Google Play Services 12.2.09 fixes Android’s ‘Check for Update’ feature

You can force the update now, but tread carefully if you choose to do so.

The ‘Check for Update’ feature in Android has been a real piece of work for some time now. It was announced in September that this was being reworked to actually pull in new updates rather than just seeing if one was available in your area, but the rollout was delayed due to a bug with Google Play Services.

Thankfully, it would appear that things are now working as they were intended.

A few Redditors recently shared that the Check for Update button wasn’t doing anything with Play Services v11, but updating to v12.2.09 actually started to pull in the latest February security patch that Google just released.

Play Services v12 is currently limited to those enrolled in the Google Play Services beta, and if you’re not currently enrolled in this, you can do so here and get access to the latest beta version when the next update drops.

Alternatively, you can skip the line and go straight to downloading the APK file for it. Some users have reported that they’ve gone through this process successfully, but if you’re not careful, you could end up breaking Play Services and needing to factory reset your phone.

There’s no exact timeframe as to when v12 of Play Services will be made available for everyone, but seeing as how it’s already in a beta form, I’d expect it to roll out to the general public within a matter of days.

Google Pixelbook, 3 months later: Still the best, still frustrating

Top 5 tips for getting the most from your Spotify subscription

Spotify is easy to grasp and difficult to master.

Spotify is a music service that is built on simplicity and convenience. You can start up a radio station and it will play for as long as you need it to, be that minutes or hours. You can find massive playlists that will keep you jamming out all day, and you follow playlists that will evolve and change as newer, better music comes out.

Spotify may be easy to pick up, but once you have it, getting the most out of your Spotify subscription can take a little know-how. Here’s how to make sure that you can make the most of Spotify on your Android phone.

1. Set your audio quality wisely

Spotify offers a range of audio qualities to users who may be looking for the clearest audio possible or audio that sips data rather than gulps it. Unfortunately, you can’t separately set the audio quality while streaming on mobile data — it uses the same audio quality setting as streaming on Wi-Fi. So before you crank your streaming audio quality up to “Extreme”, consider how much you intend to use Spotify with a data connection, such as in the car or while working out.

To set your quality, go to My Library and tap the gear icon in the top right corner; the audio settings are about halfway down the menu.

If you’re looking for good audio quality without kissing your data caps goodbye, there’s still some good news, if you can plan ahead. You can set the audio quality for downloaded music separately from streaming audio quality. Unless your phone is already lacking storage space, I recommend setting downloaded audio quality to Extreme and loading up for listening while on the go.

2. Load up for offline

Spotify doesn’t allow you to cache songs for offline playback, so everything you want to listen to offline you have to download manually. It’s therefore worth getting at least a few favorite albums and playlists downloaded should you lose your connection.

You can download albums and playlists, but not radio stations or individual songs. If you like a particular radio station, you could add the songs from the station to a playlist for offline playback, but you’ll have to do it one song at a time.

Whatever you download, just get something saved for offline. You do not want to get caught without your music out there in the big, bad noisy world.

3. Be picky with what you save to Library

Spotify has tens of millions of songs to listen to, and through radio stations, curated playlists, and Discover, you’ll listen to more and more new music, but make sure you really like a song before you save it to your library. Spotify only allows you to add 10,000 songs to your library, and once you hit that limit, you’ll have to start cleaning albums and songs you don’t like as much as the new songs you want to add.

The easiest rule of thumb here is to add individual songs to your library rather than adding whole albums if you don’t like each and every song in there. I’m already over 5,000 songs, and I’m going to have to start weeding through it before long.

4. Turn up the radio

The best way to refine your selections on Spotify is to listen to radio stations frequently and rate what it serves up. Even if you’re someone who prefers to listen to personal playlists most of the time, dip into radio stations like your Daily Mixes from time to time and get to rating your suggested music.

Spotify will make better mixes for you and suggest playlists that (hopefully) better align with your interests, which means that when you dip into a radio station, you’ll be less likely to dive for the ‘Skip’ button.

5. Play with playlists

Spotify’s strengths might be in its radio stations, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t build your own playlists. By making your own playlists, you can then have Spotify give you more customized radio stations through Playlist Radio. Adding music from various radio stations to playlists also makes it easier to listen to them again and download them for offline playback.

Your turn

What tricks do you have for taking Spotify to the limit? Share them in the comments, and share what you’ve been listening to on Spotify!

How to get started with Spotify

Google reportedly working on ‘Yeti’ gaming hardware and streaming service

The project is called ‘Yeti,’ and it was originally scheduled for a launch in late 2017.

Between smartphones, connected speakers, online advertising, self-driving cars, and more, Google’s involved with just about every industry out there. Following all of its current projects, Google’s next venture could be in the world of video games.

According to a new report from The Information, Google’s been working on a project called “Yeti” for over two years. Mario Queiroz and Majd Bakar are the two Vice Presidents leading Yeti’s development, and this consists of both a hardware gaming console and a cloud-based streaming service (not unlike what we’ve seen from PlayStation Now, Xbox GamePass, and NVIDIA GeForce Now).

The console will likely be sold under the “Made by Google” umbrella similar to the Pixel 2, Home Mini, and Pixelbook, but it’s still unclear how the cloud streaming service will work.

What games will you be able to play with Yeti? That’s the million-dollar question.

PlayStation Now lets you stream PlayStation games, Xbox GamePass subscribers have access to Xbox games, and GeForce Now enables you to stream your entire collection of PC games on Steam. Will Yeti only allow users to play Android games, or will Google be able to partner with other developers/publishers so you can have access to bigger titles like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto? I’d certainly hope it turns out being the latter of those two scenarios, but it remains to be seen what happens.

It’s reported that Google originally planned to launch Yeti in time for the holiday shopping season last Christmas, but it was hit with a delay that obviously prevented this from happening. There’s no word in regards to Yeti’s new launch date, but based on what we know, it’s possible Google will use the stage at I/O in May to do the official unveiling.

There are still a lot of unknowns surrounding Yeti, but even so, what would you like to see from a Google-made gaming console?

Google Play Services 12.2.09 fixes Android’s ‘Check for Update’ feature

Cortana looks great on Microsoft Launcher, but challenges and competition remain

Microsoft has made it easier than ever to use Cortana on Android devices, but how much does that matter?

Microsoft’s presence on Android continues to grow. There are dozens of apps available in the Play Store from Microsoft, many of which are at the top of their respective categories such as Office, Microsoft Launcher, and SwiftKey. But Microsoft is trying to bring its digital assistant, Cortana, to the forefront and compete against the likes of Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri. The company has made it easier than ever to access Cortana by integrating it with the beta version of Microsoft Launcher.

Cortana was already available on Android through an app, but this integration with the popular Microsoft Launcher brings a new design and the likelihood that people unfamiliar with the assistant will try it out.

Because the integration is in beta, it isn’t fair to do a full review, but I’ll go through the concepts behind the integration, what it does well, and how it can improve.

In addition to browsing through features and the look of the integration, I also tried using Cortana over the weekend much more than usual and compared it against Google Assistant and, to a lesser extent, Alexa. When I wanted to perform a task, I would ask both Cortana and Google Assistant to find out which assistant handled it better.

Easy access

Since Cortana was already available on Android, one of the biggest things that the integration of Cortana and Microsoft Launcher brings is quick and easy access to the assistant. You can get to it by either pressing the microphone button on the search bar on the home screen or within your cards section after swiping from the left. You can also have a card dedicated to Cortana in this section that lists some examples of what you can ask Cortana to do.

The Microsoft Launcher is worth using on Android even if you’re not a die-hard Windows user.

This might seem like it doesn’t save much time, after all, you can setup Cortana as your default digital assistant on Android devices and can set your phone to summon it with a long press of home, pressing a button, or squeezing your phone, depending on what hardware you have. But I don’t think this integration is aimed at people who already know about and use Cortana on Android. Sure, it makes it easier and makes it so you have one less app to manage, but I think a big reason for this integration is to attract users who like Microsoft Launcher but haven’t jumped on board with Cortana.

Microsoft Launcher is very popular and respected among users outside of the circles of Windows Phone converts and Microsoft aficionados. Bringing Cortana aboard makes it more natural for these users to convert to Cortana and also makes it very simple for people who already like Cortana.

Using Cortana also allows you to stay within the Microsoft ecosystem. You can schedule things through Outlook, add to-do list items in Wunderlist or to your Microsoft account, and can avoid using Google, which is important to some users.

Sleek new look

The integration of Cortana into Microsoft Launcher also comes with a new look. Personally, I like the look, but I also agree with Windows Central Executive Editor, Daniel Rubino, that Microsoft needs to unify the look of the many versions of Cortana.

When you summon Cortana within the launcher, it pops up on the bottom of the screen with a prompt that says “You can ask me like this.” This pop up is an overlay over the rest of your home screen which makes Cortana feel like part of the launcher, rather than just a shortcut to an app. This creates a smooth flow of access. The design is simple, yet shows you how to use the assistant. You can also hit a keyboard icon to enter requests with text rather than voice.

Stiff competition

Cortana may have a big part in Microsoft’s plans for the future, but it’s facing stiff competition now from giants in the industry. Google Assistant has thousands and thousands of third-party integrations. Alexa is coming to more and more devices, including Amazon’s own Echo Dot which saw massive success over the holiday period. Many people are already choosing which assistant works for them and selecting the hardware to match. Once a consumer buys a set of Google Home speakers or puts an Alexa device in every room of their house, the chances of them even trying Cortana are likely minuscule.

In my testing this weekend I was taken aback at how much Google Assistant can do. People use digital assistants differently, but for me, Google Assistant tackled my smart devices, messaging needs, and other requests better than Cortana.

Cortana varies quite a bit between regions, one of its biggest faults, and for me, the UK version of Cortana just doesn’t do what I need it to. Asking it to play an artist on Spotify yields music video results. It can’t integrate with Whatsapp to send dictated messages. These are two major ways that I would use a digital assistant and easily did using Google Assistant. Some of these issues could be credited to the Cortana integration with Microsoft Launcher being in beta, but I tried the same requests on the app version of Cortana and got similar results.

This could just be region related. I know many coworkers and people who use Cortana on a number of devices, including asking her to play music on the Harman Kardon Invoke. So this might be something that is easily fixable but Microsoft needs to make feature parity a priority for Cortana on all devices, regardless of what country they’re in.

The best launchers for Android

A promising start, with obstacles

Using Cortana through Microsft Launcher over the weekend gave me mixed feelings. On the one hand, I love the look, feel, and easy access that the integration provides. But on the other hand, unless Cortana as an assistant improves, I predict that many people will happily use Google Assistant or Alexa with no issues.

By integrating Cortana into a popular Android launcher, I think Microsoft might be able to lure some people to try the assistant and depending on their needs, convince them to use it, especially if those users are in the United States.

The development team behind Microsoft Launcher has done a great job of making an attractive launcher that integrates Microsoft services. Now, the teams behind the integrated services need to make sure they step up and retain the users that are pointed in their direction.

Download: Microsoft Launcher (free)

Renault-Nissan and Didi plan self-driving ride service in China

Didi, the company that purchased the rights to Uber in China, plans to build an electric, autonomous ride-sharing service with Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi and other automakers. The two companies are currently in the exploration stages, but Renault said it will launch “robo-vehicle ride-hailing services” with Didi as part of its Alliance 2022 strategic plan.

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi previously announced that it will build 12 pure EVs that share platforms and components, along with another 40 autonomous cars. As part of that plan, it will supply Didi with autonomous EVs for its ride-hailing program, according to Reuters. “This cooperation fits with the alliance’s expansion in vehicle electrification, autonomy, connectivity and new mobility services,” Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Senior VP Ogi Redzic said in a statement.

Automakers have been very busy lately announcing ride-sharing partnerships or their own services. Mercedes recently unveiled Cars2Go, BMW has DriveNow and US automakers like GM and Ford have held discussions with ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft. Many of those companies will develop models specifically for ride-sharing and not individual consumers.

Didi has enlisted other automakers for its network, including Chinese EV giant BAIC, Ford partner Changan Automobile Group, Kia Motors and others. Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi may become more than just a car supplier for the venture and work with Didi on it in a broader way. With 10 sub-brands, the alliance is now the world’s largest automaker, having sold 10.6 million cars in 2017. Thanks to the Leaf and other models, it also sold more EVs than anyone else last year.

Source: Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi

Twitter bans ‘deepfake’ AI-generated porn

The fight against the spread of “deepfake” porn has another ally: Twitter. The social network has told Motherboard that it’s banning accounts that are either the original posters of AI-edited videos or dedicated to posting these clips. These face swaps violate the company’s “intimate media” policy, which bars any sexually explicit photos or videos produced or shared without someone’s consent. It’s on par with revenge porn, in that regard.

The stance echoes those of Pornhub, Discord and Gfycat, all of whom have said they won’t allow deepfakes and other nonconsensual porn. There’s no guarantee that it can completely eliminate these posts, but its stance is at least clear. Twitter is in an unusual position among larger social networks in that it allows sexually explicit material as long as it’s flagged properly — Facebook doesn’t allow it in the first place.

However well Twitter enforces the rules, it might not be enough. Reddit’s deepfakes subreddit, where the AI-built porn effectively began, is still running and has tens of thousands of subscribers. It may be difficult to thwart the practice on Twitter and elsewhere if the necessary tools (and many videos) are widely available. We’ve asked Reddit for comment on the group and will let you know if it responds. For now, though, a key part of the problem remains unsolved.

Source: Motherboard

Snapchat and NBC are going all-in on the Winter Olympics

Snapchat is teaming up with NBC to put the 2018 Winter Olympics in your pocket. Starting February 10th you’ll be able to watch the Games live in the Discover tab. More than that, it sounds like there will be daily highlights as well. “Snapchatters can expect one pivotal moment from NBC’s primetime broadcast to be live in Snapchat each day, and can sign up for notifications” in the app, the company says.

More than that, there are two produced shows for Discovery as well, with one about snowboarders live right now, and another about Team USA athletes that runs from tomorrow through the 25th. There will also be a curated Our Stories feed from folks in Olympic Village.

If you couldn’t make the trek to PyeongChang but still want in on the action, Snapchat has you covered with new lenses and stickers. NBC Sports will also provide real-time leaderboards, event schedules and news coverage of the Games via Context Cards. Oh, and you’ll be able to follow a handful of athletes as well.

Snapchat announced its partnership with NBC back in October, and this looks like the first result of that. The social network has also gained some new users, and this partnership could drive more adoption from the mainstream audience. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like you’ll be able to buy a dancing hotdog plush decked out in downhill skis and a helmet.

DirecTV offers on-demand 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos for Winter Olympics

Comcast and Hulu may have already revealed plans for Winter Olympics coverage, but today, DirecTV is letting us in on what it has in store for the next several days. In addition to the regular prime time coverage anyone with access to NBC’s family of networks is privy to, the AT&T-owned company has a few other things up its sleeve to enhance your viewing experience. We’re talking 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos, for starters, when the festivities kick off this Thursday.

While DirecTV will offer ultra crisp and vibrant 4K HDR visuals alongside immersive Dolby Atmos audio, those two features will only be available next-day and on-demand. If you’ll recall, Comcast is doing the same. Dolby tells me this is the first time Atmos has been live produced in the US, even though the audio format isn’t available for live viewing. The company is already working with BT Sport and Sky in the UK for live Dolby Atmos during Premier League and UEFA Champions League soccer, so viewers in the US could get the same soon enough. Of course, that’s if the content providers see fit to make it available. Dolby Atmos is also available for live events in several other countries too, so hopefully it’s only a matter of time before live broadcasts here in the US take advantage.

In terms of events that will feature 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos, DirecTV didn’t divulge a full list. However, it did mention the Opening Ceremony, figure skating, short track speed skating, ski jumping and snowboard big air by name, so it sounds like all of the popular items are covered. AT&T also says that both DirecTV and U-verse customers can take advantage of a 4-in-1 viewing experience for seeing multiple events at once. This also allows you to watch the action alongside event listings, athlete bios, medal counts and more. There will also be a library of over 500 on-demand videos from NBC that cover highlights, athlete profiles, a few full-event replays and, of course, medal ceremonies.

If streaming is more your style, DirecTV Now subscribers will have access to the NBCUniversal networks, but NBC proper is limited to about 44 markets in the US. DirecTV and U-verse customers will also have access to NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app using their account credentials — just like subscribers to other cable and TV services. The Olympics are always popular, so it always nice to see cable companies and TV providers making the effort to enhance the viewing experience for customers, even if there are some caveats.

Source: AT&T

Google Drive enables commenting on Microsoft Office files

It’s not that hard to convert Microsoft Office files into G Suite docs, sheets or slides, so you and your teammates or clients can collaborate via Google Drive. But thing is, it’s just so much easier if you don’t have to. Now, Google has rolled out a feature that gives you the power to comment directly on Microsoft Office files, PDFs and images uploaded on Drive. You simply have to highlight the part you want to comment on in Preview mode (like what you’d do on a G Suite file), click the Comment icon that pops up and type what you want to say.

You know what makes this update even sweeter? Your collaborators don’t even need to have Drive installed. They can open, say, a document on Microsoft Word, and they’ll still be able to see the comments you left and be able to respond to them. Google says this is just one example of “interoperability between G Suite and Microsoft Office products.” There’s also a Drive plug-in for Outlook that makes it easier to attach files from the cloud storage to your email, and vice versa.

By giving you the option to work on non-G Suite files within Drive, Google is hoping to lighten the workload for you a bit. You don’t have to open another program if you just want to review a file and add feedback, after all, so you can quickly go back to your main task at hand. If you want to give it a spin, open one of your Office files and give it a try: the feature will make its way to your Drive today, if it hasn’t yet.

Source: Google

Data from wearables helped teach an AI to spot signs of diabetes

In a new study conducted with the UCSF Department of Medicine, a neural network developed by a startup called Cardiogram was able to detect diabetes with nearly 85 percent accuracy, just by looking at people’s heart beats over time. And the kicker? As always, the study didn’t require any fancy medical hardware — just Apple Watches, Fitbits, Android Wear devices, and other wearables with heart rate sensors.

“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever worked on, but the most rewarding,” Cardiogram co-founder Brandon Ballinger told Engadget. (Coming from someone who helped overhaul Healthcare.gov, that’s saying something.)

Cardiogram has conducted similar studies in the past, like when it trained that neural network — DeepHeart — to search for telltale signs of strokes in a pool of roughly 6,000 users. This undertaking required even more work. For the new study, which also attempted to spot high cholesterol, sleep apnea and hypertension in that sea of heartbeats, the startup worked with a larger pool of 14,011 users. All told, Cardiogram wound up with 57,675 person-weeks of heart rate information, most of which was used to hone DeepHeart’s sense of what is and isn’t a normal heartbeat pattern.

In their quest to find meaning in all this data, Cardiogram tried a handful of approaches. One was to train the model with a so-called “semi-supervised” learning method. “First, you have an unsupervised phase where the algorithm is presented with data and is not told who has diabetes and who doesn’t,” Ballinger explained. “And it learns how normal heart rates vary.”

In a subsequent supervised phase, DeepHeart was given a limited sample of labeled data from known diabetics to help it figure out what kinds of heart rate variances correspond to diabetes. Another method, heuristic pre-training, yielded even better results.

Curiously, that impressive 85 percent detection rate came when the neural network wasn’t pre-trained at all, an outcome that led the team to believe there’s “potential benefit from combining hand-engineered features with deep learning.” In other words, don’t count on completely removing humans from the process of spotting disease.”

To be clear, though, DeepHeart wasn’t designed to diagnose diabetes. As sophisticated as the algorithm is, the link between the diabetes and its effects on your heart rate is a subtle one, and making crystal clear determinations using consumer-grade heart sensors isn’t possible yet. Instead, Ballinger says the goal is to help screen for diabetes in people who otherwise had no idea they were at risk for it. The potential impact is huge, too: the CDC reports that more than 100 million adults in the United States live with either diabetes or prediabetes. And out of the people who have diabetes, roughly 25 percent of them don’t even know about it.

The kind of diabetic pre-screening DeepHeart makes possible will eventually wind up in Cardiogram’s app, though Ballinger wouldn’t confirm when that would actually happen. As valuable as this potential tool is, though, the company hasn’t ruled out the possibility of eventually offering full-blown diagnoses too.

“If the Apple Watch Series 5 winds up having a glucose sensor or a blood pressure sensor, we could actually do it,” Ballinger said.