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Yo gets reinvented into a true notifications app for 150 sources
If you downloaded Yo last year, chances are it's now collecting dust in one of your app folders -- after all, how many times can you send the word "yo" to a friend before it becomes annoying? Now, its developers are attempting to entice people to use it again by turning it into an app that notifies you of the newest and most relevant content from a number of websites. The idea behind this redesigned Yo is to give people a way to get notified of new articles, videos or images from its partner websites without having to download standalone apps. All you have to do is subscribe to the channels you like via the brand new "Yo Store."
6 apps for saying something when you have nothing to say
Tweeting, texting, and other forms of messaging have rapidly taken over our communications, but sometimes even 140 characters is too much. A slew of new apps are pushing to slim conversations down to little more than an acknowledgement or quick drawing. This race started with the introduction of Yo in April, and it doesn't seem to be slowing down -- actor Aaron Paul and AOL (the owner of this site) just dropped new apps this week. So which ones should you choose? (Or not choose -- just give your family/friends/pizza guy a call already, they miss you.) We have a few candidates lined up.
Yo and the app hype machine
Yo is a notifications app where all it does is send the word "Yo" to your friends. That's it. Just "Yo." Of course, silly single-purpose apps like these are a dime a dozen -- remember those fart apps of old? -- but the thing that sets Yo apart is that it's actually attracted a whole lot of attention. More than a million dollars' worth, in fact. Yep, this seemingly frivolous app has recently raised around $1.5 million in funding, giving it a valuation close to $10 million. It's also apparently been downloaded more than 2 million times since its tongue-in-cheek April Fools' Day debut. Crazy? Well, yes, perhaps. But it's not entirely unusual. In case you need a refresher (and probably a laugh or two), here's a look at some of the more overhyped apps in the past few years. Have any other ideas? Leave a comment and let us know of any apps we've missed.
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for June 20, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
Yo iPhone app hacked
Yo, the pointless app that lets you message the word "Yo" to your contacts (and nothing else) has been hacked by a college student and his two roommates. The trio has been able to acquire any Yo user's phone number and spam them with multiple messages, though they opted not to abuse the latter discovery. Yo has confirmed the hack and promised a fix. Meanwhile, a Vine video has appeared showing the app playing Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" instead of its typical notification sound, and a post on Instagram supposedly shows an unauthorized message being pushed through the service. So it turns out an app that was built in eight hours and has access to personal information can be hacked. At least it's free.
Yo-mobile hybrid cars on display in Russia, run on gas, natural gas, and GLONASS
The Yo-mobile (or ë-mobile if you're down with Cyrillic) is looking to shake things up on the eastern front, and after big-bucks backer Mikhail D. Prokhorov introduced the car to the world last month he's now letting members of the proletariat see the car for themselves at the Yo-mobile Hybrid Pavilion, where three models of the car are being shown to the public: the microcar (wee hatchback on the right above), a coupe, and even a minitruck. All are now said to start testing in the coming months, and we're just learning that the car will feature GLONASS navigation, is said to include a "telephone with a keyboard" and will have some sort of infotainment system controlled by a "data panel," which we're hoping is a little better integrated into the dash than the slab dominating the Model S center console. Again the hybrid makes up to 67 miles per gallon with a range of a whopping 680 miles if both its gasoline and natural gas tanks are filled, which also gives owners two potential fuel sources for fleeing the oncoming zombie hoards.
Russian Yo hybrid said to offer 67mpg, cost under $15k, gets a billionaire's backing
Russian entrepreneur Mikhail D. Prokhorov may have big plans for moving the Nets downtown and turning them into the Brooklyn New Yorkers, but another of his big plans will stay a little closer to home. Well, his home anyway. It's the ë, the Cyrillic character "yo," and a funky name for a recently revealed hybrid that has scored the billionaire's support. The ë is a little four-door, four-seater car with a top speed of 80mph and a range of 680 miles, delivered by a hybrid powertrain with two electric motors and a single internal combustion lump. However, unlike the parallel hybrid Prius and the (mostly) series hybrid Volt, both of which rely on expensive and heavy battery packs, the ë will only be able to hold a small charge. Instead the engine, which uses a rotary vane design, will run continuously, spinning a generator and providing the current to turn the wheels. It's an unusual layout for a car, but if it can deliver its supposed 67mpg at its proposed $14,500 MSRP when it's slated to hit the streets of St. Petersburg in 2012, you can call us converts -- and comrades.
