Friday, May 23, 2014

Use your smartphone to purchase donuts at Tim Hortons




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Use your smartphone to purchase donuts at Tim Hortons



When you're in a hurry to get that much needed sugar fix, you can't be bothered to futz with things like actual currency or debit cards. Thankfully, Tim Hortons now allows mobile payment options from iOS, Android and of course, BlackBerry devices for...






Google, Yahoo and others are getting fed up with government gag orders




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Google, Yahoo and others are getting fed up with government gag orders



The EFF may be handing out gold stars to firms that publish their own transparency reports, but earning that recognition isn't easy. Government data requests are often coupled with gag orders, barring firms from telling users that security agencies...






Fiat's CEO still telling people not to buy his electric car




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Fiat's CEO still telling people not to buy his electric car



If a company convinces you not to buy its products, it's normally destined for a spot on some "Worst Business Decisions" list. Sergio Marchionne, however, is a master of the art when it comes to dissing his own electric vehicle. The Fiat Chrysler CEO...






X-Men enthusiast turns himself into a real-world Magneto (sort of)




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X-Men enthusiast turns himself into a real-world Magneto (sort of)



Sure, we'd all love to have at least a few super powers, but finding the right scientific "accident" to make your dreams comes true can be such a hassle. One British inventor, Colin Furze, is taking matters into to his own hands, and has started...






Samsung hopes 'respected older generations' will dig its new flip-phones




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Samsung hopes 'respected older generations' will dig its new flip-phones



It may be a tad ageist to presume that some older folks prefer simple flip-phones to souped-up smartphones, but Samsung isn't making any apologies. In fact, the firm's just introduced a new line of clamshell phones in South Korea aimed at "respected...






New York City using Yelp reviews to track outbreaks of food poisoning




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New York City using Yelp reviews to track outbreaks of food poisoning



Remember when Yelp added hygiene inspection ratings to its restaurant reviews? Now, New York City is using the review service to work out which outlets are responsible for outbreaks of food poisoning. According to a study from the Center of Disease...






German court rules that you can't keep your homemade porn after you break up




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German court rules that you can't keep your homemade porn after you break up



If you're with someone and own a smartphone, you've at least considered aping those arty monochrome shots on Tumblr by making some homemade erotica. What happens to those images, however, when you and your significant other part ways? A German...






Fiat's CEO still telling people not to buy the Fiat 500e




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Fiat's CEO still telling people not to buy the Fiat 500e



If a company convinces you not to buy its products, it's normally destined for a spot on some "Worst Business Decisions" list. Sergio Marchionne, however, is a master of the art when it comes to dissing his own electric vehicle. The Fiat Chrysler CEO...






Top publisher embraces Oyster's and Scribd's Netflix-like services for e-books




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Top publisher embraces Oyster's and Scribd's Netflix-like services for e-books



Out of the five biggest publishers, HarperCollins was the first one that understood the potential of Nextflix-esque services for e-books like Scribd and Oyster. Simon & Schuster seems to have caught on, though, because it's just agreed to make...






New Windows 8.1 version is cheaper for device makers, with a catch




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New Windows 8.1 version is cheaper for device makers, with a catch



Microsoft has just announced Windows 8.1 with Bing, confirming rumors about a lower-cost Windows version for OEM manufacturers only. As suspected, Redmond is attempting to recoup the lost revenue with ads by forcing suppliers to keep Internet...






Use your smartphone to purchase donuts at Tim Horton's




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Use your smartphone to purchase donuts at Tim Horton's



When you're in a hurry to get that much needed sugar fix, you can't be bothered to futz with things like actual currency or debit cards. Thankfully, Tim Horton's now allows mobile payment options from iOS, Android and of course, BlackBerry devices...






LG offers first official glimpse of the upcoming G3




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LG offers first official glimpse of the upcoming G3



LG's G3 launch event is almost upon us, and the hype train is continuing to build momentum courtesy of a new, official teaser site. The highlight of this single page is three short clips that focus on what'll undoubtedly be some of the G3's biggest...






NYC's Met museum is offering 400,000 works of art as free downloads




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NYC's Met museum is offering 400,000 works of art as free downloads



The NYC Metropolitan Museum of Art is making some of its gigantic collection of masterpieces available for you to use in your next project. The Met just marked almost 400,000 digital images of its works as Open Access for Scholarly Content (OASC),...






The real-life hacking behind Watch Dogs' virtual world




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The real-life hacking behind Watch Dogs' virtual world



It starts out simply. One day, you're scrolling through the Naval Criminal Investigative Service database, identifying a perp's body when an alert flashes red on your monitor. "INTRUSION DETECTED," it screams. You're getting hacked and there's only...






Hailo's HQ trashed by Uber-hating London black cab drivers




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Hailo's HQ trashed by Uber-hating London black cab drivers



London's black cabs are in a league of their own, so when Hailo, an app specifically designed for those vehicles, announced that it was becoming a fully-featured Uber rival, things got a little heated. In fact, disgruntled drivers have vandalized the...






Twitter's blocking of 'blasphemous' content raises questions over its censorship policy




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Twitter's blocking of 'blasphemous' content raises questions over its censorship policy



At first glance, Twitter's international policy on censorship seems reasonable. If the laws of a particular country require content to be locally blocked, then Twitter will adhere to that, deeming it to be a lesser evil than having the social network...






HP's 7 Plus is a $100 Jelly Bean tablet




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HP's 7 Plus is a $100 Jelly Bean tablet



Cheap Android tablets are a dime a dozen these days, but HP's targeting the budget market with its own $100 slate. The 7 Plus, a low-end 7-inch tablet, isn't going to blow you away with performance, but it should be perfectly sufficient for email,...






Uniqlo's new smartphone app lets you design (and buy) your own tees




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Uniqlo's new smartphone app lets you design (and buy) your own tees



Uniqlo is offering customers in its homeland the option to make their own T-shirts through their smartphones. The UTme! app is on both Android and iOS, and lets you craft your own T-shirts with photos, text or (relatively simple) drawings. Naturally,...






T-Mobile rolls out next-gen voice calls, starting with Seattle




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T-Mobile rolls out next-gen voice calls, starting with Seattle



Even though your voice is magically being transported through the air, cellular phone calls actually work more or less the same as their land-line counterparts. T-Mobile is finally ditching the old-school circuit-switched method for Voice over LTE...






Elon Musk blames bribery for Air Force awarding rocket contract to a competitor




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Elon Musk blames bribery for Air Force awarding rocket contract to a competitor



Remember that Air Force rocket contract Elon Musk was so peeved about? If you don't, let's recap: without accepting other bids, the Air Force awarded an exclusive deal to a company called United Launch Alliance that covers some 36 rocket launches --...






NASA will use video games to rekindle our love of space travel




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NASA will use video games to rekindle our love of space travel



The Kerbal Space Program folks teaming with NASA was pretty cool, right? Well, it wasn't an accident. The US aeronautics outfit is embracing the space-travel sim as a means to get the public interested in leaving our planet once again -- much like...






BlackBerry's ultra-secure chat gives each message its own security key




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BlackBerry's ultra-secure chat gives each message its own security key



Chat systems like BBM and iMessage are typically very secure, since they're encrypted end-to-end. However, they still have a glaring flaw: if intruders do crack the code, they can see everything you've said. That's where BlackBerry's soon-to-launch...






Modern dance with drones is confusingly beautiful




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Modern dance with drones is confusingly beautiful



Dancers with weird costumes? Check. Trippy sci-fi music? Check. Drones with pyramids on top... wait, what? The Eleven Play dance troupe in Japan has integrated quadrotors into its performances, starting with synchronized moves choreographed to the...






Thursday, May 22, 2014

'Minecraft' arrives on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 this August




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'Minecraft' arrives on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 this August



Look, playing Minecraft on a console is really great. It's basically the same delightful/terrifying experience from PC, albeit in the comfort of your living room. What's not to like? Well, on last-gen consoles, there was at least one unfortunate side...






Edward Snowden is giving his first American TV interview on May 28th




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Edward Snowden is giving his first American TV interview on May 28th



Edward Snowden has discussed his NSA surveillance leaks and their implications with magazines, foreign media and South by Southwest attendees, but a chat with an American TV outlet has proven elusive. However, that all changes next week: NBC has...






Google Fiber won't charge content providers for quicker access




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Google Fiber won't charge content providers for quicker access



Irked that your internet provider is strong-arming media services into connection deals just to guarantee the quality you were expecting all along? You won't have to worry about that happening with Google Fiber. The gigabit-grade ISP has declared...






WSJ: Google will give developers tablets that can see in 3D




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WSJ: Google will give developers tablets that can see in 3D



Remember Google's Project Tango, a smartphone with depth-sensing cameras capable of capturing precise 3D images of both objects and people? According to the WSJ's homies people familiar with the matter, the company is about to produce a limited run...






Meet the Smartisan T1, a surprisingly unique Android phone from China




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Meet the Smartisan T1, a surprisingly unique Android phone from China



A little over a year ago, a fresh Chinese startup by the name of Smartisan ("smart" and "artisan" combined) showed off its first work: the Android-based Smartisan OS. What caught our attention was its truly unique UI and insanely thoughtful UX...






Drone equipped with Google's 3D-sensing phone won't be deterred




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Drone equipped with Google's 3D-sensing phone won't be deterred



Google wants to put its Project Tango handsets in orbit, but researchers from the GRASP Lab at UPenn are keeping things on the down-low with one of their already-clever quadrotors. If you'll recall, Tango has a depth sensor, motion tracking camera...






Amazon invites customers to try Fire TV free for a month




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Amazon invites customers to try Fire TV free for a month



Amazon is emailing some of its customers with an offer to try out the $99 Fire TV box free-of-charge for 30 days. If they don't get along with the little Android-powered streamer and gaming console, they can return it without obligation and without...






Microsoft wins case to block FBI request for customer data




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Microsoft wins case to block FBI request for customer data



When Microsoft said last year that it's committed to protecting its customers from government data requests, it wasn't messing around. Microsoft general counsel and executive VP Brad Smith recently revealed that the software giant successfully...






Smartglass interface turns any surface into a touchscreen using AR and fingertip heat




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Smartglass interface turns any surface into a touchscreen using AR and fingertip heat



A developer called Metaio believes it can make a smartglass interface far more interesting than what Google has done thus far: one that can turn any surface into a touchscreen. Unlike Disney's REVEL or that Ubi Kinect app, which can do similar...






Philips is turning one of Germany's biggest stadiums into a huge LED display




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Philips is turning one of Germany's biggest stadiums into a huge LED display



Germany's Allianz Arena is already covered with color-changing plastic panels, but they can only currently display the red of Bayern Munich, the blue of TSV 1860 and the white of the national team. Philips is planning to swap out the old system in...






Facebook stops oversharing, defaults status updates to just friends




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Facebook stops oversharing, defaults status updates to just friends



Previously, when you first joined Facebook, all of your posts would be shared with the world by default. Anyone who stumbled upon your profile could read anything you previously shared, be it a short update or a personal photo, unless you...






Moonlight as a DJ using Spotify tracks and an iPad




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Moonlight as a DJ using Spotify tracks and an iPad



We've living in an age of on-demand music and high-power hardware everywhere. That means (among other things) that it's never been easier to play at being a DJ... especially if the streaming-audio buffs have anything to say about it. You see, Spotify...






'Gutted' NSA reform bill passes the House, but sheds supporters




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'Gutted' NSA reform bill passes the House, but sheds supporters



It's not exactly what privacy advocates and most tech companies wanted, but it's something. The USA Freedom Act has passed through the House of Representatives, but it didn't escape unscathed. While many of the main components survived, other...






Samsung gives up on its homegrown Music and Book Hub services




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Samsung gives up on its homegrown Music and Book Hub services



Just like HTC with its doomed movie service, Samsung is apparently starting to realize that its in-house efforts can't compete with specialist alternatives. While Spotify has been busily publicizing its rapid growth, the Korean manufacturer has been...






A week with Leica's T, the most beautiful mirrorless camera money can buy




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A week with Leica's T, the most beautiful mirrorless camera money can buy



Leica's cameras have always been good-looking, and they've always been expensive. You might expect the German camera maker's most visually stunning model yet to cost more than a pretty penny, and it does, but at $1,850 (body only), it's also one of...






Report: Google targeting businesses with subsidized WiFi routers




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Report: Google targeting businesses with subsidized WiFi routers



Google is readying a plan to provide heavily subsidized, commercial grade WiFi routers and equipment to businesses, according to The Information. The idea is to give companies like doctor's offices and restaurants easy internet access while letting...






Any.DO makes a serious push toward bigger screens with new web app




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Any.DO makes a serious push toward bigger screens with new web app



Task-managing applications like Any.DO are known for helping you stay on top of things, like reminding us to pick up that milk on the way home -- because we all know how important it is to do that. But while the service has made its presence be felt...






Engadget HD Podcast 399 - 5.21.14




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Engadget HD Podcast 399 - 5.21.14



Things are heating up in the HD world this week, but definitely not enough to cook a pizza properly. AT&T is making a bid to buy DirecTV for a hefty sum, unless the company's NFL Sunday Ticket portion doesn't pan out, leaving them with an escape...






Verizon's latest LTE test streams Indy 500 in-car video to phones in pit lane




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Verizon's latest LTE test streams Indy 500 in-car video to phones in pit lane



As the Indy 500's title sponsor this year, Verizon is bringing more than its name to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway -- it's augmenting the venue with LTE Multicast service. The new tech allows many viewers to stream the same video at once, something...






Chrome's 'OK Google' voice search rolls out to all




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Chrome's 'OK Google' voice search rolls out to all



If you wanted to enjoy hands-free Google searching from your desktop, your only option was to install an extension or become an early tester. The downside was that you'd have to accept some additional bugs might come your way. No more -- Google has...






Old console, new tricks: Getting the most out of your Xbox 360




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Old console, new tricks: Getting the most out of your Xbox 360



Whether you're holding out for the Kinect-less Xbox One or you've already unpacked a new system, there's still plenty of life left in the Xbox 360. Microsoft will have its new system properly on track after another half dozen or so software updates,...






Land a role in the new Star Wars movie just for donating to UNICEF




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Land a role in the new Star Wars movie just for donating to UNICEF



Admittedly, we're pretty stoked about the next instalment in the Star Wars saga -- specifically seeing the old cast back in action. J.J. Abrams announced the Star Wars: Force for Change initiative from Episode VII's set in Abu Dhabi this morning....






Oculus VR and Palmer Luckey being sued by CTO's former employer (update)




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Oculus VR and Palmer Luckey being sued by CTO's former employer (update)



Oculus VR and co-founder Palmer Luckey are being sued by Zenimax Media and id Software, the former employer of Oculus VR chief technical officer John Carmack. The suit claims that Palmer Luckey and Oculus VR, which worked with John Carmack while he...






DARPA flaunts wearable display with Oculus-like head-tracking




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DARPA flaunts wearable display with Oculus-like head-tracking



DARPA has long sought a heads-up display to give soldiers situational awareness without distracting them, and it looks like technology has finally caught up to that ambition. It recently unveiled a new ULTRA-Vis prototype at its DARPA Demo Days,...






Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Yelp will soon let you add video to your reviews




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Yelp will soon let you add video to your reviews



Yelp is about to let you to catch the vibe of your favorite eateries with video as well as pictures, according to Business Insider. Provided that you're an elite user, you'll be able to upload 3-12 second clips as early as June, and all users will be...






New Segway Patroller gives mall cops a third wheel




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New Segway Patroller gives mall cops a third wheel



When you think of a Segway, usually a self-balancing, slightly dorky two-wheeled contraption comes to mind, right? Well, forget all that. The company has just committed heresy by launching the SE-3 Patroller, a three-wheeled, front-steering model....






Virtual weed farms and the sticky state of Apple's App Store restrictions




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Virtual weed farms and the sticky state of Apple's App Store restrictions



​I was just about to tell you about Weed Firm, an insanely addictive app that tasks you with building a marijuana empire from your house in the suburbs, but I feel a little bad about gushing... because it's no longer available to download. Yes,...