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Self-driving shuttles are ferrying COVID-19 tests at a Florida clinic
Drive-thru COVID-19 tests are only as safe and quick as the systems used to put those tests in the hands of clinics, and a new initiative in Jacksonville, Florida might just improve that weak link.
Beep's wireless adapter for old-school stereos now supports Spotify
Beep's volume knob slash WiFi adapter reincarnates your aging stereo as a wireless model, but it only worked with Pandora streaming -- up until now. The company's just added Spotify's Connect service to its app, meaning you can select the Beep device you want to stream to (assuming you have more than one) and play your Spotify tunes normally. You'll need to have a Spotify Premium subscription to do that, however, since Connect isn't supported on the free, ad-supported service. The other problem is actually getting one of the $99 devices (available in copper or gunmetal). You can pre-order, but the next batch isn't shipping until next February.
'Beep' works like a Chromecast for your old speakers
If you want to make your favorite speakers wireless, you have a few options. Nothing on the market, however, is quite like Beep. Launching today, the tiny dial works like a Chromecast for your speakers, and lets you cast tunes from your mobile device over Wi-Fi -- and with none of the range restrictions that affect Bluetooth-based devices. The creation of two ex-Android engineers, the project has financial backing from big names like David Dolby and Alexis Ohanian. Beep can be connected to any speaker in your home that has a 3.5mm or optical input. Wi-Fi setup is done in a few minutes using an accompanying mobile app, and once connected you're able to pump out the jams in any room of your home directly from your Android or iOS device. Each speaker or amp you want wireless will need its own Beep, and for the time being speakers can't be paired together to create stereo setups like you can with Sonos. You can name each setup by location with things like 'Bedroom' or 'Kitchen' to keep them straight, and everyone on your wireless network is free to connect and rock out. We had the opportunity to play around with a prototype of Beep this week in San Francisco, read on for our first impressions of the device after the break.
Wireless Sensor Tags alert you to movement and temperature changes, fit on your keyring
There's plenty of sensor gear around for hobbyists to play with, but not so many polished products for the monitoring-obsessed. Cao Gadgets is attempting to fill that niche with its functionally named Wireless Sensor Tags -- small devices which monitor movement and temperature, notifying you if anything's amiss. A magnetometer registers movement by changes in its orientation, and can inform you of door openings or similar disturbances, while the temperature triggers are based on upper or lower thresholds. The $15 sensors (or $12 if you want three or more) have a battery life that should last several years depending on their setup, but there is one catch -- you also need the Tag Manager hub ($50), which plugs into your router via Ethernet. It keeps in frequent contact with any subordinates in its 200-foot range, and if after several attempts it finds one MIA, a warning can be sent in case any of your home guards have walked or fallen asleep. The tags also have inbuilt beepers which can be pinged to track down any rogue possessions they're partnered with, like your keys. A lot of thought has been put into micromanaging the tags, which are customizable through web-based, Android or iOS apps, and will send out alerts via email, Twitter, or push notifications on slates and phones (text-to-speech is available if you're too lazy to read). If you're into your data, you can also access trigger statistics from the software, complete with graphs. The home monitoring kit is available now, and instead of crashing your browser with too many embeds, we've decided to point you to the source below for the half-dozen demo vids.
Beepocalypse: How Apple could improve multi-device reminders
Today, beloved leader Victor pointed me to this write-up over at Tidbits. Although Joe Kissel's experience with quite so many devices (nine, I believe) falls a bit into the extremes of iOS/OS X use, the problem of dealing with distributed alarms is a real one: a single reminder can set off alerts all over the home or office. Surely, there's got to be a better way to focus alert attention. Victor asked if I could brainstorm some geek solutions up that might help coordinate reminders with multi-device deployment (I won't even try to figure out "how to deal with bosses who remind you about too much stuff with shared calendars"). The idea is to let users choose reminder strategies across several devices: Macs, iPads, iPhones, etc. The strategy brought up by Kissel was to add "do not disturb" buttons and slight time offsets to alerts. The opt-in would allow you to disable alerts either per-device or per-Apple ID. The offsets would allow users to respond to a dialog, allowing them to accept the reminder and disable triggers on other devices. The only slight problem with the time offsets approach is determining which device gets priority. You can imagine being in bed, exhausted, sleepy and hearing a slightly long symphony of beeps that finally arrives at the iPhone on your bedside. Being able to prioritize a device (e.g. "always alert this iPhone first") would certainly help. I also started thinking about activity -- and, specifically, giving priority to any device experiencing touches and mouse and key interaction (e.g. "always alert active devices first"). An active use pattern generally links to a human presence -- the likely target of a reminder. It's an easy way to connect alert reception to an audience. Devices could trigger in order of most recent use, with the reminder ending once a user taps an acknowledge key. In the worst case, the reminder lasts 9 times longer than it did originally, but in the best case, only the most active device is triggered. Per Apple ID, of course. Your partner's devices would have its own alert chain. But that doesn't take location into account . If your devices are idle but in distributed locations, say one at home, and one at work, which takes priority? Perhaps you'd want both to ring because there's no a priori knowledge of your location. Or maybe you'd want it to alert at work first and then home (e.g. "prioritize work"). And at home? If you have a device downstairs and another upstairs, they may seem to be at the same location-to-detection algorithms, but you certainly would want to be reminded of lunch no matter which floor you're on. At the same time, you'd think devices could potentially figure out they're clustered together. What if Apple, in addition to slight time delays, could listen to hear alerts from triggers they know would happen on a related device in their Apple ID family (e.g. "listen for duplicate alerts")? You might be able to skip the active "Okay I get it" button then. Devices could actively suppress extra alerts by listening for ones in their vicinity. The problem again, would be if two Apple IDs were linked to similar reminders but didn't share calendars explicitly. For this, Apple could build in a "coordinate my alerts with..." option and harmony would once again reign in the land of the multi-device family.
Another indie game bundle with Sideway NY, Wasteland Angel, mysteries
Let's get ready to Bundle! The latest installment in the pay-what-you-want bundle franchise is the Be Mine Indie Game Bundle, offering five games, a soundtrack and extra incentives when the total payment reaches $3,000, $50,000 and $75,000, with 20 percent of all donations going to Child's Play Charity. The current total is just over $46,000 and the bundle is available until March 3.The Be Mine Bundle includes Xotic, Sideway New York, Wasteland Angel, Beep and The Ball, and for hitting the $3,000 mark it now includes Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals and all DLC packs for Xotic when they're released. The $50,000 includes a bunch of soundtracks and $75,000 hits a mystery bonus.
Daily iPhone App: IM+ with Beep
IM+ is one of the top-rated Instant messaging clients in the iOS app store. It has universal device support, and a list of features that'll suit any messaging fan. Shape Services, the company behind IM +, is constantly improving its iOS app. The latest update landed today and includes Beep, a new IM+-specific messaging service. Beep will let you send instant messages to other friends and family who are running IM +. You can compare it to RIM's BlackBerry Messenger service, which lets Blackberry users message each other. The IM+ version is better than BBM because it has more features and is available on Android, iOS, BlackBerry and Windows Phone. I was able to evaluate the latest version of the IM+ app and check out Beep on both an iPhone 4S and a Galaxy Nexus. The Beep service exists side-by-side with your usual messaging services like AIM and Google Talk. While you're chatting on AIM, it's easy to switch to Beep and use IM+ to send your buddy a quick note. Beep is easy to set up within IM+, all you need is a phone number. Once you confirm your number, you're ready to start adding contacts to your Beep network. IM+ has millions of users, so you probably don't have to look to hard to find friends for your Beep contact list. The fun begins when you've added a few friends and start messaging. The interface makes it seem like you're using an IM service to communicate, but you're not. There's no login or any connection to a third-party server. All messages are sent through IM+, so you don't have to worry about racking up text messaging fees. Messages are delivered promptly, and the app notifies you when a new message is received. It supports push notifications, so you do don't have to leave the app running to receive these SMS-like messages. Each back and forth is saved in a threaded conversation which is available in your history. If you want to share a conversation, you can find it in your history and send the details via email. Besides messaging, the new Beep feature for iOS lets you send a photo, a video, or a voice note to a Beep contact. The app records the audio or video file, uploads it to a server and sends a link to the recipient who can download the file. You can also share your location with your Beep friends. I tested these location, video and audio options and found they all worked well, with the exception of the video message. The iPhone 4S recorded the video clip and uploaded it without a hitch. Within a minute, I received a download link on my Android device. No problem, except the iPhone recorded the clip as a .MOV and the Android device had no idea what to do with it. I originally thought Beep was a gimmick, but these additional messaging options make Beep much more than a novelty. After using it for a few days, I realized how nice it is to have a rock solid IM client and a rich multimedia, multi-platform messaging tool all in one app. It may not become my replacement for SMS, but it will be an app I use regularly for sending a video or audio message to someone. The biggest hindrance to using Beep is finding friends who use IM+. For me, it's easier to fire off an SMS than to identify IM+ users, add them to Beep and make sure they are online when I want to chat. Shape Services has to make it easier to find friends who use IM+ and encourage them to use the app before the service can become a usable SMS replacement. Besides Beep, the new version of IM+also includes a Rovio Angry Birds theme that you can download and install. It has a lovely wallpaper, lots of sounds and all your favorite Angry Birds characters from the game. Beep will be available in both IM+ free and paid versions for iOS, BlackBerry, Android and Windows Phone starting today. You can grab the free version of IM+ from the iOS app store. The paid version costs $1.99 and, among other things, gets rid of those pesky ads. %Gallery-142081%
Indievania makes a comfy home for indie developers and their games
Independent development can be a long and laborious road, but Capsized creator Lee Vermeulen is hoping to make it a little smoother with Indievania, a new open platform where developers can sell and promote their indie darlings. Indievania is a direct-to-fan, DRM-free platform, where developers will interact directly with potential players, eliminating any middle-men and their exorbitant fees. In beta, Indievania is currently offering four games, BEEP, Steel Storm, and two of Vermeulen's Alientrap creations, Capsized and Nexuiz Classic. Indievania will host alpha, beta and prototype game versions for developers to raise title awareness, and asks only 9 percent for hosting a game, much lower than the industry-standard 30 percent. Payments are only accepted through PayPal now, but Vermeulen plans to add Google Checkout and Amazon Payments later. Developers can submit a game and have it selling within one day, with complete control over their store page and price. Games will be featured, front-page style, according to popularity or overall quality. Indievania sounds like a wonderful opportunity for independent developers -- at least, unlike Dracula's -vania, we don't think it will completely suck.
How Xbox Live Achievements work
This post is for eggheads only -- we won't be talking about how to get Xbox Live achievements, or how the system of earning Gamerscore actually works. Nope, the latest Xbox Engineering blog post gets down and dirty with the actual software and hardware behind the Xbox Live Achievements system, and not only how your Xbox actually learns from whatever game you're playing that you just earned some points, but how you friends get to know it as well. Turns out the sound we most connect with the whole system (that "Achievement Unlocked" beep) was an afterthought -- originally, Microsoft's team wasn't planning on having any notification of point scoring at all. The idea of achievements has evolved over time as well -- they did start out with the 5-50 and 1000 Gamerscore requirements, but since launch, devs have better learned how to use Achievements and how to customize them. Apparently there's a whole bunch of code and science behind the whole thing. Go figure! We always thought it was unicorn magic of some kind.
MacBook Pro owners report hard drive lag
There's a thread at Apple's Discussion Boards about an issue that's bothering a number of users. Specifically, the current model 17" MacBook Pros seem to be experiencing hard drive lag. Several users report hearing the hard drive park itself, but at inappropriate times, causing the Marble of Doom to appear and bringing all tasks to a halt. This comes a short time after other users have reported a strange beep. One user reported no red flags while running Activity Monitor while another went so far as to swap the hard drive to no avail. If you're having this issue, or if you've solved it, please let these folks know. Update: A user calling himself theycallmefreddy reportedly fixed the problem late this morning by creating a 2nd user account. You can read his post here.
Adventure released for the iPhone
Part of me just wants to post this screenshot, link this app, and say "go get it," but I have a feeling that my blogging overlords here would think I was just being lazy -- they might not understand that this is a screenshot from Adventure, which is available for free on the iPhone. Anyone who ever played an Atari 2600 and owns an iPhone won't need any more explanation than that to install this.But I don't want to be seen as lazy (any more than I already am), and so I'll also say that Adventure basically pioneered the action-adventure genre of games, and that though its art is spare and its noises are little more than bleeps and bloops, both are classic and coated with pure nostalgia. While Adventure is currently controlled on the iPhone with tilt controls, its designer will add touch controls as well in the future.Other than that: go get it. It's free.
