giggle when they fall over.) The new research by UCL and the University of Bristol, however, points to a deeper and more complex relationship with robots in the future. It’s dependent on more expressive android interfaces, however, and the way human perceptions change. For now, there’s a novelty factor — we’re willing to forgive a robot’s mistakes because the experience feels so new — but in the future, that could change. When I’m late for work and need a quick breakfast, I won’t be too impressed when my robot butler spills milk all over the floor.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: UCL

Pandora’s new internet radio station is curated by Questlove

Pandora may be prepping a Spotify-like subscription for launch, but that’s not keeping the internet radio service from ramping up its original content. Today, the company announced that it’s partnering with The Roots drummer and DJ Questlove on a new station. What’s more, the station will feature a 3-hour weekly show curated and produced by the musician called “Questlove Supreme.” Pandora describes the show as “a weekly ride through the global musical landscape featuring adventurous music selections, compelling conversations and revealing interviews.” The company also says the show will have a similar feel to Questlove’s NYU music course.

“Questlove Supreme” is set to debut September 7th on the new station at 1PM ET. If you can’t tune in then, the show will repeat for 48 hours and will be available via the artist’s mixtape. The list of featured guests will include Saturday Night Live actress Maya Rudolph, producer and engineer Bob Power and Grammy award-winning artist Kimbra. The Questlove station is already live and you can listen to a preview here. What’s more, Questlove will serve as Pandora’s strategic advisor and the first artist ambassador in addition to working on the station and show.

Pandora has already added popular podcasts Serial and This American Life to its lineup and this new aritst-curated station makes a lot of sense to help pad the library. Apple Music’s Beats 1 does something similar with a mix of regular radio shows and artist-hosted weekly installments. It’s too early to tell if Pandora is looking to take on Apple’s radio offering directly. However, if recent reports are any indication, we won’t have to wait long to find out the finer points of Pandora’s forthcoming streaming service.

Here’s a preview to hold y’all over until we launch Wed Sept 7th 1pm est/10am pst. #QLS!!!!!! Is here!!!! https://t.co/2gT83MGVYl

— Questlove Gomez (@questlove) August 24, 2016

Source: Pandora (Business Wire)