Month: August 2016

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Open Hotel Alert Notifies You When Sold Out Hotels Make Rooms Available

Open Hotel Alert makes sure you get a spot in your preferred hotel on your next vacation, convention, or other trip—even if it’s sold out when you try to book. Just tell it where you’d like to stay and when, and if the hotel is sold out now, it’ll text or email you when something opens up.

The service doesn’t do anything you probably couldn’t do if you didn’t want to sink the time in—it just checks room availability frequently for the hotel you select, and lets you know if something opens up by text or email the moment it does. You could set an alarm to check every few hours yourself, but the whole point of the service is so you don’t have to.

Since you get an alert as soon as something is available, you’re in a position to book that room right away, and the app will give you a direct link to book to jump out and book the room (which, by the way, is how Open Hotel Alert makes money—through Booking.com’s affiliate program.) Hit the link below to give it a try.

Open Hotel Alert

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Intel says new USB Type-C spec will ease headphone jack loss

Judging by comments on articles about Apple’s next iPhone and the Moto Z smartphone, the public is not crazy about ditching the headphone jack. However, Intel and its partners have embraced the idea, and at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF), company architects Rahman Ismail and Brad Saunders explained why. It’s all about changes to the standard that will "really make the USB Type-C the right connector for audio," said Sanders.

USB Type-C is used on Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7, the OnePlus 3 and the Huawei-built Google Nexus 6P, along with the Chromebook Pixel and MacBook laptops. The Moto Z also uses it, and so far it’s the only device from a large brand to nix the 3.5mm audio port in favor of the newfangled connector.

The idea is to get consumers to use dedicated USB Type-C or wireless headphones, or plug in an (easily lost) adapter for their traditional 3.5mm wired models. Consumers are naturally worried that such an adapter won’t come in the box, meaning they won’t be able to use their favorite wired phones without spending even more on a dongle.

However, Saunders thinks users will come around thanks to the advantages of the updated standard for USB C. It eliminates the analog to digital circuitry needed in phones, letting manufacturers make them slimmer, he said. It would also allow for more pristine sound, noise cancelling, and effects like extra bass or "concert hall" reverb.

The revised spec also supports "granular" power management, letting the system shut off a microphone if you’re just using your headphones for music, for instance. That should ensure that USB audio doesn’t suck much more power than a headphone jack.

Intel also revealed a new type of video standard that will be incorporated into USB Type-C. While not a replacement for HDMI, Ismail said "it’s good enough to do productivity work or watch movies, but not for a gaming system." It’ll even work if you’re using a hub to plug multiple devices into a single USB Type-C port.

The updated USB Type-C standard also includes device authentication, making for better security. It will be unveiled later this year, according to Intel. Like all such standards, however, there will be multiple specifications, so your phone’s USB Type-C port might not have the same capability at all as the one on your laptop.

Via: CNET

Source: Intel Developer Forum

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Windows Holographic coming to all Windows 10 PCs next year

We already knew that all Windows 10 PCs will be compatible with Windows Holographic, a "mixed reality" experience that’ll let you immerse yourself in faraway lands. Now, we know when that will be. Terry Myerson, Executive VP of Microsoft’s Windows and Devices group, just came on stage at the Intel Developer’s Forum to announce there’ll be an update to Windows 10 to add the holographic shell update as soon as next year.

This means that all mainstream PCs will soon have holographic or mixed reality capabilities. Thanks to a Windows Holographic Platform collaboration with Intel, Myerson said compatible PCs includes tiny Intel NUCs with embedded Iris graphics, as well as the latest and greatest PCs. It’ll have optimization for PCs and laptops, and in addition to HoloLens, it’ll be compatible with Project Alloy as well.

Source: Microsoft

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Pokemon Go Facing Class-Action Lawsuit

Irritated by how Pokemon Go draws people to a park near their home, a metro Detroit couple has filed a class-action lawsuit against the creators of the massively popular mobile game.

The Detroit Free Press reports that the couple, Scott and Jayme Dodich of St. Clair Shores, sued developer Niantic, Nintendo, as well as partners The Pokemon Company in California federal court.

The Dodiches are suing to try to stop Niantic from putting Pokemon on or near private properties, unless they have an owner’s blessing. Additionally, the lawsuit asks that a share of Pokemon Go’s revenue be given to residents whose properties are claimed to have fueled the game’s wild popularity.

In the lawsuit, it’s stated that Pokemon Go had reached 30 million downloads and brought in more than $35 million. The actual numbers may be higher, however, as Niantic told the Los Angeles Times this month that the game has been downloaded close to 100 million times. Though official revenue figures have not been shared, a report claimed Pokemon Go brought in $200 million in its first month.

The Dodiches explain in the lawsuit that they are fed up with Pokemon Go players walking on their lawn, looking into their windows, and even swearing at them in some cases. They live across the street from Wahby Park, which is a Pokemon Go gym, while seven PokeStops are in the nearby area. "Hundreds" of people come by on any given day, the lawsuit says.

"Nobody gets sleep anymore," the lawsuit says. "How is this acceptable? … They hang out on our lawns, trample landscaping, look in vehicles … We don’t feel safe … I don’t feel safe sitting on our porch."

"Defendants have shown a flagrant disregard for the foreseeable consequences of populating the real world with virtual Pokemon without seeking the permission of property owners," it goes on.

Niantic has not commented on the lawsuit as of yet. We have reached out to the company and will update this post with anything we hear back.

The Dodiches are not the first to speak out against Pokemon Go for encroaching on their personal property. A man in Massachusetts who lives in a converted church designated as a Pokemon Gym has lobbied Niantic to adjust the GPS coordinates, according to the Associated Press. Additionally, Pokemon used to show up at the Holocaust Museum and the Hiroshima bombing memorial before officials got in touch with Niantic to remedy the situation.

Niantic allows anyone to request an exclusion using this form, but there are no guarantees.

In other news about Pokemon Go, a glitch has been discovered that allows players to hold on to gyms indefinitely. Additionally, a mock-up trailer shows what a Harry Potter Go game might look like.

For more on Pokemon Go from around the world, check out GameSpot’s news roundup or click on through to our stories below.

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