IBM and The Weather Company launch mesh-powered app for internet-poor regions

Why it matters to you

IBM and The Weather Company’s mesh networking tech can deliver storm alerts without the need for a cellular network.

Having a wealth of up-to-the-minute climate data at our fingertips is something most of us take for granted. Thanks to a reliable cell connection, our smartphones, and the work of hundreds of meteorologists and climatologists around the globe, keeping abreast of an incoming storm isn’t so much a matter of how, but how quickly. Unfortunately, though, that isn’t the case for everyone.

In developing countries, cellular connectivity is congested, intermittent, and in the worst cases inaccessible. That’s why IBM, in collaboration with developers at The Weather Company, introduced Mesh Network Alerts, a new technology that provides a peer-to-peer means of facilitating communications between residents of underserved nations.

More: Songza, Weather Channel team up to tailor your tunes to the weather

“The combination of the innovative Mesh Network Alerts and global reach of The Weather Channel mobile app can help deliver a new level of emergency awareness to underserved populations,” Bijan Davari, IBM Fellow and vice president at IBM research, said in a press release. “We’re proud to be able to quickly offer a critical and potentially lifesaving capability to hundreds of millions of people around the world.”

Mesh Network Alerts work by linking mobile devices directly to one another, daisy-chaining handsets in a sort of node network. Using a combination of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, each connected smartphone stores and propagates messages to devices within a 300- to 500-foot radius, creating a mesh that can effectively reach more devices.

Normally, government-issued messages are broadcast via cell towers. IBM’s network steps in as a fallback — when central networks go down, the mesh activates. And it works off the grid in remote areas and disaster zones without impacting battery “any more than an ordinary app.”

More: IBM creates Internet of Things division, announces deal with The Weather Company

IBM’s mesh works in a version of The Weather Channel app for Android specially designed for emerging markets. At 3.2MB, it’s significantly smaller than The Weather Channel app and so easier on unreliable connections and pricey data plans. It’s optimized for low-powered devices, and can launch within two seconds on 2G. And it sports built-in options allow users to store weather data offline for up to 24 hours or choose to update on Wi-Fi, cellular, or on request.

The Weather Channel says that many of the new app’s features will launch broadly in the coming months.

IBM, which bought The Weather Company in 2016, has made significant investments in the data-forward company. Last year, it expanded the weather.com site to 62 languages and 178 countries. And on mobile devices, it launched global weather forecast notifications that provide severe weather information in the form of real-time notifications.

More: IBM’s Deep Thunder gives weather forecasters an injection of tech

“IBM once again shows its leadership in edge computing capabilities, and this next important milestone will help bring the value of edge compute to life. Mesh Network Alerts extend the ability to receive a potentially lifesaving alert to a global audience, even with limited connectivity,” Cameron Clayton, general manager and CEO of The Weather Company, said. “With IBM collaboration, investment, and research, we can now reach users in previously underserved areas and better deliver the information they need.”

Time for a clear out? Here’s how to delete text messages on your iPhone

One of the most talked about updates in iOS 10 was the iMessage app. Apple took a very simple texting app and added all kinds of nifty features that people enjoy in other messaging apps. With animated stickers, apps, message animations, drawings, group messaging, and even the option to send a poll to your friends, iMessage is one of the most fun apps to use. But months of iMessaging your family and friends can pile up, and if you don’t manage it, things can get messy. You need to know how to delete text messages on your iPhone.

You might want to delete an individual text message, or get rid of anything more than a month old. Even if you don’t want to delete an entire conversation, you may want to delete parts of a conversation that you don’t want to come up in a Spotlight search. There are several ways to delete text messages, and conversations, in the iMessage app, so let’s take a look at them all.

More: How to use iMessage on iOS 10

How to delete individual messages

If you just want to get rid of a single message on your iPhone, this is how to do it:

Tap and hold the message.
Tap More… in the pop up menu.
Select the individual message you would like to delete.
Select the delete trash bin icon on the lower left.
To confirm you want to delete, tap Delete Message on the pop up menu.

Oculus Rift still facing issues with room-scale tracking, but a fix is on the way

Why it matters to you

Your Oculus Rift might be having growing pains, and specifically problems with room-scale tracking, but the company says it’s on the case.

The Oculus Rift virtual reality (VR) system needs a few thing to perform its magic. There’s the headset, of course, along with the PC that provides the computing power. There are also sensors that help the system keep the user and the physical environment in sync.

The most advanced of these sensors are those that provide what’s called “room-scale tracking,” meaning the ability for the VR system to keep track of where the user is located within larger spaces. Oculus offers additional sensor options that provide for tracking significantly larger rooms, but that solution has been running into some problems, as Road to VR reports.

More: The Rift now supports four sensors for improved room-scale VR

The Oculus Rift was already at a disadvantage to its main competitor, the HTC Vive, since the latter has supported room-scale tracking out of the box with a pair of sensors, and arguably provides a stronger room-scale experience. Now, users are complaining of ongoing issues with room-scale tracking with the Oculus 1.11 update, with one Redditor posting a video demonstrating the issues.

The 1.11 update was intended to address room-scale tracking performance, which Oculus has kept in an experimental status. However, the update apparently has introduced more problems, a fact that Oculus acknowledged in a response on Reddit: “Thank you for sharing. We’re working on core software improvements that should hopefully address these issues. This is the top priority for the next two releases, including 1.12 which will ship this month. We’re determined to deliver rock solid robust tracking and appreciate all the feedback.”

While that’s not a terribly helpful response for users currently experiencing the room-scale tracking issues, it does provide some hope that the next couple of software revisions will help. While Oculus hasn’t been as excited about room-scale tracking generally for most VR users, at least the company remains committed to making it work for those users who find it an important part of the VR experience.

BlackBerry sues Nokia, alleging networking patent infringement

Why it matters to you

Nokia’s products and services that allegedly infringe on BlackBerry’s patents could affect carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile — and that may end up affecting you.

Two former smartphone kings, Nokia and BlackBerry, have become embroiled in a lawsuit involving patents relating to networking gear.

BlackBerry filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Delaware, according to Bloomberg, claiming Nokia is infringing on 11 patents with several mobile networking products, such as Flexi Multiradio base stations, Liquid Radio software, and radio network controllers.

More: Nokia announces the return of the legendary 3310

The Canadian-based company said Nokia provides these devices and services to carriers such as T-Mobile and AT&T for their LTE networks, and BlackBerry alleges that “Nokia has persisted in encouraging the use” of these devices without a license.

BlackBerry is not looking to block the use of the patents, though, and the company is instead seeking monetary damages, though it’s not clear exactly how much BlackBerry is hoping to get. BlackBerry is also likely looking to get Nokia to start licensing the patents.

Bloomberg reports that the bulk of the patents came from former telecoms giant Nortel Networks Corp., and the company bought them alongside a consortium after Nortel went bankrupt. The patents were reportedly split between the consortium, which included members such as Apple and Microsoft. Nokia tried to buy Nortel in 2009.

More: Apple surpasses Samsung in smartphone sales for fourth quarter of 2016

BlackBerry’s smartphone market share recently hit zero, according to research firm Gartner’s estimates. Both BlackBerry and Nokia are now licensing their smartphone business to other manufacturers that will retain their respective brand names.

Nokia has turned to virtual reality and its telecommunications prowess, while its acquisition of Withings keeps it active in the health and wearable category. BlackBerry, on the other hand, is improving its security software on its licensed handsets, while also pivoting towards self-driving technology.

DJI teams up with world’s biggest model aviation group for new programs

Why it matters to you

Flying drones isn’t just a hobby — a new partnership with a non-profit will mean new programs for public safety officers, discounts for youth interested in STEM careers, and more.

Drone designer DJI is partnering with the world’s largest aircraft model non-profit to promote safety, enhance training options, and support outreach efforts. On February 15, the China-based drone company announced an upcoming joint program with the Academy of Model Aeronautics.

The new partnership means the two groups will support each other and share general outreach. For drone pilots and those aspiring to take to the skies, the new partnership is expected to also lead to joint classes and activities for drone safety and just general drone fun.

More: Giant drone racing is here, and it’s just as awesome as it sounds

The AMA is the largest organization for model aviation in the world, with over 195,000 members across the globe. The non-profit group hosts over 2,000 competitions a year and also has more than 2,500 local clubs across the U.S.

“Safe operations in the national airspace are of the utmost importance to the AMA,” said AMA Executive Director Dave Mathewson. “This cooperative effort will further those safety efforts as we build educational programs for those planning to use DJI products as they explore the many activities that drones make possible.”

As part of the partnership, both groups will work to advocate for accessibility, affordability, and the safety of drones. DJI will also now help promote the AMA’s Public Safety course, a class designed to teach public safety officials how to safely and effectively use drones in their work.

Along with sharing those same goals, DJI and the AMA will also work to develop youth programs for teenagers interested in careers in aviation and technology. The youth participating in the AMA’s UAS4STEM drone construction competition will also get a ten-percent discount on DJI products.

“As a Life Member of AMA, I know first-hand the value of its community engagement and educational programming,” said Brendan Schulman, DJI’s vice president of policy and legal affairs. “I am excited for DJI to bring the latest in technology to AMA’s membership, and to work together to preserve the freedom to operate model aircraft for recreational and educational purposes.”

Microsoft makes creating Windows 10 Sticky Notes even easier with jump list support

Why it matters to you

Microsoft has made it easier for you to make a Sticky Note and avoid cluttering up your real-life desktop.

Windows 10 is full of small utilities that add value by leveraging some of the core functionality built into the operating system. One example is the Sticky Notes app, which supports the Windows Ink feature and active pens to eliminate the need for sticking little slips of paper all over your desk.

Up until now, creating a new Sticky Note has been accomplished primarily by clicking or tapping on the pen icon in the system tray and selecting the app from the list of available Windows Ink utilities. With the latest update, Sticky Notes has added a new way to create notes along with other improvements, as OnMSFT reports.

More: Latest Windows Insider update brings some big changes to Sticky Notes, Ink

Specifically, Sticky Notes now supports the jump list feature, letting users right-click on the taskbar icon to create a note. This is a nice little addition that makes creating notes easier not only for the pen-enabled but also for anyone who types Sticky Notes using the physical keyboard. If the icon is pinned to the taskbar, then that makes creating a new note as easy as right-clicking and selecting “Add Note” from the list.

The update also added a few other features, including a switch from the Segoe UI Emoji to Segoe UI, which Microsoft rather comically notes allows the app to support “¯_(ツ)_/¯.” The company also fixed the tendency for text to become jittery while a note is being resized, along with replacing the “Later” button with an “X.” Finally, launch performance was also improved.

You’ll need to be on the latest production version of Windows 10, 14393, or later to receive the Sticky Notes update. If your Windows Store app is configured to automatic updates and you’re on the proper Windows 10 version, then you likely already have the update installed. If not, then open the Windows Store, select “Downloads and updates” from the user account menu, and then tap or click “Check for updates.”

Celebrate President’s Day in virtual reality with Google’s latest VR tours

Why it matters to you

You’ll be able to celebrate this Presidents’ Day in VR style with tours of the White House, Air Force One, and more.

Presidents’ Day will soon be upon us, and is there a better way to celebrate than with a trip down memory lane? Yes there is — a trip down virtual reality lane. Thanks to a new partnership between Google Arts & Culture and no fewer than 30 cultural institutions, the internet giant is bringing you a huge update to the American Democracy collection. If you visit g.co/americandemocracy, you’ll be privy to a treasure trove of history about the United States presidency, complete with more than 2,000 new artifacts, photos, and pictures.

On Wednesday, Google announced the addition of 63 new exhibits to its American Democracy online exhibit, which brings the total number of exhibits to 158. As a whole, Google says, “… this collection invites you to remember and celebrate the history, lives, and legacies of the 44 U.S. presidents.” Whether you want to embark upon an immersive tour of a presidential home or take a look at their private lives, from their childhoods to their favorite pastimes and personal chefs, you can do so with Google’s help.

More: Ramin Djawadi’s live concert tour takes ‘Game of Thrones’ on the road

Google Arts & Culture, which has brought you behind the scenes of some of the most iconic ballets, operas, and other creative achievements, is now bringing you an intimate portrait of America’s most public office. With the program’s latest update, you’ll be able to check out 25 presidential portraits captured by way of Google’s Art Camera. Even seeing these portraits in person wouldn’t be any better — indeed, the web giant says, “These gigapixel quality images allow you to zoom in and explore details of these portraits more thoroughly than you could with the naked eye.”

Moreover, Google is debuting 17 new 360-degree virtual tours that can be experienced on either iOS or Android, and for a more immersive experience, via Google Cardboard. Classrooms can benefit as well, as teachers are being invited to use Google Expeditions to take students on virtual field trips of the White House without ever leaving campus. And if the presidential residence isn’t enough, you can check out Ronald Reagan’s Air Force One (now housed in his Presidential Library), and other methods of transportation utilized by different American leaders.

“Our Presidents’ Day collection covers the vast political and personal histories of our U.S. heads of state, full of intriguing and surprising stories that allow for anyone with an internet connection to turn into a presidential historian,” Google concluded, “We hope you enjoy!”

Celebrate President’s Day in virtual reality with Google’s latest VR tours

Why it matters to you

You’ll be able to celebrate this Presidents’ Day in VR style with tours of the White House, Air Force One, and more.

Presidents’ Day will soon be upon us, and is there a better way to celebrate than with a trip down memory lane? Yes there is — a trip down virtual reality lane. Thanks to a new partnership between Google Arts & Culture and no fewer than 30 cultural institutions, the internet giant is bringing you a huge update to the American Democracy collection. If you visit g.co/americandemocracy, you’ll be privy to a treasure trove of history about the United States presidency, complete with more than 2,000 new artifacts, photos, and pictures.

On Wednesday, Google announced the addition of 63 new exhibits to its American Democracy online exhibit, which brings the total number of exhibits to 158. As a whole, Google says, “… this collection invites you to remember and celebrate the history, lives, and legacies of the 44 U.S. presidents.” Whether you want to embark upon an immersive tour of a presidential home or take a look at their private lives, from their childhoods to their favorite pastimes and personal chefs, you can do so with Google’s help.

More: Ramin Djawadi’s live concert tour takes ‘Game of Thrones’ on the road

Google Arts & Culture, which has brought you behind the scenes of some of the most iconic ballets, operas, and other creative achievements, is now bringing you an intimate portrait of America’s most public office. With the program’s latest update, you’ll be able to check out 25 presidential portraits captured by way of Google’s Art Camera. Even seeing these portraits in person wouldn’t be any better — indeed, the web giant says, “These gigapixel quality images allow you to zoom in and explore details of these portraits more thoroughly than you could with the naked eye.”

Moreover, Google is debuting 17 new 360-degree virtual tours that can be experienced on either iOS or Android, and for a more immersive experience, via Google Cardboard. Classrooms can benefit as well, as teachers are being invited to use Google Expeditions to take students on virtual field trips of the White House without ever leaving campus. And if the presidential residence isn’t enough, you can check out Ronald Reagan’s Air Force One (now housed in his Presidential Library), and other methods of transportation utilized by different American leaders.

“Our Presidents’ Day collection covers the vast political and personal histories of our U.S. heads of state, full of intriguing and surprising stories that allow for anyone with an internet connection to turn into a presidential historian,” Google concluded, “We hope you enjoy!”

Best app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time

Everyone likes apps, but sometimes the best ones are a bit expensive. Now and then, developers make paid apps free for a limited time, but you have to snatch them up while you have the chance. Here are the latest and greatest apps on sale in the iOS App Store.

These apps normally cost money and this sale lasts for a limited time only. If you go to the App Store and it says the app costs money, that means the deal has expired and you will be charged. 

More: 200 Awesome iPhone Apps | The best Android apps for almost any occasion

Noiz

NOIZ re-imagines how you make music. No longer do you need years of training or a multimillion dollar studio to produce a dance-floor hit.

Available on:

iOS

Rocket Craze 3D

Build your own space rocket and launch it into the space. Use your abilities to maneuver between the obstacles and your strategic skills while upgrading rocket’s components.

Available on:

iOS

Blicke

Blicke is a unique puzzle game in which you have to slide the colored blocks across the board to take each one of them to its target.

Available on:

iOS

Search Ace

“Search Ace” is a WebSearch App that allows you to access your favorite site quickly.

Available on:

iOS

Artprint

Transform your photos into various artistic canvas paintings and that you can receive at your doorstep in a matter of days.

Available on:

iOS

Size Your Ring

There is no need to go into the jeweler to get your finger sized. This app has it all — be extra prepared for next Valentine’s Day with Size Your Ring.

Available on:

iOS

Chromebook Diaries: Learning to work my way around Chrome OS

“It’s based off of Android,” I told myself. “How much of a learning curve could there be?”

One of the biggest hurdles for me in giving Chrome OS a try was the realization that have to adjust the way that I work around the interface. I thought that maybe because Chrome OS was somewhat, tangentially related to Android — or, at least, because it came from Google — that I’d quickly catch on to its mechanisms. Well, based on my current experience, I can tell you that isn’t the case.

I’m also facing a bit of a learning curve with the hardware of the Chromebook Flip, since I’ve spent most of my laptop life armed with something from the Apple Store. Despite some of the familiarity of the menu screens and services that hook directly into Chrome OS, it’s a new beast I’ve yet to tame.

More: Chromebook Diaries Part 1: How I learned to live with Chrome OS

A new way of life

I know, I couldn’t be more dramatic. But Chrome OS isn’t Mac or Windows, which I’ve used thoroughly and through so many iterations. I’m familiar with their nuances. I can recall their commands by heart, or diagnose them if something goes awry. And even though this is a column about trying new things, the truth is that I fear change, especially when related to my tech life.

The Flip’s slightly sluggish trackpad is noticeably slower compared to Apple’s MacBook Pro.

My first order of business was to set up my Chromebook so that I could easily file a story here without being slowed down by the Flip’s slightly sluggish trackpad, which is sort of disappointing considering how much I spent for the laptop. Even with the sensitivity setting set to the highest point, the actual tracking is choppy, especially compared to the smooth fluidity of the trackpad on the MacBook Pro. Say what you will about Apple, but the trackpad is what keeps me buying Cupertino’s pricey hardware. Thankfully, there’s a touchscreen display as backup when using the trackpad is absolutely maddening, but my work flow is primarily centered around using the mouse. I can’t even use my Logitech MX Anywhere mouse because the Chromebook doesn’t have USB. (To that end, anyone have a suggestion for an affordable Bluetooth mouse?)

The trick to Chrome OS (I think) is to equip yourself with the right apps from the get-go, so I went on an app hunt. I found a viable text editor called Text that I could use to open text files from my Dropbox, and I downloaded Microsoft Word for everything else. (I use Grammarly on the Chrome browser to help me along with grammar and spelling errors once I’m in the CMS. Writing is a multistep process!) Then, I grabbed Snapseed and Adobe Lightroom from the Play Store to help with images.

The Chromebook Flip’s soft, almost velvet-y keyboard is a nice writing companion.

The writing part of my job — that’s easy to do on a Chromebook. You have Google Docs, a variety of text editors, and Microsoft Word readily available. The Chromebook Flip’s soft, almost velvet-y keyboard is also a nice writing companion, and I can honestly say this is the most comfortable hardware I’ve ever typed on. The hard part is editing photos.

I don’t have any USB Type-C compatible USB plug-ins (ike these from Anker) readily available, so I grabbed an SD card adapter I had laying around with a 64GB microSD card on the inside. I used that to snap pictures with my DSLR, and then popped out the microSD card and placed it into the Chromebook’s built-in card reader. The files were easily viewable with Chrome OS’s built-in file explorer, but it was there that I stumbled a bit.

I wanted to edit the photos — you know, make them look good. My usual process on a Windows or Mac machine would be to edit in Lightroom, and then open it up in Photoshop to crop and save for the web (I’m sure you have an easier way of editing photos, but this has been my process for almost five years and I don’t plan on changing it now). But on Chrome OS, I couldn’t even open the photo in Lightroom. Apparently, Lightroom does not inherently offer SD card access on Chrome OS just yet, so there’s a huge limitation to downloading it from the Play Store and attempting to use it as the default editor.

I ended up editing the photos with Adobe Photoshop Express and Snapseed — the former for basic editing and the latter for specific image tweaks. Uploading it to the CMS was fine, too; I do everything in the Chrome browser as it is, so that experience wasn’t drastically different.

The point is this: There is always a bit of a learning curve with something new, even if it’s mildly different than what you’re used to. But the nice thing about Chrome OS is that it does hearken back to Android. The pieces that unify the Google products are all there, but like the Android experience, it’s up to the user to put in the initial time to customize things and install the right apps that will help initiate a certain workflow.

Other thoughts:

• On my quest to find a worthy text editor — I should have just asked Jerry — I learned that typing in data:text/html, <html contenteditable> will bring up a text editor inside the Chrome browser. Neat.

• The trackpad on this particular Asus Chromebook Flip is almost…horrendous? I know, that’s a strong word, but I grow increasingly frustrated trying to use each day. Yes, yes, I have a touchscreen, but sometimes I just want to use my laptop as that — a laptop.

• Someone asked me if I’d buy a Chromebook over a standalone Android tablet, to which I responded “absolutely not.” The thing is, the Chromebook will fit a very particular role in my life, and that’s to be my mobile filing machine. It’s a bonus that it flips over into tablet mode, and it makes things like digital journaling and playing some Android games feel second nature. But it’s still a weighty computer and you can’t cuddle with a Chromebook the way you can with a tablet. I mean, you can, it’s just different. You know what I mean?

• To that end, do consider a 2-in-1 if you’re considering a Chromebook. Having that tablet functionality is AWESOME and makes life with the computer much easier because of its malleability.

• Chrome OS does have split screen! I use this feature constantly on Windows, and I’m happy to see that they’re here, too. There’s even a handy shortcut for pinning: it’s ALT + [ or ALT + ] for each corresponding side of the screen. Split screen mode can’t be used when you flip into tablet mode, however.

Chromebooks

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• Join our Chromebook forums