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All Posts Author: Patrick Stevens
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.

Business First

The New Start Up Visa

StartupVisa

The San Francisco Chronicle has recently released a report indicating that the Trump administration may soon rescind or delay the International Entrepreneur Rule. The I.E. rule, which is intended to increase entrepreneurship and innovation, and hopefully lead to job creation, is widely regarded as a type of company startup visa. The program will be overseen by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The rule was initially put in place by the Obama Administration and is anxiously anticipated by the startup community. It was set to come into effect on July 17, however, it appears that Homeland Security is now intending to push back the date into 2018 as it finalizes plans to withdraw the rule permanently.

Business FirstInternet Today

Low-cost Amazon Prime For People In Need

AmazonPrime

Amazon's Prime membership program is highly popular among consumers but the cost can be prohibitive for some. The company has just launched a low-cost version to address this issue. This new offer will be provided to US residents who hold a valid Electronic Benefits Transfer card. The EBT card is often used for the disbursal of various government assistance funds. Now it can discount the use of Prime, though not cannot be used to pay for membership or make purchases on the site.

Prime's regular cost is $10.99 per month. The card can slash this to just $5.99. Despite the discount, membership will still come with full perks such as free photo storage, content streaming, Kindle library access, and many more. The goal is to take Prime closer to low-income households, breaking the notion that the Amazon membership program is a luxury. The company believes that it can provide value to this segment of the population, particularly when it comes to shopping for essential items.

Business FirstCrime and Justice

Patent Trolls Take A Hard Hit From Recent Court Ruling

PatentTrolls

Patent trolls were dealt a hard blow recently with a US court ruling that a company can only be sued for unlawful infringement on patent rights in the country where the business resides and is incorporated. For thirty odd years, patent trolls have been making a killing by trolling after enterprises that they deem guilty of the patent infringement sin. They're a special breed of entrepreneurs cum opportunists who thrive on suing alleged errant companies in order to earn hefty rewards.

For patent trolls, the days are gone when they can run after the big fish in the pond. The new challenge that the court just added meant chasing perceived Dirty Harries in their bailiwicks where they have full access to an unlimited legal arsenal. Unless the new law were repealed, patent trolls could soon become a dying breed.

Crime and Justice

WannaCry Virus Spreads To Asia

WannaCry

As people logged in to their computers, the worldwide ransomware cyber attack known as the WannaCry virus spread to even more devices on Monday, bringing a halt to school operations, hospitals and businesses. Aside from this new expansion, no new significant outbreaks of the WannaCry virus have been reported thus far and British officials say that the second round of these infections they once feared have yet to come to fruition.

British Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt noted that the criminal activity that has occurred so far with the virus was not quite up to par with what they had once thought possible.

Britain's health service, among the higher profile victims, was targeted in the online extortion scheme that has taken over both local and worldwide news. To date, however, the new infections of the WannaCry virus have been mostly detained to portions of Asia.

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