Nov 14
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Nov 14
To offset the creepiness of having Facebook’s camera and microphone in your house, its new Portal video chat gadget needs best-in-class software. Its hardware is remarkably well done, plus Messenger and the photo frame feature work great. But its third-party app platform was pretty skimpy when the device launched this week.
Facebook is increasingly relying on its smart display competitors to boost Portal’s capabilities. It already comes with Amazon Alexa inside. And now, Google’s YouTube is part of the Portal app platform. “Yes, YouTube.com is available through an optional install in the ‘Portal Apps’ catalog” a Facebook spokesperson tells me. You can open it with a “Hey Portal” command, but there currently seems to be no way to queue up specific videos or control playback via voice.
The addition gives Portal much greater flexibility when it comes to video. Previously it could only play videos from Facebook Watch, Food Network, or Newsy. It also brings the device to closer parity with Google’s Home Hub screen, the Google Assistant-powered smart displays from JBL and Lenovo, and the Amazon Echo Show 2 which Google blocked from using YouTube before Amazon added a web browser to the device to reopen YouTube access.
Read our comparison of the top smart display gadgets
YouTube makes the most of the $349 Portal+’s 15.6-inch 1080p screen, the biggest and sharpest of the smart display crop. Whether for watching shows or recipe videos while making dinner, instructional clips while putting together furniture, or Baby Shark to keep the kids busy, Portal becomes a lot more useful with YouTube.
But we’re still waiting for the most exciting thing Facebook has planned for Portal: Google Assistant. A month ago Facebook’s VP of Portal Rafa Camargo told me “We definitely have been talking to Google as well. We view the future of these home devices . . . as where you will have multiple assistants and you will use them for whatever they do best . . . We’d like to expand and integrate with them.” Now a Facebook spokesperson tells me that they “Don’t have an update on Google Assistant today but we’re working on adding new experiences to Portal.”
The potential to put both Google and Amazon’s voice assistants on one device could make Portal’s software stronger than either competitor’s devices. Many critics have asked if Facebook was naive or calloused to launch Portal in the wak of privacy issues like the Cambridge Analytica scandal and its recent data breach. But as I found when testing the Portal with my 72-year-old mother, not everyone is concerned with Facebook’s privacy problems and instead see Portal as a way for the social network to truly bring them closer to their loved ones. With Amazon and Google racing to win the smart display market, Facebook may see it worth the tech insider backlash to have a shot at mainstream success before its boxed out.
Nov 14
Although it started off on the wrong foot, 2018 has surprisingly been good to Huawei. It now has two rock-solid flagships smartphones that top the charts in cameras. It has managed to dethrone Apple as the second biggest smartphone company in the world. And all of that without having the US market in its (official) list of customers. Perhaps emboldened … Continue reading
Nov 14
Rogue One Isn't Just Getting a Prequel Series, It's Also Getting This Stunning New Poster
Posted in: Today's Chili
Two years removed from the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the story of Jyn Erso and her crew is cool again. Not that it ever wasn’t cool, but the fact that Cassian Andor is getting his own prequel series has certainly put the film back in the spotlight. And now, wouldn’t you know it? A new poster is coming…
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One of the features that Apple introduced in iOS 12 is Screen Time. This basically lets users see how much time they’ve spent on an app (or apps), and it also allows users to set restrictions for themselves or if they’re a parent, for their kids. Unfortunately this is a feature that Apple should probably have worked on a bit more.
In a tweet by David Schuetz (via Cult of Mac), a computer security expert and iOS hacker, it seems that his son has managed to find a way around the Screen Time restrictions he placed on Safari. “So my eldest was watching videos when we checked on him in bed last night. And an hour later, he was doing it again. Turns out, he figured out you can force-quit Safari and the Screen Time limit isn’t checked at the next launch.”
This isn’t even that much of a hack or workaround to begin with as force-quitting apps is a readily-available feature built into iOS. What’s interesting is that this is actually not the first time we’ve heard how kids have managed to bypass the restrictions, so based on this recent discovery, it looks like Apple needs to do more work if they’re serious about the digital wellness of its users. We’re not sure if and when Apple will address this issue but we reckon it’s not exactly a priority fix.
iOS Screen Time Flaw Lets Kids Use Safari Without Limitations , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Nov 14
How often do you find yourself checking your phone everyday? Back in the day of the feature phone, chances are we only check our phones when we get a message or phone call, but with our smartphones being connected to the world, we check our phones when we get new comments, new tweets, news, videos, messages, emails, and more.
In fact according to a recent study conducted by Deloitte for their 2018 Global Mobile Consumer Survey, it was found that on average, Americans tend to check their phones at least 52 times a day. This also represents an increase from the previous year, where it was reported that the average American checked their phone only 47 times a day.
According to Kevin Westcott, vice chairman and US telecommunications, media and entertainment sector leader at Deloitte, “This year’s survey really advances the story of smartphones as the true center of our lives, both inside and outside the home. The smartphone remains the go-to device for consumers, enabling them to do anything they desire: communicate, work, socialize, consume entertainment, stay fit or take care of things at home.”
Interestingly enough there has also been an increase in the number of people who are seeking to reduce their phone usage, suggesting that while we might be checking our phones more, we are at least aware that it might not necessarily be good for us.
Study Finds We Check Our Phones At Least 52 Times A Day , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Nov 14
The Stomach-Churning Spectacle Of Amazon’s HQ2 Process
Posted in: UncategorizedWant to get paid to expand your company to new locations? Make every city in the country compete for you in secret.
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