Monday
Jun182018

Apple's iPhone will send location for 911 emergency calls on iOS 12

The latest iOS 12 operating system for iPhones coming this fall will automatically send first responders the phone's location when 911 is dialed.This speeds up dispatch and response time during emergency situations and removes minutes from a call where accurate location needs to be given by a caller.

"Communities rely on 911 centres in an emergency, and we believe they should have the best available technology at their disposal," said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. "When every moment counts, these tools will help first responders reach our customers when they most need assistance."

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Monday
Jun182018

Sound Control: The Apple HomePod Review

 By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Apple's HomePod is one of the most mystifying products in the market today. The most recent product category from Cupertino is essentially a Siri-powered Apple Music speaker with HomeKit inclinations.

After spending time with the device, however, I discovered a choc-full of innovative features and functions aimed to delight iPhone users.

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Sunday
Jun172018

Samsung develops hotel management solution for the Gear S3 to help hotel staff communication

Samsung partners with hotel operations platform ALICE to develop a new hotel management solution centered on the Gear S3. This new solution aims to help hotel staff answer customer requests more efficiently and quickly. For example, when a guest has a request, employees from the relevant department will get silent vibration alerts on their smartwatches. The hotel employee can simply tap on the screen to acknowledge that they are taking care of the task, which also allows managers to track the request in real-time. It will benefit hotel workers (like those involved in room service, repairs, cleaning, etc.) that are always on the move and need both hands to complete their tasks.

The Viceroy Hotel Group was the one who brought the partnership about and they will first employ the solution at the Viceroy L’Ermitage Beverly Hills hotel before it comes to their other properties around the world.

Sunday
Jun172018

Beyoncé takes digs at Spotify in new song off her Tidal-exclusive album with husband Jay-Z

Beyoncé has just released a new joint album with her husband Jay-Z on his own streaming service Tidal (where the pop superstar is also a shareholder) and one of the songs find her taking a dig at competitor Spotify. Beyoncé doesn’t hold back in “Nice” as she sings "Patiently waiting for my demise / 'cause my success can't be quantified / If I gave two fucks about streaming numbers / would have put Lemonade up on Spotify." Bey’s 2016 album Lemonade was released exclusively on Tidal.

Called Everything Is Love, the album features nine tracks with each credited to the couple a.k.a. The Carters and comes in at under 40 minutes. Using their clout as one of the biggest power couples in the music industry, the album is definitely seen as a way to help turn Tidal’s fortunes. The streaming service has had its fair share of controversies recently—including allegations of late royalties and inflated streaming numbers. Whether this would help retain users is a different question. It could spike trial sign-ups and one-month subscriptions, but will people keep coming back to the service? We can’t say. We don’t have access to Tidal’s exact subscriber base but it’s believed to be far smaller than Spotify’s 75 million paid users (as of March) or Apple Music’s 50 million (as of May, with this number including trials).

Source: Engadget