Unless you follow the pageant circuit, you might not know that the reigning Miss Texas, 22-year-old Monique Evans, is a University of Texas student from Austin. Now, according to the university's blog, the pre-med Longhorn's crown quest has reached the moment of truth: the Miss America 2015 competition.
Evans, ...
If you own an unmanned aerial vehicle (“drone”), check this map for a guide to no-fly zones.
When you need one single pair of pants that can do just about anything in the outdoors, the Eddie Bauer First Ascent Guide Light Pant is a good place to start.
It seems HTC latest hobby is to release their built-in apps to the Google Play Store. This allows them to more easily update things like the Blinkfeed launcher without sending a full OS update to devices. They’ve even made some of the apps available to all Android users, but most are HTC-only. Today they released another such app into the Play Store: Sense 6 Lock Screen.
The lock screen on Sense 6 devices is a very handy feature. It gives you the date & time, plus weather, and calendar events. The best feature, however, is the ability to instantly launch into the apps you have placed in the dock. Also, if Blinkfeed is your thing you can swipe right into it from the lock screen. Every manufacturer has their own version of the lock screen, but HTC might have the best.
There is nothing new about the version in the Play Store right now…yet. HTC will be able to add news features much easier now. If you have an HTC device be sure to download the app below.
Former President George W. Bush's press secretary Ari Fleischer is live-tweeting his experiences from Sept. 11, 2001, on the 13th anniversary of the day planes taken over by al-Qaeda terrorists crashed into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, ending thousands of lives and igniting America's "war on terror."
See also: 13 Years Later, Not Forgotten
Fleischer, who served as Bush's press secretary from January 2001 to July 2003, was in a motorcade with the president on the way to an elementary school at about 8:40 a.m. when the first plane smashed into one of the New York City towers Read more...
More about Twitter, Terrorism, Bush, 911, and September 11
HTC has gotten quite into the habit of updating its built-in apps through the Play Store, and that's a good thing. It means you don't have to wait on full system updates to get new features. Now that extends to the stock HTC lock screen, which has just been added to the Play Store.
The features listed on the Play Store page are not very detailed—you can swipe right to BlinkFeed and left to the widget home panels.
HTC Adds The Sense 6 Lock Screen To The Play Store was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Once upon a time, Apple didn’t want big phones. “No one wants them,” they said. “Phones are meant to be used with one hand,” they contended. “Horse raddish,” said Samsung and all the other companies who boldly ventured into phablet territory starting back in 2011.
And it worked for them! The Samsung Galaxy Note line went on to be a big seller after its first couple of iterations, with Samsung proudly inducting the third iteration in the lineup into their 10 million sales club. LG is looking to do the same with their 5.5-inch flagship LG G3. Turns out people love big phones, and they sell quite well in this day and age.
Samsung being Samsung, you know that just have to have the last laugh — they’ve taken to Twitter to acknowledge that they were right all along. The Samsung Philippines Twitter account posted the image you see above, effectively tooting their own horn and letting everyone know that they were the ones that made big phones a thing.
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6+ launch yesterday must have been really hard for Apple knowing that they swallowed their pride and crushed one of the biggest values they’ve held onto to step into the times and offer phones that people actually want. Samsung opting to rub the salt directly into the wound certainly can’t help.
Google just announced a huge new feature in Hangouts for folks who don’t fancy calling over their carriers’ cellular network. Hangouts now features free calling on iOS, Android and the web to any US or Canadian phone number, or any other Hangout user, of course. International calling does cost, but they say their rates are so ridiculously low that you probably won’t even notice spending any money.
The timing seems perfect as Google Voice features began appearing in the Hangouts app last night. While we’re still not totally sure what will eventually come of that (the early features seemed half broken), this is enough to take our mind off it for the time being.
There are absolutely no strings attached — all you need are the updated Hangouts app (APK download right here) and the new Hangouts Dialer app from the Google Play Store. A quick spin on our end reveals that you don’t even need a SIM card in your phone in order to place a call — WiFi-only situations will not keep you from being able to reach the ones you love. Awesome sauce is all we can say! Grab the downloads and let us know if you’ll be taking advantage.
[via Google]
T-Mobile kicked off their latest Uncarrier 7.0 event in San Francisco where John Legere and friends announced the latest development in their Uncarrier revolution. Of course, Legere took a minute to bash the competition and announce that August 2014 was the single biggest month in the company’s history, thanks to 2.7 million new customers before finally hatching his latest scheme: “WiFi Unleashed.”
While WiFi Calling on T-Mobile really isn’t anything new, it seems they’ve been doing some work on making the entire process as seamless as possible. T-Mobile will be taking away the already little setup involved in WiFi Calling. Now, T-Mobile’s smartphones will automatically connect to a WiFi network out of the box, providing a seamless hand off between their LTE network and your own home WiFi. Place a call using WiFi Calling and you can jump in your car and never drop a call (unless you’re in a HSPA+ network, then all bets are off).
Should you find your current wireless router sucks, T-Mobile will provide you with one of their own specialty ASUS-made wireless routers that feature an easy plug-and-play setup. The best part? They’ll provide every Simple Choice customer with the router free of charge (with a $25 deposit and as long as you have at least 1 WiFi Calling capable device). For those that don’t, T-Mobile will provide early upgrades via their JUMP program — eligible or not. What’s more is that moving forward, every single smartphone T-Mobile sells under their roof will now support WiFi Calling with zero setup.
With network coverage in your home settled, T-Mobile takes to the sky. They’ve struck a deal with Gogo (the guys responsible for in-flight WiFi service) to give T-Mobile customers free texting/picture messaging and access to voice mails via their Visual Voice Mail app while flying. There’s no data and no calling, but at least it’s something.
Free routers will be available September 17th and you should have noticed a handful of updates going out to T-Mobile’s already WiFi Calling equipped devices today. I guess the only question we have is will this be enough to get you to switch from your current wireless provider, or will this been seen as nothing more than one of the many perks offered to T-Mobile customers?
A full list of T-Mobile’s WiFi Calling capable devices can be found here.
Yesterday, we reported on an unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on which way you look at it) episode of an account leak. A database of Gmail accounts was posted to a Russian bitcoin site. This wasn’t a breach (that is, someone sneaking into Google’s servers and getting credentials), but instead a product of many years of phishing and social engineering — that is, tricking people into putting their Gmail username and password into an untrustworthy site.
It could also be the result of a different site getting breached and them putting the email address associated to that account into their nasty database. The latter scenario would only affect your Gmail account if you happen to use the same password across multiple sites, and if you’re doing that then you should stop immediately.
Today, more details have been brought to light. Google confirmed that only a small subset of the accounts in that database were actually affected — less than 2%, according to them — and that they have already taken necessary steps to protect those users. The other accounts are either already purged or they simply don’t exist, so as of now no one should be in danger of having their accounts breached.
At the end this all served as a good reminder to take the time and effort to make sure you’re never being manipulated into giving your username and password to people you don’t know. Check the security certificate of a site before you login to make sure you are actually at that site.
Most web browsers will show a green button with a lock icon which you can click to find out if the website is genuine. This episode also reminds us that it’s never a good idea to use the same password on multiple sites, and that you should be changing your password fairly often (at least once every few months, if not more frequently). And, as always, we recommend setting up 2-step verification on your Gmail account just to have that added peace of mind.
OK Go is known for its creative music videos; Apple is known for its tagline "Think different."
But the band is now claiming that Apple didn't think differently enough when creating the lead-in video for Tuesday's iPhone 6 launch event
The video, titled "Perspective," ran at the very beginning of Apple's unveiling at the Flint Center in Cupertino, California, which many may have missed due to technical difficulties that caused the company's live stream to fail
The video bears a strong resemblance to OK Go's video for "The Writing's on the Wall." Both videos use different angles to show how objects can appear differently from various perspectives, which can be manipulated to display messages Read more...
More about Apple, Ok Go, Iphone 6, Business, and Media
The iPhone 6 is finally here, and with it comes a hype that only Apple can produce. Regardless of what features they stole from Android, the iPhone 6 will undoubtedly be a huge success for Apple. In the Android World we also have a device that prints money for its maker: the Samsung Galaxy S5. These two devices will dominate the mobile market for the remainder of this year, and most of next. It’s time to put them up against each other to see which device reigns supreme (check below for more comparisons).
This has been a big area of focus for Apple since the iPhone 4′s “Retina Display,” and of course Samsung also takes great pride in this area. The iPhone has been slowing growing over time, but the iPhone 6 has been significantly increased in size. Apple has implemented a 4.7-inch display to finally answer the wishes of many users. Android fans will likely joke about how it took Apple so long to make the display bigger. It’s still smaller than the 5.1-inch Galaxy S5, but the competition is getting closer.
Resolution is another story. Apple now has what they call “Retina HD” displays in the new iPhone 6. It’s only 1334 x 750 compared to the 1080p display on the S5. Apple’s displays have traditional been great despite lower resolution compared to their Android counterparts. We expect the same from these new devices.
Camera is one area where numbers don’t matter so much. The Galaxy S5 has a whopping 16MP camera, but even the iPhone 5S takes better photos. With the iPhone 6 Apple is sticking with a 8MP sensor, but the sensor is all-new, and they’ve added faster focus, and “digital” image stabilization. Android devices are getting close to the iPhone (and Windows Phone devices may be better), but the iPhone is still king. Still, unless you’re a real photobuff you will be happy with the photos from the S5 and other high-end flagships.
“iOS, what do you want to be when you grow up?”
“I want to be just like Android!”
The iPhone 6 comes with Apple’s latest version of iOS. In iOS 8 they’ve added many new features, many of which have a distinct Android flavor to them. For example, the keyboard gives “QuickType” word suggestions, and you can even use 3rd-party keyboards. A feature that has been a staple of Android for years. They’ve also added “Hey Siri” command for always-listening support, widgets in the Notification Center for 3rd-party apps, and actionable notifications. Android still has the upper hand in software functionality, the gap is closing.
We should also note that Apple has added a bunch of features called “Continuity.” These features are designed to make your iPhone work seamlessly with your MacBook. For example, you can “Handoff” webpages from Mobile Safari to you desktop, send texts and receive phone calls on your Mac, and more. Android has the capability to do this, but Google has not yet fully integrated it. This is one area where Apple is leading the way.
By far one of the biggest differences between the iPhone 6, Galaxy S5, and other Android devices is design. You can see similarities in Android skins from device to device, but iOS 8 and Android look nothing alike. Hardware is, of course, extremely different as well. The Galaxy S5 is plastic and a little cheap feeling. The iPhone is the ultimate premium device. The design of the iPhone is a status symbol to many people. Samsung is getting close to that level, but still has a long way to go.
For my money the HTC One M8 is the Android device that comes closest to Apple’s build quality. Ultimately design is up to the individual. There are some people who actually prefer the way the Galaxy S5 looks. That’s perfectly fine. The size of these devices will also play a big part in your decision. The iPhone is bigger now, but there are still plenty of much larger Android phones.
So, which phone is the best? We want to hear from you! Are you ditching Android for the iPhone 6? Are you unimpressed by Apple’s latest iPhone?
Droves descended upon Apple’s Cupertino campus today for our annual look at the manufacturer’s new iPhone refresh. Different this year, though, was the announcement of a second, larger smartphone, the iPhone 6 Plus. With a display measuring 5.5 inches, it’s clear that Apple’s tune is changing when it comes to ignoring the phablet category, and many see this new iPhone as a direct response to Samsung’s successful Galaxy Note line.
With the Galaxy Note 4 announced just last week, we thought a comparison between the two new devices was apt. Here’s how they stack up.
With the increase in size from the 4-inch display that graced the iPhone 5, 5c, and 5s to the comparably massive 5.5-inch display of the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple has finally passed into the realm of true 1080p HD. Still, at 1920×1080 pixels, the new iPhone falls short of the Galaxy Note 4’s 2560×1440 resolution. The larger 5.7-inch display of the Note 4 results in a pixel density of 551ppi, greater than the 401ppi of the iPhone 6 Plus, a spec particularly important to Apple and their Retina display (in this case Retina HD) marketing.
In other areas, the iPhone 6 Plus pales in comparison to the Note 4. Apple aficionados gets Apple’s latest A8 processing platform. Apple was typically tight-lipped about the details, but early impressions are that the chip retains a dual-core CPU and sees modest increases in processing power over the previous generation of devices (somewhere in the range of 1.4GHz). It’s 25% faster than last year’s model and offers 50 times the performance of the original iPhone. But that’s comparing Apples to Apples, and we’re comparing Apples to…Samsungs.
The Note 4? Quad-core Snapdragon 805 processing (and in some cases octa-core Exynos). Apple rarely reveals the amount of RAM in their phones, but it wouldn’t be crazy to think they chose to stick with 1GB, the same as the previous generation. Compare that to the Note 4’s 3GB of RAM. It’s a spec Apple has been seemingly reluctant to upgrade in recent years.
Apple made a big deal about the addition of NFC to this year’s iPhone line, a technology that has been common in Android phones for several years at this point. It’s a foregone conclusion that the Note 4 benefits from an NFC chip. Apple, however, is heavily pushing a new mobile payments system associated with the tech, a feature that has taken a backseat on recent Android releases (though most, including the Note 4, are fully capable).
The new iPhone ships with iOS 8. The Galaxy Note 4 comes with Android 4.4 plus Samsung’s TouchWiz interface. Both Android and iOS have their benefits and shortcomings, so we won’t spend too much time expounding on the common features of the two. Suffice it to say, on a surface level the choice between operating systems ultimately comes down to preference.
Apple, however, did unveil a few intriguing wrinkles to their popular mobile platform with its latest release. Namely, the new iPhone and iOS 8 come with an increased focus on health tracking and mobile payments (via the aforementioned NFC chip). The Note 4 features the S Health app to meet the demands of health-conscious consumers, but its feature set admittedly looks a bit thin compared to what Apple is offering (including partnerships with health care providers).
Apple’s mobile payments platform Apple Pay is much like the Android counterparts we have seen before. It’s a standard tap-to-pay solution, but Apple’s decision to finally back a mobile wallet method is what many believe will rocket the concept into the mainstream. Its connection to the cards stored in your iTunes account brings the service to an already huge base of potential users.
Both devices feature security options that include a fingerprint scanner. While the scanner introduced with the iPhone 5s featured limited functionality, thanks to iOS 8 Apple is opening up its services to third-party developers, creating some intriguing potential new uses (including as part of the mobile payments system). Samsung’s scanner is improved in the Note 4 as well, and includes tie-ins to PayPal for another take on secure mobile payments.
iOS, in general, has become a bit more open in its latest release. Some would say a bit more Android-like, even. This includes Apple finally allowing users to install third-party software keyboards (something that has been core to Android for years) as well as better integration for sharing data with third-party apps and services.
For the previous two generations of the iPhone, Apple has stood pat at 8MP for their camera, choosing instead to focus on improving other qualities of the sensor. The iPone 6 Plus again does the same, sticking with an 8MP rating for its new-and-improved image sensor. The sensor boasts faster focusing, better tone mapping, and improved noise reduction capable of producing images like the one above.
On the other hand, Samsung has steadily been upping the megapixel count with each new device announced. While we can argue in the comments about the actual importance of that megapixel number versus other aspects of the smartphone camera, on paper the Note 4’s 16MP camera is, at least initially, more impressive than the iPhone’s stagnant 8MP sensor.
Without a chance to test both in person, it’s hard to say how they will stack up exactly. Samsung has impressed with the image quality of its recent devices, but Apple has long been lauded as the king of mobile photography, and the iPhone is their prince. We have reason to believe the iPhone 6 Plus will carry on this tradition, but the competition should be close.
Apple’s new iPhone models go on sale via all major carriers in the US (Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T) as well as many more around the globe in just under two weeks on Friday, September 19th. As the larger, slightly more premium model, the iPhone 6 Plus will retail starting at $299 on-contract (compared to the 4.7-inch iPhone 6’s $199 on-contract pricing) for a 16GB model up to $499 on-contract for a whopping 128GB of storage.
As for the Note 4, exact release and pricing details have not been made available, but it is expected to launch globally later this fall for a similar compliment of carriers. All four of the US carriers are on board. The Note 4 could retail for $199 with its slightly more eccentric variant, the Galaxy Note Edge, priced at the $299 premium level.
So which wins head-to-head? Which has earned the right to claim your cold, hard cash? Sound off in the poll below.
Take Our Poll
At first glance, you might pass VSSL off as just a metal tube found in any junkyard, but it's actually a full-fledged survival kit. That's right, each 8-inch cylinder - crafted from extruded military-spec anodized aluminum - features an LED flashlight, compass, trail markers, Aquatabs water purification tablets, Kevlar rope, Tinder Quik fire starters, mirror, first aid kid, a P38 military GI type can opener, razor blades and lots more. Continue reading for an up-close look at what's inside.
Don't you hate when people start using their phones to text, or worse, answering calls during a movie in the theater? Well, this employee figured out a clever, yet simple, way to make them stop. The tactic involves using a low-powered laser pointer to shame the suspect. Click here to view the first image in this week's demotivational poster gallery. Continue reading for a viral video showing what happens when you place a coin on a dry ice block.
LB Jadeveon Clowney, the first-overall draft pick, will miss time as he recovers from a torn meniscus in his right knee suffered in the second quarter of yesterday's season opener. He told one teammate how it went down:
“We must leave [future generations] a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it.” — President Lyndon Johnson
Goodbye summer ... hello Autumn! This fall season you'll want to make the most of your surroundings, and with Austin as your home base, you can never be bored
From brightly lit patio decks (serving seasonal eats and refreshing drinks) to exciting events (join the Celtic Day Parade!), Mashable shows you where it's at. With pumpkin donuts, beautiful sights and corn maze fun, you're certain to have an incredible autumn in the city
Odd Duck*
Decked with trendy decor, Odd Duck has an outdoor area overlooking downtown Austin (perfect for admiring fall foliage) and an open, wrap-around bar inside. Although the food gets rave reviews from its first-time and repeat customers, the creative cocktails and house-made ginger beer are just as notable. The menu rotates its seasonal dishes, so expect some key autumn ingredients like squash, pumpkin and cranberries. Read more...
"You'll never know if you don't try," said some smart person at some time in history, probably not talking about television
Still, the phrase very much applies as career couch potatoes prepare to enter the most stressful time of the year: fall TV
With more than 25 new TV shows vying for a spot on your TV schedule like a gaggle of awkward middle schoolers hoping to be asked to dance at the Spring Fling, it's almost too much pressure to bear
Thankfully, Mashable has brought help in the form of our handy guide to new fall shows. Read more...
More about Television, Fall Tv, Transparent, Entertainment, and Tv
Candlestick's out and Levi's Stadium has been officially christened as the new home of the San Francisco 49ers. The brand-spanking-new site is all kinds of wired up and ready to receive upwards of 70,000 smartphone-wielding fans. I went behind the scenes to see how the tech has come together. Are you ready for some football?
Bill Murray showed up after a screening of Ghostbusters in Toronto yesterday, where he spent the better part of an hour answering questions from fans. His best answer was in response to a question about his penchant for weird, unannounced hangouts (crashing the above couple's engagement photoshoot , for instance).
How'd he sneak that cereal box into the game? It most likely wouldn't be sold at the stadium, right? Just full boxes of cereal? Whatever. Do you, dude.
Editors' note: The video below contains graphic violence.
Video emerged Monday that appears to show Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice hitting his then-fiancée in an elevator, knocking her unconscious.
The footage, acquired by TMZ, shows a man believed to be Rice and a woman in a lobby at the Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Feb. 15, 2014. The woman is believed to be Janay Palmer, now Janay Rice, whom Rice married in March.
After entering an elevator, the two briefly scuffle. The man then hits the woman with his left hand, causing her head to appear to hit the handrail in the elevator. The woman then slumps to the ground and does not move. Read more...
More about National Football League, Entertainment, Sports, and Ray Rice
Try to see how long you can stare at this gigantic monster shrimp before becoming wildly uncomfortable and convinced that something totally just crawled across the back of your neck. What if I told you that its eyes are on stalks and can move independently from each other?
It's that time again. Facebook has released their NFL fandom map, showing which NFL team gets the most Facebook "likes" in each county. For the full-resolution map, click here.
