GarageBand for iOS and Logic Pro X for macOS receive massive updates

Apple kicks off the new year with some great software news. The company has announced massive updates to GarageBand on iOS and Logic Pro X on macOS.

GarageBand for iOS 2.2, free to existing users and costing $6.99 new, now features the powerful creative synthesizer Alchemy and a new sound browser that makes searching through instruments and patches easier than ever. Logic Pro X 10.3 becomes an even more powerful tool for pros with a modern interface, new features for professional audio production as well as support for the revolutionary Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pro, putting intuitive, context-sensitive controls right at users’ fingertips. 

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TraveLog: Discovering Detroit's gems with the Buick Encore

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

The event I look forward to the most at the start of the year isn't the International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, it is the Detroit Auto Show.

The North American Auto Show (NAIAS) is about flashy new vehicles but it is also about the latest car technology. This includes hybrids, electric vehicles, car infotainment and safety features. I also wanted to explore certain parts of Detroit as well as get a feel for my ride, the 2017 Buick Encore.

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Mastercard and Gates Foundation bring mobile banking to East African farmers via feature phones

Mastercard, along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, announced the launch of 2KUZE, a digital platform that connects smallholder farmers, agents, buyers and banks in East Africa. 2KUZE enables farmers to buy, sell and receive payments for agricultural goods via their feature phones, bringing the benefits and security of mobile commerce to farmers in the region.

2KUZE is currently being piloted in Nandi Hills, Kenya, in partnership with Cafédirect Producers Foundation, a nonprofit organization working with 300,000 small holder farmers globally.

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Google adds offline search capabilities to its Android app

Searching for anything and everything on Google is a great, convenient thing—until you lose internet connection. Google remedies this issue by adding offline search to its Search app on Android. It’s starting to roll out to users and it might already be on your device. What offline search offers is it’ll start queuing things you search for when your connection gets spotty. When you get back online, Google will run the search in the background and notify you about search results when they’re ready. To know if you already have this feature, you should see a “Manage searches” option in the slide-out menu. There you will be able to see any pending searches you may have.

Source: Android Police