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Netgear routers now feature Disney's parental controls
Circle with Disney's advanced parental controls are helpful if you want to curb what your kids can do online and when, but it has normally required a separate device you plug in to your WiFi router. Why can't it just be built into the router itself? It is now: Netgear has announced that its Nighthawk and Orbi routers now include Circle with Disney software. If you want to set a time limit on a given app or block racy material, you don't need anything beyond the networking device you already own.
Logitech's human-spotting Nest cam rival works outdoors
Back in 2015, Logitech took one look at Dropcam / Nest's home security cameras and thought it could do better. It released Circle, a cute ball that could monitor your dwelling and even stream video for three hours untethered from the socket. Two years later, and the company is launching the Circle 2, which looks a lot more like Nest's outdoor camera, and similarly works outside. Kinda. If you don't live in a perma-dry state, you'll need to plump for a weatherproof accessory to protect the cabling from the elements.
Logitech's CEO says you can innovate and be humble
Logitech is a rare technology company. It's been around for 35 years, all the while finding different ways to thrive as an independent accessory maker. But despite being a well-known brand, it's never been considered "hip" like Apple or Beats. Instead of betting big on showy new products, Logitech has always focused on finding successful niches in which it can build a small-but-loyal following. And according to the company's CEO, Bracken Darrell, he wouldn't have it any other way. At SXSW last week, I sat down with Darrell to chat about the road ahead for Logitech.
Logitech's Circle camera can better distinguish people from pets (updated)
The ability to determine the difference between an actual person and a pet or other wildlife can be an issue for some connected security cameras. With an update to its Circle camera, Logitech improves the device's ability to do just that. The company says the camera employs "proprietary artificial intelligence" to identify when someone is approaching. Of course, this should cut down on any unwanted alerts when your cat saunters by.
Circle with Disney makes it easy to control your kids' screen time
When I was younger, I had a friend whose dad would shut down their house's internet connection every 12AM without fail. He'd love Circle with Disney if his children were still kids. It's a cube (despite its name) that pairs up with your WiFi network and gives you the power to control your kids' internet activities. The device's creator, Jelani Memory, originally tried to raise funds via Kickstarter a couple of years ago, but the campaign didn't reach its goal. It turned out to be, as Memory told Wired, "a really great failure," because the startup found a powerful partner in Disney.
Circle's Bitcoin bank comes to Android Wear
Of the various attempts to bring Bitcoin into the mainstream, Circle's US-based bank is one of the more prominent. The outfit is now boasting about how managing your crypto-money is even easier, thanks to a series of tweaks for its mobile apps. The two most notable are that you can now use NFC-based payments with your Android smartphone, as well as check the value of your stash on an Android Wear device. In addition, iPhone-weilding Bitcoin enthusiasts can keep tabs on the cryptocurrency's health from inside Notification Center and even scan in a credit card straight from your camera. Both remain free to download from their respective App Stores, presuming you don't want to wait for the Winklevoss' alternative, of course.
Circle's Bitcoin bank is now open to everyone in the world
When Circle's Bitcoin bank launched in May, the only way that you could sign up was if you had an invitation. From today, however, the nascent financial institution has opened its doors to everyone in the world. Circle is pitching itself as a legitimate Bitcoin repository, adhering to US anti-money laundering rules, requiring depositors give their real names and insuring all accounts against theft. The outfit is also boasting that it can instantly send cash to friends, family or blackmailers anywhere in the world without transaction fees. In addition to English, the site has launched in six additional languages including Chinese and Portuguese, and the company promises that iOS and Android apps are coming in the near future.
Samsung's Gear S smartwatch doesn't need a phone to get online or make calls
Samsung is taking the wraps off of yet another new smartwatch, but the Gear S (not Solo) has a twist: there's a 3G modem inside. While it may not be especially fast, that means that even when outside the range of a Bluetooth-connected phone or WiFi, it can still send and receive messages or make calls. It has a 2-inch AMOLED screen plus a dual-core 1GHz CPU inside along with GPS, heart rate and motion sensors, all powered by a 300mAh battery Samsung says can last up to two days. It runs Tizen instead of Android Wear, with pedestrian navigation available from from Nokia's HERE and support for Facebook. In the run up to IFA next week Samsung is also bringing the Gear Circle headset (yes, we also figured they'd save that name for a round watch) that pairs with a phone over Bluetooth, letting users hear notifications, use voice commands or listen to music through the earbuds.
Bitcoin bank entices mom and pop with insurance, fraud checks and no fees
If Bitcoin is meant to be an anonymous, decentralized currency that is free of intermediaries and national restrictions, then today's launch of a new Bitcoin bank, called Circle, might seem deeply antithetical. Circle's website does its utmost to look like that of an ordinary financial service, using words like "withdrawing," "depositing" and "digital money," instead of the usual terms about buying and selling Bitcoins. It follows US anti-money laundering rules, requiring users to identify themselves, and it expects you to connect your Bitcoin account to your normal credit card or bank accounts. Crypto-currency purists just aren't going to dig it, but then again Circle claims to offer some serious advantages that are missing from other, more direct approaches to Bitcoin banking.
Google's latest Gmail tweaks bring contact info to search results, enhanced Circle integration
By any means, this is certainly far from being one of the biggest changes Gmail's ever seen -- still, it's one that's likely to make a few tasks a wee bit easier for you. Inside the recent tweaks, Google added a new quick access trait that makes contact details -- such as phone numbers -- show up automatically in search results within your cherished G inbox. Additionally, the Android-maker has improved the Google+ integration (again), now allowing folks to narrow down conversations from specific Circles in the search box (you know, something like Circle: Awesome Engadget editors). Google says the changes will be rolling out over the course of the day, but in the meantime, you could always check out what exactly happens behind Gmail's closed doors.
With new privacy controls onboard, Google+ opens up to teens
The world's teenage population can pontificate from a new digital platform, now that Google+ has decided to open its doors to high schoolers. Google+ VP Bradley Horowitz made the announcement yesterday, confirming that anyone old enough to own a Google account can now join the social network. In most countries, that applies to anyone older than 13 (previously, Google+ had been restricted to the 18-and-over crowd). This expansion also introduces a new set of privacy controls for younger users, who will be warned every time they try to publish a public post, and can only be contacted by those in their immediate circles. If a teen joins a Hangout, moreover, he or she will only be able to receive audio and video from those in his or her circles. Find more at the link below.
Google+ web app adds two new features, iOS and Android soon to follow
Twitter recently revamped its web interface, and now Google has decided to do the same for the Google+ web app, bringing two new features that should be a boon for the Big G's thriving social network. You can now see who's been rolling out +1's to your latest Hello Kitty pics with a simple click of the +1 count near the button. There's also a "What's Hot" stream, a section focused on the most interesting shared content that's accessed by flicking your thumb right on the main Circles timeline. The only casualty from this update was the Incoming feed page, which was replaced due to lack of use according to its creator. The iOS and Android applications are expected to make the jump soon, but in the meantime, the web app should satisfy the need to indulge.
Google wants you to add writers on Google+, so do writers
Find an interesting article, add its author. That's the very simple idea behind a very simple feature that Google has just begun testing. As TechCrunch recently noticed, Big G has started rolling out a new "add to Circles" button within some search results, allowing readers to more easily and instantaneously follow their favorite web authors on Google+. Writer profiles have already been integrated within search pages, but until now, users had to actually click on author pages before following them. This new circle button, on the other hand, cuts out that middle click and seems like a logical next step in Google's ongoing integration. It also seems like a great way to help writers feel better about themselves, which we always support. And if you're not seeing it, you're not going crazy -- Google's just rolling it out to only a few users.
Google code reveals inner Circles, a social secret weapon?
Nothing livens the day like a blurry screen grab of some Javascript, especially when it hints at the ghostly form of a social networking tool that doesn't officially exist. The code was spotted hiding in plain sight at Google Profiles by Austrian blogger Florian Rohrweck, who fortunately enjoys browsing computer-speak more than playing in the park. Rohrweck noticed the word "circles" used repeatedly in the context of people adding and maintaining groups of contacts, and made the connection to the Google Circles social networking platform that was feverishly rumored and then vehemently denied earlier this year (a saga fully recapped at the More Coverage link). It's impossible to know whether these few lines of code represent a forthcoming service, another social layer on top of existing services, or just pure experimentation on the part of Google devs. In any case, the circular references have apparently now been zapped, leaving us with nothing more than that screen grab -- oh yeah, and Facebook.
Dell tweaks its logo just subtly enough for nobody to notice
A vital, mind-boggling stat: back in 2007, Dell used to have 800 creative teams churning away on its brand identity around the globe. Talk about fragmentation! Well, the company that Michael built wasn't happy with the disparate messages its ever so slightly different logo variations were sending to customers, and so over the summer it introduced a definitive new design. Yes, to most people it's just a blue circle wrapped around the familiar all-caps name and tipsy E, but oh no, it's so much more. For starters, that new blue is a custom shade that you won't find in any conventional color book, now called Dell Blue, and it's seconded by a Dell Gray (fitting for a business-centric operation) and a whole palette of specially selected extra colors. Additionally, the lettering is now a little taller and squarer, with the E extending above and below its brethren by tiny little bits. Oh, and there's an exciting new typeface for the company's slogan -- check it out after the break.
LG Display develops small elliptical and circular-shaped LCDs
Oh yeah, round displays have been around the proverbial block before (probably on wheels, which are also akin to a circle), but LG Display is attempting to make a splash of its own in the unorthodox display arena with two new developments. Hailed as the "world's largest 6-inch elliptical and 1.4-inch circular-shaped LCDs," both units are capable of displaying up to 262,000 colors and have a near 160-degree viewing angle. We're told that the devices could eventually find homes in digital photo frames as well as a variety of household / automotive applications, but we won't be getting any further details 'til they're both showcased at SID next week. One more look is waiting after the jump.
They're magically delicious!
Very early in patch 2.4's progressive development on the PTR, the ability to send raid icons over chat was implemented. The syntax is pretty simple, you place the name of the icon in those funny looking brackets, like so: {circle}, {star}, etc.Personally, I'm not too terribly excited, it's not something you'll be typing on the fly, probably. I can't really see a Mage or Warlock(or anybody) taking the extra time to type that out properly when something goes wrong(ie death), as simple as it seems to do so. However, this could be a good tool for raid leaders, not so much the raiders. A raid leader could include these in a tanking/crowd control assignment macro. "/ra Matthew, tank {skull}. Christian, sheep {square}." That sort of thing.Regardless of how often this will actually be used, it's a nice little feature, and I'm sure post-2.4 mods and addons will make good use of them, even if the players themselves don't.
Rumor: iPod networking in "The Circle"
Of all the rumors coming out around tomorrow's big Apple event, this one is the strangest: The Circle. Engadget has it on good authority (a.k.a. a French blog called "generation mp3") that Apple, in an ironic turn, will steal an idea from the Zune and start their own "social" concept, called The Circle.What exactly that entails, no one seems to know. Wifi sharing? Web radio? iPod-to-iPod connections? Steve will choose a new Lion King? Anything (and nothing) is on the table.While it would be nice to see a way to transfer music and video between iPods, a closed concept like "The Circle" seems un-Apple, and so of all the unsubstantiated rumors, this seems the least substantiated. I have no doubt at all that we'll see a new iPod, and it's turning out to be pretty likely that both a touchscreen and a new Nano are going to appear, as well as a CoverFlow interface in one or both. But "The Circle"? Don't hold your breath. We'll find out tomorrow morning at noon central.
Apple to unleash "The Circle" concept tomorrow?
Wow, it's 6PM and we're only on our third semi-substantial iPod rumor for the day? Frankly, we're disappointed. The latest word to sweep the internets is that Apple is prepping to get all up in Zune's "The Social" grill with "The Circle." Unfortunately, that's the only word on the service / products so far, other than that it's going to be centered around video. So player-to-player video sharing? New branding for existing video products? Steve Jobs is starting a cult? Free Sesame Street song with every iPod? We really have no idea, but we'll be finding out soon enough.[Via PMP Today]
