Google I/O 2016 to take place in the Shoreline Ampitheatre

Google's yearly developer event, Google I/O, will take place on May 18 to May 20 and for the first time will not take place in downtown San Francisco's Moscone Centre but at the large and open Shoreline Ampitheatre in Mountain View, California which is roughly a 10 minute walk from Google's world headquarters (or a short 2 minute drive via a Google self-driving car). 

This is an interesting development which also seems to make sense. Google can better control what takes place in its own backyard and if it wants to demo new technologies such as robots, drones and autonomous cars, it can do so in its HQ. This is the first Google I/O since the company formed Alphabet and an important one to help chart the course of Google, Android, Chrome OS and various other services and products.

Fujifilm introduces new X-Series camera lineup

There are a number of new cameras coming out of Fujifilm’s stables. First up is the new flagship X-Pro2, which the company considers the “pinnacle of X-Series photography.” It comes with an Advanced Hybrid Multi Viewfinder that can instantly switch between optical and electronic finders. The X-Pro2 has a new 24.3-megapixel X-Trans CMOS III sensor and a new X-Processor Pro meant to improve response times of the camera.

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WordPress adds fingerprint-scanner support for Android app

WordPress looks to improve its app on Android with its latest update. The app now has support for devices with fingerprint scanners and it also features a new media library interface. If your device runs on Android Marshmallow, you can opt to use your fingerprint scanner to unlock the app’s lock screen instead of having to input your PIN. A fingerprint icon should show up if your device is compatible with this feature. WordPress also makes managing multiple photos and video uploads easier. They cleaned up the interface of the media library and added Material Design elements to it.

Some of the minor changes include fixes for problems like deleting posts instead of moving them to trash, incorrectly asking Authors for their credentials, disappearing avatars for those using the comment section, as well as issues with opening external sites from apps.

Source: WordPress

Microsoft HoloLens to work for up to 5.5 hours on a single charge

Filling in the blanks for the things we don’t know about Microsoft’s virtual reality headset, HoloLens, we now get information on battery life, connectivity options, and app compatibility.  Microsoft Technical Evangelist Bruce Harris said at an event in Tel Aviv that the battery life of the VR headset runs between 2.5 and 5.5 hours per charge and depending on the task at hand. It’ll also be able to connect to almost all Wi-Fi or Bluetooth-enabled device. And it can also run any universal Windows 10 app. Its viewable area will be similar in size to what you can expect if you held a 15-inch screen two feet from your face. And while you might want to test these out for yourself, there might still be a while until you can get your hands on it. Developer kits are expected to arrive sometime during the first quarter of this year.

Source: PCWorld