24
Apr
nexusae0_cyanogenmod-10-1-m-series-builds-rolling-out-now-for-select-devices-more-coming-soon_th1

CyanogenMod To Add Time-Delayed and Voice-Activated Photo Capture Modes

Posted by in Development, News

Show of hands, who uses CyanogenMod? Oh, you do? I've got some good news: your camera is about to become a little more interested in what you have to say. A few hours ago, CyanogenMod announced that the included camera app will integrate a voice-activated shutter mode. Judging by one of the pictures, a new time-delayed mode will be part of the package, as well. Take a look:

IMG_20130421_175459IMG_20130424_123151

As you can tell, a few different words can be used to activate the shutter, currently Cid, Whiskey, and Cheese. We also see that the voice-activated mode must be turned on for each photo you wish to take.

29
Oct
image

A Closer Look At Android 4.2's Quick Settings Menu And The Two-Finger Swipe To Open It Instantly

Posted by in Jelly Bean 4.2, News, Nexus 10, Nexus 4

Back in early October while we were knee-deep in a pre-release Android 4.2 system dump, Ron found an interesting tidbit of info on a "quick settings" menu. Back then, it was a double pull down notification area that housed absolutely nothing of value. Thanks to today's Nexus/Android 4.2 announcements, however, we know not only what options the Quick Settings area will feature, but also how to really access it.

There are actually two ways to get into the QS menu, as highlighted by Hugo Barra in an incredible behind-the-scenes video put together by The Verge (see the full video here):

As you can see in the above clip, there will be a small toggle in the notification area directly beside the current Settings button, which, when pressed, will cause the notification area to do a neat little flip, revealing the Quick Setting area.

29
Oct
1

CyanogenMod Now Has An 'Expandable Desktop' Feature That Hides Navigation Buttons And The Status Bar

Posted by in News

OK, so it's Nexus day. A day full of excitement and new things to be excited about. That doesn't take away from other awesome news, though - like new CyanogenMod features, for example. The team teased one such feature on Google+ last night: the ability to quickly hide the navigation and status bars on applicable devices.

Screenshot_2012-10-29-11-15-35 Screenshot_2012-10-29-11-16-22 Screenshot_2012-10-29-11-17-22

This feature actually makes its way to CM10 from Paranoid Android, so hats off to that dev team for such a cool (and useful) tweak. I can personally see myself using this in a few instances: while playing games, it'll keep me from accidentally hitting the back or home buttons; also, when watching movies.

14
Aug
2012-08-14_13h32_45

Google Adds 'Prior Art Finder' And European Patents To Its Patent Search Tool, Pretends There's No Subtext

Posted by in Google, News

Earlier today, Google rolled out a brand new feature for its online patent research tool: prior art search. Now, while looking at a patent, you can click a single button to pull up a host of results from Google Patents, Google Scholar, Google Books, with a bit of Google's typical search results sprinkled on top. The goal, of course, is to aid in researching whether a patent that's been filed is "new and not obvious." Which is far more complex than it sounds.

seafood-collateral_4

Reading between the lines, one could possibly infer that Google wants to make it easier on its partners (or itself) to prove their inventions are unique, or to avoid infringing patents that have already been granted (which is different from a patent that has been filed, mind you).

11
Feb
minetiny

Minecraft Pocket Edition For Android Gets An Update, Adds Survival Mode, Sheep, And Zombies

Posted by in Games, News

Minecraft is the world's most popular online multiplayer not-quite-Lego creativity tool/game with 8-bit graphics and zombies. It's also an Android game. Until recently, though, Minecraft Pocket Edition was limited to creativity mode, only a few materials, and players lacked the ability to fly. Today, that all changes. Minecraft Pocket Edition just got a whole lot more like Minecraft Normal Edition with the addition of Survival Mode, plus a ton of other new features.

minecraftpe2

With version 0.2.0, the developer has added Survival mode which, for the uninitiated, is the only "game" part of this game. In Survival Mode, you need to find and collect materials you build with, hunt for food, and when the sun sets, hide from the monsters that want to kill you and destroy all your precious creations.