Bcstevieb

• Update 1: 2016/09/09 5:47pm PDT
  As the above screenshots did not show, the app cards still show the prices of applications if they are not free, in addition to the new download size. Several commenters

If you're trying to be conscious about your device's storage space, the Play Store doesn't make it easy. To see an application's total file size, you have to tap on the app's page, tap 'read more' on the description, and scroll all the way to the bottom.

Read More

[Update: New Top Charts too] Google Play Store testing file sizes for apps on most pages was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

To nobody’s surprise, Apple has merged audio into the Lightning connector on the iPhone 7, removing the 3.5mm audio jack. As evidence of the lack of surprise, DarioHealth unveiled a new glucose meter on Thursday, one day after Apple’s announcement, which works with the iPhone’s Lightning connector.

Previously, the DarioHealth blood glucose monitoring system connected via the audio jack. The new device offers the same functionality and design, the only difference is the connector.

See Also: How close are we to the robotic human heart?

“This news comes as no surprise to us, and we’ve been working on a solution for quite some time now,” said DarioHealth CEO, Erez Raphael. “Our team’s agility to navigate the complex mobile ecosystem showcases DarioHealth’s versatility and passion to be at the forefront of cutting-edge technology in general, and the diabetes healthcare market specifically.”

Easier glucose monitoring could slow disease’s progress

DarioHealth provides the glucose meter to diabetics, letting them measure their blood sugar levels. The scan results are shown on the company’s iPhone app, alongside previous measurements.

Data is sent to a carer or physician, giving them a routine update on blood sugar levels and any issues. The app also gives patients an emotional and environmental log, and a list of food options.

Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases in certain parts of the world. In the U.S., 21 million people are diagnosed with diabetes, according to the CDC, with a further 8 million undiagnosed, totalling 9.3 percent of the population.

DarioHealth recently received approval from the FDA to sell its glucose meter in the U.S. It already sells the device in Australia, Canada, and parts of Europe. The new Lightning connector option will be available at the start of the next year.

The post Next iPhone could double as a glucose monitor appeared first on ReadWrite.

There is no denying that the chickpea is the shining star of the vegetarian substitution world. It makes a great fritter, its liquid can take the place of egg whites, and it makes an excellent tuna-like salad.

http://lifehacker.com/use-chickpea-l…

Chickpeas provide the texture, and a slightly meaty, savory flavor, but to get that ocean-y hint, The Kitchn combines the processed beans with umeboshi vinegar, which has a “seafood like flavor.” (If you want to further up the “chicken of the sea” factor, you can also crumble some nori in there.) This is mixed with mayo, celery, mustard, and a few other seasonings and combined in a food processor until spreadable, after which it can be enjoyed however you like to eat tuna salad. (I hear bread is the usual vessel, but I’ve always like mine with apple slices.)

Recipe: Chickpea of the Sea “Vegetarian Tuna Fish” Sandwiches | The Kitchn

Photo by thebittenword.com.

Google’s DeepMind artificial intelligence has produced what could be some of the most realistic-sounding machine speech yet. WaveNet, as the system is called, generates voices by sampling real human speech and directly modeling audio waveforms based on it, as well as its previously generated audio. In Google’s tests, both English and Mandarin Chinese listeners found WaveNet more realistic than other types of text-to-speech programs, although it was less convincing than actual human speech. If that weren’t enough, it can also play the piano rather well.

Text-to-speech programs are increasingly important for computing, as people begin to rely on bots and AI personal assistants like Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, Amazon’s Alexa, and...

Continue reading…

A few weeks ago, Google told us that Project Fi's WiFi Assistant, which connects users automatically to public WiFi using a secure VPN, was heading to Nexus devices in the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, and Nordic countries. This has now started rolling out, via an update to Google Connectivity Services, version D.1.5.10.

WiFi Assistant for non-Project Fi Nexus devices is rolling out was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

 The Raspberry Pi Foundation has finally put out an official starter kit for its low cost microcomputer — offering what it dubs an “unashamedly premium” bundle for the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, complete with optical mouse and keyboard in a very Apple-looking shade of white, plus all the cables you need to get up and running. The only thing missing is a screen. Read More

Yosemite National Park announced yesterday that it's growing by 400 acres, The New York Times reports. Though that's not a lot of land for a park that totals 1,169 square miles, the expansion is significant because it includes wetlands — key environmental areas that improve water quality, provide habitats for wildlife, and store water in times of droughts.

The new addition, the park’s largest expansion in 67 years, is called Ackerson Meadow. The area was donated to the park by The Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit conservation organization that purchased Ackerson Meadow for $2.3 million earlier this year. That money was in part also provided by the nonprofit Yosemite Conservancy and the National Park Trust.

"The generous...

Continue reading…

“So I've been drawing sidewalk signs for my friend's bar for almost a year,” says IMGURian Ollie Wolff Pruitt aka littlewolff4h. (more…)

5,300 Wells Fargo employees created 2 million phony bank accounts and racked up huge fees, raking in commissions from their employer for being such great salespeople for the bank's services; meanwhile, the fees associated with the 2 million fake accounts created the appearance of much greater earnings for the bank, which it trumpeted to its investors. (more…)

Heads up West Wing fans: The West Wing Weekly podcast is your must-listen companion piece. Hosted by West Wing aficionado Hrishikesh Hirway and former West Wing star Joshua Malina, the podcast takes an episode-by-episode look at Aaron Sorkin's beloved political drama. I'm enjoying the podcast so much, it even inspired me to marathon The West Wing all over again.

(more…)

Facebook has banned one of the most famous images of the Vietnam war—then 9-year-old Kim Phuc running naked from a napalm attack on her village—for contravening the site's prohibition on "nudity." It even removed a posting of it by the Norwegian Prime Minister.

The editor of Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten said the entire post, which was about iconic war imagery, was later deleted and the account of the reporter behind it suspended.

Espen Egil Hansen has accused Mark Zuckerberg of "an abuse of power".

Facebook said it has to restrict nudity for cultural reasons.

Mr Hansen said the image of Kim Phuc, then aged nine, was removed less than 24 hours after the newspaper received a request from the firm to either take down the image or pixelate it and before it had responded.

Phuc suffered horrific burns in the attack, which she described as "a blast of heat which felt like someone had opened the door of an oven." Though it was unlikely she'd survive, journalists Nick Ut (who shot the photo) and Christopher Wain took her to hospital and she pulled through. She lives in pain to this day, and the photograph is part of the world's cultural heritage, a powerful warning of the horror of war.

Facebook's won: it doesn't have to pretend to care anymore about being the "public square" it sometimes affects to be. But let's hope it can be convinced to reconsider this one.

It's time for expectations to change, though. Nobly declaring "I shall not comply with your requirement to remove this picture" only highlights to whom publishers have ceded their power, given that Facebook already removed the picture. Take this quote from Sue Llewellyn, a social media consultant:

She also disagreed with Mark Zuckerberg's comments last month that his company is a technology firm, not a media organisation. "You can't be a distributor of news without having editorial responsibilities," she said. "They can't keep washing their hands of it and then censoring content."

Of course they can! As hypocritical and smarmy and holier-than-thou Facebook is about rights and access to Facebook, it still belongs to them.

Even if we got Facebook to agree to embody ideals of free expression, even if it believed in them to the heart of its culture, its nature and vulnerability as a private corporation forces it to act in its own perceived interests when a dilemma presents itself. If you care about being able to say what you want, your only option is not to speechcrop on Facebook. If you're not prepared to leave it for commercial reasons, because it's where the market is, that's cool. But unless it's nationalized and operated as a state-run utility—as if!—Facebook will always have the last word on what you get to say on Facebook.

Doctors have this nasty habit of asking a lot of questions, many of which make us uncomfortable or self-conscious. So we bluff. A lot. Here are 10 typical lies we tell our doctors, and why these seemingly innocuous fibs are hazardous to our health.

(1) Yes, I’m taking my medications just like you told me

No, you’re not. Sure, it’s difficult to take medications routinely. It’s awkward to fess up to your GP that you don’t. But now, you’re not just skipping out on prescribed treatment, you’ve given your doctor a dose of misinformation which could result in further adverse effects.

“I need to know whether the patient is taking the meds. If they aren’t, and I assume the drug isn’t working, it may cause me to switch to a different second choice med,” Dr. David B. Agus, the Director of the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine, told Gizmodo. A doctor might also unnecessarily adjust your dosage, since your current one (the one you’re not actually taking) isn’t apparently having its intended effect.

“Be honest about the meds you are taking or not taking, and then together we can make the right decisions.”

Dosage boosts come with their own set of consequences, such as increased heart rate, dizziness, and fatigue. So now you’re actually undermining your health, which is the opposite outcome of why you went to the doctor in the first place.

Often, the doctor can tell if you’re not taking specific medications—if you show up with elevated blood pressure, or your blood tests indicate high cholesterol. Ultimately, however, it’s really on you. “Be honest about the meds you are taking or not taking,” Agus says, “and then together we can make the right decisions.”

(2) Nope, I’m not taking any prescription drugs or supplements right now

Oh, really? This seemingly minor omission could seriously derail your health. As Agus explains, when his patients don’t tell him about all of the medications they’re taking, he may miss an important interaction or potential side effect. This includes prescription drugs like blood-thinners, antibiotics, antidepressants, and heart medications, as well as supplements and over-the-counter drugs, such as aspirin, minerals, amino acids, botanicals, and vitamins.

“Supplements are drugs and need to be treated as such,” he told Gizmodo. “They should be listed on a patient’s record of their medications.” The nature of drug-on-drug reactions depend on the particular mixture and the unique physiology of the patient, but some drugs pack a bigger punch than others.

http://io9.gizmodo.com/5919434/prescr…

“These may be painkillers, benzodiazepines, and so on,” Dr. Gail Saltz, an associate professor of psychiatry at The New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill-Cornel School of Medicine, told Gizmodo. She says it’s unfortunate when people lie to their doctor about addictive medications they’re taking, or have been prescribed by another doctor. “These medications interact with others and can have an additive effect, which can be dangerous.”

Problematic drug-on-drug interactions can include a dangerous drop in blood pressure, a fast-paced irregular heart beat, a build-up of toxins that damage the liver, and less serious symptoms such as nausea, upset stomach, and headache.

Patients may lie, says Saltz, because they want more of these medications, or because they feel embarrassed. They may also fail to tell their doctor that they are on antidepressants because they feel uncomfortable sharing that psychiatric treatment information with another doctor, or feel that it’s not important.

“Drug interactions make it important for your doctor to know.” says Saltz, “A diagnosis of depression or anxiety is also important to know because some medications can, as a side effect, cause depression or anxiety—and particularly in someone who has already been experiencing that.”

(3) I didn’t eat or drink anything prior to this surgery

A patient comes in for surgery and the anesthesiologists asks, “When was the last time you had anything to eat or drink?” The patient responds, “Oh doc, I haven’t had anything all day.” It may sound like a harmless fib, but according to M. Fahad Khan, assistant professor of anesthesiology at NYU Langone Medical Center, it could result in disaster.

“It is very important for patients to be honest about that last oral intake of food or drink as it can have significant consequences with regards to their anesthetic plan,” he told Gizmodo. “Patients presenting for elective surgery are assumed to have an empty stomach, because they are prepped to do so.”

Trouble is, when a patient is put to sleep via anesthesia, their lower esophageal sphincter (the valve that connects the esophagus to the stomach) relaxes. During this period of relaxation, says Khan, food contents from the stomach can dangerously regurgitate up into the patient’s mouth and snake their way into the patient’s trachea (windpipe) on their way to the lungs. Once in the lungs, this regurgitated acidic food material can start to cause inflammation and may even lead to the development of a pneumonia.

“Lying to your anesthesiologist about the last time you had anything to eat prior to surgery can have devastating consequences and in a worst case scenario can land you in the ICU,” he says.

(4) I actually don’t drink that much alcohol

Many of us are guilty of this one. Dr. Harriet Hall, editor of Science Based Medicine, says our failure to tell the truth about alcohol consumption is counterproductive. “Underreporting the amount of alcohol you drink will only delay diagnosis and treatment,” she told Gizmodo.

Health experts say that you shouldn’t have more than two-three drinks a day (10-15 per week), adding that’s okay to indulge on special occasions. Health problems can arise when we exceed these limits, including raised blood pressure, abnormal blood-test results, and digestive issues. So if you lie to your doctor about your alcohol intake, and you exhibit these symptoms, you’re potentially leading your doctor down the garden path. What’s more, alcohol—like any other drug—may be influencing the effectiveness of medications you’re taking, and your doctor needs to know.

“Seriously, people shouldn’t worry about being judged by their doctors. Plenty of doctors drink more alcohol than they should.”

For those with a more serious alcohol issue, this is a kind of lie that could actually kill them, according Dr. David Juurlink from Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. “I’m referring specifically to patients who are admitted to hospital, and who subsequently develop alcohol withdrawal,” he told Gizmodo. “It’s a potentially lethal—and sometimes hard to diagnose—disorder.”

In a hospital, if doctors have been truthfully told about a patient’s alcohol history, they know to watch for withdrawal and treat it accordingly. But if they’re not told or misled about a patient’s alcohol consumption, and the patient goes into withdrawal, health practitioners often look for other disorders that can cause similar findings (e.g. fever, agitation, confusion, etc.), and may forgo what can be lifesaving treatment for alcohol withdrawal.

“Seriously, people shouldn’t worry about being judged by their doctors,” says Juurlink. “Plenty of doctors drink more alcohol than they should.”

(5) Me, a smoker? Pfffft

Around 13 percent of smokers keep their habit a secret from their doctors. Taken as a whole, that means about six million smokers in the United States are withholding this very important information.

“When I ask them if they’re a smoker they often say they’re an ex-smoker,” says Dave Hepburn, a general practitioner in Victoria, British Columbia. “When I ask how long, some will admit five days or similar.” Needless to say, that does not make one an ex-smoker, particularly if that person has been smoking regularly for years.

People are afraid to tell their doctors the truth because of the social stigma surrounding cigarette use, and because they’re afraid to admit to themselves that they’re engaging in an extremely risky health habit. What’s more, patients may be hiding their habit from their families (who often share a GP) or their employers.

http://gizmodo.com/british-scient…

Nonetheless, it’s important to tell the truth. If your doctor knows you smoke, they can recommend further screenings and evaluations, and assign a more stringent schedule of check-ups to catch smoking-related diseases, such as cancer, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and heart disease. It’s also important to remember that your doctor can help you kick the habit before it’s too late.

“Smoking is one of the most important lifestyle changes that can be made that affects health dramatically in many areas ranging from stroke and heart attack to cancers of all types,” Hepburn told Gizmodo.

(6) Oh, I don’t do drugs

Given that most recreational drugs are illegal, we’re obviously uncomfortable about sharing these habits with our doctors. Dr. Ramin Manshadi, an Associate Clinical Professor at UC Davis, feels that the vast majority of people who take recreational drugs lie to their doctors about it, yet the truth often shows up in their urine.

Failure to disclose the drugs we’re taking, especially hard drugs, can seriously impede a doctor’s ability to diagnosis a health condition. Marijuana, an increasingly socially and legally acceptable recreational drug, can interfere with other drugs, such as antidepressants, aspirin, blood thinners (e.g. warfarin and heparin), antiplatlet drugs, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (e.g. ibuprofen). It can also affect blood sugar levels and cause low blood pressure.

Importantly, if you’re being taken to the hospital for a drug-related reason, or if you’re on some kind of drug when a health emergency happens, you should tell your doctor or the ER so they know exactly how to treat you and save you from something potentially much worse than a bad trip.

“It’s very important to disclose your drug use to your doctors specially if you are having a heart attack,” says Manshadi. “If a patient is having a heart attack and they have used cocaine for example, then we cannot give them some beneficial meds that we normally give heart attack patients,” adding that the combination “can cause worsening of heart attack and possibly death.”

(7) I exercise regularly and eat healthy foods

“If your cholesterol is up, blood glucose is high, as is your blood pressure, don’t just say you’ve been going through a bad period when your life has been bad for as long as you can remember,” says David Jenkins, professor of Nutritional Sciences and Medicine at the University of Toronto. “You need help. You need a change in lifestyle. And if that’s not sufficient then you need a change in meds.”

Dr. Mullen says that too many patients try to sound perfect for their doctors, but lying about exercise in particular only hurts the patients. “We all know diabetes and heart disease are major problems in developed countries,” he told Gizmodo. “Exercise and diet are the best methods for beating these diseases, so don’t lie about it! Overlooking the daily necessity of nutrition and exercise is a big problem. Be honest and get some helpful tips from your doctor.”

(8) I don’t really take a lot of over-the-counter pain relief

A patient may tell their doctor that they’re only taking about 1 to 2 tablets of Tylenol once in a while, but in reality they’re taking about two tablets every four hours around the clock, seven days a week. As Dr. Khan explains, acetaminophen toxicity is real and can be deadly.

“Doctors need to know an accurate record of how much over-the-counter acetaminophen a patient is actually taking in order to prescribe them a safe pain management plan,” he says. “Several pain medications (i.e. Percocet, Vicodin, Norco, Ultracet) are combination pills that include a strong acting opioid medication in addition to acetaminophen.”

Khan says a patient’s liver doesn’t know where all the acetaminophen is coming from, nor does it really care. It’s just trying to figure out a way to metabolize the copious amount of medicine safely and effectively.

“The most recent guidelines for the use of acetaminophen have suggested that no more than 4,000 mg (some even cite 3,000 mg) as the upper daily limit of allowable intake,” says Khan. “So now if a doctor is under the assumption that a patient is only taking a small amount of over-the-counter acetaminophen on their own, he/she may unknowingly prescribe a combination pain medication—one that that also contains acetaminophen—that will put the patient at risk for potentially developing liver failure.”

(9) It doesn’t hurt

Some of us go to the doctor and under-exaggerate our symptoms in hopes that the doctor won’t find anything wrong with us, or to feed our inflated egos in regards to how much discomfort we can handle. This is obviously a huge no-no.

As an example, Dr. Mashadi points to patients who have had stents implanted to treat blockages in their arteries. “They downplay their symptoms because they do not want to end up getting another stent,” he explains. “This is dangerous since the sooner we find out there are issues, the better the outcome.”

On the other hand, Manshadi says there are patients who have financial hardships and downplay their symptoms so they don’t have to pay their deductibles and/or co-pay. “This is also dangerous,” he says. “The advice is to always the truth to your doctors. As much as legally possible, I would discount patients that can not afford to pay or refer them to free clinics. Health comes first.”

Similarly, Dr. Mullen says he has patients who come in and downplay the amount of aches and pains they’re feeling, saying they keep quiet about neck, shoulder, or low back pain. “Unfortunately, these painful areas may be more problematic than they think,” he says. “Many systemic diseases refer pain to other areas (i.e. referral pain). If it isn’t a referral pain, it doesn’t mean it isn’t serious. Regular joint pain should be addressed early and referred to a physical therapist, as pain can increase risk for joint degeneration and replacement later in life.”

(10) Gotcha doc, I totally understand what you’re saying

As Dr. Hall pointed out to Gizmodo, about 40 to 80 percent of medical information provided by doctors is forgotten immediately,
and much of what is remembered is remembered wrong. “Get the doctor to provide written information, read it carefully at home, and prepare questions for the next visit,” she recommends.

Clearly, our ability to understand and remember our doctor’s instructions and admonitions is critical to getting better and staying healthy. When we don’t comprehend something our doctor says, we might not take our medications correctly, or we might engage in risky habits if we don’t truly understand the implications of a concussion or an x-ray.

We need to stop pretending and nodding our heads in agreement when our doctors start talking gobbledygook. As patients, we’re the non-experts, so we need to check our egos at the door. It’s okay to ask your doctor for clarification. Remember—that’s their job, and just like you, they want to see your health improve.

iOS/Android: If you have a health condition that you can’t really talk to friends and family about, ReachOut is an app that provides a social support network to help you cope. It aims to turn those well-meaning but hollow “Are you okay?” questions into “I’m here for you. I understand.”

http://vitals.lifehacker.com/the-crisis-tex…

The app is free, easy to set up, and has a clean interface. When you create your account, you choose the challenges you face, which could be related to dealing with cancer, diabetes, heart disease, mental illness, substance abuse, or a recent death. On the main feed, you can scroll through stories and conversations of other users that are going through similar struggles, or reaching out to offer you support. If a particular conversation or person resonates with you, you have the option to “star,” or save, the thread or person.

All in all, it’s just a support network, but if your challenges wind up making you feel alone, a support network is exactly what you need.

ReachOut (Free) | iTunes App Store
ReachOut (Free) | Google Play

The first episode of Star Trek aired on September 8th, 1966. Today, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the series, we’re putting on a playlist of all the iconic music that’s come out of this innovative franchise.

Star Trek built its sprawling universe on a spirit of exploration, diversity, and optimism. Everything from the show’s original theme to the various soundtracks over the years express these themes. In the playlist below, curated by Spotify user Trent Stafford, you’ll find a collection of soundtracks from the movies, television series, and even some orchestral performances of Star Trek’s iconic music.

Welcome to our Featured Playlist series. Each week, we’ll share a new themed playlist, embedded for your convenience! You can copy the track list to your service of choice, or listen right here. Have a sweet playlist of your own? Share it with us in the comments below!

Photo by Wikimedia Commons.

Android/Windows/macOS/Linux: There are a lot of awesome ways to access the files and apps on your Android phone from your PC. DeskDock takes it a step further by simply treating your Android device like it’s connected directly to your computer.

To set it up, you’ll need to install the DeskDock app on the Android device you want to target, as well as the server application on any desktop or laptop computer. Once it’s up and running, you can seamlessly move your mouse from one device to another, as easily as if your phone was a second monitor on your computer.

DeskDock PRO also lets you use your computer’s keyboard on your phone, drag and drop URLs or APKs between devices, and even offers a few shortcuts for changing your phone’s volume or brightness levels. It also removes all ads from the application. If you constantly need to use your Android device at your computer but don’t like having to pick it up, this app makes it super easy.

DeskDock Free | Google Play Store via Android Police

DeskDock PRO | Google Play Store

See sample pages from this book at Wink.

Big Trouble in Little China Vol. 1
by John Carpenter (author), Eric Powell (author) and Brian Churilla (illustrator)
BOOM! Studios
2015, 128 pages, 8.6 x 10.2 x 0.4 inches (softcover)
$11 Buy a copy on Amazon

(Do I really need to give a spoiler alert for a movie that came out in 1986?)

“Have you paid your dues Jack? Yessir, the check is in the mail.” After shaking the pillars of heaven and defeating Lo Pan, Jack Burton drove off into the night with a monster sneaking up on him from the back of his truck. That’s sadly where this incredible movie ended. It joined the ranks of other cult '80s movies bold enough to tease a sequel that would never come to be. Thankfully much like Lo Pan was in the film, this story isn’t quite dead yet.

The comic picks up right where the movie ended with Jack driving his semi, the Pork-Chop Express, in the rain monologuing into his CB. From there it spirals into ninja punching, demon spewing, and Jack Burton awesomeness. What makes me especially happy is that this is a true extension of the story, as the film's director John Carpenter is back, working with the Goon’s Eric Powell, with Brian Churilla doing the artwork. It’s an awesome creative team up. Comic Jack is a caricature of his Kurt Russell counterpart, which seems oddly fitting and adds to the zaniness of the world.

Fans of the movie will definitely be into this comic. If you’re not a fan, I guess you can go enjoy eating some celery or something, while the rest of us hear tales of ancient mysticism and armed monkeys. The story dips back into the cheesiness that made the movie so enjoyable, while still bringing some new character development to the table. While not spoiling it, Vol. 1 does leave you wanting more, but thankfully you won’t have to wait 30 more years for the next installment. Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 are out, and more are on the way. – JP LeRoux

America imprisons more people than any other country in history, in both absolute and relative terms. American prisoners -- disproportionately racialized and poor people -- are held in inhumane conditions that include long periods of solitary confinement, in violation of international protocols against torture. (more…)

 Whether you’re working out of a dorm room or running a billion-dollar company, a little pivot can go a long way. At their worst, pivots can derail a company’s success, but at their best, they demonstrate a company is still attuned to its user base — no matter how big it gets. Digit, a fintech service that helps people save, launched a year and a half ago with the… Read More

Tens of millions of unionized public sector workers walked off the job last Friday in a one-day strike against PM Modi's plan to privatise public industries and increase foreign investment. It was one of the largest strikes in human history, if not the largest, and took place over Labour Day weekend. (more…)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RtmVnD8_XM

Complete with the sort of music that accompanies peaceful villages in Japanese adventure games, newStory's 360° footage of four adorable kittens is here to brighten your day. Drag and click inside the video to look around! [via Metafilter] (more…)

Star Trek celebrates its 50th anniversary today and one series that deserves to be a big part of that celebration is Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The third Star Trek series ran from 1993-1999 and while it was once considered the “red-headed stepchild” of Star Trek, it’s now generally accepted as one of the strongest elements of the franchise. (more…)

Chrome is getting serious about websites that don’t use encryption. The next version of Chrome will include a new warning for unencrypted login sites, according to a post today on the Google Security Blog. Chrome 56, which is planned to launch in January, will mark HTTP login pages as "not secure" in a window next to the address bar. Unencrypted HTTP is particularly dangerous for login pages, as it could allow an attacker to intercept passwords as they travel across the network.

Continue reading…

Back in March, Google Maps added a dedicated ride-sharing tab with comparative prices. This is extremely useful if you want to compare prices easily, and of course to see what services are available in a given area.

Today, Google is improving that feature by adding support for Lyft and Gett. Google claims Maps now displays options from "9 ride-sharing partners in over 60 countries." Google also mentions that the ride-sharing tab shows multiple types of services offered by each company.

Read More

Google Maps adds Lyft and Gett to ride services tab was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Scott London, a longtime burner and photographer (see his 2014 photo book, Burning Man: Art on Fire), produced an amazing set of portraits of art cars -- "mutant vehicles" -- from this year's event, including Maria Del Camino (previously), a flying El Camino/tank hybrid that lives in Liminal Labs, where I camp with its creator, the amazing Bruce Tomb. (more…)

Belarusian crafter Orange Cat created the Octopus George felted backpack for "crazy octopus lovers" and "sailor man who loves the sea and marine creatures." (more…)

YouTube's Android app seems to be getting yet another design revamp, this time in the form of a navigation change. This news comes just a few weeks after it was reported that the YouTube app is getting a new UI for comments and video descriptions (which many people, including myself, still don't have).

  

left: the current layout. right: the new layout.

In case you somehow haven't noticed the difference even after reading the title and looking at the attached screenshots, this server-side update relocates the navigation bar from the top of the app to the bottom.

Read More

New YouTube UI with navigation bar on bottom rolling out server-side on Android was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Android Pay will be up and running on the mobile web "soon," says Google, letting users pay for their online shopping with their stored credit cards. Taking the payment system beyond something you use on your phone in stores has been on the cards for a while now (with new API support added in the most recent version of Chrome), but according to new a blog post from the Android team, we shouldn’t have much longer to wait.

"We’re moving beyond mobile apps and bringing the simplicity and security of Android Pay onto the mobile web," writes Pali Bhat, Google’s global head of payment products. "Users will soon be able to speed through mobile checkout on Chrome using Android Pay on sites like Groupon.com, 1-800-Flowers.com and many more to...

Continue reading…

Today, Apple hit the stage to announce the new iPhone 7, which features a fancy new camera and a water resistant inclosure. They also made a bunch of other announcements, from a new Apple Watch to the death of the headphone jack. If you didn’t feel like wasting hours watching their press conference, here’s everything you need to know.

The iPhone 7 Is Water Resistant, Finally Ups to the Base Storage, and Ships on September 16

The new iPhone 7 sports a slightly new look and comes in two new colors, a matte black and a glossy black. The new enclosure makes the iPhone 7 water and dust resistant. It also gives the iPhone 7 space for stereo speakers, one on the top and another on the bottom. The speakers include an increased dynamic range, which should help improve the sound.

Aside from the overall look, the home button gets its first major redesign too. The home button will support force-touch like gestures due to the “Taptic engine.” Apple didn’t go into much detail about what you’d do with this, so we’ll have to wait and see what the impact of a new home button will actually be.

As you’d expect, the processor in the iPhone 7 was also updated. It’s called A10 Fusion, which promises to be faster than the 6s. More importantly, it’s a four-core processor that features two low-power cores that should help improve battery life. Apple’s promising the longest battery life of any iPhone, claiming it’s about 2 hours longer than the iPhone 6s.

The iPhone 7 ups the storage to 32GB, 128GB, and 256GB, and the pricing remains the same as previous models, starting at $649 for the 32GB. The iPhone 7 Plus starts at $769 for the 32GB. Preorders start September 9th.

Apple Wants to Kill the Headphone Jack

The new design comes with one massive change though. The rumors about Apple ditching the 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack are true. The iPhone 7 only has a lightning port with no headphone jack. This means new lighting-based Apple EarPods will come packed in the box alongside an adapter so you can awkwardly use your old 1/8" headphones. Whether other smartphone manufacturers follow suit is yet to be seen.

The iPhone’s Camera Gets a 12 Megapixel Upgrade, Includes Image Stabilization, and a Wider Color Gamut

The camera in the iPhone 7 got a big bump. This includes optical image stabilization, a wide f/1.8 aperture lens that lets in 50 percent more light than the iPhone 6s, a 12MP camera, and a high-speed processor that’s faster than previous versions. Apple suggests this improves low-light photos, adds a wider color gamut, and improves live photos. The front camera gets a boost to 7MP and includes the image same stabilization as the front.

The iPhone 7 Plus adds a second camera to the mix. The second camera is a telephoto lens meant to improve zoom. That includes a 2x optical zoom and up to 10x digital zoom. The iPhone 7 Plus also gets a new depth of field shooting capability that uses both cameras alongside advanced machine learning on the camera chip itself to create a bokeh effect on portraits, though it won’t be available at launch. There’s a lot of hype behind what the iPhone 7 Plus camera can do, but we’ll have to see how it actually works in the real world after launch.

http://lifehacker.com/5978014/create…

Apple AirPods Are $160 Wireless Headphones You Will Absolutely Lose, or Have to Charge Regularly

Apple announced its new wireless headphones, called Apple AirPods. These wireless headphones look a lot like Apple EarPods, but, well, without wires. They feature a five-hour battery life, accelerometers, microphones, Siri integration, and are supposedly easy to connect to the iPhone 7. Whether they’re iPhone-specific or will use Bluetooth to connect remains to be seen. They’ll launch in October for the premium price of $160.

iOS 10 Launches Tuesday, September 13

iOS 10, which packs a ton of new features, including a brand new lock screen and a bunch of little tweaks to the Messages app, will arrive next Tuesday, September 13.

http://lifehacker.com/everything-app…

The Apple Watch Series 2 Launches September 16, Adds GPS, Is Water Resistant Up to 50 Meters

The Apple Watch is getting its first hardware update, dubbed the Apple Watch Series 2. This version’s big feature is a waterproof rating that makes it possible to take your watch for a swim.

The hardware gets an update too. Now it includes a dual-core processor, a faster GPU, a new display, and the feature people have been asking for since launch: built-in GPS. This makes it so you can use it as a fitness watch without connecting it to your phone. Speaking of which, there’s also now a special version of the watch that’s a collaboration with Nike meant specifically for runners. The Apple Watch Series 2 will launch at $369 on September 16th. The original Apple Watch drops to $269 and gets the same dual-core processor, but still doesn’t have the GPS inside.

Most importantly, Niantic took the stage to announce that Pokémon Go will arrive on the Apple Watch at some point before the end of the year, and will connect to your iPhone to show you when eggs hatch, Pokémon are nearby, PokéStops are close (and let you spin them), and more.

iWork Gets Real-Time Collaboration

iWork will roll out updates to its desktop and mobile apps that allows for real-time collaborative editing. This brings it in line features that have been in Google Docs and Microsoft Office 365 for a quite a while.

There’s a Mario Game Coming to iPhone This Fall

Finally, Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo came out on stage to announce a new Mario game, an endless runner called Super Mario Run, specifically for the iPhone. It’ll be released this fall, with pricing details to be announced soon, but the assurance that it’ll be a one-time purchase with no in-app transactions. Kotaku has details.

http://kotaku.com/official-new-m…