A Freebie from Hulu

Posted: April 30, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Starting this summer, Hulu will allow free viewing of select full TV episodes on mobile devices. It will be ad supported. Blog.hulu.com says the video service is now up to 6 million subscribers.

Want real-time alerts for all your favorite sports on your Android device? Thenextweb.com says download Score Alarm. You can set alarms for 19 different sports. It gives you in app stats as well as scores.

Mobile is great, but printing hasn’t joined the party…until now. An Israeli team has made a softball sized printer that rolls across a page and prints. Mashable.com reports the ZUtA Pocket Printer will last an hour on a charge and print 1000 pages on an ink cartridge. It has little wheels that roll in any direction. You set it in the upper left hand corner of a page, and turn it loose. No pricing info has been released yet.

Another Tech Player Rolls Their Own With the Cloud

Posted: April 30, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Another huge player is getting into designing its own chips. Gigaom.com says Amazon has picked up several ARM chip engineers as they bulk up their cloud services.

Thenextweb.com reports that Yelp has added ‘accepts Bitcoin’ to the attributes of its business listings. Bitcoin fans will be raving about this in reviews.

Speaking of payments, Square will now let merchants collect payments offline and in advance for order pickup. Techcrunch.com says they will be offering a separate Pickup app, so you could order food on the web, then swing by and pick it up.

Google Edges iOS in Mobile Ads

Posted: April 24, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

An important victory for the Google system…computerworld.com says Android mobile ad traffic worldwide has beaten Apple’s iOS for the first time. First quarter, they hit nearly 43%, with iOS pulling in 38%, according to mobile ad network provider Opera mediaworks.

If you don’t like using tabs on your small screen iOS browser, try Opera Coast. Gigaom.com reports that while it’s been out for the iPad since fall, Opera Coast was just released for iPhones and iPod Touch. You swipe and tap instead of tabbing.

Flying under the rumor radar, but not getting past macrumors.com, Apple may release fresh Macbook Airs next week. A faster processing speed and otherwise just tweaks are expected….a 12 inch, thinner Retina model is anticipated for later this year.

Blazingly Fast WiFi is Coming

Posted: April 21, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

If you haven’t upgraded your router, wait until next year if you can. Bgr.com says Quantenna has announced not 5G, but aTEN G Wi-Fi chipset that will be out next year. They claim it’s exponentially faster and has a much greater range.

Sure to gin up speculation about a full Apple television again, 9to5mac.com reports that Apple has added A&E, History Channel, & Lifetime to its Apple TV lineup.

If you really like tweaking your apps on Android, check out App Config. Thenextweb.com says it will let you turn your screen on full brightness for Netflix, but keep it dimmer for apps with data. The free version is ad supported.

Pay By Palm

Posted: April 14, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

A new startup is demoing a way to pay at stores that’s always with you…Quixter has a reader that reads the veins in your palm…no card, no phone no wallet. Techcruch.com says its up and running at a university in Sweden. Since it involves replacing readers at point of sale, don’t look for it to spread like wildfire.

Gigaom.com says continued security concerns on the web are prompting Google to look at listing encrypted sites higher in search results. Thousands of websites will encrypt so as not to lose their ranking.

Car electronics maker Alpine will be out this year with a standalone aftermarket console that supports Apple’s CarPlay. Macrumors.com reports it will sell for between $500 and $700.

Repairable Tech and More…

Posted: April 9, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Here’s something you almost never hear…there’s a gadget you can fix. Techcrunch.com says the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 smart watch is surprisingly repairable…as easy as a watch to replace the battery or band.

Speaking of Samsung, with the chatter about Apple’s bigger screen iPhones due in September, Samsung has gone the other way, launching the Galaxy Ace Style with a 4 inch display. 9to5google.com says it’s a bid for the mid price market. No pricing yet, but it will be out this month.

JP Morgan thinks Apple should build a laptop-tablet hybrid for between $500 and $1000…knowing Apple, it would be $999! The investment bank says Apple would make an extra 63 billion selling such a hybrid device…this according to cnet.com. Intel says the A-8 chip makes it possible. It has the computing power, but is stingy enough with your battery.

The rush to 3D printing continues, with Micro…a sleek 3D printer, raising a million dollars on Kickstarter in just it’s first day. Bgr.com reports it’s small and sleek…just about 2 pounds, and will be $300.

If you have a 4K TV, and haven’t finished House of Cards season 2 yet, rejoice! Techcrunch.com reports that Netflix is now streaming it in 4K, which they’re calling Ultra HD. They also are rolling out some nature shows in the new format. Don’t expect too much…HDTVtest.com says in their tests, the 4k stream isn’t as clean as some Blu-ray disks.

A Billion Mobile Users on Facebook- NOT Counting Instagram

Posted: April 3, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Facebook has passed yet another milestone…theverge.com reports they now have a billion users on mobile devices, and 200 million on Instagram.

Techcrunch.com says Apple has a new patent application that describes earbuds with a built-in mic that could automatically detect your voice, and tune a series of built-in mics to optimally pick up their speech and cancel out any background noise. One can hope they put a little more into quality drivers so they sound as musical as other, third party earbuds…which, up to now, they haven’t done.

If you’re really wanting to go green, check the Ego (love the play on words….E—Go) Power+ electronic lawnmower. No cord, and a lithium ion battery that charges in a half hour. Cnet.com says it’s $499. Did you notice the part about NO cord?

More Bandwidth for Wi-Fi On The Way

Posted: April 1, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

In a move that will help everybody, arstechnica.com reports that the FCC has freed up a good deal of space in the 5 Gigahertz band. In English, that means that, down the road, you will enjoy better wi-fi connections…and yes, some people say ‘jiga-hertz.’ It’s a geek thing.

Production on the iPhone 6 screens…at least the 4.7 inch version, may start next month, but macrumors.com says they’re having trouble with the new, thinner in-cell technology that may delay the 5.5 inch model past the early September release of the 4.7 inch model.

As Marissa Mayer continues her makeover of Yahoo, they may kill the Shine women’s site by second quarter. Recode.net says they’ll cut it all up into online ‘lifestyle’ magazines.