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Yelp's new iOS home feed makes it easier to discover local restaurants
Yelp is introducing a vertical home feed featuring images of dishes and more, designed to help people discover local restaurants.
Google's Shopping Gift Guide will show you what everyone's buying
Google has unveiled the Shopping Gift Guide, a microsite that lets you browse trending categories, compare prices and find local buying options.
Facebook pledges $100 million to support journalism during coronavirus crisis
Facebook has already taken a number of measures to help the global effort against the spread of the coronavirus, most recently by opening up its Messenger platform to governments, and in announcing plans to invest $100 million in small businesses around the world. Now, the platform says it will set aside an additional $100 million to support the news industry during the coronavirus crisis. In a post on Facebook's Journalism Project portal, the company says it recognizes that ad revenues are declining "at a time when journalism is needed more than ever," and that its funding will be used to help journalists cover important stories "when we all need them most." Of the grant, $25 million will be set aside as emergency funding for local news through the Facebook Journalism Project, and $75 million will be given as additional marketing spend to move money to news organizations around the world. The first round of grants have already been given to 50 local newsrooms in the US and Canada. The Post and Courier in South Carolina used its grant to take down its paywall for coronavirus-related stories, for example, while Southeast Missourian is using the money to help bolster its remote work technology. The funding program is the latest move by Facebook to help fortify reliable news coverage during this uncertain time. At the end of February the platform started banning ads promoting coronavirus "cures," and later offered the World Health Organization free ads to counter misinformation surrounding the outbreak.
The Weather Channel brings localized COVID-19 updates to your phone
The Weather Channel and its parent company IBM (yep, who knew?) have teamed up to bring coronavirus data, maps and charts to your phone. They're importing data from sources like the World Health Organization (WHO), and including info from reliable local and state sources, so you can get a picture of how the virus is spreading near you, across the country and around the globe.
PlayStation Vue adds 200 more local broadcasters in time for fall TV
The price for PlayStation Vue may be a bit higher than it used to be, but in quite a few markets it just added more local broadcast channels, which is particularly worthwhile since subscribers can no longer opt out of them to save a few bucks. Sony announced that including 200 recent additions, more than 450 local ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC affiliates are now streaming. The expansion comes just in time for viewers hoping to cut the cord on cable or satellite and still watch football or network TV shows without adding on rabbit ears. It does get tricky when it comes to using features like the DVR due to rights issues, but Sony's FAQ should explain what is allowed where. For a list of newly-added stations, just take a look here. Sony claims that 97 percent of the US population has access to at least one broadcast station now -- hopefully they're all the right ones to keep you caught up on fall TV.
Google automatically translates local reviews when you travel
We all use user-generated reviews to figure out what points of interest are worth checking out. If you're traveling in a country where you don't speak the language, however, the reviews you rely on are usually in the local tongue. Google has a new feature to help you out. The company will now automatically translate reviews into your native language without any effort on your part.
Amazon will ditch its daily local deals on December 18 (update: Register too)
If you're the sort of person who really likes getting $50 of seafood for $25, your day just got a little more depressing. Amazon just announced that it would stop selling those sorts of daily deals from both its AmazonLocal site and its corresponding app on December 18th. Don't worry if you've loaded already up your calendar with days-long real estate courses and cheap car washes — any vouchers you already have, or buy before the deadline, will remain valid. Update: That's not all for the local services pullback, as Amazon also revealed it's shutting down the Local Register app that competed with the likes of Square and PayPal to process payments for small businesses. As of the 30th it is no longer accepting new customers, and the service will fully shut down on February 1st.
Amazon Echo links with Yelp to find info on local restaurants
It's such an obvious feature it's hard to believe it wasn't already there, but the latest update for Amazon's Echo lets it pull up Yelp recommendations for restaurants and other local businesses. Just ask about info on where to get Chinese food or pizza delivery, and it will send the Yelp-powered results to the Echo app on your phone or tablet. For it to work you'll need to have your local address set up in the Echo app, but that's it. Amazon says more local search results are coming soon, but for now you should also know it can help you easily stock up on Halloween candy. Just ask the speaker to "order Halloween candy" or "order Halloween chocolate" and it will -- provided you have voice purchasing enabled (read: disable voice purchasing before your kids find out about this feature).
Some users of Mumu Chat Room want more than just chatting
Mumu Chat Room brings a familiar concept from the '90s and early '00s to your modern-day iPhone and iPad. That concept is chat rooms - being able to join an online room full of strangers and chat away, typically about a specific topic designated to that room. Mumu puts its own spin on it by using location as a tool to both connect with people nearby as well as remove some of the anonymity typically associated with online chat rooms. It also includes coins as a means of customizing and upgrading the app. Mumu Chat Room is free with in-app purchases and requires iOS 7.0 or later. Chat rooms slowly faded out of the consciousness of Internet users when they became unsafe due to instances of sexual harassment and worse. Today we live in a world where security and privacy have become top priorities for users, yet at the same time many are seemingly more comfortable with sharing even more of their private information on the Web. So in the changing environment, what can Mumu Chat Room bring to the table? Well, when I logged in with my freshly created Mumu account, I saw an extensive collection of chat rooms. All of them are created by users, by the way - Mumu doesn't have any preselected topic rooms. Some of the rooms summon teens only for chat, I saw one specifically for Beyoncé fans and most of the others are as predictable as you might imagine. People creating rooms are mostly looking for explicit conversation and sexual favors. I love music, and the plethora of hormonal teenagers wasn't going to stop me from finding people to have a civilized conversation with about music. I created my own room, which again, anyone is welcome to do. Entitled "Music Lovers," two users quickly joined. When you create a room, you have options to set its capacity (two to 28 humans,) a password for private chatting, enabling kick and ban from the room and enabling photo sharing. Any capacity over eight starts costing you some coins. One user joined my room, asked "Are u a boy" and then immediately left. I'm sure that was just a song lyric I'm not familiar with. When you find interesting people on Mumu, adding them to your Contacts list saves them for chatting later, even one-on-one if you choose. The app also has a Nearby tab that lists user names and photos near you currently online and available for messaging. To create large rooms or customize colors within the app, prepare to spend your coins. Earn more by staying active in Mumu but otherwise, packs of them are sold in app starting at US$1.99. Mumu Chat Room feels plagued by the number of users looking for some action, but the app really isn't to blame for that. Users have taken to the app and made something out of it, which is a power anyone holds. Create some rooms and get the conversation going about whatever you're interested in. If others aren't biting, at least you tried. If Mumu doesn't want sexual conversations dominating the content of its app, I recommend having some preset room topics from the get-go. For now, its entirely up to you to make it your own. Mumu Chat Room is free with in-app purchases for iPhone and iPad.
Well, this is weird
Push Me Pull You is a wrestling game mashed up with a ball game and presented in four-player local co-op, with two players controlling one snake-like, two-headed humanoid creature. Maybe we're better off letting Australian developer House House describe it: "Connected at the waist, you and your partner must use a shared body to wrap, writhe, and wrestle the ball into your half of the court. Love each other, work together, communicate and coordinate, and prove that a good friendship can overcome anything (unless you find yourself up against an even better friendship!). It's a bit like a big hug, or playing soccer with your small intestines. With every action affecting both you and your partner (and lots of shouting at each other) PMPY combines the best parts of 2v2 local multiplayer with the worst parts of your last breakup." That's ... better. Push Me Pull You is due out in 2014 for PC, Mac and Linux, for all your wrestling, hoarding, friendship and breakup needs. See the new gameplay video and more wonderfully weird gifs below.
Amazon's reportedly working on a service that connects you with local businesses
According to a report by Reuters, Amazon will launch a marketplace for local services, connecting customers with babysitters, handymen, hair stylists and more. As with its AmazonFresh grocery-delivery service, the company will reportedly test-drive the new program before rolling it out nation-wide, but we can expect to see the service up and running later this year.
California's new self-driving car regulations prohibit falling asleep at the wheel
California is fine with car makers test-driving autonomous vehicles on its roadways, but the DMV now has some rules on exactly how. Under new regulations, drivers (or riders as the case may be) will need to be official testers on a manufacturer's payroll and go through a special training program to get a yearlong permit. They'll also have to remain attentive behind the wheel -- so no napping on the way to work yet -- and notify the DMV if they're in an accident or have to override the car's manual controls for any reason. When it comes to cars, it's not a free-for-all. Manufacturers will need to apply for a permit for each individual vehicle, and cars are required to have at least five million dollars worth of liability insurance.
Yahoo now shows Yelp reviews when you're searching for local businesses
Google has long made it easy to find reviews of local businesses in its search results, but you've been out of luck if you prefer Yahoo. You won't have much trouble scouting those locations after today, though. As hinted earlier this year, Yahoo has integrated Yelp's data into its searches, including reviews and photos. Look at a sushi place, for instance, and you'll find out when it's open, what it looks like, and whether or not its rolls are any good. Yahoo may just be closing a feature gap with the Yelp deal, but we're not going to complain if it means that more of our friends make informed decisions about where they shop.
Microsoft's 'HereHere' project maps what's wrong with NYC neighborhoods
It's no secret that New Yorkers love to complain -- the city's '311' non-emergency line serves as a hotbed for grievances on everything from burnt out streetlights to wildlife on the loose. Now thanks to a new project called HereHere from Microsoft's Future Social Experiences Lab (FUSE) you can keep up to date on your neighborhood's many complaints through curated notifications. The initiative displays issues from 40 NYC neighborhoods in a cartoon map with icons representing the largest problems for each neighborhood. Residents can see what issues are affecting their area, as well as opt into an email newsletter detailing local problems. Neighborhood-specific Twitter accounts can also keep you in the loop. The goal of the project is to make the data more accessible to average citizens so they can help prevent issues and help solve those that already exist. At the very least, you'll know that everyone else in the 'hood is as pissed off as you are about those "incessant ice cream trucks."
Bridging the gap between casual and pro at the Chicago Dota 2 Winter Open
At Ignite Gaming Lounge in Chicago, Illinois, the crowd is losing its mind. It's grand finals of the Chicago Dota 2 Winter Open, a two-day, double-elimination, 16-team throwdown, and for some reason someone has just picked Meepo. For those of you who aren't in the Dota 2 loop, suffice to say that Meepo isn't a standard hero pick for a tournament. Picking Meepo in a match with $1,000 on the line is a lot like jumping out of a plane and wishing for a parachute -- an incredible, amazing story if it works and an embarrassing, painful death if it doesn't, with the odds heavily on the latter. The announcers, broadcasting the match simultaneously on Dota TV (Dota 2's in-game spectating client) and Twitch, are dumbfounded. The chat channels are exploding. And as everyone witnesses the Meepo gamble pay off in the most incredible way, the excitement only expands and intensifies. But perhaps what's most special about this Meepo pick, about this final game between two local teams that have bested challenger after challenger, is not the risky strategy or the money on the line. What's special is that anyone is watching it at all.
Google wants local governments opening up more data to improve your local search
Google already uses a handful of municipal government data to provide services like mass transit navigation, but it now wants a bigger helping. The search firm's Americas President, Margo Georgiadis, tells those at Chicago's Metropolitian Planning Council that cities should open up their data as a matter of course. Google could significantly improve its personal assistant features if it had access to data for local events, jobs, neighborhoods and schools, according to the executive. We wouldn't count on urban leaders taking the company's advice, though. While cities like New York City and Paris publish their data, there are many others that still keep their information locked up -- it could be a long while before Google gets the openness it desires.
Crying wolf: when emergency alerts stop being effective
Yesterday, I switched off all AMBER and Emergency iPhone Alerts in Settings > Notification Center. This followed a day and a night of flash flood warnings that started at 1 AM and continued until just after noon. [Erica is in Colorado, where recent wet weather has contributed to disastrous flooding. –Ed.] In that time, I counted eight individual Emergency Alerts issued by the National Weather Service in my personal notification center. These included alerts in the middle of the night; alerts as I was in office buildings; and alerts while I was waiting for appointments or having meetings. Since AT&T pushed out its Emergency Alert upgrade to support my iPhone 4S, I have received alerts for a variety of weather situations plus that abduction one from California. I cannot point to a single alert in my history that I considered necessary to receive on a phone rather than seeing on the TV or by hearing the local tornado alarms. I cannot customize the alerts I hear. It's all on or all off for AMBER and/or emergency items. These alerts are loud, scary, intrusive and blunt. I think my alert burnout is pretty human. When people get tired of alerts that aren't relevant, they're going to shut them off. Emergency alerts by their very nature should be few, important and effective. As is, they've become the spam of disaster preparedness. And I've just sent mine to my virtual alert spam folder. We posted a how-to on turning off your emergency alerts in July. Please consider the risks and benefits before changing this setting on your phone. –Ed.
Google implements local business AdWords to Maps on Android and iOS
Love 'em, ignore 'em or pay a buck to get rid of them, mobile ads are more than just a waste of space, they're almost a necessary evil. To that effect, Google Maps is populating its search results with local -- and hopefully relevant -- AdWords starting today. Let's say you're looking for a taqueria in Bushwick, Brooklyn; if you're running the latest version of the app, an ad for Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos could appear at the bottom of your screen. Tapping it brings up a card with review ratings, a call shortcut and sharing buttons. From what we've seen, it's unobtrusive and actually kind of helpful, unlike some of Mountain View's other advertising experiments. Now, about those tacos...
Dish Network, Raycom squabble blacks out local channels in 36 markets
Apparently it's the season for issues between networks and pay-TV distributors, as Dish Network customers in 36 networks are missing some of their local channels as of late last night. Dish and Raycom Media have failed to reach an agreement, so stations the network owns including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, CW and MyNetworkTV stations in 36 markets stretching from Cincinnati to Honolulu have gone dark. There's a full list after the break of which ones, and as usual both sides are claiming the other is to blame for not wanting to reach a fair agreement. Your guess is as good as ours as to when the tiff will be resolved, however so far, unlike CBS vs. Time Warner Cable neither side is suggesting Aereo as a replacement.
Los Angeles school gives out five iPads to elementary school students with exemplary attendance
The LA Daily News reports that the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), in an effort to encourage students to show up to class, is giving away some pretty impressive gifts to students with exemplary attendance. Graduating senior Vanessa Umana expected to leave last Friday's commencement ceremony at Francis Polytechnic High School with a diploma, a few photos and some wonderful memories. Imagine her surprise, then, when Principal Ari Bennett announced that Vanessa would also be getting an $18,000 Chevrolet Sonic, one of two grand prizes awarded in a year-long contest to encourage perfect attendance at Los Angeles Unified schools. Of course, not every graduating senior received a car. Rather, students with perfect attendance were entered into a lottery for the vehicles. The report notes that the LAUSD over the past few months has been awarding monthly prizes to students who show up to class each and every day. It would appear that the prizes are typically donated by local companies, so any concerns regarding the wasteful use of government money should be dialed back a bit. Naturally, not every gift is as exciting as a new car, but the report does note that five elementary school students were awarded iPads "as winners in the district's Attendance Challenge." Well I certainly went to school in the wrong school district, not to mention the wrong era. The report is unclear as to whether or not Apple donated the iPads to the school district. I reached out to Apple for clarification but haven't heard back yet. In the past, Apple has donated iPads for worthy causes. In 2011, the company donated iPads to the state of Oregon as part of a pilot program to make it easier for disabled citizens to vote. Apple in 2011 also set up a program where owners of the original iPad could give their devices to Apple who then donated them to teachers in lower income school districts.
