You can now give your Valentine a virtual blowjob

Valentine’s Day is less than 24 hours away, and if you’re still scrambling for a gift for your special guy, porn website CamSoda has an idea — send him a virtual blowjob. Yes, that’s a thing now.

“BJ My Valentine” lets you create a free customized blowjob your significant other can enjoy via an interactive masturbator called the Kiiroo Onyx. You pick from a variety of techniques, such as “Fast Suction” and “Deep Throat,” set durations for each one, then arrange them on a timeline. CamSoda then gives you a link to a video to share with your partner. The video syncs with the Onyx, so your partner feels everything in real-time.

BJ My Valentine is part of CamSoda’s BlowCast service, where adult performers record themselves performing oral acts on smart dildos. The footage and sensor data are then sold to customers looking for a virtual sexual experience. But, as one Engadget writer found out, that experience can be underwhelming.

“[Sex] with the Onyx isn’t all that sexy. In fact, ‘sex’ with the Onyx is like listening to music while underwater,” our own Daniel Cooper said. “You’re aware that something’s happening, but all you get is a murky echo and a sense of frustration that quickly spirals into boredom. After that, there’s very little reason to continue.”

This is just further proof that Demolition Man correctly predicted our dystopian touchless-sex future back in 1993.

Via: Vocativ

Source: CamSoda

YouTube creates four original shows just for its Kids app

Now that YouTube has dipped its toes into the wild world of original programming, the company has plans to launch four new shows this spring aimed at children and pre-teens. The YouTube Kids app will get two live-action and two animated series starring some popular YouTube creators including DanTDM and the hosts of TheAtlanticCraft, with more series scheduled to debut throughout the year.

The first round of original YouTube Kids programming features Hyperlinked, DanTDM Creates A Big Scene, The Kings of Atlantis and Fruit Ninja: Frenzy Force. Hyperlinked is a live-action scripted series starring the young ladies of L2M, a real-life tween music group, as they attempt to “create their own website by girls for girls.”

The second (partially) live-action offering comes from DanTDM, a gaming-focused YouTube creator whose channel has more than 14 million subscribers. DanTDM Creates A Big Scene follows DanTDM and his animated friends as they take their live show on the road, running into plenty of mischief along the way.

The two fully animated shows come from Minecraft YouTubers Joe and Cody of TheAtlanticCraft, and Fruit Ninja studio Halfbrick. Fruit Ninja: Frenzy Force is about a group of four friends who are secret fruit ninjas dedicated to fighting malicious forces like Durian Grey and the Deep Fried Sensei. Meanwhile, The Kings of Atlantis is a royal power struggle set under the sea, featuring two young monarchs on a mission to reclaim their throne from a cruel king.

“This marks the first time YouTube Red has invested in creators who are producing original programming for family audiences,” YouTube’s global head of family and learning Malik Ducard says.

It’s been two years since YouTube launched the standalone Kids app and it’s since picked up more than 30 billion overall video views, with 8 million active viewers each week. The company plans to launch the YouTube Kids app on smart TVs, including internet-connected LG and Samsung models, sometime soon.

Keep in mind that YouTube Red, the subscription service that enables offline and ad-free viewing, applies to the Kids app. Red is also where YouTube’s existing original programming resides.

Source: YouTube Blog

Univision will stream Liga MX soccer live on Facebook this season

Facebook has hosted livestreams of soccer matches in the past, but for the upcoming Liga MX season, the social network is doing more than one-off events. Today, Univision announced that 46 total matches will be streamed on its page via Facebook Live for the 2017 season. And yes, that includes playoffs. The network says the Mexican soccer league is the most-watched in the US, so easy access to English streams of select matchups makes a lot of sense.

“Now Facebook represents the next wave of TV and, given its scale, they are an ideal partner to distribute our Liga MX matches in English,” Univision’s chief commercial officer Tonia O’Connor explained in a press release.

Financial terms of the deal between the Facebook and Univision weren’t disclosed, but the tie-up should come as no surprise. Recode reported in December that Facebook was looking into more original content for its live video offering, including live sports. The social network’s live video initiative has already hosted an English Premier League match as well as broadcast women’s La Liga action on the pitch.

Starting this Saturday, February 18th, you can head over to the Univision Deportes page on Facebook to stream games from the Mexican soccer league via the “video” tab. If you’re looking for an alternate option, Verizon customers are privy to live Liga MX games from Univision via the go90 app.

Source: Univision (Business Wire)

T-Mobile upgrades its One plan to counter Verizon

There’s no mistaking it: Verizon’s decision to resurrect its unlimited data plan was a shot across T-Mobile’s bow. And to no one’s surprise, the magenta-hued network is responding in kind. As of February 17th, T-Mobile is upgrading its standard One plan to include HD video streaming and 10GB of LTE hotspot tethering. You no longer have to spring for a pricey add-on just to watch Netflix at high quality. To sweeten the pot, the carrier is also running a promo that gives you two lines for $100.

Unless there are any gotchas, this gives T-Mobile an edge once again. Although the features are comparable, T-Mobile’s pricing includes fees and taxes. You may well save more than the price tag suggests, including with the two-line offer (Verizon asks for roughly $150 after taxes). And whichever carrier you prefer, the One upgrade good news — it’s proof that real wireless competition can improve your service without raising prices.

6/ Starting Fri, #TMobileONE price includes HD video & 10GB high-speed 📱hotspot data –all at no extra charge. AND taxes & fees are included!

— John Legere (@JohnLegere) February 13, 2017

Source: John Legere (Twitter 1), (2), T-Mobile

AI learns to recognize exotic states of matter

It’s difficult for humans to identify phase transitions, or exotic states of matter that come about through unusual transitions (say, a material becoming a superconductor). They might not have to do all the hard work going forward, however. Two sets of researchers have shown that you can teach neural networks to recognize those states and the nature of the transitions themselves. Similar to what you see with other AI-based recognition systems, the networks were trained on images — in this case, particle collections — to the point where they could detect phase transitions on their own. They’re both very accurate (within 0.3 percent for the temperature of one transition) and only need to see a few hundred atoms to identify what they’re looking at.

A machine learning system is particularly advantageous in a field like this, as you don’t have to outline exactly what you’re looking for. You can identify the exact conditions that prompt a transition without knowing what they are, and theoretically spot previously undiscovered transitions.

There’s a lot of work to be done. It’s easy to detect known transitions in a lab, where you can limit the number of particles, but it’s much harder when you’re looking at the overwhelming volume of particles in real life. If researchers can achieve that feat, though, they could discover reproducible behavior that might be useful in products, such as superconductors with more forgiving properties.

Source: Wired

Apple Ranked World’s Fourth Most Innovative Company Thanks to Expanded Chip Focus

Apple has ranked fourth in Fast Company’s annual list of The Most Innovative Companies of 2017 published today, moving up three spots from its seventh-place finish in 2016. Apple trailed behind Amazon, Google, and Uber, and directly ahead of Snapchat, Facebook, and Netflix in the list of 50 companies.

The publication credited Apple for designing four of its own chips last year, which allows it to “control its own destiny” and create “the most compelling consumer-electronics experiences,” including the A10 Fusion chip in iPhone 7, W1 chip in AirPods, T1 chip in the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, and S2 chip in the Apple Watch Series 2.

“We pick the projects where we feel like we can make a difference—the big customer-impacting features,” says Anand Shimpi, who works on hardware technologies at Apple. So the stunning depth-of-field effect from the iPhone 7 camera? That’s directly enabled by the new A10 chip. “The actual production of the stored portrait image is because of things that we put into the [image signal processor],” Shimpi says.

Each chip has resulted in technological breakthroughs for Apple. The W1 chip in AirPods, for example, is programmed to automatically route the audio to each earphone, and engage the microphone, while its low power usage results in industry-leading battery life up to five hours on a single charge.

The S2 chip in Apple Watch Series 2 models results in performance improvements without sacrificing battery life, and the four-core A10 Fusion chip in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus is up to two times faster than the A8 chip in the iPhone 6 and delivers the longest battery life—up to two hours longer—of any iPhone ever.
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Kanex’s MultiSync Foldable Travel Keyboard Now Available

Kanex today announced that its MultiSync Foldable Travel Keyboard is now available for purchase following its introduction at CES 2017 last month.

The universal keyboard, compatible with iOS, Android, and Windows devices, features an ergonomic V-shape layout with a foldable and compact design, making it a convenient accessory for travel. The keyboard can wirelessly connect to and switch between up to four devices such as iPhones and iPads via Bluetooth 3.0.

The keyboard has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that provides “hours” of typing time on a single charge, and it recharges with an included micro USB cable.

Kanex’s MultiSync Foldable Travel Keyboard is $49.95 on Amazon and Kanex’s website.
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Apple Almost Built a Futuristic Cybercafe in 1997 With Computers at Every Table

Around the time former Apple CEO Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, the company considered building an “Apple Cafe,” a fanciful, futuristic cybercafe where people could gather to eat, do business, and use Apple computers. The idea was created in partnership with Mega Bytes, with Apple planning to license its name and brand.

Former Disney Imagineer and Landmark Entertainment Group founder Tony Christopher was tasked with coming up with a design for the concept, and in a new interview with Fast Company, he shared images of what the cafe might have looked like and the story behind its conceptualization.

Jobs was reportedly involved in the design process, choosing Christopher’s team because of their work creating unique retail spaces. Jobs wanted a way for Apple to connect to customers, which led to the idea of a cafe equipped with Apple products. A computer was at every table, where people could do things like order food, watch movies, surf the web, design web pages, and play video games.

A predecessor to the Apple retail stores we know today, the cafe was also meant to sell Apple products to consumers. The images don’t resemble the clean, simple design of Apple Stores today, but the central idea – connecting with customers – inspired both the cafe and Apple’s eventual line of retail stores.

The interior design was very high tech, and we worked on it for about six months. I think we were trying to create sort of a modern-but-futuristic look, which is different than the immersive theme park stuff we do: castles and dinosaurs. I remember the designers we put on it were the high-tech, future-thinking guys. We understood that we were dealing with a computer, which was a future technology not a historic technology, and the Apple Cafe had to reflect that.

Apple’s original plan was to build a flagship Apple Cafe in Los Angeles and then expand them around the world. Apple was far enough along in the design process that there was a website promoting the Apple Cafe, and planned openings in Paris, London, New York, Tokyo, and Sydney, but the stores never materialized.

While Christopher says the idea was sidelined in favor of Jobs’ plan for an “Apple Store,” press information released by Apple at the time said Apple’s business partners had pulled back. From 1997:

“We think it’s a great project, and we’d like to move forward,” said a spokeswoman for Landmark Entertainment, which was to design the cafes. Spokespeople for Mega Bytes International, a U.K-based real estate company, could not be reached for comment.

The Apple spokeswoman said the concept of launching the cafes remains a possibility down the road. “If somebody approaches us again, we’ll be happy to consider it,” she said. “It just didn’t work out with this group in particular.”

The first Apple Store eventually opened in 2001 under the leadership of Ron Johnson. Over the last 16 years, Apple Stores have expanded to more than 20 countries, with Apple operating 491 stores around the world.

Related Roundup: Apple Stores
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Apple’s Stock Sets First New All-Time High Closing Price in Nearly Two Years

Apple’s stock set a new all-time high closing price of $133.29 today, eclipsing a previous record of $133 set on February 23, 2015. The stock still remains around $1 off its true all-time high of $134.54 set on April 28, 2015.

Apple’s stock has been steadily rising over the past four months, particularly since the company reported record-breaking earnings results, including revenue of $78.4 billion and net quarterly profit of $17.9 billion, in late January. The stock rose over $7 in a single day following the January 31 results.

Apple analyst Brian White of investment firm Drexel Hamilton has persistently said AAPL remains “one of the most underappreciated stocks in the world,” and his target price for the stock is $185. Steven Milunovich of UBS and some other analysts have also said the stock is undervalued in recent weeks.

Apple’s stock has rebounded significantly since dropping to a 52-week low of $89.47 last May. The price was likely impacted by Apple’s comparably lackluster 2016, which marked the company’s first year-over-year decline in annual revenue since 2001 after 51 consecutive quarters of uninterrupted sales growth.

Apple is the world’s most valuable company with a market capitalization approaching $700 billion.

Tag: AAPL
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T-Mobile ONE Unlimited Plan Gains HD Video and 10GB High-Speed Hotspot Data to One-Up Verizon

Over the weekend, Verizon announced a new unlimited data plan for $80 per month, designed to rival T-Mobile’s ONE data plan that provides unlimited data for $70 per month.

To set itself apart from T-Mobile, Verizon promised 10GB of tethering data per month and full HD video streaming, two offers that have spurred T-Mobile to offer matching benefits.

As of this afternoon, T-Mobile CEO John Legere has announced that T-Mobile ONE subscribers will be able to stream HD video and will get 10GB of high-speed data at no extra charge. Legere has also announced a promotion that will see T-Mobile offering customers two lines with unlimited data for $100 per month, a $20 discount off of the standard $120 price point and $40 cheaper than two lines on Verizon’s new unlimited plan.

6/ Starting Fri, #TMobileONE price includes HD video & 10GB high-speed 📱hotspot data –all at no extra charge. AND taxes & fees are included!

— John Legere (@JohnLegere) February 13, 2017

Prior to Verizon’s announcement, the T-Mobile ONE plan offered unlimited hotspot data that was limited to 2G speeds, with an option to pay for 5GB of data for an additional $15 per month.

As for video, the ONE plan originally limited subscribers to 480p “optimized” video provided for free through its Binge On program, but users will now be able to stream Binge On content in a higher resolution by default. T-Mobile has not given specific details on the new resolution that’ll be available to ONE subscribers, but “HD” likely equates to 720p.

The addition of 10GB LTE tethering data and better quality video streaming is a huge win for T-Mobile customers, and the new additions once again make T-Mobile the more attractive carrier, with the company offering better features for consumers at a lower price.

With Verizon now offering an unlimited data plan, all four of the major carriers in the United States have unlimited data offerings, a major change from a few years ago when AT&T and Verizon eliminated unlimited data. T-Mobile’s “Un-carrier” initiatives over the past few years have sparked some major changes to the mobile wireless market, resulting in significant competition that’s brought positive changes for subscribers.

For a single person, T-Mobile’s ONE plan is priced at $70 per month, while Verizon charges $65 plus a $20 device fee. Sprint charges $55 per month for a single subscriber, and AT&T’s unlimited plan is only available to AT&T U-verse or DirecTV subscribers.

The new T-Mobile ONE benefits will be available to T-Mobile subscribers starting on Friday, February 17.

Tag: T-Mobile
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