Dan Jones

Perfect for when your nose is about to blow!

 

Ben Frederickson has a post describing some of the weirdnesses of Unicode (“Things that seem like they should be very simple are often deceptively complicated when dealing with Unicode strings … Unicode also has lots of different characters that are visually identical to one another”) but ending with this upbeat conclusion:

Every change to Unicode has been a rational change by intelligent hard working people. While I can make fun of the poop emoji being included in the Unicode standard, it was the end result of a smart strategic decision by engineers at Google. Now that emoji are included in the Unicode standard, we have the rational follow on decision of supporting racial hints for people in emoji. Likewise by supporting emoji like a piece of pizza, the Unicode consortium has to now make the tough calls on including hot dogs and tacos in the next version of the standard while also excluding hoagies. Even having visually identical characters with different code points was a deliberate design decision – it’s necessary for lossless conversion to and from legacy character encodings.

Unicode is crazy complicated, but that is because of the crazy ambition it has in representing all of human language, not because of any deficiency in the standard itself. Human language is a complicated messy business, and Unicode has to be equally complicated to represent it. Thankfully we have people writing those long standards on how to display bidirectional strings appropriately, or sort strings, or the security implications of all this – so that the rest of us don’t have to think about it and just use standard library code to handle instead.

I’m deeply grateful for the existence of Unicode, and equally grateful that I don’t have to understand how it works, but I figure those with more understanding of coding than I (which is a very low bar) might find it interesting and/or have something to say about it.

Pizza in the morning, pizza in the evening, pizza at suppertime. When pizza's on a...stainless steel cylindrical insert that transforms your kettle grill into the equivalent of a blazing hot woodfired pizza oven...you can eat pizza anytime. And you will. With great pleasure and many sighs of satisfaction. Click here and enter to win a KettlePizza Pro Kit! A $355 value!

This giveaway is open to US residents only.

About the KettlePizza Pro Kit

The KettlePizza Pro insert takes homely, mediocre 22-1/2" kettle grills, such as Webers and Stoks, and magically transforms them into flashy, gourmet pizza ovens capable of putting wood-fired New York slices, Chicago deep dish, and even bacon wrapped bacon in a bacon bowl to shame. KettlePizza's stainless steel sleeve fits between your grill bottom and lid, establishing a cooking chamber capable of reaching and maintaining temperatures of over 750 degrees F when powered by either charcoal or hard wood heat sources. With the addition of a pizza stone, homemade pies taste of saucy, smoky, straight-from-a-sweaty-Brooklyn-hole-in-the-wall perfection in 10 minutes or less.

And should you get a wild hair in your sweet tooth post pizza consumption, feel free to use the KettlePizza's dragon breath to flash bake a batch of cookies for dessert.

KettlePizza Pro Kits include:

• A 304 stainless steel pizza oven sleeve for 22-1/2" kettles
• Two wood handles with stainless steel standoffs
• A hi-temp thermometer
• A 14" pizza pan
• Stainless steel hardware
• A 22-1/2" stainless steel ProGrate that allows refueling without removal of KettlePizza insert
• A 5/8" tombstone-shaped pizza stone that is larger and thicker for better heat retention and easier pizza placement
• A firebox to allow higher temperatures within the cooking chamber
• An aluminum pro pizza peel with hanging S clip

KettlePizza Pro Kits require basic, tool-less assembly for use on any 22-1/2" kettle grill. They are especially suited to anyone cooking more than 4 pizzas per session.

KettlePizza Pro Kit Giveaway Entry Instructions

To register, click here and fill out the KettlePizza Pro Kit Giveaway entry form. Or, if you're already a member of DudeIWantThat.com, when the magic entry form button appears, just click it to enter.

Giveaway prize includes 1 x KettlePizza Pro Kit, with contents as listed in the About description above. Total retail value is $355.

The KettlePizza Pro Kit Giveaway entry period is open through 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 7th, 2015. Our drawn winner will be contacted by email within 48 hours of the entry period's conclusion, and will have 12 hours to respond and claim his/her prize. (Should we not hear back from a drawn winner in the specified time period, a new winner will be drawn and contacted.)

Winner should allow up to 3 weeks for prize delivery.

Once a winner is drawn and confirmed, s/he will be announced below.

This giveaway is open to US residents only.

Get a KettlePizza Kit Now

For those too serious about their pizza eats to wait out the entry period, click here to order your KettlePizza Pro Kit directly from the company's online store.

KettlePizza also continues to peddle its popular KettlePizza Basic Kit for both 18-1/2" and 22-1/2" kettle grills ($139.95 at printing). Upgrades include the KettlePizza Deluxe Kit, which adds a pizza stone and wooden peel ($199.95 at printing) and KettlePizza Serious Eats Kit, which comes with a ProGrate, Tombstone, and newly designed KettlePizza Baking Steel lid to yield higher dome temps and faster cook times (on sale for $399.95 at printing).

BIG BONUS: Dude readers can also enjoy a 10% discount at KettlePizza checkout using the coupon code DUDE10!

KettlePizza Pro Kit Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Paul C. of Oregon City, OR, winner of the KettlePizza Pro Kit. Thanks to all entrants, and be sure to check the Dude homepage or Dude Giveaways section for your chance to enter our latest prize drawing.

Dude Giveaway Vendor Participation

Are you an online retailer with a Dudeworthy product you'd like to grace upon our readers? Consider a Dude Giveaway partnership! Click here for details on prerequisites, giveaway procedures, and our contact information.

Someone once said that he internet is just a Magic 8-Ball that you can shake to get whatever answer you want out of it.

Now that Google launched a new photo sharing service (Google Photos), it's interesting to see what happens with Google+ Photos.

Google has a new Android app for Google Photos. Until now, the Google Photos shortcut linked to the Google+ app. A recent update to the Google+ app removed the Photos section, so you can no longer check your photos from Google+.

The desktop Google+ site redirects users to the new Google Photos and shows this message: "Google Photos gives your personal photos a comfy new home. Photos shared in Google+ remain part of your Google+ profile." There's also a link to Google+ Photos.

Picasa Web Albums, Google+ Photos and the new Google Photos are different interfaces for the same photo library. Now that Google Photos doesn't require Google+, it's likely that Google can finally retire Picasa Web Albums and replace it with Google Photos.

Google Photos: https://photos.google.com
Google+ Photos: https://plus.google.com/photos/highlights
Picasa Web Albums: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/myphotos?noredirect=1

“There are just some chores I like to keep to myself. Alfred has plenty to do and I like to feel needed.”

A new report out of Japan has given us a morsel of NX information to chew on. Nikkei reports that, despite Nintendo’s veil of secrecy surrounding the “NX” platform until at least 2016, some officials have revealed the the system’s operating system will be based on Google’s Android platform.

Their official source notes that it’s a historic change for Nintendo, who, since 1983, has designed not only their own hardware and software, but also their own proprietary operating systems. The move to Android makes it “possible to encourage the participation of all software developers … to expand to a variety of devices, such as smartphones and tablets,” according to their informant. This comes after the colossal backfiring that is the Wii U, which third parties have all but deserted (with Nikkei citing Square Enix’s Dragon Quest Heroes on Sony’s PlayStation 4), leaving Nintendo as one of the only big publishers still supporting it.

Of course, we still don’t know whether the NX is a home console or a handheld device. The report also points out that third party support has dropped from about 70% of the Nintendo DS library to about 30% of the Nintendo 3DS library.

Nikkei

As suspicious as it looks, it’s actually just a cutting board.

 

They say that the struggle makes the pizza taste sweeter.

Once you start worrying that the pizza is not coming, the worry feeds on itself. Either I will have the pizza in the end and I will be happy, or I will not have it and I will still be happy. I’m still unconvinced about the long term necessity of worry (or pizza).

Dman is imagination – all fears and dreams.

I have never heard of nor played Curiosity – What's Inside the Cube?, so the Peter Molyneux joke went straight over my head. Though after researching it, I did like how Bits & Bytes made a double reference with that panel by also connecting the joke to his company's name: 22Cans.



See more: In the Menu

Google now sends email notification when you sign in to a Google account from a new device. Here's an excerpt from Google's notification:

"Your Google Account was just used to sign in from Chrome on Mac. Why are we sending this? We take security very seriously and we want to keep you in the loop on important actions in your account. We were unable to determine whether you have used this browser or device with your account before. This can happen when you sign in for the first time on a new computer, phone or browser, when you use your browser's incognito or private browsing mode or clear your cookies, or when somebody else is accessing your account."

Google suggests to check the Devices & activity section from Google Accounts Settings if you don't recognize this activity. You can also find additional information about the browsers and locations that were used. For mobile devices, you can even remove account access to make sure it can no longer access your Google Account.

If Gibbs' Quadski amphibious ATV is more drunk college kid than Man Conquers Water for you, then you now have the option to up the ante with the company's new Amphitrucks. Show the highway, the lake, and the stuck up neighbors whining about assaulting nature who's boss this summer with the Gibbs Humdinga or Phibian.

The rugged Humdinga Amphitruck runs like any other supersized 4-wheeler on land. It can carry up to 7 people or the equivalent in cargo, and motor at typical highway speeds. But nudge up to the water's edge, press a button, and watch the Humdinga's dual nature emerge--and submerge--as it wheels turn out and its hull settles below the surface. In seconds you'll be gliding along the water at speeds of 30+ mph. Gibbs notes this Amphitruck model is particularly useful in first responder rescue a supply situations, both in water and on off-road missions that might require traversing a body of water to most efficiently reach the destination.

Phibian, also capable of highway speeds on land and over 30 mph on water, is Gibbs' even bigger boy Amphitruck. It has a pair of diesel engines, each powering a Gibbs water jet on water and a driven axle on land. Road travels enable switching the Phibian between FWD, RWD, and 4x4 configurations. It can transport up to 4,400 pounds of cargo or up to 15 individuals.

With the debut of Android Pay, Google doubled its number of mobile payments services. Now another has been revealed, bringing the total number of Google payment services to three.

Google Hands Free is a new payment system that, well, will let you pay for things without using your hands. The demo video shows a person simply telling the cashier that she’d like to “pay with Google,” and then the cashier tells her that’s she’s all set. Google says that your full credit card info won’t be shared with retailers and that when you do successfully make a payment, you’ll get an alert on your phone.

Hands Free is going to launch in preview mode this year, but it’s only going to be available in the San Francisco Bay Area initially. So far, only two businesses have been announced for the Hands Free program: McDonald’s and Papa John’s.

Google’s not saying much else about Hands Free, so it’s not clear exactly how the service works. Hands Free definitely looks cool, though, making contactless payments even easier than they are with a smartwatch or smartphone. Simply saying that you’d like to pay with Google will eliminate the time that you’d take to fumble through a wallet, fish your phone out of your pocket, or contort your wrist to meet the contactless payment terminal.

Here’s to hoping that Hands Free expands beyond San Francisco quickly.

Regigigas is Reggie. Clever.

If you didn't already know, Nintendo of America just hired Doug Bowser as VP of Sales. [1] Now, it's not as if Doug was hired just because he shared the same name as Mario's iconic villain. Before joining Nintendo of America he had worked at both Procter & Gamble and most recently EA. And while at EA, he was even the Vice President of Global Business Planning, a position that had the responsibility of forecasting EA’s console, PC and mobile games.

Still, that doesn't mean Nintendo isn't having fun with this coincidence.

And now a message from our new Vice President of Sales, Doug Bowser. http://t.co/Qb6GYxgRrC pic.twitter.com/OEWu8dxUr0

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 20, 2015

Did you look in the background of the photo? You see Mario and Luigi tied up with the cord of a GameCube controller while none King Koopa's underlings are being restrained? Nice.



See more: Welcome Aboard, King Bowser

Android M was announced today and it's available as a preview for developers. It brings some new features and makes some radical changes that improve battery life and user privacy.

The most significant change is a new permission model that's also used by iOS. Until now, users could only install an app by granting all the permissions requested by the app and couldn't revoke permissions. In Android M, the app requests permissions as it needs them and users can always grant or revoke permissions from the settings.



Android's backup and restore feature has always been way behind iOS and that's about to change in Android M. Google used to save device settings and the list of apps you've installed, but not their data and settings. "Automatic backups are enabled for all apps installed on devices running the Android M Preview. No additional app code is required," informs Google. For now, users can store up to 25MB per Android app and "backups occur every 24 hours, when the device is idle, charging, and connected to a Wi-Fi network."


Doze is a new feature that saves battery life. "If a device is unplugged and left stationary with the screen off for a period of time, it goes into Doze mode where it attempts to keep the system in a sleep state. In this mode, devices periodically resume normal operations for brief periods of time so that app syncing can occur and the system can perform any pending operations," informs Google. A lot of features are disabled in the Doze mode: network access (except for high priority Google Cloud Messaging tickles), wake locks, WiFi scans, syncing.

Another power optimization feature is app standby. "The system may determine that apps are idle when they are not in active use. Your app is considered idle after a period of time, unless the system detects any of these signals: the app is explicitly launched by the user, the app has a process currently in the foreground, the app generates a notification that users see on the lock screen or in the notification tray or the user explicitly asks for the app to be exempt from optimizations, via Settings. If the device is unplugged, apps deemed idle will have their network access disabled and their syncs and jobs suspended."

Android Pay addresses Google Wallet's failure by creating an open platform for mobile payments. This time, Google partnered with 3 major US mobile carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon), in addition to banks, payment processors and retailers. After Softcard's demise, Android Pay will replace it. Google acquired Softcard technology a few months ago. It's worth pointing out that Android Pay is an app that requires Android KitKat or later, so it's not clear why it was announced as an Android M feature.

Google Now will also work inside Android apps. Tap and hold the home button and Google Now will show relevant information, including links to other useful apps. Say "OK Google" followed by a question and Google's answer will use the app's context. For example, you can ask "What's her latest album?" when listening to Mariah Carey in your favorite music app and Google will know that "her" refers to Mariah Carey.


Android M brings native support for fingerprint sensor, simplified volume controls, easy word selection with floating clipboard toolbar.


The updated launcher has an alphabetic app list and a search box that lets you quickly find an app. It also shows the most recently used apps at the top.


You cab change default apps from the settings, so it's easier to pick the default browser, phone app or SMS app.


Android M supports app link verification, so that links can open in an app without having to pick one first. You can disable app links in the settings.


There's also an updated memory stats section and you can find more information about apps.



Another improvement is that there's no longer an icon for Google Settings. This is now a section in the settings app.

There's a new interface for Google Account Settings that does a better job at organizing all the different sections that are available. There's a sidebar that lets you quickly navigate to a different section and Google offers more information about the settings.

Google Web History also has a new interface, which uses more colors and a hamburger-style menu that lets you switch to other activity pages. Google includes "the content you've browsed in Chrome and other apps" if you've enabled this option.





{ Thanks, Laura González. }

It's not like it was hard to get an invitation for Google Inbox, but now you no longer need one. Google Inbox is available for everyone.

Google also added some new features to the services. Trip Bundles group all the emails about a trip and show important details like flight times.

Undo Send is now available in Google Inbox and it also works on mobile devices. If you change your mind after sending an email, you can click or tap "Undo" and Google no longer sends it.


Google Inbox now lets you make "Delete" the default swiping action instead of "Mark as done". There's also a setting for custom signatures.


Google Keep reminders will appear in the inbox and Google will suggest creating reminders for messages that include to-dos.

This is where Bruce Wayne sends children when he needs new sidekicks.



See more: Batman: The Ride

The fact that Mighty Handle-rs are probably making a crap ton of money off a hook-shaped piece of plastic really gets my goat. Especially since it's actually a good idea with many practical applications, such as carrying the 37 plastic bags Safeway uses to load my 37 grocery items, and the 37 shirts I have to take to the dry cleaner on account of having dripped Beef & Broccoli and Mango Sticky Rice from Yummi Thai on them. Dammit! Why do I continue trying to come up with ways to make humans glow rather than keeping my ideas simple and easy to make in China for 1/10th of a cent from high density polyethylene?

OK, fine. Mighty Handle are made in the USA. From recyclable materials.

The listing here is for a pair of them, each capable of schlepping loads of up to 50 pounds. Bags, hangers, paint cans, small children, anything you can hook, you can Mighty Handle.

The carriers also feature a trademarked Twist-Lock design that will help prevent content spillage during use.

A new Chromecast didn’t emerge on stage at Google I/O 2015 but details of new features did.  New Chromecast APIs will make it easier for games developers on Android, iOS and the web to add interactive multiplayer support to their software. New Chromecast Game APIs Open the app stores on Android and iOS and you’ll find Cast ready quiz […]

The article Achievement Unlocked: New APIs Will Lead to More Multiplayer Chromecast Games was first published on OMG! Chrome!

The new Google Photos app is now available on Google Play, but if you’re looking to access the service to through photos.google.com, you may need to wait just a little bit longer. The website is available for some users, while others are being to a splash page that asks them to check back soon. Google Photos isn’t dramatically different than Google+ Photos, but Google is now giving everyone unlimited storage for images up to 16 megapixels and 1080p video, allowing you to store your entire image and video library in Google’s cloud storage.

Our favorite new features that Google Photos offers are the organization and searching capabilities. Google Photos will organize your images by time, but it will also analyze your images and organizes them by people, places or things. If you’re looking for a specific type of image, just use the search box.

Head on over to Google Play to download google Photos and be sure to leave us a comment to let us know what you like about the new app.

Google Now stands apart from the competition by providing you with information before you need it. Away from home? Google Now will auto populate with directions to your house. At the airport? How about plane and hotel information? Google Now is taking this approach to information retrieval to the next level with Google Now on Tap, letting Google Now better interact with your apps and what you’re doing on your phone at any given time.

With Google Now on Tap, Google Now will behave differently depending on what you’re doing on your phone. For example if you are using Google Music, listening to a song and want to know what artist is playing, simply asking Google Now “who’s singing?” will provide you with relevant information on the artist. Or when a friend asks you about movies, Google Now will provide you with relevant movie information without having to ask for it.

Along with Google Now on Tap voice actions, when you press and hold the home button with different apps open, unique custom information cards will pop up provided by Google Now on Tap.

Google Now on Tap is an Android feature, so developers won’t need to do anything special for Google Now on Tap to work. Which means as soon as it goes live, it should be just as incredibly useful as Google Now is right now.

NVIDIA’s Android TV effort, the SHIELD is finally available starting today, NVIDIA made it in under the wire on their May launch projection.

The base model SHIELD comes with 16GB of storage, a SHIELD controller and HDMI cable for $199. You can buy it right now either directly through NVIDIA or Amazon.

It should come as little surprise that the 500GB SHIELD Pro, which had made a couple appearances in the past, is indeed a real product and is available for pre-order at $299 today and will begin shipping June 3rd. Pre-orders are available through NVIDIA or Amazon and like the base model the SHIELD Pro includes a SHIELD controller and an HDMI cable, but also includes a copy of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel.

For a limited time only both models of the SHIELD will come with a $30 Google Play Store credit as well as a 90-day subscription to Google Play all access.

The SHIELD remote is also available today and will run you $49.99 and offers a variety of cool features like a microphone for voice commands and an audio jack so you can listen to your content without bothering the rest of the house.

The SHIELD Stand is coming soon for $29.99 and will as you might guess allow you to stand up your SHIELD vertically.

Early reviews of the SHIELD are looking largely positive with the price versus other Android TVs being the main concern. I would say that price gap is warranted given the bundled controller and significantly more advanced gaming functionality of the SHIELD like GRID, but we’ll see if consumers feel the same way.

We will have our own review of the SHIELD in due time so if you have any specific questions you’d like us to address in the review let us know.

Anyone planning to pick up a SHIELD today?