Fetch TV gets an update, lands in Harvey Norman
Fetch TV has received an update, bringing Tenplay to its lineup of catch up services.
Tenplay joins SBS On Demand and ABC iView, with the company saying that it will be adding another free-to-air network's catch-up app next month. There's only Jump-in and Plus7 left.
Other updates to Fetch TV come in the form of a Top Shows menu, which is updated every week and grouped by genre to find shows more easily, while a real time EPG will make recording shows a lot easier too and a Top Tips app for new users still finding their way around the set top box.
Fetch TV has also added a new "Sneak Peek Trial Channel", that will showcase in full channels from the Entertainment package for 14 days at a time as a free sampler for those who may be considering subscribing to the Entertainment Pack.
The first channel on trial is Nickelodeon, with other channels like Syfy, Disney Channel, MTV to be trialed in following weeks.
Fetch goes direct
Fetch TV is now also available in 192 Harvey Norman, Domayne and Joyce Mayne stores across Australia.This means you no longer need to be an iiNet or Optus customer to use Fetch TV, but you will need to subscribe and your data use will be metered - and you will also need a 3Mbps+ fixed broadband connection.
The Fetch TV set top box costs $379, while a Fetch TV Starter subscription costs $5 per month.
- If you're still not sure if this subscription-based set top box is for you or not, check out our in depth Fetch TV review
Read More ...
UK train network to get £90m on-board Wi-Fi boost with free speeds for all
Passengers on some of the UK's busiest rail routes will have access to internet speeds ten times faster than those currently on offer, under plans to upgrade the network.
The £90m scheme proposed by the government will allow passengers on trains into London, Brighton, Bedford, Kent Portsmouth, Sheffield, Manchester and Leeds to connect without a charge.
Funding for the plans, which could yield faster speeds in 3-4 years, will come partly from a penalty imposed on Network Rail for missing punctuality targets.
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: "We all know how frustrating it can be to have our phone calls and internet use constantly disrupted by poor signal while travelling on trains.
"At the moment it happens too often. Passengers expect and deserve better and with these plans, that is what they'll get."
Rip-off?
While free, fast uninterrupted Wi-Fi on trains seems like a great idea to us passengers, the RMT union thinks spending money in this area instead of upgrading the lines could result in more travel frustration.The union's acting general secretary, Mick Cash, said: "The public need to be aware of the brutal fact that the … performance fine expected to be levied on Network Rail this week will come straight out of safety critical maintenance and renewals budgets and diverted into the pockets of the greedy private train companies to finance Wi-Fi services on their trains.
"Safety and reliability on the tracks will be compromised with the rip-off train companies once again getting a free ride. This is a total con trick instigated by the government that will come back to haunt the travelling public."
Read More ...
Industry voice: 6 ways beacon app development is different
Even the most experienced app developer will run into challenges that are unique to building a beacon app. These are the six challenges you will face:
1. Balancing UX and privacy in the feature set
Beacon apps approximate a user’s physical distance from a beacon so you can link information about the real world context of the beacon with specific context of the user. When building your beacon app, you need to carefully weigh which elements will improve the user’s experience without overwhelming them as well as factoring in user privacy. If you get the balance right, you’ll be able to selectively push information to the user, for example, based on the time (a limited time coupon), user preference (modernist vs. impressionist paintings in a museum), or current conditions (less crowded checkout lines).2. Permission to activate Bluetooth and location services
For beacon apps to perform, not only does the mobile device have to support beacons but also the user has to enable Bluetooth and location services. I’ve found that it’s best to wait until the last possible moment to ask for these permissions. This way, you have an opportunity to prove your app’s value instead of blasting users before they’ve even tried the app or are close to a beacon.3. Variable signals
Beacon apps are dealing with external radios that transmit signals and therefore can be messy. The app has to best guess the beacon’s distance, which is challenging because radio waves bounce around a physical location and are affected by the presence of users. Plus, the Bluetooth LE spectrum is in the same spectrum band as Wi-Fi, which can interfere with the signal. Furthermore, signal quality varies wildly among beacon hardware manufacturers. Lastly, beacon signals are affected by temperature, device power, and polling intervals, which may vary from broadcast to broadcast. In short, the app has to be designed to make choices based on the variable information received.4. Workarounds for triangulation & tracking
Two-way communication between a beacon and an app is not possible with beacons since they are one-way radios: they don’t know about the client devices receiving their broadcasts. There are two workarounds for this. First, an advanced beacon could theoretically open a second channel to communicate with the mobile device and then transmit that data back to a server using a persistent network connection. However, this functionality is not part of the iBeacon specification and it would be a significant battery drain.The easier way is to fake it by making the app do the work. By connecting the app to a backend, it can update a record to register the user’s real-time presence and then personalize the app or real world experience in real-time.
5. The business logic imperative
Given all the variables, business logic scripts are a must-have. For example, the app has to collect data such as the beacon UUID, major and minor numbers, and location. When the app encounters a beacon, a business logic script then relays a list of all the users nearby. This script filters the data for privacy and interprets what “at the beacon” means which is tricky given that updates at events may not be recorded in real time or the device might drop the beacon ranging. One solution is to use a time-based heuristic to guess if the user is reasonably still there. Other business logic scripts can be used to observe trends, perform statistical analysis and draw conclusions.6. The final challenge – the App Store review
Based on my experience, you should:- Clearly explain how the app works and its value – both in the public description and in the review notes. A demo video helps.
- Provide a demo account and beacon UUIDs in the review notes.
- Include a battery use disclaimer.
- Michael Katz is the principal software engineer at Kinvey
Read More ...
In Depth: Build the best Linux desktop
Build the best Linux desktop
Like all things Linux and open source, users are spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting a desktop environment (or DE). But this choice that many perceive as freedom, others may also see as a little bewildering and confusing.Right after making the soul-shaking decision of switching operating systems and installing an unknown system – by hand no less – a new Linux user is then greeted with weird sounding desktops to choose from with names like Gnome (a mini-desktop perhaps?), KDE (Isn't that a double-glazing firm?) and Xfce (No idea). What veteran users herald as Linux's crown jewels, to the innocent newcomer it's like stumbling into a sci-fi convention where everyone is discussing a new TV series that you've never heard of but apparently it's been around for years.
Not only is there no consistent Linux 'look', the idea of a desktop environment as a separate entity from the operating system sounds foreign to most mainstream users coming from Windows or Mac.
Another concept they have to get used to is that unlike the proprietary OSes, the desktop furniture on a Linux desktop isn't set in stone. Some environments are just shells that ship as a collection of components that you are meant to build and rearranged.
Don't get us wrong. None of this is a bad thing. Choice and flexibility are the cornerstones of the open source ecosystem. But spare a moment for the average desktop user just warming up to Linux. They come from a constrained environment and are baffled by the plethora of choices on offer. Many end up making the wrong choice and get turned off and abandon their open source expedition.
Which is why we're aiming to help select the best desktop environment that will suit each user, their workflow and minimise any learning curve. There's something for seasoned Linux users as well. Get a bird's eye view of what other camps are up to and decide if they've progressed enough to warrant another try as your desktop.
Ubuntu Unity
The Unity desktop is best experienced as part of Ubuntu. It has a unique layout with the vertical Launcher and the Dash being the two most prominent features. Unity also includes the Heads Up Display (HUD), which is an innovative take on the application menus. Using HUD helps avoid you the trouble of looking for options embedded deep within nested menus.
Unlike some of the other desktops, Ubuntu doesn't offer many configuration options to tweak the desktop. All of the distro's settings are bundled into the System Settings option accessible via the gear & spanner icon in the Launcher.
The default Unity experience is the result of extensive usability research by Canonical. Which is why you get such a limited set of options to customise the various elements. But this limitation has given rise to a number of third-party customisation tools, such as the Unity Tweak Tool - which enables you to fine-tune the interface so that it works exactly how you want it to. It's available in the official Ubuntu repository, so you can install it using the Ubuntu Software Center. Then there's the Appearance section, which, like built-in settings, enables you to switch between themes.
Additionally, you can also change other elements inside the theme, such as icons, cursors and font. If you are uncomfortable with the placement of window control icons in Unity, head to the Window Controls section and change the alignment to Right which moves the buttons to their usual locations. If you juggle between several windows, you should also enable the menu button from this window. The button adds options to move a window to another Workspace.
Multitaskers can also enable hot corners and configure them to show all Workspaces as well as display thumbnails of all open windows. Another usability tweak is the ability to switch focus to a window simply by moving your mouse to that window which saves you the effort of clicking on the window. For this, head to the Additional option under the Window Manager section. You can also tone down some of Unity's more resource sapping effects, such as the background blur.
Gnome 3.10
The Gnome desktop has gone through a plethora of design changes over the years, but none has been as fundamentally different as Gnome 3.
The Gnome 3 desktop contains more or less the same elements as Ubuntu's Unity but presents them in a different way. There's the Activities Overview, which is similar to Unity's Dash. However, the Gnome Activities includes a Launcher-like Favourites bar which you can use to pin frequently used apps.
In the centre you get a preview of all open windows, which takes up the majority of space.
To the right is the Workspace Switcher, which always shows the current Workspace and an additional one. If you add windows to the second Workspace, a third will automatically be added. At the top is a search box that will match strings to apps and documents on the local computer as well as online services.
In fact, one of the highlights of Gnome 3 is the tighter integration with online services. The Gnome Online Accounts let you sign in to your online accounts and enable services you wish to share data from into offline apps. It supports a variety of popular services, including Google Docs and Flickr.
KDE 4.12
KDE will look and feel familiar even to users from non-Linux operating systems. The layout and behaviour of the desktop and the Kickoff app launcher will certainly help users feel at home with it. But KDE is unlike the other desktops that have a consistent look. KDE ships with different interfaces or Views designed to make the best of the available desktop real-estate for regular screens and netbooks and doesn't force the user to stick to either.
The default layout is the Desktop View, which encourages you to place widgets on the desktop. With the Folder View, you can place files and folders on the desktop. The Search and launch View is designed for devices with a small screen or a touchscreen.
One of the most useful features that debuted with the KDE 4 release is Activities. Using this feature, you can create context-aware activities, such as a Social activity that signs you into all your instant messaging accounts and displays updates and feeds from various social networks. Many KDE distros ship with just the default activity, called the Desktop Activity. However, you can fetch more activities from the internet and build on them to suit your workflow.
There's no end to KDE's customisation options. It might seem daunting to a new user, but you don't need to set up or review each and every option before using the desktop. Customising KDE is an on-going process and not a one-time affair. The desktop is designed to grow and mutate as per your usage requirements.
Cinnamon 2.0
Cinnamon is the other desktop environment that adheres to the standard desktop metaphor. It came into existence as a result of the community's dissatisfaction with Gnome 3 and Unity. This is the default environment shipped on Linux Mint which also spearheads its development and it's standard-fare with an icon-laden desktop with a panel at the bottom, which shows notifications alongside a list of open windows and the applications menu in the traditional bottom left-corner of the screen.
The Cinnamon applications menu is a refresh of the standard application menu. Unlike Unity and Gnome, however, Cinnamon's menu doesn't take up the whole screen. It extends the categorised text-driven layout of the traditional menu with usability features borrowed from other environments, such as the Favourite Apps bar.
The environment also has snazzy desktop features curated from other desktops. It has widgets that you can place on your Panel as well as the desktop. There's also an Exposé-like overview of the open windows across Workspaces that is revealed by the top-left hot corner.
Cinnamon is one of the reasons behind Mint's success. The distro was willing to go the extra mile to accommodate users who were turned off by the new iteration of Gnome and Unity desktop. While Cinnamon lacks the customisation of KDE, it does offer more options. It's intuitive to use, though, which is why it's offered as an option by a number of leading distributions, such as Mageia, Fedora and OpenSUSE.
Read More ...
Inflame: Social network's emotional lab rats turn against their keepers
This week people across the world were outraged by Facebook's latest timeline test, an experiment that saw it populating people's feeds with overly negative or positive responses and seeing how this affected an individual's mood.
Rather unsurprisingly, it turned out that having an algorithm throw endless status updates about bereavement, sick children and car insurance meltdowns into our faces made us sadder. Meanwhile populating our timelines with only Good News and pretty sunset photos made us more likely post cheery messages ourselves.
This sort of experimenting with our minds without explicit consent was instantly declared disgraceful by observers. Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg explained the company's actions and intentions in a pretty terrible and vague half-apology, saying the tests were "poorly communicated".
That was one of the mildest ways it was put.
The only crime is getting caught
Beneath an article on the Wall Street Journal about the history of the controversial Data Science team, reader Matthew Ferrara highlighted the fact that the majority of Facebook's users are unlikely to read many technology sites on a daily basis, so are unlikely to know - or even really care - they're being experimented on.
He said: "Even if a few million people were upset enough to close their accounts Facebook is hardly concerned about negative perception in the press because clearly almost nothing they can do causes a revolt amongst their user base. Lots of reasons for this, possibly such as people willing to be experimented on in exchange for something free, a more 'privacy is irrelevant' social belief, or a general malaise on these issues in general."
William Glasheen isn't surprised, though, suggesting everyone's up to this sort of thing all the time, posting: "I am absolutely appalled that people complaining about this are so naive. You think this is unique to Facebook? Really? Any company that wants to understand and serve its customers better is doing experimentation. My biggest concern isn't that Facebook is doing it, but rather that people are shocked that gambling is going on in the casino."
I am so very sort-of sorry
On the Telegraph, beneath a piece about Sheryl Sandberg's sort-of apology, reader BlokefromKent wasn't convinced she really meant it, commenting: "Well now; she hasn't apologised for the experiment at all, but for the poor communications surrounding it."Mr Kent continued: "A full apology would have consequences and implications for those who authorised and who took part in designing the experiment. Ethically speaking, Facebook and the universities should delete the data and take no academic or commercial advantage of the information it produced, as no subject gave proper informed consent."
Paul_Basel was equally unimpressed by the amount of wriggle room that exists inside the Facebook terms and conditions, rules that have been amended countless times since half of us signed up without reading them back in 2006, saying: "...you make it all sound like a terrible mistake. But you changed the company's terms and conditions so that users had consented to this by accepting them. You make it sound like a ghastly mistake but your creepy company went to all the trouble to put the building blocks in place so they could point to the terms and conditions and say the users had consented, that shows how premeditated this was."
It's a bit like [thing it's not really like]
News site CNN went for the ethical jugular, asking whether Facebook's emotional toying went too far. This allowed the commenters to go largely berserk, although reader NCGH was sort of on the side of the blue social whale, or at least on the side of those who thought its tests as no big deal, saying: "Marketing companies do tests all the time. Show different internet ads to different people, gage response. Try tweaking the presentation, test again. I'm not sure this is really any different. (And virtually ALL of our political parties do the same thing)."He or she also made a great point about how we actually do this sort of thing all the time in weird little ways ourselves, continuing: "People on dating sites change their profile and look at what the results are. They're doing an 'experiment' too."
A few mouse wheels down we find reader Bobby Leon, one of the full-on conspiracy theorists, who announces the, ahem, real reason behind it all with: "Sounds like a way the elite can detect if an overthrow is eminent. Gauge the pulse of the masses, and redirect them to a distractionary outrage."
So a funny cat photo going viral might distract the population from military outrages overseas.
Entirely thoughtless
On the Daily Mail, reader Ceeare believes it's the end of everything, or at least the end of this particular social network, saying: "Not the start of the thought police? That's a joke. That is exactly what this is. Facebook started out as a place where like-minded folks could socialise. Now it's a place of experiments, manipulated page feeds and forced to pay if you want to 'boost' your page. It's a joke and it's time a new place starts up."Last word this week goes to commenter DM Hype Watch, who, as you might suspect, has their own agenda to subtly try to scroll to the top of everything in an effort to control our opinions, posting: "Tweaking the facts to one's own advantage? You'd know all about that now wouldn't you DM?"
Read More ...
Gary Marshall: The house that Google built: what the Nest API means for you
What the Nest API means for you
We've been promised smart automated homes for decades, but at long last it seems that they're finally on the horizon thanks to Apple and Google. The former's HomeKit was announced at last month's WWDC, and Google has just released its own API (Application Programming Interface) for its Nest devices. Of the two, Google's offering is currently the most interesting.An API for a thermostat hardly sets the pulse racing, but the Nest is no ordinary thermostat: it knows when you're home and when you're out, and that opens up some interesting possibilities.
It isn't the only Nest product, either: there's the smart smoke alarm, and now that Google's acquired security camera firm Dropcam, Nest cameras can't be far off.
What does the Nest API mean for your home?
When you read the list of Nest API partners, it's clear that Google plans to work with companies of all kinds, not just home automation firms. The list includes Mercedes-Benz and Jawbone, Logitech and Whirlpool, smart light bulb firm LIFX and garage door firm Chamberlain.
If you're wondering what on earth those firms would do with a thermostat, let Google shed some light. According to Google, the Mercedes car could tell Nest when you're due to arrive home, ensuring your house is warm when you get there without wasting energy by starting too early.
The Jawbone could spot when you're waking up and get the heating or cooling system working. The Whirlpool washing machine could know that you're out and switch to a refresh cycle so your clothes don't crease. The Logitech remote could set the temperature as well as your consumer electronics. And your smart light bulbs could make it look like you're home when you're out or hook into the smoke detector and flash red to alert someone who's hearing-impaired of a hazard.
The API also works with IFTTT, the service that enables you to create instructions for other gadgets. Scripts could text you if the smoke alarm detects danger, or turn on a WeMo switch when you're nearly home, or turn off your Philips Hue bulbs when you leave the room. Google Now support, due this autumn, adds voice control and add Google Now's knowledge of your movements to the mix, and we can't imagine Android Wear integration is too far off.
Bear in mind we're only talking about two Nest devices here, a thermostat and a smoke detector. Factor in cameras that can stream live video to mobile devices, or other devices such as movement sensors, and things get even more interesting.
Is the Nest API Android-only?
No. Most of Nest's users are running iOS, and Google will support that platform - and maybe integrate it with Apple's HomeKit in the future, although there are no public plans for that. The API is cloud based and designed for iOS, Android and web deployment.What access do developers actually get?
Nest developers will be able to access home and away states to see if you're in or out, although they won't be able to access the motion sensors that Nest devices use to set those states. They'll also be able to access CO and smoke alerts and peak energy usage events. Connected devices will also be able to access the ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) feature that Nest-compatible Mercedes cars can use, notifying them of your imminent arrival.
Some of Nest's sensors aren't in the API yet, and there's no roadmap to indicate whether they'll be added later. For example, the Nest thermostat can monitor humidity levels and ambient light levels, but the API doesn't currently provide access to that data.
As yet it's unclear what access, if any, developers will get to Dropcam devices such as cameras and motion detectors.
Are there any privacy issues? Will I have a house full of ads?
Nest says no. Speaking to Forbes, Nest's Matt Rogers is adamant that the Nest data won't be used for ill. "We don't want anyone to make the rob-my-house app."
According to Rogers, "ads are not part of our strategy" and developers must tell you what information their devices want and why they want it. Developers won't get personally identifiable information, and they won't be able to retain more than ten days of data. Nest's current privacy policy promises not to share your information with anyone without your permission, and that anyone includes parent firm Google.
Will Nest vet the applications?
Yes. While any company is welcome to write Nest-connected apps, they have to follow the developer guidelines and deliver what Nest calls "a really good customer experience". You can't join the Nest Developer Program without agreeing to play by Nest's rules.Won't a Nest smart home cost a fortune?
Initially, yes: like any brand new technology, early adopters can expect to pay top whack for things that should plummet in price fairly quickly. The trade-off, though, is that Nest can potentially save you a great deal of money.Imagine Nest-connected blinds that automatically lower when it's sunny to save you from running air conditioning, or garage doors that turn off the heating when you leave for work in the morning, or appliances that know the cheapest times to use energy.
In the long term, the key to widespread Nest use may be subsidy. Nest's devices aren't cheap, but in the US some utility firms are subsidising the price because it helps them manage demand peaks and reduce customers' energy usage.
Speaking to Ars Technica, Matt Rogers said: "our goal is to make them free. Our products should be free. If you save people energy and save lives, those are good things that everyone should have."
Read More ...
Available Tags:TV , UK , Linux , Google ,
No comments:
Post a Comment