Microsoft might launch a Slack-like app called Skype Teams
Slack better watch its back.
Microsoft owns Skype, and it doesn’t like that Slack is currently dominating in the messaging software space for large teams, so the company is reportedly getting ready to do something about it. According to MSPowerUser, Microsoft is developing a new messaging software that offers much of the same functionality found in Slack. The project is called Skype Teams, and it’s geared toward businesses, large teams, newsrooms, and more.
These types of organisations, including Pocket-lint, already use Slack on a daily basis, which probably upsets the people behind Skype, as that chat app has been around a lot longer and offers more premium features like video calling. But Skype Teams could lure Slack users away. It supposedly looks like Slack and offers Slack features such as channels, private messaging for groups, file sharing, and support for emojis and GIFs.
Skype Teams will also offer Threaded Conversations, allowing users to respond directly to a comment. And, of course, thanks to the foundation of Skype, users will also be able to start video chats in both channels and private messages. Keep in mind, according to TechCrunch, Microsoft once considered buying Slack for as much as $8 billion, but Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and CEO Satya Nadella were unconvinced by the idea.
Instead, they wanted Microsoft to bulk up Skype with Slack-like features. And now it looks like that’s the route Microsoft ended up taking.
Live like a king with this dick bidet
Men, ask yourselves, “is my cock really as clean as it could be?” I mean, you wash your hands after using public restrooms (or at least you should, you filthy bastards) so why wouldn’t you give your Rob Thomas a quick cleaning while you’re at it? With this new high-tech urinal you’ll be able to do just that.
Behold, the Urinary 2.0! This smart urinal is packed with sensors that monitor your stream and activates the cleaning mechanism as soon as you stop. The urinal will spritz soapy water on your hog for three seconds before a hand dryer-esque blower dries your nethers. What’s more, the wash cycle cools the spray in the summer and warms it in the winter because dammit, you deserve to be pampered every now and again. And, best of all, for those of you not hung like donkeys, the urinal will adapt its aim to spritz you right in the family jewels, not on your pants.
The Urinary 2.0 is currently in its prototype phase, though its Spanish development team — comprised of biochemist Eduard Gevorkyan, economist Ivan Giner and business coach Miguel Angel Levanteri — are currently in talks to sell their patent to another company for €680,000, or about $765,300. The team is also working on a version for the ladies as well. That means we could be just a few short years away from seeing these full-service piss pots in public restrooms across the globe! Just remember to forgo the hot wax undercoating. It’s a total ripoff.
Airbnb claims Santa Monica ban violates the Constitution
Airbnb isn’t done with lawsuits over home rental laws it doesn’t like — not by a long shot. It’s suing Santa Monica over municipal code that effectively bans “vacation rental” services through severe restrictions (you have to be home and obtain a business license, for example) and reporting requirements. For one thing, it claims that the rules violate multiple aspects of the US Constitution. They’re allegedly a violation of free speech by dictating what content people can publish. Airbnb also claims that they infringe on search and seizure rights (and the Stored Communications Act) by requiring the disclosure of sensitive customer info without legal procedures, and tread on due process rights because they’re both “vague” and don’t notify you of potential lawbreaking.
The lawsuit goes on to assert that the city is violating the Communications Decency Act’s safe harbor protections, which prevent companies from being liable for the content they host. Santa Monica requires that rental outfits both screen would-be renters and take down illegal listings, putting companies like Airbnb on the hook no matter what users do.
The allegations are an expansion of those made in the lawsuit against San Francisco, and clearly up the ante. For all intents and purposes, Airbnb is claiming that Santa Monica is un-American by preventing you from renting your home outside of very specific circumstances. Whether or not the court sees things that way is another matter, though. San Francisco officials maintain that they’re only regulating the platform, not the content, and it won’t be shocking if Santa Monica offers a similar defense. There’s a real possibility that Airbnb will either lose or strike a compromise.
Source: Consumerist
Oscar De La Hoya’s service starts streaming big fights
After retiring, boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya has become one of the most powerful people in the sport. His Golden Boy Promotions firm launched in January not just to represent boxers and set up fights, but also to get them in front of viewers the way they watch today: On the Internet. In two weeks, viewers can watch the world championship match between Canelo Alvarez and Liam “Beefy” Smith via pay-per-view livestream on any device they want. Finally, boxing is entering the modern reality of sports enjoyment.
But it won’t just be a broadcast of the pugilist pair pummeling each other live from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Viewers get pre-fight footage they’ve come to expect, like behind-the-scenes looks at both boxers’ training camps in the week leading up to the stream. For the $55 digital entry fee, fans also get the option to watch three other title matches co-billed alongside the main event.
If you want to watch a boxing match live, the usual method has been a sizeable pay-per-view cost routed through a cable company or HBO. But streaming straight from Golden Boy Promotions’ site could be a tectonic shift in the sport, allowing viewers to bypass the hassle of subscription services and just watch straight from whichever device is convenient. It’s certainly more convenient for De La Hoya’s company: Alvarez’s match with Amir Khan netted $30 million in revenue from pay-per-view buys, but half of that went to cable and satellite providers, according to ESPN.
The Canelo-Smith match is on September 17th, with the first fight streaming at 3:20 PM ET and the main show starting at 9:00 PM ET.
Source: Golden Boy Promotions (press release)
Apple’s high-end wireless earbuds may not ship with iPhone 7
The long-rumoured death of the iPhone’s headphone jack has left everybody wondering: What’s going to become of Apple’s EarPods? Well, they’ll probably go wireless, but according to one analyst, they won’t come with your iPhone. They’ll be sold separately — and they might be expensive. KGI Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuo believes that Apple will announce a pair of high-end “AirPod” earbuds tomorrow as a premium accessory for iPhone 7 buyers. They won’t come in the box like Apple’s current earbuds, he says, and may not even use Bluetooth.
According to Kuo, Apple may have designed a “Bluetooth-like communications chip” with more strict limits on power consumption. This same low-power chip may also be used to communicate with smart car systems and other home accessories. The Analyst even goes as far as to name Taiwan Semiconductor as the company he believes developed the chip.
So, if Apple’s wireless answer to removing the headphone jack is going to be a premium accessory, what about the average user? Not to worry: Kuo believes the iPhone 7 will bundle in a pair of lighting-connector compatible earbuds or, at bare minimum, a 3.5mm to lighting adapter. Even so, take this report with a grain of salt — Kuo has a strong history of getting these kinds of predictions right, but we won’t know for sure until tomorrow.
Source: Apple Insider, Digital Trends
The PlayStation VR includes a demo disc loaded with games
PlayStation VR is expensive enough by itself, so you probably don’t relish the idea of spending more just to get a taste of what the PS4 headset is like. Thankfully, you won’t have to. Sony has revealed that PSVR’s accompanying demo disc will include samples of eight games. A handful are definitely lighter releases that serve more as showcases (PlayStation VR Worlds most notably), but there are also tasters of games you might well buy later. You can play demos for Battlezone, Driveclub VR, the ubiquitous VR sampler EVE: Valkyrie and RIGS: Mechanized Combat League, among others.
This lineup surfaced on Sony’s European PlayStation Blog, so don’t be surprised if the lineup changes depending on your region. Should it remain largely intact from country to country, though, it’s good news for many future PSVR owners. Yes, the demos are ultimately there to get you to buy games, but the breadth is important. You won’t run out of things to try minutes after opening the box, and you’ll get a genuinely diverse range of experiences that will give you a feel for what’s possible in VR. That’s particularly important when many players will know very little about VR, let alone have first-hand experience.
Via: The Verge
Source: PlayStation Blog
Apple Partnering With Sony to Bring Apple Pay to Japan
Apple is partnering with Sony to bring its Apple Pay payments service to Japan, reports Japanese news site Nikkei. As has been previously rumored, Apple will make future versions of the iPhone compatible with Sony’s FeliCa technology to allow Japanese citizens to use Apple Pay for contactless payments at FeliCa-compatible terminals.
FeliCa is Sony’s tap-to-pay format, which has been widely adopted in Japan. It’s used to access the country’s railway and bus system, and it’s able to store e-money that can be used at vending machines, cafes, and other locations equipped with FeliCa systems. FeliCa is able to process transactions in a fraction of a second, making it suitable for use in a fast-paced transit environment.
Users will also be able to store train tickets on their iPhones, letting them enter gates with a wave. Other proposed uses for the technology include integrating membership cards and replacing security key cards. Apple’s foray into Japanese smartphone payment services will promote broader adoption of compatible terminals at retailers and event venues. Foreign travelers may be able to use foreign iPhones to make payments as well.
The new iPhone is expected to be equipped with the technology needed to allow it to interface with FeliCa payment terminals, but according to Nikkei, Apple Pay is not likely to launch until Japan until next year. Instead, a gradual rollout is expected.
Apple still needs to negotiate fees with financial institutions in Japan and establish deals with retailers and service providers that use the FeliCa readers, a process that will take some time.
Apple Pay is currently available in nine countries including the United States, United Kingdom, China, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Hong Kong, France, and Singapore. Apple Pay vice president Jennifer Bailey has said Apple is “working rapidly” to expand the service to additional countries in Asia and Europe.
Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tags: Sony, nikkei.com, FeliCa
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DJI sets 27 September event likely for foldable ‘Mavic’ drone
DJI has sent invites to the media for a press event, following a series of leaks that seem to suggest it is working on a foldable drone.
The drone maker’s invite, which is for a 27 September event in New York City, teased things like “adventure at your fingertips” and “rediscover adventure with DJI”, but it failed to fully reveal what’s in store. However, according to new image leaks that go with a previous trademark application, DJI has developed a small, portable camera drone that collapses. It’s supposedly called Mavic.
Heliguy
Leaks posted by Heliguy and MyFirstDrone (via Slashgear) indicate the drone will feature a 4K camera, two-axis gimbal, foldable arms, removable 3,380mAh battery, and an LCD-packing controller running Android. It’ll also weigh just 1.43 pounds, making it DJI’s lightest camera drone. It’ll be interesting to see how this machine competes against GoPro’s first drone, called Karma, which is also set to debut this month.
Keep in mind DJI told Engadget recently that it believes the average consumer is concerned about size and ease of use when it comes to buying a drone, suggesting it thinks a compact, user-friendly option is needed in the unmanned aerial vehicle space.
Xbox One preview software gets new social features today
Xbox One Preview members will get their hands on a couple of brand new features making their way to the console today.
Both Clubs and Looking for Group features are being rolled out to Preview members on Xbox One today and then the Xbox app on Windows 10, iOS and Android devices in the near future. Both features’ existence were confirmed during E3 2016, but now there’s a chance to actually try them out now that they’ll be in the wild.
Clubs are exactly what they sound like: Groups created and managed by players meant to foster a sense of community among anyone getting together to play a certain game. Anyone can create or join different Clubs, and you can create one for nearly anything, such as a group for your inner circle of friends to best each other at Halo or something of that nature.
Club members can coordinate parties, play games, communicate via voice and text chat and share content across the Club together. All Clubs for a specific game will be grouped together in the Game Hub. If you’ve got a unique name in the hopper for one you want to put together, you’ll want to go ahead and grab it if you’re in the Preview because there can only be one with the same name.
Similarly, Looking for Group will assist you in finding someone to play with. You can create your own LFG post with requirements such as the game you need help with, how many people you require, rules, and other types of prerequisites you want to set to make the experience as pleasant as possible. You can browse other LFG requests to see if there’s anyone you want to join in and assist as well.
In addition to Clubs and Looking for Group becoming available today, the Gamerscore Leaderboard for Xbox One and Windows 10 app has been improved to display results for a 30-day rolling period. Plus, emojis are coming to the Xbox One’s virtual keyboard. When communicating with Clubs or others in Groups, you can utilize various emojis with a special keyboard of them.
More details on the online tournament Arena will be coming soon, but for now these updates should tide Xbox One owners over with new social options. Now get out there and make some Clubs for us to join.
Source: Microsoft
Star Trek’s iconic computer voice may live on in your phone
Whenever we talk about natural language voice assistants, we invariably draw parallels to the computer on Star Trek. Soon, those comparisons may be a bit more direct: Roddenberry Entertainment has revealed that it has a phonetic library for Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, the voice behind the Enterprise’s computer. “We’re working to get her voice for things such as Siri,” The company said in a recent Tweet. “Maybe [the] voice of the computer on [Star Trek Discovery]”
Majel’s voice is recorded phonetically, &we’re working to get her voice for things such as Siri, maybe voice of the computer on #STDiscovery
— RODDENBERRY (@roddenberry) September 4, 2016
If her voice does make it to the new series, it’ll be Discovery’s second nod to the work of the actress — the show’s main character will be nicknamed “number one,” a reference to Barrett-Roddenberry’s role in original series’ 1965 pilot. If it doesn’t, it’s still a win for fans: phonetic recordings are perfect for creating voice assistants. If Roddenberry Entertainment is successful, we could all be hearing Mrs. Barrett’s voice again sometime soon.
Via: iO9
Source: Twitter
