Today, LINE has announced the shuttering of MixRadio streaming service. The service originated from Nokia and was later sold. The service will be discontinued in the coming weeks. Read more…
Hulu has launched a universal Windows app, which includes Cortana integration, live tile support, and loads of new features Read more…
Microsoft has released major updates to its Bing search engine mobile apps for Android and iOS. The updates are focused mainly on providing tools to help save their users money. Read more…
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Microsoft has highlighted examples of its products driving new retail experiences, including the ‘Diji Touch’ vending machine with a 40-inch touchscreen, powered by Windows 10, Kinect and Azure IoT. Read more…
Apple has never reported a decline in iPhone sales. That may be about to change, however, with seven top Apple analysts all predicting that the company is either experiencing — or on the verge of experiencing — a drop in the number of iPhones being bought. The latest is Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who has lowered his […]
(via Cult of Mac – Tech and culture through an Apple lens)
U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh has dismissed [PDF] a lawsuit against Apple over a long-standing issue that prevented some former iPhone owners who switched to Android smartphones from receiving text messages from other iOS users, as reported by Business Insider.
Koh originally ruled against granting the lawsuit class-action status, because it was not clear enough that all Android smartphone switchers were actually affected by the issue, but a trio of plaintiffs Adam Backhaut, Bouakhay Joy Backhaut and Kenneth Morris persisted with their case.
The three alleged that they switched from iPhones to Android phones in 2012. After that, texts sent to them from other iPhone users were not delivered. They were probably stuck in Apple’s iMessage system, which was notoriously unreliable at delivering texts to Android phones until late 2014, when Apple introduced a fix for the bug. That constitutes a violation of the Federal Wire Tap Act, the three claim. Apple denied the allegations.
Apple launched a web tool in November 2014 for users to deregister their phone number from iMessage in the event they switched to a non-Apple device, and Koh ruled that Apple would face a federal lawsuit over the issue just two days later. As of Koh’s ruling on Tuesday, however, all lawsuits against Apple related to the matter have come to a close with no punitive damages against the company.
Tags: lawsuit, Android, iMessage
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A company executive for Facebook has stated that its upcoming ‘Facebook at Work’ service is scheduled to be released in the coming months, and closely match the existing version of the site. Read more…
An ex-executive of global finance and investment company Western Asset has been charged with illegally accessing his previous employer’s email 100 times after leaving the company. Read more…
Microsoft today officially launched its virtual assistant Cortana as a downloadable app for iOS and Android platforms (via Business Insider). Similar to Apple’s Siri personal assistant, Cortana allows Windows users to set reminders, preview the weather, and answer basic questions thanks to integrated internet search abilities. Other Cortana for iOS and Android features include the following:
•Set and get location and time reminders across your PC and phone.
•Track packages, flights, scores, stocks, and other important info across your PC and phone.
•Use Cortana’s Notebook to view, edit and manage your interests
•Get information and answers to all kinds of questions. If you’re looking for it, Cortana can help find it.
•Have a little fun in your down time — ask anything, get jokes, and much more.
Microsoft detailed a few features for Cortana at Business Insider‘s Ignition Conference in New York City, including abilities like asking Cortana for help with your voice without having to open up the app. Unfortunately, most of those features won’t be available to iOS users due to certain developer restrictions that fence off Cortana from becoming fully integrated into iOS.
On the other hand, a few Android smartphones will gain a leg up on the iOS version of Cortana thanks to a partnership between Microsoft and start-up company Cyanogen, which runs a custom version of the OS on select Android devices. With Cyanogen software, Android users will have essentially all of the abilities Windows Phone users have over Cortana, including being able to speak to the personal assistant without opening up the separate app.
After some rumors and speculation earlier in the year, in May Microsoft confirmed that Cortana would be heading to non-Windows Phone platforms later this year. In November, the company opened up beta sign-ups for users to test out Cortana for iOS in a pre-release state.
Cortana for iOS is available to download now for free from the App Store [Direct Link].
Tags: Microsoft, Cortana
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