Apple spent 2015 catapulting new toys and services at consumers. The year ahead will be all about refining its aim. The Cupertino, California, company wants to touch every aspect of your life, whether on the go with an iPhone 6S or Apple Watch, at your office with an iPad Pro or MacBook, or in your …
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Spotify can play DJ at your next party
Spotify is getting into the DJ business. Starting Wednesday, the streaming music service is releasing a feature for its iOS and Android apps known as Spotify Party. Party is designed to serve up mixed playlists of music that can get your guests to wind up or wind down at your next soiree, reception or blowout. The feature is Spotify’s effort …
Read More »WhatsApp’s ‘sad day’ in Brazil comes to a quick end
Not long after one court muzzled WhatsApp in Brazil, another one put it back in business. The hugely popular messaging and voice app had been ordered shut down throughout the country for 48 hours starting at midnight Thursday local time, according to Reuters. The shutdown stemmed from WhatsApp’s noncompliance in a criminal proceeding, according to a statement provided to Reuters …
Read More »Netflix relaunches Windows 10 app for PCs, tablets
Netflix has released a new edition of its Windows 10 app designed to work across an array of Windows 10 devices. Added to Microsoft’s Windows Store on Wednesday, the updated app supports both Windows 10 PCs and tablets from the get-go and will support Windows 10 smartphones in the “near future,” Netflix said in a blog post. The Netflix app …
Read More »US Postal Service to hoverboards: You’re grounded
The US Postal Service has a message for hoverboard makers: Keep those things off our airplanes. USPS is limiting shipping options for self-balancing scooters due to safety concerns after reports that some hoverboards have caught fire. “Effective immediately and until further notice, the Postal Service will ship the hoverboards only using Standard Post/Parcel Select, which travels on ground transportation, due …
Read More »What we Googled in 2015: Lamar Odom, Donald Trump, Snapchat
If the race for the White House were decided by top Google searches, Donald Trump would already be picking his cabinet. The billionaire, who is the leading Republican in the US presidential race, was the top trending search term on Google this year when it came to politicians, according to a list of popular search terms Google released Wednesday. Trump …
Read More »Pebble Health bakes in all
Finally, Pebble watches can be regular fitness trackers. And older Pebbles can get some of the benefits of newer ones. Pebble’s smartwatches have always traded off having more advanced features in exchange for longer battery life and an always-on screen. One feature that never really made the cut was fitness tracking: Pebbles track activity in the background and work with …
Read More »True Love Tinder Robot takes your love life in its robot hand
The problem with finding love is that it’s easy to overthink it. So the True Love Tinder Robot helps your heart want what it wants by sensing your real feelings and pointing you to romance with its romantic robot hand. A matchmaking mechanoid, the True Love Tinder Robot is a box with handprint-shaped sensors and an artificial hand all ready …
Read More »How Nest aims to own your smart home
Alphabet, the mama-bird parent company of Google, is hoping 2016 is the year Nest leaves the, well, you know what. Nest, which makes thermostats, smoke detectors and security cameras that connect to the Web, has operated pretty much independently since Google bought the company in 2013. And that was before the company formerly known as Google pulled apart its various …
Read More »How to avoid Star Wars spoilers online
My son and I are excited for “The Force Awakens,” but we will likely wait to see a matinee next week when he is on holiday break from school and the crowds have (hopefully) thinned out a bit. Until showtime, I would like to continue my life online while avoiding any and all Star Wars spoilers, which I expect to …
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