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AfterDawn: News

iPad Pro has USB 3.0 connector

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Nov 2015 3:59

iPad Pro has USB 3.0 connector Early users of the new Apple iPad Pro have reported that the giant tablet has a USB 3.0-compatible Lightning connector, a fact that Apple has strangely kept relatively quiet about.

All existing Apple devices use the old USB 2.0 standard which allows for data transfer speeds up to 480Mbits while USB 3.0 allows for speeds up to 6Gigabits. Having the faster speeds is ideal to the iPad Pro's target market: graphic designers and video editors who work with very large files.

There is, of course, a large caveat. Apple has not yet begun selling a Lightning-to-USB 3.0 adapter, so you are stuck with your default transfer cables for the time being.

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AfterDawn: News

Turkish government blocks Reddit

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Nov 2015 3:11

Turkish government blocks Reddit The Turkish government has blocked access to Reddit, once again bringing harsh censorship in the nation.

All the government had to say was "After technical analysis and legal consideration ... administration measure has been taken for this website."

In Turkey, the government uses a controversial censorship law to shut down websites and services across the nation. Internet Law No. 5651 can be evoked without court authorization and has been used in the past to block access to Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Getting more technical, the site is banned at the DNS level, say experts, meaning if you truly miss Reddit that much you can try to get around the ban using a foreign DNS service.

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AfterDawn: News

Verizon brings back activation fees

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Nov 2015 2:50

Verizon brings back activation fees According to new reports, Verizon will bring back activation fees on November 15th, a fee that many thought was gone forever when T-Mobile started their war on the industry.

Verizon will charge $20 for all customers adding a new line of service, at least if you go on a payment plan but it is unclear if the fee still applies if you are bringing your own device to the carrier.

The carrier actually ended their activation fee, which was formerly $40, this summer when it ended two-year contracts.

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AfterDawn: News

Another major executive leaves Tidal following Jay-Z acquisition

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Nov 2015 1:41

Another major executive leaves Tidal following Jay-Z acquisition Ever since rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z acquired high fidelity music streaming platform Tidal this year, there have been questions about whether the service can compete against heavy hitters like Spotify, Apple, and Google.

It appears that a few major executives from the company also agree with those questions.

CIO Vania Schlogel left the company over the summer, after leading the company's search for investments and heading PR, as well. Schlogel is the third high level executive to leave since Jay-Z's purchase, following former CEO Andy Chen and Chen's replacement Peter Tonstad.

Despite star-studded co-owners like Madonna, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Daft Punk, Rihanna and Jack White, most industry insiders see little chance of the company lasting another year.

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AfterDawn: News

EE TV adds 25 channels to its streaming TV offering

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Nov 2015 12:24

EE TV adds 25 channels to its streaming TV offering UK carrier EE has announced a deal to add 25 channels to its new TV service, which will still cost just £4.99 a month.

Among the new channels include offerings from Discovery, National Geographic, Sony, Cartoon Network and UKTV channels like Alibi and Gold.

"EE TV customers have always loved being able to pick and choose premium channels without the commitment of a fixed contract or a hefty monthly fee," said Simeon Bird, director of EE Broadband and TV. "It's a great addition to EE TV's On Demand section, which already contains a huge range of movies, entertainment, music, kids and international content."

EE TV has all of Freeview's 64 TV channels, and also gives the option to subscribe to Sky Sports and Sky Movies.

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AfterDawn: News

Original Pokemon Red, Blue, Yellow games headed to Nintendo 3DS

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Nov 2015 1:11

Original Pokemon Red, Blue, Yellow games headed to Nintendo 3DS A big part of your childhood is coming back.

Nintendo announced last night that the original Pokemon games; Red, Blue and Yellow will be headed to the Nintendo 3DS handheld.

The games will be exactly like the originals except that they will online functionality so you can trade Pokes or battle with friends without needing a physical cable link like you needed back in the 90s.

There was little else said, but we should know more about pricing and availability soon.




AfterDawn: News

Beats Music is shutting down on November 30th

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Nov 2015 12:10

Beats Music is shutting down on November 30th Apple has announced today that Beats Music will officially shut down on November 30th.

"Beats Music ends on November 30. Your subscription will be canceled, but you can move your picks and preferences over to Apple Music right now.

All the pros that curated music for you are still crafting more amazing experiences. Plus, on Apple Music, you'll get even better recommendations based on music you already listen to and love, 24/7 global radio with Beats 1, exciting material from your favorite artist, and more,"
says the company.

Apple Music costs $9.99 per month and gives you access to millions of tracks, curated playlists and Beats 1 radio.

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AfterDawn: News

Hulu in talks to sell stake to Time Warner, who will add content to service

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Nov 2015 11:54

Hulu in talks to sell stake to Time Warner, who will add content to service According to a new report, Hulu is looking to sell a stake to Time Warner that will value the company at $5 billion and bring a ton of new content to the service.

If accurate, Time Warner would become an equal shareholder with Disney, Fox, and Comcast (NBC), each of which would bring their stakes down to 25 percent from the current 33.3 percent.

Time Warner, who owns HBO, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network and more, would add content to Hulu that would also have the double positive of taking content away from rivals like Netflix.

Hulu has been aggressively expanding their content catalog this year, outlaying over $1 billion to bring in a deal with Epix and an increasing amount of original content.

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AfterDawn: News

Uber inks deal with TomTom for digital maps and traffic data

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Nov 2015 11:16

Uber inks deal with TomTom for digital maps and traffic data Massive taxi-hailing startup Uber has signed a new deal with navigation pioneer TomTom to use the company's digital maps and traffic data within its smartphone apps.

Uber says the new deal will not affect current traffic information it uses, which includes Google Maps and Apple Maps, but will compliment existing tech.

The app has been looking to bolster its digital maps and traffic info for some time and was an active bidder for Nokia's HERE maps service before it was eventually sold to a group of German carmakers for $2.7 billion.

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AfterDawn: News

Mozilla's Firefox browser for iOS now available for all

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Nov 2015 10:20

Mozilla's Firefox browser for iOS now available for all Mozilla has taken its Firefox for iOS browser out of beta, making it available to all.

The company launched a public beta of the software in September and has been fixing bugs based off feedback ever since.

While Firefox is popular for desktop (by most accounts it is the #3 browser on the planet), it has some major competition in the mobile space. Apple pre-installs Safari on their iOS devices, Google's Chrome is incredibly popular, and other competitors like Opera also have market share due to interesting features like data compression and faster speeds.

If you are a Firefox desktop user, you can bring over all your bookmarks, history, saved tabs and more.

You must have iOS 8.2 or newer installed to use the app, which is available here.




AfterDawn: News

PlayStation Vue available now for Amazon devices

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Nov 2015 11:44

PlayStation Vue available now for Amazon devices Sony has announced today that the PlayStation Vue Internet TV service is now available via Amazon devices.

As of today, the service is available through the Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV stick and Sony promises that Google's Chromecast will soon get in on the action.

Says Sony: "You can access PlayStation Vue on Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick using your existing PlayStation Vue account...from there, you can select individual channels from PlayStation Vue's nationwide offerings, such as SHOWTIME and Fox Soccer Plus, or purchase multi-channel packages available in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco Bay Area, and Miami TV markets."

In addition, Amazon is offering a free Fire TV Stick for new users who sign up for PlayStation Vue Core or Elite subscriptions and pay one month. The Core package costs $54.99 per month and the Elite is $64.99.

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AfterDawn: News

Android Wear now supports cellular connection

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Nov 2015 11:34

Android Wear now supports cellular connection Google has announced today that Android Wear now supports cellular connections, expanding the existing Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support.

"No more worrying about Bluetooth or Wi-Fi--your watch will automatically switch to a cellular connection when you're out of range. As long as your watch and phone are connected to a cellular network, you'll be able to use your watch to send and receive messages, track fitness, get answers from Google, and run your favorite apps. And yes, you'll even be able to make and take calls right from your watch, for when your hands are full, or your phone is elsewhere," says Google.

The first device that will include cellular support is the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE (that's a mouthful) with a few more expected for the coming months. The Urbane 2 will be available through AT&T and Verizon.

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AfterDawn: News

First 4K Blu-ray titles announced

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Nov 2015 10:33

First 4K Blu-ray titles announced Sony has announced their first batch of 4K (UHD) Blu-ray discs, although they are unlikely to make you upgrade in the near future.

The films don't have a set release date but are expected to be available in the Q1 2016. In addition to being built for your 4K-capable TV, the UHD titles will also support HDR for brighter and sharper picture.

Included in Sony's random first batch of films are The Amazing Spiderman 2; Chappie; Hancock; Pineapple Express; Salt and The Smurfs 2.

While most of the films have their fair share of fans, there is very little incentive to upgrade past your current DVD, Blu-ray or digital copy of most of these films. Luckily, Sony has announced more titles for the future, although most will not be worth upgrading to either.

In 2016, you can expect Fury, Captain Phillips, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Men In Black, Ghostbusters, The Fifth Element, Bad Boys, The Da Vinci Code, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Leon: The Professional, Lawrence Of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Guns of Navarone, Taxi Driver, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

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AfterDawn: News

Third-party Instagram app was stealing thousands of passwords

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Nov 2015 12:31

Third-party Instagram app was stealing thousands of passwords Third-party Instagram client 'InstaAgent' has been removed from both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store after it was discovered it was stealing passwords and posting photos without permission.

The app was found to be storing your Instagram username and password in unencrypted text, and the app was then sending the details to an unknown server.

InstaAgent was popular as it promised to let you see "who viewed your profile," a feature that is not included in the official app.

The app had over 100,000 downloads from the iOS App Store alone, so there is a good chance that hundreds of thousands of accounts have been compromised. If you ever used the app, it stands to reason that you should be changing your password before finishing this article.

Source:





AfterDawn: News

Google to kill Chrome support for Windows XP, Vista and older OS X versions next year

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Nov 2015 12:00

Google to kill Chrome support for Windows XP, Vista and older OS X versions next year Google has announced today that it will end support for the Chrome browser for many older operating systems in April 2016.

Windows XP and Vista users, as well as OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, OS X 10.7 Lion, and OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion users will lose security updates and other support at that time.

Why the end of support? "Such older platforms are missing critical security updates and have a greater potential to be infected by viruses and malware," says Google, which is obviously true. Additionally, Google notes that "these platforms are no longer actively supported by Microsoft and Apple" which makes them even more vulnerable.

Google had initially stated they would end support for XP and Vista in April 2015 but has since delayed that move as it's clear that there are still millions of users on the old platforms.

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