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All Posts Author: Patrick Stevens
EntertainmentHardware Innovations

New Nintendo Switch Dock Is A Silver Screen And A Flat screen At The Same Time

YesOJO

A new Nintendo Switch dock accessory from independent hardware developer YesOJO gives the mobile gaming console the ability to project a screen as large as 150 in. on any flat surface. It's been hard to get a genuine big-screen console feel from the Switch so far, so this represents a major step forward for the platform.

The so-called OJO Nintendo Switch dock add-on comes with an onboard micro-projector as well as a battery that provides around four hours of screen time. The width of the projection differs depending on the focal distance of the projector from the surface, but it always shines at a fairly bright 200 lumens no matter how far you are away from it.

You can also sue the OJO as an additional battery even if you're not using the projector module at all times. It can charge any USB device, including Android phones and tablets.

Internet Today

Twitter Testing 280 Character Tweets

TwitterTweats

Twitter has recently announced that they will soon be rolling out tests to allow posts of up to 280 character Tweets on certain Twitter accounts. The social media site has had a strictly enforced limit of 140 characters since it debuted in 2006, so it comes as no surprise that this latest announcement has generated excitement among avid Tweeters.

The character-expansion test will be open ended and the accounts participating in the test have already been granted the 280 character limit. The test accounts will encompass virtually all languages except for Chinese, Japanese and Korean (since a single character conveys more information in those languages.)

One of Twitter's Project Managers, Aliza Rosen, acknowledged in a statement that the 140-character limit was a source of frustration for Twitter users, and that expanding this limit would likely lead to people Tweeting even more.

Business FirstInternet Today

Trading Offered On Yahoo Finance

YahooFinance

Finding investing tips and advice has long been popular with the 75 million users of Yahoo Finance each month, although until now you couldn't actually make any trades on the site. Now the app can be used by E-Trade, Fidelity and Scottrade clients to buy and sell stocks through an arrangement with Tradelt, allowing brokerage portfolios to be synced. Clicking on the tab that says 'link broker accounts' allows users to take the first step in the straightforward process.

Michael La Guardia, head of product at Yahoo Finance points out that the company is not expecting to make money from users of the service, and most revenue will still come from advertising as it does now. However, the new app will provide value for users, and encourage them to keep using the app. La Guardia also promises more features and services coming in the future.

Crime and JusticeInternet Today

Fake News Sites Banned From Buying Ads On Facebook

How_To_Spot_Fake_News

Fake News Sites Banned from Buying Ads on Facebook

Fake news sites have grown in number due to the the rapid pace of advances in technology and the increase in social media sites allowing instant updates on breaking news and trending stories. Everyday, we are swamped with news stories whenever use a smart phone or log onto Facebook or email. It is also easy to pass these news stories on to other people by simply clicking on the share button. With a single click, a fake news site story can be sent to thousands of people around the world. The 2016 U.S. election shows us just how fast a fake news site story can reach millions.

Hardware Innovations

Give A Boost To Android Phones With SanDisk's 400GB MicroSD Card

SandiskMicroSD

If Android phones need anything, it's a bit more space; and SanDisk's 400GB microSD card delivers just that.

The new 400GB card, a staggering 144GB bigger than the largest currently on the market, may be the biggest that many people ever need.

The large size makes it perfect for Android smartphones that support the microSDXC standard. Using SanDisk's UHS-I technology, it's also fast enough to deliver video on the go, opening up a world of opportunities.

Where it really comes into its own, however, is when it's used as internal storage. This is a feature of modern Android devices that treats the external SD card as its own memory - for apps, photos and anything else you might like to put on it.

Internet TodaySoftware Sensations

Ford And Domino's Testing Self Driving Cars For Pizza Delivery

FordDominosCar

Ford and Domino's are testing self driving cars for delivering pizza.

The two companies are partnering on a test trial with Ford cars to deliver pizzas to Domino's customers. They want to know if customers will react to this idea favorably and be willing to deal with autonomous car service.

The car in question is the Ford Fusion Hybrid Autonomous car, and it will have pizza containers that are outfitted by a third company, Roush Enterprises. The containers will keep the pizzas warm, and the new self-driving cars are programmed to unlock once the customer inputs a unique delivery code. Random customers in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area will be selected to participate in the pizza delivery test trial.

Hardware Innovations

Android Oreo Improves On Some IOS 11 Ideas

AndroidOreo

Alphabet announced the release of Android Oreo and with it a laundry list of new features that the operating system brings to the table. Most of these features involve the kernel or memory management functions. While end users might not notice them, it should make Android devices run more smoothly without eating into their battery life.

A lot like IOS

Apple's engineers are often accused of copying Android developers, but Android Oreo is also implementing many design changes that make the operating system interface more like that used by iPhone and iPad owners. For instance, Google's programmers based Oreo's notification scheme on the one used in iOS.

Anchor Has Landed On SoundCloud

SoundCloud_logo,_orange_color,_plain.svg

SoundCloud has seen higher times and its financial distress could be signs of the end. This news is even more distressing for all the artist that rely upon SoundCloud as a platform to launch their music into the world. Anchor is one of the new startups that are delving into the endangered SoundCloud territory and offering artists a new and improved platform for their music.

Anchor is a new podcast hosting app that has new community features not available on other apps. The company makes it extremely simple to import podcasts from other sources. All a users need to do is plug in their existing RSS feed into Anchor and magically all your content will download. Anchor betters the typical hosting services by allowing users to interact with their listeners with chat rooms and "call-ins" reminiscent of radio talk shows. Fans can also get in on the action with digital applause.

Lyft And Taco Bell Testing Game Changer

TacoBell

Lyft is moving beyond it's original ride sharing services and they are starting to market side stops as an additional feature. Together, Lyft and Taco Bell partnered up to start a marketing campaign. Looking to the future it's a great way to ad revenue and expand the capabilities of the brand. The "Taco Mode" which recently debuted allows riders to add on a stop at Taco Bell while on their Lyft trip.

Just tap the app and make a quick taco stop. It's a great way to keep customers happy. It's already become an issue with many ride share trips. People want to make a stop at the bank, the fast food restaurant, the pharmacy market, and more. Drivers were previously limited in the services they could offer. Some customers would find themselves needing to repeatedly app a driver. Now, one drive can provide the stops the customer wants. Within reason.

Google News Has A New Look

GoogleNews

Google News has a new look after a redesign of the company's new aggregation site. This major change updates Google News and brings it to the standard of the other Google services. The change also reduces the cluttered look of previous years. Product Manager for Google News, Anand Paka, shared that the redesign was conceptualized to reduce the clutter users see and make this product more manageable for mainstream news consumers.

To accomplish this, the Google team developed a card-based interface for the news stream which included adding tabs to separate local news headlines and the individual news feed. The long snippets of text which were prominent in the previous design have been removed; and the share buttons for Google+, Twitter and Facebook have been replaced by a trendy share button.

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