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How Visuals Will Impact Marketing in 2017, According to New Data [Infographic] http://ift.tt/2mP5bqG There's a reason most children's books are filled with pictures. Sure, the pictures help parents keep their children still and quiet for the few minutes they're reading to them. And that's largely because visuals are engaging and help explain complicated concepts better than text alone. Whether you're reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar or a blog post, the lesson remains the same. For one, visual content increases memory recall. What's more, articles with images every 75-100 words tended to get double the social media shares of articles with fewer images in a BuzzSumo analysis. So needless to say, visuals such as infographics, videos, or images should be integrated into your content marketing strategy. There are a few hurdles to creating and promoting visual content, but there are big payoffs, too. Venngage surveyed 300 marketers to learn about their visual content marketing strategies in 2016 to predict trends for 2017. Overall, the marketers surveyed recognize the immense value of creating visuals to increase content quality and engagement but struggle with finding the time and resources to do it well. Read more marketing statistics and trends for the year ahead in the infographic below. Digital Trends via HubSpot http://ift.tt/1y9rdls March 28, 2017 at 10:03PM
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Look, but don’t touch? The watch industry’s old guard needs to smarten up, and soon http://ift.tt/2nuk1Qt The Baselworld 2017 watch show is a concentrated look at a glamorous industry steeped in history. Visitors get a glimpse of some astonishing innovation, incredible quality, and truly exciting timepieces. Except they mostly do so with their noses pressed up against glass cases, like school children outside a sweet shop. For some of the world’s best watchmakers, Baselworld’s motto should be “look, but don’t touch,” which coincidentally is exactly the response it has to technology and the rise of the smartwatch. It’s a worryingly archaic approach, but it perfectly illustrates a growing split in the industry — where some watch makers are evolving, adapting, and embracing smart technology while the rest stick with how things have always been done, showing little desire to change. If there was a trend at the show, it’s that watch companies who are embracing technology (or are prepared to in the near future), are more open, more social, and better understand the benefits of engaging with people. More: Tag Heuer’s Connected Modular 45 is a true Swiss-made smartwatch If your name’s not down …“I’d like to see (insert name of new watch here) please, just to take a few pictures. I’m with the press.” I repeated this line on many occasions at Baselworld 2017, a watch trade show that celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. It was almost always to a helpful gatekeeper sitting behind a desk, holding the masses back from seeing all the wonderful new products that are contained within some stunning, closed-off booths. You’d think I would be ushered right in, given the chance to take pictures, perhaps even try the watch on, and eventually sent on my way. Nope. The vast majority of the name brands needed an appointment, almost none had any available — they’re made many months in advance — and there was nothing they could do for me. The rules, it was clear, were the rules. However, this wasn’t a universal problem. Tag Heuer, for example, had the Connected Modular 45 out on display and people on hand to talk about them, all without — shock — an appointment. Guess employees were happy to explain the new Connect Touch watch range, and did everything they could to accommodate me, even though I had no prior booking. You could walk right up to Samsung’s booth, and eagerly fondle the Gear S3 and associated one-off concept devices. Casio and Tissot, two more tech-forward watch makers, were also far more open. Visit the independent watch brands, and watches could be photographed, tried on, and discussed at great length. Do you see the trend?Communications Manager for Graham Watches, Jessica Jacquot, explained why this happens, and how independent watch makers are different. At least 70 percent of a major brand’s annual business deals are made at Baselworld, she said, therefore having private space to do so is important; but that’s no different for an independent firm. “We want to meet new people,” Jacquot told Digital Trends, “and not just secure old business.” This open way of thinking continues when it comes to technology. Although Graham doesn’t produce a connected watch at the moment, Jacquot believes there’s space for everybody in the industry. She said traditional watch makers may be more narrow minded, and some see smartwatches as a threat. Bizarrely, even brands that have already put out a smartwatch sometimes distanced themselves from the technology, Visiting Porsche Design’s booth, I hoped to get a better look at the new Porsche Design Huawei Watch 2, which was unveiled at Mobile World Congress, but hardly shown at all. Strangely, it wasn’t brought along to Baselworld either, and in a conversation with one representative, I was told it “wouldn’t sit right” with attendees interested in the brand. Odd, given it’s a watch. Dissent in the ranksWhen you do get behind the scenes with a major brand, actually see watches in person, and talk to people, one thing is clear: everyone is so passionate, so knowledgeable, and so committed to the watch industry as a whole, they deserve to be talking to everyone who will listen. These are people who adore what they do, and there’s nothing more intoxicating than that. It was interesting to hear what was said about smartwatches behind these closed doors. There was frustration in Cirille Bonini’s voice. He works on public relations and digital marketing for Montres Edox, and was very interested in smartwatches. “I don’t see them as competition,” he told us, and saw their potential for introducing new people to the brand. He even presented an idea for a smartwatch to the company owners, but it was rejected. The company said, “it’s not the right time, and we should concentrate on what we know.” Bonini understood, explaining the family-run business’s history, but did add that he “didn’t want to miss the boat.” We suspect the phrase, “we should concentrate on what we know,” is uttered by a lot of the established watch makers pondering wearable technology. The watch industry loves to talk about history, how long a brand has been going for, and past watches are constantly being re-imagined and reissued as limited editions. Honoring the past is one thing, but sticking rigidly to tradition just for the sake of it is another. Pressure to changeMore than once, major brands like Rolex, Hublot, Patek Phillipe, and Graff were referred to as having a snobbish approach to the show and its visitors. Spending millions on the ostentatious booths — which are really multi-story buildings, with everything from luxurious living spaces to restaurants inside — was essential in maintaining the brand’s exclusivity and status. Inviting in the great unwashed wouldn’t fit in with any of this. Baselworld is open to the public though and many people visit, so what do they think about the look-but-don’t-touch policy? One attendee told us she didn’t care about going into the major booths, and was content looking at the products through the glass cabinets, just like in a shop. She likened the experience to visiting a museum, where she could spend time absorbing the art on display. In what may not have been a coincidence, she wasn’t a fan of smartwatches either. It’s hard to agree. We form relationships with products, especially highly evocative ones like watches or other items of jewelry, by cradling them in our hand or wrapping them round our wrist. Just like caressing the touchscreens on a Tag Heuer, Fossil, or Micheal Kors smartwatch, there are legions of new fans keen to touch, stroke, and wear these watches — and a percentage of them may become buyers in the future. Why not let them? Where’s the harm? It’s the same thinking that stops major brands from seriously investing in smart technology. It’s not the way things have ever been done. But as the industry is shaken up by Tag Heuer, Montblanc, Casio, Fossil, and other big-name players all taking smartwatches seriously; the pressure for the old guard to change will only increase.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn March 28, 2017 at 09:34PM
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Vivaldi browser now packs a History feature to dig into your browsing habits http://ift.tt/2mOF57y Jon von Tetzchner originally co-founded Opera Software in 1995 and served as the company’s CEO until the beginning of 2015. That is when his new company, Vivaldi Technologies, crashed the browser scene with the first Technical Preview of a competing internet browser called Vivaldi. Now two years later, the Vivaldi browser continues to evolve with the addition of a new “History” feature for a better insight into the user’s online behavior. “Instead of having to scroll through hundreds of lines, Vivaldi gives a comprehensive overview of history, presented in a visual way,” Tetzchner said. “This lets our users analyze their online activity and helps them find what they are looking for.” More: Opera Neon is a web browser for the modern age that is unlike any other When Tetzchner abandoned his popular Opera browser to create the new Vivaldi solution, he focused on three principles: A strong focus on community, continuing innovation, and the individual needs of each web surfer. The new History feature focuses on the two latter goals to redefine how the information of past actions are easily relayed to the user. While that may seem rather creepy given the browser is seemingly collecting data everywhere the user travels, Tetzchner promises that the valued info isn’t sold off to third parties for fast cash. Instead, it’s served up locally to the user for their eyes only. Users will thus see what third parties could collect, enabling them to alter their online behavior. Vivaldi’s new History feature strives to be a more useful tool than what is provided in competing web browsers. Users can quickly scan through their timeline of visited websites through a calendar-style presentation. It generates detailed statistics consisting of graphs and a color-coded heat map overlay that generates peak online activity points and key browsing trends. The generated data can make seeking out an old internet address easier, too. Instead of performing a history search based on a possible website name or label, the user can simply scroll through the calendar to the time period when the user accessed the semi-forgotten website. This can be accomplished via a monthly view, a daily view, or by the overall number of views. The new History feature resides in the browser’s Side Panel, which also provides access to the bookmarks, downloads, and more. The updated Vivaldi browser wasn’t available to download at the time this article was prepared, but based on its description, the History feature’s contents are easily accessible by a simple click in the Side Panel by anyone with access to the base device. The latest release brings Vivaldi up to version 1.8. It follows the release of Vivaldi 1.7 unleashed in early February sporting new built-in screenshot options. It introduced a new camera icon on the status bar that leads to a pop-up window for taking a screenshot of the entire browser window, or a specific area. The screenshot tool is also accessible through the Tools menu and through mapped keyboard shortcuts. To grab Vivaldi version 1.8, head here.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn March 28, 2017 at 07:48PM
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Wonderboom Bluetooth speaker from Ultimate Ears is portable, affordable, and buoyant http://ift.tt/2ofEcSo Ultimate Ears has unveiled its newest portable Bluetooth speaker, the Wonderboom. It joins the line of fellow Boom-branded speakers, the UE Boom 2, and UE Megaboom, while boasting a $100 price tag that beats out both of its siblings, as well as a smaller design for better portability. The portable speaker is designed to offer continuous sound in 360 degrees, which allows you to place the speaker in a room or outside without having to worry about what direction it’s facing. Ultimate Ears says the Wonderboom has a 10-hour battery life and a connection radius up to 100 feet. The speaker is charged via a USB micro port. More: Ultimate Ears UE 18+ Pro: Our first take The physical design retains the tough, resilient construction and simple aesthetics consistent with the rest of the Ultimate Ears family of speakers. The Wonderboom is made with rubberized plastic surrounding the outside of the speaker, and is rated IPX 7 for its waterproof and dustproof qualities, meaning it can be submerged in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes without sustaining any damage. It can actually float in water, and is even equipped with a small bungee-like loop to hang the speaker with. The Wonderboom also uses a simple set of controls — just a power button, volume controls, and a “UE” button that functions as a play, pause, and skip button all in one. It functions similarly to the controls on Apple headphones. Interestingly, there is no other form of user interface featured on the Wonderboom — not even a battery life indicator. Instead, the UE button is used to check the battery life, with a tone relaying how much juice is left. The UE button can also be held down to enable pairing mode, allowing you to connect your smartphone or other Bluetooth device for playback. It can also be used to sync with another Wonderboom for bigger and broader sound coverage. The Wonderboom comes in a number of different colors, including Lilac, Cashmere, SubZero, FireBall, Phantom, and Stone. First impressionsWe had a bit of time with the new Wonderboom, and came away generally impressed. The speaker had some definite low register, especially compared to the almost nonexistent bass on Ultimate Ears’ similarly priced UE Roll 2. The Wonderboom was simple to set up, too, immediately pairing an Android smartphone to the speaker for playback. More: The best Bluetooth speaker you can buy We also like the overall design of the speaker and feel of the material, especially the continuous 360-degree output. That said, we did notice a bit of a learning curve when it came to the Wonderboom’s controls and interface (or lack thereof). Keep an eye out for our full impressions on the Wonderboom soon.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn March 28, 2017 at 07:26PM
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The Brits have just introduced ‘the most secure coin in the world’ http://ift.tt/2mOAwKt When a 2015 survey by the U.K.’s Royal Mint revealed that around 40 million (about one in thirty) of the country’s one-pound coins were counterfeit, it realized it had to do something about all the fake money rattling around in the economy. Following several years of design and development, the Mint this week introduced an all-new one-pound coin dubbed “the most secure coin in the world.” The new 12-sided coin, which the Mint claims is impossible to counterfeit, includes a bimetallic design with a gold-colored (nickel-brass) outer ring and a silver-colored (nickel-plated alloy) inner section. You’ll also find a latent image embedded in the coin. Similar to a hologram, it changes from a ‘£’ symbol to the number ‘1’ when viewed from different angles. Additional features include hard-to-emulate micro-lettering showing “one pound” on the lower inside rim on one side and the year of the coin’s production on the other. And if all that isn’t enough to deter makers of fake money, the Mint says the new one-pound coin also has an additional “high security feature” built in, details of which it refuses to divulge. As with all U.K. coins, a portrait of the Queen is seen on one side. On the other is a design showing the English rose, the Welsh leek, the Scottish thistle, and the Northern Irish shamrock emerging from one stem within a royal coronet — an image created by David Pearce who won a public contest two years ago at the age of 15. Thinner and lighter than the one it replaces, the new coin is being produced using cutting-edge technology developed at the Mint’s headquarters in south Wales. Adam Lawrence, chief executive of the Royal Mint, said the new money has been designed to be “fit for the future, using security features that aim to safeguard our currency, and currencies around the world, for years to come. Staying ahead of sophisticated counterfeiters remains a constant challenge and this coin helps in that battle.” More: Australia’s new futuristic $5 bill will be one of the hardest in the world to counterfeit The new coin went into circulation on Tuesday. As for the old coin, stores will stop accepting it from October 15, 2017, though banks will happily exchange any that you have left after that date — as long as they’re not fake, that is. Last year the Royal Mint started replacing the nation’s paper money with a high-security plastic version, kicking off with the five-pound bill.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn March 28, 2017 at 07:05PM
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‘AmazonFresh Pickup’ offers drive-thru grocery shopping http://ift.tt/2o4WbNY Amazon’s checkout-less grab-and-go store may have hit a snag, but the company isn’t letting that get in the way of other grocery-focused initiatives. The Seattle-based giant on Tuesday teased a new AmazonFresh Pickup service where Prime members will be able to order their groceries online before turning up to collect them – all bagged and ready to go — from an AmazonFresh depot. Described by the company as “a fast and easy way to order groceries, pick them up, and be on your way in minutes,” the new service eliminates shipping costs for customers. It also provides them with more options for receiving their groceries, with offered items including everything from meat to dairy products, as well as a broad range of everyday essentials. The service is currently being tested with Amazon employees at two depots in the company’s home city. It hasn’t announced an official launch date yet, but Tuesday’s release of a promo video (above) and webpage suggest its arrival is imminent. Initial launch locations are likely to be places where the AmazonFresh delivery service is already operating, which includes cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and Boston. It’ll be free for $99-a-year Prime members, while AmazonFresh members paying the monthly $15 fee will see some extra benefits, such as having their grocery orders ready in as little as 15 minutes. Non-Fresh members, on the other hand, can only collect their order at least two hours after placing it. More: 16 of the best shopping apps for iOS and Android Amazon hopes the new service will prove popular with users who don’t like having to deal with delivery windows and prefer instead the convenience of popping into a depot to pick up their groceries at a time of their choosing, which could be while running errands or on the way home from work. Advantages for Amazon include reduced pressure on its delivery services, and a possible boost in Prime membership if other shoppers like the sound of the scheme. The company better known for its gigantic online operation has for several years been taking a closer look at how it might expand its business to physical locations. Pop-up stores have been used to promote its growing inventory of tech goods, while in 2015 it opened the first of several brick-and-mortar bookstores. More recently it announced Amazon Go, a grocery store where you can grab what you need and leave without going to a checkout, with the cost of the goods automatically deducted from your bank account as you leave the store. However, reports this week suggested it’s facing challenges getting the technology to work properly. There’s also talk of the company building stores to sell furniture and appliances that may use augmented reality to help shoppers choose the most suitable items. AmazonFresh Pickup, meanwhile, is another effort geared toward taking a larger chunk of America’s multi-billion-dollar grocery market.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn March 28, 2017 at 05:26PM
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Mercedes’ Alex Harris on why sharing a $100,000 sedan is the wave of the future http://ift.tt/2nhkmFg Mercedes-Benz sums up its new focus with four letters: CASE. The acronym stands for “connected, autonomous, shared, and electric.” Company officials are so serious about these trends that they turned CASE into a standalone unit. It’s a fast-moving team of experts with broad responsibilities that include working with startups to launch car-sharing programs and overseeing the development of a brand-new, modular electric platform named EVA 2. We met up with Axel Harries, the head of CASE, to get insight on how and why these four trends are already having a profound effect on Mercedes’ product plan, and what’s next. Digital Trends: Why is Mercedes shifting towards electric vehicles? Axel Harries: For us, it’s crystal clear that the market is heading in this direction, and that we’re in a very, very strong position to make a big contribution. Last year was our most successful year ever, the first two months of this year have been perfect, so the timing is right to shift gears and go all in into electric mobility. And what’s driving the shift towards car-sharing? Moving forward, the lines between owning a car, using a car, and sharing a car will be blurred. Combined, for example, with autonomous driving, you’ll end up with a new business model. Those are the trends that will change customers’ mobility behavior, and therefore they’re part of our strategy to really shift from being a classic automotive manufacturer today to a being full service mobility provider tomorrow. That’s why we set up CASE. We see ourselves as a speedboat. We can always hook up too our mothership, Mercedes, and benefit from its huge amount of technical know-how, but we can also move fast into new terrains. For example, we recently launched a peer-to-peer car-sharing platform named Croove in Munich, and we accomplished that in just three months. Those are the kinds of things we’re trying to do. Our investment into ChargePoint is another example. If I drove a Chevrolet Spark, I probably wouldn’t mind sharing it because it’s a relatively cheap economy car. Do you think you can convince the owner of a $100,000 S-Class to share his pride and joy with a random person? Nobody would have ever imagined people would be willing to rent out their apartment or their house to a complete stranger; the same thing is happening to vehicles with these peer-to-peer platforms. They need to be trusted platforms, though. It’s a completely new ball game. Renting your vehicle for four or eight days a month can pay most – or all – of your lease. There are interesting new business models spawning from these platforms, and that’s why we’re interested in gaining an understanding of what’s going on. They give customers a new opportunity for mobility. We also see that people rent vehicles because they want to drive an upgraded vehicle for a weekend. We have to understand that having mobility at your fingertips is completely different than owning a vehicle, which was the main mobility activity in the past. What are the hurdles standing in the way of autonomous cars? First, we should talk about the definition of autonomous driving. Right now, we use the term “driver assistance package” which we feel sums up where we are pretty well. When you talk about a later stage, such as level four or level five autonomy, you talk about fully autonomous driving, and technologically speaking that’s a big step which needs further improvements. It’s important to understand that Mercedes’ clear task is providing our customers with solutions that work. For us, it’s completely impossible to imagine letting customers go with a beta version of something related to autonomous driving. That’s not what we intend to do. It’s different for other types of software, it’s actually pretty normal now to let customers participate in the development process, but when it comes to autonomous driving we feel it’s crucial [not to release beta software] from a safety perspective. Safety is a core value of Mercedes-Benz, and we have to stick to that. It’s important to have a very advanced technological package, and we’re going to take the time to develop it. With or without partners; we’re open to that, too. Regardless, we will have a solid autonomous solution in a couple of years. Does that mean one day we’ll be able to buy a Mercedes without a steering wheel? Right now, we feel the steering wheel will be part of the vehicle for a pretty long time. However, there might be a point in time where the driver’s seat is not a driver’s seat anymore, it’s just a seat like any other in the vehicle. How does infotainment tie into level four and five autonomy? With autonomous driving, people will have a lot more free time. How they use this time efficiently ties into your question. We need to design an intelligent interior, one that provides the customer with everything he or she needs to use this new time in the most efficient manner. Tell us more about your plans for electrifying the Mercedes lineup. Our new brand is EQ, which stands for electric intelligence. Now that it’s established, it’s important to ramp up our product portfolio. The first is the production version of the Generation EQ concept, which is coming out in 2019. It’s going to be close to the concept, but I can’t give you more details. Then, there is a whole range of EVs coming in the next couple of years. And we’re electrifying AMG, too, with EQ+ models like the GT concept you saw in Geneva. With it, we’re even demonstrating the connection to Formula 1 technology. We need a holistic approach. Do you think that the shift from gasoline-powered cars to electric cars can happen without government support? The shift is already happening. We believe that in 2025 15 to 25 percent of all Mercedes-Benz vehicles will be electric or hybrid. Having said this, these numbers might change; in some areas, we might even see a faster ramp-up. We also feel that we need to have certain flexibility. When demand for gasoline- and diesel-powered cars goes down, we need to have electric vehicles ready and let the customer judge when the time to make the switch is right. We strongly believe the customer will have a real alternative. That’s why we decided to be flexible in terms of production, too. It will be possible to build a gasoline- and battery-powered models on the same assembly line. We are ready to fulfill customer needs. When you talk about electrified cars, does that include hydrogen-powered models? Hydrogen technology is part of CASE, yes. We’re going to introduce a GLC F-Cell in the fall of this year, and it’s going to launch next year.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn March 28, 2017 at 01:11PM
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Miss Ms. Pac-Man? Bring the arcade into your home with Stoa’s custom cabinets http://ift.tt/2o4mELB For older gamers, a lot of their nostalgia is rooted in the arcade, not the couch. While bigger cities may be lucky enough to have a modernized arcade bar, they are few and far between. One way to scratch that arcade itch is to bring home a classic arcade game cabinet. Then again, keeping cabinets in working order can be difficult and expensive for the average owner. Taking a more modern approach is London-based Stoa, which develops custom arcade cabinets. More: Adafruit shrinks a classic arcade machine down to Ant-Man size Each Stoa cabinet is handcrafted from start to finish for either one or two players. Owners can choose from numerous styles of action buttons and joysticks to create an uncluttered layout. Fighting game enthusiasts might want a set of six buttons stacked in two rows of three, while action games might require three or four buttons all in one line. Using cathode ray tube monitors is no longer an option these days, so Stoa uses LCD monitors with a scanline generator. Basically, the monitor produces a black line every other line to replicate a technique used by arcade machines for the past 40 years. It softens the graphics just enough while retaining the 4:3 aspect ratio the games were designed with. Sound comes from two speaker slots placed above the screen. A knob hidden in the back of the cabinet controls the volume. Stoa offers four different cabinet types. Practically anything on the cabinet can be altered in terms of color and design. Finally, a selection of games tailored to the client’s preference are added. They also have the option to add more games in the future. A completed arcade cabinet takes roughly six weeks from design to delivery. Pricing is not yet known. Anyone interested should contact Stoa directly.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn March 28, 2017 at 12:14PM
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Keep it simple: Use the FetchItGo remote to control your smart home devices http://ift.tt/2o8vBEg Did you really sign on to be your family’s smart home device manager? Equipping your home with a suite of smart home devices can make your home smarter. But unless it’s easy for all family members to activate the basic device actions, you could find yourself expected to run everything — which wasn’t the original idea. Tantiv4 has a solution to simplify and combine smart home device settings and control. FetchItGo is a remote control panel that uses If This Then That (IFTTT) recipes to manage smart home devices. There are 16 buttons on the FetchItGo. Using a smartphone app you can configure each button with an IFTTT recipe, which is a script of control steps compatible with most major smart home brands such as Nest, Hue, Lifx, Spotify, Logitech, and others. FetchItGo is currently in a Kickstarter campaign. More: Smart buttons from Kwik want to give Amazon Dash a run for its money You can write your own labels with an included dry erase marker on the remote panel and attach it to a wall or a central appliance such as a refrigerator. Once you’ve programmed one of the buttons, all you or anyone else in your family has to do is press the button and swipe a panel just below the buttons to confirm or “trigger” the request. So if, for example, you want to turn on the outside lights, start the coffee maker, set the temperature to a preset level, or start a Spotify playlist, just press the proper button, swipe, and that is it. You can also configure buttons to add items to grocery lists you can send via SMS or Whatsapp, remind people to take medication, find your phone, or any of a myriad number of tasks and devices supported by simple-to-set-up IFTTT recipes. The FetchItGo package includes the 16-button remote panel, a gateway device, an Ethernet cable, a power cable and adapter, and a dry erase marker. The gateway plugs into an internet router via a wire connection. When the gateway gets a signal from the remote, it signals the appropriate smart home devices to carry out the configured actions. Even though you can use your smartphone to set up the FetchItGo buttons, once configured your phone doesn’t need to be in range. As much as you may enjoy voice commands with Alexa or Google Voice, using FetchItGo is silent and there is no concern about being misunderstood. FetchItGo is scheduled for delivery in the summer, with special pricing available on the Kickstarter page through Saturday.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn March 28, 2017 at 12:14PM
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Microsoft’s Office 365 update for March focuses on Excel, OneNote, and Visio http://ift.tt/2mNNmbP Microsoft appears more aggressive in rolling out new features to its Office line of productivity software. That is likely driven by two factors, the existence of cross-platform mobile apps that tend to be updated on a regular basis and the Office Insider program that gives the company a ready group of testers. Now, we can rely on monthly Office updates that add new features and Microsoft has built a pattern of blogging about those new features along with its latest Office products. For March, the company released a new feature to Excel, some OneNote improvements, and better Visio integration. More: Make some serious cash finding bugs with Microsoft’s Office Insider Bug Bounty program First up is Excel 2016, which is getting co-authoring support in the latest Office Insider Fast ring build to better enable teams to work together on crunching numbers. The feature lets users know who is already working in a spreadsheet and to make changes that are viewable by all co-authors within seconds. Excel co-authoring is already available for everyone using Excel Online and Excel for Android and Windows Mobile. Office for iOS Office Insiders have access to co-authoring and it is coming to Excel for the Mac as well. Next is OneNote, which is receiving the ability to graph handwritten equations, as well as manipulate variables and see the effects immediately. The new equation-inking feature also helps students learn the steps required to solve equation systems. The new OneNote functionality is available in OneNote for Windows 10 for all Office 365 subscribers. OneNote for Windows 10 is also getting an Accessibility Checker that will highlight issues that make content hard to use for people with visual impairments, along with recommendations on fixing them. Other OneNote improvements include the addition of Windows Ink support and a Draw tab to OneNote Online using Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, and Firefox. Both of these features are available for all users. Finally, in terms of Office app improvements, Microsoft added new Excel and PowerPoint integrations to its Visio application. The new Data Visualizer templates make it easy to create flowcharts directly from Excel with just a few clicks. The new Slide Snippets pane lets users grab diagrams or snippets, add titles, and then export them as PowerPoint slides, complete with Morph transition support. The Data Visualizer feature is available in Visio 2016 for Office Insider Slow users, and Slide Snippets is available in Visio 2016 for all Office 365 subscribers. Microsoft also highlighted the release of its Microsoft Bookings app for Office 365 Business Premium subscribers, which lets them schedule and management customer appointments. And Microsoft Teams also received its general availability, with the company specifically noting its availability for Office 365 Education users. Office 365 continues to be an important business line for Microsoft and as usual, its monthly updates continue to ramp up productivity. You do need to be an Office Insider to be the first to make use of the newest features and you can sign up here.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn March 28, 2017 at 10:56AM |
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