Canadians Rejoice! Google Play Music All Access is Rolling Out
Hooray! Google’s official blog for Canadian users has pushed out some great news today for our friends to the north. Google has finally brought Google Play Music and the accompanying All Access service, to Canada.
Looks like Google is also giving you guys the same introductory pricing for All Access as well. You get the first 30 days free and then be charged $7.99 month there after. If you dilly-dally on the sign up though you can expect to start off at the $9.99 a month price tag. You have some time though as that won’t be the case until after June 30th
Source: Google Canada via AndroidPolice
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You’ve selected Mad Men? Moviefone redesign tacks on TV listings
Earlier this year, AOL shuttered Moviefone’s call-in directory service. The brand lives on though, and today it outed a new look, with a retooled web site and mobile apps in tow. Chief amongst the changes? The addition of TV. Now, episode listings, cast info, curated Watch Lists and other details are baked in alongside a handy list of viewing options — if you’re itching to stream a selection right this second. There’s an emphasis on search, too. A query box now appears at the top of every page you’ll swipe or click to, and the results now include those Watch Lists — allowing for theme- or occasion-based title hunting. Moviefone has also ditched its iconic red paint scheme for blue as a part of the UI makeover. What’s more, the outfit is looking for a new voice, so if you’ve ever wanted to follow in Kramer’s footsteps, now could be you chance to do so. Perhaps now the only thing left to do is to come up with more accurate name for the service. “Videofone” gets our vote.
Filed under: Software, HD, Mobile
Via: Recode
Source: Moviefone
Cash-rich Nokia invests $100 million to boost connected car tech
Despite a huge influx of Microsoft dollars, Nokia still has to make a living in its new handset-free order and it looks set to expand one of its most profitable apps: Here. It just launched a $100 million connected car endeavor through the Nokia Growth Partners (NGP) fund to invest in technological innovations around travel and mapping. The purpose is to “grow the ecosystem around Here’s mapping and location products” for cars by investing in companies developing such tech. Now that it’s no longer wedded to Windows Phone, it’s also pushing for native Android and iOS apps, judging by some LinkedIn ads sniffed out by NPU. One seeks iOS and Android developers to produce “industry leading mobile SDKs,” while the other is looking for Here Android developers for crowd mapping. We imagine Microsoft will remain a steady customer for Here and other Nokia apps, which are some of the best on WP8. And giving Android and iOS users a solid mapping alternative can’t hurt either.
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Software, Mobile, Nokia
Via: PhoneArena
Source: Nokia, Nokia (Linkedin) (1), (2)
Oculus fires back at IP theft claims: ‘Zenimax has never contributed any IP or technology to Oculus,’ never made claims pre-Facebook purchase
When word came out last week that Oculus VR chief technology officer John Carmack was being accused by his former employer of stealing intellectual property for use in his new gig, the nascent Facebook subsidiary only issue a cursory statement: “It’s unfortunate, but when there’s this type of transaction, people come out of the woodwork with ridiculous and absurd claims. We intend to vigorously defend Oculus and its investors to the fullest extent.” The company’s expanding on that statement today, and pushing back on the claims made by Zenimax.
“We are disappointed but not surprised by Zenimax’s actions and we will prove that all of its claims are false,” the statement from Oculus reads. The company then lays out a list of refutations to Zenimax’s claims. Some highlights:
- There is not a line of Zenimax code or any of its technology in any Oculus products.
- Zenimax did not pursue claims against Oculus for IP or technology, Zenimax has never contributed any IP or technology to Oculus, and only after the Facebook deal was announced has Zenimax now made these claims through its lawyers.
Further, Oculus’ statements outs some interesting details about the history of Zenimax working with Palmer Luckey on VR in the past few years. For instance, Oculus claims that, “A key reason that John permanently left Zenimax in August of 2013 was that Zenimax prevented John from working on VR, and stopped investing in VR games across the company.” Interestingly, though Carmack’s departure from id Software (a development studio he co-founded, now owned by Zenimax Media) was announced in August 2013, both Oculus and Zenimax danced around the terms of the arrangement. It wasn’t until November of last year that Carmack supposedly joined Oculus full-time/left id Software completely.
Folks who’ve been following the Oculus story from the beginning will remember a promised Doom 3 BFG version that was set to ship with the original Kickstarter Oculus Rift. That bonus was eventually canned, and replaced with credit on Valve’s Steam game store. According to today’s statement from Oculus, “Zenimax canceled VR support for Doom 3 BFG when Oculus refused Zenimax’s demands for a non-dilutable equity stake in Oculus.”
That last bit means, “Oculus didn’t want to give Zenimax as much of an ownership stake in Oculus as Zenimax wanted, so Zenimax pulled support for a Rift-related product.” So, arguments over money then.
One last bit that Oculus points out is that the full Oculus SDK is online (available here), and “Zenimax has never identified any ‘stolen’ code or technology” in that source. That sounds like a job for the internet! Do you folks see any code in there that stands out? Feel free to let us know!
Add items to your #AmazonCart directly from Twitter
As if you need more temptation to spend, Amazon has now made it possible to put items aside for purchase using Twitter. To start with, you need to connect your Twitter and Amazon accounts from your social settings page (you can also opt out if you’ve already done so). After that, it’s almost too easy: when Amazon tweets out a product link like the “Banana Slicer” pictured above, all you have to do is reply with #AmazonCart (#AmazonBasket in the UK) and the product will be placed into your shopping cart/basket. We presume you can add as many items as you want, but you will need to enter your Amazon account to complete the purchase. So far, we’ve confirmed that the service will be tempting you in the US and UK, but there’s no word yet of other regions. Meanwhile, check the video below for more info.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Amazon
Source: Amazon
NYC inks deal to put train tickets on smartphones
Part of New York City’s train system is set to get a 21st-century kick in the pants. Digital tickets that live on commuters’ smartphones will soon be introduced thanks to a deal inked between the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) Board and Masabi, one of eleven companies that offered to build such a system for the city. The pact follows a — presumably successful — trial conducted between Masabi and the MTA in 2012. Not every locomotive route will see paperless ticketing at first; only the Metro-North Railroad and the Long Island Railroad are scheduled to be equipped with the new tech.
Once the program is firing on all cylinders, users will be able to buy tickets and present them to conductors using only their phones. While the setup will be a first for the Big Apple, a number of cities already have similar schemes. Masabi alone has has similar ticketing programs in Boston, San Diego and even Long Island. There’s no firm launch date in place for the MTA’s solution, so don’t expect to see it running in a matter of weeks. Ben Whitaker, Masabi’s CEO, told the Wall Street Journal’s Digits blog that the MTA system is so massive that “planning, training and testing” will take a fair amount of time. For now, dead-tree tickets will still have to do.
[Image credit: Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Flickr]
Filed under: Transportation, Software
Test-driving Acompli: Could an email app be reason enough to go back to the iPhone?
Is a particular email experience reason enough to switch smartphones, or even platforms? For me, the answer was yes. I recently retired my iPhone 4s and began using the native Android Gmail app on an HTC One. Why? Here are just two reasons: I can archive or respond to emails from the lock screen (thanks, Jelly Bean), and the One’s 4.7-inch display allows for a more encompassing view of my 70-some-odd labels. Needless to say, email is super important to me. So when Acompli launched last week with the tagline “iPhone Email Just Got a Promotion,” I decided to wipe the dust off my 4s and take it for a spin.
The fundamental difference between Acompli and Mailbox or Gmail is that it has three integrated hubs: “Calendar,” “Files” and “People,” each with its own tab at the bottom of the screen. Pull up the calendar and you’re greeted with a quasi-agenda view, similar to what you’ll find in iOS 7. There, you can add dates to any imported calendar without leaving the app. Switching between tabs isn’t much faster than bouncing between different applications, but I’ve noticed the pure convenience causes me to glance through my schedule much more than before, which is a wonderful thing. From the People and File hubs I can sort through — you guessed it — contacts and files included in recent email conversations. Essentially, they both provide a clean approach to filtering through the content of your emails. For example, earlier this morning I shared several sheet music PDFs (originally sent from my wife) with other band members without having to dig through the email itself. Nifty.
And what email app would be complete without the swipe? Yes, Mailbox users can already delete and archive emails by swiping from left to right, but for some reason that direction rubs me the wrong way. It just feels better to swipe from right to left, as is the case with Acompli. Additionally, you only have to swipe your thumb halfway across the screen to incur the delete option, compared to three-quarters of the screen with Mailbox. If you have shorter fingers like me, you’ll understand why that’s awesome. I will say thumbing emails around in Acompli is actually quite speedy, though I often opt for the mass-edit option and kill ‘em off by the multitudes.
It’s also worth mentioning that Acompli has true Gmail label support, meaning it doesn’t arbitrarily add labels the way Mail Pilot does. I can choose between my unified inbox and connected accounts in a straightforward, floating menu, with each of my labels listed chronologically below. Acompli also doesn’t attempt to indent nested labels when viewing them. For most that may not be a problem, but when you have a bajillion labels to deal with, it makes a difference.
So, was my experience with Acompli powerful enough to uproot my allegiance to Gmail on an Android phone? Again, the answer is yes — at least for the time being. It works well enough to make me forgot I’m using a 3.5-inch display and, admittedly, I’m a sucker for its minimalistic, two-tone UI. Has Acompli revolutionized mobile email, though? No, but it can be a speedy and powerful tool if you’re willing to take the time to learn its nuances.
The EFF wants your help testing a browser add-on that blocks spying ads
Like many privacy advocates, the Electronic Frontier Foundation isn’t a big fan of advertisers and sites following you around the web. So, it’s doing something about this nosy behavior — it’s launching a browser add-on, Privacy Badger, that lets Chrome and Firefox users limit site tracking. The tool automatically stops sites’ attempts to shadow your surfing activity and lets you selectively grant permission when you’re not worried. To get on the Badger’s good side, a web host has to honor Do Not Track requests — a not-so-subtle dig at Facebook, Google, Yahoo and others that so far insist on tracking visitors.
If you like the idea, the Foundation could use your help. Privacy Badger currently exists only as a rough alpha release, and the EFF would like some real-world testing before it recommends the software to the public at large. Should you have no problems with living dangerously, though, you can try the anti-snooping software today.
Filed under: Internet, Software
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
Developer and Unlocked Edition HTC One M8 receives update with Extreme Power Saving mode and more
Those lucky owners of the HTC One M8 developer and unlocled editions have an update floating around for their device today. The update brings v1.54.1540.9 and packs in a few goodies. Most notably is the Extreme Power Savings Mode. This feature helps save you a ton of power throughout the day, or at least when it is enabled, by shutting down everything on your device and giving you access to calls, text, email, calendar events and your calculator. That is it.
The update also brings in soe updates to the camera and gallery apps as well. The update is rolling out and weighs in at a modest 118MBs. Be sure you have over 50% battery life and a little time to kill on a good wi-fi network.
Via AndroidPolice
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Play nearly any video on your Chromecast using this browser add-on
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, Software, HD, Google
Via: Lifehacker
Source: Chrome Web Store, Videostream
AIVAnet 