Writing App ‘Ulysses’ Gains WordPress Publishing Support and More

Popular writing app and Apple Design Award winner Ulysses gained WordPress publishing and Dropbox support today, in a simultaneous update to its iOS and Mac apps.

The changes that come with version 2.6 of the writing app mean that bloggers can publish their texts straight to a WordPress account, complete with tag, category, excerpt, and featured image support.

Writers using the iOS or Mac app can also schedule the publishing time and preview their posts before they go live, all from within Ulysses. German developers The Soulmen say the app supports blogs hosted on WordPress.com as well as self-hosted installations, and also allows publishing to multiple accounts.

As with the Mac, iPad and iPhone users can now also sync their texts over Dropbox instead of via iCloud, with full support for adding Dropbox folders to Ulysses’ hierarchical text library.

In addition, plain text and Markdown files stored in Dropbox folders behave just like native Ulysses sheets – supporting the app’s sorting tools, filters, group goals, favorites, and so on – so users no longer need to import their files manually.

The ‘Quick Open’ feature on Ulysses for Mac has also made its way over to the iOS version, allowing users to perform entire library searches and open sheets without navigating through text hierarchies.

Meanwhile, Ulysses 2.6 brings Typewriter Mode to iOS, which promises the same focused writing experience to be found in the Mac app, allowing writers to highlight paragraphs and sentences, fix scrolling, mark the current line, and more.

Lastly, Ulysses 2.6 has been optimized for accessibility, to better cater for visually impaired writers working in macOS and iOS, with support for VoiceOver on both platforms.

Ulysses for Mac costs $44.99 and can be found on the Mac App Store. [Direct Link]

Ulysses for iOS is available as a universal app on the App Store, priced at $24.99. [Direct Link]

Tag: Ulysses
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Porsche 911 Carrera (2017) review: Engine evolution?

Throughout its history the Porsche 911 has undergone some critical design changes, each one of which naysayers have warned might kill off what makes this car so special. There have been impact bumpers, the move from an air-cooled to water-cooled engine, the last generation’s move to an electric power steering system, and now – in a move some purists see as heresy – the turbo-charging of the engine. Say hello to the Porsche 911 Carrera.

But wait, hasn’t there always been a turbo-charged 911? Indeed there has, the “big T” 911 Turbo, which has been revamped too – we drove it for the first time in May, in its higher output Turbo S format. But the lesser 911 models (if you will), the ones the majority of people buy, have never been turbo-charged. And now they are. All of them. Playing “little t” to the big, bad proper Turbo model.

To a 911 newbie, all of this will sound bizarre. A storm in a Porsche-shaped tea cup. But underestimate this change at your peril, because the 911 is a car that engenders both huge loyalty in its fans, and deep emotions among many more. If Porsche has screwed this up, it’s really serious news. Because fundamentally it changes the character of the car.

So the big question: does all this mean the 911 has lost its magic? We’ve spent a week and some 600-miles with one to find out.

Porsche 911 Carrera review: Serious hardware

You’ll note that we’ve chosen to drive the least powerful version of this new-generation 911. A long held theory is that the least powerful, lightly specified 911 is the finest of the breed. So we asked Porsche to keep it simple.

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That meant shunning the Carrera S and doing without the PDK automatic gearbox (which 90 per cent of 911 owners now choose). On the chassis and powertrain side of things, our car did without a host of new chassis aid options, simply taking the £1,125 Sport Chrono pack, which brings the dash-top lap timer, dynamic engine mounts and an associated sport/sport plus system to sharpen everything up.

It’s a base model, so should we not set our expectations too high? Far from it. The new, twin-turbo charged, flat-6, 3.0-litre engine produces 370bhp and 450Nm of torque. Porsche’s active damper and suspension system – known as PASM – now comes as standard (on the last generation it was optional) and the manual gearbox contains seven ratios.

The result of which is that when you press the loud pedal the 911 still goes like a scalded cat. Those twin turbos come on stream at just a couple of thousand revs, which means the new 911 gets the wind in its sails from a very early point in proceedings. This is very much in contrast to the last car, which while ferociously quick, still needed a lot of revs on board before you could really feel it was travelling. It’s a perception thing, but turbos definitely help the base 911 feel and not just be faster. And fundamentally change the character and the drive.

Porsche 911 Carrera review: Serious software

But while the engine is the thing that will get the 911 purists frothing at the mouth, for those of us concerned with the real-world usability of the 911, it’s in the cockpit where the greatest changes have been wrung.

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Out goes the old PCM communication and nav system, replaced by a new, much swifter running, Volkswagen-sourced system – supported by host of apps to extend and enhance your Porsche-branded lifestyle, and Google-based online mapping/navigation, DAB digital radio, a bluetooth phone system and online portal.

All of the above is now standard, which is a big deal as Porsche typically made you pay extra before now. You even get an interface for iPod/iPhone – and no that’s not us being Apple biased, it’s Porsche, as the company apparently did research and found most of its drivers had Apple devices. Your Android phone will still connect to the car, but won’t have quite the same functionality as Apple. Talk about risking techie buyers.

The system runs much faster than before, and the expensive, curved-edged glass capacitive touchscreen responds keenly to inputs. Just a pity it kept telling us how Google was loading, or plonking the mapping technology copyright watermark right where you don’t want it. Despite online functionality, a phone running Google maps still ran rings around it for avoiding traffic. Will in-car nav ever catch the tech players for this type of thing? When it can’t in a new £80k Porsche, we do wonder.

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Still, it’s nice Porsche now gives you this for free – it would be churlish to say its tech offering is not a step forward. Certainly compared to the system we ummed and ahhed over in the company’s Macan earlier in the year, it’s a lot more user friendly.

Porsche 911 Carrera review: Serious drive

The interior is a success story too, the reasons so many people default to a 911 are all present and correct this time around. Rear seats that fit children? Check. It even fits a baby seat if you try hard enough. Front boot that can accommodate a full-sized suitcase? Check. Super comfy seats that (although low mounted in the car) don’t require body contortion to get into? Check. Easy-to-adjust seat and wheel? Check. You get the picture.

You’ll note we’ve largely ignored talk of the exterior design. As this is a facelift of the last-generation car, it looks largely the same – bar for a few bumper changes and light technology detailing, which add a certain fussiness but certainly don’t ruin the looks.

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We will deal with the drive in fine nuances, because that is the way the 911 itself goes about business. To pronounce conclusive judgement on the model’s dynamic qualities is tricky, such is the array of permeations and variations that the 911 comes in – from two- or four-wheel drive, a range of wheel sizes, suspension setups and driving assistance systems. As we’ve said, our car is almost as pure a 911 as you can have today. And so it perhaps serves as a range benchmark.

Inherent to any Porsche driving experience is the consistency of control weighting, and in this new car Porsche proves it still is the best in the industry at matching the way a set of pedals, gearshift, steering and cabin switches can work together in harmony to perfectly portray the idea of a well-oiled machine. Nothing feels too light, too sloppy, nor too hard to work. It might sound precious, but it’s from such consistency that much of the joy of driving a 911 comes.

The gearbox and ride are worthy of separate note. We never drove the manual, 7-speed version of the old 911 – but many journalists felt the gearbox was not worthy of the Porsche name. While the 7-speed gate can still catch you out (7th can only be selected from 5th or 6th) the action of the shift is hefty, precise and a general delight to use.

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Likewise the ride – with our car running on 20-inch wheels – has a firmness that’s befitting of the 911’s sporting nature, and allows precious little body pitch and roll, yet manages to deal with the sorry state of British roads with aplomb. Most hatchbacks handle potholes worse. It goes without saying the level of grip is astonishing. In the dry, and with the stability systems switched on, the days of a 911 ejecting you off the road, hedge-first, should be gone, for all but the most ham-fisted.

The steering is an ongoing moan, though, because the electrically-assisted setup doesn’t transmit as much information through the wheel as a hydraulic system. But it is nonetheless perfectly well weighted, and very accurate. It makes the 911 fun to drive. Only when you step into another Porsche from a generation or two back do you realise the new setup is giving you less information. But as far as contemporary competitors go? Maybe Jaguar’s F-Type setup just shades it.

Porsche 911 Carrera review: Engine alterations

Which leaves just that new element: the engine. On a cold start, it’s still loud, bold and has a level of chatter that any owner of a Porsche flat-6 unit will identify with. At revs, it develops a blaring, baritone note that is not unpleasant. It just lacks the range of the previous engine – which grew to a spine-tingling wail, over the last 1,500rpm of its range.

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It’s the noise we miss if we’re honest. We have fond memories of drives across the North Yorkshire moors in a 2013 911 Carrera 4 S, on one bright June Sunday morning. Memories involving repeatedly changing down to simply rev out the engine and hear that incredible, spine-tingling noise as it passes 7,000, then 8,000rpm. In 2016? Well, we rode a wave of torque and changed up 2,000rpm earlier (partly because the new engine has a lower rev limiter).

Note that in give-and-take driving the 2016 Carrera feels just as fast as a previous-gen Carrera S. It’s just not quite as addictive or memorable in the way you exercise it.

Our review 911 also came with a sports exhaust (£1,773), with pops and splutters on the over-run. It’s a laugh at first, you can activate it more or less via a button on the centre console. But after a week you realise the noises are repetitive – giving the game away that this is programmed, thus just feeling a little synthetic.

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Let’s get things in perspective: this is far from a bad engine. It still sounds more cultured than any four-cylinder. It sounds, largely, like a 911 should. And for a turbo-charged engine, it is mercifully free from turbo lag. It’s also easier and quicker to overtake and take advantage of gaps – because of the torque lower down in the rev range. Ultimately it doesn’t ruin the 911. It just doesn’t define it anymore, either.

For the purists, that could be a problem. For those less steeped in 911 culture it may not be. We think it’s a slight shame, but not a deal-breaker. And it’s certainly not enough of an issue to see the 911 dethroned from its position as the best car in its class.

Verdict

It’s perhaps telling of the 911’s new approach that so much of this review is about the engine. The wider concept is evolved so gently, that changes such as the move to a turbo engine seem disproportionately massive. But as we move towards an increasingly electrified mobility fleet, and as Porsche itself moves towards this way of doing things (the Mission E concept will turn production some time after 2018), standing back, we have to question how relevant it is to continue to bang on about such a small part of the car?

The bigger news is the 911’s move forwards with cabin technology, and the big increase in standard-fit technology. That this generally works intuitively, and in a manner that fits the Porsche way of doing things, is a much bigger plus point than the engine is a minus.

Perhaps more than ever, the 911 retains its mix of being a deeply covetable object, yet an easy day-to-day device to use, that you won’t be worried to leave it out on the street, yet always excited to drive it for kicks on a Sunday morning drive. No wonder, throughout its now 50+ years history, it has remained such an effervescent force.

Watch Xiaomi launch the Redmi 3S in India right here

Xiaomi is launching the Redmi 3S — an upgraded variant of the Redmi 3 — in India. If you’re interested in what’s on offer with the phone, watch Xiaomi global VP Hugo Barra share all the details via the livestream linked below.

Xiaomi Redmi 3S makes its debut in India for an enticing ₹6,999

Xiaomi has launched the entry-level Redmi 3S in India. With over 110 million units sold globally, the Redmi series accounts for a majority of Xiaomi’s sales figures. The Redmi 3S shares a lot of similarities with the Redmi 3, including a 5-inch 720p display, 2GB of RAM, 16GB storage, 13MP camera, 5MP camera, LTE, and a 4100mAh battery.

There’s also a Prime model of the Redmi 3S that will offer 3GB of RAM and 32GB storage, as well as a fingerprint sensor at the back. The main difference between the two phones is that the Redmi 3 is powered by a Snapdragon 616 SoC, whereas the Redmi 3S offers the Snapdragon 430.

The price is going to be the deciding factor for most customers, and as such Xiaomi is being very aggressive in this area, making the standard Redmi 3S available for just ₹6,999. The Redmi 3S Prime will retail for ₹8,999. Both phones will go up for sale starting August 9. What do you guys think of the pricing?

ASUS rolls out ‘all-new’ ZenFone Selfie in India with Snapdragon 615, Android 5.0 Lollipop

ASUS has introduced a refreshed variant of the ZenFone Selfie (ZD551KL) in India. Available for ₹12,999, the “all-new” phone offers a “powerful performance with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615,” as well as “Android L” on the software side of things.

If that sounds incredibly exciting to you, there’s more! You also get a 5.5-inch Full HD display, 3GB of RAM, 16GB internal storage, microSD slot, 13MP front and rear cameras, and a 3000mAh battery. On the design front, ASUS notes that the ZenFone Selfie comes with a “diamond cut back, beautifully fashioned and aimed at delivering a luxury and designer experience to the user.”

What are you waiting for? Head to Amazon India to get your hands on the brand-new ZenFone Selfie.

See at Amazon

Still with us? Good. Instead of settling for something that came out over a year ago, you’re better off spending your money on the Moto G4 Plus. Sure, it costs ₹2,000 more than the ZenFone Selfie at ₹14,999, but you’re getting a 5.5-inch Full HD display, Snapdragon 617 SoC, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, microSD slot, an excellent 16MP camera at the back, 5MP shooter up front, LTE, a 3000mAh battery, and most importantly, Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.

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OPPO F1s review: Great hardware, inexcusably old software

OPPO’s latest Android phone looks a lot like its last one. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Following the F1 and the F1 Plus, we now have the F1s from OPPO, completing the trilogy of photography-oriented phones. Where the F1 Plus was a noticeable leap ahead of the F1, the F1s’ position is somewhere in the middle. On the face of it, it’s hard to tell it apart from the F1 Plus.

Indeed, with both the F1s and Plus on my desk side by side, it’s impossible to know which is which except if you’re looking at specific things — not necessarily a bad thing, since the F1 Plus is a nice piece of hardware. The new F1s is a little larger, a little less powerful, and is making its debut in India for ₹17,999 ($270).

OPPO (the parent company of OnePlus) has suddenly become one of the world’s top five smartphone vendors, so it’s very much a company to follow. The F1s isn’t particularly different from its predecessors, which means it has the same good and bad points that we’ve come across before.

Externally, the F1s looks a whole lot like the F1 Plus, but with subtle differences that give it an aesthetic advantage. The ugly antenna lines from the Plus are gone and what is left is a metal back with only the thinnest of breaks. This is likely due to the addition of plastic cutouts on top and bottom, but either way, it’s a more attractive chassis. The camera flash is now to the side of the lens, and while the design tweaks are minimal, what you get is an overall better look.

Round the front you’re looking at a 5.5-inch 720p LCD display with a physical home button beneath that doubles as the fingerprint sensor. And once again, OPPO nailed this. The fingerprint scanner on the F1s is crazy fast.

Even at 720p, OPPO did a nice job with the display

As usual OPPO did a nice job on the display as well. 720p isn’t the highest resolution for this size, but it looks really good. It’s visible in fairly bright sunlight and has the eye-protecting blue light filter mode built in that I’m now so attached to. OPPO went away from the AMOLED in the F1 Plus, no doubts to bring the price down a little, but it’s still great to look at, even side-by-side with the Plus. Colors are noticeably different to the AMOLED, but whites have a cooler tint, which I personally prefer.

What will split opinions is that the F1s comes pre-dressed with a factory fitted screen protector. Love it or hate it, it’s there. It’s also there to peel off if such things disgust you. Oh, and while the back of the F1s is metal, the sides are plastic simply painted to match. But as with the F1 Plus, the F1s is sleek, slim and generally a pretty good looking product.

You still get microSD support from OPPO, which will please folks who like that sort of thing, but you also get a decent amount of internal storage. Not as much as on the F1 Plus’s 64GB, but 32GB is a great starting point that I wish more companies used.

Hardware isn’t really OPPO’s problem, and this latest “Selfie Expert” phone isn’t breaking from that form. Where we usually find fault is when you turn it on and see the mess that is Color OS. Most disappointing is that OPPO has been teasing the stock-ish looking Project Spectrum for what seems like an eternity, but Color OS still prevails.

OPPO simply has to get off Android Lollipop in a hurry

The issue isn’t even what it looks like anymore, nor, thankfully, its overall performance. Color OS used to be pretty appalling in both areas but with version 3.0 big changes were made. There’s a much flatter, brighter appearance nowadays and it’s super smooth and snappy to use. But it’s still based on Android 5.1 Lollipop, and with Android 7.0 on the horizon that’s simply unacceptable.

In China, the version of Android might not be an issue. But even though the F1s isn’t slated for a North American or European launch, it will be sold in markets where people do care about this stuff. OPPO is now one of the big boys, and it absolutely has to up its software game.

If you want a more in-depth look then check out our review of the F1 Plus, which tells pretty much the same software story. Same good bits, same bad bits. Same Lollipop. That last one gives us the biggest sad face.

Bouncing back to things that are better to talk about: cameras. You’ve got the same basic set up on the F1s as on the F1 Plus, in that there’s a honking great 16MP front-facing camera on the front and a 13MP shooter on the back. And as always, megapixels don’t tell the whole story. You simply take amazing selfies with this thing.

Marketing buzzwords aside, if you’re fond of using a front facing camera then the OPPO is worth your attention. It won’t make you truly beautiful — much to my dismay — but it’ll make your self portraits look sharper than many a phone out there. The camera app is super simple to use and still looks like the one you’d find on an iPhone, but it’s the results that really matter.

And while the F1s won’t win any best-in-show awards, it has a competent rear camera, too. I took the F1s on a trip to China while reviewing it and was pleasantly surprised at its speed, ease of use and image quality.

You’ll get a decent day’s use out of the F1s, too, with a fairly sizeable 3,075mAh battery squeezed into its svelte frame. OPPO’s way of displaying battery usage stats to its users is still a mess, but you’re probably OK to ignore it throughout the day, anyway. The VOOC fast charger is also included in the box, offering you the chance of a quick top-up should you need it.

So, final thoughts. We haven’t gone as in depth with the F1s as we might have other phones, because for the most part you could read our F1 Plus review and get the general idea. The F1s is one of OPPO’s best phones to date, but the software still drags it down from becoming a truly great phone.

OPPO isn’t alone on that front, and heaven knows we’ve been saying it about other Chinese phone makers for long enough now. What’s currently here works just fine in China, but other parts of the world are going to want to see newer versions, the up-to-date security features and regular progress in keeping phones updated. OPPO is doing a lot right, but it needs to get this part nailed.

The F1s also does a lot of things well. It’s up for sale in markets such as India and, software aside, is a very nice phone. Hell, even the software it’s got is okay — it’s just dreadfully out of date. Fix that, and you’ve got a lot of phone for not a whole lot of money.

Interested? The phone will be available starting August 11 for ₹17,999 from Amazon India as well as brick-and-mortar stores across the country.

Best Galaxy Note 7 cases: Protect your new Samsung device

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 is the latest smartphone to join the company’s 2016 flagship portfolio, sitting alongside the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, and it is stunning.

The new smartphone takes its design cues from the Galaxy S7 edge, bringing a beautiful curved glass front and back that is symmetrical from almost all angles.

The Galaxy Note 7 adds a few millimetres onto the footprint of the S7 edge, as well as an iris scanner, USB Type-C and the all-important S-Pen stylus. It’s also a little squarer in shape, distinguishing it as a Note device.

As we all know though, while glass and metal look fabulous, keeping them looking new after a few months is no easy task and unfortunately, something that is almost impossible without a case to help.

Yes it’s a shame to cover up a lovely design, but it’s a bigger shame to see that lovely design get scuffed, scratched and bruised while you go about your daily business. Samsung has numerous official cases and accessories for the Galaxy Note 7, which you can find in our separate gallery, but there are also some third-party options out there.

We’ve rounded up some of the best Galaxy Note 7 cases we have found so far, but we will continue to update this feature as we find more. No doubt there will be plenty more appearing as 2 September launch gets closer.

Click here to see the best Galaxy Note 7 cases we’ve discovered so far

Manchester United vs Everton to stream live on Facebook

Wayne Rooney has announced that his testimonial to be played tonight will be screened live on Facebook. Manchester United vs Everton will be hosted on both Rooney’s own Facebook page and United’s.

There have been a few matches to be shown via Facebook before, with some early rounds of the FA Cup having screened in the past, but this is understood to be the first match between Premier League clubs.

The match kicks off at 8pm but the stream will start at 7.15pm. It’s a pre-season friendly match between Rooney’s first and current clubs, but proceeds from ticket sales and other revenues will go to the Wayne Rooney Foundation.

That supports several charities and services that help young people and children, including Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and the NSPCC.

“I’m delighted to give my fans around the world a chance to watch the game as we try to raise as much money as possible for the Wayne Rooney Foundation. Thanks for your support,” wrote Rooney on his Facebook page.

You will also be able to watch the match live on BT Sport.

The full Premier League season starts on 13 August with the Hull City vs Leicester City game marking the launch of Sky’s new 4K service for Sky Q Silver customers.

Gogoro brings on-demand scooter rentals to Berlin

Taiwan-based electric scooter company Gogoro is expanding its reach and business model. Today it announced a partnership with Coup (a subsidiary of automotive-parts supplier Bosch) to bring 200 on-demand rental scooters to Berlin.

The Coup sharing service works similar to Scoot and ZipCar. Potential riders can find and rent Gogoro’s Smartscooters via an app and ride them in the city’s Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg neighborhoods. One they reach their destination, they can end the rental and leave the bike for the next customer.

The bikes are available to anyone 21 and over with a regular drivers license. But, the scooters are regulated to 45 KPH (28 MPH). The cost is €3.00 ($3.37) per 30 minutes or €20.00 ($22.47) for the day. While the initial launch will start with 200 scooters, Gogoro CEO Horace Luke told Engadget that it will be quickly expanding beyond that.

One of the reasons Coup partnered with Gogoro is that the technology to track, lock and turn on the scooters is already baked into the bike’s operating system. Coup will take delivery of bikes modified by Gogoro to work with the German company’s cloud and app ecosystem.

Like the Gogoro Smartscooters in Taiwan, the bikes will use the company’s battery swap technology. Instead of charging up the bikes, riders can roll up to a GoStation and replace one or two of the bike’s batteries and be back on the road in less than five minutes.

Gogoro is already planning on launching its Smartscooters for sale in Amsterdam sometime this year. The Coup partnership in Berlin might start off as a way for commuters to catch a quick ride around town, but it also has the potential to make the German city the next European location with a Gogoro showroom.

Source: Coup