Oct 30
Puts a whole new twist on Second Amendment rights.
Oct 30
Again, no one will refuse a discount, especially one that doesn’t seem to have strings attached. But when said discount amounts to more than half the original price tag, one can’t help but feel a bit suspicious. That may be the sentiment that some observers may be feeling with this latest Essential phone promo. After cutting the price down permanently … Continue reading
Oct 30
If you’ve been craving TiVo’s interface overhaul ever since it was unveiled last year, you now have an opportunity to try it without buying a brand new device. As of October 29th, you can visit TiVo’s website and request an upgrade to your Bolt, Min…
Oct 30
With Apple’s iPhones now out of the way after having been announced, we suppose one of the phones that many are looking foward to will be the Samsung Galaxy S9 which should be announced in the earlier part of next year. Earlier this year we had heard that development had already begun, so as you can imagine the rumor mill has already started to churn.
According to the latest piece of rumor as provided by Twitter user Ice Universe (who has leaked info in the past), it seems that it is a “100%” certainty that the Galaxy S9 will not have a fingerprint scanner. This seems to be in line with earlier reports that have suggested that Samsung might include 3D facial recognition similar to that of Apple’s Face ID.
100% sure, Galaxy S9 no screen fingerprint recognition
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) October 26, 2017
However we should also point out the fact that a Samsung patent was recently discovered to hint that the company might still be working on a fingerprint scanner for their mobile devices, although whether or not it will show up on the Galaxy S9 remains to be seen. What’s interesting is also how some reports are claiming that the Galaxy Note 9 might pack an under-display fingerprint scanner, something that Samsung has been trying to get working for a while now.
Needless to say that without any official information or confirmation, you should probably take this with a grain of salt for now.
Samsung Galaxy S9 Will Reportedly Not Have A Fingerprint Scanner , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Oct 30
Last time when apps and mobile platforms weren’t so great at multitasking, basically it meant that whenever one app is being used, you can’t do anything else. However nowadays developers have made strides in multitasking where in some situations, our mobile devices can multitask almost as well as our computers.
Now if you’re an avid Netflix user who watches a ton of content on their phones, you’ll be pleased to learn that in the latest update to the app, it seems that Netflix has added picture-in-picture support for devices running on Android 8.1 Oreo. For those wondering what this means, basically it will allow users to continue watching Netflix (although in a minimized version) on their phones while using other apps.
So if you need to fire off a quick email, send a message, or browse Wikipedia while binge-watching your favorite TV series, you’ll be able to do so without interrupting the viewing process. However it should be noted that this will require you to have Android 8.1 Oreo which is currently in developer preview. It is unclear why this isn’t support in Android 8.0 Oreo which already supports picture-in-picture, but either way we guess you’ll have to wait for the update to be released to be able to take advantage of it.
Netflix Gets Picture-In-Picture Support In Android 8.1 Oreo , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Oct 30
Until the day comes where we teleport to our locations or fly to them using personal jetpacks, traffic congestion is something we’ll just have to deal with. However Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk has plans to deal with this issue with the launch of The Boring Company where the idea is basically to bore tunnels beneath our roads as an alternative route for when traffic is bad.
Now we have seen some details of Musk’s project so far, such as a concept video of how it would work, and a few months ago Musk shared some real world footage of how cars would be lowered into the tunnels. Now in a recent post on his Instagram (via TechCrunch), Musk gives us a look at what the inside of the tunnels will look like.
Admittedly there’s not much that can be gleaned from this photo as it could easily look like any other tunnel, although we can see some rails in which presumably that’s where the transportation device for your car will sit on to take you to the next location. For those wondering, the current dig location is set just outside of LA where it will more or less test the feasibility of the plan, although the company has also recently received provisional approval to start digging in Maryland as well.
There’s no telling if and when The Boring Company will ever launch the project since there are probably a lot of factors and hurdles to overcome, but it’s nice to see progress being made. Alternatively if Musk can shoot cars down tunnels, there’s always the Hyperloop project to look forward to.
Elon Musk Shares More Photos Of His Boring Project , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Oct 30
It is no secret that Blizzard is hoping that Overwatch will become the next big thing or next staple when it comes to competitive eSports, similar to what we’ve seen with the likes of League of Legends and DotA 2. However it seems that Blizzard still has their work cut out for them, something that they’ve recently admitted that they’ll be improving upon.
In a Developer Update video that was recently uploaded onto YouTuber, Overwatch’s director Jeff Kaplan revealed that there are some improvements that they’ll be working on. Specifically it seems that they’ll be addressing one of the criticisms that players/viewers have had when watching Overwatch on eSports, and that is how it is difficult to follow what is going on.
To fix that problem, Blizzard will be making some changes to the Overwatch World Cup, where all teams that qualify for the competition will be given team uniforms that will make it easier to identify who’s who. There will be both home and away colors, similar to what we’ve seen in regular sports, with the home team sporting a darker shade while the away team will have a lighter shade. The heads up display will also be adjusted to feature those colors.
Other areas of improvement also include a top-down interactive map that will allow broadcasters and observers to see all the action going on at once as well as the status of players, and broadcasters will also have the ability to create instant replays while broadcasting live. So if you do enjoy watching eSports, particularly Overwatch, then hopefully these changes will improve your viewing experience.
Blizzard Looking To Improve Overwatch eSports Viewing , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Oct 30
Image credit – Kyle Wiens/iFixit
The Samsung Galaxy S5 was launched back in 2014, which by today’s mobile standards makes it practically “ancient”. However it seems that despite it being considered old, it looks like there could still be a ton of use left for the phone, especially for bitcoin mining in which you can see in the photo above.
As part of Samsung’s “Upcycling” initiative, the company has thrown together a bitcoin mining rig that repurposes 40 old Galaxy S5 handsets that is powered by a new custom operating system designed for their initiative. Clearly this isn’t really something that Samsung plans to sell or encourage users to do, but it is more of Samsung showing that not all our old devices have to sit in our drawers collecting dust, nor do they have to be thrown away or disposed of when you can find a new use for them.
Unfortunately details about the rig are scarce as according to Motherboard, Samsung declined to answer specific questions about the rig. However they do note that it seems that eight Galaxy S5 handsets are capable of mining at a greater power efficiency than a standard desktop computer.
However like we said, the goal of this demonstration is to prove that your old devices don’t necessarily have to turn to junk. Speaking to Motherboard, Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit said, “The best thing for the planet is for your old devices to be worth as much as possible. There’s a direct correlation between secondary market value and environmental longevity. [Samsung] wants to maintain the value of their devices long term. If they know they’re going to justify a new price of a thousand dollars for a new Note, it’s easier to get people to spend that thousand dollars if they can resell it for five hundred.”
Samsung Transforms 40 Galaxy S5s Into A Bitcoin Mining Rig , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Oct 30
Gamers who are looking to enjoy their video games on console at the best quality possible are probably looking forward to the upcoming Microsoft Xbox One X. The console is currently set for a release on the 7th of November, but it seems that if you didn’t pull the trigger on pre-ordering it and plan to pick it up in the store in-person, you might be in for a disappointment.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Xbox UK boss Harvey Eagle has warned that there could be shortages at launch, and that customers who plan on walking in and finding units available might be out of luck. Eagle was quoted as saying, “It was the fastest pre-order of an Xbox that we’ve ever had.”
He adds, “I can’t guarantee that stock will be available in launch week for people to just walk into a store and pick up. Demand is really high. I’d just encourage people if they want one at launch, to get moving. What I can say is that we will have new stock deliveries into retail each week as we get through to Christmas.”
This means that while there definitely will be units available at launch, you might want to go into the store early before they are all snapped up. Of course you could always give your local retailer a call and maybe ask about reservations or to check if there is stock available to avoid any kind of disappointment.
Microsoft Warns Of Xbox One X Shortages At Launch , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Oct 30
The idea behind features like CarPlay or Android Auto is to provide a better (and safer) way for users to interact with their mobile devices while driving. While we probably shouldn’t use our phones while driving, such features will make our lives easier as we can deal with notifications better, provide better navigation, music playback control, and so on.
However when the system itself starts to crash, that’s when it presents a problem especially while you’re driving, and this seems to be happening for Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL owners. According to multiple reports posted on Google’s Product Forums (via Android Police), it seems that a few users are reporting that Android Auto is randomly crashing while using it with the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL handsets.
According to a description posted by user Tyler Stout, “I just got my Pixel 2 XL and had been using it to and from work (10ish minute drive) but went on a longer 2+ hour drive and was having issues. Android Auto will just close randomly and the only way to get it back up is to unplug and replug the phone into the car. This happens when using Google Play Music and also with Google Maps open. After it crashes it will sometimes crash again right after plugging it in and the interface popping up or sometimes it will take 15, 20, or 30 minutes.”
It doesn’t seem to be car specific as users are reporting this issue with different car brands and models. So far it doesn’t look like Google knows exactly what’s going on yet as they are requesting that users send in their bug reports so that they can investigate the issue. So if you are experiencing this issue yourself, then know that you’re not alone.
Android Auto Reportedly Randomly Crashing For Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL Users , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
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