Jacob Long
Contributing since December, 2014
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394articles
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About Jacob Long
Jacob is a technology writer and researcher. He's also an avid sports fan, especially when it comes to the Chicago White Sox. When not working, you can usually find him tweaking his Android devices or reading political news.
Latest Articles
[Deal Alert] Lexar UHS-II SD And UHS-I MicroSD Memory Cards In 32GB, 64GB, And 128GB Sizes At Deep Discounts For Amazon Gold Box Deal Of The Day
As Gold Box deals, they will be gone either by the end of the day or when Amazon runs out of stock, whichever comes first.
Today's Amazon Gold Box daily deal is all about Lexar memory, and in not-so-modest sizes and speeds. Nope, these are not your bottom of the barrel memory cards and flash drives on offer. Those most relevant to your phone needs, the microSD cards, boast UHS-I/U3 speeds, meaning they meet the second-most rigorous speed specification in the industry. The deals are good too, matching the lowest price Amazon has ever offered for them.
Microsoft Releases Office Remote For Android, An App To Control Powerpoints And Other Office Presentations On PC
[Update: It's Live] Lyft Introduces 'Profiles,' A Social Networking Feature For Riders And Drivers To Connect Over Mutual Interests And Friends
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Have you ever summoned a ride on Lyft and thought, "I wish I could connect with my driver on a deeper level?" If so, get excited because Lyft Profiles is an upcoming feature to the app to allow you and your driver to get to know one another better. If that isn't such an exciting thought, well, it might not be too bad. For as questionable of an idea it may be, nobody will be forced into divulging conversation starters just to use the service.
Developer Chainfire Publishes Preview Release Of FlashFire, A 'Spiritual Successor' To Mobile ODIN
Chainfire, the developer behind SuperSU as well as many other popular apps and mods, has published FlashFire, which he dubs the "spiritual successor" of Mobile ODIN. FlashFire is, as the name might suggest, a tool for flashing ROMs, kernels, and mods without the need for a custom recovery. It could (upon stable release) make these tasks, which generally involve a lot of button pressing and a little elbow grease, drastically simpler.
Sling International Android App Hits The Play Store, DishWorld Gets Update Telling You To Download Sling
After introducing the service just a couple of days ago, you can now download Sling International in the Play Store. This service takes the mantle from DishWorld, by which I mean it is pretty much DishWorld with a new name. DISH and Sling are owned by the same parent company, so they are using the recent good press for Sling TV and trying to bring that positivity over to their international offerings. If you've been using the DishWorld app, you will get an update telling you not to use that app anymore.
Hangouts has recently made a habit of adding a little flair to every holiday with some Easter eggs. While most of the year you would know what I mean by Easter egg, let's be clear that I am referring to those hidden little gimmicks that you might stumble upon in software. But, this weekend, I also mean the other kind of Easter egg. Hangouts has come full circle by adding Easter eggs for Easter that are actually Easter eggs. Say that fives times fast!
This New Smart Car Swaps The Infotainment System For A Center-Mounted Phone Dock And A Bluetooth Connection
Have you ever looked at your low-tech car audio system and wished your head unit could just be as smart as the phone in your pocket? Or maybe you have one of those fancy infotainment systems whose software tends to make the HTC G1 look futuristic by comparison. Well, an automaker finally decided to acknowledge that it's easier to use the hardware that the customer already has than build something newer and more expensive that won't do any better. Which manufacturer decided to do it? It's the same people who brought you this:
Facebook Introduces 'Scrapbooks,' A New Way For Parents To Tag And Organize Pictures Of Their Kids
One thing that Facebook has not been well-equipped to deal with is children. No, I don't mean teenagers. Most users are familiar with the barrage of photos that accompany each birth in the family of a Facebook friend, which often involves a mess of tagging of one or both parents in every baby photo. For parents themselves, they struggle sorting out photos of their sons and daughters unless they just dedicate albums to the children specifically. Now, Facebook is rolling out an optional set of features to make the process smoother for all involved.
Google Sheets Gets New Conditional Formatting Tools, Only Partial Android Support At Launch
Of Google's office document family of web and mobile apps, Sheets is arguably the one with the most uphill battle against the likes of Excel. People ask a lot of spreadsheets, both in terms of the sheer amount of information they ought to contain and in the myriad features desired. Google is stepping up its game in the latter area now that they are giving users more powerful tools for conditional formatting.
Copy, the cloud storage solution from Barracuda, just received what the developers call a "massive" update. The key feature is one that might not be immediately obvious: a totally rewritten sync engine, which promises to bring faster load times and more overall smoothness. If you update Copy and feel like everything is just working better, you can probably thank the new sync engine.
While MediaTek has become one of the dominant forces in the budget end of the mobile processing market, they are now starting to push upward. Just a year after making its first 64-bit SoC, MediaTek has announced a new 64-bit series called Helio X. These will be octa-core, LTE-capable units that support the industry's latest top-end features like 4K, H.265 video, 120 Hz refresh rates, and 1080p video capture at 480 frames per second.
[Roundup] The HTC One M9 And Samsung Galaxy S6/S6 Edge Can Be Pre-Ordered From Most US Carriers, Here's How
The announcements have happened and the reactions have been vented. For many, now is decision-making time when it comes to their next Android phone. We're happy to report that the HTC One M9 and Samsung Galaxy S6/S6 Edge are available for pre-order on nearly all US carriers. If you're ready to make your choice, you can probably make it official right now.
Nuzzel Builds A News Feed Out Of What Your Friends Read, Has Just Released An Android App
Do you ever feel like there's a lot of interesting news shared by your friends on Facebook and Twitter, but you can't possibly read it all or figure out what's most relevant? I don't blame you. Nuzzel is a unique kind of news aggregator that creates an easier to manage feed based on what your friends have shared. After about a year on the web and iOS, Nuzzel has finally made its way to the Play Store.
[Deal Alert] Huge Discounts On Civilization Revolution 2, XCOM: Enemy Within, And NHL 2K In The Play Store
A trio of titles from 2K games have been discounted significantly in the Play Store, making it a good time to jump on the bandwagon if you haven't already. Civilization Revolution 2, the latest in the Android entries from the Sid Meier franchise, has been reduced by $10 to $4.99. XCOM: Enemy Within, a standalone expansion to its popular XCOM predecessor, is also at $4.99 (an $8 discount). Last but not least, NHL 2K can be had for just $2.99, down from $7.99.
[Update: Listing Removed] Google Nexus Player Is Coming To The UK On March 26th According To Amazon UK Listing
Google's Nexus Player listing on Amazon UK claims that the set-top box will be released to British customers on Thursday, March 26th. Further, the price will be £79.99, assuming Amazon is at least correct on that aspect. Why the uncertainty? Well, Amazon listings are not always the most reliable indicators of release dates. Still, this is a good sign for those in the UK that have been planning to buy a Nexus Player.
The popular endless runner Fotonica has finally made its way to Android, popping up on the Play Store today after gaining popularity on desktop computers and debuting on iOS in late 2014. More than just another entry in a crowded space of similar games, Fotonica will surprise you with its details and polish. The simple, Tron-like interface of vector graphics is a refreshing departure from the typical cartoon look of competitors such as Temple Run. And rather than a maze of twists and turns, Fotonica has you move straight ahead at all times, with vertical movements providing the challenge.
Synology Adds Chromecast And DLNA Support To DS Photo+, Updates Nearly All Their Other Apps Too
Synology, purveyor of network attached storage, has brought updates across the range of their Android interfaces for their products. Perhaps most interesting and useful is the latest update to DS photo+, which now allows you to stream photos and video via Chromecast or DLNA from your Synology NAS. If you utilize the private cloud setup offered on many of their devices, this could allow you to take your personal media to work, friends, or wherever else you may want to go.
[Bug Watch] Google Now Voice Commands For Setting Reminders Create Alarms Or Calendar Events Instead
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A variety of users have begun reporting problems with setting reminders using voice controls in the Google Search app, with the end result being an alarm rather than a reminder. This does not occur when entering the same command with the keyboard, so it would seem to be a server-side issue. Either way, you will want to look out for this bug if you tend to use voice commands for this purpose, because you may be in for a rude awakening - literally.