South HAMerica update out for Angry Birds Seasons
Angry Birds games can be a touchy subject for many. It came out with a bang when it first hit and has since built a conglomerate of games, TV episode spin offs, and merchandise. Rovio has built quite the empire with a set of flying birds. Regardless if you are a huge fan, avid lover or down right refuse to install any Angry Birds game ever again, the fact remains that Rovio has released an update to one of the more longstanding versions of the gaming titles, Angry Birds Seasons.
Today’s update adds 24 more levels in what is called South HAMerica. See what they did there? Clever. This one takes you to South America, again, but this time with a bit of Aztec themeing thrown in.
The download rings in at 48MB’s, so make sure you have room to store the massive game, of course if you have ABS installed already it is taking up most of that space already. Pop into the Play Store and snag the update, or if you don’t have Angry Birds Seasons, hit the links below. It is free-to-play and packs some 300 levels of pig bashing, hair pulling time-wasting entertainment. Now we just need Angry Birds Stella, this fall, and Angry Birds Transformers to be released.
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Early Android L tests show serious battery life improvement
One of the big reveals for Android 4.4 KitKat’s successor, Android L, was Project Volta — new tweaks to improve battery life. Those include a new API that schedules minor tasks better, a “battery historian” to track battery-sapping activities and ART, a more efficient runtime. There’s also a “battery saver” mode that kicks in aggressively when only 15 percent of the battery remains. Now that the developer preview has been in the wild, Ars Technica has put it through its paces, along with a number of users on the XDA developer forums. The results? So far so good, with some caveats. Under tightly controlled conditions, Ars Technica managed a whopping 36 percent better battery than KitKat, without even using the battery saver mode. Many XDA users saw comparable results, though battery life was actually worse than on Android 4.4 for some. However, that was likely influenced by apps and other factors — one user noticed WhatsApp sucking 15 percent of his battery life, likely a beta bug. We’ll be running our own battery of tests, as it were, but the takeaway for now? Hey, it’s still a developer preview — but we’re optimistic.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Google
Source: Ars Technica, XDA Developers
Play Store gets Android Wear apps sections added, see what is already Supported
The Android Wear demo that Google put on during I/O was pretty cool. It showcased a number of Google centric apps, of course, but left many wondering what other apps would be compatible. That question can only be answered by the app developers of the world since Google has all the tools for them to make it work. The current list of apps is at 25 and include more that just Google apps. Apps like IFTTT, Banjo, Evernote Wear, Pinterest, American & Delta airlines and 1Weather: Widget Forecast Radar.
While these will only be good for those lucky few from Google I/O who have a Android Wear device, it is a good reference for those that are waiting on their orders. The LG G Watch states it is leaving the warehouse’s in 1 to 2 business days, while the Gear Live isn’t set to ship until July 8th. We have no doubt that the list will continue to grow fairly rapidly. I certainly hope Plex has an app in the works for Android Wear, don’t you? The only other question we have to wonder, is how these will play with the Moto 360. Scaling to slightly different square screens isn’t all that tricky, tossing in a round screen could pose a situation for some. Although, looking at the screenshots for the Android Wear aspects of these apps, it looks like most of them have their info fairly centered leaving plenty of room for a round version. We will just have to wait and see if they will need some tweaking or not.
Check them out for yourself on the Play Store.
Via AndroidPolice
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Amazon refuses to bend to the FTC’s demands over in-app purchases
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wants Amazon to update some of its policies regarding in-app purchases, but the retail giant is having none of it. According to documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal the company is facing a lawsuit that would require it to pay hefty fines and dramatically alter its record keeping and disclosure practices. In particular the government is concerned about purchases being made by children, but Amazon thinks its approach is sound. In fact, not only is the company refusing to change its rules, it said in a letter (PDF) that it’s prepared to go to court.
The FTC wants Amazon to require passwords for all in-app purchases, make notices of additional charges more obvious and simplify the refund process. Those are rules similar to what Apple was forced to agree to last year. After receiving thousands of complaints from parents whose children racked up unauthorized charges via in-app purchases its no surprise that the agency decided to target Amazon. The company claims it has handed out prompt refunds to customers who have complained, but it seems that it wasn’t until June that all in-app purchases required any form of authentication.
Amazon may be ready to take its battle to court, but the FTC has already made Apple bend to its will.
Source: Wall Street Journal, Amazon
Radical.FM debuts on Android; Another ad free streaming radio service to try Out
Yesterday you might have seen the news that Google bought up Songza. Good for Songza and good for Google Music All Access. While Songza is still up and running as normal, there will be a time when it will be absorbed by Google and the current apps will cease to exist. There are more streaming services out there than one can possibly count and now there is one more that is looking to give you your streaming music fix, Radical.FM.
“Tremendous effort has gone into making these powerful new apps faster and more intuitive,” said CEO Tom McAlevey. “But unlike Beats, which offers nothing Spotify hasn’t offered for years, or Amazon Prime Music, which is missing half the music iTunes has offered for a decade, Radical.FM offers a truly unique concept built on one of the world’s most comprehensive music libraries.”
The app seems pretty simple to use. You set up your account for free and cruise through the set up process and add the genres and styles you want to hear. You can adjust and fine tune what is delivered on a separate settings screen or search for specific songs and artists. The service has been out on iOS for quite sometime and one can tell that is where it got its roots when you look at the screenshots below.
Very iOS like isn’t it? While it could use a major UI overhaul for Android, it does stream music to your device and is commercial free for free. Random.FM claims access to over 25 million searchable tracks too. So how does a free app, without ads, without commercials be available legally? Well, Radical.FM compensates artists, composers, and labels for all the music streamed and runs solely on a “Pay What You Can” model. In a nutshell, you drop a few bucks here and there so they can pay the guys for the tunes you are listening too. If you don’t pay anything, you can still listen.
“It’s a radical revenue model, and people wonder how we can pay music streaming’s high royalties on a free app without commercials,” continues McAlevey. “When I drove my dune-buggy across Africa, I was confronted by Arabic police, spear-wielding natives, and AK-47-toting militia. More often than not, they helped rather than hindered me, reminding me that if treated with respect, people tend to do the right thing. As users discover Radical’s outstanding service, many of them will be proud to support it.”
It has some potential if they can get someone with some Android skills at the helm for a redesign. Feel free to give it a download and try via the nifty box below. Oh, and it is US only for now. Sorry everyone else in the world.
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Watch this: Human transforms its app data into striking activity maps
The folks behind Human know a thing or two about aesthetics, having crafted an activity-tracking app for iOS that’s quite lovely. The mobile software keeps tabs on walking, running, biking and vehicular motion with goal of racking up at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day. Now, the outfit has taken user data from 30 of the largest cities in the world and constructed visualizations for each locale. Maps for all three of the aforementioned endeavors are included, broken down by activity for further analysis. Don’t take our word for it though, watch the cartographic motion take place for yourself after the break.
Filed under: Misc, Software, Mobile
Source: Human
Volunteer to test a tablet-friendly version of Office for Android
Well looks like a version of Microsoft’s Office specifically tailored for Android tablets is on the way. While we still wait for a touch-friendly version of the productivity suite for Windows, word on the street is users will soon be able to beta test a build for Google’s tablet OS. According to the Verge’s sources both companies and individuals should be able to sign up for access to pre-release versions of Office soon. Obviously we’re still waiting for a lot of details, but it’s expected that a finger-friendly interface (similar to that found on the iPad) is going to hit Android later this year. But Windows will have to wait until early 2015. While it’s slightly surprising to see Microsoft’s bread and butter productivity hit a competitors OS first, it highlights Satya Nadella’s decision to build Redmond’s future on the cloud and cross-platform accessibility. Rather than focusing solely on Windows.
Filed under: Tablets, Software, Microsoft
Via: The Verge
Source: Microsoft
What you need to know about social media activism
Protests in the Middle East, known as “The Arab Spring,” echoed around the world. On Friday, December 17, 2010, a fruit vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi covered himself in flammable liquid and lit a match. His body was quickly engulfed in flames and, despite attempts to save his life, Bouazizi died on January 4th, 2011. He was 26 years old. Like how Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức’s self-immolation in Saigon nearly 50 years earlier represented the frustration of many Vietnamese, Bouazizi’s action became symbolic of a much larger frustration in Tunisian society.
What happened next, however was a product of modern times: Word spread of Bouazizi’s action through social networks, with Facebook specifically becoming a flashpoint for protest organizations across the country. By the time Tunisia’s former leader, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, resigned and fled the country in mid-January 2011, over a fifth of Tunisia’s population was on Facebook.
WHAT IS IT?
The term “social media activism” is ambiguous. That’s intentional, as its application varies depending on what it’s connected with. Both Occupy Wall Street and “#CancelColbert” fall under the umbrella of “social media activism,” so the term needs to be ambiguous by its nature. With those two examples, you already kinda know what it is, right? Social media activism can be as simple as a trending topic (“#CancelColbert”) for interested parties to engage in a bigger conversation, and as complex as Occupy Wall Street’s multiplatform, multimedia initiative. As the name implies, there’s no standard social network used for social media activism; YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Sina Weibo and myriad others are employed as need be.
In the case of Tunisia, Facebook was the social service of choice, with hackers, protesters and everyday Tunisians using the service collaboratively. It served as a message board for sharing images, video and stories, in addition to creating a public forum for communication.
In response to the Santa Barbara shootings by Elliot Rodger, activists and general newsreaders alike used the “YesAllWomen” hashtag on Twitter. The hashtag is still in use over a month later, where it’s become an ongoing conversation about women’s rights versus how women are treated in reality.
WHY SHOULD I CARE?
Beyond the whole “you’re a participating member of human society” thing, social media activism is a fascinating modern version of protest and communication. Because of the internet, social media platforms and the ubiquity of mobile phones with cameras, activism and protest are now truly global events. Not interested in participating? That’s fair!
The other side of the coin is that, sometimes, these movements affect your life whether you like it or not. If you were in Egypt in early 2011, whether you were part of the conversation or not didn’t matter: The president was overthrown.
WHAT’S THE ARGUMENT?
While not an “argument” per se, some say that media coverage focuses on the medium — social media — over the message, and it ends up diluting the protest. Author Malcolm Gladwell argues as much in The New Yorker: “People protested and brought down governments before Facebook was invented. They did it before the internet came along. Barely anyone in East Germany in the 1980s had a phone – and they ended up with hundreds of thousands of people in central Leipzig and brought down a regime.” Gladwell’s also questioned the efficacy of social media in organizing physical protest; it’s easy for people to participate online, but far more difficult to turn those words into action (so the argument goes).
Back in May, a tweet from The Colbert Report‘s official Twitter account made a grave error: publishing a punch line from Colbert’s show that night without including the joke’s setup. In lampooning Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder, Colbert made the following punch line in reference to a (fake) video that proposed Colbert was caught making racist remarks about Asians. The tweet, since deleted, said this:
In response, writer/activist Suey Park created the “#CancelColbert” hashtag. It became a rallying cry for some Asian Americans to speak about their experiences with racism in America. Except that some Asian Americans — notably Deadspin‘s Tommy Craggs and Kyle Wagner — found Park’s use of “hashtag activism” only served to misdirect the original conversation away from Snyder. It’s not the first, but it’s certainly the most prominent example of social media activism that many believe to be a misuse.
WANT EVEN MORE?
We sure hope you do, because there’s quite a bit on the subject that’s worth reading. The MIT Technology Review has a great piece from John Pollock digging in on the hackers behind Tunisia’s uprising. Al Jazeera America wrote about “#CancelColbert” and whether social media activism is effective; The New Yorker spoke with Park and discussed her background. The New York Times has a thorough background on Bouazizi and similar actions.
And finally, Jehane Noujaim‘s excellent 2013 documentary The Square both demonstrates the use of social media activism in a real-life revolution setting, and grippingly details the movement in Tahrir Square. It’s on Netflix, even! Don’t miss it!
[Image credit: AP Photo/John Minchillo (Zuccotti Park), The White House (Michelle Obama), Ferdinand Delacroix, Comedy Central, Twitter (@ColbertReport), AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo (Facebook/Twitter)]
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Internet, Software, Facebook
Head on up to ‘South Park’ with Oculus Rift and have yourself a time
If it’s been your childhood dream to explore South Park in 3D, consider it realized thanks to a new Oculus Rift experience from Tool. Over the course of a “few short weeks in June,” the production company, inspired by The Stick of Truth RPG, faithfully recreated the fictional Colorado town allowing anyone with an Oculus headset to explore its scrapbook streets, interact with characters and find hidden easter eggs. For example: if you navigate through the town’s church doors, you’ll almost certainly “fall” into Hell. You can beat a hasty retreat, however, if you bump into Saddam Hussein, who’ll whisk you back to the snowy streets of South Park (just don’t ask us who killed Kenny). While the experience is best suited for Oculus Rift owners, the cartoon landscape is also available inside your browser. You can find that and the Oculus source files using the links below.
Filed under: Wearables, Internet, Software, HD
Via: Wired
Source: South Park VR (Browser), (Oculus ZIP)
Snapchat tests stickers that only unlock when you’re in popular locations
Snapchat’s ephemeral messaging service is enjoying huge growth, but as it stands the company is not making any money (at least from its users). But that isn’t to say it isn’t testing potential new revenue sources, one of which involves fusing two popular messaging features: stickers and location. As discovered by Mail Online, Snapchat has begun offering some users the opportunity to add special stickers to their photos based on their where they are. Some Snapchatters have gained access to filters that shower them with dollar bills when they are in New York’s financial district, while others have shared stickers that can only be unlocked inside popular US airports. We know that Snapchat has been working with brands to add their logo to images or videos for specific events, but these new stickers could provide an easy way to share a user’s location visually, instead of checking in. Whether you’ll soon be able to share a McDonald’s sticker when you grab a Big Mac remains to be seen, but Snapchat appears to be open to the idea.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Mobile
Source: Mail Online, @DebzShin (Twitter), @TaylorLorenz (Twitter)
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