Geek News

Sprint has announced that on June 1st, it’ll be ending its long-offered Google Voice integration, which let users use their regular Sprint number on their phone as a Google Voice number, via Android Police . The partnership with Google dates back to 2011, when the two companies teamed up to integrate Sprint numbers with Google’s then-nascent Voice service, letting you use your existing number through Sprint with Google Voice, complete with call and message forwarding, the Google Voice online interface, and transcribed voicemails, which were revolutionary features back in 2011. Despite Google’s oftentimes neglectful management of Google Voice ( the app went years without updates until 2017 ), Sprint has still dutifully supported the... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2HHr82p"

B&O Play is launching a new Bluetooth speaker that does what all B&O Play speakers do best: look really good, cost a lot of money, and probably sound good, too. The new speaker is called the Beoplay P6 , and it’s the second portable Bluetooth speaker B&O Play has on sale that also includes a built-in microphone to support use with voice assistants. B&O doesn’t list which assistants it supports, so it sounds like it’ll probably just play from whichever phone it’s connected to. The P6 has stereo speakers facing in opposite directions to fill out a room with an effect that B&O calls “True360” sound. It has a quoted 16 hours of battery life and is supposed to charge in three hours over USB-C. And it has a degree of dust and water resistance. ... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2JQLgzA"

Season two of Circuit Breaker Live is almost over, so you have to enjoy the show while you still can. Nilay’s wife Becky had a baby, so he’ll be streaming it live at home, just like you. His baby is going to learn about gadgets, just like you, too. As always, we’ll be live at 4PM ET on The Verge ’s YouTube channel. Paul and I will be hosting this episode where we’ll talk with Chaim Gartenberg about Nintendo Switch projectors. Sean O’Kane will join us later to talk about his review of the Light L16 camera, which just looks awesome. Then, finally, Jake Kastrenakes will show us Ikea’s new Bluetooth speaker, the Enemy. We’ll probably marvel at its design. Oh, and a special Verge West Coast guest will be on the show, too, to speculate about... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2J5dVzT"

Libratone announced the wireless Track+ headphones earlier this year at CES, and they’re finally available in the US today for $199. A European release is set to follow sometime next month for €199. The Track+ are essentially a wireless version of the company’s wired Q-Adapt headphones , with the same design and adjustable noise cancellation but without the cord for a wireless, neckbud style. Libratone claims the headphones should get up to eight hours of battery life with noise cancelation on. They also feature an IPX4 rating against sweat and splashes. According to my colleague Vlad Savov, who had the chance to try out the headphones recently, sound on the Track+ earbuds is a bit underwhelming, especially compared to Libratone’s wired... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2IZwxRS"

Snap is expanding its developer platform to let creators build face filters for the first time, the company said today. Four months after introducing its Lens Studio platform , which allowed creators to build the augmented reality objects that Snap calls “world lenses,” Snap is releasing seven new templates into Lens Studio to let creators build digital masks. The templates, which range in complexity, include virtual baseball hats, face paint, and tools to attach three-dimensional objects to a user’s head. In addition to new templates, the Lens Studio is also getting Giphy integration starting today. In February , Snapchat added the ability to insert Giphy’s library of animated GIFs into snaps; now, they can feature in lenses as well.... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2H9JGLt"

Pornhub has started accepting cryptocurrency as a payment option, the company announced today . The site now accepts Verge cryptocurrency (no relation to The Verge) , a rebranded version of Dogecoindark, which split off from the original meme coin , Dogecoin, in 2014. Now, users can pay for any Pornhub features, including a Premium subscription, using Verge cryptocurrency. Pornhub’s adult sister sites, Brazzers and Nutaku, also accept Verge cryptocurrency now. Verge cryptocurrency is anonymity-focused, which is why Pornhub executives say they chose it over other potential partners. It should be noted that anyone can view Verge cryptocurrency transactions through its public ledger , but it uses the anonymity tool Tor and an anonymous network... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2J2NkDm"

Grubhub has come out with a Venmo integration, which it officially announced today. Now, you can use Venmo as a payment option inside Grubhub. The new integration also lets you split the bill for group food orders with Venmo. Users must have both Grubhub and Venmo installed for the feature to work. When users open Grubhub, they’ll be informed that they can now use Venmo inside the app. The new integration actually went live last week for some users, but it’s more broadly rolling out today. Venmo will also automatically be listed as an available payment option on the checkout page. Once you click on Venmo, it takes you to the app, but returns you to Grubhub when you’re finished splitting the bill or requesting money. The feature will... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2H72lYx"

DIY It's easier than buying a second computer monitor. To see all your files and windows more clearly, spread them out across a virtual desktop. Here's how to set up and use this tool on any computer. via Popular Science "https://ift.tt/2HFHWXx"

We’re chugging along with Why’d You Push That Button . We’ve got a few more episodes left in the season, and today’s is about music social networks. Kaitlyn loves stalking her friends’ Spotify feeds, whereas I keep my account hidden from everyone. I just want to listen to Britney Spears in peace. I can’t have Kaitlyn texting me every time I listen, you know? Spotify used to let people direct message tracks, but it has since removed that feature, which just leaves us with the friend feed. Why isn’t Spotify building out its social features? Does the company hate us? We brought Jordan McMahon, a social music fan, as well as The Verge ’s own Micah Singleton onto the show to discuss why they like seeing their friends’ activity. Then we talk to... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2EU48dg"

Amazon is updating its mobile apps with a new International Shopping experience that makes it easier to shop for products on Amazon abroad within the app. Users will now be able to browse Amazon on mobile in five languages (Spanish, English, Simplified Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese, and German), and prices can be displayed in 25 local currencies, with a goal of making it easier to browse the app and order products abroad. More languages and currencies are planned to be added later this year, too. You’ll also be able to specifically filter products that are available to ship to your specific country, with clearer pricing, shipping costs, and import duty estimates all shown in the app. Amazon says that it also works with courier services... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2HbdZO4"

Facebook could face billions of dollars in fines after a federal judge ruled that the company must face a class action lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that Facebook’s facial recognition features violate Illinois law by storing biometric data without user consent. The lawsuit involves Facebook’s Tag Suggestions tool, which identifies users in uploaded photos and suggests automatic tagging of your friends. The feature was launched on June 7th, 2011. According to the suit, the complainants allege that Facebook “collects and stores their biometric data without prior notice or consent in violation of their privacy rights.” Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) requires explicit consent before companies can collect biometric data... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2J2UFmm"

If you want to know the reason I’m not on WhatsApp with its other 1.5 billion users, the answer is Telegram. To people unfamiliar with it, I like to describe Telegram as simply WhatsApp without any of the icky data sharing with Facebook . It has been my favorite, most reliable messaging client, and its platform-agnostic design means I can access my messages across iPhones, Android devices, and desktop browsers. I’m a big fan of Telegram, which is part of why its present ban in its native Russia troubles me. Telegram got its start, and its initial funding, under the premise of providing a messaging tool that was shielded from the inquisitive glare of Russian spy agencies . Its effectiveness in pursuing that original goal has been... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2ERrroc"

Animals Their brain cells adapt to help them navigate on the fly. While hunting for dinner, the big brown bat must hone in on flitting insects and keep track of its surroundings to avoid crashing into them. Now, scientists have taken a… via Popular Science "https://ift.tt/2J0yhtU"

Matthew Marchetti was among thousands of Houstonians motoring through the turbulent, murky stormwaters of Hurricane Harvey as the sun set on August 27th, 2017. He was sitting in a stranger’s dinky motorboat, attempting to rescue neighbors and shuttle them to safety. The problem was that he didn’t know where to look — neither did the police and fire departments. “It was a big ol’ mess,” Marchetti says. As he disembarked to high ground, he phoned his friend Nate Larson, and said, “You know, we should develop a little website. Just for our neighborhood.” His idea was to create an application where a family in distress could quickly submit a call for help containing their location and information, which would instantly appear on a map. A... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2vl9GhH"

Apple acquired the “Netflix of magazines” last month, and it’s now planning to create its own premium news service. Bloomberg reports that Apple’s Texture acquisition will see the service, which offers more than 200 magazines for $9.99 a month, combined into Apple’s News team. A new Apple News app will reportedly launch within the next year, and offer a subscription with a percentage of revenue shared to publishers. Apple has tried a similar approach before. Apple killed its Newsstand app in favor of Apple News , and the original app used to offer digital versions of newspapers and magazines. Apple also previously partnered with News Corporation to create The Daily, an iPad-only news publication. News Corp eventually shuttered The Daily... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2J4HAJx"

The Sonos One just got an update. No, it’s not the Google Assistant integration we’ve been waiting for, but an updated color palette that adds some lovely new hues (and cost) to the company’s smart speaker. Sonos tells us that it’s adding red, green, and yellow to the current black and white offerings, but there’s also a pink version in the image above that accompanied the announcement . The new colors are the result of a collaboration with the Danish design brand HAY, and thusly named the “HAY Sonos One Limited Edition Collection” because those words have been workshopped to have the most visual impact when clustered together in exactly that order. While trivial to many, the color of something so prominent as a living room speaker is... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2HEt0sA"