Amazon Updates Alexa Devices With Apple iCloud Calendar Integration

Amazon today announced that users will now be able to sync their iCloud Calendar information with devices that support Amazon’s smart assistant Alexa. With the update, users can ask Alexa what’s coming up on their calendar, or issue commands so new appointments are added to the schedule. Anything added from an Amazon device is then synced with iCloud and added to the Calendar app on iOS and macOS devices.

To sync an iCloud account with Alexa, the company said that customers will have to sign in to their Apple account within the settings tab of the Alexa iOS app. Users in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany will gain access to the new update beginning today, representing the current countries where Alexa is available.

Starting today, you can now link your Apple iCloud Calendar to Alexa. To do this, iCloud Calendar customers can simply link their account in the settings tab in the Alexa app. Once linked, just say, “Alexa, what’s on my calendar today?” or “Alexa, add lunch with Sarah at noon to my calendar.”

iCloud Calendar support has been a top requested feature from Alexa customers, and we’re thrilled to bring this to Alexa devices in US, UK and Germany today.

With the inclusion of Apple’s Calendar, Alexa device users now have access to five total calendar services, also including accounts for G Suite, Google/Gmail, Office 365 users with Exchange Online mailboxes, and Outlook.com.

Alexa is available in a variety of hardware devices sold by Amazon, including the Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Look, and new Echo Show, as well as on the Amazon Alexa iOS app [Direct Link].

Tags: Amazon, Alexa
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Most popular pictures on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter

Millions of photos are uploaded to social media sites every single day. Whether it be pics of your holiday, a newborn baby or a night out with mates, our insatiable desire to share what we get up to is stronger than ever.

It’s the same with celebrities. Social media allows us to follow our favourites up close and track their daily lives. For every photo they post, we can like it or retweet to show our love for them. 

We’ve tracked down the most popular photos from the big three social sites: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, over the past few years. From them, i’s clear that more and more people are joining social media sites, as the number of likes sky rockets. They also show an affinity for a certain Kardashian/Jenner clan. 

Kevin Systrom/Instagram

This is the very first photo to be uploaded to Instagram. Uploaded by founder Kevin Systrom on 16 July 2010, it has so far amassed just over 70,000 likes, but was by far the most liked photo the year it was published.

Justin Bieber/Instagram

Justin Bieber, the best-selling male Canadian artist of all time, was responsible for the most-liked Instagram photo in 2011. It’s a pretty simple photo of the then-17-year-old Bieber making a face at similarly baby-faced baby. It now has over 263,000 likes. 

Louis Tomlinson/Instagram

Louis Tomlinson, one fifth of One Direction, uploaded this picture of himself and fellow band member Zayn Malik at Halloween in 2012. It seems the band’s fans love photos of “Zouis”, as it now has over 1.1 million likes and was the most popular post that year.

Justin Bieber/Instagram

Bieber reclaimed the spot for most-liked photo on 15 August 2013 with this post of him posing with all-round megastar Will Smith, or “Uncle Will” as Justin calls him. It now has just over 1.56 million likes. 

Kim Kardashian/Instagram

The full social clout of the Kim Kardashian really took off with this post from her wedding to Kanye West on 27 May 2014. It was the most-liked picture of that year and has now been liked by nearly 2.5 million people.

Kendall Jenner/Instagram

Kim Kardashian’s half-sister, and mega-celeb in her own right, Kendall Jenner, took the top spot for most-liked photo in 2015. The caption is short and sweet, but it’s used to great effect, presumably promoting love and free spirit. It now has just under 3.66 million likes.

Selena Gomez/Instagram

Selena Gomez has the most-followed account on Instagram with 121 million followers. It’s no surprise then that she’d eventually claim the most-liked photo in 2016, with this post of her drinking some Coca Cola. It has now been liked by over 6.7 million people.

Beyoncé/Instagram

The jump in number of likes from 2016 to 2017 is exponential. 2017 may not be over yet, but we reckon it will be hard for anyone to beat the 11 million likes Beyoncé has on this photo announcing her pregnancy. It was posted on 1 February this year, meaning it has been liked nearly 92,000 times a day. We’d hate to have to clear all those notifications!

Beyoncé/Instagram

Beyoncé’s children are clearly a hot topic, as this photo of her with daughter Blue, has gained her nearly 2.5 million likes in August 2015.

Cara Delevigne/Instagram

British supermodel Cara Delevingne is a popular poster on Instagram, and this photo for a Chanel advertising campaign has attracted nearly 2.8 million likes in just 11 weeks. 

Kim Kardashian/Instagram

2.8 million likes in 11 weeks is nothing though, compared to the 4.6 million this Kardashian-West family photo has attracted in six weeks. Maybe it’s the rare sighting of a Kanye smile that contributed to all those clicks.

Ellen DeGeneres/Twitter

Until this year, Ellen DeGeneres’ “super-selfie” was the most retweeted tweet of all time. Although, with just under 3.5 million retweets, it could be considered the most retweeted photo. The most retweeted tweet belongs to Carter Wilkinson, an American who wanted to get free chicken nuggets from Wendy’s. 

However, with nearly 2.5 million likes as well, Ellen’s photo is the most-liked Twitter post of all time.

Barack Obama/Facebook

Ex-US President Barack Obama posted this photo of him embracing his wife Michelle, hours after the election results in 2012 that would see him sworn into office for another four years. It quickly went on to become the most-liked Facebook photo of the year and now has just under 5 million likes.

Kylie Jenner/Instagram

Kylie Jenner, the youngest member of the Jenner family, proves she’s just as much of an Instagram star as her older siblings. This picture from her graduation in July 2015 for example has just under 2.4 million likes. 

Cristiano Ronaldo/Instagram

Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably one of the greatest footballers ever, also has a healthy Instagram following with 102 million followers. This photo of him kissing the Euro 2016 winners’ cup has attracted nearly 3.7 million likes since it was posted in July last year.

Cristiano Ronaldo/Instagram

Even for someone with a schedule as busy as Ronaldo’s, he still has time to spare to post photos of him and his son. 4.1 million people seem to like the fact he’s a family man. Impressive considering it was only posted two weeks ago. 

Cristiano Ronaldo/Instagram

It seems Cristiano didn’t want to let go of the European Championship cup, as he can be seen here clutching on to it on the plane home. 

Cristiano Ronaldo/Facebook

This team photo on Cristiano’s Facebook page proved incredibly popular, garnering 4.6 million likes. Portugal may have knocked us out of a few competitions over the years, but credit where credit’s due.

Selena Gomez/Instagram

This slightly suggestive photo posted on Selena Gomez’s Instagram page in March 2017 is one of her most popular to date, with just under 7 million likes. The chrome detailing on the bike is rather nice, after all.

Selena Gomez/Instagram

We all love a feel-good story, and we love to meet our idols. So it’s no wonder this photo of Selena meeting a young fan in August 2016 has attracted over 4.8 million likes. They’ll mostly be happiness for the fan, but we reckon more than a few of people that liked the photo are rather jealous.

Selena Gomez/Instagram

Miss Gomez has recently started dating singer The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye), and this photo of the couple making their red carpet debut at the MET Gala at the beginning of May this year has attracted 7.5 million likes.  

Selena Gomez/Instagram

But this photo of the happy couple, presumably on holiday, has performed much better. It was only posted six weeks ago yet already has 7.8 million likes. The public are clearly happy for them.

Taylor Swift/Instagram

When she’s not raking in the likes on her own photos, Selena Gomez is helping out her fellow celebs. This particular photo of her with Taylor Swift, on Taylor’s Instagram page, is one of her most popular with 3.2 million likes.

Vin Diesel/Facebook

We bet you didn’t expect to see hard man Vin Diesel on this list. But it seems the big guy has a soft side, and this picture of him with daughter Pauline, named after Vin Diesel’s Fast and Furious co-star Paul Walker following his death, has nearly 8 million likes on Facebook.

Cricketers will use smart bats to track their performances

Cricket is a game of technique. Throwing the perfect out-swinger, or hitting a clean square drive takes a tremendous amount of practice and skill. If you’re watching a professional match at home, it can be hard to keep up with the mind games or understand where a player’s execution went wrong. To help, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is adopting bats that have swing-sensing chips inside. They’ll be used by “several” batsmen including Ben Stokes, Alex Hales and Jason Roy at the Champions Trophy, which takes place in London, Birmingham and Cardiff next month.

The sensors, developed by Intel and sports startup Specular, will measure the bat’s speed and angle during back-lift, impact and follow-through. The figures will then be transmitted for immediate analysis by coaches and broadcasters. Like Hawk-Eye, a widely adopted sports camera system, this should lead to detailed visualisations during each game. Studio pundits can explain a player’s performance, suggest how they could improve and compare their technique to previous tournaments. Similarly, coaches can use this information to fine-tune training sessions and strategies.

Swing-sensing chips are new for cricket, however similar technology has been used in baseball bats, tennis racquets and golf clubs for years. It’s an alluring concept — why waste time perfecting a technique through trial and error alone? Or spend an extortionate amount on a trainer, when a wearable could provide similar insights? There’s something to be said for a seasoned coach, of course, but the added benefits of performance tracking are hard for professional players to ignore. Specular says a consumer version of its “BatSense” chip will be out later this year — so if you want to learn to bat like Chris Gayle, you’ll soon have the option of a digital trainer.

Via: The Times

Source: Intel

US won’t ban laptops on European flights, at least for now

After weeks of discussions, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said it won’t enforce a ban on laptops and other personal electronics on flights to the US from Europe. While officials remain keen to “implement any and all measures necessary to secure commercial aircraft” flying into the US, airlines and European officials appear to have sufficiently stalled negotiations on the blanket ban mooted earlier this month by Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.

According to Politico, European sources consider the issue resolved for now, but the DHS says the expansion is still very much “on the table.” The potential extension of the previous ban, which restricted carry-on electronics on flights from ten Muslim-majority countries, panicked the airline industry as it would have impacted up to 65 million travelers.

In a conference call with two European officials, Kelly confirmed that the ban would be waived in order to “intensify technical talks and try to find a common solution.” They also agreed “on the need to raise the bar for aviation security globally, including through a range of potential seen and unseen enhancements.” Earlier this month, officials suggested the issue was “off the table,” but pointed to this week’s meeting as a chance to draw a line under the matter.

One of the main reasons European officials are against the ban relates to the storage of lithium batteries in aircraft cargo holds. Batteries rarely catch fire, but if a device is stored in belly of an aircraft, flight attendants won’t be on hand to put them out.

Via: Politico

Source: DHS.gov

The new Nokia 3310: What’s changed?

Who knew stringing four numbers together and slapping it on a feature phone could evoke such a strong consumer reaction in 2017? Ever since HMD Global won MWC by announcing the new Nokia 3310, millennials have been frothing at the mouth in anticipation. The hype is somewhat understandable. For many people, the original Nokia 3310 would’ve been a totem representing their first taste of freedom. An unsupervised connection to friends; a plaything for idle hands. Many things have changed in 17 years, of course.

Textspeak — a new dialect borne of the need for character conservation — is but a long-forgotten dream. And for the most part, so is several-day battery life and the expectation your phone might survive a minor tumble. Revisiting the Nokia 3310 so many years later brings these memories rushing back, and plenty of other benefits, too. The cute little candy bar has an actual operating system (Nokia Series 30+), for one. It boasts basic internet connectivity, a color screen, a few apps and even a 2-megapixel camera.

But HMD Global is hoping you won’t notice the new 3310 is little more than an insanely clever marketing ploy. It’s just like any other Nokia feature phone, but wrapped in a colorful shell that looks vaguely familiar to the chunky 3310 of yesteryear. What it’s gained in smarts, it’s lost in charm. And nostalgia is hard to conjure when the new generation lacks several characteristics that made the 3310 one of the most popular phones of its time. What’s happened to poor old Snake?

Uber Fires Engineer Accused of Stealing Self-Driving Secrets From Waymo

In the ongoing legal battle between Uber and Alphabet-owned Waymo, Uber announced this week that it has fired Anthony Levandowski, the engineer accused of stealing Waymo’s self-driving intellectual property when he left his job at Google to start his own company, Otto (via The New York Times). In the original lawsuit, Waymo claimed that when Uber acquired Otto, Levandowski’s stolen trade secrets came with the purchase, mainly centering around Waymo’s LiDAR system.

In the months following Waymo’s filing, Uber denied the accusations and “pressured Mr. Levandowski to cooperate” with the court. When he was ordered by a federal judge to give the court any evidence related to Waymo’s accusations, as well as a testimony, he was said to have asserted his Fifth Amendment rights in order to avoid self-incrimination. The judge gave Levandowski an internal deadline to hand over the evidence in question, and when he missed it Uber decided to fire him.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick (left) and former employee Anthony Levandowski (right)
According to legal analysts watching the case, if Levandowski continued to be employed by Uber, “the company risked being tarnished…as if it were indirectly condoning his actions.”

“Over the last few months Uber has provided significant evidence to the court to demonstrate that our self-driving technology has been built independently,” Angela L. Padilla, Uber’s associate general counsel for employment and litigation, wrote in an email to employees. “Over that same period, Uber has urged Anthony to fully cooperate in helping the court get to the facts and ultimately helping to prove our case.”

She added: “We take our obligations under the court order very seriously, and so we have chosen to terminate his employment at Uber.”

When the lawsuit was filed in February, Levandowski and “other former Waymo employees” were accused of stealing around 14,000 confidential Waymo files that included data on Waymo’s laser-based radar (LiDAR) system, which the company called “one of the most powerful parts” of its self-driving technology. Federal prosecutors began investigating the case earlier in May, while also partially granting Waymo’s request for an injunction against Uber’s self-driving efforts as the case continues.

Besides Waymo’s lawsuit, Uber has also faced troubled waters this year when the Department of Justice began investigating the ride-hailing company over its use of “greyball” software that let drivers operate in places where the Uber app is restricted.

It also came out this year that Apple CEO Tim Cook threatened to remove Uber from the iOS App Store in 2015 after discovering that Uber was secretly “fingerprinting” iPhones that used the app. Uber said the decision was made to prevent fraud, making sure users could no longer create multiple fake accounts on one device to collect new account bonuses, despite knowing that its method was in direct violation of Apple’s app privacy guidelines.

Although Uber’s self-driving future is uncertain, Waymo has made progress in recent months with the launch of an autonomous car program in Phoenix, as well as the announcement of a partnership with Lyft that plans “to bring autonomous vehicle technology into the mainstream.”

Tags: Google, Uber, Waymo
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‘iPhone 8’ Renders Offer Direct Size Comparisons With iPhone 7 and Galaxy S8

Alleged “iPhone 8” leaks have been coming fast and steady over recent weeks, with various schematics and protective case designs suggesting Apple has finalized the radical redesign destined for its tenth anniversary smartphone.

Many of the leaks we’ve been tracking in the last few days in particular offer few if any details beyond what we’ve already heard about Apple’s upcoming OLED iPhone, but a couple of renders are making the rounds online that may give readers a clearer idea of how the new handset might look alongside current smartphones on the market.

In the above renders, originally published by iDrop News, an “iPhone 8” with edge-to-edge display is shown set in between Apple’s existing iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The new handset is expected to be 144mm tall, 71mm wide, and 7.7mm thick, according to leaked design renderings and schematics. They compare to existing iPhone 7 dimensions of 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1mm.

Another render, pictured below, shows the 5.8-inch OLED iPhone in between the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. Samsung’s devices measure 148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0mm and 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1mm, respectively. Taken together, the above numbers suggest Apple’s redesigned handset will be slightly thicker than the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 but not as thick as the Galaxy S8.

The last major rumor about the so-called “iPhone 8” came last week, when it was reported that Apple suppliers TSMC confirmed Apple had successfully integrated Touch ID fingerprint recognition into the OLED display.

The new handset is expected to release in the fall alongside upgraded “S” cycle versions of Apple’s existing line-up. Other features for the high-end phone could include a front-facing dual-lens camera with 3D sensing capabilities and some form of wireless charging.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8 (2017)
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Rock the Roxford, and never worry if your fitness tracker goes with your outfit again

Why it matters to you

The number one challenge faced by wearable technology is getting us to wear it, and devices like this that look good in all situations, have a better chance of being worn each day.

The hybrid smartwatch is already a versatile piece of tech, often combining classic timepiece looks with fitness tracking abilities, for discreet daily use. The Roxford is the latest example, and it goes one step beyond being simply suitable for general wear, by using a modular design to make it quickly adaptable to different everyday situations, ensuring it always looks great.

It does this by hiding the fitness tracking technology in the watch strap clasp, leaving the watch body alone, and providing four different strap designs. There’s a suave 316L stainless steel bracelet, a classy leather band, a sporty silicone strap, and perhaps most cleverly of all, a silicone replacement for the watch face itself — converting the hybrid smartwatch into a traditional fitness band. Switching straps looks easy, as standard spring-loaded quick release pins found on many watch straps are used.

The fitness tracker counts your steps, monitors sleep, and records calorie burn and distance traveled. The battery inside lasts for about 12 days, and has a magnetic charging system, while the body is made from stainless steel and is water resistant up to 50 meters. The watch body will survive down to 100 meters, and is also built from stainless steel, with a Swiss quartz movement inside. A mineral crystal covers the minimalist face. Happily, the Roxford comes in two sizes — 44mm and 38mm — making it suitable for most wrist sizes, and the entire body is only 8.5mm thick on the 44mm version.

It connects using Bluetooth to an Android or iOS app, and will sync data with Apple Health, Google Fit, and some third-party platforms including Fitbit. The clasp can recognize taps to control certain functions on your phone, such as a triple tap to start or stop music playback, and a double tap to advance tracks.

The Roxford is available on Indiegogo, and the campaign has a target of $50,000, with more than $16,000 raised at the time of writing. To get the Roxford watch, four straps, and a travel case, you’ll pay $170 if you catch the early offer, or from $184 upwards if you miss out. There are various different body and strap color combinations to choose from too. Provided the campaign meets its target, the Roxford watch is expected to ship in November this year.

The LG G6 gets a massive ₹10,000 ($155) price cut in India

The LG G6 made its debut in India at the end of last month for ₹51,990 ($805), with the phone exclusively sold on Amazon India. The manufacturer rolled out several launch-day offers that allowed customers to pick up the device for as low as ₹41,990 ($650), and to commemorate its 20th anniversary in the country, LG is once again bringing the offer back. You can now pick up a brand new LG G6 from Amazon India for ₹41,990.

Grab the latest #LGG6 at Rs.10,000 off. Avail more such offers on the occasion of #LG 20th anniversary in India at https://t.co/qYKBmaJVsJ pic.twitter.com/RwsssK7NI2

— LG India (@LGIndiaTweets) May 31, 2017

There’s no mention of how long the deal will last, so if you’re interested, head to Amazon from the link below to pick up the LG G6.

See at Amazon India

LG G6

• LG G6 review!
• LG G6 specs
• LG G6 vs. Google Pixel: The two best cameras right now
• Everything you need to know about the G6’s cameras
• LG forums

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How to enable and disable Alexa skills

How do you make your Amazon Echo do stuff? You’ve got to have skills!

Alexa is the beating heart of the Amazon Echo and the platform upon which all of its abilities are based. Think of it like an operating system with apps that developers can build for it.

In this case the apps are known as skills, and they’re what makes your Echo do all kinds of things like turn on your lights, control your WiFi and tell you what’s happening in the world today.

Here’s how you get new skills and turn them off if you’re done with them.

Open the Alexa app on your phone, tablet or in your web browser.
Select skills from the sidebar menu.
Find your desired skill and select it.
Tap on enable to turn it on.

Finding skills for Alexa is as easy as just searching for them. If you know specifically what you’re trying to find type its name in the search box and you should see it front of you.

The Alexa app does a decent job at highlighting interesting skills you might want to try, too. When it comes to connecting your smart home devices you’ll have specific requirements, but there’s a lot out there that isn’t related to home automation.

Did you know you can play a version of Runescape on your Amazon Echo?!

Download Amazon Alexa from the Google Play Store