Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Learn Over 60 Google Now Commands with This Infographic

Source: http://lifehacker.com/learn-over-60-google-now-commands-with-this-infographic-1471859787

Learn Over 60 Google Now Commands with This Infographic

There are a ton of cool things you can do with Google Now, but with Google constantly adding more voice commands (and integrating Google Now even more with Android KitKat), it's easy to forget all your options. This graphic shows many of the latest instructions available if you just say "Okay Google..." or tap the microphone.

If you say or type in "help" in Google Now, you'll only get a few examples, and Google's own voice commands list isn't that long. This graphic, created by trendblog.net, highlights many commands you probably already know, but it's a nice long and updated list, complete with easter eggs. Also, it's just a good reminder of how great Google Now can be as a personal assistant and quick information tool.

Here's the full graphic (click to expand, right-click to save):

Learn Over 60 Google Now Commands with This Infographic

Awesome List of Google Now Voice Commands - KitKat Updated | trendblog.net

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The Prettiest Way to See How Screwed Up Your Holiday Flights Are

Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-prettiest-way-to-see-how-screwed-up-your-holiday-fl-1471971341

The Prettiest Way to See How Screwed Up Your Holiday Flights Are

Flying this holiday? I'm sorry. Here's to hoping you don't get stranded in East Nowheresville on the way. As for the rest of us, the Misery Map is a fantastic way to sit back and bask in the misfortune of others. Or, uh, give thanks that we're not stuck at an airport. Yeah, that second one.

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MIT's New $500 Kinect-Like Camera Even Works With Translucent Objects

Source: http://gizmodo.com/mits-new-500-kinect-like-camera-even-works-with-trans-1472478392

MIT's New $500 Kinect-Like Camera Even Works With Translucent Objects

Microsoft's Kinect is great, but it has its limitations. Not so MIT's new nano-camera, though, which uses similar technology but can weave the same magic with translucent objects, and even work in snow or rain.

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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Acer's first touchscreen Chromebook arrives next month for $299

If you'd rather get hands-on with your Chromebook work sessions, Acer is looking to lend a hand. The company has outed the C720P: its first touchscreen Chromebook. The Google-fied laptop sports an 11.6-inch HD LED display with 1,366 x 768 resolution alongside an Intel Celeron 2955U processor, 32GB SSD and 2GB DDR3 RAM. Weighing in at only 2.98 pounds and measuring 0.78 inch thick, the C720P claims up to 7.5 hours of battery life -- an hour less than its Haswell-powered sibling, the C720. There's both USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports, an HDMI jack, SD card slot and two years worth of 100GB Google Drive space for extra storage. Sound too good to pass up? Well, you'll be able to snag one in early December for $299 from Amazon, Best Buy and the Acer store.

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Monday, November 25, 2013

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro Review: Flipping Fantastic

Source: http://gizmodo.com/lenovo-yoga-2-pro-review-flipping-fantastic-1471231347

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro Review: Flipping Fantastic

Two years ago, Windows 8 birthed what feels like a thousand different varieties of twisting, bending, hybrid laptops. In the vast army of oddities, only a few stood out as being actually good. Of those select few, the Lenovo Yoga was our favorite. Now it's back with a refresh, and it's better than ever.

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Move Over Graphene: The Wonder Conductor of the Future May Be Stanene

Source: http://gizmodo.com/move-over-graphene-the-wonder-conductor-of-the-future-1471032563

Move Over Graphene: The Wonder Conductor of the Future May Be Stanene

When it comes to super materials, graphene seems to get all the attention. But a team of researchers has developed Stanene: a single layer of tin atoms that could just be the world’s first material to conduct electricity with 100 percent efficiency at the temperatures that computers work at.

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Want to make apps for Glass? Google opens Mirror API to all developers

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/24/google-opens-mirror-api-to-all/

Finished poring over that API documentation for, like, the millionth time? Good. Managed to hustle your way to a hackathon? Great! Finally, then, it's time to put all that knowhow to practical use -- the Mirror API is now open to all developers. Before now, you'd have needed to find your way onto a whitelist to get in on the action, but as from a few hours ago, access to the cloud-and-cards based app API is a free for all. Glassware is finally a go go go..?

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Via: Abraham Williams (Google Plus)

Source: Google

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Amazon's next-gen Kindle Paperwhite reportedly arriving in Q2 with a sharper screen, lighter design

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/24/new-kindle-paperwhite-reportedly-coming-in-q2/

Amazon's next-gen Kindle Paperwhite reportedly arriving in Q2 with a sharper screen, lighter design

Amazon only just released a new Kindle Paperwhite e-reader two months ago, but we're already hearing rumors that a newer model is on the way. According to a new report from TechCrunch, the new version, to be released in early Q2 of next year, will boast a sharper 300-pixel-per-inch screen, allowing it to better compete with models like the Kobo Aura, which has a 265-ppi screen. (Not that Kobo's represents much of a threat to Amazon's book-selling empire.) Also it's worth noting that E Ink makes the displays for basically all these e-readers, so it seems unlikely that Amazon would hold an exclusive on a 300-ppi panel -- at least not for long.

Additionally, TechCrunch claims the new Paperwhite will have a lighter design that mimics the new Kindle Fire HDX tablets, with chamfered edges, a rear power button and a glass screen that sits flush with the bezels. The device is also rumored to have haptic feedback along the edges, which will give vibrating feedback when you do things like move to the next page. There's no big software update planned, apparently, although Amazon is said to be working on a new custom font that's more conducive to marathon reading sessions. We suppose if this report is true, all will be revealed over the coming months -- hopefully those of you who just bought a new Paperwhite won't be too cheesed off by the timing.

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Source: TechCrunch

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Friday, November 22, 2013

Google's Getting Serious About Prescription Glass

Source: http://gizmodo.com/googles-getting-serious-about-prescription-glass-1469880397

Google's Getting Serious About Prescription Glass

Google really knocked everybody's socks off when it revealed Glass last year—everybody except glasses-wearers, that is. As the company prepares to bring the device to market, though, Google doesn't want to leave anybody out, and that means creating Google Glass with prescription lenses.

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HOUSE OF THE DAY: U. Of Phoenix Founder Is Selling His San Francisco Mansion With A Secret Bar For $27 Million

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/u-of-phoenix-founder-selling-ca-mansion-2013-11

John Murphy san francisco mansion

John Murphy, one of the founders of  for-profit education company University of Phoenix, is selling his San Francisco mansion for $27 million.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Murphy and his wife Paula Key bought the Pacific Heights nine-bedroom house in 1997 after discovering it came with a secret hidden Prohibition-era bar.

They closed the deal on the 13,000-square-foot mansion for $6.3 million, and are now selling it through listing agent Coldwell Banker Previews International.

The home has gorgeous views of San Francisco, as well as five levels that are all easily accessible with an elevator. In addition to the hidden bar that first attracted Murphy and his wife to the property, it also has an Art Deco ballroom, staff quarters, and a library.

Originally built in 1905 by a member of the Spreckels family (of the Spreckels Sugar Company fortune), the home was sold in 1929 to the prominent San Francisco family the Schwabachers, who then added the Prohibition bar and 1,200-square-foot ballroom.

Welcome to John Murphy's Pacific Heights mansion in San Francisco.

Source: Coldwell Bankers Preview International



The gorgeous home was first built in 1905, and expanded in 1929.

Source: Coldwell Bankers Preview International



There are five levels in the mansion that are accessible either by elevator or by the grand staircase.

Source: Coldwell Bankers Preview International



See the rest of the story at Business Insider
    






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Instagram May Be Launching A Private Messaging Feature Soon (FB)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-private-messaging-2013-11

Shocked Text

First came Instagram's video service, 15-second videos that autoplay on your Instagram timeline amidst the hoards of brunch photos and selfies.

Now, sources tell GigaOm that Instagram is getting ready to launch a new private messaging feature inside the visual content sharing platform, which will also include group messaging.

One of the most frustrating things about Instagram is the inability to contact a member privately; you have to say everything publicly. This could be a good addition.

The new features are slated to be included in the next version of Instagram, expected out in December.

"Instagram might have started out as a photographer’s platform, but it has since evolved into something that creates social connections between people and has led to an entirely different kind of social graph," GigaOm reports.

Its timing is also perfect; its competitor, Snapchat, has been making headlines over the last few weeks. It's not a surprise that Instagram wants to get back into the game.

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Google Wants To Write Your Tweets For You

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-automation-patent-2013-11

Google visit 01

In the age of incessant personal branding, a Twitter account is pretty much a must-have. 

But, c'mon, who's actually got time to do all that tweeting?

Google wants to help you save your precious minutes by just writing your tweets—and other types of social media posts and messages—for you. 

The company has patented plans for a software that will craft personalized social media reactions for you based on data from your "emails, SMS, social networks, and other systems."

The software wouldn't be completely automated: You'd have to approve individual messages before they were set live, according to Ars Technica.

"It is often difficult for users to keep up with and reply to all the messages they are receiving," the patent's author Ashish Bhatia writes. The proposed system would be flexible enough to generate responses tailored to different social media networks, so that it wouldn't use the same flippancy to respond to a LinkedIn message as it would for a Facebook post. 

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Google invites devs over for a Chromecast hackathon plus SDK show-and-tell, updates official app

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/21/google-chromecast-sdk-hackathon-app/

Google has slowly trickled out more authorized commercial apps that can stream to its Chromecast dongle since launch (Hulu, Pandora, and most recently HBO Go) but what about homebrew? So far developers have been able to work with a preview Cast SDK (creating a few impressive demonstrations) but restrictions have prevented these apps from being released for widespread use. That will probably change next month, as Google has invited several developers including CyanogenMod / AirCast dev Koushik Dutta and Thomas Kjeldsen to a hackathon on December 7th and 8th in Mountain View. An opportunity to test drive the "upcoming release" of the Cast SDK is promised, plus an opportunity to talk with Google engineers about what it can do.

While we wait to find out what devs will be officially allowed to create for the $35 dongle, the official Android Chromecast control app got an update tonight. The new version brings a lightly refreshed design with the side-tray style seen in many Google apps lately, and adjusted the display of time zone settings and the Chromecast MAC address to ease troubleshooting.

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Source: Koushik Dutta (G+), Thomas Kjuldsen (G+), Android Central Forums

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Raspberry Pi becomes a math teacher through new Wolfram bundle

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/22/raspberry-pi-wolfram-bundle/

Raspberry Pi computers have already proven to be valuable educational tools, but they're largely blank slates until teachers (and curious owners) find the right software. As of today, that software search just got a lot easier. The company has reached a deal to bundle Wolfram Research's Mathematica app and its companion Wolfram Language with each copy of Raspbian Linux; every Raspberry Pi owner now has free tools for everything from learning math to sophisticated programming. The deal also brings a Remote Development Kit that lets tinkerers connect the Raspberry Pi to Mathematica on a regular PC. While the updated Raspbian download isn't yet ready, all existing users can run a command to install Wolfram's suite. Only some owners will need the bundle, but it could go a long way toward promoting math to a younger generation.

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Source: Raspberry Pi, Stephen Wolfram

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