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With the latest update to WhatsApp, anybody with the Android app can use the voice calling feature - albeit with a little bit of 'hacking.'

If you install version 2.11.561 from the Google Play Store, the code to be able to make phone calls is built in but you need a little help. You have to find a friend or family member (or random user) who actually has voice calling enabled to call you.

Once they have called you, you have to shut down the app and re-open it. From there you will now see a screen with a new column added for voice calls.

You will then be able to call your WhatsApp contacts using VoIP right from the app, as long as they have the latest update, as well. For now, the feature is free, but there may be charges in the future.

Google has said goodbye to its Google Code project hosting service.

The search giant says there are better hosting services out there, and that even Google has moved thousands of their projects from Google Code to GitHub. Also, when the good projects migrated, the bad started coming in.

Reads the post: "As developers migrated away from Google Code, a growing share of the remaining projects were spam or abuse. Lately, the administrative load has consisted almost exclusively of abuse management. After profiling non-abusive activity on Google Code, it has become clear to us that the service simply isn't needed anymore."

As of writing, all new projection creation has been disabled and the service will go read-only on August 24th. Google Code will shut down permanently on January 25th, 2016.

Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey has suggested that the consumer version of the virtual reality sensation will not launch this year.

So far, the company has only released developer prototypes and has continuously delayed the release date for the consumer version. Last year, Luckey said something would have to go 'horribly wrong' for the Rift to not come out this year, but he changed his tune at the recent SXSW: "I did say that, before we made a lot of changes to our roadmap," which included setting a higher target quality level for the consumer device.

VP of Product Nate Mitchell added that with "the Rift, our team wants to launch this as soon as we possibly can, but with no compromises."

For consumers who cannot wait, the Gear VR will be out this year - a VR headset built as part of a partnership with Samsung.

After nearly a year of running on Windows Phone, Microsoft's digital personal assistant 'Cortana' is about ready to launch for Windows 10, Android and iOS.

Besides being built-in to Windows 10, there will be standalone apps for the top mobile operating systems. The apps are expected to be available this fall.

Most importantly, the updated software will be more advanced and use research from the AI projected codenamed 'Einstein.'

"This kind of technology, which can read and understand email, will play a central role in the next roll out of Cortana, which we are working on now for the fall time frame," said Eric Horvitz, managing director of Microsoft Research and a member of the Einstein project. Horvitz did not confirm the Android and iOS plans.

"We're defining the competitive landscape... of who can provide the most supportive services that make life easier, keep track of things, that complement human memory in a way that helps us get things done," added Horvitz.

Earlier this week, Apple expanded their public beta program to encompass iOS, beginning with iOS 8.3.

The beta will allow developers and fans to submit feedback on bugs in the operating system before it launches for the public.

"For the first time ever, we are broadening the program to include the all-new iOS Beta. The feedback you have provided on the OS X Yosemite Beta continues to help us shape OS X, and we would like to offer you an invitation to the iOS 8.3 Beta," read the email sent to Apple fans who were testers of Mac OS X Yosemite.

An iOS beta makes perfect sense for Apple as they look to avoid a launch as disastrous as iOS 8 was last year. The initial launch required fixes for Wi-Fi and other key features, and version 8.0.1 was so bad it even bricked some phones.

What's coming in iOS 8.3? "The iOS 8.3 Beta includes improved performance, increased stability, bug fixes, and a redesigned Emoji keyboard. This release also provides additional language and country support for Siri: English (India, New Zealand), Danish (Denmark), Dutch (Netherlands), Portuguese (Brazil), Russian (Russia), Swedish (Sweden), Thai (Thailand), and Turkish (Turkey)."

You can try to get in on the beta here: Apple Appleseed

Google has taken all of its Android, Chrome OS and Android Wear hardware and moved the devices to their own dedicated page, the aptly named 'Google Store.'

The search giant will sell their Nexus smartphones and tablets, Chromebooks, Android Wear watches, Nest thermostat, the Nexus Player and much more through the new store. The devices had previously been part of the general Google Play Store, which will remain the hub for apps, music and video content.

"You can shop Nexus phones and tablets, Chromecast and Chromebooks, learn more about newer technology like Android Wear, Nexus Player and Nest, and stock up on accessories like cases, keyboards and chargers," the company said.

Finally, the company also announced the discontinuation of the old Nexus 5 smartphone.

UK police have taken down 'Karaoke World,' one of the premier torrent sites for those looking to illegally download karaoke tracks.

Additionally, a 46-year-old man was arrested in Dewsbury, suspected of being site admin 'DJ Mikey L.'

Karaoke World had thousands of links to karaoke files, which let downloaders see the lyrics of their favorite tracks on screen while they sing along to the background music with the artist's singing removed. None of the files were hosted on the site directly.

"The unlicensed BitTorrent site directed users to a catalogue of tens of thousands of copyrighted music files, in particular the latest chart music and karaoke hits," the UK's Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) said in a statement.

The URL for the site currently leads nowhere.

According to Nielsen, a large percent of American households are subscribed to at least one video streaming service.

Netflix remains the king, with a full 36 percent of American households subscribed to the $7.99/$8.99 per month service. Amazon Prime Instant Video was next at 13 percent, followed by Hulu Plus at 6.5 percent.

33 percent of all households with a streaming service subscribed to just one, 10 percent subscribed to two and 2.6 percent subscribed to 3.

Homes with at least one streaming subscription spent an average of 2 hours 45 minutes per day watching through consoles, Blu-ray/DVD players and set-top boxes.

Over the last year, total TV viewing declined by 10 percent, although those figures do not include streaming video, which has yet to be reliably counted with traditional figures. Adults still watch nearly 5 hours per day, however, even with the declines.

A federal judge has ruled that Facebook will face a class action lawsuit that contends the social media giant must pay refunds if children spend their parent's money on the website without permission.

The suit will likely have hundreds of thousands of plaintiffs asking Facebook to change the way online transactions by minors are handled. Refunds would be reviewed on a case to case basis.

Begun in 2012, the lawsuit said Facebook let children user their parent's credit cards to buy Facebook Credits and then refused refunds after complaints citing their "all sales are final" policy.

Two kids and their parents originally filed the suit. The first child said he was allowed to spend $20 to play the game 'Ninja Saga,' but he eventually spend hundreds of dollars confusing real money with in-game currency. The second child took his mother's debit card and spent $1059 without permission. Both were younger than 13 years old, the minimum age to have a Facebook account.

"We're very pleased with the decision," said J.R. Parker, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. "The difference between Facebook and other businesses is that the company is on actual notice of a user's age, but treats children the same as adult users when it comes to taking their money."

Both taxi apps Uber and Lyft were denied in their bids to have their driver's status as independent contractors rather than employees.

In both separate cases, the judges ruled that juries will determine whether the drivers are employees or independent contractors.

Drivers for both companies are seeking class action lawsuits contending that they are employees and therefore should be reimbursed for expenses (such as gas and vehicle repairs) which they now pay out of pocket.

If the juries rule that they are indeed employees, the cost to Uber and Lyft would be huge. The companies would have to pay Social Security, worker's comp and other local and state insurance costs.

Uber is the most valuable private startup in the U.S. at $40 billion and rival Lyft has also raised hundreds of millions of dollars at a valuation in the billions.

Source:
Reuters

Google's plans to bring Internet to the world via balloons has hit a new milestone.

According to the search giant, a "Project Loon" balloon can now stay afloat for six months at a time and provide 4G LTE Internet to an area as big as the size of Rhode Island, the U.S.' smallest state at about 1200 square miles.

Project Loon is not likely to launch in the U.S. first, where Internet is relatively abundant, but rather in places where it is nearly impossible to find affordable service. Google's service piggybacks on existing carrier's towers, which send signals to the balloons that can then relay the signals to Web-connected devices.

Says Google: "The main cost gain comes from the fact that you can cover a much bigger region with existing infrastructure. Telcos take their preexisting infrastructure, point them to the sky, and they get a much broader coverage. For instance, if you already have towers to cover a city, you can point part of it to the sky, and you will be able to cover the whole region through the loon balloon network."

From its humble beginnings in 2013, the Project Loon balloons have upgraded from 3G to LTE and from staying in the air for 5 days to now over 100 days on average, and 180 days in ideal conditions. The balloons can also now fly kilometers in the air compared to just 800 meters previously.

Mobile operating system maker Cyanogen has announced that Cyanogen OS 12 will use Boxer as its default email app, moving away from Google's own Gmail and its own Email app.

CEO Kirt McMaster has made it clear the company wants the operating system, which is based on stock Android, to move away from Google applications and services. In fact, McMaster has even bluntly said they want to "take away Android from Google."

Boxer will provide the foundation of the standard "Email" app that ships with Cyanogen, and the version included will have al the premium features available to the $14.99 buyers of the Boxer premium app. You can have unlimited accounts, customized quick replies, Exchange support, third-party app integration and much more. The UI will match Cyanogen 12, which is based on Lollipop.

All new devices with Cyanogen OS will shop with the Boxer email app, and existing devices like the OnePlus One will get the update in the coming weeks.

Get a taste for Boxer here:

In the wake of the announcement of their Apple Watch smartwatch and fitness tracker, Apple has removed competing fitness devices from its stores.

Apple had previously offered the Jawbone Up, Nike+ FuelBand and The Mio.

The new Apple Watch goes on pre-order April 10th, to ship on April 24th. The Apple Watch has a plethora of fitness features, and can track your steps, distance, heart rate and much more.

Liz Dickinson, CEO and founder of Mio, said Apple notified them the Mio would be removed from stores a few months ago: "They said they brought in a new executive in the marketing area who wanted to rework branding for the stores, and to make the Apple brand more front and center and clean up and minimize the number of accessories," Dickinson said. There was no mention of the Apple Watch.

It makes sense that Apple would remove other devices as it needs room for its $17,000 Apple Watch Edition.

Source:
Recode

The BBC has unveiled a new microcomputer as part of its 'Make It Digital' campaign to help students learn to code.

The Micro Bit will be available to secondary schools in the UK, and the BBC says enough will be available for every Year 7 student to have one.

Similar to the Raspberry Pi, the computer is about the size of the credit card and can handle Linux operating systems.

BBC says the "Micro Bit will allow kids to learn the basics of coding as a fundamental part of their education, placing it on par with other "basics" such as math and literacy."

Sony has confirmed that is PlayStation Vue streaming TV service will launch by the end of the month in three cities.

New York, Chicago and Philadelphia will be the first places to get the service, followed by a nationwide rollout by the end of the year.

Initially, the service will only be available through the PS3 and PS4, but later on iOS devices.

PlayStation Vue was announced last year and launched in beta in November with 75 channels including majors from Fox, NBC, Viacom and more. Besides the large catalog of channels, there are also DVR capabilities, giving a leg up on rival services.