Comcast app lets Xfinity customers share live streams on TV
It’s no secret that people love live-streaming content to anyone who’s willing to watch, whatever it may be. So, with this in mind, Comcast is introducing an app that will let its X1 subscribers record and push video streams from their mobile device to a TV in real-time. But there’s more to it. The Xfinity Share application, available for iOS and Android, will also allow users to do the same with photos and videos from the camera roll. Better yet, you can share those (plus the livestreams) with other Comcast customers, so long as both the sender and receiver have a DVR-ready X1 set-top box and are subscribed to the Xfinity Triple Play package.
Down the road, Comcast says it plans to add more stuff to the new app, including the ability to share things via email links and stop, pause or rewind videos that are being streamed. For now, you can check out Xfinity Share in its current stage on the App Store and Google Play.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Internet, Software, HD
Source: Comcast
Sharing app Droplr wants to woo you back with a ‘free’ tier
In case you dropped Droplr when the sharing app went from free to paid-only the company has a plan to potentially woo you back. How’s that? It’s going freemium starting tomorrow. Links and files you spread around with the free plan will have a week-long lifespan before evaporating. Should you want any long-term storage or whatnot, TechCrunch reports that you’ll have to shell out basically double the price from before for Droplr Pro: $9.99 per month now versus the previous $4.99 action. Refreshed iOS and Mac apps are en route as well and the outfit has a few promotions going on to help take the sting out of the increased monthly price.
For starters there’s a referral program that’ll get you a $10 credit for a friend signing up, and it’s applicable to either a monthly or yearly subscription. And speaking of the latter, by upgrading to an annual plan via an in-app purchase on iOS you can save 40 percent off your subscription through June 5th. If you need a quick, free sharing system and aren’t worried about permanent storage or links, Droplr’s free tier could be for you — especially if Jing or Skitch aren’t doing it for you currently.
Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Software, Mobile
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Droplr blog
Microsoft Office 2016 Public Preview is now available
Office 2016 may still be getting the finish touches in Redmond, but Microsoft is opening up its productivity suite for public preview. If you’ll recall, some apps were included in previous releases of the Windows 10 Technical Preview and made available for both IT folks and devs. As of today, though, regular folks can get an early look and offer feedback on all the new stuff — including those redesigned universal apps. This means that you’ll gain access to OneDrive attachments in Outlook, real-time co-authoring and retooled applications that learn how you work to lend a hand. Specifically in Excel, there are updated charts and graphs alongside one-click forecasting and more data analyzing tools. Looking to take it for a spin before the official release this fall? Even if you’re not an Office 365 subscriber, you can nab a trial version right here.
Filed under: Software, Microsoft
Source: Microsoft (1), (2)
Comments by Samsung Gulf suggest Samsung Galaxy Note 2 won’t be getting Android Lollipop
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There have been rumours that have suggested that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, by now a two-and-a-half year old device, would be getting Android Lollipop. Maybe it was blind faith or just hope, but we were hoping that this time this rumour would be true. Unfortunately, some comments made by Samsung Gulf, one of Samsung‘s regional offices, have suggested that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 won’t be getting Android Lollipop, which means the dream might be over for an official update.
Somehow it’s not particularly surprising seeing as Samsung has previously said that 18 months from launch is the window that it would be working off for future updates to devices, and the Galaxy Note 2 is way past its prime. If you’re disappointed, all is not lost, as is always the way with Android – plenty of great developers have been working on custom ROMs for some time now that will give you that Lollipop experience if you are adamant you want to have it on your Galaxy Note 2. If that interests you, hop on over to the XDA Forums where you’ll find your Lollipop fix.
What do you think about the rumour that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 won’t be getting Android Lollipop? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: SamMobile
The post Comments by Samsung Gulf suggest Samsung Galaxy Note 2 won’t be getting Android Lollipop appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Amazon’s voice-guided speaker juggles your IFTTT tasks
You can tell Amazon’s Echo speaker to directly control certain apps and services, but what if you want it to send information to other apps that you use more often? That’s where IFTTT’s new Alexa channel might save the day. Give the Echo a command and IFTTT will relay certain tasks to key apps. You can deliver your to-do list to Gmail when you ask the speaker about your itinerary, for example, or add your grocery items to Evernote without touching your phone. Frankly, this makes the Echo a lot more useful in daily life — you no longer have to change some of your app habits to make the most out of Amazon’s audio cylinder.
Filed under: Peripherals, Internet, Software, Mobile, Amazon
Source: IFTTT Blog
Schwing! ‘SNL’ app adds AirPlay and Android support
Since it launched in February I’ve been a pretty big fan of the Saturday Night Live app, and the latest update should make it quite a bit better. Now there’s native iPad support (hooray!) in addition to it being available on Android devices. NBC’s also gone back and remastered some of the old sketches, added around 400 more (including some of the late Phil Hartman’s “Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer” bits) and tossed AirPlay support in so you can watch the clips via an Apple TV. Curiously, Chromecast beaming is still missing in action, but at least now you can text the new Church Lady emoji to let a pal know they’re speeeecial.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Software, HD, Mobile
Source: Google Play, NBC, iTunes
You can build Microsoft’s Kinect-powered holodeck at home
Got a Kinect, a projector and a knack for code? If so, you can create a Star Trek-like holodeck in your living room. Microsoft has released the RoomAlive Toolkit, a software framework that lets you string together Kinect motion trackers to create interactive projection maps. You can use it to build anything from extra-immersive games through to art displays. This isn’t exactly a trivial undertaking (Microsoft is promising lots of tutorials), but it means that you won’t have to wait for someone else to bring your augmented reality dreams to life.
http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2015/3-87/player
Filed under: Displays, Software, Microsoft
Via: Fast Company
Source: Kinect for Windows Blog, Channel 9, GitHub
Build 2015: With Windows 10, Microsoft is no longer a follower
Referencing former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s infamous “developers!” chant is practically a cliche nowadays, but it felt like the silent refrain throughout the company’s entire Build conference this week. In the run-up to Windows 10, Microsoft wants developers. It needs developers. And it will do whatever it takes to get them — even going so far as to allow devs to recompile their Android and iOS apps without much fuss. None of this seemed possible from Microsoft years ago, when simply owning the dominant desktop platform was enough. But now with mobile devices and the cloud in play, Microsoft needs to evolve. And by doing so, it’s also making Windows 10 a far more exciting upgrade than Windows 8 ever hoped to be.
Microsoft’s been talking up the idea of Windows 10 as a platform since announcing it back in September. But it wasn’t until the company revealed it was also going to be a free upgrade for existing Windows 7 and 8 users (for the first year), that it truly hit home how different Windows 10 would be. Microsoft is now prioritizing getting as many people as possible on a single Windows platform more than the revenues it would get from selling access to it.
Throughout the Build conference, one thing became clear: Microsoft is no longer just reacting to the competition. Windows 8 was notable for unifying desktops and mobile devices, but it also felt like a desperate attempt to prove that it could do touch interfaces too. Windows 10, with its hooks into Azure Cloud services, better support across a variety of devices and the promise of freaking holograms with HoloLens, finally puts Microsoft back into a leadership role. That’s a sentiment echoed by several Microsoft staffers I talked to (though they wouldn’t admit it on the record). And that could be the key to Windows 10’s success.
All of the apps
Several years after Windows 8’s launch, I can only think of a handful of truly compelling apps. Many developers didn’t want to devote time to the platform when they would be much better off building something for iOS and Android. And, aside from the vague promise of easy porting to Windows Phones, Microsoft never really gave developers a compelling case to jump ship.
Windows 10 is a completely different story. Microsoft is basically opening the floodgates to apps from pretty much every major platform. Got an iOS or Android app? You can easily recompile it and plug it into the Windows Store. Microsoft’s even making room for web apps and older Win32 desktop software. The goal is to populate the Windows Store with plenty of compelling apps — it doesn’t matter how it was originally made. Microsoft’s also making it easier to build Windows 10 apps by releasing coding tools for OS X and Linux. And the icing on the cake for developers: Once you’ve got a Windows app, you can make it “Universal” so that it runs across phones, tablets, and even the Xbox without much effort.
The truly astounding thing? Basically everything I wrote in that last paragraph would have been impossible at Microsoft a few years ago. By removing much of the friction involved in making Windows apps, Microsoft has shifted the mentality for developers from “why should I build for Windows?” to “heck, why not?”
Strong device support
Windows 10 has all of the cross-device promise that Windows 8 had, except it’s potentially far more useful. The new Continuum feature, for example, reshapes the OS’s interface depending on how you’re using it. If you’ve got a Windows 10 tablet, it’ll be much more touch-friendly. If you’ve got a traditional laptop or desktop, it’ll resemble Windows 7 with a revamped desktop Start menu. And for convertible devices like the Surface Pro 3, your experience will change depending on its orientation.
Herein lies the promise for Universal Windows Apps — developers only have to manage one codebase to bring an app to multiple devices. During one of Build’s keynotes, Microsoft reps showed off how USA Today managed to bring its desktop Windows 10 app to tablets and even the Xbox One, where it only shows you news videos. (Because nobody expects you to read articles on your Xbox.)
At Build, Microsoft also showed off how a Windows 10 phone can spit out a decent desktop interface. That won’t replace your primary computer, but if you’re working on the go, or can’t afford anything beyond a phone, it’s a feature that could fundamentally change the way we compute.
It’s no wonder Microsoft laid out an ambitious goal to bring Windows 10 to a billion devices in a few years. It has to think big. By doing so, it will finally be able to court the developers who’ve ignored Windows 8 so far.
Compelling software and features
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On their own, some of Windows 10’s features might be enough reason to upgrade. Microsoft’s Cortana virtual assistant is steadily improving with every new early Windows 10 build. It’ll also be the first such assistant on a desktop OS — Apple’s Siri came first, but it’s still only on iOS devices.
Then there’s Edge, Microsoft’s slick new browser which could make you forget about the dark days of Internet Explorer. It’s speedy, minimalist, and also supports Cortana. And once again Microsoft is also working hard to court developers by making it easy for them to bring over their existing browser extensions. I also got a taste of Windows 10’s Xbox One streaming feature, which performed surprisingly well, with no discernible lag or stutter. It’s definitely something I’m looking forward to using when my living room TV is occupied.
Excitement about the future
We still don’t know when and how Microsoft will bring its holographic headset HoloLens to the public, but even at this early point it’s clearly something special. It’s light years beyond Google Glass, which was more of a persistent notification platform than a true augmented reality solution. And it interacts with the physical environment far better than the VR platforms we’ve seen. Most impressively, HoloLens isn’t some far off satellite project for Microsoft — it’s part of the company’s vision of a unified Windows 10 platform. On top of being powered by the new OS, it can also run any Universal Windows app. With HoloLens, Microsoft has something that could keep developers excited for the next few years.
I had the chance to sit through a HoloLens programming session, and while the experience didn’t quite match those demos Microsoft has been promoting — the field of view was small, and the fit wasn’t very good — it still has the potential to be a significant leap forward in computing. I built a hologram using the Unity game development tool and Visual Studio (with a huge helping hand from Microsoft’s reps) and spent about an hour tweaking it. When viewed through HoloLens, my creation’s textures were surprisingly clear (I was able to read the text on a crumbled up ball of paper), but it wasn’t truly lifelike.
Sure, it was just a beginner hologram, but it was enough to make me excited for what real developers will be able to do once they get their hands on HoloLens.
Wrapping up
Maybe this is reading too much into things, but I noticed a very different feeling in the air after chatting with developers and Microsoft employees over the past few days, when compared to the Windows 8 launch years ago. Back then there was plenty of apprehensiveness around the new touch interface, and a general sense that Microsoft was just rushing to catch up to Apple and Android. Now, that anxiety has been replaced with excitement. And for Microsoft, that’s the best possible outcome from its developer conference.
New FAA system can track twice as many flights at once
Whoever said “it’s the journey, not the destination” obviously lived in a time before air travel. But maybe, just maybe, the Department of Transportation’s implementation of the En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM), the “backbone” of the NextGen air-traffic system, could change how we feel about getting on a flight. There are a few things making up ERAM: performance based navigation, automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) and data comm.
The first is already in place and focuses on saving fuel by having airplanes descend from cruising altitude to the runway with engines running at idle power. ADS-B, on the other hand, swaps traditional radar tracking systems for aircraft with one using satellites; the idea is that it’ll provide tracking in places where radar doesn’t exist such as the Gulf of Mexico and chunks of Alaska. Data comm is perhaps the simplest as it aims to cut down on radio frequency traffic by establishing direct digital links between air traffic controllers and pilots, something the DoT says is akin to text messaging.
The DoT sees this as being necessary as our skies and airports get more congested, and says ERAM gives it the power to manage and track “nearly double” the flights that it can today. What’s in it for you? Apparently this new tech will help get you to your ultimate destination “faster, safer” and while being a smoother flight that uses less fuel. If that trickles down to cheaper flights or fewer delays, count us in.
[Image credit: Getty Images/Herbert Kratky]
Filed under: Transportation, Software
Source: Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (1), (2) (YouTube)
Warby Parker wants to replace your optometrist with an app
Warby Parker, the eyewear company that sends you frames to try on before you make a purchase, has some lofty goals for the near future. In addition to plans that’ll almost double its current retail footprint, the start-up has an app in the works that will save you a trip to the optometrist for an eye exam. “We think that would increase access to eye exams,” co-founder Dave Gilboa told The Wall Street Journal. “It’s early in the process but we are excited about the potential.” Of course, besides the convenience, it’ll also provide an avenue for folks who really need their eyes looked at to get some help at home.
Both the new stores and the software project will get a boost from Warby Parker’s recent $1.2 billion valuation, coming on the heels of a funding round that took in $215 million. The company started as a web business that ships a box frames for eager shoppers try on at home before having a pair made with the proper prescription. In 2013, it began opening physical stores, now totaling 12 locations in 9 cities around the US.
[Image credit: Brian Ach/Getty Images]
Filed under: Misc, Science, Software
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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