Rose Behar
Contributing since August, 2018
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200articles
Latest Articles
[Update: Frozen 2] Google Home can now add sound effects and music to story time with certain children's books
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- Google has just updated its support docs to let us know that this read-along feature is now also available on the Google Home Hub.
Some of Google Home's best features are the ones that are just for fun, like playing the "I'm feeling lucky" game show, listening to different animal sounds, and asking for interesting facts. Google is expanding on that repertoire with storytelling sound effects for certain Disney stories. Parents in the US can activate the new feature by saying "Hey Google, let's read along with Disney." Their Home device will then listen along and play appropriate sound effects and music for the chosen story, which can be selected from a library of 11, with more to come.
[Update: Available nationwide] T-Mobile launches its own banking service, MONEY, so you can just give your carrier all of it
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Not satisfied with receiving monthly sums for telecom services, T-Mobile wants to handle your money full-time. The wireless operator has quietly trial launched a banking service (if that sounds familiar, you have a sharp memory) that is currently rolling out on a limited basis. This time around, the service is called T-Mobile MONEY and it promises no account fees, no maintenance fees, no minimum balances, and a 1 percent annual percentage yield (in other words, the rate of return) on all balances, plus more for qualifying T-Mobile customers.
[Update: New search UI too] Google.com on mobile web gains voice search, surprisingly didn't have it already
Voice is quickly becoming a preferred method of search for many mobile users, and Google is responding by pushing voice features to as many of its platforms and services as it can. The latest example is voice search on Google.com for mobile web. The tech giant began rolling out the new feature this past week, but it's only available to Android users so far.
[Update: Unicode 12.0 officially out] Unicode's final Emoji 12.0 selections include a sloth, a falafel plate, and a lot more diversity
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- Unicode v12.0 has passed muster, and is now "available" from the Unicode Consortium, though it may be a bit longer until the new emoji like flamingo and waffle show up on your Android phone. Notably, Emojipedia says that Twitter will be rolling out its own support as part of Twemoji 12.0 this month.
Roughly nine months after announcing a list of 104 candidates for Emoji 12.0, the Unicode Consortium has revealed its 59 final selections, which will release March 5th. As with its predecessors, the main focus for this update is broadening the diversity of emoji. New options include a guide dog, a hindu temple, and an emoji of two people holding hands that features 171 gender and skin tone variants.
As florists, chocolate makers, and greeting card companies alike gear up for one of the biggest sales days of the year — Valentine's Day — tech companies are preparing their own festive offerings for the sentimental celebration. This year, Google Duo is offering a Valentine's Day video effect for long-distance loves, and it's already showing up for many users.
As Amazon continues to flesh out its smart home division (and put Alexa in nearly everything), the company has announced a new acquisition that will significantly bolster its offerings: the Seattle-based tech giant is buying mesh Wi-Fi company Eero for an undisclosed sum. The savvy deal follows Amazon's acquisition of smart security company Ring last year and allows the company to broaden its already large connected footprint within customers' homes.Eero was one of the first companies to usher in mesh Wi-Fi for consumers and is among the chief competitors to Google Wifi. The main benefits of a smart mesh system (which employs multiple physical nodes placed around the home) are better coverage and reliability. Mesh Wi-Fi systems also let owners use a connected app for easy setup and troubleshooting.In the spring of 2017, The Information reported that Google was working on a version of its Google Home intelligent speaker that has built-in mesh Wi-Fi networking. The functions seem well-suited to co-exist, and this acquisition leaves little doubt that Amazon is also investigating this path with its Echo devices.Amazon notes that the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. From the wording of the press release it seems the Eero brand name will live on for the time being. However, while the branding may live on, Eero fans will no doubt have (well-founded) fears that future products will be confined to the Amazon Alexa ecosystem, limiting their use. Some Eero customers will also no doubt lament the fact that this move will put more personal data in the hands of one the world's largest tech companies.
Choose Your Own Adventure books enter the world of voice AI with new Amazon Alexa skill
Netflix's recent interactive film Bandersnatch received mostly mixed reviews, but was wholly successful in driving interest in Choose Your Own Adventure-style (CYOA) stories. That was both a boon and a frustration to Chooseco, the owner of the CYOA registered trademark and publisher of the famous book series of the same name. There was finally a resurgence of interest in CYOA stories, but the company didn't feel it was getting proper recognition. After filing a lawsuit with Netflix, Chooseco has now taken its first step into taking advantage of its newfound popularity in the digital age with a CYOA Alexa skill. Working with Audible, Chooseco turned two of its older titles into interactive stories for Alexa: Journey Under the Sea (which takes place in the lost city of Atlantis), and The Abominable Snowman, set in the Himalayas. To access the books, you can use the command: "Alexa, open Choose Your Own Adventure" - though upon first open you'll need to provide parental permission through the app.The stories are fairly easy to navigate. You can say "go back" to go back one scene an make a different choice, or "start over" to start the story from the beginning. Alexa also tracks your progress and bookmarks if you need to stop the story before it's complete.The stories are best suited to kids, who will likely love the simplistic, non-stop action in this new format just as much as the older generation enjoyed it in book form. It's no Bandersnatch - there is no dad murder or pondering about the nature of existence, but perhaps that's best left to the makers of Black Mirror anyway. Still, here's hoping this is only the first step into the modern era for Chooseco - it'd be a shame for the self-proclaimed "OG immersive platform" to let this moment of opportunity slip by.Source: Chooseco, Amazon
Back in November, Rakuten took a leaf out of eBay's book and offered a site-wide discount code for 20 percent off all items, leading to some pretty sweet deals on Google Home products. Now, the retailer has brought back its offer - and while it's just 15 percent off this time around, it's still well worth checking out. This promo can nab you up to $60 off some items, including the Google Home Max.
Samsung Turkey accidentally confirms Galaxy Buds as the wireless in-ear headphones pass through FCC
In the run-up to Samsung's Galaxy S10 event, new information has emerged concerning the company's forthcoming wireless earbuds. The details come courtesy of the FCC and Samsung Turkey, providing name confirmation and a partial illustration of the charging case for the accessory, which is expected to become the successor to Samsung's Gear IconX earbuds.
Google announced its plans to sunset its Google+ social media network for consumers on a sour note in October. The platform, which has a small but dedicated user-base, decided to shut down following Google's acknowledgement of a data exposure that affected up to 500,000 Google+ profiles. Shortly after, in December, the shutdown timeline was expedited due to another, larger bug that had the potential to reveal private user information and impacted approximately 52.5 million users. Now, the company has detailed its shutdown timeline for the consumer version of Google+ — and it's not wasting any time.
Long-awaited Kodi 18 release delivers Android Leanback suggestions, support for retro gaming emulators, and much more [APK Download]
Users of open-source media player Kodi (formerly XMBC) have been waiting for release 18 (codenamed "Leia") for almost two years. Now, after what the project itself describes as a "long gestation," Kodi 18 is available for all supported platforms. It has a massive list of changes, including Android Leanback suggestions, and support for retro gaming emulators.
If you're looking for inexpensive smart lighting for your home, this buy-one-get-one-free offer from Office Depot for TP-Link A19 smart bulbs might be just the thing. The bulbs can't change color, but they are dimmable and — most importantly — it'll only cost you $25 to get two with this coupon code.Just a week ago, TP-Link offered a similar deal: $30 for a two-pack of LB120 smart bulbs at B&H — an offer that was made slightly sweeter by the fact that users could change color temperature (cool or warm light). That promotion has now expired, though, leaving this Office Depot deal the best price on the market for TP-Link bulbs. Amazon is currently charging for one A19 bulb, while Best Buy is charging .The frosted 60W bulbs connect via Wi-Fi (secured 2.4GHz) and are operable via the accompanying Kasa app. The bulbs also work with voice controls from Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Microsoft Cortana.To nab the deal, head to the Office Depot listing, add two bulbs (each listed at $25) to your cart, and apply coupon code 48908738 at checkout to wipe out the price of one bulb. The offer is good until roughly the end of this week — February 2nd — so you have a bit of time to make your decision on this deal.Source: Office Depot
Earlier this month, B&H offered the second-generation Amazon Echo for the discounted price of $80, while the smart speaker remained at $100 on Amazon's own platform. Now, after Amazon and Best Buy reduced their prices to $90, B&H managed to keep them beat with a price reduction to $70.The Echo, Google Home's primary competition, lets you use voice commands to control the smart home, query for information, order items on Amazon, and listen to the audio entertainment of your choice. It has a fabric shell and features a 2.5-inch downward-firing woofer, a 0.6-inch tweeter, and a seven-microphone array.All three color variants of the Echo available at B&H are one sale: "Sandstone," "Heather Gray," and "Charcoal." Swankier wood finishes like "Walnut Finish," and "Oak Finish" are available via Best Buy and Amazon for $110.The only downside of this discount is you'll have to make a fairly hasty decision - the deal ends on January 29 at 11:59pm ET.Source: B&H
[Update: Rollout starts today] Roku Channel adds paid subscriptions for Showtime, Starz, and more
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The Roku Channel, currently a library of free ad-supported movies and TV shows, will soon grow to include paid subscription services including, most notably, Showtime and Starz. The savvy business move will draw in more channel viewers and likely boost ad revenue, as well as allow the company to play a more active role in the content that runs on its devices. From a user perspective, there are two main benefits: easier, consolidated content searching in one channel, and the ability to pay for multiple subscriptions through one monthly bill.However, many of the big names in paid streaming are left out from this announcement - right now, Roku lists the following as its major partners:
[Update: Petition filed] Google plans to fight Oracle's copyright lawsuit against Android in the Supreme Court
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Oracle's copyright suit against Google for using Java APIs in Android has been an ongoing feud since 2010, and the stakes are only about to get higher. The Federal Circuit denied Google's appeal Tuesday of a March decision that found Google's use of Oracle's Java APIs was not fair use. Now, Google has stated it will take the case to the Supreme Court.
It's no secret that Google has been working on a new operating system (and potential Android replacement) called Fuchsia since at least 2016, but details are otherwise few and far between. The most recent tidbit to emerge publicly? High-ranking Apple engineer Bill Stevenson says he's joining Google to help bring the new OS to market.
Samsung Galaxy Wearable app update brings watch face preview tab, new settings, and more
Following the Gear S3's substantial Tizen update, Samsung has begun rolling out a update to the Gear S Plugin that's delivering a few changes for its Galaxy Wearable smartphone app. The update delivers a variety of new features and fixes, including a new tab for previewing watch faces and the ability to toggle more settings from the user's phone.
RIP: Google Hangouts begins wind-down this year, but service will live on in Chat and Meet spinoffs
In March 2017, Google announced that Hangouts would split into Meet and Chat apps, kicking off what has been a long, slow road to shutdown for the original version of the platform. Almost two years later, we now have an official timetable for the winding-down of the well-used service as Google attempts to wrestle a bigger share of the team communication market away from competitors like Slack. The timeline begins with the slow transition of G Suite users from classic Hangouts to Chat and Meet this year, followed by a consumer transition, which will likely begin late in 2020.
[Update: New top reviews, wider rollout] Google Play Store's redesigned ratings and reviews section lets you easily filter by star rating
While Google's new nearly all-white Material Design update for the Google Play Store has been rolling out and rolling back for many users since May 2018 eliciting mixed responses. Some say it's sleek and elegant, others dislike the brightness and lack of differentiation between elements. But one new change rolling out to some users is gaining praise from all sides - a refresh of the ratings and reviews section that lets users filter reviews quickly and efficiently by star rating.
Power Shade and Material Notification Shade are back on the Play Store, suspicious library removed from apps
When popular apps Power Shade and Material Notification Shade were flagged as malicious and taken down from the Play Store last month, our main takeaway was to be cautious of the apps and the developer, Treydev Inc., going forward. Now both apps have returned to the Play Store, but with a less-than-satisfying explanation from the developer, there's little reason to lift that warning.