Новости за 10.04.2017

Google is starting to turn its handy image search tool into a way to shop.

The Altoids mints tin is perhaps the most iconic part of the product (which may say something about the mints themselves, I guess?), and in today’s life hack-obsessed world, people have long been repurposing them as handy reusable boxes for tons of things that aren’t mints. Today, you can add “fully functional handheld gaming console” to that list, as intrepid hacker sudomod has shown off his latest project, the mintyPi 2.0 (via The Next Web).

Comcast is planning to launch a standalone video streaming service focused largely on NBCUniversal television shows, according to a new report from Bloomberg. The service could launch within the next 12 to 18 months as the last remaining regulatory restrictions tied to Comcast’s 2011 purchase of NBCUniversal expire.

I am known for being hard to read, to the point that friends complain that they can never tell what I’m thinking by looking at my face. But, says neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett, it’s possible that they might remain confused even if my face were more expressive.

Singing is hard. But like anything else, practice helps — whether you’re a professionally trained vocalist or just want to sound less pitchy for your next karaoke outing. Besides, traditional vocal coaches are an expensive investment if you’re not planning on a career that’s musical in nature.

Taking a brief break from his controversial plans to roll back net neutrality rules, FCC chief Ajit Pai today announced a proposal that would keep cellphone calls banned from US flights.

The first Thor: Ragnarok trailer landed today, and it already looks like the most fun Marvel production since, well, the last fun Marvel production we got a close look at. Between this, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Marvel Studios is promising a year that breaks away from the sad introspection of previous superhero movies.

The cult classic TV series The X-Files will continue to extend its lifespan with a new audiobook. Audible announced today that it will release The X-Files: Cold Cases on July 18th, with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprising their roles on the show by reading their lines in the audio version. The book is based on Joe Harris’ graphic novels.

The latest review in our car-as-a-rolling-tablet series

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Google has reportedly offered to invest around $880 million US (1 trillion won) in LG’s Display division in an apparent bid to make sure it gets the supply of displays it needs for the next Pixel phone. According to the Electronic Times (via Reuters), the lack of a steady supply of OLED panels was one of the main reasons that Google has had such a hard time shipping the current Pixel phone.

It’s spring in California: the birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, and my sinuses are so swollen they might just pop right out of my face.

What’s the most important feature on your smartphone? Is it the camera? The display? The design? The processor? The software and apps it runs? Chances are, it’s a combination of all of those things and more. But over the past few weeks I’ve learned that the most important feature on my smartphone is none of the above; it’s the battery life. It’s a little obvious: if your phone’s battery is dead, none of the other features are useful or even matter.

After a decade on the Mac, Djay has come to Windows.

The Windows 10 incarnation of Algoriddim’s powerful but easy-to-use DJing app is pretty much identical to what it’s like on macOS: it lets DJs control up to four tracks of audio, manipulate two videos at a time, connect to a selection of DJ controllers, and pull in any song they want from Spotify (so long as they’re a subscriber).

There aren’t many changes here aside from some minor visual tweaks to make the app better fit in on Windows. Читать дальше...

Soon you’ll be able to buy select user creations for real cash within Minecraft. Today developer Mojang announced the Minecraft Marketplace, which offers a curated range of maps, texture packs, mini-games, and other user-created content, which you can purchase using a new virtual currency called Minecraft Coins. The marketplace is coming to both the mobile and Windows 10 versions of the game, and will launch as part of Minecraft’s upcoming “discovery” update later this spring.

An update to Google Assistant today means your shopping lists will no longer be saved on Google Keep, and will instead port over to the Google Home or Google Express apps. The move aims to consolidate your shopping-related voice commands to one place, and sets Express up to more widely offer order and delivery functionality via the Home. Google added this functionality earlier this year, with more than 50 Google Express retail partners, including Costco, Staples, Walgreens, and of course, the Google Store. Читать дальше...

In anticipation of Samsung’s shiny new Galaxy S8, I’ve gone back to using the smartphone it is replacing, the Galaxy S7 Edge, and what I’ve (re)discovered is a device still very much worthy of the flagship title. A year after its release, the S7 Edge remains one of the very best smartphones you can buy, and that’s only going to get better once its price gets dinged by the S8’s arrival this month.

Google Duo, the search giant’s video chat app, now supports voice calls worldwide. The feature was made available in Brazil only last month, but can now be accessed anywhere in the world, according to Duo’s principal engineer, Justin Uberti. Voice calling can be found simply by switching a toggle at the top of the app’s interface.

The first teaser trailer for Thor: Ragnarok has arrived. And between the extravagant costumes, wild makeup, and brilliantly colored ‘80s aesthetic, it’s possible that this may be the weirdest Marvel movie to date. In a catalog that includes Guardians of the Galaxy and Doctor Strange, that’s saying something.

It’s just over a year since Google’s DeepMind unit stunned the world when its AlphaGo AI beat Go legend Lee Se-dol 4-1 in a five-game match; the result demonstrated mastery of a feat that had eluded computer scientists for decades and sparked a flood of new interest in the field of artificial intelligence. But there was one possible “gotcha” that Go devotees could hold onto: Lee Se-dol was once, but is no longer, quite considered the greatest player on the planet.

A Spotify executive was among those killed during an attack in Stockholm on Friday, CEO Daniel Ek has confirmed. Chris Bevington, who had worked at Spotify for five years and served as its director of global partnerships and business development, was hit by a truck driven deliberately into pedestrians while walking in one of Stockholm’s shopping areas.