The day has come to wave a tearful farewell to Cortana, at least if you were a user of Microsoft’s assistant apps for iOS and Android. As warned, after today the Cortana mobile app “will no longer be supported,” Microsoft says, as it reins in its assistant tech to Windows alone. It’s not exactly a surprise, of course. Microsoft had been talking about pulling the plug on the mobile Cortana experience for some time now, first announcing the decision all the way back in July 2020, and had updated its support pages earlier this month with the shutdown date. The…
Author: Miley Selena
Facebook is finally making it easier to bypass the algorithm and just see what your friends and family have posted most recently, with a new Feed Filter Bar arriving alongside new curation tools for news. The feature – which will appear at the top of your Facebook News Feed – will also be the home to Favorites, the recently-added VIP grouping option which allows posts by up to 30 friends and pages to get pushed to the top of the app. Algorithmic sorting has been one of the key methods by which social networks such as Facebook try to make…
Apple has revealed plans to build a huge energy storage battery in California, near to the vast solar farm which it counts on to provide renewable power for its operations. The strategy takes a leaf out of Tesla’s book, among others, and will store excess energy generated by the 130 megawatt solar panel installation for use later on. Apple inked a deal with the solar farm, California Flats, back in 2015, for 25 years of electricity supply. The installation – which covers 2,900 acres in total – also supplies local utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) with up to…
Don’t expect a big camera changes to the iPhone 13, at least when it comes to lenses, one well-respected Apple analyst has warned, with company tipped to stick with tried-and-true tech for its upcoming smartphones. The current iPhone 12 range varies with the offer of two to three cameras – in addition to the LIDAR Camera on the iPhone 12 Pro Max – with all models getting a wide-angle lens and an ultra-wide angle lens. The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max then throw in telephoto lens. Apple’s flagship version also switches up the lens it uses on…
Belkin is launching a new magnetic iPhone 12 stand that adds face-tracking, letting Apple’s smartphone swivel to follow you much like Amazon’s Echo Show 10. It’s part of the slowly growing ecosystem of accessories that use Apple’s MagSafe system for iPhone, though unfortunately it sounds like it’s not quite as flexible as you might hope. The good news is that the Belkin Magnetic Phone Mount with Face Tracking should be easy to use. It’s powered with three AA batteries, and the iPhone – which will have to be from the iPhone 12 series, since earlier models don’t offer MagSafe support…
Apple has patented an iPhone design that borrows the Mac Pro’s eye-catching machined 3D structure, though the distinctive aesthetic would be for more than just familial resemblance. Launched in late 2019, the third-generation Mac Pro studded its fascia with an array of complex ventilation holes, which Apple said considerably improved cooling performance. They also, quite frankly, looked deeply cool. Resembling a 3D carved sphere within a circular opening, or perhaps some type of futuristic blade, the mesh may have prompted some comparisons to a cheese grater but it certainly got people talking in a way that tower PCs usually usually…
California-based Jackery has been in the portable generator business for almost a decade now but recent events have shown how alternatives to gasoline-powered generators are even more important these days. Safety, environment friendliness, and flexibility have become just as critical as having a power source while off the grid or, more importantly, in an emergency. At its annual Jackery Day, the company announced two new such solutions and we take the Jackery Explorer 1500 for a spin to see how much it has improved since we met the Jackery Explorer 1000 last year. What’s in a Name Jackery has admittedly…
If families suddenly forced into home-schooling during the pandemic has highlighted anything, it’s that all things are not created equal when it comes to technology and internet access across the US. Projects like the US government’s rural broadband rollout are trying to fill in the gaps, but now individual states and universities are weighing in, with South Carolina the latest to establish strategically-located computer labs. Announced today, the project is being led by the University of South Carolina, with $6 million in Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funding from the state. It’ll be used to set up eight Apple computer…
Google today detailed all of the updates on the way to Google Maps in 2021, and it’s safe to say that this should be a pretty big year for the app. All of the updates heading to Maps are based in AI in one way or another, and they’ll not only help you find your way around indoors, but also find routes that may be more fuel-efficient than others. Google Maps will also now give you weather and air quality information for your destination and show more details that will help with arranging curbside grocery pickup. It’s hard to say…
Google has finally found an application worthy of its fiendishly clever Soli chip, and quite frankly it’s wasted in a smart display. Or more accurately, the Nest Hub 2nd Gen may be a great showcase for what Soli, the short-range radar, is capable of with Sleep Sensing, but I can’t help but wish Google had just made a standalone sensor instead. Soli, announced back in 2015, was initially billed as a breakthrough in gadget control. Its radar-like scanning was short range, but very precise: combined with the tiny chip size, Google suggested, it could make for virtual scroll wheels and…