Earlier this year, Amazon updated its official app in the Google Play Store — and snuck in a direct link to its own app store at the same time. Previously, users who wanted to use Amazon's app store had to sideload the app, a process that less tech-savvy users were likely to be familiar with, but this update let anyone install Amazon's app from the Google Play Store and start buying apps through it.

It looks like Google has gone ahead and closed that loophole, though — as noted by Android Police, the main Amazon app has been replaced by a new app called Amazon Shopping. It appears identical to its predecessor, but without the direct links to the Amazon app store. Indeed, we checked on a phone that already had the older Amazon app...

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 Continuing its efforts to become more of a mobile ecosystem player, Microsoft today has released a suite of MSN-branded mobile applications that run on iOS, Android and Amazon devices. The free apps, previously created under the awkward Bing label, were originally built for Windows 8 and Windows Phone devices. The lineup includes MSN apps for News, Weather, Sports, Food & Drink, Healthy… Read More

Boyhood done good

The Golden Globes are always a bit of a mixed bag - Johnny Depp for The Tourist! Angelina Jolie for The Tourist! - but this year things are mixed in a different way, with no clear leader dominating the field. No single film stands above the rest when it comes to nominations, although Boyhood picked up nods for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. Then again, Grand Budapest Hotel also did well, as did Into The Woods and Gone Girl. 

Notable by their absence are Unbroken, American Sniper and Interstellar, as is Peter Dinklage for his sterling work on Game Of Thrones. Also, no Sons Of Anarchy, or Orphan Black, or Outlander, or... well, the list goes on.

Below are our key picks of nominees, but for the full list, including more TV and music-based nods, head over to the Golden Globes' official website, where all is revealed (IN BLOCK CAPITALS).

Incidentally, the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards, hosted again by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, will air on Sunday, January 11, 2015.

Best Motion Picture, Drama
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory Of Everything

Best Motion Picture, Comedy Or Musical
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Pride
St. Vincent
Into The Woods

Best Director - Motion Picture
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ava DuVernay, Selma
David Fincher, Gone Girl
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Graham Moore, The Imitation Game

Best Actor In A Motion Picture, Drama
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
David Oyelowo, Selma
Eddie Redmayne, Theory Of Everything

Best Actress In A Motion Picture, Drama
Jennifer Aniston, Cake
Felicity Jones, Theory Of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Best Actor In A Motion Picture, Musical Or Comedy
Ralph Fiennes, Grand Budapest Hotel
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Bill Murray, St. Vincent
Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice
Christoph Waltz, Big Eyes

Best Actress In A Motion Picture, Musical Or Comedy
Amy Adams, Big Eyes
Emily Blunt, Into the Woods
Helen Mirren, The Hundred-Foot Journey
Julianne Moore, Maps To The Stars
Quvenzhané Wallis, Annie

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Fargo
The Missing
The Normal Heart
Olive Kitteridge
True Detective

Best Actress in a TV Series, Comedy or Musical
Lena Dunham, Girls
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Veep
Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin
Taylor Schilling, Orange is the New Black

Best Actor, TV Series Comedy or Musical
Louis C.K.
Don Cheadle
Ricky Gervais
William H. Macy
Jeffrey Tambor

Best Animated Feature Film
Big Hero 6
The Book Of Life
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie
The Boxtrolls

Best Actor in a TV Series, Drama
Clive Owen, The Knick
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
James Spader, The Blacklist
Dominic West, The Affair

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

Best Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Martin Freeman
Woody Harrelson
Matthew McConaughey
Mark Ruffalo
Billy Bob Thornton

Earlier this week Swedish police raided a nuclear-proof data center built into a mountain complex in the city of Nacka.

The target of the raid was The Pirate Bay but collateral damage caused several other torrent sites to go down as well. This included EZTV, the go-to place for many torrenting TV fans.

After nearly two days of downtime EZTV is slowly starting to crawl back up. TF spoke to the EZTV crew who confirmed that several servers are up and running again and that the site’s services are coming back online.

At the time of writing the main site is still offline. However, the upload bots are back in action and EZTV torrents are being uploaded again in other places such as Kickass.so and ExtraTorrent.

In addition, EZTV proxies such as eztv-proxy.net can now connect to the site’s backend IP-addresses. This means that these are showing new uploads again, as can be seen below.

EZTV recovers

During the days to come EZTV hopes to recover fully and continue business as usual from the main EZTV.it domain.

For Pirate Bay users there is no positive news to report yet. The site remains offline and there are no indications that it will return in the near future.

There are several unofficial mirror sites that still work, but these have nothing to do with a possible comeback. These sites provide a minimal archive of old torrents, but there’s no new content being added as these all lack an upload feature.

For now, many estranged Pirate Bay users seem to be flocking to other popular torrent sites. ExtraTorrent informed TF that they saw a 90 percent surge in user signups following the raid, while the number of downloads increased by a third.

Most other sites that were hit by the raid remain offline. These include Torrage, the Istole tracker and Pirate Bay’s forum Suprbay. Torrent storage servie Zoink has fully recovered.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

Under the revived WIPO Broadcast Treaty, broadcasters would have the right to stop you from using public domain and CC-licensed video footage as you choose, effectively giving them a new copyright over material simply by sending it out over the air. Read the rest

It was a big year for entertainment, from games that fed your sweet tooth to apps that kept you fit. Icy movies warmed your hearts, and your go-to party song was literally a dark-horse favorite. You loved reading stories -- real and imagined -- of love, adventure, and, OK, sometimes lust.

Here’s a look at some of the most popular apps, games, movies, music, news and books of 2014 on Google Play. Did your favorites make the list?


Most Downloaded Apps by Category: Education - Duolingo,  Social - Facebook,  Health & Fitness - MyFitnessPal,  Entertainment - Netflix,  Music - Pandora,  Sports - NFL Mobile,  Photography - Flipagram,  Travel - TripAdvisor

Top Downloaded Games: 1. Candy Crush Saga,  2. Don't Tap The White Tile,  3. Farm Heroes Saga,  4. Subway Surfers,  5. Clash of Clans

Movie of the Year: Frozen,  TV Show of the Year: The Walking Dead,  Comeback Movie: Toy Story

Album of the Year: Frozen: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack,  Song of the Year: Dark Horse by Katy Perry,  Song of the Summer: Fancy by Iggy Azalea

News Sources of the Year:1. The New York Times,  2. TMZ,  3. Forbes Now,  4. The Verge,  5. The Huffington Post,  6. The Daily Beast,  7. The Wall Street Journal,  8. Gizmodo,  9. Android Central

Books of the Year:1. The Fault in Our Stars,  2. Fifty Shades of Grey,  3. Divergent,  4. Twelve Years a Slave,  5. Insurgent


Posted by Brian Irving, global director of marketing for Google Play 

 While the last time most of us thought of shingles was when we were itchy in eighth grade, Seagate has been thinking of them as a way to store data. Called Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) Drives, Seagate’s new drives can store eight terabytes of data for about 3 cents a gigabyte. The catch? These are great back-up drives but they’re not very fast. At 5,900 RPM and an average… Read More

Google's increasingly fractious relationship with European regulators is about to claim one of its most significant victims this month, as from December 16th the Google News service in Spain will be shut down. In an impassioned note on the Google Europe Blog, Richard Gingras, Head of Google News, explains that new legislation taking effect from January 1st will force publishers to charge Google for "even the smallest snippet from their publications," which, he argues, is an untenable situation given that the News service is provided free of charge and without accompanying advertising. Failure to comply with the new copyright law would incur a fine of up to €600,000.

Google's argument is that it already has a good collaborative...

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Mark Kersten explores the question at Justice in Conflict blog. Read the rest

Google today released an app that will eventually allow Android TV devices to watch live television. The app, plainly named "Live Channels for Android TV," appeared on Google Play today with no word or any announcement from Google. Maybe that's not surprising, as you can't install it on any current phone or tablet running Google's OS. As the boring name shows, this app is clearly meant for the living room variant of Android, and right now the flawed Nexus Player set-top box is your only way in. But more devices are undoubtedly on the way.

Live Channels for Android won't suddenly let you tune into network TV without the necessary hardware, though. Google says it can display input from a built-in tuner (we haven't yet seen an Android TV...

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFXGhMPfLCA

It will be a memoir of Felicia's rise from shy home-schooled child to new-media mistress.

You can pre-order over at FeliciaDayBook.com. And having heard some of Felicia's story in podcasts such as Making It I think this will be an enthralling read. That young woman has lived an interesting life!

 Google announced today it’s making a platform available to museums that enables them to build mobile applications that take advantage of Google technology, including Street View and YouTube, to bring their exhibits to anyone with a smartphone. Through partnerships between museums worldwide and the Google Cultural Institute, there are now 11 museums and cultural institutions that have… Read More

Thanks to the bullying of UK PM David Cameron, everyone who signs up for an Internet account is asked "Would you like to keep 'adult content' blocked on this connection?" It's a misleading question. Read the rest

A four-part series in the LA Times explores the corrupt labor conditions in Mexico's biggest farms, where the produce, destined for American grocers like Walmart and Whole Foods, is treated with infinitely more care than the workers, who are subject to illegal, inhumane treatment, including indentured servitude. Read the rest

LastPass just announced a new feature for the password manager that automatically changes your password for sites when a hack is reported.

All you need to do to use the new feature is log into your LastPass account, head to the site you want to set up Auto-Password change for, click Edit, and then click the "Change Password Automatically" button. Right now, around 75 popular sites are supported, including Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Home Depot, and more. Once it's set up, LastPass will automatically change your password for you. It does this locally on your machine by opening up a new tab, logging in, creating a new password, then submitting that change to the site in question.

Introducing Auto-Password Changing with LastPass | LastPass Blog

2014 was chock full of YouTube moments that vaulted into pop culture. We got pranked by a spider dog in Poland, learned what it’s like to walk the street for 10 hours as a woman in NYC, and watched total strangers share a first kiss. We laughed, we cried, and yes, we sang along to “Let It Go” roughly a bajillion times.

In celebration of the people, memes and moments that made up an epic year, more than 100 YouTube creators gathered together for our annual Rewind video: a giant, global mashup looking back at the best of 2014 on YouTube. With creators from Japan, Germany, Israel, Mexico, France and beyond, it’s the biggest and most international Rewind video yet.
And here are the top trending videos for 2014, based on views, shares, comments, likes and more. This year, the list represents the amazing variety of creativity brought to YouTube each day, which can include social commentaries, pranks, advertisements, and thrilling moments from traditional media and big names on YouTube. Collectively these 10 videos have hundreds of millions of views from creators, with more than 21 million cumulative subscribers.

1. Mutant Giant Spider Dog (SA Wardega) by SA Wardega
2. Nike Football: Winner Stays. ft. Ronaldo, Neymar Jr., Rooney, Ibrahimović, Iniesta & more by Nike Football
3. FIRST KISS by Tatia PIlieva
4. The Voice IT | Serie 2 | Blind 2 | Suor Cristina Scuccia - #TEAMJ-AX by TheVoiceOf Italy
5. iPhone 6 Plus Bend Test by Unbox Therapy
6. Bars & Melody - Simon Cowell's Golden Buzzer act | Britain's Got Talent 2014 by Britain's Got Talent
7. Budweiser Super Bowl XLVIII Commercial -- "Puppy Love" by Budweiser
8. Devil Baby Attack by DevilsDueNYC
9. Goku vs Superman. Epic Rap Battles of History Season 3. by ERB
10. 10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman by Street HarassmentVideo

When it comes to music, it was a year of powerful female artists, as you can see from our list of top music videos: Women artists took eight of the top 10 spots (Shakira took two!). 2014's top 10 music videos were collectively played billions of times from channels with 55+ million subscribers.

1. Katy Perry - Dark Horse (Official) ft. Juicy J
2. Enrique Iglesias - Bailando (Español) ft. Descemer Bueno, Gente De Zona
3. Shakira - Can't Remember to Forget You ft. Rihanna
4. Shakira - La La La (Brazil 2014) ft. Carlinhos Brown
5. Jason Derulo - "Wiggle" feat. Snoop Dogg (Official HD Music Video)
6. Iggy Azalea - Fancy (Explicit) ft. Charli XCX
7. Sia - Chandelier (Official Video)
8. Taylor Swift - Shake It Off
9. Meghan Trainor - All About That Bass
10. Nicki Minaj - Anaconda
...and check out even more top music videos.

Check out our YouTube Rewind channel for more top videos of the year from around the world, and our YouTube Brand channel to see a mashup of the top branded videos of the year and a list of the top ads on YouTube for the year. You can also visit google.com/2014 next week for Google's annual look at the people, places and events that captured the world's attention.

Posted by Kevin Allocca, Head of Culture & Trends

For many years The Pirate Bay has been sailing by the seat of its pants so any downtime is met with concern from its millions of users.

This morning, for the first time in months, The Pirate Bay disappeared offline. A number of concerned users emailed TF for information but at that point technical issues seemed the most likely culprit.

However, over in Sweden authorities have just confirmed that local police carried out a raid in Stockholm this morning as part of an operation to protect intellectual property.

“There has been a crackdown on a server room in Greater Stockholm. This is in connection with violations of copyright law,” read a statement from Paul Pintér, police national coordinator for IP enforcement.

Police are staying quiet on the exact location of the operation and the targets involved but the fact that the national police IP chief is involved at this early stage suggests something sizable.

In addition, expert file-sharing case prosecutor Fredrik Ingblad has commented on the raid, further adding weight to the incident.

“There were a number of police officers and digital forensics experts there. This took place during the morning and continued until this afternoon. Several servers and computers were seized, but I cannot say exactly how many,” Ingblad told SR.

Ingblad would not be drawn on any arrests during the operation but TorrentFreak has learned that police may have detained at least one man connected to the site.

While it seems certain that The Pirate Bay has been targeted today, it was not the only casualty. Several other torrent related sites including EZTV, Zoink, Torrage and the Istole tracker are also down.

Update: The Pirate Bay’s forum Suprbay.org is also offline. The same goes for Bayimg.com and Pastebay.net.

Update: According to the police the raid targeted a data center in Nacka which is built into a “mountain.”

Update: No, the Pirate Bay is not back yet.

Breaking news story, more as we have it.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

 The U.K. data protection watchdog, the ICO, has intervened in a court case brought against Google on privacy grounds by a group of U.K. Internet users because it is interested in how aspects of the case might help clarify questions around the jurisdiction of national data protection law vis-à-vis Internet giants. Read More

In October, Google unveiled a surprising new way to log into Chrome and Gmail: a USB key. It only worked as part of a two-factor setup, standing in for an authentication code, but it served as a wakeup call to anyone tired of the standard username-and-password login. Smart people are thinking of better ways to log you in, it turns out, and the days of the password-free login are closer than you think.

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In its ongoing quest to do and offer everything, Amazon is today adding a new Make An Offer option that allows buyers and sellers to negotiate a mutually agreeable price. Starting out with 150,000 items across Amazon's stores for collectibles and fine art, the scheme lets you submit your own valuation on a given product, which the seller can then agree to, reject, or respond to with a counter offer. It's not an auction format like eBay since these discussions are done privately and the amount paid will never exceed the item's listed price. In short, it's a haggling facility for web purchases, and it's been warmly welcomed by at least one of Amazon's third-party sellers. Spencer Eggers of Coast to Coast Collectibles believes it will...

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Dashlane, the subscription-based password management service, is introducing a feature today that ought to become standard in every product like it: the ability to change all your passwords with a single click, including accounts with two-factor authentication enabled. The feature will work with about 75 major websites at launch, including Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, PayPal, Pinterest, and Twitter.

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Avid readers on Android have some exciting new toys to look forward to in the latest version of Amazon Kindle. Update 4.8 adds some significant features to an already-packed app, specifically linked to in-book search. "X-Ray" is a proprietary system that downloads a pre-configured, collated file that includes information about the book itself, the characters, the setting, and the context of basically everything. For complex fiction, non-fiction, or textbooks, it's an amazing system previously reserved for the Kindle e-readers and tablets.

Kindle App Gets A Massive Update To Version 4.8: Amazon X-Ray, Push Notifications, Flash Cards, Audiobook Controls, And More was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Each year, we discover new downloads for Windows and highlight the tips and guides that can help you make the most of your system. Here were our most popular Windows posts this year.

In 2014, we rounded up the ten most useful Windows programs to have on hand, selected the best Windows music player application, made the most of our multi-monitor setup, and learned how to run a portable version of Windows from a USB drive.

Top 10 Incredibly Useful Windows Programs to Have On Hand

Some apps are essential, and you use them every day. Everyone knows their names: Firefox, VLC, 7-Zip, and so on. However, there's another class of app that gets less attention: the apps that are insanely useful to have in your back pocket on the rare occasions you need them. Here are 10 of our favorites.

The Best Music Player Application for Windows

There are a lot of great music players for Windows, and it's next to impossible to make a broad "best" statement that applies to everyone. But that doesn't stop the powerful, lightweight, and customizable MusicBee from winning our hearts for the best music player on Windows.

Lifehacker Pack for Windows: Our List of the Essential Windows Apps

Windows has more great programs than we can count, but some are essential to just about every PC setup. In this year's annual Lifehacker Pack for Windows, we're highlighting the must-have downloads for better productivity, communication, media management, and more.

Make the Most of Your Multiple Monitors in Windows

The price of extra monitors has fallen steadily over the years, quality has risen, and Windows is more multi-monitor friendly than ever. Here's how to make the most of your multi-monitor setup in Windows 7 and 8.

How to Run a Portable Version of Windows from a USB Drive

Ever wanted a copy of Windows you can take with you wherever you go, to use on any computer you want? It's possible: here's how to install a portable version of Windows 8 on a USB hard drive that you can take anywhere.

Five Best Desktop Antivirus Applications

Good browsing hygiene and "common sense" only get you so far on the internet. A good antivirus utility is worth keeping in your pocket in case either of those two things fail you (as they have been known to in the past) or someone less tech-savvy asks you for a good tool. This week we're looking at five of the best antivirus tools, based on your nominations.

Turn a Windows 8.1 PC Into a Wi-Fi Hotspot with the Command Prompt

Windows: Previously mentioned Virtual Router is the easiest way to create a Wi-Fi hotspot on Windows, but 7Tutorials showcases a method that requires no extra tools—just the Command Prompt.

All the New Stuff Coming to Windows 10

Microsoft gave us a small peek at the next version of Windows today, confusingly dubbed Windows 10. Here's what you can expect to see.

Who Is On My Wi-Fi Shows You Who Else Is Using Your Network

Windows: Whether you're troubleshooting poor performance on your own wireless network, or you're trying to figure out how overloaded the hotel Wi-Fi is where you're staying, Who Is On My Wi-Fi is a free Windows utility that can show you exactly what the name implies.

How to Install the Windows 10 Technical Preview Right Now

Yesterday, Microsoft announced the newest version of Windows. Today, the company is allowing adventurous users (like yourself) to try it out for free. Here's how.

GEGeek Tech Toolkit Fixes Windows Computers and Updates Itself

If you're the person friends, family and coworkers count on to fix their computers, you already know a portable USB toolkit is essential for repairs. GEGeek TechToolkit downloads hundreds of programs and updates itself.

The Complete Guide to Avoiding (and Removing) Windows Crapware

Windows has a lot going for it, but it's also saddled with one of computing's biggest annoyances: crapware. Here's everything you need to know about identifying, avoiding, and removing unwanted software from your system.

The Coolest Windows 10 Features Microsoft Didn't Announce

Microsoft unveiled its newest version of Windows last week. While the company was more than happy to tell us abouta bunch of new features, naturally they left a few out. Here are some of the best things we found while poking around with the new OS.

Download a Treasure Trove of 130 Free Ebooks from Microsoft

It has happened before, and it is happening again. Microsoft's MSDN blog has released a whole new batch of free technical ebooks that cover everything from Windows 8, to Office 2013, to SQL Server, and more.

How to Move On After Windows XP Without Giving Up Your PC

On April 8th, Microsoft will officially cut off support, service, and security updates for Windows XP. It's been a long time coming, but depending on where you stand, it's either overdue or absolute armageddon. If you're just coming out of the Windows XP world and need help getting oriented, here are some tips to help you get your bearings.

Can I Reinstall Windows On My Computer Without the Bloatware?

Dear Lifehacker,
I recently got a new laptop that came with Windows pre-installed, but it came with a lot of extra bloatware I'd rather not have. Can I do a clean install of Windows over it, or will my product key not work with a vanilla install?

Download and Install Microsoft Office 2013 Without the Disc

If your computer came with Office 2013 pre-installed (or if you lost your installation disc), you can still reinstall Office with your product key—you just need to download it straight from Microsoft.

Three Windows Shortcuts Every Beginner Should Know

If there's one thing that'll make you faster and more productive on a computer, it's keyboard shortcuts. There are a lot of keyboard shortcuts beginners should know, but here are three specific to Windows that can make getting around a lot easier.

The Best Tools Hidden in Windows' Command Line

While it may not always be the best choice in Windows, there are certain things you can only do from the command line. We've talked about a few command line essentials before, like using tracert to troubleshoot a flaky Internet connection and using recimg to create a custom Windows recovery image. Here are a few more you should probably know about (if you don't already).

How to Make Windows 8's Start Screen Actually Useful

Windows 8's Start Screen gets a bad rap, but with the right tweaks and a couple downloads, it can actually be pretty useful. Here's how to make the Start Screen into something you might actually want to use.

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There you have it. It's been a good year for Windows tips and guides, but if you're craving more, be sure to check out our most popular Windows posts of 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, and 2008.

An excerpt from Linda Tirado's 2014 book Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America lays out some of the ways that being poor costs more than having a comfortable income -- it's more than having to pay for high daily rents in a motel because you can't afford first-and-last. Read the rest

It's easy to set high expectations for the day's turnout. If you have a difficult day ahead, or feel stressed about an even, setting a low bar will ensure you have a good day anyway.

It's great to be ambitious and have high standards, but that can keep you from appreciating the simple things that can make a day great. Instead of solely focusing on high expectations that are difficult to reach or out of your control, set a low bar for your day by focusing on the small things that are going well. Henrick Edberg of The Positivity Blog explains:

One thing I like to tell myself when I wake up in the morning is this: "Have a low bar for happiness today."

As I tell myself this and try to keep it in mind during the day I appreciate things more.

The food, my work, the weather, the small events of the day becomes not everyday stuff but something I feel happy to have. The small or what may be something one takes for granted becomes something I now often pause for a moment or two to take in and appreciate.

Henrick goes on to clarify that this doesn't hinder his ambition. In fact, the happiness he achieves by appreciating the small things gives him positive energy he needs to work toward the more difficult goals.

How to Change Your Life in Just 2 Minutes a Day: 10 Quick Habits | The Positivity Blog

Photo by David Hodgson.

Android: VLC has been one of our favorite media players for forever. After a lengthy stint in a beta (plus some region lock annoyances), the app finally graduated to version 1.0. It's now out of beta, though releasing on time is still up for debate.

The new version adds some fixes for certain ARMv8 processors, as well as Android 5.0 fixes. What that means in layman's terms is if you have any moderate-to-extremely new device purchased in the last year, it's probably supported. Which, you know, is a key feature if you're going to call your release stable.

VLC for Android | Google Play Store via Android Police

Wireless charging is undeniably convenient, but fast it is not. With wired charging getting even faster thanks to Qualcomm-based Quick Charge technology, sometimes it just makes more sense to plug your device in. Maybe that's about to change, though. Freescale Semiconductor says it has a new wireless charging chip that can triple current limits on power transfer.

Freescale makes various bits of silicon for OEMs to integrate into devices. You've probably got a few Freescale chips around the house, in fact.

Freescale's New Qi Wireless Charging Tech Can Pump Out 15W Of Power, Three Times More Than Current Chargers was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

To make building apps easier, Google just released the first official version of its Android Studio development environment for Android developers.

Android Studio improves on Eclipse, the previous Android software tool, in some significant ways—in part by offering simpler startup, a intelligent code editing and more options for "building" apps from the underlying code. The new environment is built on a popular Java tool, the IntelliJ IDEA (Community Edition) Java development environment, and offers both cosmetic and analytical improvements over its predecessor.

Google launched a preview version of Android Studio last year at its I/O summer conference. The software-making and testing tools were hailed as a leap forward for Android development at the time, so the the full, stable release ought to give app makers plenty to work with. 

Features include a first-run setup wizard, sample importing and code templates, emulators and a "User Interface Design,” which lets developers preview Android Layouts in various screen sizes, languages and API versions (see our API explainer).  

In the announcement, Android product manager Jamal Eason wrote: 

Similar to the Chrome release channels, Android Studio will continue to receive updates on four different release channels: Stable, Beta, Dev, Canary. Canary builds are at the bleeding edge of development, while the stable release is fully tested. With this range of release channels you can choose how quickly you want to get the latest features for Android Studio.

If you used the developer preview, note that this release offers several bug fixes and improvements, among them version 1.0 of the Gradle plugin for app building. "The communication between Android Studio and the Gradle plugin is now stable,” added Eason, "and updating one will not require updating the other.” 

For more details or to download Android Studio, visit the developer portal. 

Lead photo by Ash Kyd