Tuesday, 22 March 2016
| 21:00:00 | No Comments

Yahoo stops daily fantasy sports contests in New York

Yahoo is following the lead of DraftKings and FanDuel and stopping its paid daily fantasy sports operations in New York. 

Reuters reports that this shutdown won't affect other states, however.

Meanwhile, Yahoo has issued a press release detailing its new initiative, Fair Play. It's a set of guidelines that'll supposedly level the playing field. 

In part, that's by designating veteran players from the rest of the community with a special badge indicating who's entered over 1,000 contests in a year or those who've come out on top 65 percent of the time in as few as 250 contests. 

Another qualification for that badge is if you've won a $1,000 prize more than three times in a year.

Taking the balancing aspect further, Yahoo will place some limits on how many entries a given person can toss into a single contest (that'd be 10 total) and "in no event can a single user's entries make up more than one percent of total entries in a contest." Oh, and any sort of bots or scripting tools for uploading or editing your entries are prohibited as well.

Yahoo says that it launched Fair Play at the behest of of its "tens of millions" of fans who were clamoring for a more transparent and trustworthy experience. Whether the government agrees is another matter entirely.

This article was first published on endgadget.com
| 20:53:00 | No Comments

iPhone SE appears on AnTuTu with 2 GB of RAM

Well, that was quick. Apple has just announced the iPhone SE and the smartphone won't be officially launching until next week. 

However, someone in China apparently already had the smartphone long enough to pass it through AnTuTu's usual battery of diagnostics. 

Presuming this is the real deal, we are looking at a 4-inch monster that is almost really exactly like the iPhone 6s in specs. Here, that means exactly the same amount of RAM and almost the same 130,000-ish overall score.

Apple has never been one to focus on the geeky aspects of tech specs. Case in point, it never really details the battery size or amount of RAM inside its devices, preferring, instead, to dwell on how long the battery will last each day. Luckily, a few other parties, like iFixit and AnTuTu, are more than willing to spill the beans.

The iPhone SE is veritably the iPhone 6s in the 5s' size and clothing. Pretty much all the specs, save things like Touch ID, 3D Touch, and resolution, are on par with the most recent, larger iPhone. 

It is no surprise then, to see AnTuTu confirm that 2 GB of RAM is indeed present inside as well. That definitely puts a lot of punch inside this small device.


That punch can also be seen in the iPhone SE's overall score. AnTuTu gives it a mark of 134,358. It is actually slightly above AnTuTu's score for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, averaging at 132,620. 

Given how the iPhone SE has less pixels to push with its 4-inch retina display, that's not exactly surprising. The smaller iPhone does outrank the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus' 80,554. 

And just to stir up the hornet's nest, the Samsung Galaxy S7 scores 125,288 or around 105,000, depending on which processor you are testing.


Apple definitely made an expected but still controversial move when it finally unveiled the iPhone SE, giving those who loved the design and size of the iPhone 5s something to hold on to for the future. And if benchmarks like these are any indicator, it will be a bright future for them.

This article was first published on slashgear.com
| 20:45:00 | No Comments

Streaming music revenue surpasses digital downloads for the first time

Streaming music is hardly the new kid on the block, but it’s seemingly grown exponentially in the past few years thanks to services like Pandora, Spotify, and most recently, Apple Music. 

With 2015 now behind us, the RIAA today released its year-end sales report and highlighted how revenue from streaming music over the past year generated more revenue than digital downloads, an industry first.
The report reads in part:

The streaming category includes revenues from subscription services (such as paid versions of Spotify, TIDAL, and Apple Music, among others), streaming radio service revenues that are distributed by SoundExchange (like Pandora, SiriusXM, and other Internet radio), and other non-subscription on-demand streaming services (such as YouTube, Vevo, and ad-supported Spotify).

For the year gone by, the streaming sites mentioned above generated $2.4 billion, accounting for 34.3% of all industry revenue. Digital downloads meanwhile, a tally which includes both digital album and singles sales, accounted for 34% of record label revenue. 

And pulling up the rear, physical music sales accounted for approximately 28% of industry revenue for the year gone by.


All told, the music industry enjoyed revenue of $7 billion last year, a modest 0.9% increase from 2014. As the report highlights, revenue from digital downloads and physical sales continue to trend downwards but are being offset by a corresponding increase in streaming subscriptions.

“In 2015, digital music subscription services reached new all-time highs, generating more than $1 billion in revenues for the first time, and averaging nearly 11 million paid subscriptions for the year,” RIAA CEO Cary Sherman said. 

“Heading into 2016, the number of subscriptions swelled even higher — more than 13 million by the end of December — holding great promise for this year.”

On a related note, Spotify earlier this week disclosed that it now has more than 30 million paid subscribers.

This article was first published on bgr.com
| 03:46:00 | No Comments

Facebook to follow WhatsApp and drop support for BlackBerry phones

When WhatsApp announced last month it was throwing in the towel on BlackBerry, it seemed only a matter of time before its parent company would follow suit.

And now Facebook has, indeed, decided to stop supporting the platform by the end of the year, meaning users will have to hit the mobile site to continue using the social networking service on their devices.

In a recent post on the Inside BlackBerry blog, the company’s senior marketing manager Lou Gazzola said his team was “extremely disappointed” with Facebook’s decision, “as we know so many users love these apps.”

Gazzola continued, “We fought back to work with WhatsApp and Facebook to change their minds, but at this time, their decision stands.”

The post also talked of an ongoing search for “alternative solutions.” Gazzola apparently believes that people power could still win the day, encouraging dismayed users to express their disappointment about the social networking giant’s decision by taking to social media using the hashtag #ILoveBB10Apps.

WhatsApp announced last month that it’s decided to end support for a number of mobile platforms, including BlackBerry 10, “by the end of 2016.”

“While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future,” the company said at the time.

Even BlackBerry itself has been examining the viability of its own mobile platform. It said earlier this year that while it will continue to support BB10, it won’t be launching any phones for it this year, switching its attention instead to Android devices.

Having seen its mobile business decimated in recent years by the rise of iOS and Android, BlackBerry decided rather late in the day to tackle the crisis by launching its very first Android phone, the Priv. 

The phone, which includes a slide-out keyboard as one of its main features, went on sale toward the end of 2015, and was followed by confirmation from CEO John Chen that the company would this year be producing Android handsets only.

This article was first published on digitaltrends.com
| 03:41:00 | No Comments

Galaxy S7 edge hack supports microSD and dual SIMs at once

If you are using a dual SIM enabled version of the Galaxy S7 Edge smartphone and lament the fact that you have to choose additional storage and a single SIM card or dual SIMs and no additional storage, there is a way to eliminate that choice. 

A hacks has surfaced that requires some mods to your SIM card and your microSD card but results in being able to use both SIM slots and a microSD card at the same time. 

The risk in dong this hack is that you might destroy your SIM card and your microSD. There is also a chance you might damage your new smartphone, so beware.

Tools needed include a nano SIM card, lighter, scissors, tape or glue, memory card, and the willingness to risk your fancy gadget. This hack requires you to heat up the back of the SIM card and then hack the actual SIM chip away from the plastic backing leaving you with only the gold contacts and no plastic surrounding it. You then have to precisely trim that SIM card.

Once you have the card trimmed per the steps at the source below, you have to glue or tape the SIM chip to your microSD card in a precise location. As it turns out the trimmed SIM card can fit onto the microSD card in such a way that the contacts for the memory card can be read at the same time the SIM is read in the dual-purpose slot.


If you trim and glue precisely enough, you should be able to configure the new SIM card with the dual SIM manager application. That will give you both a second SIM card and additional storage to enjoy for your content. Follow all the steps precisely and look at plenty of photos at the source below, and do this at your own risk.

This article was first published on slashgear.com
| 03:36:00 | No Comments

Samsung to push Quantum Dot TVs this year with 14 new models

Samsung said today that it will launch fourteen new SUHD TV models this year, maintaining its commitment to Quantum Dot technology rather than shifting to OLED technology. 

Samsung is aiming to sell more than 50 million TVs this year with 10 percent of them being high-end ones with double the profit of regular TVs.

The South Korean electronics giant, which is the largest TV maker in the world, is facing fierce competition from Chinese brands. Despite its South Korean rival LG shifting to OLED technology for high-end TVs, Samsung continues to pour money in Quantum Dot technology, which is used in its SUHD TVs.

Kim Hyun-seok, Samsung’s President and TV chief said, “following the first launch last year, we have applied the second-generation quantum dot technology this year that has upgraded overall picture quality,” at a press conference in Seoul. “We will continue to unveil new generation models” he added.

Quantum Dot technology is more energy efficient than regular LCD technology and it also offers better picture quality. However, other brands are reluctant to adopt this technology due to presence of cadmium, a heavy toxic metal, which is opposed by regulatory authorities in many countries. 

Samsung is the only company that provides cadmium-free Quantum Dot TVs.

Samsung says that OLED technology isn’t complete yet, and the company doesn’t want to enter the OLED market unless current issues including durability and brightness are resolved. The company claims that its second-generation Quantum Dot TVs will be better than OLED TVs from LG.

This article was first published on http://www.sammobile.com
| 03:27:00 | No Comments

Is Microsoft being too pushy with Windows 10?

Microsoft is keen for you to upgrade to Windows 10, but at what point does this cross the line into pressuring its customers?

I’d challenge you to name which version of iOS or Android your phone is running without checking the specs. When Apple or Google release a software update, it just happens. You tap ‘Yes’, you install it, and you may not notice much change.

Upgrading to Windows 10

Now, take a look at the effect Windows 10 has had. Microsoft is supposedly fighting for relevance in a world that loves touchscreens more than spreadsheets. But when it drops an update like Windows 10, this crusty old brand shows it can still make an impact.

We’ve had thousands of queries from our readers about whether to update their PCs or not. That’s because when Microsoft gets it wrong (which it can – see Vista or 8!), it affects millions of us. We stay in touch via our PCs; we work, we shop, we bank with them. A poor software update can make these everyday things harder to do.

The Windows 10 hard sell

Microsoft is ramping up the pressure on its customers to install Windows 10. One tactic sees Windows 10 being automatically downloaded on to people’s PCs due to a simple change of wording. Microsoft changed the Windows 10 update from ‘optional’ to ‘recommended’, which means it’ll download automatically if you have Windows Update enabled (which most users do).

We’ve explored a number of other tactics in the latest issue of Which? Computing, including locking newer processors to Windows 10 and setting a time limit for the free upgrade (it’s 29 July 2016 in case you’re interested).

There’s lots to like about the new OS, but you should still have a choice over upgrading or not. Windows still matters in the age of tablets, but it will matter to you even more if you end up with a version you don’t like.

Have you felt pressured into upgrading your computer to Windows 10?

This article was first published on conversation.which.co.uk