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Google Chromecast is the second most popular media streaming device in the USA, a new report from Parks Associates claims.

Chromecast sales snatched 23% of the streaming media devices market in the US in 2014.

And that’s a healthy share to have for a device that didn’t even register among the top five media streaming device brands a year prior.

Roku remains America’s most popular device for streaming content. The Roku box and streaming stick command 34% share of the streaming media device market based on 2014 sales.

Apple TV slips to fourth place, being beaten by Amazon Fire TV.

Parks Associates estimate that 20% of American broadband households own at least one media streaming device — 8% own a stick, like the Chromecast, and 2% own both a stick and a box, like the Apple TV.

And things are on the up. Parks expect the total number of households owning media streamers to hit 25% by the end of 2015.

Chromecast Sales Vs Chromecast Usage

The low-price point of the Chromecast is a big factor of its sales success but are people actually using it?

Parks’ usage data (which is based on a sample of US broadband households) shows a slight disconnect between Chromecast sales and regular usage.

The Chromecast is used regularly in 19% of US homes that own at least one streaming media device.

This usage stat is some way behind Roku (37%) but ahead of Apple TV (17%) and Amazon Fire TV devices (14%).

It will be interesting to see how 2015 data changes things. Amazon has aggressively priced its Fire TV Stick, Apple discounted their Apple TV (ahead of a refresh due in October) and Chromecast compatible apps have been arriving at a fair clip.

The article Chromecast Is Now America’s Second Favourite Media Streamer was first published on OMG! Chrome!

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While the BlackBerry-branded Venice has been making the rounds as of late, it’s apparently not the only BlackBerry device to be installed with Google’s mobile operating system.

According to a new video published by Dudu Rocha Tec., there’s a BlackBerry Passport out there in the wild that’s running Android. And, to be specific, it’s an Android Lollipop build that looks relatively untouched by proprietary software. It’s pretty clear in the video that the Passport in question is a prototype unit, thanks to all the blurring of the owner’s information, but it’s working well enough in the video.

The keyboard trackpad works, too, which would help any future Passport-with-Android owners scroll through pages easily enough.

Whether or not BlackBerry will ever launch a Passport with Android installed is anyone’s guess at this point, but considering how much attention the Venice has been getting lately, it doesn’t seem completely impossible.

The question is: Would you buy a Passport running Android?

Chrome for Mac is improving

Chrome for Mac has begun to address its long documented performance and battery issues. 

The  release of Google Chrome 46 on the Canary channel brings a number of sorely needed battery boosting power fixes to users of OS X.

But just how good are the changes?

Owen  Williams of The Next Web sets the anticipation level, stating that a week of using the latest dev version of Chrome for Mac has left him “blown away”.

“Memory consumption seems to have halved, groggy slow tabs are snappier than ever and my battery life isn’t shamefully bad anymore,” Williams writes, noting that his MacBook’s fans are no longer blowing a gale, either.

But is Williams’ enthusiasm the anecdotal side effect of having not used Chrome regularly for a while? Or do measurable changes exists within the latest Canary builds really result in such a dramatic difference?

Thankfully it is the latter.

Making Chrome Faster, Bit by Bit

Chrome 46 Dev Vs Canary

As we’ve reported regularly this past year, the Chrome team is working to improve the browser’s performance and memory management. It even plans to tackle the performance hit of extensions.

And Alex Russell, a Chrome engineer, tweets that specific patches for Mac users are in play in the most bleeding-edge versions (changes which have since part-filtered into Dev channel builds).

Chrome 46 is going to be AMAZING. Battery & memory use improvements you can *feel*. Mac uses: give today's Canary a try. ZOMG good.

— Alex Russell (@slightlylate) August 12, 2015

Russell calls out “memory improvements are everywhere“, notes that the “Mac graphics stack power is hugely improved” and says that “power is better on every platform.”

Battery life gains for Mac users come from a new graphics feature called ‘Partial Swap’.

Better Every Six Weeks

Although Google Chrome may not be able to match Apple’s Safari in outright performance — we all remember those scary benchmarks from earlier this year — the latest builds of Chrome for Mac certainly put it back in contention.

As Alex Russell wryly points out: “[Chrome gets] better every 6 weeks”.

Interested in taking Chrome Canary for Mac for a spin? You can do so easily, and it won’t replace your existing Chrome installation.

Download Google Chrome Canary

Do bear in mind that the Canary channel is bleeding edge and prone to bugs, breakage and regressions.

The article Chrome for Mac Is Finally Getting Better was first published on OMG! Chrome!

From the developer of Crossy Road (aka Infinite Frogger) comes Pac-Man 256, a Pac-Man game with an infinite board that gets eaten from below by the kill screen glitch from the 256th level of the original game. I love riffs on old school video games like this, and the infinite board is a particularly clever one.¹ Here's what the gameplay looks like:

I'm sure everyone is used to this by now (which is sad) but be warned that Pac-Man 256 is one of those games that encourages you to watch ads to level up more quickly or to continue when you're out of credits...and then to buy more credits as an IAP when you're out of ads to watch. There's an option to buy unlimited credits for $7.99, but still. I understand the economics of the situation and why they do it this way, but it just feels so hostile to the player. I want to wholeheartedly recommend this game because the gameplay is so fun, but it feels like you're constantly wading through a little bit of raw sewage to play it. Which, apparently I don't mind doing, wading through sewage. :(

Update: Echoing several similar comments on Twitter, John Gruber writes:

Unlike Kottke, I think the option to buy unlimited "credits" with a one-time $7.99 in-app purchase is a fair deal. Think of it as an $8 game that you can optionally play for free if you're willing to watch ads. That's a good price for a great game.

$8 is a more than fair price. But the option to buy unlimited credits is difficult to find in the game (you need to run out of credits first and then click the "Play" button anyway) and it doesn't tell you exactly what you're getting for your $8. What I want is never to see an ad ever in the game, but I don't actually think that's what it is. Paying full price for a game shouldn't involve hide n' seek.

But the bigger issue for me is how the game, and many many others in the App Store, feels: icky. Like used car salesman icky. Drug dealer icky. Depressing casino icky. The way the game presents itself, the developers seemingly want one thing: your money. Do they want me to have a good time playing the game? Eh, maybe? I don't know, it just seems really cynical to me, like a game built by a bank instead of people that love gaming or Pac-Man.

I really *really* wish the App Store had a trial period option available for apps. 20 minutes into Pac-Man 256 and I would have ponied up $8-10, no problem. I suspect App Store users would love this feature but game developers would hate it because using ads and casino tactics to upsell in your app makes a lot more money than straight sales.

1. Hey Nintendo, can you make an infinite version of Mario Kart? Pretty please? It would be like Mad Max: Crossy Road or something.↩

You can now request an electronic copy of your patriarchal blessing. You can view it online or download it to your computer or smart phone.

You can also request copies of blessings for deceased direct-line ancestors, which are then mailed to you.

Megan Michaels of the Church History Library reports that they receive an average of 10,000 requests for copies of blessings each month. This inspired the creation of the new tool to help process the requests received each day. It began with the digitization of all 4.2 million known patriarchal blessings in the Library’s archives.

The whole processes for patriarchal blessings is now digital. Bishops submit recommendations online and patriarchs can see who will be calling to schedule an appointment. After giving the blessing, the patriarch submits the text electronically to the Church History Library. Blessings are stored in the library’s digital preservation system that includes copies in multiple formats and storage systems. About half of the stakes in English, Spanish, and Portuguese now use the all-digital system. By next year, the system will be available to every stake and in 14 languages.

To request a digital copy of your blessing, go to LDS.org, click My Account and Ward, then select Patriarchal Blessing.

• Learn more about this system in the product release notes.
• Learn more about patriarchal blessings.

Marvel is giving a nod to cosplayers with a line of variant covers set to debut later this year that feature photos of 21 different cosplayers, one of which is still listed as “classified”.

“Cosplayers are taking over,” says Marvel SVP Sales & Marketing David Gabriel. “Each convention I go to, it seems like there are more and more fans dressing up like their favorite Marvel characters. These homemade, hand-crafted costumes are so elaborate, it looks like they leapt off the comic page. The Cosplay Variant initiative is our way of supporting a community that supports us.”

You may recognize a couple of cosplayers on the covers, so check them out after the break.

1. A-Force #1 featuring Jay Justice
2. All-New Inhumans #1 featuring Yaya Han
3. Amazing Spider-Man #1 featuring Aaron Rivin
4. Astonishing Ant-Man #1 featuring SoloRoboto Industries
5. Avengers #0 featuring by Michael Cox
6. Captain Marvel #1 featuring by Judy Stephens
7. Daredevil #1 featuring Patrick ‘Rick’ Lane
8. Doctor Strange #1 featuring Allen Lee Hansard
9. Extraordinary X-Men #1 featuring Amanda Lynne Shafer
10. Guardians of the Galaxy #1 featuring Contagious Costuming
11. Invincible Iron Man #1 featuring Dale Oliver
12. Ms. Marvel #1 featuring Soni Balestier
13. Nova #1 featuring Cap Santiago
14. Sam Wilson Captain America#1 featuring Eddie Newsome (Coming Soon)
15. Spider-Gwen #1 featuring Kathrine Zan
16. Spider-Woman #1 featuring Yashuntafun Cosplay
17. The Mighty Thor #1 featuring Sarah Jean Maefs
18. The Mighty Thor #2 featuring Kevin Spooner
19. Uncanny Avengers #1 featuring Miss Kit Quinn
20. Uncanny Inhumans #1 featuring Kalel Sean
21. CLASSIFIED

(via Superherohype)

Subway. Eat F L E S H

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What Bill Nye wore as a newborn http://ift.tt/1hAQ79i

From Mark Christian, a selection of deliciously pun-filled food truck name ideas. Some favorites:

Shwarmageddon
Calamari Damacy
Get Quiche Or Die Tryin'
What About Kebab?
Planet of the Crepes
Naan Disclosure Agreement
Entrée the Giant

(via @mathowie)

Chrome extensions like ours will soon run in Mozilla Firefox

Google Chrome extensions will soon be ‘largely compatible’ with Firefox, Mozilla has announced. 

The browser is introducing a new extension API that will make it easier for developers to create extensions that run across multiple browsers and better protect users from rogue add-ons and malware.

Called WebExtension, the new API is Blink-compatible, better documented and easier to use. It will make it easier for developers who build extensions for Opera and Google Chrome to bring them to Firefox with minimal changes needed.

“We would like add-on development to be more like Web development: the same code should run in multiple browsers according to behavior set by standards, with comprehensive documentation available from multiple vendors,” the company explains in an article titled ‘The Future of Developing Firefox Add-ons’. 

Like today, new WebExtensions will be distributed and installed through the addons.mozilla.org website.

But the move is not without drawbacks.

Mozilla say that many existing Firefox add-ons will need to be redeveloped from scratch.

While they plan to “work with the community to improve and finalize the WebExtensions API, and […] help developers of unsupported add-ons make the transition to newer APIs and multi-process support,” the news of a reset is unlikely to go down well.

Support for XPCOM- and XUL-based Firefox add-ons is to be phased out. This could see many popular Firefox themes and interface-based add-ons, like Classic Theme Restorer, no longer be able to do what they do at present.

In an effort to reassure those worried, Mozillian Kev Needham has said that personalisation is an ‘area of differentiation’ they’re keen to keep. 

WebExtensions is not the only change that Firefox’s long-established add-ons platform is shouldering. Starting with Firefox 41 due September all existing extensions will need to be validated and signed by Mozilla in order to run.

The article Firefox Is Going To Support Chrome Extensions was first published on OMG! Chrome!

The Boltwell B*10 Must-Haves Emergency Kit contains a 10-pack of Life Savers for disaster preparedness. Because if you're gonna go out, you may as well go out on a sugar high.

Just kidding.

Boltwell's Life Savers are individual items specially selected to help keep you safe and healthy during an emergency. From lighting fires to charging cell phones to performing basic first aid, the B*10 Must-Haves will prove true to their name during rough times. Best of all, you can get the kit at 30% off retail value for a limited time from Dude Exclusives.

Each pack includes:

• A multi-tool
• Waterproof matches
• The Boltwell first aid manual
• Micro first aid pouch
• Nalgene water bottle
• Water particle filter
• Water purification tablets
• Weather radio
• Whistle
• Disposable toilet bag

Just don’t go around kicking any Persians down any wells

This is so very cool.