Aug 23
Aug 23
Naruto is in a strange place right now. The long-running manga series ended in early 2015, before its anime adaptation wrapped up in March this year. The spiky-haired ninja saved the world and achieved his dream of becoming the Hokage, or rather the…
Aug 23
Only half of Americans who face depression get help for it, and Google is determined to increase that percentage. As of today, it’s offering a medically validated, anonymous screening questionnaire for clinical depression if you search for informati…
Aug 23
Image Credit: Reuters / Kim Kyung-Hoon
There’s a growing concern that robots will eventually replace humans. Many industrial jobs have already been lost due to the advancement of robotic technology and it seems that robots might end up replacing humans for administering funeral rites as well. A Japanese company has programed SoftBank’s Pepper humanoid robot to perform Buddhist funeral rites.
The programed robot chants sutras in its computerized voice as it taps a drum in a display that demonstrated its abilities to administer Buddhist funeral rites. The robot was being demonstrated at the Life Ending Industry Expo in Tokyo. Yes, that’s an expo for the funeral industry.
Nissei Eco, a company that makes plastic molding, wrote the program that enables SoftBank’s Pepper robot to perform this function. Michio Inamura, Nissei’s executive advisor, pointed out that many Buddhist priests now receive less financial support from their communities as Japan’s population ages and shrinks.
This has led to many priests having to find part-time work outside their temples. The robot will then step in to perform the duties when a priest isn’t available. It will also cost less. A funeral administered by the robot will cost around $450 while one administered by a human priest costs $2,200.
Despite its cost-cutting benefits, nobody has hired the funeral-ready robot as yet.
Robot Programed To Conduct Buddhist Funeral Rites , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Aug 23
It was reported recently that Facebook might enable subscriptions in Instant Articles and the world’s largest social network has confirmed that today. Facebook users will soon be able to subscribe to publications after they’re read their stories in the Instant Articles section. Facebook will start testing Instant Articles subscriptions later this year in the fall.
The confirmation comes straight from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. This is part of Facebook’s effort to help news organizations grow their subscriptions. If users subscribe after seeing news stories on Facebook, the money will go directly to the publishers who work on them. Facebook isn’t going to take a cut.
Facebook’s embrace of subscriptions could have been prompted by major publications like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal moving away from its Instant Articles platform amid concerns that it’s causing them to lose money without actually growing their audience on the social network.
The social network is now going to start testing Instant Articles subscriptions with a small group of U.S. and European publishers later this year. It’s going to listen to their feedback before deciding whether or not this should be rolled out broadly to more publishers across the globe.
Facebook hasn’t detailed which publishers will be taking part in this test but it could include a variety of newspapers and magazines, even those publications that implement a paywall model to charge for their content.
Facebook Instant Articles Subscriptions Confirmed , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Aug 23
Hulu’s Live TV streaming service has so far been available on mobile devices and set-top boxes. It wasn’t possible to just fire up your web browser on a PC or Mac and stream live TV on Hulu. That’s possible starting today as Hulu’s Live TV service now has support for web browsers on PC and Mac.
This is the first time that Hulu’s Live TV streaming service is being expanded beyond mobile devices and set-top boxes. Subscribers can now view live TV channels using a Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Microsoft Edge web browser. Internet Explorer 11 is supported as well.
It’s about time that Hulu added this functionality seeing as how all of its major rivals already offer the ability to stream live TV via a web browser. Its rivals include YouTube TV, DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue, and Sling TV.
Hulu does mention that the web product that it has rolled out today isn’t close to the final product that it’s working on. Instead of making subscribers wait, it decided to launch a basic version of the web players so that users could start streaming content via web browsers immediately. The full version with significantly more features will be launched later.
“From point, click, and keyboard interactions, to responsive pages to fit all screen sizes; we are carefully considering all of the things that make building a web experience unique from living room and mobile devices,” it added.
Hulu Live TV Service Gets Support For Web Browsers , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Aug 23
The Apple TV might be a robust set-top box but it’s finding it difficult to compete against similar products from Amazon and Roku. According to a new report, the Apple TV is bleeding market share to these rivals as the proportion of U.S. households owning and using an Apple TV is shrinking compared to those owning and using an Amazon or Roku device.
Parks Associates conducted a study recently which found that Apple TV only accounted for 15 percent of the country’s set-top box market in the first quarter of this year. It was a 19 percent decline compared to the same period last year. The study is based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. broadband households that owned at least one streaming player.
On the other hand, Roku saw an improvement in its lead year-over-year. Its market share is up from 33 percent in the first quarter of 2016 to 37 percent in the first quarter of 2017. Amazon also saw an increase in its market share.
Amazon’s Fire TV range saw its market share increase during the same timeframe. It went from accounting for 16 percent of the market to account for 24 percent. Google Chromecast saw a slight decline from 21 percent to 18 percent in the first quarter of this year.
Apple is believed to be working on an upgrade for the Apple TV to improve its position in the set-top box market. It may launch an Apple TV with 4K support and even add 4K resolution content to the iTunes Store at some point in the future.
Apple TV Bleeding Market Share To Amazon And Roku , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Aug 23
iPhone 8 Price Might Start At $999
Posted in: Today's Chili
As September draws near with each passing day, we continue to hear more rumors about the possible launch date of the iPhone 8. A report today claimed that the iPhone 8 is going to be launched on September 12th. When it does arrive, how much will it cost? Word on the street is that the iPhone 8 price is going to start at $999.
The New York Times reports today, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the iPhone 8 price is going to start at $999.
It’s expected that the iPhone 8 is going to be offered in 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB models. The $999 price tag is reportedly for the base 64GB model. This means that the higher capacity models will likely have a premium of a couple of hundred dollars over and above the base price, pushing it way past $1,000.
It’s not like this wasn’t expected, though. Countless reports have suggested that the iPhone 8 is going to be priced more than $1,000. It’s part of a growing trend for flagship smartphones. They seem to be on a mission to blow past the $1,000 barrier once and for all.
This hasn’t been confirmed officially yet so take this price point with a grain of salt. Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 8 at some point next month.
iPhone 8 Price Might Start At $999 , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Aug 23
While Vertu many not be around anymore to sell you smartphones worth thousands of dollars, there are still plenty of companies out there who offer such devices. Take Lamborghini Mobile’s latest device for instance. A division of the iconic Italian supercar manufacturer, Lamborghini Mobile has launched its new Alpha-One Android smartphone which costs $2,450.
The Alpha-One has the specs that you’d expect from last season’s Android flagships. It’s powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage.
It features a 5.5 inch Quad HD AMOLED display and a 20 megapixel rear camera. The handset even has a pair of stereo speakers with a dedicated DAC and AMP as well as Dolby Atmos audio. Keeping the lights on is a 3,250mAh battery with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0. Android 7.0 Nougat powers the handset.
To be fair, a handset with specs like these can be had for around $500. It’s basically a rebadged ZTE Axon 7. So why pay over $2,000 more? Well, you’re paying for the name, obviously, aside from the fact that there’s Italian leather on the back and liquid metal for the side frame. $2,450 also gets you an Italian leather case for the phone.
Lamborghini is selling the Alpha-One at Harrod’s in London as well as through multiple retailers in the UAE.
Lamborghini Launches A Ridiculous $2,450 Smartphone , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Aug 23
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