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Alexa’s Auto Mode turns your phone into a ‘driver-friendly’ display
Amazon believes Auto Mode will make it safer and easier to user your phone in the car.
Starbucks embraces fake meat, starting in Canada
Next week, when Starbucks rolls out its spring menu in stores across Canada, it will include one notable addition: a breakfast sandwich with Beyond Meat sausage. Starbucks joins a growing list of brands that have added Beyond Meat's plant-based offerings to their menus. To date, those companies include McDonald's (also a Canadian pilot), KFC, Subway, Carl's Jr., Hardee's and more.
Facebook's app will personalize navigation to fit your social habit
Facebook adds new features on the regular. It has recently revamped its Marketplace section, made its news feed more friend-focused and changed algorithms to reduce fake news and clickbait. Now, Facebook is redesigning the navigation bar in its mobile app to better show you shortcuts to things you use most often. The company said that the new system should roll out globally in the coming weeks.
Google's Pixel 2 is hiding an old-school menu button
Google has a bit of a throwback tucked away in the Pixel 2. Depending on the app, you can access the old-school Android menu button by tapping in the lower righthand corner of the screen, as spotted by Android Police. As you'll see in the video embedded below, it doesn't seem to do much, but hey, it exists. Android Police says that to access it, you need a Pixel 2 running the stock software and an app that targets Android Honeycomb or an earlier version of the OS. As of now, it'll appear in the settings menu, along with Google Maps and Inbox.
Xbox One's customizable dashboard arrives to more testers
The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is arriving early next week (October 17th), but it looks like Xbox One users will get some new software toys soon, too. Microsoft has released the Xbox One fall preview update to everyone on the Delta and Omega Insider rings, that is too say, the bulk of its beta testers. Those folks will get the much-anticipated Fluent Design for Xbox One that lets you customize the dashboard the way you want, pinning favorite games, apps and people to the home page.
Foursquare adds menu search to dining spots, eases quest for ramen and dumplings
Following its recent auto-notification announcement, Foursquare is serving up yet another feature to make finding a spot to nosh even easier while you're out and about. With its latest update, the social check-in software has added menu search. That's right, all you have to do is type in a dish, select your current locale and boom: the app dishes out a list of restaurants where that item you're crazing is on the menu. This works for dietary restrictions too for those who prefer to stick to veggies or follow the gluten-free lifestyle. No word on when you'll be able to order directly from the app, so stay tuned.
Patch 5.4 PTR: Latency and FPS info moved to a new home
With the appearance of the Blizzard In-game Store icon in the menu, something had to go. And the icon that took the hit was the little computer monitor picture that had previously held information about latency, framerate, bandwidth, download information, and allowed players to open up the in-game menu with a single click. Now, first and foremost, it's worth bearing in mind that Blizzard representatives have suggested pretty strongly that the in-game store will launch, initially at least, on Asian servers only. So, it's possible that this might not be a problem for US and EU servers. It might never be a problem, or at least, not for a while. Nonetheless, Blizzard's devs have thought of this. While you can't click on it to open the menu any more -- you can just hit Escape instead -- the tooltip showing this useful information on mouseover has been rehomed, and now lives on the red question mark -- the customer support icon. Don't look at my numbers, though. I know it's bad.
Wordpress for iOS gets a new user interface
The Wordpress app for iOS has been updated again, and it features a brand-new interface for browsing, writing and editing posts on the popular blogging platform. As you can see above, the new interface apes Facebook's "side menu" (as have a few other big apps lately), and the update also fixes some other bugs, and adds some performance improvements in regards to emoticons and notifications in general. Wordpress for iOS is an open-source project, and thus you can download it straight from the App Store any time for free.
EVE Online redesigns radial menu for Odyssey
In looking to trim down some of the menu bloat for EVE Online's Odyssey expansion, CCP Games is resurrecting and redesigning the radial menu to be a "silver bullet" for this issue. The updated radial menu will be connected to the underutilized left mouse button and is confined to eight segments that will change depending on what the user is clicking. The studio wrote up a blog post on the subject, promising that the redesign is intuitive and will result in faster access to relevant commands. Initially, the radial menu upgrade will be for ship flight only, although CCP is willing to expand its domain if players find it useful. This feature is currently available on the test server.
Roku's second gen players can get their grid menu update now
We dug the grid-style menu system that came along with the Roku 3, and now owners of some of the company's older players can experience it as well. The Roku 2 boxes, Roku LT, newer Roku HD and Streaming Stick are all eligible to download the new update, although it's not coming to the company's first generation boxes. It's been rolling out to limited numbers of users all month for testing, but tonight the company announced anyone can get it by prompting their box to manually update. All it takes is checking the update section under settings, otherwise it will be downloaded automatically at some point in the next few weeks.
Roku 2 menu update gets a new 'end of May' deadline in message to devs (update)
We loved the Roku 3's new UI when we reviewed it recently and eagerly anticipated its arrival on "current-gen" hardware this month, but that may not be in the cards. Dave Zatz points out an email sent to Roku developers today that mentions "the new user interface introduced with the Roku 3 will be coming to Roku 2, Roku LT and Roku HD (model 2500) by the end of May." That could add a few extra weeks to the wait for current owners, but there may be a silver lining. The email goes on to mention that it expects channels to run the same, if not better (besides looking better) after the upgrade. We've contacted Roku to find out any more details, we'll update if we hear anything more specific. Update: Roku has responded, and also mentioned in a post on Facebook that the update will begin rolling out in the first week of May.
Nintendo video shows off Wii U speed improvement coming in April update
Nintendo's Wii U has faced complaints over slow loading and switching between menus since launch, but the company has promised a pair of updates will help the situation. Tonight it posted a video on YouTube (embedded after the break) that shows off the difference before and after the April update side by side. Showing off how quickly it can return to the home menu from a game of New Super Mario Bros. U, the updated console is ready to go in eight seconds, compared to the current software's 20-second delay. There's no mention of the other update to improve the speed of launching software, but hopefully that will be shown off soon as well. More than halving the main menu's load time is nothing to sneeze at, although it's still not exactly a snappy experience. We'll see if these tweaks -- once they arrive -- do anything to improve the console's position while it waits for the improved software lineup President Satoru Iwata is expecting.
Yelp's new picture-heavy menus give you a better look at that Baby Back Rib Tickler
Needless to say, we're all well aware of Yelp's popularity amongst people who love a thing or two about visiting restaurants and, in turn, eating some good ol' food. And while the service could be considered relatively great as is, it never hurts to see a few new features added here and there -- especially one as useful as the new "Explore the Menu," which is made possible by everyday users like yourself. The newfangled menu system will allow folks to upload pictures of any grub item they've tried at frequented restaurants, making it easier for future goers to have a slight idea of what to expect should they be interested in trying a particular dish from one of the many places listed within Yelp. The novel menu pages will be rolling out to business pages today in the US, with Yelp noting that this will be the "first time ever" it's simultaneously launching a fresh service across its OG site, mobile website and applications.
Canonical bringing HUD to Ubuntu 12.04, company's assault on menus continues
Canonical -- shepherd of the popular Linux distribution Ubuntu -- generally doesn't rock the boat with its LTS releases, but things are going to be different this time around. With 12.04LTS the company is taking its assault on contextual menus to the next level by launching HUD. Mark Shuttleworth's obsession with simplifying user interactions began with the controversial Unity UI in Ubuntu 10.10, and will continue with the Head-Up Display. "Menus require you to read a lot when you probably already know what you want," the distro's founder wrote, "HUD solves many of these issues." Those that have used the search feature in Apple's "Help" menus, or launcher apps like Quicksilver and Alfred, will immediately recognize the goal -- to keep a user's fingers on the keyboard, remove clutter and facilitate quick access to available actions. Listening to music and in the mood for The King? Invoke HUD, type the artist's name and you're presented with your Elvis catalog. It also uses "fuzzy matching" and will remember the actions you most commonly perform to further refine your experience. If you're having a hard time envisioning how HUD works, fear not; there is a three minute video demo awaiting your inspection after the break. Death to menus!
Found Footage: Sharp says 'sushi please' on iPad
Lots of visual content, quick transactions, and hungry customers: that's what Sharp has in mind with this proof of concept sushi menu application for iPad. Rather than putting diners through the chore of tracking down their favorite rolls and sashimi in a multipage laminated paper menu, the app puts dishes front and center. The iPad app isn't for sale yet, although the DigInfo report quotes Sharp saying it may be commercialized if there's interest; it might also be ported to Sharp-built devices. If it does get rolled out, it would be included as an integrated piece of Sharp's POS system for restaurants, including billing and order management tools. We've seen systems like this tested before, but as far as we've heard, no one's actually using iPads in real-life restaurants and at least one Australian tapas joint has already gotten on the bandwagon. If you've seen a virtual menu in action, let us know in the comments. [via Guy Kawasaki]
TiVo Premiere's RCN VOD menu is based on the classic interface
Oh TiVo we'd really beat you up about this one if the new HDUI wasn't so painfully slow. We'd love to go on and on about how lame it is to be upconverting a UI even though HD has been around for years and how sick we are of that 10 year old TiVo interface. But no, instead we're just happy that at least some cable viewers will have access to VOD on a 3rd party device, and no matter how bad it looks, we wish every provider made the effort that RCN did to bring all of its services to every device on its network. We're also happy to read that no matter how bad it looks to us, it is an upgrade from the existing RCN VOD interface and is much more responsive than the TiVo Premiere's HDUI -- RCN does expect to roll out a version with the new UI in the 3rd quarter of this year.
SecondBar puts your menu bar on a second monitor
The menu bar is a quintessential piece of the Mac "experience." On the left, it shows all of the menu items for the currently active application; on the right, it shows icons from various menu bar application programs: the date/time, WiFi status, MobileMe sync status, and many, many more. The whole idea is to make the menu items easy to find and easy to "hit" with a mouse, by being connected to the top of the screen (Fitts's law and all that). But what if you have two monitors? Suddenly the menu bar might be all the way over on the other side. Yes, I realize that complaining about using a Mac with two monitors might be the quintessential "first-world problem," but the more minor irritants you can remove from life, the better. SecondBar is an app which will extend your menu bar to a second monitor. I've been using it for a while and it works pretty well for what the author describes as an "alpha" build.
What's that menu item mean on my Mac?
Ever since you've started using your Mac, you've been looking at those icons towards the top right of your display in your menu bar. These items can direct to many different things, from connecting to a wireless network, to finding items on your Mac. These items not only can be clicked on to show a pop-up menu to perform actions, they can also indicate activity depending on what that icon if for. Here's a summary of some of the most widely-used icons, some menu items you might not have seen before on your Mac, common applications that have uses for menu items, and some extra functions in these items. Spotlight: The Spotlight menu item provides an easy shortcut to finding files on your Mac. Clicking it will show a search box directly under the menu bar, and will provide a summary of results when searching. This icon will also indicate when your Mac is indexing new search results, like when you plug in a external hard drive, by a pulsing dot inside the magnifying glass. Bluetooth: This icon (which is a Bluetooth logo) will show the current status of Bluetooth on your Mac. If Bluetooth is turned on, it will simply show the Bluetooth symbol. If it's turned off, the item will appear faded. If the Bluetooth part has been unplugged, it will slow a line and it will also appear faded. If your Mac is connected to a Bluetooth device, it will show three dots along with a faded Bluetooth logo. If your Mac is connected to an Apple Wireless Keyboard or Mouse, there will be a low battery warning displayed on the icon if their batteries are running low.
Fallen Earth Thanksgiving menus put the epic in epicurean
For many, Thanksgiving is now either fading off into our memories, or only remains as a pile of leftovers wedged in the back of the fridge. In Fallen Earth, it was a bit more sparse in terms of celebration, but there were those brave souls who did try to gather together new frontier foodstuffs into a vaguely palatable holiday meal. After some time spent judging, the Fallen Earth team announced the winners of their nomtastic Thanksgiving Menu Contest recently. Despite the fact that the chefs were all dealing with mutated, irradiated food, several entrants still managed to whip up menus that actually sounded pretty good!Sure, the simple, everyday Flat Beer was to be found in abundance, but after a vote, Reko Takeda of the Lotus Clan was the one whose cuisine reigned supreme. The winning menu not only sounded tasty, but even considered various interesting options, including a "children's menu" for the not-so-discerning CHOTA palette. So if you're in the mood for a good Fallen Earth holiday laugh, be sure to look over all the different menus that were submitted. Who knows -- there are other events looming. Perhaps their post-apocalyptic treats will inspire you to make something delicious for your clan. Alternately, they may just put you off the idea of eating altogether. You'll just have to read and see.
McCormick and Schmick's special BlizzCon menu
Truth be told, I didn't get to try a lot of the local cuisine in Anaheim this time around at BlizzCon -- we did have a nice dinner at the Anabella before the meetup, and we did try the buffet breakfast at the Indian restaurant in the Ramada Plaza, but other than that, most of my food came from the caterer in the press room. But at least one local restaurant got in the BlizzCon spirit -- seafood-and-steak hotspot McCormick and Schmick's apparently put a special Blizzard-related themed menu together for conventiongoers to pick from. And it's pretty funny -- they must have someone on staff who plays Diablo and WoW a lot.I especially like the "Noob Entrees," the "Death Knight Filet Mignon" (it can dual wield two flavors while tanking your taste buds?), and the Grizzly Hills Blueberry Shortcake. Which actually sounds really, really good -- it does kind of seem like Grizzly Hills would grow some great blueberries, doesn't it? Good show, M&S. All of the BlizzCon folks were pretty unmissable in Anaheim this past weekend, so it's cool to see a local busines play to the temporary clientele.
