Physical ‘Emoji Keyboard’ for Macs and iOS Devices Lets You Type Emoji Faster
EmojiWorks is today debuting the first hardware-based emoji keyboard, which is designed to make it easier for users to quickly type their favorite emoji using built-in shortcut keys. The keyboard looks like a standard Apple-style keyboard, but it includes emoji symbols.
Each key on the Emoji Keyboard from EmojiWorks includes an emoji in addition to a letter, which can be inserted by pressing a dedicated emoji key along with the key that houses the desired emoji. The keyboard features many popular emoji like the poop, thumbs up, unicorn head, taco, heart, and a series of faces.
According to EmojiWorks, typing emoji with the keyboard is up to 10 times faster than the standard emoji typing method. The Bluetooth-enabled keyboard is able to work with both Macs and iOS devices. Because the emoji shortcuts are pre-programmed and the emoji pre-printed on the keyboard, the emoji keyboard is not customizable. Some favorite emoji may be missing, so while you can ask a co-worker to get tacos for lunch, you’re out of luck if you want burritos.
There are three separate emoji keyboard models available: the Emoji Keyboard ($79.95), the Emoji Keyboard Plus ($89.95), and the Emoji Keyboard Pro ($99.95). While the hardware is the same in all three, the number of emoji shortcuts differs. The cheapest Emoji Keyboard offers one emoji per key, for a total of 47 emoji. The Emoji Keyboard Plus includes 94 emoji, and the Emoji Keyboard Pro includes more than 120 emoji, with three shortcuts per key.
Each version of the Emoji Keyboard can be pre-ordered from the EmojiWorks website starting today.
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Activision Blizzard Buys ‘Candy Crush Saga’ Developer King Digital for $5.9 Billion
Activision Blizzard, publisher of video games like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Destiny, has purchased Candy Crush Saga creator King Digital for $5.9 billion. Activision Blizzard has built a successful portfolio of video games on consoles and PCs, but has struggled to find the same success in the mobile space. King CEO Riccardo Zacconi notes the Candy Crush maker had 474 million monthly active mobile and Facebook users in the third quarter of 2015.
We believe that the Acquisition will position us very well for the next phase of our company’s evolution and will bring clear benefits to our players and employees. We will combine our expertise in mobile and free-to-play with Activision Blizzard’s world-class brands and proven track record of building and sustaining the most successful franchises, to bring the best games in the world to millions of players worldwide.
Activision Blizzard says the acquisition will make the company the global leader in mobile gaming while also giving the company over half a billion active monthly users in 196 countries. In the past 12 months ending September 2015, Activision Blizzard reported revenues of $4.7 billion while King reported revenues of $2.1 billion. While quarterly spending in King’s signature game, Candy Crush Saga, has declined in the past 18 months, players still spent $1.3 billion on in-app purchases in 2014 alone.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Candy Crush Saga represented 45 percent of King Digital’s quarterly revenue. King has been working to diversify its gaming portfolio to rely less on Candy Crush and remain profitable. Like Infinity Blade and Angry Birds before it, Candy Crush Saga is one of the few games to become a smash-hit cult-like success in the App Store.
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Microsoft Reduces OneDrive Storage for Office 365 and Free Users, Eliminates Unlimited Option
Microsoft tonight announced that it was making changes to its OneDrive cloud storage services, reducing the amount of storage both Office 365 and free users are granted and eliminating its unlimited option. The company says that the changes were needed to “ensure that we can continue to deliver a collaborative, connected and intelligent service.”
Since we started to roll out unlimited cloud storage to Office 365 consumer subscribers, a small number of users backed up numerous PCs and stored entire movie collections and DVR recordings. In some instances, this exceeded 75 TB per user or 14,000 times the average. Instead of focusing on extreme backup scenarios, we want to remain focused on delivering high-value productivity and collaboration experiences that benefit the majority of OneDrive users.
Office 365 Home, Personal and University subscribers will no longer have access to unlimited storage. Instead, these users will be limited to 1 TB of storage. The 100 GB and 200 GB plans are being eliminated for new users and will be replaced with a 50 GB plan for $1.99 a month, which will launch in early 2016. Free OneDrive users will see their storage decreased from 15 GB to 5 GB, with the 15 GB camera roll storage bonus also being eliminated. These changes will also roll out in early 2016.
Microsoft says it wants to make the transition for its users as easy as possible, outlining the steps its taking to notify users of the change. Office 365 subscribers that have more than 1 TB of storage will be notified and will be allowed to keep their increased storage for 12 months. Office 365 customers who no longer desire the service because of the change will be given a pro-rated refund. Free users who have used more than 5 GB of storage will have access to all their files for 12 months after the changes go into effect in early 2016 and will receive a free one-year subscription to Office 365. Individual OneDrive subscribers to the 100 GB and 200 GB plans will not be affected.
In June 2014, Microsoft boosted its storage plans for OneDrive, bumping Office 365 subscribers from 20 GB to 1 TB before adding unlimited storage in October 2014. The company also increased storage of its free service from 7 GB to 15 GB while also decreasing prices for the 100 GB and 200 GB plans.
At its “Hey Siri” event this year, Apple announced price reductions for its own cloud storage service, iCloud Drive. 5 GB of iCloud storage is free while 50 GB is priced at 99 cents per month, 200 GB is $2.99 per month and 1 TB is $9.99 per month.
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New Apple TV Gains Charts for Top Paid, Free and Grossing Apps
The new Apple TV launched on Friday with an all-new App Store, but early adopters were quick to realize that app discovery was limited to a single featured section and a manual search option — unlike the App Stores on iPhone, iPad and Mac, which have several genre-based categories and top charts for apps.
Apple has partially addressed this issue today by adding top charts to the tvOS App Store, listing the top paid apps, top free apps and top grossing apps. Confirming our previous report, games make up the majority of the top spots so far, while apps from content providers such as HBO, FOX and CBS are also popular.
Top Free Apps
1. Rayman Adventures
2. Crossy Road – Endless Arcade Hopper
3. HBO NOW
4. The Nat Geo TV
5. FOX NOW
6. SHOWTIME
7. HISTORY
8. CBS
9. CNNgo
10. Asphalt 8: Airborne
Top Paid Apps
1. Beat Sports
2. Simple X – for Plex
3. Galaxy on Fire – Manticore RISING
4. Does not Commute TV
5. Lumino City
6. Alto’s Adventure
7. Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved
8. Battle Supremacy: Evolution
9. CARROT Weather: Talking Forecast Robot
10. Oceanhorn
Top Grossing Apps
1. Beat Sports
2. Galaxy on Fire – Manticore RISING
3. Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved
4. Oceanhorn
5. Simple X – for Plex
6. Lumino City
7. Battle Supremacy: Evolution
8. Does not Commute TV
9. Transistor
10. CARROT Weather: Talking Forecast Robot
Restarting your Apple TV or force closing the App Store may be required to view the new Top Charts section. The category may still be rolling out to all users at this time.
Eric Slivka contributed to this report.
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A weekend with the new Apple TV
The iPhone 6S and iPad Pro are cool and all, but the Apple gadget that I was most looking forward to this fall was the new Apple TV. It is, quite notoriously, the device that Apple has most publicly neglected over the years. Its last big update was way back in 2012, when Apple finally added 1080p support. And even that third-gen Apple TV wasn’t too exciting, since it looked exactly the same as the one released in 2010. So yah, it was about time Apple totally rethought its approach to TV. After finally getting to test one out over the weekend, I found that the new fourth-generation Apple TV was worth the wait — though there are still plenty of issues to iron out. Slideshow-338199
Knomo Review: The Elektronista is the Perfect iPad Purse for Pocket Lovers
Knomo’s Elektronista Digital Clutch is a bag that was created through a partnership with Danish tech blogger Christiane Vejlø, who founded Danish gadget site Elektronista. The Knomo Elektronista is designed to be both functional and fashionable, serving as clutch or a crossbody bag that can hold a wide range of gadgets and iOS devices, keeping them all organized in its myriad pockets.
The Elektronista is available in four colors: Blush, which is a pink shade, Grey, Black, and Navy. I’ve been using the Grey version for the last several weeks, and it’s quickly become one of my favorite small gadget bags. The Elektronista is made from a full grain leather that’s soft to the touch and the construction is flawless with not a stitch out of place, as I would expect from a high-end bag. It has gold hardware, including gold zippers and a removable strap that attaches to the back.
At $295, the Elektronista is one of the pricier bags that Knomo sells, but the company justifies that price tag with the bag’s solid construction, huge number of custom pockets, and perks like a built-in 3,000mAh battery. It unzips at the sides so it can be used at a desk as an organizer for electronic devices and other odds and ends, and then it zips back up so it can be used as a daily purse with a magnetic front flap that keeps the contents protected.
The unzipping feature also serves as a way for the interior storage to be accessed quickly, which is handy when you need to get at something fast. The pockets inside the Elektronista are all accessible when the purse is zipped up, but with so many different pockets, it can be hard to find things inside. It can also be difficult to access some of the lower pockets, such as the little change holder, when you’re in a hurry.
The Elektronista is essentially all pockets. At the exterior of the purse, there’s a pocket in the back, where I chose to keep my cell phone for quick access, and a zippered pocket on the front flap where I kept other things I needed to access frequently. For me, this was eye drops and chapstick.
Official Plex App Now Available for New Apple TV
The much-anticipated Plex app for the Apple TV is available for download on the new set-top box as of today, allowing users to stream content from their computers to the Apple TV using the Plex Media Server software. First announced in September, the official Plex app was still in review when the new Apple TV launched last Friday, but it’s now been approved.
For those unfamiliar with Plex, it’s a media server and personal library for content like TV shows, movies, and music. It’s designed to organize personal media collections, allowing videos and music to be streamed to TVs and other devices, locally and remotely.
Plex on the new Apple TV has a gorgeous interface that makes it easy to see all of your media content at a glance. Plex adds artwork for movies, TV shows, and music, plus it includes information like cast members, plot summaries, and Rotten Tomatoes ratings.
Plex has long been available on set-top devices like the Chromcast and the Fire TV, and it’s popular with jailbreakers, but it has not previously been available on older versions of the Apple TV in an official capacity.
The Plex app for the Apple TV can be downloaded from tvOS App Store. While the app is free to download, it costs $4.99 in-app to enable streaming playback. Apple TV and iOS App Store apps are universal, so if you’ve already downloaded the app for iOS, it can be found in the Purchases section of the tvOS App Store. [Direct Link]
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Plex comes to the new Apple TV for free
The Plex team just delivered the first version of its media streaming app for the new Apple TV. Now that there’s an app store, Plex’s media player is accessible without any jailbreaking or even AirPlay sidestepping necessary and better yet, it’s free to use. All you’ll need is one of the double-height media players and the latest version of Plex Media Server to give it a try — no in-app purchases or PlexPass subscription necessary. At least for now, Plex says it’s using TVML for the app instead of writing a fully native version, which enabled it to get up and running in just five weeks.
Source: Plex Blog
Browser-Based iOS 9.1/9.2 Jailbreak Wins $1M Bounty, Will Be Sold for Corporate and Government Use
Earlier this month, exploit acquisition platform Zerodium debuted an iOS 9 bug bounty that would pay out up to three million dollars to hackers who managed to develop a browser-based untethered jailbreak for iOS 9, which it could then sell to clients interested in shelling out a lot of money to gain illicit access to iOS devices.
The contest expired at the end of October, and Zerodium today announced one hacking team had successfully created a browser-based jailbreak for iOS 9.1 and iOS 9.2, the latest versions of iOS 9, earning $1 million.
Zerodium foundar Chaouki Bekrar told Wired that the exploit developed by the hackers will be given to its customers, which include major technology, finance, and defense corporations, along with government agencies. The contest rules required the exploit to be achievable remotely without requiring user interaction beyond reading a text message or visiting a website via Chrome or Safari on an iOS device.
Bekrar confirmed that Zerodium plans to reveal the technical details of the technique to its customers, whom the company has described as “major corporations in defense, technology, and finance” seeking zero-day attack protection as well as “government organizations in need of specific and tailored cybersecurity capabilities.”
Because it’s selling the jailbreak (“likely” to U.S. customers only), Zerodium does not plan to report the vulnerabilities in the operating system to Apple, though Bekrar says the company may share the details at a later date. The jailbreak also won’t be provided to the general public, but Bekrar says Zerodium announced the results of the contest to remind people that while iOS security is “very hardened,” it’s not unbreakable.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
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Possible Upcoming Mac Pro Reference Discovered in OS X El Capitan
It’s been two years since Apple launched its radically redesigned Mac Pro, but the professional-level workstation has not seen any updates since that time despite the availability of upgraded versions of many of the components used in the machine. We may be getting closer to an update, however, as Pike’s Universum has discovered a reference to a new Mac code name of “AAPLJ951” within OS X El Capitan.
The identity of the Mac corresponding to that code name is not explicitly revealed in OS X, but Pike points to the similar AAPLJ90 code name for the current Mac Pro as a reason to believe this new machine is a Mac Pro.
The data is identical to that of the late 2015 (iMac17,1 in the same file) so it may as well be a remnant of the new iMac, but the strange thing is that the XHCI data for the late 2015 iMac is also there, which is why I believe that this is not/was not added for the/a new iMac but another Mac.
And like I said earlier in the comments, there are too many USB 3 ports defined to fit on a MacBook (Pro) and Mac Mini. This and the fact that there is already support for newer graphics chips [baked] into El Capitan… is why I think that it was added for a new Mac Pro. I personally sure hope so.
Looking toward possible specs for the next Mac Pro, it seems likely it will run on Xeon-branded Broadwell EP chips and include significantly faster graphics based on AMD’s Fury platform, along with faster memory and storage and perhaps Thunderbolt 3 connectivity involving a partial shift to USB-C connectivity.
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