Google recruits Nat and Lo to help tease Android M with a musical video
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Google is pretty damn good at teasing, and in its latest campaign to tease Android M, they’ve recruited the help of Nat and Lo, a pair of Google fans/employees/fun-loving-geeks, to create a new musical video to do just that. The premise of the video is “what’s M gonna be?” and sees a whole lot of desserts and sweets that start with M listed – what’s most interesting about the video is right at the end, which shows the torso and abdomen of a new Android statue being painted. Check out the video for yourself:
The leading candidate on the Internet so far appears to be Marshmellow, based on the statue being painted white right at the end, but I’m convinced that’s just an undercoat – Google wouldn’t make it that obvious, would they? One thing that Google has made relatively obvious is that the version number of Android M is going to be Android 5.2, as depicted in the new demo mode in the Android M Developer Preview – or maybe that’s just a red herring. Whatever the case, the starting of teasing can only mean that an Android M release is coming pretty soon, so stay tuned for more of this.
What do you think the “M” in “Android M” is going to be? Let us know your pick in the comments below.
The post Google recruits Nat and Lo to help tease Android M with a musical video appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Fitbit adds Cortana support, Xbox One app coming this year
Fitbit’s updated its Windows app for Windows 10. The app features all-new Live Tiles, pushes notifications to the Action Center, and supports Cortana voice commands. Saying things like “Fitbit, I ate chicken for dinner” or “Fitbit, I went for a three-mile run” will see Cortana automatically logging that activity. The app supports the entire Fitbit range, including its smart scale, and, as it’s a universal app, it’ll also eventually play nicely with other Windows 10 platforms. That means it’ll come to both Windows 10 phones and — for the first time — the Xbox One console later this year.
Although third-party support for Microsoft’s mobile platforms has been limited at best, Fitbit has always worked to ensure its devices work with Windows. Apps are already available for Windows 8.1, Windows Phone 8.1, and Windows RT. You’ll have to wait a little for the mobile and console versions, but you can check out Fitbit’s new app at the Windows Store now.
Filed under:
Gaming, Wearables, Software
Via:
VentureBeat
Source:
Fitbit (PDF), (Windows Store)
Tags: app, cortana, fitbit, update, voicecommands, windows10
ICYMI: Far away haptic hello, birthing robot mom and more
Today on In Case You Missed It: The Haptoclone allows users to touch and interact with distant objects, in a way you have to see to understand. But basically, long-distance makeouts over Skype are coming. Cambridge University researchers designed a robot that can make it’s own ‘children,‘ then test them for the strongest features, to then incorporate for the following generation. And the FIA Formula E Championship (the E is for electricity-based power) just showcased its new cars for the start of its second official season.
Then we needed to show you the beauty of artist Charles Young’s 3D mini-models.
If you come across any interesting videos, we’d love to see them. Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag @engadget or @mskerryd.
Filed under:
Misc, Gaming, Peripherals, Robots, Transportation, Science, Internet, Software
Tags: 3Dart, 3Dhouse, art, artist, Cambridge, CambridgeUniversity, CharlesYoung, engadgetdailyshow, engadgetvideo, FE, FIA, FormulaOne, haptic, hapticdevice, Haptoclone, icymi, InCaseYouMissedIt, minihouse, robotmom autonomousrobot, robots, robottakeover, video
SoundCloud adds Google Cast to its Android app
You can add SoundCloud the list of services that employ Google’s Cast tech to beam tunes to speakers and other devices. With the latest update, the music library not only lets you wirelessly send tracks to your audio gear, but it’ll also play them via Chromecast, Android TV and other Cast-friendly gear. In terms of speakers, options are available from LG and Sony with streaming services and audio apps like Rdio, TuneIn, Deezer, Pandora and Google Play are ready to serve up that Yacht Rock playlist.
.@Android, @Google Cast & SoundCloud: together at last. Stream via Android to your Cast-enabled devices now: http://t.co/oOe0zwQB0V
— SoundCloud (@SoundCloud) August 13, 2015
Filed under:
Portable Audio/Video, Software
Source:
Google Play
Tags: app, audio, cast, googlecast, music, software, soundcloud, update
Fixing ‘Stagefright’ flaw on Android is harder than we thought
The Stagefright vulnerability for Android won’t seem to want to go away. According to Exodus Intelligence researchers one of the patched issued by Google could still allow access to Android devices. The researchers told Engadget via email, “the summary is that the Stagefright vulnerability is still exploitable and the 4-line patch that was implemented is faulty. We have been able to trigger the fault that still affects over 950 million Android devices.” The issue with the patch was reported to Google which open sourced the patch for the patch this morning.
Google told Engadget,”currently over 90 of Android devices have a technology called ASLR enabled, which protects users from this issue. We’ve already sent the fix to our partners to protect users, and Nexus 4/5/6/7/9/10 and Nexus Player will get the OTA update in the September monthly security update.”
Of course, like with all things Android, outside of the Nexus line, it’s a wait and see situation when it comes to updates from phone makers. Hopefully they’ll be hitting phones and tablets in the near future. But with only six days notice, Exodus Intelligence didn’t give Google or its partners much time to get the patch ready.
Traditionally, researchers give companies 30 days notice about a security issue. This gives both parties adequate time to work on a patch and share information. In the post about the patch issue, the researchers explained that it decided to forgo the usual 30 days because the original issue was reported over 120 days ago, Google was still issuing the faulty patch and the amount of attention the original vulnerability had attracted.
So keep on the lookout for this new patch to fix the old patch.
Filed under:
Misc, Software, Google
Source:
Exodus Intelligence
Tags: Android, ExodusIntelligence, google, security, Stagefright, vulnerability
Apple’s Boot Camp 6 supports dual-booting with Windows 10
Apple began rolling out the latest version of its multi boot utility, Boot Camp 6, on Thursday. It supports newly-released Windows 10 (64-bit edition only) as well as USB 3, USB-C, Thunderbolt, SD and SDXC connections. Users will need to be running OS X Yosemite and have an authentic copy of Windows 10 installed on a separate partition. The update is still propagating, according to MacRumors, but should be available to Intel Mac owners shortly. That includes the 13- and 15-inch MBPs, 11- and 13-inch MBAs, MacBook, MacMini, and various iMacs. Users don’t actually have to do anything to get the update, as it will download automatically if you’re already running the latest rev of Boot Camp 5.
[Image Credit: Getty Images]
Via:
Mac Rumors
Source:
Apple Support
Tags: apple, bootcamp, bootcamp6, dualboot, MBA, MBP, osx, osxyosemite, windows10
Here’s indoor mapping will help you find that bathroom
It’s just as easy to get lost inside as out, but it’s much harder to find indoor maps. Nokia is trying to change that with its Here Mobile SDK that will let any developer add 3D venue maps to their iOS or Android applications. It has a collection of 13,000 such maps in its list, including airports, stadiums and malls around the world. Those are available on Here for Android and Windows Phone, but Nokia also does a brisk business selling maps to third parties like Yahoo.
Any app can include venues with 3D views and interior details like levels, floor layouts and tenant names. Other Here features like step-by-step navigation and zoom, rotate and tilting gestures are also included. While the feature is aimed at developers, consumers will benefit whenever they search for a food court or toilet in in an app that includes Nokia’s maps. We say “Nokia’s,” but of course the Finnish company just sold off Here to a group of German automakers for $3 billion. Hopefully, they’ll continue to develop the app and come up with catchier name than “German automaker consortium.”
Filed under:
Software, Mobile, Nokia
Source:
Nokia
Tags: Android, Here, HereMobileSDK, iOS, mappin, Maps, mobilepostcross, nokia, VenueMaps
Twitter ditches 140 character limit on Direct Messages
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Twitters 140 character limit on posts keeps things short and sweet. It forces users to think carefully about their message and keeps your feed free from novels. However, that limit when conversing with someone via a Direct Message, or DM, can be a bit irritating if you have lots to talk about. Twitter has announced today that those 140 character limits have now been removed from the DM side of the service. At least on the Android and iOS apps along with twitter.com, TweetDeck and Twitter for Mac.
Twitter also lets us know that nothing will change on the public side, meaning your character limit is still very much in tact on your average tweet. The change is rolling out now and will be globally altered over the next few weeks. I assume that means the US is the first locale to see the change.
Are you breathing a sign of relief with the change, or are you worried about your friends sending you books now?
Via Twitter
The post Twitter ditches 140 character limit on Direct Messages appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
The next versions of iOS and OS X will track your flights
Apple has made much ado of Spotlight’s smart, info-fetching abilities in iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan, but one relatively undersold feature might just prove a lifesaver if you or your friends are frequent travelers. Both of the upcoming operating systems include a “flight data detector” that can spot mentions of flight numbers in apps and let you peek at that trip’s details. This doesn’t just mean the departure or arrival times, either — in many situations, you’ll also get a map showing you where the aircraft should be at that moment. While this won’t replace a dedicated travel app, it’ll be handy if you want to check for flight delays or satisfy your curiosity about an airplane’s location.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Tablets, Internet, Software, Mobile, Apple
Via:
9to5Mac
Source:
Reddit
Tags: apple, elcapitan, flight, flighttracker, internet, ios9, ipad, iphone, mac, mobilepostcross, osx, osxelcapitan, software
Outlook plays nicely with Office for iOS, PayPal and Uber
Outlook is now a more powerful tool if you get a lot of work done on your phone… or just need a quick ride to the airport. To begin with, the iOS versions of Excel, PowerPoint and Word have received tight integration with Outlook. You can send a document you’re working on as an Outlook email attachment, or edit someone else’s attachment and return directly to Outlook with a new message ready and waiting. Also, some big, promised third-party Outlook web add-ons have gone live. You can set Uber ride notifications in your calendar, or put Evernote clippings into email. Boomerang will schedule both meetings and messages, while PayPal lets you pay a friend for last night’s meal. Tie-ins with IFTTT, Wunderlist and Yelp are still “coming soon,” but there’s already plenty here to keep you busy.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Internet, Software, Mobile, Microsoft
Source:
App Store (1), (2), (3), Office Blogs
Tags: boomerang, email, evernote, excel, ios, microsoft, mobilepostcross, office, paypal, powerpoint, software, uber, word
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