AfterDawn: Tech news

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AfterDawn: News

Bing is headed to Cyanogen operating system following strategic partnership with Microsoft

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 16 Apr 2015 12:08

Bing is headed to Cyanogen operating system following strategic partnership with Microsoft After months of rumors, it's finally happening: Mobile operating system maker Cyanogen has announced a strategic partnership with rival operating system maker Microsoft.

"People around the world use Cyanogen's operating system and popular Microsoft services to engage with what matters most to them on their mobile devices," said Kirt McMaster, CEO of Cyanogen Inc. "This exciting partnership with Microsoft will enable us to bring new kinds of integrated services to mobile users in markets around the world."

Cyanogen says that under the deal "Cyanogen will integrate and distribute Microsoft's consumer apps and services across core categories, including productivity, messaging, utilities, and cloud-based services." Each of the apps and services will be natively integrated.

Among the services listed are Bing, Bing Maps, Skype, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook, and Microsoft Office.

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AfterDawn: News

Apple's 2015 WWDC scheduled for June 8-12th

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Apr 2015 11:37

Apple's 2015 WWDC scheduled for June 8-12th Apple has announced that their annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will be held from June 8-12 this year at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Anyone developer looking to get tickets can register until April 17th, and there will be a random drawing to give out the limited tickets. Winners will be notified by April 20th.

Keep in mind, to be eligible for an invite you have to be enrolled in the iOS Developer Program, the iOS Enterprise Developer Program or the Mac Developer Program and if you are offered an invite you have to pay $1,599 to attend.

Apple is expected to preview updates to iOS and OS X, show off their updated Beats Music streaming service and potentially unveil a sequel to the aging Apple TV set-top box.




AfterDawn: News

WhatsApp for Android updated with Material Design

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Apr 2015 12:12

WhatsApp for Android updated with Material Design WhatsApp has updated their Android app with Material Design, putting the app's language and code in line with Lollipop counterparts.

As with most updates from the company, WhatsApp is rolling out the update globally but in waves so you may not have it yet.

The new app will have a dark green Material Design color, visual improvements and tweaks, faster animations and a new profiles feature.

If you don't have the update through the Play Store, you can get it directly from WhatsApp here.




AfterDawn: News

BitTorrent removes Bitcoin miner from its latest uTorrent update

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Apr 2015 11:34

BitTorrent removes Bitcoin miner from its latest uTorrent update Torrent client provider BitTorrent was hit by user uproar earlier this year when it was found that their most recent uTorrent versions included a bundled software that mined for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

Starting with version 3.4.1, uTorrent came bundled with Epic Scale, a mining software that used your PC's idle CPU time to "solve complex problems" and mine for currencies.

Many complained that their PC's performance was significantly decreased after installing 3.4.1, and others complained that the software was extremely hard to remove. Yet more users complained that they never gave permission to install Epic Scale.

Version 3.4.2 removes Epic Scale but otherwise is identical to 3.4.1, which should make plenty of users happy.

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AfterDawn: News

Xiaomi says over 15 million counterfeit Mi Power Banks were sold last year

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Apr 2015 11:03

Xiaomi says over 15 million counterfeit Mi Power Banks were sold last year Chinese startup giant Xiaomi says counterfeiters and taking a major chunk out of their revenue, especially for one specific accessory: The Mi Power Bank battery pack.

CEO Lei Jun says the battery pack hit 14.6 million units sold last year but that an additional 15 million counterfeit devices were sold as well, taking nearly $115 million of potential revenue for the company.

"What is the biggest problem? There are many fakes," Lei said. "If there were no counterfeits, our sales would be double or triple. The product has been recognized by everyone."

Xiaomi shipped 61.1 million smartphones last year, quickly becoming the third biggest smartphone maker in the world behind Samsung and Apple and that figure is expected to jump over 30 percent this year.

The Mi Power Bank, which comes in multiple varieties depending on how much "juice" you need, retails from $8 to $21.

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AfterDawn: News

More design details leak for upcoming LG G4 flagship

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Apr 2015 9:21

More design details leak for upcoming LG G4 flagship Last week, LG revealed that its G4 flagship is ready for unveiling on April 28th and today we have some more design details thanks to a major leak.

The leak comes via LG themselves, who temporarily launched an "LG micro site" before removing it.

On the front of the device, there's a single LG logo and a single speaker grille, while the back houses the camera, volume rocker and power button. The device has been updated to a 5.5-inch QHD display, and the camera has been redesigned to a 13MP F/1.8 lens.

The back continues to have a removable battery, and LG showed off leather casing in addition to the standard plastic. Because its removable you can switch out different leather cases with plastic and vice versa.

LG's latest will likely launch with Android 5.0 if not 5.1, and will include wireless charging capability, NFC, and even HDMI-out via the SlimPort-enabled USB port.

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AfterDawn: News

Amazon rolls out Prime Stations Internet radio service to all mobile users with Prime memberships

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Apr 2015 7:58

Amazon rolls out Prime Stations Internet radio service to all mobile users with Prime memberships A few lucky Amazon Prime users have been using the Prime Stations service for some time but now all mobile users with a membership have the ability (that means you, Android).

If you have a Prime membership ($99 per year) for Amazon, and have downloaded the Amazon Music App for your respective device (iOS, Android, Kindle Fire) you now have access to Prime Stations, "an ad-free, internet radio service you can enjoy at no additional cost to your Prime membership."

Amazon continues: "With Prime Stations, you can find a genre or artist you like and hit play to hear a continuous stream of music that you can pause, replay, or skip as many times as you'd like. As you listen and give songs a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, each station will adapt to your music tastes."

Basically, the service is similar to Pandora One, where you can listen to millions of tracks based on a track or artist or song you like in playlists.




AfterDawn: News

Data confirms: Black Sport the most popular Apple Watch

Written by Matti Robinson @ 13 Apr 2015 9:25

Data confirms: Black Sport the most popular Apple Watch A reserach company specializing in digital commerce, Slice Intelligence, has revealed their first date for Apple Watch purchases. The data is an estimate based on around nine thousands online customers and suggests that the Sport version of Apple Watch was the most popular as expected.

According to the data 957 000 Americans ordered an average of 1.3 Apple Watch products. 62 percent of the over one million Apple Watches were the cheaper Sport version. The average cost of the Apple Watch Sport was $382.83 and the stainless steel Apple Watch $707.04. The all around average spending was $503.83.

As much as 71 percept opted for the larger 42 mm version and the smaller 38mm case was more popular amongst the Sport byuers. The Black Sports Band was the most popular choice amongst both Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sports buyers. Just over a half of the Apple Watches were bought with the Black Sports Band.

Slice also reported that approximately 48 000 of the recently announced new Macbooks were sold. A whopping 42 percent of whom also pre-ordered an Apple Watch.




AfterDawn: News

Apple wants Taylor Swift, others to exclusively stream their music on Beats

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Apr 2015 11:23

Apple wants Taylor Swift, others to exclusively stream their music on Beats Apple has unleashed their hefty checkbook in an effort to bring exclusive music to their new Beats Music streaming service.

Among the hit makers approached by Apple are Taylor Swift, Kanye West and Florence and the Machine, each of which have reportedly been offered millions to partner with the service.

Jay-Z's new rival high quality FLAC streaming service Tidal has been making similar bids, with reports circulating that it is offering up to 3 percent of the company and $3 million in exchange for exclusivity.

Gaining Taylor Swift could be a game changer as the artist recently, and very publicly, shunned Spotify and streaming services in general claiming they did not respect musician's value.

For Apple, a company that has $180 billion in cash, paying to gain marketing for a service that is dying to differentiate itself seems like a small price to pay.

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AfterDawn: News

Square Enix launches cloud-based streaming 'Final Fantasy XIII' for iOS, Android

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Apr 2015 9:48

Square Enix launches cloud-based streaming 'Final Fantasy XIII' for iOS, Android Publisher Square Enix has made an interesting announcement this weekend; launching a cloud-based 'Final Fantasy XIII' for iOS and Android, as long as you live in Japan.

You must have a connection better than 3MB/s to play the game, which is a tiny 20MB download and then streamed from G-Cluster servers.

Since the game was built for console, the screen has touch targets that will match the PS3/Xbox 360 controller scheme the game was intended for.

The game costs 2000 yen, about $15 USD.

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AfterDawn: News

Just in time for tonight's premiere, pirates leak the first four episodes of the upcoming season of 'Game of Thrones'

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Apr 2015 8:53

Just in time for tonight's premiere, pirates leak the first four episodes of the upcoming season of 'Game of Thrones' Last night, HBO got hit pretty hard by leakers as the first four episodes of the upcoming 'Game of Thrones' season hit the Internet in full (non-1080p) glory.

Season 5 of the blockbuster series is set to premier tonight on HBO at 9PM but now 40 percent of the season has been leaked.

HBO should be particularly upset by the leak as the show's launch coincided with the launch of their standalone streaming service - HBO Now - which is available without a cable subscription.

If you are a GoT fan, it's best to stay away from social media for a while until the spoilers die down. The first episode is said to have already been downloaded over 500,000 times.




AfterDawn: News

First four episodes of Game of Thrones' new season leaked

Written by Matti Robinson @ 12 Apr 2015 8:24

First four episodes of Game of Thrones' new season leaked HBO's smash hit Game of Thrones returns today with season five but quite a few have already acquired the first four episodes. The first four episodes of the new season are already out on BitTorrent sites – and therefore for millions to grab.

According to TorrentFreak the episodes were downloaded over 100 000 times in the first three hours and they quickly spread to all popular BitTorrent sites. The video and the sources suggest that it was leaked from review copies sent to the press.

If there's a silver lining to this it might be that the videos are relatively low quality and the first episode will officially air in approximately 12 hours in all the 170 countries it is shown.




AfterDawn: News

Report: Google almost has Android Wear working on the iPhone

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 10 Apr 2015 11:05

Report: Google almost has Android Wear working on the iPhone According to a new report, Google has been working on bringing its Android Wear smartwatch platform to the iPhone, a move that would put Google once again in direct competition with Apple.

Currently, the developing platform for iPhone supports basic functions like notifications (texts, missed calls, etc) and it supports Google Now cards and voice search.

Google did not confirm but did say "that we always want as many users as possible to enjoy our experience, so in terms of enabling more people to use Android Wear we're very interested in making that happen."

While there will be plenty of Apple fans that would love access to more than just one smartwatch, there is a chance that Apple will deny letting the app into the App Store, outright.

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AfterDawn: News

Samsung already facing shortages for display in new curved Galaxy S6 Edge

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 10 Apr 2015 9:23

Samsung already facing shortages for display in new curved Galaxy S6 Edge Samsung has confirmed today that it is having supply issues for its new Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone, with the company confirming that there are difficulties manufacturing the curved displays.

JK Shin, the company's mobile boss, warned there would be limited supply of the Edge model due to the manufacturing process, and that the issues could be around "for a while."

Without giving any predictions, Shin did say they expect the S6 and S6 Edge to outsell their predecessor, the S5, which sold weakly compared to predictions.

By all accounts, the phones are already a hit, seeing over 20 million in pre-orders. The S6 has a 5.1-inch OLED QHD display, up to 128GB internal memory, 3GB RAM, 16/5 MP cameras, a fingerprint scanner, curved glass on the front and will launch with Android 5.0 with Samsung's own UI on top.

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AfterDawn: News

SpaceX releases new Falcon 9 rocket footage in crisp 4K

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 09 Apr 2015 10:37

SpaceX releases new Falcon 9 rocket footage in crisp 4K SpaceX, Elon Musk's rocket company, has just a released a great 2 minute video of its Falcon 9 rocket launch in crisp 4K resolution.

The 'supercut' has slo-mo footage, HDR footage and any angle you could imagine of the rocket.

SpaceX is launching another Falcon 9 next week, delivering cargo to the International Space Station and then trying to land on an autonomous drone ship out in the ocean although it has failed to land safely the last two attempts.

Check the video below:

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