Amazon reported earnings for its second fiscal quarter of 2016 today and for its AWS unit, it was once again a big quarter. AWS net sales hit $2.9 billion in the last quarter, up from $2.5 billion in net sales in the last quarter. That’s up from $1.8 billion in the year-ago-quarter. It’s worth noting that that’s a slightly slower quarter-to-quarter growth rate than in the… Read More
In the last decade, researchers at Johns Hopkins University and elsewhere have launched new studies investigating whether psychedelic drugs, from shrooms to LSD to DMT, can treat mental disorders ranging from depression and PTSD to anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Vox reporters German Lopez and Javier Zarracina surveyed the state of medical research on hallucinogens:
In a recent study, British researchers used brain imaging techniques to gauge how the brain looks on LSD versus a placebo. They found big differences between LSD and the placebo, with the images of the brain on LSD showing much more connectivity between different sections of the mind.
This can help explain visual hallucinations, because it means various parts of the brain — not just the visual cortex at the back of the mind — are communicating during an LSD trip.
This, researchers argued, may show not just why psychedelic drugs trigger hallucinogenic experiences but also why they may be able to help people. "In many psychiatric disorders, the brain may be viewed as having become entrenched in pathology, such that core behaviors become automated and rigid," the researchers wrote. "Consistent with their ‘entropic’ effect on cortical activity, psychedelics may work to break down such disorders by dismantling the patterns of activity on which they rest."
Two years ago Google introduced extensions for Google Docs and Sheets. These third-party add-ons expanded on what the browser-based word processor and spreadsheet could do, often integrating them with online services. Now that functionality has made its way to Android.
NeuroSky, the company that brought you the technology behind the StarWars “Force Trainer,” is moving farther away from the dark side with its development of the MindScribe headset and accompanying software.
The MindScribe, which interprets brain waves, is designed for people suffering from what is called “locked-in syndrome.” Locked-in syndrome is the inability to… Read More
Amazon has launched its Dash grocery scanner in the UK to help consumers quickly and conveniently add items to their basket for easy checkout by scanning barcodes. Once the items have been added, all that's required is to complete the checkout process on a PC or using one of the official Amazon mobile apps.
As noted in Engadget's report, should two Amazon Fresh orders be completed before August 28, the Dash can be delivered for free. For those who don't, it'll set them back £35. There's also voice support, in case you'd rather say what you wish to have ordered, as opposed to messing around with scanning individual products.
All we need now are the Dash buttons so we can maintain an unhealthy supply of Monster energy drink.
An FCC listing last month made us think Kobo might be preparing to release two new e-readers. Were we dreaming? Were those FCC listings actually filed or just figments of our hype-fueled imaginations? Apparently they were real, as indicated by Kobo CEO Michael Tamblyn in a tweet yesterday.
There's something refreshing and low-stress about playing a mobile game without in-app purchases. Knowing that you're spending a couple of dollars to get an entire game that you can actually finish from beginning to end without being hounded to buy coins or gems or some other sort of in-app currency really makes the experience better.
Grab your gun boots and jump down the well in Downwell. This retro-styled roguelike game is extremely challenging, featuring a pretty steep learning curve as you learn how to defeat the enemies and figure out which weapon upgrades work best for your play style (Hint: it's the Noppy).
Since your character is falling, enemies and shops come from the bottom-up, so you need to be strategic in your freefall do you don't accidentally land on an enemy and lose a heart. There are a number of different 'styles' you unlock through repeated play, which give you different numbers of hearts at the start, changes the way end of level upgrades work, and slightly alters the way your sprite falls down the well.
The goal is to survive as you fall deeper and deeper down the well. There's no in-app purchases, save points, or continues, so when you die you must start at the entrance of the well again.
If you've always dreamt of being king for a day, you'll definitely want to check out Reigns. It's a stylish game with simple gameplay mechanics and razor sharp wit, wherein you try to keep your kingdom running smoothly by interacting with advisors, citizens, witches and other characters in your kingdom. It's best described as one of those 'Choose Your Own Adventure' books, except instead of flipping to some page, you simply swipe left or right.
Each decision you make has an effect on four resources you must manage: religion, citizens, the army and your kingdom's treasury. Balancing these resources is key, as if any meter maxes out or reaches zero, your reign is over. But the game doesn't end — instead you become your successor and try to last longer in your reign than the king before you.
It's the perfect pick-up-and-play game for killing some time, and you'll definitely enjoy the dark humor found throughout.
The Room is perhaps the best puzzle franchise on Android. In each game, you are tasked with solving a series of three-dimensional puzzles set up by the mysterious Craftsman.
There are three games in the series and the first two are available for a great price — The Room is available for just $0.99, The Room 2 is only $1.99. The third in the series was released in 2016, and builds on the challenging 3D puzzles that fans love. There's cloud saving so you can access your progress across multiple devices and the graphics are stunning — very reminiscent of the Myst series. We don't want to spoil anything, but just be sure to be thorough as you check around for anything that might contain a clue to help you progress through this dark and mysterious series.
This futuristic, story-driven crafting RPG is big on laughs, thoughtful gameplay, and FUN. Honestly, watch the trailer: it might just be the greatest of all time.
You play as Flux Dabes, a space-trucker who becomes stranded on an alien planet thanks to a jerk of an alien criminal called Hewgodooko. As you try to survive on this alien world, a plan for world domination slowly rears its ugly head and you become embroiled in the race to save the planet, all while trying to just retrieve your missing cargo and get your job done.
The crafting element comes into play as you defeat local wildlife, using their parts to create weaponry, furniture, health packs, and tons more. There are upwards of 468 different recipes for you to try, including a stem cell pack for replenishing your health (not even joking).
If you love a great RPG, and love to laugh even more, then Crashlands should be on the top of your list. It's worth the money. From a developer called Butterscotch Shenanigans, you really can't expect anything less.
Who doesn't love an awesome platformer? Better yet, who doesn't love an awesome platformer with incredible graphics? Nobody, silly. Leo's Fortune is one of the most stunning platformers to ever grace Android.
You play as cute, mustachioed, green puffball Leopold on his quest to retrieve the gold that was so wrongfully stolen from him.
As you track down the cunning thief, you get to traverse gorgeous forests, barren deserts, pirate cities, and mountains, while solving physics-based puzzles and surviving terrible traps. As you follow the trail of gold, you unlock the mystery behind Leo's stolen riches.
Once you beat the game, you can unlock Hardcore Mode, wherein you attempt to beat the entire game without dying. You can also compete with friends in speed runs.
If you're into gorgeous-looking games with a fun story and consistently active gameplay, the award-winning Leo's Fortune is totally for you.
If you're a console or PC fan of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, then why not extend your fandom to Android?
Rockstar Games has five great GTA titles for you to choose from and you really can't go wrong with any of them. Play through Liberty City Stories, San Andreas, Vice City, GTA III, and Chinatown Wars and get your shoot-'em-up, blow-'em-up, car-stealing fix on mobile!
Chinatown is your classic top-down GTA, while the other three are the third-person-shooters we've all come to love. On that note, these games are NOT for kids. The Mature rating in the Google Play Store isn't lying.
So, if you want full Grand Theft Auto games right on your phone, hit up the Google Play Store and go to town. Just remember that, since these are the full games you now and love, they will occupy a ton of space on your device.
The title pretty much says it all, but whether it's the way each character dies or just the characters that are dumb is up to you entirely.
This game will frustrate you to no end, but in a fun, quirky, and always-entertaining fashion. You get to play 15 goofy mini-games, hoping to unlock all the characters and the ridiculous music video that started it all.
You'll have to contend with piranhas, snakes, platforms, bombs, and much more as you just try to keep some idiots alive (parents, you feel me?).
The best part of Dumb Ways to Die? It's FREE! Better yet, it's free and there aren't any in-app purchases. Download it now and prepare to be frustrated but laughing all the way through!
Parents, take note that this game is rated T for Teen, since it does contain some crude humor and blood.
If you like a challenge, and I do mean an incredibly frustrating challenge, then give Super Hexagon a whirl and see just how patient you really are.
Gameplay is like every closing-door scene in an action movie where the opening gets smaller and smaller as the protagonists rush to escape, á la Indiana Jones.
Players have to navigate a triangle through a geometric maze of sorts that's spinning and continually collapsing into itself. If you hit a wall, that's the end; you have to start all over again.
The soundtrack is excellent and the three stages will keep you more than busy, especially as you unlock the near-impossible versions of each stage as you reach certain goals.
Enter a world set in a beautifully rendered, futuristic steampunk dystopia, where you play as Josef the robot, on a quest to save his girlfriend.
You'll have to solve a series of puzzles at each point in the game in order to advance to another part of the city, and you can even uncover easter egg back story scenes when you idle in certain areas.
As Josef, you tap items to solve the puzzles and brain teasers, but in an interesting twist on the genre, you can only tap whatever's in Josef's reach.
There is no dialogue and aside from the odd tutorial, everything is devoid of language. Instead, pictographic thought bubbles let you know what's on Josef's mind to help you work your way through the game.
If you like a great adventure game with a fun story and great graphics, Machinarium should be your dystopic go-to.
If you're into some out-there humor and a quirky interactive story game, Freja and the Sequel might be just what you're looking for. It's your classic point-and-click adventure turned upside down by "humor, horror, and surrealism."
Freja, a computer nerd, is forced, at gunpoint, to develop a sequel to a popular video game and as she creates it, she becomes more absorbed in her work until reality itself comes into question and things start to get hella weird.
Throughout the game, you'll meet weird characters while solving some pretty tough puzzles, all while being stalked by a shadowy creature that resembles Freja.
This is definitely not a game for kids, since it contains quite a bit of swearing, some horror elements, drug references, and some perverse humor.
If you're looking for a break from the run-of-the-mill mobile games you're used to, then check out Freja and the Sequel and prepare to be pleasantly weirded out.
The horror masterpiece Five Nights at Freddy's is on Android and it's ready to scare your pants off and back on and then off again. The fourth instalment of the wildly popular franchise is very involved and will keep you on your toes as you try not to be mauled by horribly disfigured animatronics come to life.
You play as a child whose role in the saga is only discovered at the end of the game. You must defend your bedroom from Freddy Fazbear, Chica, Bonnie, Foxy, and worse, as you just try to survive until morning.
You have to keep track of both bedroom doors, your bed behind you, and your closet, where Foxy likes to hide, jump out of, and murder you.
With just your flashlight to protect you, clench your butt through six in-game hours of torment and terror. If you startle easily, this isn't the game for you.
If you've just been playing the horror-fest that is Five Nights at Freddy's 4, then you'll need a palate cleanser of the relaxing variety. Enter: Prune. This isn't your typical mobile game in a big way; this is a tribute to the beauty of trees and a calming lesson in the art of cultivation.
To start, you draw a line from the base, then your tree starts to sprout from that line. As time goes on, you have to trim certain branches off, which causes other parts of your tree to grow bigger and in other directions. At times, the sunlight will change and you'll have to shape your tree so that its branches can touch the golden rays.
This is just about as soothing as it gets for mobile gaming, bringing nature and technology together in a beautifully synergistic experience. Bask in zen and find your inner horticulturist while you gently grow your precious tree, branch by branch.
If you're looking for a calming experience to take you out of your world for a little while, then download Prune and chill out, man.
A security guard at Pittsburgh's fancy Ross Park Mall was fired this week after bringing a gun to work, fooling around with it in the security office, and accidentally shooting a colleague in the arse.
The guard was in the mall's security office at the end of his shift at 11 p.m. and was loading a personal firearm when the gun discharged, Ross police said.
The bullet went through a wooden stand and struck another guard, who was treated and released from a local hospital.
The mall was closed when the incident occurred.
The guards there don't carry firearms. I live in the region and the most threatening things in Ross Park Mall are the tween shoplifters lurking around Claires. That and the inexplicable sense of coldness and despair that envelops oneself as one approaches Sears.
There was a bit of a dust-up the other day when Pushbullet began sending out some scary-sounding emails to users. The emails explained that a few services making very heavy use of the Pushbullet API were going to be blocked. Today, Pushbullet has decided to change its approach to coping with this problem after getting feedback form users. Nothing will be blocked, but there will be a new API push limit for free accounts.
Netflix has put out a first trailer for Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, the much-loved series' four-part revival. It's been almost a decade since Gilmore Girls ended its seven-season run, and this trailer offers the one thing fans want the most: more of the show's wonderfully snappy banter between Rory and Lorelai. Pretty much nothing's changed — except the references. Series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino co-directs all four 90-minute episodes; they'll premiere on November 25th.
Believe it or not, some of us are carrying drug-resistant bacteria around in our noses; these colonies make infection more likely. But scientists have discovered a new weapon to use against these bugs — and it also lives in your nose.
It may be years before the new compound comes to market, but its discovery, published in the journal Nature, points to the value of an untapped resource for antibiotics. That resource, of course, is the human body. And new antibiotics are crucial for fighting drug-resistant bugs like MRSA, a variant of the Staphylococcus aureus, or staph, that doesn’t respond to a major class of antibiotics. The drug detailed in Nature not only fights MRSA, it can knock out a wide range of other bacteria.
The US Olympics Committee has sent a letter to companies that sponsor athletes but don't sponsor the games, warning them that mentioning the Olympics in social media is a trademark violation.
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Jamie writes, "A photographer filed on Monday a $1 billion copyright infringement suit in New York against Getty Images' American arm, alleging that the company is sending out letters demanding licensing fees for her photos that were donated to the Library of Congress."
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Friday night is movie night at our home, and my wife and I look forward to our weekly ritual of putting the kids to bed, getting some takeout, and catching up on our movie wishlist. Whether it’s making the BLUE STEEL face from Zoolander, swapping tips on playing Monument Valley, or reading Dragons Love Tacos to the kids at bedtime, these shared moments bring us closer together.
For families like mine, who bond over shared entertainment, we’re introducing Family Library, a way for up to six family members to share purchases on Google Play. When you buy an eligible app, game, movie, TV show, or book in the Play Store, you can now share it with your family—across devices—with no additional sign-up fee.
Share across your family’s devices Today’s families have a lot of devices, and it should be easy to share content no matter where we are or what we’re doing. Everyone in my family loves the Star Wars movies and we all want to be able to watch them, on our phones, tablets, laptops, or TV. All purchases added to Family Library are available across Android devices, and movies, TV shows, and books can be enjoyed on iOS devices and the web.
Easily manage sharing and family purchases As with most family matters, flexibility and choice is important. With Family Library, you can choose which items you want to share and which to keep to yourself—for example, I’ll probably keep my collection of comic books in my personal library. Flexibility is also built into your purchasing options. When you sign up, you’ll select a credit card to share as your family payment method, but your family members will always have the option of buying stuff with their personal credit cards or gift cards. And for your younger family members, you’ll have the option to approve each of their purchases.
Share a Music subscription with your family Finally, if your family loves music, you can also subscribe to the Google Play Music family plan. On this plan, up to six family members can stream millions of songs on demand for $14.99 a month. We launched the family plan late last year, and today we’re expanding it to Ireland, Italy, Mexico, and New Zealand. And you can now sign up on the web, in addition to your Android device.
Starting today, Family Library will be rolling out over the next few days and will be available in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. To get started, sign up in Google Play, invite your family members, and start sharing what you love!
Posted by Raj Iyengar, Product Manager, Google Play https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3j_0lZ3pI-w/V5ejW8jcoJI/AAAAAAAAStw/ht0F9TZzSeM5ssT7p3rZSoJCiIWb7LReACLcB/s200/FamilyPlay.jpg Raj Iyengar Product Manager Google Play
Google officially announced this morning the launch of “Family Library” – a program that allows up to six family members to share their purchases from Google Play across devices. This includes the ability to share movies, TV shows, books, apps and games across Android phones and tablets, and, in some cases, across the web, iOS, and other connected TV platforms like Roku,… Read More
Today Big Health, which is already backed by Index Ventures, is disclosing that it has raised $12 million (£9.15m) in new funding led by Octopus Ventures. Also participating are Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Index, Sean Duffy (CEO, Omada Health), and JamJar Investments (the UK-based investment fund of the innocent drinks founders). Noteworthy is that Esther Dyson, and Peter Read are also… Read More
We may all lament the state of app discoverability in the Play Store at times (it still sucks you can't do advanced searching), but at least Google is trying to improve the experience. Today it's added eight new categories and renamed two others, meaning apps will be better sorted into the relevant category, which will hopefully result in users being able to find what they're looking for quicker and easier.
New Play Store categories:
Art & Design
Auto & Vehicles
Beauty
Dating
Events
Food & Drink
House & Home
Parenting
Some of these are pretty interesting, such as Auto & Vehicles and Dating - both of these have seen massive uptake from developers and users in recent months, with apps like Uber, Lyft, Tinder, and OkCupid having over 200 million downloads between them.
Picking the right font for your Kindle or Nook can enhance your reading experience. Some fonts are easy on the eyes, some have a ton of personality, and some tell stories of their own. Here are some fonts the experts suggest for your devices.
Mark Wilson at Fast Company asked several book and typeface designers what fonts give the most authentic book experience. Anna Thompson, a book designer at Penguin Random House, and Robert Slimbach, the principal type designer at Adobe Systems, both suggest Baskerville. It’s easy to read, fatigues the eyes less over long sessions, and it looks classy. Baskerville may not work well for some devices, however, like a smartphone. Because of that, type designer Tobias Frere-Jones suggests a lower contrast, thicker, serifed font like Georgia. It renders clearly on all screen sizes, but still has enough personality to make it feel like you’re reading an actual book.
If you want something with a bit more character, Thompson and Charles Bigelow, co-creator of the Lucida and Wingdings typefaces, suggest Palatino. Of course, the best font will always be whatever you like using the most. But if you’re not sure, hopefully these suggestions will help you find something you love.
Apple is turning Carpool Karaoke, the Late Late Show with James Corden segment that regularly goes viral, into its own TV show, which will air on Apple Music. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Apple has ordered 16 episodes, which will be released weekly once the series is ready. It's not known who will host the new show, though the Reporter says it's unlikely to be Corden.
Twitter today reported Q2 earnings, and the woe that is its poor user growth continues, with its 313 million monthly active users up just 3% on a year ago. The company reported revenues of $602 million with adjusted earnings per share of $0.13. While revenues are up 20% on a year ago, the numbers were a miss on sales and a beat on EPS: analysts were expecting $606.8 million in revenue… Read More
Apple needed a breakout quarter after its last whiff, and boy did it get one. The company reported revenue of $42.4 billion and earnings of $1.42 per share. Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.38 per share on revenue of $42.09 billion. As a result the company added tens of billions of value back to its share price, which rose 5% in extended trading. (5% might not feel like a lot, but for… Read More
Amorphophallus titanum is known as the "Corpse Flower" because it smells like rotten flesh. The infamous stink attracts flies and beetles that helps it get pollinated. Native to Sumatra, the plant rarely flowers and can take as long as a decade to bloom if it does. The New York Botanical Garden has cultivated a fine Corpse Flower and you can livestream it blooming any time now. Watch the video stream above but don't blink or you may miss it. If only Smell-O-Vision had caught on...
From the NYBG:
Each day of careful tending and feeding has led up to this moment: a brief yet glorious window in which the enormous plant (up to eight feet high) will unfurl, displaying the striking red interior and uncanny scent to which it owes its name. This is the first time that a blooming titan-arum has been put on display at the Garden since 1939, and this unique plant is unpredictable—it may be in flower for only one or two days.
BlackBerry has officially announced the keyboardless DTEK50, the second Android offering from the company. Being touted as the world's most secure Android smartphone, it features a 5.2-inch scratch resistant display, Android 6.0 Marshmallow, a convenience key which you can map to your favorite app and much more. As you'd imagine, BlackBerry has hardened the OS on the DTEK50, added a secure boot process and much more to ensure that it is the most secure it can be.
You'll be able to place a pre-order for the DTEK50 on ShopBlackBerry.com in the U.S., Canada, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands. It will be priced at $299 and will make its way to other retail partners in the coming weeks.
BLACKBERRY ANNOUNCES THE WORLD'S MOST SECURE ANDROID SMARTPHONE– DTEK50
DTEK50 delivers BlackBerry's unmatched security, privacy and productivity to price-conscious consumers and businesses
Waterloo, ON – July 26, 2016 – BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB), a global leader in mobile communications, announced today that DTEK50TM, the world's most secure Android smartphone, is now available for pre-orders at ShopBlackBerry.com. DTEK50 is BlackBerry's second smartphone powered by Android, following the PRIV.
Fully equipped with Android Marshmallow 6.0, DTEK50 combines BlackBerry's unique security, privacy and productivity with the full Android experience in an all-touch design, at a price point that's accessible for consumers and ideal for enterprise fleet deployment.
"We take our customers' privacy seriously. That's why we're proud to have all the security and privacy functionality that's built in our newest Android smartphone. DTEK50 merges the unique security and connectivity features BlackBerry is known for with the rich Android ecosystem," said Ralph Pini, Chief Operating Officer and General Manager, Devices, BlackBerry. "DTEK50 adds to BlackBerry's lineup of secure smartphones, providing choices to our customers with different price points on both BlackBerry 10 and Android platforms."
Android Security at the Forefront
In a recent survey1 of Android smartphone users, BlackBerry found that 50 percent believe their smartphone is only somewhat secure, and what's more, despite data security fears, one in six Android users don't know about Android security patches.
"With an increase in cybercrime on smartphones, people need to recognize that the private details of their lives – where they live, their bank info, pictures of their kids – are at risk on their personal device. You wouldn't leave the doors of your house unlocked at night. Having a smartphone that doesn't take your privacy seriously is the equivalent," said David Kleidermacher, Chief Security Officer, BlackBerry. "It's equally important for businesses to protect their sensitive data from cyberattacks at all points of their mobile environment – from the device to the network and servers."
DTEK50 was designed to address the security and privacy needs of today's uncompromising Android users. Smartphones are increasingly being targeted for cyberattacks through tactics like malicious apps, scareware notifications and insecure Wi-Fi connections. BlackBerry's Android smartphones, including DTEK50 and PRIV, have unique built-in hardware security.
DTEK50 encrypts all users' information, including business critical data and personal data such as pictures, videos and contacts. Malware protection is also built-in along with back-up, wipe and restore capabilities. Additional software provides users with visibility and control over which apps get access to personal info or device features such as the microphone or camera. BlackBerry also delivers security patches on the same day that Google publicly releases information about them, while many popular Android smartphones put the users' private information at risk of being hacked due to slow security updates.
Features that make DTEK50 the most secure Android smartphone, include:
Rapid Security Patching: BlackBerry has a record of being the quickest to deliver security patches, setting the bar in incident response and patch management to protect your device from malicious threats.
DTEK™ by BlackBerry App: Enables users to automatically monitor their OS and apps to know when their privacy could be at risk and to take action to improve it. The DTEK app also tracks applications and notifies you when someone is: taking pictures or videos without your knowledge, turning your microphone on, sending a text message, or accessing your contacts or location.
Hardware Root of Trust: BlackBerry's manufacturing process uses a proprietary technique that adds security from the start, allowing for the tracking, verification and provisioning of DTEK50.
Secure Boot Process: Starting with the root of trust, each stage of DTEK50's secure boot chain must first verify that the next component is fully intact before proceeding, ensuring your device has not been tampered with since the last restart.
Android OS hardening: BlackBerry provides additional security patches, improved random number, address space generation and certificate pinning to make it more difficult for attackers to target a device by scrambling application/system memory.
FIPS 140-2 Compliant Full Disk Encryption: Protects your private information, like pictures or bank information, from being stolen if you were to lose your phone.
Ready to Work
DTEK50 combines the world's most secure smartphone with BlackBerry's enterprise management solutions to produce a powerful device capable of powering any work day. Key features include:
Android™ for Work and Google Play™ for Work: Allows for fast, simple and secure integration with an enterprise environment as well as easy access to numerous rich business and IT-managed apps.
Full Enterprise Mobility Management Support: DTEK50 supports BlackBerry's powerful suite of EMM applications and secure productivity solutions, including: WatchDox by BlackBerry for secure file-sharing, Good Work for business-class email and collaboration tools, Strong Authentication by BlackBerry as a VPN solution, SecuSUITE for Enterprise for secure voice and instant messaging communication, BBM Protected for encrypted messaging and - BES12 for secure cross-platform management.
Design Meets Function
DTEK50, BlackBerry's thinnest device ever, represents the best of BlackBerry with Android to make users more productive and responsive, pairing security with intelligent design. Key features include:
BlackBerry Intelligent Keyboard: DTEK50 has a smart keyboard designed to learn from users and increase typing accuracy and speed. It provides word suggestions as you type and includes up to three languages, letting you flick them into place for faster conversations.
BlackBerry Hub: This unified inbox is an irreplaceable tool for consolidating all of your messages in one place – whether it's email, calendar, social or phone calls.
Customizable BlackBerry Convenience Key: With the press of a button, the Convenience Key provides quick access to your most used applications and more.
Stunning Screen: DTEK50 has a 5.2" full HD display, capable of displaying 16 million colors. The screen is made of scratch-resistant glass and features a specialized oleophobic coating to protect against smudges and fingerprints.
Expandable Memory: With support for micro SD cards up to two TB, DTEK50 provides the flexibility to add affordable and hot-swappable memory to download, install, capture and share as your needs evolve.
Dazzling Camera: DTEK50 is engineered to deliver professional-looking photos with an 8MP front facing camera and a 13MP auto-focus rear camera. Plus, features like Phase Detection Auto Focus and a dual-tone LED flash are designed to help the camera focus instantly and accurately for a blur-free, realistic looking photos, even in low light.
Availability and Pricing
Starting today, DTEK50 is available to pre-order from ShopBlackBerry.com in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and The Netherlands for $299 USD. DTEK50 will be available in a number of channels around the world, including more than 40 partners from electronics stores, carriers, VARs and distributors. This includes Rogers, Bell, TELUS, WIND, Videotron and SaskTel among others in Canada. In the U.S., DTEK50 will initially be available in Best Buy, B&H and Amazon. Availability of DTEK50 in additional global channels and countries will be announced in the coming weeks.
For a limited time, customers who pre-order a DTEK50 on ShopBlackBerry.com only will receive a complimentary BlackBerry Mobile Power Pack, a high-capacity portable charger worth $59.99 USD ($69.99 CDN, €59.99 and £54.99) that powers all your compatible mobile devices to maximize your productivity and play time. This offer expires on August 8th at 11:59 pm PST.
If you have a t-shirt you can’t wear anymore, give it new life as a pretty woven necklace. All you need are common household supplies and about half an hour.
Grab a measuring tape, scissors, and a pen. Cut your shirt along a side seam so you can lay it out flat. Fold the fabric in half and mark every three inches, cut up from these marks to create strips. Don’t worry about making the edges perfectly smooth, the weaving will hide any uneven edges.
Tie the strips’ ends together with a scrap bit of fabric, this will act as an anchor while you weave. You’ll want to create a series of U-shaped loops and thread strips of fabric through until you have woven all the fabric together. Tie the end together with another scrap piece of fabric. You can use either fabric or a chain to connect the two ends and finish your necklace. You can also chain together a bunch of these to make a rope or cord. For step-by-step visual instructions, hit the link below.
Verizon yesterday bought Yahoo, which had earlier bought Flickr, a photo-sharing site, and Tumblr, a blogging platform. Both of these places have three key qualities that raise important questions about their survival: 1) they're both oldschool platforms locked in time because they were bought by Yahoo, 2) both still have vast, dedicated userbases, 3) both have unique cultures that will be invisible to Verizon's legendarily banal middle-management culture.
Flickr tried modernizing a few years ago to compete with Instagram and other fresh social-driven competitors, but had atrophied so much since the 2005 takeover by Yahoo that it couldn't recapture the lead.
Yahoo seemed to listen, at least fleetingly. The company finally released some functional mobile apps and started offering a terabyte of storage space to users for free, but it was too little too late.
For Ward, Yahoo was desperately trying to appeal to the Instagram generation, and in doing so started to alienate the site’s core users, many of whom were professional photographers. “We all had a lot of hope that Yahoo would be able to bring it back to life, but the changes that were introduced took away things we really loved,” she said.
“When we gave feedback it felt like no one was listening. It was a little bit insulting to people who had been using it so actively for so many years. We were clearly not the target audience any more.”
Tumblr, meanwhile, is neck-deep in smut and self-absorbed blather and other things likely to terrify suits—but its also one of the net's last safe redoubts for young women. Yahoo never had a plan for the site and left it to hang, but Verizon could shake things up—if it even notices it owns it.
"Verizon has two choices in my view. They can either let everything as is, and Tumblr will forever be a small service you provide for the benefit of a small quirky community that nobody gets or is able to make money out of, or they change what Tumblr in essence is," writes Rocha. "I doubt there's a middle ground here. There might be, since I'm not exactly business savvy, but smarter people than me tried and failed. Either way, neither choice will be easy and I guess nobody will be happy with it either way."
"So I'll be honest here, I don't know if Tumblr can ever survive, as it is, once they monetize it," he continues. "As it exists now, it is a community that has survived for so long specifically because it hasn't been spoiled by other interests."
by Claire Lower on Skillet, shared by Andy Orin to Lifehacker
Veggie burgers make for a quick and easy meat-free meal, but they can be a little underwhelming in the flavor department. To give them some extra oomph, consider parming it up.
This is just one of The Kitchn’s great ideas on how to upgrade your plant-based patty, but it might be my favorite. Seriously, what isn’t better when topped with sweet, bright tomato sauce and gooey, salty cheese? To give your veggie burger the parm treatment, simply top a cooked patty with your tomato sauce of choice (jarred is fast and fine), some shredded mozzarella, and (of course) grated Parmesan. Pop it under the broiled until the cheese is melty and bubbly and serve as a sandwich or with a side of pasta. Top with fresh basil if you’re fancy, which I suspect you are.
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More than a year after it took off from Abu Dhabi, Solar Impulse 2 has completed its round-the-world trip. The solar-powered plane landed back again in Abu Dhabi last night, just over two days after it took off from Cairo late on July 23rd, completing the final leg of its long journey. The craft spent a total of 505 hours — more than 23 days — in the air, stopping at airports across Europe, NorthAmerica, and Asia to avoid inclement weather, and to give its two pilots well-deserved breaks.
It took pilot Bertrand Piccard two days and 37 minutes to fly Solar Impulse 2 from Cairo to Abu Dhabi, but that wasn't close to the longest leg of the 16-step journey. That honor went to the trip across the Pacific ocean, with Piccard's fellow pilot...
Amazon reported earnings for its second fiscal quarter of 2016 today and for its AWS unit, it was once again a big quarter. AWS net sales hit $2.9 billion in the last quarter, up from $2.5 billion in net sales in the last quarter. That’s up from $1.8 billion in the year-ago-quarter. It’s worth noting that that’s a slightly slower quarter-to-quarter growth rate than in the… Read More
NeuroSky, the company that brought you the technology behind the StarWars “Force Trainer,” is moving farther away from the dark side with its development of the MindScribe headset and accompanying software.
The MindScribe, which interprets brain waves, is designed for people suffering from what is called “locked-in syndrome.” Locked-in syndrome is the inability to… Read More
There was a bit of a dust-up the other day when Pushbullet began sending out some scary-sounding emails to users. The emails explained that a few services making very heavy use of the Pushbullet API were going to be blocked. Today, Pushbullet has decided to change its approach to coping with this problem after getting feedback form users. Nothing will be blocked, but there will be a new API push limit for free accounts.
Google officially announced this morning the launch of “Family Library” – a program that allows up to six family members to share their purchases from Google Play across devices. This includes the ability to share movies, TV shows, books, apps and games across Android phones and tablets, and, in some cases, across the web, iOS, and other connected TV platforms like Roku,… Read More
Today Big Health, which is already backed by Index Ventures, is disclosing that it has raised $12 million (£9.15m) in new funding led by Octopus Ventures. Also participating are Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Index, Sean Duffy (CEO, Omada Health), and JamJar Investments (the UK-based investment fund of the innocent drinks founders). Noteworthy is that Esther Dyson, and Peter Read are also… Read More
Twitter today reported Q2 earnings, and the woe that is its poor user growth continues, with its 313 million monthly active users up just 3% on a year ago. The company reported revenues of $602 million with adjusted earnings per share of $0.13. While revenues are up 20% on a year ago, the numbers were a miss on sales and a beat on EPS: analysts were expecting $606.8 million in revenue… Read More
Apple needed a breakout quarter after its last whiff, and boy did it get one. The company reported revenue of $42.4 billion and earnings of $1.42 per share. Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.38 per share on revenue of $42.09 billion. As a result the company added tens of billions of value back to its share price, which rose 5% in extended trading. (5% might not feel like a lot, but for… Read More
Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous 2 weeks or so.