Waze will tweet if there’s unusual traffic in your area
Unless you live in California, it’s not that often that you make an effort to specifically check the traffic conditions for your morning commute. That’s probably because you’ll be spending a big chunk of your time with your face buried in Twitter instead. That’s why Waze thought it’d be a good idea to launch a traffic alerts program on the social network, called Unusual Traffic. The system compares current journey times with historical data and, when there’s a noticeable difference, will send a tweet letting you know.
The company has set up more than 50 different accounts, each one focusing on a specific metro area, including Atlanta, London and Buenos Aires. If there’s more information available like a faster alternative route or the cause of the blockage, then that information will also be included. That way, all you’ll have to do is favorite that specific account to make sure you never get stuck in traffic again, except all of the times that you do, obviously.
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Internet, Software
Source: Waze
Play classic MS-DOS games without even leaving Twitter
Although they went live at the very start of the year, it was like all of our Christmases had come at once when Archive.org added 2,400 playable MS-DOS games to its website. Retro titles like Maniac Mansion, Oregon Trail and Doom are all available, with the only downside being that you have to visit each specific game’s page to play them. However, the eagle-eyed folk at Wired noticed these have recently started working on Twitter, meaning you can get all of your social networking done while simultaneously saving Sandy Pantz from the evil Dr Fred. Thanks to Twitter’s Cards platform, all you have to do is tweet the URL of the game you want to play and it’ll take care of the rest. You can even embed the tweet (and thus the game) inside a webpage, exactly like we’ve done below.
Okay, this is pretty cool. https://t.co/UrngX0VYrr
– Matt Brian (@m4tt) April 30, 2015
Filed under: Gaming
Via: Wired
Source: Archive.org
Via Voice by Treycent, Inc. The nifty app with loads of promise
One of the most appealing features of android now days is voice controls. Google has been at the forefront of voice commands by being simple and intuitive. One of the drawbacks to voice commands is lack of custom voice commands. Treycent has come up with a solution with an application called Via Voice. the application allows the user to set up custom voice commands to access pictures. This alleviates an issue that plagues many users by having quick access to pictures without having to search the gallery. The interface is simple allowing you to type in a command or speak the command and attach a photo with very little effort. Via Voice also works with your android wear device allowing you to show pictures without reaching for you phone. The application has had a fair share of updates adding capabilities such as posting to Twitter. Just say you command followed by post to Twitter.
Via Voice has a straight forward setup asking to create an account attached to your email. Once you are signed you are ready to set up you custom voice commands. Commands are created using spoken word or manually typing in the command. The photo you choose is attached to a web link allowing the app to pull the photo online with your command. The user can also type the command in loud settings where voice is not recognized. You can also share your voice command with friends through several avenues allowing them to access the photo with voice. The application on the phone works every time. On both the Galaxy S5 and Moto X (2014) I had to choose a photo from Google Photos, Dropbox, or Facebook. So in simple terms the photos must have a link to them somewhere, any photo not synced would not work with the app. This makes sense considering the voice control is attached to a URL. The program also has a website that works in much the same way as on the phone. I was able to type or say a command and the picture was shown in a new tab. The voice control is accurate and I had very little issues as far as operations. On the off chance the voice recognition failed I was able to type the command to perform the action. The issue was mainly in places with an abundant amount of sound which is to be expected with any voice control.
The android wear capabilities with this app show promise but come up short in real world settings. The concept is very intriguing and makes showing a photo to you friends effortless when it works. The watch aspect is a work in process. I have tested this out in various situations with several failures. This could be a flaw in android wear or the app. Android wear is by all accounts not perfect and has had its fair share of issues so to pin this on the app is unfair. One of the most agitating aspects is accessing the app on the watch when it is not active. Having to scroll down to start and select the app is painful and pretty much defeats the purpose of convenience. I would suggest wear mini launcher for this app or any others on your watch. Once the program is open the access is much more convenient with a simple tap. Another noticeable shortfall is that on my Moto 360 the voice search seemed to activate at random. With the LG g watch I did not have that issue but the process itself suffered a considerable lag. I stress these issues could be because of android wear itself or the hardware.
To sum my long experience with Via Voice up it is a very neat feature to have. What would make this a go to app for me is the watch features. To have my watch pull photos to show on the go would be a very valuable tool. As of now though the app is regulated to my phone and is more a novelty than a must have. The concept has promise to make wear devices even more useful and shaves some time off searching your phone in this fast paced mobile world. The execution is lost with the watch by being unreliable and defeats the purpose of a wearable by having to use my phone in many instances. The promise is that even when the watch side was finicky the app was always up showing the correct picture on the phone. The developer has put a lot of time and effort in creating this application and I encourage anyone to give it a try. Custom commands for easy access of photos you want to share with friends and family is really convenient and hopefully the wear side can be ironed out. Via Voice is free on Google Play as well as web access at Treycent.com.
The post Via Voice by Treycent, Inc. The nifty app with loads of promise appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Twitter has over 300 million users, but is still losing money
In the fast-moving world of social media, Twitter can be considered something of an old-timer; after all, it just turned nine years old this past March. Yet, in many ways, it’s still struggling to find itself. Twitter has just reported its first quarter earnings report — which was incidentally published early due to an unintentional leak — and while it shows respectable user growth numbers, the company is still very much under water. The social media firm now boasts 302 million users, which is up 18 percent from this time last year and is a good 14 million increase from the previous quarter. Revenue for Q1 was $436 million, which is a decent 74% increase year-over-year, but is still below the $440 million forecast. And yes, the company is still not profitable, recording a net loss of $162 million for the first three months of 2015.
Twitter has been especially busy of late, as it constantly attempts to improve its core product with new features, trying out new avenues in video with products like Vine and Periscope, and is unfortunately still figuring out how to handle abusive users. But more than just making its users happy, it also now has shareholders to answer to, which means it needs to bring in more cash. That’s why Twitter is doubling down on advertising with two key announcements: It purchased TellApart, a marketing tech company that previously worked with Facebook’s ad department, and it now has a partnership with Google’s DoubleClick platform that’ll offer up more refined ad performance details to marketers.
Developing…
[Image credit: Shutterstock]
Filed under: Internet
Source: Twitter
Hackers deface Tesla’s website and Twitter accounts
It’s all too common to see ne’er-do-wells compromising a website or a social network account, but Tesla just got hit with a triple whammy. At least one group has hijacked not just the electric car maker’s website and its Twitter account, but also founder Elon Musk’s account. Both social services were quickly back in running order, but the site is going up and down as of this writing. The attackers appear to be attention-seeking pranksters (they offered a “free Tesla” to anyone calling a PC repair shop, for example) rather than sinister agents. Still, something tells us that the company isn’t quite so amused — we’ve reached out for its take on the situation, and we’ll let you know if it has more to add.
Filed under: Transportation, Internet
Source: TechCrunch
Twitter introduces a simple summary of the best Tweets for you called Highlights
Reading through tweets can be daunting. By the time you have read through 20 or 30 tweets, there is a good chance that 30 new tweets have been published. It can be impossible to get through every tweet, especially when many tweets are replicated about the same topic.
In comes Highlights, a fast and simple summary of Twitter of the stuff that is most relevant to you. Highlights are created by gathering tweets from people you are close with, topics and events in your region, and people that are popular among the people you know. If and when you opt into Highlights, you will get up to two notifications per day with your summaries. When you open the notification, you will be taken to the Twitter app where your Highlights will be displayed in a brand new interface.
Highlights will only be available in English to Android users for the time being.
Source – Twitter Blog
The post Twitter introduces a simple summary of the best Tweets for you called Highlights appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Twitter intros Highlights, the best tweets for you delivered via push notifications
If you’re like me, you easily get overwhelmed with your Twitter feed when you neglect to check it for more than a few hours. That’s why today, Twitter introduced a new feature called Highlights. Available only in English on Android devices, Highlights are topics that your close Twitter friends are currently talking about, delivered straight to your notification shade without the need to open the app.
Introducing Highlights. Get the best of Twitter every day, sent to your Android device: https://t.co/9ZUWgX9lcC pic.twitter.com/sYuu7YUO4D
— Twitter (@twitter) April 23, 2015
So, if your close friends are talking about a certain event that happened in your area or a sporting event that’s on television, you’ll be notified via a push notification. Twitter explains:
To create your Highlights, we look at things like the accounts and conversations that are popular among people you follow, Tweets from people you’re closely tied to, topics and events that are trending in your area or within your network, and people that are popular or trending among people you follow.
Highlights are now available in the settings menu of your stock Twitter app (sorry, third party Twitter app users). To turn the feature on, select your account handle and scroll down until you see the Highlights box. Once that box is checked, let Twitter begin collecting relevant information, and you should see your very own Highlights in no time.
Twitter Highlights serves up the day’s best tweets
Unless you’re constantly checking Twitter, there’s a very good chance you’re going to miss something cool. To help keep you from missing those very important tweets, Twitter introduced Highlights for Android. The feature notifies you up to twice a day about tweets Twitter believes are relevant to your interests. Twitter curates Highlights by looking at the popular accounts and conversations among the people you follow, tweets from people close to you and what’s trending nearby. Users can also see the day’s important tweets by tapping the new icon above the timeline that resembles two stacked cards. To turn on Highlights, navigate to Settings>Account Handle>Mobile Notifications and check the Highlights box. The feature is Android only for now, but Twitter says it will consider bringing it to other platforms in the future.
Introducing Highlights. Get the best of Twitter every day, sent to your Android device: https://t.co/9ZUWgX9lcC pic.twitter.com/sYuu7YUO4D
– Twitter (@twitter) April 23, 2015
Filed under: Internet, Software, Mobile
Source: Twitter
Vine makes it easier to share videos everywhere at once
So you’ve discovered a catch Vine video that you know your friends will instantly appreciate, but they’re scattered across multiple social networks. Will you have to sit there diligently tapping the share button over and over again to make sure everyone sees it? Not after today. Vine has updated its iOS app (Android is coming soon) with a revamped sharing feature that posts those six-second clips on multiple services in one shot. All you have to do to spread the word is mark the social networks you want to include (such as Tumblr, a new addition) and hit the share button. There’s still no Instagram option, to no one’s surprise, but this could otherwise save you a lot of effort.
https://vine.co/v/ea5Pgalr6bv/embed/postcard
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile
Vine makes it easier to share videos everywhere at once
So you’ve discovered a catch Vine video that you know your friends will instantly appreciate, but they’re scattered across multiple social networks. Will you have to sit there diligently tapping the share button over and over again to make sure everyone sees it? Not after today. Vine has updated its iOS app (Android is coming soon) with a revamped sharing feature that posts those six-second clips on multiple services in one shot. All you have to do to spread the word is mark the social networks you want to include (such as Tumblr, a new addition) and hit the share button. There’s still no Instagram option, to no one’s surprise, but this could otherwise save you a lot of effort.
https://vine.co/v/ea5Pgalr6bv/embed/postcard
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile
AIVAnet 