Samsung leak shows off the Galaxy S9’s new DeX Pad

When reports came out late last year that Samsung was going to reveal the Galaxy S9 at CES 2018, it was bundled with rumors about a new DeX docking station. Well, the S9 reveal didn’t happen at CES, but that part about a new DeX device might just be true: noted leaker Evan Blass (evleaks) has posted images of “the so-called DeX Pad” on his Twitter account. Like what previous reports said, it’s a flat dock unlike the first DeX device for the S8, which looks like more like a traditional dock.

The so-called ‘DeX Pad,’ first reported here: https://t.co/DowGkJrKUA pic.twitter.com/5hDaR4g5CM

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) February 8, 2018

As you can see, it has a USB-C connector, where you’ll have to plug your phone, two USB ports and one HDMI port. (And yes, the Galaxy S9 will have a separate headphone jack.) Your phone will have to lie on its back when plugged in, because it can apparently turn your S9 or S8 — it’s reportedly backwards compatible — into a touchpad or a virtual keyboard. If you’ll recall, Samsung’s DeX dock can transform the S8 into a desktop PC, so long as you have a screen, a mouse and a keyboard. This upgraded dock will probably be able to eliminate the need for a mouse and keyboard. We’ll hear more about the S9 and any DeX dock Samsung plans to launch at the company’s Unpacked event on February 25th.

Source: evleaks (Twitter)

Live News Section in Apple’s TV App Rolls Out to US Users

Apple’s TV app gained a new News section late on Thursday. The dedicated section is appearing for users in the United States with devices running the latest iOS 11.2.5 and tvOS 11.2.5 releases.

The new News option offers live streaming access to Bloomberg, CBS News, Cheddar, CNBC, CNN, and Fox News. The aggregated streams can be viewed directly within the TV app, although like other sourced content, users need to have the associated third-party tvOS apps installed for the channel links to show up.

The News section was originally demoed during Apple’s September Apple TV 4K announcement, where the recently launched Sports section was also shown. The main difference between the two in the app interface is that Sports gets its own button, while News currently sits below a section created for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics in the “Watch Now” area of the TV app.

Related Roundup: Apple TVTag: Apple TV appsBuyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Buy Now)
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How to Set Up Your New HomePod

Before you can start using your new Apple HomePod, you’ll need to set it up using an iPhone or iPad that’s synced to an iCloud account.

During the setup process, HomePod will link the iCloud account to personal request features accessed through the speaker via Siri voice commands, such as the ability to send messages, set up reminders, and get calendar notifications.

It will also link the HomePod to any existing Apple Music subscription tied to that iCloud/iTunes user, so it’s worth thinking carefully about which account holder in your household you want to associate with the speaker.

For the HomePod setup process to work you’ll need an iOS device running iOS 11.2.5 or later, so check your iPhone or iPad is up to date. To do so, open the Settings app, tap General -> About, and look for the version number. If you need to update, tap back to Settings, select Software Update, and follow the onscreen instructions.

Enable iCloud Keychain and Two-Factor Authentication

To pair HomePod with your chosen iCloud account you’ll also need to have iCloud Keychain and Two-Factor Authentication enabled. You can simplify the the speaker’s setup process by making sure these functions are already activated. See our separate step-by-step guides for using iCloud Keychain and Two-Factor Authentication on your iPad and iPhone, and meet us back here when you’ve enabled both.

Once you’ve unboxed the HomePod, place it on a stable flat surface that’s about waist-height and close to a power outlet. Don’t worry too much about where you put it in the room, as HomePod will dynamically adjust its audio output by analyzing the environmental acoustics. Now plug in the speaker unit using the supplied power cable and follow the instructions below.

Initial HomePod Setup Using an iPhone or iPad

You’re now ready to begin the account-linking setup procedure for your new HomePod. The speaker uses Apple’s proprietary W1 chip to communicate with other Apple devices, so if you’ve ever connected a pair of wireless AirPods to an iPhone or iPad then you’re already in familiar territory. Here are all the steps you need to follow to set up HomePod.
Make sure your iPhone or iPad has Bluetooth turned on, and bring it close to the speaker.

Tap Set Up on the pairing card that appears on your iOS device’s screen.

If you have HomeKit enabled and use multiple homes, you’ll be asked which one you want HomePod to be associated with. Choose an option from the list and tap Continue.

Select which room of your home the HomePod is in and tap Continue.

Select Enable Personal Requests to let Siri access your messages, reminders, and notes whenever your iOS device is on the same Wi-Fi network, or tap Not now if you’d rather not grant this permission for privacy reasons. You can adjust this setting later.

Tap Continue on the “Siri on HomePod” card.

Tap Agree to agree to Apple’s terms and conditions.

Tap Transfer Settings to use your iCloud account, Wi-Fi, and other relevant settings on your iPhone or iPad to configure your HomePod. You can change them later in the Home app.At this point, any existing Apple Music subscription will automatically be synced to HomePod, while users without a subscription will be offered a free three-month trial.

Note that if the setup screen doesn’t appear automatically (step 2 above), open the Home app on your iOS device, tap the plus (+) symbol in the upper right of the screen, and then tap Add Accessory. Lastly, tap “Don’t Have a Code or Can’t Scan?” and select HomePod in the “Nearby Accessories” list.

Related Roundup: HomePodBuyer’s Guide: HomePod (Buy Now)
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Hulu’s Cloud DVR adds more control over what episodes to record

Along with 60fps support and some new options for Olympic viewing, Hulu is also improving its cloud DVR. Mimicking other DVR platforms, now Hulu TV subscribers will have more choices of what to record when they add a show to “My Stuff” for automatic recording. Instead of simply recording new episodes, viewers can tell it to stash reruns too, or just bookmark the show without recording episodes at all. For shows already in MY Stuff, users can go in and adjust the settings as they prefer. The new feature is rolling out on iOS, Apple TV (4th gen.), Xbox, Amazon Fire TV devices, Nintendo Switch and 2017 Samsung Smart TVs now, with other devices coming soon.

Source: Hulu

How to descale a Keurig and enjoy full cups of coffee again

The symptoms of dreaded Keurig scale are unmistakable: Slower pours, settings that no longer work, stinky build-up, and a half cup of coffee when you really needed that full cup.

Scale precipitates out of hard water—water with a lot of minerals in it—and then attaches to the inside of the Keurig, gradually clogging up its tubes (the same thing can happen to your plumbing, too). More advanced Keurigs will often tell you when it is time to descale, but it’s generally a good idea to do it every six months or so if you use regular tap water. Here’s how to descale a Keurig when the time comes.

Note: This is about descaling specifically. If you want to give a dirty Keurig a thorough cleaning, check out our guide on how to do that as well.

Step 1: Get your Keurig emptied and ready

Clear out all the coffee and empty the Keurig. Clear out a nearby sink to create plenty of room, too. Pour whatever water is left in the reservoir down the drain, and make sure there are no cups left inside the brewer. Find a large mug to use for draining, and make sure no one is going to need their coffee fix for the next couple of hours.

Step 2: Prepare your descaling agent

Now you need an acidic descaler to run through your brewer so it can break apart the scale. There are two popular descaling choices, both with pros and cons.

Keurig Descaling Solution: Keurig sells its own descaling solution that you can buy for around $13, which lasts for a single use. It’s an easy option that doesn’t require much effort, and by all accounts it does get rid of scale. But if you read the reviews on both Keurig’s own product page (where it scores only three stars) and on Amazon, you find that the solution tends to have a citrusy odor that can be very hard to get rid of, and may even affect the taste of your coffee for days to come.

White vinegar: White vinegar is very cheap, readily available, and works great on scale. The only downside worth noting is that you need at least several cups for a good cleansing, which means you may have to go out and buy some more specifically for this project. Also it is vinegar, which means your kitchen or break room may reek of that vinegar smell for the rest of the day.

With the Keurig solution, you will want to empty the entire bottle into the reservoir, and then fill the rest with clean water. For white vinegar, you want your reservoir to be around half vinegar and half water, possibly even more vinegar for a really tough descaling job.

Step 3: Run all your descaler through the Keurig

Arrange your Keurig settings for a normal, full cup of coffee — you can go larger if you have a thermos nearby, but a mug typically works best (again, make sure there’s no K-cup inside). Run the descaling mix through and wait for the cup to fill.

If your Keurig has a bad scale problem, it may not be able to fill up a full cup even on the right settings. That’s okay, the solution takes a little time to work. Continue filling cup after cup and pouring them down the drain. If you used the white vinegar solution, the room is really going to start smelling like acidic vinegar about now, but keep going until the reservoir is empty.

By the end of the reservoir, the water should be pouring more smoothly and filling up cups with a bit more ease. If you don’t notice any improvement at all, you may want to fill another tank with more solution and repeating the whole process, just to make sure.

Step 4: Flush the Keurig with fresh water

Leave the Keurig to sit for a bit while still on, around 30 minutes. This gives the acid time to break down remaining scale inside the brewer. Now carefully clean the reservoir and wipe down the inside to remove all traces of the vinegar/solution. When finished, fill up the reservoir with clean, fresh water. It’s time to flush out all of the descaling solution from the system.

Once again, set the Keurig for a full cup and start running cup after cup of water through the brewer, dumping each away. Once the first reservoir of water is empty, fill it up again and continue doing the same thing. It will take a least two full tanks of water to flush out your Keurig, so prepare to get rid of a lot of water.

At this point, you may want to do a taste test to see if you can taste any of the descaler remaining in the water. If you can, don’t be afraid to flush out a couple more reservoirs of water, as the flushing can never be too thorough.

Final tip: Preventing scale

Generally, scale forms more easily from tap water. That’s why Keurig suggests you use filtered or bottled water when possible to fill up the brewer and help keep scale problems to a minimum. Bottled water is a pricey option, but you may want to consider buying a simple water filter to use solely for your Keurig, if scale has been an ongoing issue for you.

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• Here’s how to clean a Keurig in just a few simple steps
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How to set up your Google Home device in 10 easy steps

Did you recently buy a Google Home, Home Mini, or Home Max? It’s time to set up your brand new speaker and voice assistant. This device can do a whole lot, from playing music to reading the weather to controlling your smart home devices — and all you need to do to get the attention of Google Assistant is to say “OK, Google” or “Hey, Google.” We break down how to set up your Google Home so that you can get started with all the things this product can do.

Step 1: (In case it’s not obvious) plug it in

To get started, first plug your Google Home device into the wall. There is no power button on the Google Home, so as long as it’s plugged into an outlet, it’s on. Wait a few minutes for it to light up, and it will then begin looking for your phone to set up a Bluetooth connection. Keep your phone on hand so you’ll know when the two are ready to be synced.

Step 2: Download the Google Home app

Whether you use an iPhone or Android, you can find the Google Home app in the App Store or on Google Play. When prompted, agree to turn on location permissions, as this makes it easier for the device to report accurate local weather, let you know the nearest Walgreens, etc. Be sure your smartphone is connected to your home Wi-Fi, as this is how the Google Home will be able to access your network information.

Step 3: Sign in with Google

In order to use a Google Home device, you’ll need a Google account. If you already have a gmail.com email address, that’s perfect — go ahead and enter that. If you don’t already have one, it’s time to get with the program. Head on over to Gmail.com on your laptop or smartphone to create a new account. Using your new Gmail account, sign into the Google Home app.

Be sure to set the location of your Google Home device, as you’ll need this for things like local weather reports, traffic conditions, and commute times. In order to provide you with accurate commute times, Google Assistant will need to know the addresses which you call home and work. Under “Personal Info,” you’ll see a section that lets you enter these addresses. When you’re done, you’ll be able to ask Google Assistant “how long is my commute?” while you’re getting ready in the morning, and it will give you a real-time look at what traffic conditions are like on the freeway.

Step 4: Take the tutorial

The Google Home app will prompt you to take a tutorial, which we recommend you do. Going through a tour of the device will give you a sense of the wide array of functions that Google Home devices and Google Assistant offers and how to use them effectively.

Step 5: Link your music accounts

Now to the important stuff — music! With Google Home, you can choose among four different supported music services: Google Play Music, Youtube, Spotify, and Pandora. To get the most out of this function, it’s nice to have a Google Play Music or Spotify premium account, which let you request albums and shuffle to new songs without having to sit through endless ads. At this point, Google Home devices cannot access the music libraries on your phone or computer, so you won’t be able to jam out to your iTunes playlists.

Step 6: Set up your preferences

To fully personalize your Google Home device, tap the menu button on the left hand side of the app, then tap “Account Preferences.” This will take you to a bunch of optional features that Google Assistant offers, so you can make the device uniquely yours based on what suits your lifestyle.

Step 7: Change what Google Assistant calls you

If you scroll down in the app to “Personal Info,” you’ll see a spot that lets you change your nickname, and you can even teach Google Assistant to pronounce it correctly. So whether you want the voice assistant to call you “Ma’am,” “Governor,” or “Mary Poppins,” your wish is your Google Home device’s command.

Dan Baker/Digital Trends

Step 8: Change Your news settings

By tapping on News and then Customize, you can select which news sources you’d like the Google Home to pull from when reading you the news. Whether you’re an NPR junkie, NBC News follower, or Fox News fan, you’ll be able to change the sources at your convenience. If you say “OK Google, listen to the news,” your Google Home device will then give you a news report that’s customized to your preferences.

Step 9: Add compatible smart home products

Google Home devices are compatible with a wide array of smart home products, including Nest thermostats, Philips Hue lightbulbs, and Samsung SmartThings. In the app, tap on Home Control to add a new device. Be sure that these smart home devices are all on the same Wi-Fi network, otherwise you won’t be able to control them from the Google Home. Once all the devices are set up, you’ll be able to say “OK Google, dim the lights,” and your Philips Hue bulbs will adjust themselves to your requested setting.

Step 10: Start talking to Google

Once your Google Home is all set up, it’s time to start using the little guy. There are thousands of questions you can ask Google. Need some inspiration? Give the upper-left-hand menu button a tap, and select “What can you do?” The app will give you some suggestions. For example, if you need to change the volume of the music, say “OK Google, volume — ” and then say a number between 1 and 11. It’s time to start chatting away with your new voice assistant!

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New to Snapchat? Follow our guide and go from newbie to pro

Snapchat is a popular photo-messaging app that allows users to take photos, record videos, add drawings, and send them to their friends. When you receive a message on the app, commonly referred to as a snap, it will appear for only a few seconds (or a bit longer, depending on your settings), but once you click away or the time limit expires, it’s gone for good.

Whether you’re a Snapchat veteran or a complete newbie, our guide will get you started and run through some of the app’s more integral features, including how to send and receive snaps and interact with the app’s Stories feature. Taking into account the 2018 update — which changed the interface and how many users interact with app — we help demystify the most popular form of social media among young adults.

Getting started

First of all, you need to download the app from either the App Store or Google Play. Once it’s installed, click the icon to open it. Tap Sign Up, enter your email address and a secure password.

Next, you need to choose your username, which will be used to identify you on Snapchat. Make sure it’s something you like and will be able to remember easily because you won’t be able to change it after you set it. From there, you need to do a few more things before you can start snapping. Note: You must be at least 13 years old to use Snapchat.

Adjust your settings

Before you start using Snapchat, make sure to take a look at your settings by tapping your Bitmoji or profile icon in the upper-left corner of your screen. If you have added to your Story in the last 24 hours, a preview will appear there instead of these icons, but tapping it will function the same. Locate the gear icon in the upper-right corner of the resulting menu to update your personal information, including who can send you snaps and view your Stories. You can also verify your email here, clear conversations caches, and set up login verification.

Creating your Bitmoji

Since July 2016 — when Snapchat acquired Bitstrips and Bitmoji — you are able to create personalized cartoon avatars and stickers to use within the app. If you want to create a Bitmoji avatar (you probably do; they’re a lot of fun), click the Bitmoji option in Settings to be redirected to the Bitmoji app. From there, you can create an avatar and link your Bitmoji to your Snapchat account.

Find and add friends

To add friends on Snapchat, tap Add Friends on your profile. If you sync your contacts, all of your friends with Snapchat accounts will be displayed here. When a friend adds you, a yellow notification will appear on your profile icon (as seen from the camera) and you will see “1 Snapchatter added you!” under Add Friends. To add a friend who has already added you, tap +Accept next to their name in the Add Friends menu.

Create your first snap

When you first open Snapchat, it will automatically activate the camera. You can easily adjust the focus by tapping on the screen. If you tap your face while in selfie mode, you will activate filters. To switch from the rear-facing to the front-facing camera, tap the camera icon (with the cute little smiley face in it) in the upper-right corner. To turn on the flash, tap the lightning symbol to the left of the camera icon. To snap a photo, tap the circle at the bottom of the screen. Tap and hold the circle the take a video. With Snapchat, videos are recorded in 10-second increments, but you can record multiple snaps (up to six) if you hold the record button. A preview of each snap will appear in the left corner of your screen.

Spicing up your snaps

One of the greatest things about Snapchat is that it offers plenty of features to make your snaps more interesting. You can doodle, add different hues, emojis, stickers, text, and adjust the time limit of your messages. You can even duplicate parts of the photos you take and turn them into stickers.

How to add text

If you want to add text to your photos to give them a bit more context, press the T icon in the upper-right corner of your screen after you take a snap. This will bring up the standard method to add text to your snap. Pressing the icon again will cycle through several more options, including centered and left-aligned text. You can change the color of the text by moving your cursor along the slider on the right side of the screen. The free-floating text can also be made larger or smaller by pinching on the screen and moved around with a single finger.

How to add doodles

To add a doodle to your snap, tap on the pencil tool underneath the T icon, which is located in the top-right hand corner. You can change the color by adjusting the slider. Then, use your finger to draw on the photo. If you make a mistake, don’t worr᷾y — you can easily undo your mistake by tapping the arrow on the left of the pencil. Tap the pencil again to return to the original menu.

How to add a cool filter or effect

Are you trying to add different hues to your snaps? First, make sure you have filters enabled. You need to share your location with the app because many of the filters are location-based. After you have the filters enabled, simply swipe your finger left or right on the screen and you’ll be able to preview each available filter or frame.

How to adjust the time limit

By adjusting the time limit, you can choose how long you want your recipient to be able to view your snap. You can adjust the time up from 1 to 10 seconds. There is also a No Limit option, but the message will still disappear after it has been closed. Tap the stopwatch icon at the bottom of the drop-down menu after you take a snap to adjust this setting.

How to save your snaps

If you want to save your snap before sending, or before you cover it in stickers or doodles, tap on the downwards pointing arrow at the bottom of the screen to download it. You can then choose to save it your Memories — a personal collection of snaps and stories on the app — or on your phone’s Camera Roll. If you want to save an image to your phone, Snapchat must have access to your photo album. If you don’t like the snap you took, and want to start completely over, click the small grey X in the upper-left corner to delete your current snap and return to your camera.

Sending your first snap

Now that you opened an account and added a few friends, you’re ready to send your first snap! To send a snap after you’ve taken one, tap the blue arrow in the bottom-right corner. Your contact list will appear, and you can choose who you want to send it to. With Snapchat, there is no limit to how many people you can send a snap to, so have fun with it and send your snap to as many friends as you want (although keep in mind they get a notification for each one). You can also choose to add it your Story (a collection of snaps that will stay on your profile for 24 hours) from this menu as well or add it to a public Story. When you’re ready to send your snap, tap the white send icon in the lower right corner.

If you already have a photo in your phone you want to share on Snapchat, click the small icon under the larger circle you use to take a photo from the camera (it looks like two photos overlapping). You will then be transferred to the Memories section of Snapchat. Here, you also find the Camera Roll tab, which can be used to browse the photos stored on your phone. Simply tap one of the pictures, click the three vertical dots in the upper-right corner to edit it, and hit send when you’re ready.

Viewing received snaps

To view your received snaps, go to the camera screen, and swipe right to access the Friends menu. You can also access this menu by tapping the Friends icon in the lower-left corner of the camera screen. If you have any unread messages, a circular notification should appear on this icon. Once you reach the menu, if there is a filled-in icon (blue for text, red for photo, or purple for video) next to any of your friend’s names, that means you haven’t opened their snap yet. If you see an empty or white icon (or nothing at all), that means you’ve already viewed it. You can also see if you missed any snaps by clicking a particular person’s name and scrolling up in the chat log.

To see if your friends have received your messages, look under the name of the person you want to check. There will be a small box or arrow (in one of the three aforementioned colors) underneath their name. If either icon is white, that means they’ve opened it and it will tell you when they opened it to the right of that location. If they haven’t, it will tell you when the message was delivered.

Facebook’s ‘downvotes’ test tries to fix comment moderation

Back in 2016, Facebook reportedly chose to roll out Reactions instead of a dislike button, because the latter would’ve sown too much negativity. According to The Daily Beast, though, the social network is now testing a “downvote” button, which has its own place underneath comments separate from Reactions. While it’s easy to think of it as the antithesis to Like, Facebook told us that’s not the case at all. “We are not testing a dislike button,” a spokesperson told us. “We are exploring a feature for people to give us feedback about comments on public page posts. This is running for a small set of people in the US only.”

Facebook is testing downvoting comments pic.twitter.com/SBOSQITotO

— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) February 8, 2018

A real downvote feature has the potential to be abused on the world’s largest social network — people could use it on anything they don’t agree with, even if the comment is in no way misleading or inappropriate. We’re told that it doesn’t work like Reddit’s downvotes, though. Users won’t see how many downvotes a comment has, because it’s not a user-facing feature: it was designed to be an easy way to report inappropriate content, because the current reporting method takes a few steps to accomplish.

Even a comment with lots of downvotes won’t get buried into oblivion in the way Reddit’s downvoted posts are. (You could probably hide anything you downvote, though, in the same way you can hide comments you report using the current method.) As with any Facebook experiment, only a small number of people are currently seeing the option, and whether it makes its way to wider release remains to be seen.

Source: The Daily Beast

Apple Investigating AirPods That Allegedly Caught Fire in Florida

Florida resident Jason Colon was listening to his AirPods while at the gym this week when they started to malfunction, and a white smoke allegedly started pouring out.

According to Colon, he then left the AirPods sitting on a piece of gym equipment and ran to get help, and when he got back, one of the AirPods was charred and destroyed.

“It was already like this. It was already popped. I didn’t see it happen, but I mean, it was already fried! You can see flame damage,” Colon told a local channel 8 news station.

It appears no one else at the gym was around to see what happened to the AirPod, so it’s not clear if the device did spontaneously explode. There have been no prior reports of issues with AirPods, but it is not uncommon for iPhones and other devices to see one off battery issues that can result in fire.

According to an Apple spokesperson, Apple is investigating the incident and will be reaching out to Colon to figure out what happened.

Tag: AirPods
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Apple signs ‘Big Sick’ writers for a series about immigrant stories

Apple has added yet another scripted series to its lineup: Little America, a half-hour anthology series based on true stories about immigrants in the US featured in Epic Magazine. The company has tapped Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, writers of the Oscar-nominated indie hit The Big Sick, as well as SMILF executive producer Lee Eisenberg and Master of None co-creator Alan Yang to make the series for Apple.

Eisenberg will serve as showrunner of Little America and write for it alongside Gordon and Nanjiani, while Yang will executive produce. Per its description, the series will be “a funny, romantic, heartfelt and inspiring look beyond the headlines at the lives of immigrants in America at a time when their stories are more relevant than ever,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Little America is the latest series announced by Apple, which has picked up plenty of original programming in the last year. The company has signed on three shows from Reese Witherspoon’s production company Hello Sunshine, including one starring SNL’s Kristen Wiig, another based on Kathleen Barber’s novel Are You Sleeping and an as-yet-untitled show starring and created by Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston. Apple also signed the Steven Spielberg-produced anthology Amazing Stories, a documentary series by Rock of Ages’ Matthew Weaver and a space opera by the Battlestar Galactica reboot creator Ronald D. Moore.

Via: The Hollywood Reporter

Source: Deadline