Notification grouping and direct replies to become mandatory in all Android OEM skins

Google’s updated Compatibility Definition guidelines state that OEMs won’t be able to mess with Android’s notification system from now on. This means that, no matter what Android phone you buy in the future — as long as it’s running a new version of the OS, of course — it will handle notifications the same way all other Android devices will.

Specifically, this means that notifications will be grouped together in the notification shade and users will have the option to reply directly to messages from their respective notifications, as it is the case in the latest … – Source

Notification grouping and direct replies to become mandatory in all Android OEM skins

Latest Bing for Android update brings new reading mode

Microsoft has updated its Bing for Android app. The update brings along a new reading mode that allows you to focus on the content you want to read without any distractions.

The other change might help you when you’re hungry, as it’s related to recipes. “Hungry? Let Bing help you figure out what to cook and how to get it made,” the change-log says.

As for rest of the changes, those are mainly UI improvements related to Voice and Camera search. “Easier access and faster switching between Voice, Music, 360 (augmented reality), Camera and Barcode search.”

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Latest Bing for Android update brings new reading mode

HTC U Ultra

We expect the HTC U Ultra to carry a large Gorilla Glass protected 6-inch display, with a 1440 x 2560 resolution. The new top-of-the-line Snapdragon 835 chipset is said to be powering the phone with an octa-core CPU and the Adreno 540 GPU. 4GB of RAM is inside along with 64GB of internal storage. A dual-camera setup (24MP and 13MP) is on back along with a 16MP front-facing camera for selfies and video chats. Keeping the lights on is a 4000mAh battery with a fingerprint scanner on back. – Source

HTC U Ultra

Unable to fund production of its camera drone, Lily will shut down and refund customers

Lily, the autonomous camera drone that sold a whopping $34 million in preorders, has announced they are shutting down. In an email sent to customers about an hour ago, the startup says that they were unable to raise an additional round of funding which would have allowed them to start production of the drone. So they announced that they will be winding down the company, and offering an… Read More

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Unable to fund production of its camera drone, Lily will shut down and refund customers

Monkeys mourning the 'death' of a robot monkey will hit you right in the feels

Spy In The Wild is a new nature documentary shot almost entirely with hidden cameras disguised as robotic animals. Cool, huh?

But in an advance clip released by the BBC, that central gimmick backfires in the most heartbreaking way, when one of the primate robots is accidentally dropped and “killed” by a curious langur monkey.

The out of action cyborg is then mourned by its real-life friends, who gather round and hug each other while gazing upon the lifeless body of their “dead” baby langur monkey. It’s brutal.

It’s also as bizarre as it is sad — a weird mix of The Lion King and Blade Runner that’s as affecting as it is downright odd and ethically quite problematic. …

More about Langur Monkey, A Spy In The Wild, Robot, Bbc, and Documentary – Source

Monkeys mourning the 'death' of a robot monkey will hit you right in the feels

The internet is freaking out over this gross 'medium rare' chicken recipe

The newest #cleaneating fad is here and it’s…salmonella?

It is according to Australian Facebook user Morgan Jane Gibbs it is. She posted a photo of her raw chicken “recipe” to Facebook last week, and it’s fair to say people had some thoughts about it.

SEE ALSO: What the hell is chicken salt? How one condiment became a national obsession

Read it and weep.

Gibbs’ tongue-in-cheek responses to comments on the post make it pretty apparent that her recipe wasn’t meant to be a serious serving suggestion.

When warned that her #healthy meal was just a big ole dose of salmonella, Gibbs replied “its [sic] chicken not salmon?” …

More about Trolling, Raw Chicken, Meme, Chicken, and Watercooler – Source

The internet is freaking out over this gross 'medium rare' chicken recipe

Honor 6X's first US flash sale was a success, it sold out in 25 minutes

With the recently announced 6X, Huawei sub-brand Honor is doing something interesting in the US, combining a traditional online-only sales model with weekly flash sales that offer a price cut for the new smartphone. So if you’re impatient you don’t have to wait for a flash sale to purchase the Honor 6X, but if you can wait you’re able to save a cool $50 compared to its usual price by purchasing it through a flash sale from the official online store.

The first such flash sale for the unlocked Honor 6X took place in the US earlier today. It let you buy the phone for just $199.99, down from…

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Honor 6X's first US flash sale was a success, it sold out in 25 minutes

Tom Wheeler accuses AT&T and Verizon of violating net neutrality

Enlarge / AT&T Sponsored Data charges companies for the right to offer Internet content without counting against mobile data caps. (credit: AT&T)

With just over a week left as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Tom Wheeler today accused AT&T and Verizon Wireless of violating net neutrality rules with paid data cap exemptions. But with the FCC about to switch to Republican control after next week’s inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, AT&T and Verizon can likely keep doing what they’re doing without any chance of punishment.

Wheeler described his views in a letter to US senators who had expressed concern about the data cap exemptions, or “zero-rating.” FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau staff today also issued a report concluding that AT&T and Verizon zero-rating programs are unfair to competitors. Both Wheeler’s letter and the staff report can be read in full here.

The main issue is that AT&T and Verizon allow their own video services (DirecTV and Go90, respectively) to stream on their mobile networks without counting against customers’ data caps, while charging other video providers for the same data cap exemptions. The FCC also examined T-Mobile USA’s zero-rating program but found that it poses no competitive harms because T-Mobile offers data cap exemptions to third parties free of charge. T-Mobile also “provides little streaming video programming of its own,” giving it less incentive to disadvantage video companies that need to use the T-Mobile network, the FCC said.

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Tom Wheeler accuses AT&T and Verizon of violating net neutrality

Apple once envisioned the iPhone with an iPod click wheel and it was horrible

The iPhone we know and love today could have been very different, and maybe even a total flop, if Steve Jobs had picked a different interface for it.

A new video published by Apple leaker Sonny Dickson shows off an early-stage version of “Acorn OS,” an iPod-based interface for the iPhone that Apple was working on before deciding to go with the now-ubiquitous icon-based interface.

SEE ALSO: The iPhone’s remarkable 10-year history, in pictures

The story goes like this: Apple had two teams working on what would eventually become iOS (née iPhone OS).

One team, under Tony Fadell, the “father of the iPod” was working on an operating system based on the iPod interface and controlled with a click wheel. Meanwhile, another team, under ex-Apple senior vice president of iOS software Scott Forstall, was tasked with creating an icon-based interface. …

More about Steve Jobs, Apple, Acorn Os, Ipod, and Iphone – Source

Apple once envisioned the iPhone with an iPod click wheel and it was horrible

Facebook just fixed a major battery-draining bug

Facebook says it’s fixed a glitch in its Messenger app on Android that was causing major battery issues.

Users had complained about the app draining their phone’s battery in a matter of hours, even if they weren’t actively using it.

Hmm. The #Facebook and #Messenger #apps have collectively drained 20% of my battery in less than 4 hours despite not using the apps #mobile

— Stephen Mann (@stephenmann) January 10, 2017

Facebook and Facebook messenger have gotten obsene with their battery consumption, and have thus uninstall them

— Thomas Smith (@TSHSmith) January 10, 2017

David Marcus, vice president of messaging products on Facebook, acknowledged the problem on Twitter Monday and said it had been fixed on Messenger. He didn’t weigh in on complaints about the core Facebook app, however. …

More about Facebook Messenger, Facebook, Apps, Apps And Software, and Tech – Source

Facebook just fixed a major battery-draining bug