Danh Danh Danh Danh

Thứ Ba, 14 tháng 7, 2015

How to take a screenshot on an Android device

Capture those moments that are too important (or too silly) to forget
An increasing amount of people are using their Android smartphones and tablets in place of, or at least as a capable supplement to, their laptops or desktop PCs. As the Android platform continues to receive several desktop-grade applications and functionality, it's easy to see why.

One of the cooler, more understated functions packed into Android devices is the ability to take a screenshot of its display. The process, while simple, isn't the same across every Android smartphone or tablet. For instance, the button combination on an HTC One M9 differs slightly from taking a screenshot of the screen of a Samsung Galaxy S6. Regardless of which Android phone you have, we'll break down all the different ways you can capture a screenshot.

How to screenshot on Android phones and tablets

When you have the content you'd like to capture within the frame of the display, press and hold the Power button first and then press the volume down button. Make sure not to release your finger from the Power button before you push the volume down button, or else your screen might shut off. If you've done this correctly, you'll see a brief flash indicating that the photo has been saved to your photo gallery. The HTC One that I'm using shows the saved photo in a miniature frame to indicate a successful screen capture. Your phone or tablet could do something totally different.

Take a snapshot by holding down power and pressing the volume down button

This button combination might not work for every phone out there, so don't fret if nothing is happening at this point.

Some phones or tablets require a slightly different combination of button presses to trigger a screen capture. If the above steps didn't work, try holding down the Power button first and then tap the home button on the screen. Whether the home button on your device is capacitive, meaning touch sensitive, or a physical button, this will work like a charm. This shortcut even works on Android devices that can snap photos with the Power + volume down button combo.

Press and hold power, then give the home button a tap

This function is perfect if you want to take a screen capture of Snapchat, or if you want to show your friends the high score you achieved in a game. For all matters serious or just for fun, commit these shortcuts to memory.

Reddit to host AMA about its policy on offensive posts

Reddit has been a bit of a mess lately. With the firing of a popular employee Victoria Taylor, unpaid moderators shutting down subreddits, and interim CEO Ellen Pao "leaving" and being replaced by co-founder Steve Huffman, it's not exactly business as usual at the self-proclaimed "front page of the internet." Now the company is trying to figure out how to deal with some of the more horrible portions of the site with an AMA set for July 16th at 4PM ET. In the announcement about the upcoming event co-founder Steve Huffman talked about some of the more loathsome portions of the site, "there is also a dark side, communities whose purpose is reprehensible, and we don't have any obligation to support them. And we also believe that some communities currently on the platform should not be here at all." Considering how touchy the community can be when faced with changes, this should be interesting.

Google's Eddystone serves up location-based info via Bluetooth beacons

Using low-energy Bluetooth beacons to serve up location-based info to customers isn't a new development. We've seen more than a few implementations of Apple's iBeacon tech. Google has a new project that employs a similar setup, and it's called Eddystone.

How does it differ from Apple's Bluetooth initiative? The effort is a "new and open format" that "anyone" can implement. In addition to working alongside a mobile app to beam info to your phone or tablet when you're in a specified location, Eddystone can also broadcast a URL when an app isn't an option. Rather than missing out, a company can choose to send a web link instead. And it works with both Android and iOS devices, too. There are also two location options, meaning developers can choose one of two APIs that will either find and ping a nearby beacon (like in a museum) or send info when you visit a specific location (e.g., latitude/longitude).

Google's already using the beacons to bolster its own apps and services. The company leverages the platform for real-time transit info in Portland, Oregon, and it plans to employ the tech to prioritize Google Now cards based on your location as well. Of course, privacy is a concern when you're letting a company access your whereabouts, and Eddystone uses Ephemeral Identifiers (EIDs) for security. The EIDs can only be decoded by "authorized clients," so activities like tracking luggage can be done securely. Google isn't offering too much info on how the whole system is locked down just yet, so we'll keep an eye out for additional details as it gets more use.

For companies with existing Bluetooth beacons, Google says Eddystone can be installed with a firmware update. This means that they won't have to invest more money to replace a current setup. What's more, Google's tech keeps tabs on a fleet of the beacons, pointing out when one isn't working properly and other issues that may arise. This is particularly important in places like sports stadiums, where a team will likely blanket the facility with the Bluetooth devices for all spectators. Eddystone is available for interested parties now, and we're curious to see how companies choose to leverage it.

SOURCE: Google

[En] Some things you might not know about Nintendo's Satoru Iwata

Some things you might not know about Nintendo's Satoru Iwata

Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's long-standing and incredibly smart CEO, has passed away. It's news that has brought tributes from both companions and competitors of Iwata's, not to mention an outpouring of heartfelt condolences from the gaming community at large.

After taking over from the Yamauchi dynasty and becoming its president in 2002, Iwata turned Nintendo into an immeasurable force for gaming that stood for fun and innovation. Iwata's humility, ability to accept responsibility for mistakes, and genuine love for gaming made him one of the greats - not to mention that almost anyone with some interest in gaming will have enjoyed an experience that was at least partly thanks to Iwata.

You probably know that Iwata oversaw the launch of the Wii, and you might know that he launched the DS, a handheld console that was predicted to be outpaced by its technologically superior rival, the PSP. Both of these things turned out to be huge successes, proving that innovation can always triumph over power - and that Nintendo definitely had the right guy at the top.

But there's plenty more to Iwata that you might not know about.

1. He valued employees highly, sometimes at his own expense

Iwata was never one to shy away from the company's mistakes, and following a profit slump in 2013 he announced that he would slash his pay in half for five months. He was also not a fan of reducing staff. During the 73rd annual shareholders meeting, he was asked why the company hadn't restructured to account for operating losses. His response was spot on:

"If we reduce the number of employees for better short-term financial results, however, employee morale will decrease, and I sincerely doubt employees who fear that they may be laid off will be able to develop software titles that could impress people around the world."

"I also know that some employers publicise their restructuring plan to improve their financial performance by letting a number of their employees go, but at Nintendo, employees make valuable contributions in their respective fields, so I believe that laying off a group of employees will not help to strengthen Nintendo's business in the long run."

2. He was an exceptional programmer who saved Earthbound

At the time that Mother 2 (aka Earthbound) was being developed, Iwata was working as a programmer and the head of HAL Laboratories. When he saw the difficulties that the development team were having with Mother 2, he voiced his doubts that the game could be completed on time. "If we used what you have now and fix it, it will take 2 years," he told them. "If we can start fresh, it'll take half a year."

Iwata then took over development of Mother 2, and returned a month later having got the game's map scrolling feature to work. Once he'd joined the team, the game only took another year of development thanks to Iwata's programming magic.

3. He managed to cram a country into a game cartridge

When Gamefreak made Pokemon Gold and Silver, only the Johto region was included in the game. Iwata thought that players deserved more, so he spent some of his spare time squeezing in the entirety of Kanto (the region from Pokemon Blue and Red) using some very heavy compression. He essentially fit in a whole extra game like it was no big deal.

4. Then he ported over the Pokemon battle logic without reference documents

...which is a big deal. The first step in creating Pokemon Stadium was to analyse the battle logic from Pokemon Red and Green and carry it over for the Nintendo 64. But in the absence of any reference documents, Iwata read through the Game Boy source code directly and managed to rework it for the 64. Oh yeah, and he did it in a week.

5. He announced Super Smash Bros. Brawl before telling the development team

Iwata knew that the Wii needed a Super Smash Bros. game, so at E3 2005 he confirmed that a game would be coming. His plan was clever: he would then approach HAL and ask them to make a new Super Smash Bros. title, and if they refused, he would have Super Smash Bros. Melee (the GameCube's entry in the series) ported over to the Wii with Wi-Fi support. Luckily, HAL agreed to make Brawl.

6. The Miiverse integration in Super Mario 3D World was his idea

Nintendo's often been criticised for being slow to adopt online gaming, but the integration of the Miiverse in Super Mario 3D World truly let you feel like you were part of a bigger community. The game's map would be populated by the Miis of players around the world, whose messages would pop up as you passed them. A small but effective feature.

7. He actually went out and bought Ocarina of Time when it launched

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was launched in November 1998, when Iwata was finishing up Super Smash Bros for the N64. " I was at the Nintendo Kyoto headquarters for a meeting to prepare for its launch, and I bought Ocarina of Time on my way home," he said.

8. His first published game was Super Billiards

Iwata coded his first commercial game during the time of his college education in Tokyo. The game was published by HAL and launched for the MSX home computer. You can see it in action below.

9. Iwata updated his Mii character to reflect his illness

Iwata's health problems were well documented, but it seemed that everything was under control - which made the news of his death even more tragic. Much like Steve Jobs, Iwata lost a lot of weight in lead-up to his death. He updated his Mii avatar to reflect this, along with the message shown below.
10. The NX will likely be an embodiment of Iwata's ideals

We don't know much about Nintendo's next console, but we do know it will be different to what we've seen before. Last time Nintendo shook things up we got the incredibly successful Wii - so we're understandably excited to see what it has in store this time. Iwata was a big believer in bridging the gap between handheld and console, and there's a good chance the NX will reflect this philosophy.

[En] Galaxy Note 5 rumour claims Samsung is really scared of the next iPhone

Update: Could August 12 really be the date? SamMobile has now jumped on the potential Galaxy Note 5 release date, claiming that it'll arrival with the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus by its side too.

Its insiders have "revealed" that the August 12 release date for the Note 5 and S6 Edge Plus will be followed by an on-sale date of August 21.

This would be surprisingly early for Samsung to launch a new Note handset, as it usually waits for IFA at the start of September, but the mid-August rumours are gathering pace.

Original article....

Late last week we heard rumours of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 launching ahead of IFA in order to avoid the hype around a new Apple phablet.

A new report has hammered home that idea, claiming Samsung has set up an August 12 event in New York with the aim to launch the phone in all the major markets on August 14.

Digitimes reports the news coming from "sources at Taiwan-based telecom carriers" which also claim there will be a 14nm Exynos processor and a 5.7-inch 2K curved display.

Bringing it forward

It's not a massive surprise if Samsung decide to push ahead a month or so before the next iPhone launch - it's the biggest competition out there.

The problem with these sources is that Samsung has previously squashed the rumours of an early release, but that was way back in May this year – things could have changed since.

We'll have to wait for details from Samsung about a New York launch before we can know for certain.

[En] Dell contradicts Microsoft, says Windows 10 will be installed on PCs starting July 29

Dell contradicts Microsoft, says Windows 10 will be installed on PCs starting July 29

Well, now we’re all confused. Dell Inc. CEO Michael Dell said on Twitter that he expects Windows 10 to ship on new Dell PCs on July 29, contradicting a statement made yesterday by Microsoft.

Microsoft, which is still testing the highly anticipated operating system, said consumers would have to work with their local retailers to upgrade to Windows 10 after purchasing their new devices, in a blog post.

This means that all new units, such as the Dell XPS 15, on which Microsoft demoed Windows 10 during Computex, would not come with Windows 10 preinstalled, but rather users would have to upgrade at retail locations.

Contradictions

However, a PCWorld staff writer, Twitter user, @MarkHachman, explicitly asked Michael Dell if his company still planned to ship units with the operating system preinstalled, to which Dell replied, “Yes. We are ready.”

Dell also provided a link to a Dell Inc. landing page that includes a countdown to when Windows PCs will begin shipping. The start date: July 29 at 4AM Central Time.

Interestingly enough, the XPS 15 is not included on the list of select PCs that will come with Windows 10 pre-installed. The XPS 13, however, is included, as are a range of Inspiron laptops and desktops.

Why this matters

If Microsoft has confirmed that manufacturers would be able to preinstall Windows 10 on new devices starting July 29, this would seem to indicate that a final, or "release to manufacturing," build is complete.

Unfortunately, this runs counter to what Yusuf Mehdi, Vice President of Windows and Device Marketing, told Bloomberg yesterday.

"You will see computers running with Windows 10 installed very soon after the 29th and then in the fall a whole new class of machines for the holidays," Mehdi said.

If it’s ready...

Whenever the operating system becomes available, it will first be distributed to the 5 million Windows Insiders who participated in the Insider Preview program as a test flight, similar to how preview builds are delivered. This has not yet occured.

Microsoft was not immediately available for comment. We will update this piece if we receive a response.

[En] 9 of the best apps for sharing files between devices and friends

We depend on our mobile devices for everything from messaging to taking pictures. They’re also great for carrying and sharing files — provided you have the right tools for the job.
I’ve rounded up the best apps for moving files between your computers and devices and sending them to your contacts. Find the right one for your needs right here and you’ll never have to carry around a data cable again.

AirDroid (Android)

AirDroid for Android offers a feature-packed interface in your browser for sending files and installing apps. There’s a full-fledged file manager to share files from your desktop to your device and vice versa, as well as dedicated tools to view photos and play music from local storage.

To send files to your phone, just drag and drop them into any folder on your device and AirDroid will beam it over your local Wi-Fi network, or over a data connection if you’re connecting remotely (provided you’ve got a premium account).

You can install apps by dragging an APK file into AirDroid and following the subsequent steps on your device. The app also lets you send across links and text to your device’s clipboard in a flash.

AirDroid includes loads more features like a contacts browser, messaging dashboard and device locator. You can use it on your local network for free; remote access to your device costs $1.99 a month.

➤ AirDroid [Android | Windows | OS X]

Superbeam (Android/iOS)

No internet connection? No problem. Superbeam for Android and iOS uses Wi-Fi Direct technology to send files between devices, and it works like a charm.

Fire up the app on two devices and you can trade files just by scanning an on-screen QR code or pairing them over NFC. As iOS restricts file management to the camera roll, you’ll only be able to share photos and video from your iPhone or iPad. On Android, you can images, music, apps, documents and even contacts.

What’s neat about Superbeam is that you can push unsupported files to an iOS device (like an MP3 file) and it will remain available for you to save to your cloud storage accounts, send to others or share through other apps like Gmail.

Superbeam also offers a desktop app for quick file transfers, but you’ll need the paid version of the mobile apps ($2 each) to unlock this feature.

➤ Superbeam [Android | iOS | Windows | OS X | Linux]

Pushbullet (Android/iOS)

I constantly share photos, screenshots and notes between my desktop browser and my phones for work. Pushbullet is perfect for that on both iOS and Android.

Pushbullet’s browser extension lets you send links, files and text to multiple devices at once. If you’ve got friends using the app, you can send stuff to them the same way. It also automatically grabs the page you’re currently browsing, so you can quickly share an interesting article like this one with just two clicks.

There’s also an app for Windows and Mac that lets you share straight from your desktop.

If you’re out and about, Pushbullet’s mobile apps allow you to beam messages and files to friends who are also using the service. The interface is similar to other chat apps out there and is easy enough to use. However, you’re restricted to sending one file at a time, which could be a pain if you want to share a bunch of photos or a mixtape’s worth of audio tracks. But don’t worry, PushBullet has another app for that.

Portal (Android)

As if sending files couldn’t be easier with the tools I’ve already shown you, Pushbullet has yet another app for speedy transfers to your Android device.

Launch Portal on your phone and visit the app page on your desktop browser. Scan the on-screen QR code with your phone and then drop files or folders onto the page to beam them to your device instantly, without having the transfer count against your internet plan.

Portal will save images and music into the appropriate folders on your device. If you’re rocking Android Lollipop 5.0 or newer, you can set the app to save files directly to your SD card.

This is a good choice if you just need a quick way to take files with you and don’t want to bother learning to use another feature-packed app.

➤ Portal [Android]

Xender (Android/iOS)

Xender’s a lot like AirDroid, in that it’s a full-fledged file manager in your browser. You can connect to your device if it’s on the same network as your computer, or use offline mode to create a Wi-Fi hotspot when you don’t have an internet connection.

Xender’s desktop interface is all business. You can view all the images, videos, music, documents, apps and other files stored on your device by switching from one tab to another. As with AirDroid, you can transfer multiple files to and from your device by dragging and dropping

Xender is free and works with iOS and Android, and lets you send files between devices too. You’ll just need to follow a couple of on-screen steps to create a Wi-Fi hotspot and you’re good to go. This method works with a group of up to four devices at once.

➤ Xender [Android | iOS]

BitTorrent Sync (Android/Kindle Fire/iOS/Windows Phone)

If you need a truly secure way to share files, look no further. This cross-platform app lets you connect multiple mobile devices and computers to keep folders in sync across all of them.

Sync uses Public Key Architecture to identify your devices and then transfers files using the BitTorrent protocol, with 128-bit encryption. The more devices a folder is shared with, the faster its files are transferred

Plus, the app intelligently updates only those parts of files that have been changed. It even works with a range of networked storage devices.

Sync works well for those care about security and want to keep folders in sync across devices, but it needs a bit of configuration before you’re ready to go. The free version lets you sync up to 10 folders of any size; an annual license costing $39.99 lets you work with unlimited folders and manage access permissions on-the-fly.

BitTorrent Shoot (Android/iOS/Windows Phone)

Bittorrent’s latest cross-platform app is just for photos and video. Once you’ve selected a bunch of pictures to share, Shoot generates a QR code that others can scan off your device’s screen to download them instantly.

Your first three transfers are free. After that, you’ll have to cough up $2 for unlimited transfers