Subscribe:

Ads 468x60px

Labels

Investigate YouTube Kids for deceptive ads, says advocacy groups to FTC

Admit it or not, YouTube is one convenient babysitter. It's not just the tablet being used as an entertainer or sitter but the YouTube app particularly brings the entertainment to the kids who are already bored after playing dozens of games and apps. However, there is a problem of inappropriate videos, ads, and related videos showing up to entice the kids from clicking. I know because I'm a parent of a 5-year old who likes watching Minecraft, Star Wars, toy reviews, and cat videos. While I am grateful that the kid can be quiet for a few minutes (no, hours), I hate the ads that suddenly show. Good thing he knows how to press 'Skip ads' now.



In the United States, there is an issue about the new YouTube Kids app by Google. Consumer and child advocacy groups are reportedly about to ask the Federal Trade Commission to check on the app that is targeting toddlers with deceptive ads. The issue here is that the YouTube Kids app shows ads to the children. This means Google still wants to make money from the kids who just really want to watch Spongebob, The Little Einsteins, and more FunToyzCollector videos.


Center for Digital Democracy's Director Jeff Chester said these companies are "trying to cash in on this generation of young children". "It's a battle for the hearts and minds and pocketbooks of America's kids in the digital age," Chester said further.


The YouTube Kids app may have the kids in mind but it shows commercials and uses practices that are banned in cable and broadcast TV. According to the consumer and children advocacy groups representative, "Google simply ignored the basics" and the "well-documented research on children's developmental limitations when it comes to advertising and programming".


A number of consumer and children's rights groups are joining this fight against Google. Georgetown Law School's Institute for Public Representation drafted the letter to send to FTC. Some of the groups include Consumer Watchdog, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Children Now, and American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.


Advertising and product placement on the YouTube Kids app is often inappropriate. At first, ads were accepted because Google said showing ads would soon make the app free for all.


In a statement, a YouTube spokesperson said, "When developing YouTube Kids we consulted with numerous partners and child advocacy and privacy groups. We are always open to feedback on ways to improve the app." Ads must only be family-friendly to be mommy-and-daddy-approved. That should be expected but unfortunately, many of the ads shown are public service related announcements.


The group that wants the FTC to investigate on the kids app is asking Google to "pull all of its unboxing videos from the app" because they're ads for toys and "There's no disclosure of who actually owns those channels". There's nothing wrong about showing ads per se but Google must be careful with the kids as the audience because there are numerous regulations. The complaint specifically is about Google's violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act that prohibits 'unfair and deceptive marketing'.


SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News





ChowNow adds Google Wallet to payment options in the app

If you're the type of person who'd rather order take-out from restaurants instead of braving it out in overcrowded dining places or even if you're too tired to cook for yourself or your family, the advent of apps to help you have food delivered to your home is probably a blessing. ChowNow is one of those apps that will get your food to you and their new partnership with Google will make life even easier for you.



If you haven't yet discovered the wonders of ChowNow, it is an online ordering and marketing platform where you can order your food through their website, Facebook page and through apps as well. The independent restaurants can also use the platform to promote and market their place. The platform covers places across the US and Canada and services thousand of independently run restaurants, distinguished chefs, etc.


When you update your ChowNow apps and use it to order from any of your favorite independent restaurants, you'll now see an option to pay for your order using your Google Wallet with the "Buy from Google" option. So you don't need to input your credit card or your deliver address, as long as you have a Google Wallet account. You are even assured of an extra layer of protection when you use this mode of payment because of their Fraud Protection program.


ChowNow believes that this new development will bring increased business for all the inidie restaurants using their platform, since there are over 70 million Android users in North America. According to CEO Chris Webb, this is part of their mission to help the smaller restaurants go up against the bigger chains that have more marketing budgets.


Easy way to get ‘soft menu keys’ without root access

If your device is still stuck in “physical button” or “capacitive button” technologies, you might have thought what sort of miracle would give you software-based on-screen menu buttons. Well, that miracle is here now, in concept. This is the “Simple Control” app for your Android device, which gives you on-screen “soft keys” for menu control, no root required.



Basically, it’s a menu bar that you can summon with a swipe of any edge of your touchscreen – although for practicality’s sake, you wouldn’t use this off the top edge where the natural Android top drawer resides. Some brands also have a resident bottom edge swipe, so Simple Control allows for swiping from the sides.


simple_control1


The soft keys are the three regular Lollipop menu bar soft keys – and there is no option for customization. There is a bit of customization available though. You can determine how thick the bar is and what color it appears in, as well as an opacity option.


simple_control2


You have to remember though, that it will basically cover whatever is on that part of your screen, it will not change the width or height of the original home screen in any way. If you have icons on that part of the screen, Simple Control will overlay on those. Of course, you can push back and hide the menu with a swipe towards the screen edge.


SOURCE: Reddit

DOWNLOAD: Google Play Store





Stanford researchers invent battery that charges in 60 seconds

We all want the battery power in our smartphones and tablets to last longer. That said there is a limit to how large a battery can be and how much power can be crammed into that battery. On the other side of the coin to get our device to last longer are batteries that charge faster. If your battery is only good for most of a day's use, but it can recharge in minutes it's a bit more bearable.



Scientists at Stanford University have discovered a new type of aluminum-ion battery that has the impressive ability to be able to charge fully in about a minute. According the researchers they accidentally discovered a cathode made of graphite gave the best performance in the aluminum-ion battery.


That is a great discovery in that the battery charges very fast, but also because the materials used to make the battery are cheaper than the lithium-ion material required to make current generation batteries. The new battery is also able to survive 7500 charge cycles, which is a vast improvement over the 100 cycles other aluminum-ion batteries can withstand.


The aluminum-ion batteries 7500 charge cycles is also vastly superiors than the 1000 cycles that lithium-ion batteries can survive. The catch for now is that the battery is a long way from being commercially viable. Right now, it only produces 2V, which is considerably less voltage than lithium-ion batteries produce. It also produces only 40 watts per kilogram, which pales next to the 100 to 260 watts per kilogram that lithium-ion batteries produce.




SOURCE: SlashGear


ZuperDAC turns your devices into HiFi audio hotbeds

For serious audiophiles, none of our mobile devices, whether desktops, laptops, smartphones, or tablets can give them quite the audio rush that they get when listening through HiFi stereos and equipment. Something seems to be lost in the desire to be more portable and lighter. But now a new IndieGoGo project is aiming to bring HiFi audio quality, and you don't have to lug around an external speaker just to do so.



The ZuperDAC looks like a small flash drive, but is in fact a portable HiFi USB-DAC that has the capability of transforming any of your mobile devices into a satisfying, HiFi system. All you have to do is plug it in the USB slot of your laptop or computer, or in Android devices' case, use the OTG cable. Then you can plug in your earphones or headphones into the ZuperDAC, and voila, the device transforms your ordinary sounds into a HiFi party. And even though the device is just 46mm(L) x 23mm(W) x 10mm(H) it is still equipped with USB Audio Class 2 functionality, HiFi AudioDAC and Headphone Amplifier.


20150401013747-ZuperDAC_side_by_side__Smaller_


The ZuperDAC can support various sampling frequences, from CD quality to the High Definition Audio standard which is at 192kHz (compared to CD which is just 44.1kHz). It also supports up to 24-bit High Definition, which makes the sound quality so much better than your existing gadgets. The AudioDAC included in your tiny device has a patented 32-bit Hyperstream DAC architecture and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator. To complete the features, it uses the latest in headphone amplifiers which gives you pop-noise suppression.


The IndieGoGo campaign is still far away from its goal of $20,000. The good news is that you still have until May 11 to support the project. The lowest early bird rate is at $49 (excluding shipping) while if you want to get the Special Edition - ZuperDAC Red, you need to contribute $69.


20150401062540-ZuperDAC_Red


SOURCE: IndieGoGo


This is a crowdfunded project, and as such may not deliver what its creators initially promise. Most crowdfunding sites, like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, have policies about what happens to your money if the project fails to deliver on its goals, but choosing to back a project is inevitably a risk. Android Community's reporting on crowdfunded projects should in no way be seen as an endorsement, unless specifically stated, and we recommend closely examining the terms and conditions to understand your individual rights as a backer before making a pledge.


Vodafone adds 4G network access to 12 and 24 month bundles

Users of the Vodafone network in Europe have a new feature that they should be excited about. Vodafone has announced that as of today it has added 4G access to two more pricing tiers for its plans. As of now users on 12 and 24 month bundles get access to the Vodafone 4G network.



Obviously, the user will need smartphones and devices that support 4G access. Vodafone also says that it is giving users larger data allowances. Starting today and lasting until June 2015, EE and O2 customers coming over to Vodafone Pay monthly bundles will get £20 as a welcome aboard gift.


That money would be in the form of a credit on their bill. Under the new plan, Pay Monthly allowances are now called bundles. Standard Bundles offer 500MB or 1GB of monthly data access with 4G service. Red Bundles offer 2, 6, 10, or 20GB or monthly data.


Red Value Bundles give even more data with 2, 4, 6, 15, or 25GB of data. All of those plans except the 2GB Red Value Bundle also get access to Spotify Premium, Sky Sports Mobile TV, or Now TV Entertainment Pass for up to 24 months at no additional cost. The packs also have unlimited landline calls and texts.


SOURCE: Vodafone


Snapchat lets you use emojis to show relationships with contacts

Snapchat's much-hated "Best Friends" feature is finally, totally (hopefully) gone. But instead, they have replaced it with (maybe) a more fun way of visually showing your relationship with your contacts. The update to the app also brings with it a special low-light camera mode, and a new way of categorizing contacts that you haven't been paying attention to or those that you've been neglecting lately. The photo sharing app is trying to regain some of the users it has lost to new ephemeral apps that have sprung up in the wake of its popularity.



Instead of adding people to your "Best Friends" list, you now have six main categories, visualized by emojis, that you can add to your contacts. The gold heart is for the people that you chat with the most while a grimacing emoji means that person has the same BFF as you. The smiling emoji is for someone who is a best friend, but not at the top of your list. Emojis wearing sunglasses mark people with whom you have mutual contacts. A smirking one is for those who consider you their BFF but you don't return the feeling. If you have a fire emoji next to a contact, that means you've been snap chatting non-stop for some days now.


snapchat-insert


The update also brings a low-light camera mode so that when you take pictures in dark places (let's not discuss what those dark places are), then it will not just be a grainy, unintelligible blob. It will also now inform you which of your contacts "need love", meaning you haven't "spoken" to them for some time. They are found in a list in the Recents tab and these are for those you used to chat with a lot, but have now been neglecting.


Don't worry, those emojis you put next to people isn't something the rest of the world will see. They're just for you to privately categorize your contacts. The update should be rolling out to users over the next few days.


VIA: SlashGear





Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)