Blizzard is giving its Battle.net desktop app a makeover. The gaming portal now has a tab dedicated to chats and groups, while the service is also introducing personal profiles and avatars for players to customize to their liking. It seems Blizzard w…
It is no secret that contactless payments are starting to become a more popular option compared to using cash or other older methods of payments, such as swiping cards. In fact in several parts of the world, contactless payments have become more or less standard and ubiquitous.
That being said the good news for residents of New York City is that it looks like the city’s subway is expected to start adopting contactless payments on a wider scale, according to a report from the New York Times. A committee of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has recently approved a $573 million contract for a new fare payment system that will allow contactless payments, such as Apple Pay where users can make payment using their iPhones or Apple Watch.
These new electronic readers will be installed in 500 subway turnstiles and on 600 buses in New York beginning late next year, and is expected to eventually cover the city’s entire subway and bus system by late 2020. This will also eventually replace the current method of using the MetroCard which can be prone to swipe errors, and could also save users time from having to top up their cards when it runs low.
Like we said, this is not the first time contactless systems are being introduced to public transport. Over in cities like London and Tokyo, similar systems have already been put into place.
New York City Will Replace MetroCard With Contactless Payments , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
There used to be a reason why back in the day, screensavers were widely used. It is because it is to prevent display burn ins where static pixels left in a position for too long could literally burn itself into the display of the monitor, thus leaving a permanent mark on it. These days this is an issue with mobile devices as well, and now some Pixel 2 XL users are reporting the issue.
According to the media who have received review units of the Pixel 2 handsets for review purposes are reporting that they are experiencing burn in problems with the display. There have also been reports of customers who have bought the phones who are experiencing it as well, particularly in the software navigation buttons.
Well, hello there. I have burn-in on my 2 XL. Not as bad as some, but this is maybe 10 days of not even being used as a primary device. pic.twitter.com/g600Gw1GdK
— Stephen Hall (@hallstephenj) October 22, 2017
Google has since acknowledged the issue and in a statement provided to The Verge, they claim to be investigating it. “The Pixel 2 XL screen has been designed with an advanced POLED technology, including QHD+ resolution, wide color gamut, and high contrast ratio for natural and beautiful colors and renderings. We put all of our products through extensive quality testing before launch and in the manufacturing of every unit. We are actively investigating this report.”
As to what Google plans to do once this investigation is over remains to be seen, but in the meantime if you are affected by it, you’ll probably want to send your unit back for a replacement one.
Some Google Pixel 2 XL Units Experience Display Burn In , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
There are many factors that can influence a person’s decision to purchase a phone, such as display size, resolution, processor, camera, and etc. Storage is also just as important as there are people who might still prefer the old school way of storing photos and videos, and Apple has given iPhone users a larger option with 256GB of storage.
Unfortunately if you wanted a 256GB iPhone, it looks like your only choices are with the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, or the iPhone X. Prior to this, Apple had offered users the option to purchase a 256GB iPhone 7 but according to a report from Mashable, it looks like the 256GB iPhone 7 has since been discontinued. Mashable has since confirmed this by speaking to an Apple customer service rep who told them that they no longer offer that option to customers.
It is unclear why Apple decided to kill off the 256GB iPhone 7 model, but presumably it is to entice customers who are looking for more storage to turn to Apple’s newer iPhone models. As it stands there have been reports that the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus aren’t selling as well as Apple would like, so maybe the company thinks that by getting rid of an older option, customers who need the storage will turn to the new iPhones instead.
Either way if the iPhone 7 is still something you’re interested in, note that it is now only being offered in 32GB and 128GB storage options.
Apple Has Discontinued The 256GB iPhone 7 , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Image credit – Stamen Design and the Victoria and Albert Museum
Most of our internet is delivered through fiber optic cables that have been installed underground beneath cities. However it seems that apart from just being able to deliver internet to homes and businesses, researchers at Stanford have managed to come up with another use for these fiber optic cables, and that is to help detect earthquakes.
There are several ways in which one can detect an earthquake, but with this recent discovery, which was led by Biondo Biondi, a professor of geophysics at Stanford’s School of Earth, Energy & Environmental sciences, it has shown that we can just leverage existing systems and infrastructure. According to Biondi, “We can continuously listen to – and hear well – the Earth using preexisting optical fibers that have been deployed for telecom purposes.”
He adds that with this system, it is cheaper compared to existing methods of monitoring. “Every meter of optical fiber in our network acts like a sensor and costs less than a dollar to install. You will never be able to create a network using conventional seismometers with that kind of coverage, density and price.”
As it stands earthquakes are monitored using seismometers which are more sensitive compared to using fiber optics, but the disadvantage to this is that coverage is sparse, and can be expensive to install and maintain, especially in urban areas.
Researchers Use Fiber Optic Cables As Earthquake Detectors , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
For quite a while, Spotify reigned supreme as the leader in music streaming, that is until more competitors entered the field, such as Apple Music which has managed to rise quickly through the ranks. While Spotify appears to still retain the number one position, the company is definitely not resting on their laurels.
Just recently Spotify launched a new feature called RISE which appears to be Spotify’s way of introducing new and emerging artists. According to the company, “By harnessing its unmatched cultural influence and 140+ million music fans, Spotify will launch these artists of exceptional talent into the world through a dynamic combination of multi-tiered marketing and editorial programming on Spotify.”
“The launch of RISE includes on platform, out of home, digital and social promotion in addition to special, mixed-media RISE playlists. In the coming months, Spotify will create one-of-a-kind experiential events for each RISE artist and release bespoke audio and video content that dives deep into the story behind each rising star.”
If you’re wondering why this sounds familiar, it is because it seems to be similar to Apple Music’s Up Next program which was launched earlier this year with a similar goal, which is to help promote new artists. That being said, music discovery is one of the key features of music streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, so this doesn’t really come as a surprise.
Spotify Announces New RISE Emerging Artist Program , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Amazon recently announced plans to launch a second headquarters and that ignited a firestorm of efforts by various regions and cities to lure in the Internet retailer. We’ve seen some take drastic measures, such as approving plans to rename a part of the city to ‘Amazon’ if selected as the site for Amazon’s HQ2. Even Canada and Mexico have gotten … Continue reading
Few traditional smartphone OEMs are now making smartwatches. And almost all of them have been ejected out of the now Google-centric online Google Store. That doesn’t seem to have fazed Huawei one bit. The Chinese giant has just launched its Huawei Watch 2 Pro, which practically looks like the Huawei Watch 2 Classic. But looks, as they say, can be … Continue reading
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