tech geek today
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Microsoft brought the classic IntelliMouse Explorer back in 2017, and now it’s going a step further today with a new Pro IntelliMouse edition. It has the same design as the classic IntelliMouse that became a status symbol, but it’s now geared towards gaming. Microsoft has upgraded the tracking sensor over the 2017 model, improved key actuation, and added a textured finish alongside a braided cable. This should all mean that the buttons feel more responsive when you’re playing games with this Pro IntelliMouse, and Microsoft is even letting PC gamers customize the color of the taillight to match their keyboard or other accessories. Microsoft is offering black and white versions, too. The sensor itself supports up to 16,000 DPI and a 12,000 fps refresh rate, and you can use Microsoft’s Mouse and Keyboard software to setup macros, remap buttons, and quickly adjust DPI. Microsoft’s Pro IntelliMouse edition first debuted in China late last year, and it’s now making its way to US stores. While the classic IntelliMouse is available for $39.99, this new Pro IntelliMouse will debut later this month priced at $59.99. Via The Verge
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Apple today introduced the new iPod touch with enhancements to power, capability and communication at a remarkable price. The Apple-designed A10 Fusion chip brings improved performance in games, and for the first time on iPod, immersive augmented reality (AR) experiences and Group FaceTime, making it easy to chat with family members, friends or colleagues simultaneously. The new iPod touch is available to order on apple.com and in the Apple Store app starting today and in stores later this week. “We’re making the most affordable iOS device even better with performance that is twice as fast as before, Group FaceTime and augmented reality starting at just $199,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Product Marketing. “The ultra-thin and lightweight design of iPod touch has always made it ideal for enjoying games, music and so much more wherever you go.” iPod touch comes in a new 256GB capacity, giving plenty of space to download music for offline listening through Apple Music or the iTunes Store. With Apple Music, subscribers can access a catalog of over 50 million songs, thousands of playlists, Beats 1 Radio and daily editorial selections from the world’s best music experts. Subscribers can create their own playlists, watch music videos, listen to exclusive Beats 1 shows from their favorite artists on demand and share music with their friends. Now available in over 100 countries, Apple Music offers the most comprehensive music experience ever. Via Apple
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Snap Inc. is in talks with major record labels to expand the ways users can include music in posts on its flagship Snapchat app, according to people familiar with the matter, as the company faces competitive pressure from Facebook Inc.’s Instagram and ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok. While Snap over time has secured case-by-case licenses to use individual artists’ music on the platform, it is now seeking broad rights to the catalogs of Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group, Sony Corp.’s Sony Music Entertainment and Access Industries Inc.’s Warner Music Group, according to these people. The licenses wouldn’t let Snap create an on-demand music service like Spotify or Apple Music. Instead, they could let the company offer users ways to incorporate music in its signature disappearing messages and other social-media applications. The people cautioned that deals aren’t in place, and talks might not lead to agreements. But they said discussions have intensified in recent weeks. Snap’s interest in more widely licensing song catalogs comes as social-media rivals have been introducing popular new music features on their apps. Via WSJ
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Apple buys Tueo Health, which was working on a solution to help parents monitor asthma symptoms in children using a mobile app and commercial breathing sensors. Apple has been adding new health-care features to its products in recent years, especially in the Apple Watch. The company is also expected to revamp its Health app for iPhones at its annual developers conference on June 3. Apple has acquired Tueo Health, a small start-up that was developing a system to help parents monitor asthma symptoms in sleeping children, according to a person familiar with the deal. It’s unclear how much Apple paid for Tueo Health. The start-up raised a small seed round of $1.1 million in funding in 2017. Tueo’s CEO and co-founder Bronwyn Harris and chief operating officer Anura Patil changed their employer to Apple on their LinkedIn profiles in late 2018, which is likely around the time Apple completed its acquisition of the company. Via CNBC
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Roughly two weeks after releasing iOS 12.3 for iPhone and iPad, Apple is preparing to release iOS 12.3.1 with two bug fixes. The update will be available later today. iOS 12.3.1 includes bug fixes for voice over LTE calls as well as iMessage filtering and reporting: Fixes an issue that could prevent making or receiving VoLTE calls Fixes issues in Messages that could cause messages from unknown senders to appear in your conversation list even though Filter Unknown Senders is enabled Fixes an issue that could prevent the Report Junk link from appearing in Messages threads from unknown senders iOS 12.3.1 should be available around 1 pm ET. We’ll update when the software update is officially released. Apple released iOS 12.3 earlier this month alongside other software updates that introduced the all-new Apple TV app. Apple’s redesigned video player also includes a new Channels feature for subscribing directly to HBO, Showtime, and other services. Videos from these services can be downloaded for offline playback and play directly in the TV app without requiring additional apps. Via 9to5mac
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Microsoft has officially started to roll out Windows 10 version 1903, called the May 2019 Update, to everyone. Originally released to Insiders for testing on April 8th, Microsoft has now made it available to everyone. According to an announcement by Microsoft, their month long testing by Windows Insiders has shown that the Windows 10 May 2019 Update is ready to be made available to all users. For users who wish to install it now, they can go to Settings -> Update & Security -> Windows Update and then check for new updates. If the update is available in your region, it will not be installed automatically, but rather offered as an available “Feature update to Windows 10, version 1903” that you can choose to “Download and install now”. While the feature update is generally available, Microsoft has stated that they are throttling its availability so it may not be listed when you check for updates. If you are not seeing the update, you should check again throughout the day until it is available in your region. As part of Microsoft’s new Windows Update experience, once you install the Windows 10 May 2019 Update, you will be asked to schedule a time when you wish to install it. The May 2019 Update comes with a bunch of new features, which are outlined here. Via Bleeping Computers
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Microsoft is making officially available today, May 20, the first preview builds of its Chromium-based Edge for MacOS. The release follows by a month the first officially released Chromium-based Edge Canary and Developer previews for Windows 10. Microsoft’s goal with the new Edge on macOS is to give users a “Mac-like user experience,” officials said in a blog post. That means Edge on MacOS will use Apple conventions for fonts, menus, keyboard shortcusts, title casing and more. At the same time, Microsoft is making some features with the MacOS version exclusive to that platform by targeting specific Mac hardware features like the Touch Bar and video controls. Microsoft is committing to providing the same preview channels on MacOS as it is doing with the Windows versions of the new Edge. A beta channel, updated every six weeks, is “coming soon.” The Dev Channel, updated weekly, also is “coming soon.” The Canary Channel preview, which is updated daily, is what Microsoft is releasing today. via ZDNet
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May 23, 2019
Apple News+ offering exclusive covers, innovative storytelling from hundreds of publishers
Since Apple News+ launched in March, publishers have been using the platform to showcase innovative live covers, special issues and customized feature stories for subscribers. Now, with iOS 12.3 and macOS 10.14.5, released May 13, Apple News+ subscribers are able to follow publications directly from the Apple News+ catalog. New issues from followed titles will be automatically downloaded and available offline, and Apple News+ subscribers can also download individual issues in each title’s channel in Apple News. “We’ve heard a lot of great feedback from the hundreds of publishers available in Apple News+. The latest updates to Apple News+ aim to best showcase their incredible journalism and put the most trusted news sources at readers’ fingertips,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “Apple News+ customers are very engaged readers, with most visiting the News app daily. Hundreds of people at Apple, across editorial, engineering, marketing and design teams, are working to make Apple News+ the best experience for people who love reading their favorite titles and discovering new stories.” Here’s what editors are saying about some of the new and specialized issues, covers and features available now in Apple News+: Via Apple -
Apple updated MacBook Pro with faster 8th- and 9th-generation Intel Core processors, bringing eight cores to MacBook Pro for the first time. MacBook Pro now delivers two times faster performance than a quad-core MacBook Pro and 40 percent more performance than a 6-core MacBook Pro, making it the fastest Mac notebook ever.1 These new processors, combined with powerful graphics, the brilliant and colorful Retina display, super-fast SSDs, the Apple T2 Security Chip, all-day battery life and macOS, make MacBook Pro the world’s best pro notebook. “Whether it’s college students mastering a course of study, developers building world-class apps or video editors creating feature films, we’re constantly amazed at what our customers do with their MacBook Pro,” said Tom Boger, Apple’s senior director of Mac Product Marketing. “Now with 8-core processors for an incredible performance boost, along with its stunning Retina display, fast storage, all-day battery life and running macOS, MacBook Pro continues to be the world’s best pro notebook and we can’t wait to get it into our customer’s hands to see what they do next.” MacBook Pro is more powerful than ever for compiling code, processing high-resolution images, rendering 3D graphics, editing multiple streams of 4K video and more. The 15-inch MacBook Pro now features faster 6- and 8-core Intel Core processors, delivering Turbo Boost speeds up to 5.0 GHz, while the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar features faster quad-core processors with Turbo Boost speeds up to 4.7 GHz. Via Apple