Like It or Not Facebook Plans to Force Feed You Ads [Update]

[Update] Adblock Plus, one of the best-known tools for blocking ads on the internet, claims to have a workaround that can defeat Facebook new advertising system. According to an official Adblock Plus blog post, users of the software can simply add a single line of code to their filters to make Facebook's ads go away. In response Facebook states, "We're disappointed that ad blocking companies are punishing people on Facebook as these new attempts don't just block ads but "other" Facebook content as well.."


Bad news for you Facebook users out there that are trying to get a little reprieve from the incessant bombardment of ads. Starting this week the social media giant will be employing new measures to bypass and block the most popular ad-blocking technologies out there. Meaning like it or not Facebook is going to be cramming as many ads as they can down your throat!

Facebook has announced that they will be taking measure to modify the digital signature of ads on its website so they are displayed to all users - this new modification is expressly meant to bypass most current ad-blocking apps. Meaning that all users, even those running browser extensions like Ad-block will now see apps on Facebook and in their timelines.

In an attempt to just justify the move Facebook says they are continuing to build "more powerful tools" which let users control the content of advertisements they see, ostensibly allowing users to cater ads to their interests. Though you still can't remove them, or limit them in any way!

We’ve designed our ad formats, ad performance and controls to address the underlying reasons people have turned to ad blocking software. When we asked people about why they used ad blocking software, the primary reason we heard was to stop annoying, disruptive ads. As we offer people more powerful controls, we’ll also begin showing ads on Facebook desktop for people who currently use ad blocking software.

In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, Andrew Bosworth, Facebook's vice president of its ads and business platform stated, "We are making it harder for ad blockers to be effective on Facebook for desktop," describing the issue as a matter of principle.

"Facebook is ad-supported. Ads are a part of the Facebook experience; they’re not a tack on,” said Bosworth. "This isn’t motivated by inventory; it’s not an opportunity for Facebook from that perspective. We’re doing it more for the principle of the thing. We want to help lead the discussion on this."

By continuing to force more and more ads on users Facebook ensures their cash cow will continue to be profitable. As we recently reported the company reported billions of dollars in profits this past quarter, due by and large to their ad unit. By ensuring more users see more of their ads the company stands to continue those gains.

Ads and ad-blocking are hardly new. From day one advertisers were looking for ways to monetize websites to their fullest, and ad placement was a cheap and easy option. Unfortunately, these days being bombarded with an overload of ads on your favorite websites is all too common. This has resulted in a great deal of backlash from users and a substantial growth in the development of ad-blocking technology.

In 2016, 69.8 million Americans will use an ad blocker, an increase of nearly 35% from last year, research firm eMarketer says. Next year, that figure is expected to grow another 24% to 86.6 million people. Ad-blocking software is more common on desktop computers and laptops than on smartphones. Though the number of people using ad blocking software on smartphones will jump nearly 63% this year, eMarketer projects.

From a technical standpoint, Facebook is able to circumvent ad blockers relatively easily because of the way it loads ads into the service using their own servers. Many ad-blockers rely on the fact that online publishers and media companies utilize links and scripts from third-party companies to help display ads on their webpages and services. This make those ads much more easily identifiable to blocking technologies.

By modify the digital signature of their ads Facebook believes it will be too costly and time-intensive for developers of ad-blocking software to code in a fix to the issue. For now at least, it appears Facebook as won at this cat and mouse game, though we expect developers are working at workarounds as we type! 

Samsung Wants Serbia's Youth to ‘Be Like Tesla’

In celebration of the 160 birthday of one of our all time favorite inventors and all around geeks, Nikola Tesla, Samsung launched a new initiative aimed at getting Serbia's youth interested in science and technology. The ‘Be Like Tesla’ project as it is dubbed incorporates multiple program elements designed to raise appreciation for Tesla as well as instill a passion for innovation among Serbian students.

Samsung Electronics Adria (SEAD) in cooperation with the Museum of Nikola Tesla in Belgrade, as well as the Institute for Educational Quality and Evaluation, recently organized the ‘Be Like Tesla’ project which first kicked off at the end of 2015 with the ‘Be Like Tesla’ caravan. A team of representatives from the supporting organizations along with popular young Serbian actor Biojan Dimitrijevic, who playing the part of Nikola Tesla, toured 17 cities across Serbia over a one-month period. The caravan housed interactive lectures for students utilizing the technology tools of the Samsung Digital Classroom.

The lecture and demonstrations were used to teach the children about the life and achievements of Tesla. In total, over 3,000 students visited the caravan during its tour throughout Serbia. In addition, a demo of the Samsung Digital Classroom was also organized at Kalmegdan featuring exhibits from the Museum of Nikola Tesla leveraging Samsung VR and other technology.

In 2016, the ‘Be Like Tesla’ project included a national competition for Serbian primary school students during May and June. Students were tasked to develop an invention inspired by the works of Nikola Tesla with about 150 schools from across Serbia taking part in the competition.

On July 10, the 160th birthday of Nikola Tesla, more than 5,000 people gathered at Kalmegdan to celebrate the winner of the national school competition. For the grand prize, primary school Mihajlo Pupin from Zemun, Belgrade was awarded for its project “Carousel.” The project featured operation of a toy carousel with a smartphone and sound recognition technology, leveraging wireless data transmission, one of Nikola Tesla’s inventions. As an award, the school and students received a fully-equipped Samsung Digital Classroom.

Following announcement of the winners, a Samsung representative also announced a three-year plan for continuing cooperation with the Museum of Nikola Tesla to further raise interest in science among Serbia’s youth leveraging the latest technology.

Read more...

Apple Plans to Pay Out Big Cash Rewards For Security Bugs

Big news for security researchers and would be iOS hackers, Apple has finally launched a high dollar bug bounty program that could net you a whopping $200,000!! The program, which will be an Apple first, promises big payouts for hacks and security vulnerabilities that affect the most serious aspects of Apple's iOS operating systems.

Apple announced the new program during the Black Hat cybersecurity conference when the head of Apple security, Ivan Krstic, took the stage. Kristic said the company would pay bug bounties -- up to $200,000 -- to researchers who find and report vulnerabilities in specific Apple software. Don't set your sights on a big paid day just yet though. Like all things Apple does they are keeping very tight control on the program.

For now, Apple is limiting the program to about two dozen researchers who Apple will selectively invite to help identify hard-to-uncover security bugs in five specific categories. The high dollar bounties are only being offered for a small range of iDevice and iCloud bugs. The full list is as follows:

• Secure boot firmware components: Up to $200,000 (~£150,000)
• Extraction of confidential material protected by the Secure Enclave: Up to $100,000.
• Execution of arbitrary code with kernel privileges: Up to $50,000.
• Access from a sandboxed process to user data outside of that sandbox: Up to $25,000.
• Unauthorized access to iCloud account data on Apple servers: Up to $50,000.

The payment amounts outlined above are upper limits and not likely to reflect actual payments. Those will depend on the novelty of the issue and how likely the issue is to be exploited in the wild.

As with most bug bounty programs in order to collect the pay outs the researchers will need to submit a report to Apple with a working proof-of-concept that the exploit that works on the latest stable version of iOS. If the bugs are hardware-related, the proof-of-concept must also work on the latest shipping iPhone or iPad hardware. Additionally they are also asked not to disclose the bugs before Apple has time to fix them, though the company would only say it would fix them as soon as possible and wouldn't commit to a firm time window.

Apple said it decided to limit the scope of the program at the advice of other companies that have previously launched bounty programs. Those companies said that if they were to do it again, they would start by inviting a small list of researchers to join, then gradually open it up over time, according to Apple. Limiting participation not only gives Apple more control, but it also saves the company from dealing with a massive influx of potentially negative hacks leaking and an influx of "low-value" bug reports.

Google Search Will Help You Find 'Must-Try' Restaurants

Google is adding a few new search features that may help you locate your favorite new dinning spot or a cool new 'secret' spot that you have never tried before! Starting today, every time you use the Google Search app and search for the best spots to eat and drink, you’ll have access to reviews from top critics and best-of lists from reputable publishers.

"Picture this: you're in New York City for 24 hours," Google Product Manager Ronnie Falcon wrote in a Thursday blog post. "If you're craving dim sum, but not sure which place is a top spot, a search for 'chinese restaurant' may bring up Michelin favorite RedFarm in the West Village. Looking further at the search result, you'll see it also appears on more than 10 best-of lists, including Eater, CBS Local and Refinery29."

When using your mobile device Google already gives you plenty of information about any given restaurant, bar or business in your area, including when it’s the busiest and what other visitors thought about it. Now, however, instead of having to rely on amateurs, you will also see reviews from Michelin, Zagat, and other reputable publishers.

Nvidia GTX 970 Owners You May Be Owed Money

Listen up you gaming geeks out there! If you purchased the Nvidia GTX 970 Nvidia may owe you some cold hard cash, thanks in part to some bad advertising and misleading specifications that has led to a proposed settlement in a class-action lawsuit.

For those that don't recall, shortly after the GTX 970 rolled out, users started noticing issues with the cards 'alleged' 4GBs of VRAM memory. In short the card's memory allocation didn't work correctly and wasn't allowing games and applications access to the full 4GBs of memory. Additionally, when access to the additional memory was available users saw significant drops in performance.

Nvidia later admitted that the design of the card was to blame, which split the card’s memory into 3.5GB and 512MB segments. Nvidia’s CEO later explained that the memory segmentation was an inventive way to make the GTX 970 a 4GB card when it normally would’ve been 3GB.

In addition to the issues with crippled memory, it was later discovered that Nvidia also made false claims on other specifics. The card was originally listed as having 64 ROPs (Render Output Unit), when in fact it was found to only have 56. The L2 cache capacity was also misrepresented at 2048KB but in reality it ended up being 1792KB.

At the time some online retailers felt the need to offer refunds, which many of you geeks out there likely took advantage of. However, others felt a little more slighted and filled lawsuit over the issue. The lawsuits largely claimed that Nvidia misled its customers. Allegations that Nvidia has continued to deny. The proposed settlement would not force the company to admit to any liability or false claims, rather they would issue a cash refund for those impacted.

According to the proposed settlement (via The Register) GTX 970 owners will be reimbursed $30 per card. Essentially the amount that they feel makes up the discrepancy between what customers should’ve paid had Nvidia been honest about the memory and ROP discrepancies from the start. The court will hear the petition to approve the settlement on Wednesday, August 24, as first reported by Top Class Actions. A total of 15 lawsuits seeking class-action status would be settled if the proposal goes through.

As the agreement has not yet been settled there are no details as to how GTX 970 owners can claim their refund. However, it appears as though eligible owners that have previously registered their cards will be notified of the settlement by October 23, and all claims will need to be filed by December 21. We'll be keeping track of the settlement so that once there are more details about filling claims we can update our readers so they can get their $30 refund.

Facebook Shows That Selling Your Data Continues to Be Big Business!

When Facebook reported their quarterly earnings  earlier this week one thing was glaringly true; the company is making more money of you than ever before! According to their own estimates Facebook earns roughly $3.82 per user, multiple that by the more than 1.7 billion active users, and you can see why the social media giant was able to usher in another $6.44 billion in revenue.

Facebook ARPU for Q2 2016

Facebook's main money stream has continued to be ad revenue, hitting more than $6.24 billion with  Mobile ad revenue taking the highest share (84 percent) at $5.42 billion. Facebook is now in fact pushing so many ads and making so much money on you the user, that they have in effect ran out of ad space.

When it comes to on site and in app advertising the company has it a wall of sorts, or the tip of what they are calling  “ad load”—the volume of ads its users typically see. Right now they believe they are in a "green zone” which means they don’t think they can push many more ads to users than they are already seeing during the time they are spending on the site without users becoming overwhelmed or overly annoyed (I personally think most already are!).

In short, Facebook is say they are about to max out on the number of ads it can show users without coming up with even more ways to push ads to you. This means it will need to find other ways to grow the company’s ad business moving forward, they simply don't believe increasing the number of ads it shows people will not be an option.

“The optimal ad load is really a mix of art and science,” Wehner said. “We also want to be thoughtful about making sure each person’s overall feed experience has the right balance of organic and ad content.”

This is why we see the company making bigger pushes to become a "video first" social network. During this week's conference call Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said the company sees “a world that is video-first, with video at the heart of all our apps and services.” Facebook executives also noted that video is playing a large part in driving up time spent on the social network. More time, means more advertising dollars!

Facebook uses a targeted advertising system, in layman's terms they collect as much of your data as possible and either sell or use that data to offer advertisers more lucrative ads and it appears to be working and working well.

Facebook promises that with their targeted advertising you can "reach the right people, every day, everywhere, to get more traffic and sales for your website". Their system not only utilizes traditional  things like demographics: age, gender, race, occupation ect but they also use site specific items. Things like your listed hobbies, favorite bands or brands, Facebook likes, location and check-ins. Beyond just what you do on their own site Facebook also tracks browsing and spending habits on other sites, giving company's a much more accurate picture of who you are and what you do!

What does this all mean? Well at the end of the day it means that, user willing, Facebook will continue to collect all the data it can on you, and they will continue to make as much money as possible off of that data! It also means that we can expect to see more adverting on Facebook's other services, as well as more in app and in video advertising. Pretty much we'll just see more ads period!

Firefox Finally Joins The Anti-Flash Revolution

Starting next month, Firebox will finally join the coup to banish Adobe Flash use, by blocking content that is deemed none-essential. This includes Flash elements that aren’t visible to the end user. As a result, Mozilla says, Firefox users will experience less issues with Flash crashing or causing the browser to hang. Battery life, page load speeds, Firefox’s responsiveness, and overall security will all be improved as well.

For those users that still want to enjoy Flash enabled sites, you know the ones that haven't moved to the new generation, Mozilla promises that Firefox will still support legacy Flash content. In order minimize website compatibility problems, the changes are initially going to be limited to a short, curated list of Flash content that can be replaced with HTML. So users won't suddenly be left in the dark. However, Mozilla says it will add more Flash content to the block list in the future, meaning site owners will eventually need to keep up with the times and change their content delivery systems.

Mozilla notes that over the past few years, Firefox has implemented Web APIs to replace functionality that was formerly provided only by plugins. This includes audio/video playback and streaming capabilities, clipboard integration, fast 2D and 3D graphics, WebSocket networking, and microphone/camera access. As websites have switched from Flash to other web technologies, the plugin crash rate in Firefox has dropped significantly:

Starting next year Firefox will require click-to-activate approval from users before a website activates the Flash plugin for any content. Websites that currently use Flash or Silverlight for video or games should plan on adopting HTML technologies as soon as possible. Firefox currently supports encrypted video playback using Adobe Primetime and Google Widevine as alternatives to plugin video.

Most of the major players including Google, Apple and Microsoft have all already implemented plans to phase out or completely end support for Adobe's Flash plugin. Largely citing security concerns as the plugin has notoriously been riddled with security vulnerabilities. Over the past several years Flash has been one of the most targeted exploits for hackers.

Hackers Use the 2016 Rio Olympics to Target Potential Victims

With the 2016 Rio Olympics just a couple weeks away we are seeing new warnings of potential threats from hackers that include anything from malware and ransomware, to full blown interruptions of sites and services associated with the events. These potential threats mean that visitors to the Olympics and you viewers/followers at home should be extremely diligent and cautious when it comes to opening emails, viewing videos and visiting sites related to the 2016 Olympic Games.

It is fully expected that cyberthreats related to the games will escalate over the coming weeks and meaning you could see phishing emails pushed to your inbox or malicious attacks potentially affecting and infecting the websites you visit.

Malicious Apps and Sites

While we all like to think of our app stores and favorite sites as being secure, history shows us that is not always the case. Malicious apps can sneak past the gates and even our favorite sites can be hit with malicious ads or code that injects links for bad downloads. Add to that the warnings about phishing attempts above and users are likely to face the real threat of malicious downloads.

Again this all comes down to 'think before you click' mentality. When visiting sites related to the 2016 Olympics or installing applications to follow the games be sure you are using official applications on your smartphone rather than low-rated ones with small user bases.

If you are visiting a site from your phone or computer and you see pop-up boxes for things like Flash Updates, app installs or anything else that might not seem right, be sure that you use caution. Back out of the page, if you can, and download any and all updates directly from the source. If you are on your smartphone and an app is asking to install from '"Unknown Sources" stay away!

Beware Phishing Emails and Malicious Social Media Posts or Messages

 Major sporting events have always attracted the attention of would be scammers, targeting the public in just about any way imaginable. Over the years these world wide events have become very lucrative targets for hacking groups using tools like phishing emails, social media posts and malicious downloads.

Phishing emails and social media posts are particularly popular ways for hackers to spread malware and other malicious software. They offer high reward and returns for little work and are seen as highly effective. A favorite among hackers are messages and links, sending would be victims to a site tp view high profile video of a favorite star, record breaking event or something similar. Another favorite phishing scam are links to bargains on great seats to events, or fake confirmations for reservations, service or seating to events. In reality these emails and links contain, things like malicious downloads of ransomware or fake sites that utilize realistic looking log-in pages to steal your passwords and log-in information.

The old adage “Think before you click, especially if something looks too good to be true!” rings loud and clear when it comes to emails involving the 2016 Olympic Games and is one most security researchers are trying to reiterate to everyone!

Thomas Fischer, a security researcher at Digital Guardian, has already been noticing an increase in phishing scams trying to take advantage of the Olympics. Typically, a user will receive an email loaded with an attachment that invites them to an Olympics ticket lottery. Inside the attachment, however, is malicious code that will download the Locky ransomware and begin encrypting all the user’s files. Hackers are already blanketing email addresses with this kind of attack. They’ll also pretend to be an organization like an Olympics committee.

Banks and Banking Data Are A Popular Target

For those that are luck enough to visit Rio for the games you should use extreme caution when using banks and point of sale machines. We know that anks and banking data are always popular targets, however we are seeing several warnings that Brazilian hackers are developing applications that install Trojans (back door access to your computer or phone) that pretend to be legitimate banking software, but in actuality can steal the victim’s payment information.

These apps tend to target local users more than anything, but they may evolve into something more and could be potential threats to travelers. 

Dmitry Bestuzhev, the head of global research for security firm Kaspersky Lab has warned that visitors to the Rio Olympics be wary of ATM and point-of-sale machines in the country. They often can be infected with malicious code that can secretly steal payment data once a banking card is swiped. “The attacker has the capability to intercept the data and then to clone the card,” he added.

Another danger Bestuzhev is warning users of is the use of public Wi-Fi spots in Brazil to access important person, financial or business data. These access points are often times insecure. A hacker can use them to eavesdrop on victims and steal their passwords, Bestuzhev said, adding the recommendation that users buy a VPN service to encrypt their Internet communications.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, in a recent awareness campaign, took even more drastic step stating that visitors should consider leaving all of their devices at home. Instead uggesting that travelers carry a burner phone, which doesn't contain personal data or secure information might be a good idea.It was also suggested that you change your passwords often while you are there.

In the end all of these warnings are meaningless unless the user actually implements a good plan. If you are traveling to Rio for the games you should make sure all your data is backed-up, not only in-case of security breach but of loss or theft (another real threat). You should, as always, make sure your devices and security software are fully updated with the latest patches, virus definitions ect. You should also run frequent scans just in-case.

The most important thing though is to be DILIGENT! Don't open odd emails, click links without confirming them, use odd sites or download software from unknown places and you should be fine!

Twitter Opens Account Verification to Everyone But There's A Catch

For several years now Twitter has made attempts at filtering out imposter accounts from the real deal by verifying high profile business and celebrity accounts. For the most part the process and qualifications to becoming Twitter Verified has been a little bit vague to say the least. There wasn’t really a formal procedure to request a verified account, but as of today that has all changed.

Twitter has announced that they have created an online application process that makes it possible for just about anyone to request account verification. There is however, a bit of a catch. Twitter must deem you worthy of being verified - shocking I know but we'll get into that below.

“We want to make it even easier for people to find creators and influencers on Twitter so it makes sense for us to let people apply for verification,” Twitter User Services VP Tina Bhatnagar said in a press release Tuesday. “We hope opening up this application process results in more people finding great, high-quality accounts to follow, and for these creators and influencers to connect with a broader audience.”

Getting Started
The process to becoming verified is pretty simple and for the most part Twitter has streamlined things as much as possible. For starters users who want to verify their account will obviously need to verify themselves, it wouldn't make much sense otherwise right? You''l need to first verify a few things like your phone number and email associated with your account. You'll also need to have an actual photo and bio on your profile, if you are an individual it will need to be a photo and info on you. Twitter may also request that you scan and upload a legible copy of your government-issued ID (such as a passport or driver’s license) to confirm your identity.

If you are looking to verify a business the photos will need to have the corporation’s branding, or the company’s branding. The email address and website associated with the account will also need to point to a corporate or company email address or website.

In addition to those basics Twitter says they may ask you for a few more things, and here is where things start to get a bit tricky. Someone, or a team of someones at Twitter are going to judge whether or not you are worthy of being verified. To do so Twitter is going to ask you to explain to them why they should bother with verifying your account. If the account represents a person, they want to understand your impact in your field. If the account represents a corporation or company, they want to know what your company's mission statement is.

What Does It Take To Be Twitter Verified?
Essentially  what it boils down to is Twitter wants to know if you are truly a person of public interest. What exactly does that mean? Well Twitter says the accounts they are most looking to verify are those maintained by public figures and organizations in music, TV, film, fashion, government, politics, religion, journalism, media, sports, business, and other key interest areas. So we are guessing here that they are looking for people that are high profile and attract a lot of attention.

This really doesn't give us much to go on as there doesn't seem to be much in the form of official criteria for what makes one person “of public interest” and another not. We've seen several of our fellow bloggers as well as several media personalities that have verified account while co-workers or cohorts in the same field don't. Either way at least now we have a bit more detail and a bit easier route to take to get verified.

Want To Get Verified? Submit Your Request To Twitter
You can submit your request to verify an account by filling out this form, and Twitter will respond to your request via email. If your request is denied, you can submit another request for the same account 30 days after receiving the email.

Even if you aren't sure if you should become verified or not, I say go for it. You really have nothing to lose here. Just think, if you are verified you'll become one of the 187,000 or so people out of 310 million or so that are verified on the site.

New Devices Means Windows Phones Might Not Be Dead After All

When it comes to the smartphone race not many people are using phones with Microsoft’s Windows 10 Mobile operating system these days. In fact, for most just finding a device that supports the fledgling OS can be a chore. Even then the pickings are very slim with only a few devices clinging to life. It looks like that may soon be changing however, and we are sure glad it is!

Windows 10 Mobile's market-share may just be a blip on the radar these days, hovering between 1-3%, but the operating system is gaining new signs of life thanks to key additions from some major industry players. HP, Acer and even Lenovo are releasing brand new high end device running Microsoft's latest mobile operating system.

HP Elite x3

Taking another stab at the smartphone market for the first time in years, HP will soon start shipping their new flagship phone the Elite x3. First announced at the Mobile World Congress trade show in February the Elite x3 will feature some rather impressive specs that will put it in the same class as powerhouse Android devices such as Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and LG’s G5. It has a 5.96-inch AMOLED screen that can display images at a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 chip, which has a graphics processor capable of processing 4K video, 4GBs of ram and 64GBs of storage space.

HP Elite x3 Specifications:

• Dimensions: 83.5 x 7.8 x 161.8 mm 195g
• Screen: 5.96-inch AMOLED display with WQHD 2560 x 1440 px resolution, Gorilla Glass 4
• Processor: Quad-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 @ 2.15 GHz
• RAM: 4GB LPDDR4
• Storage: 64GB expandable to up to 2TB with microSD
• 16MP rear camera
• 8MP front-facing camera
• Dual nano SIM or nano SIM + microSD via 3-in-2 card tray
• Iris scanner
• Fingerprint scanner
• IP67 rating for dust- and water-resistance
• MIL-STD-810 rating, assuring device protection for drops from up to 1 meter
• USB 3.0 port with Type-C connector
• 4150 mAh battery, non-removable

Lenovo SoftBank 503LV

Last year, when Microsoft first announced the release of Windows 10 for phones, it mentioned Lenovo as one of its hardware partners. However, we haven't hear anything about this from Lenovo - not until now. The company this week unveiled its very first Windows 10 smartphone the SoftBank 503LV. Unfortunately we have seen rumors this device might be available in Japan only, however one can hope that all this new interest and competition will mean it will make it to the US.

The SoftBank 503LV derives its name in part due to the fact that it is a collaboration with Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank, one of the biggest smartphone manufacturers in the world. Being Lenovo's first entry into the Windows 10 Mobile market the Lenovo SoftBank 503LV features some rather basic specs. which we see as rather unfortunate. It will have a 5-inch 720p display and is powered by a 1.5GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor (the same chipset that powers the Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus, and HTC One A9), coupled with 3GB of RAM and an internal storage capacity of 32GB that is expandable up to 128GB via a microSD card.

Liquid Jade Primo

Acer has been one of the few companies that has stood with Microsoft in partnership releasing multiple Windows Mobile phones dating back to early 2015 when they released their first Windows Mobile phone the Liquid M220. This year we have seen them step up their game, releasing not one but two new devices. Back in April we saw their first release with the Liquid M330, a $99 entry level device for the budget minded. This week they took things up another notch with the release of their newest 'flag ship device' the Liquid Jade Primo.

During the IFA conference at the beginning of September 2015, Acer first unveiled the Liquid Jade Primo, giving users a glimpse at what was at the time going to be the company's first Windows 10 Mobile handset. Featuring a Hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, 5.5-inch Full HD (1920x1080px) AMOLED screen and 3GBs RAM the Liquid Jade Primo packs an impressive punch.

Acer Liquid Jade Primo Specifications:

• Hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor
• 5.5-inch Full HD (1920x1080px) AMOLED screen
• 3GB RAM
• 32GB storage (plus microSD card support up to 128GB)
• 21MP rear camera with dual-LED flash and 4K (3840x2160px) video recording
• 8MP front-facing camera with Full HD (1920x1080px) video recording
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
• USB Type-C connector
• 4G LTE connectivity
• Dual-SIM support
• 2800mAh battery
• 156.5 x 75.9 x 8.4mm; 150g

All three device will feature support for Windows Continuum, one of Microsoft's newest features which turns your phone into a pseudo-PC allowing you to run universal Windows apps directly from your phone on just about any large format screen. You can then connect a mouse and keyboard and use your phone just as though you would a laptop, tablet or desktop, all while keeping the full function of a phone.

Acer's Liquid Jade Primo and HP's Elite x3 will also features bundles that include a Desk Dock for not only Continuum support, but additional USB, power and networking connections as well. Pricing starts at $649 for the unlocked Acer Liquid Jade Primo with a dock, keyboard and mouse and $699 for HP's Elite x3 (though we don't believe that includes and extra peripherals).

I don''t know about my fellow geeks out there but I for one applaud Microsoft and their partners for continuing the fight for a 3rd smartphone platform. I'm a firm believer that competition brings innovation and right now we aren't seeing a ton of that coming from Apple or Google with iOS and Android. I think that should Microsoft succeed, in breaking into even a small portion of the market, we might see some great things. They definitely have a major mountain to climb and will need a lot of help from developers in getting apps made for the OS. I feel though once that is done they might have a chance.

What about you guys? Do these new devices get you excited for more Windows 10 Mobile, or do you think they'll just be another flash in the pan?

Amazon Video Adds Additional Offline Viewing Support With Download to SD Card Option

Great news for you geeks that love having the ability to watch movies and videos while offline. Amazon Video has added an option for offline viewing that will also allow you to free up space on your Android phone or tablet. This new download to SD card feature is available for both purchased video and Prime Video. Videos can be downloads to an SD card on a per-item basis, or the card can also be selected as a default destination for downloads allowing you to avoid downloading and saving items to your device.

Amazon's announcement comes on the heels of reports that Netflix will soon add the much requested  feature for offline viewing of their own movies and titles. While Amazon Prime customers have enjoyed the benefits of offline viewing for some time, this new feature will simply open up more options and more space for them to take more videos with them on the go.

One of the big advantages of Amazon’s streaming service versus competitors like Netflix and Hulu is the ability to download movies and TV shows. Prime members have access to many free movies and TV shows, while non-Prime members can rent and buy titles to stream or download.

Historically speaking, Netflix has been rather stringent on their options and has done a lot of work to avoid allowing customers offline access. Somewhat quizzically, Netflix Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt in late 2015 even went so far as to claim that Netflix doesn’t offer the feature because it doesn’t represent a “very compelling proposition.”

“I think it’s something that lots of people ask for,” Hunt explained further stating “we’ll see if it’s something lots of people will use. Undoubtedly it adds considerable complexity to your life with Amazon Prime – you have to remember that you want to download this thing. It’s not going to be instant. You have to have the right storage on your device, you have to manage it, and I’m just not sure people are actually that compelled to do that, and that it’s worth providing that level of complexity.”

In order to use the new feature you'll need to grab the latest version of the Amazon Video app by visiting the Play Store. Once you give this new feature a whirl let us know what you think in the comments below!

Nintendo Goes Old School With The New NES Classic Mini

That old quote that "All things old become new again" may in fact hold true, well sort of! We all know geeks love their nostalgic old PC's and gaming consoles. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that companies are starting to look at ways to cash in on that love affair with the past generations and Nintendo is looking to do just that.

Nintendo Entertainment System has announced the new NES Classic Edition, a mini replica of the original console that will come packed with 30 of your favorite original Nintendo titles.

“We wanted to give fans of all ages the opportunity to revisit Nintendo’s original system and rediscover why they fell in love with Nintendo in the first place,” said Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime. “The Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition is ideal for anyone who remembers playing the NES, or who wants to pass on those nostalgic memories to the next generation of gamers.”

For $59.99, you'll get the preloaded games, an HDMI cable, an AC adapter and one NES Classic Controller, which obviously looks exactly like the ones you're used to. Other details of the system are a bit sparse for now, so we don't know what the hardware looks like, or whether or not you can upgrade or add more games to the console over time. We also don't know overall storage capacity, yet Nintendo promises you can save games with multiple suspend points.

The full list of games includes Balloon Fight, Bubble Bobble, Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Double Dragon II: The Revenge, Dr. Mario, Excitebike, Final Fantasy, Galaga, Ghosts' N Ghoblins, Gradius, Ice Climber, Kid Icarus, Kirby's Adventure, Mario Bros., Mega Man 2, Metroid, Ninja Gaiden, Pac-Man, Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream, StarTropics, SUPER C, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Tecmo Bowl, The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

[Update:] We now know have a bit more detail regarding additional games and the potential or upgrades. The folks at Kotaku asked Nintendo, “On the same note: does Nintendo plan to sell other NES games for the mini-NES beyond the 30 it comes preloaded with?”

Nintendo then responded by saying, “No. The console is a standalone device, so it cannot connect to the internet or any external storage devices. The 30 games included with the system were chosen to provide a wide variety of top-quality, long-lasting game-play experiences.” Given that, we don't expect to see official support for additional games or upgrades. However, we know that this doesn't mean that geeks out there won't stop there. So we fully expect to see some hacks down the road, to what extent those might be? We'll just have to wait and see!

For more information, visit; http://nintendo.com/nes-classic.

Celebrate The Fourth of July With 4 Free Months of Google Play Music and YouTube Red

To help entice new users to join Google Play Music this Independence day weekend, Google is offering up four free months of Google Play Music as well as access to the monthly-paid subscription service YouTube Red. The offer is only available this weekend to celebrate the Fourth of July, so you'll want to act fast to get that extended trial period.

 All you need to do is head over to Google Play and sign up for the service. Even though the offer is for four months of free service, you will need to be a new subscriber and enter valid credit card information. You should also note that you will need to cancel the subscription before the end of the 4months (by approximately Nov 42tnd) or you be charged $9.99 after the trial is over.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update Coming August 2

The wait is over, the first major update to Windows 10 finally has an official release date! The announcement was handed down this afternoon from the Windows 10 team that we can expect to see the Windows 10 Anniversary update starting to roll out to users on August 2. It's been a year since Windows 10 arrived and with this new update Microsoft will be releasing a slew of new features.

As to what we should expect in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update we already know we will see a few key additions. Some of the major changes include update to Cortana, the addition of extension in Microsoft's Edge browser, as well as a stronger focus on security features with updates to Windows Hello and Microsoft's built in anti-malware service Windows Defender.

• New Windows Hello features make it easy for you to use the same easy, yet strong, security of Windows Hello with Windows apps and Microsoft Edge, the first and only browser to natively support biometrics with supporting sites. The Anniversary Update also enables companion devices to use Windows Hello to unlock your PC, giving you more choices for quick, secured sign-ins.
• Improvements to Windows Defender include the option to automatically schedule periodic quick scans of your PC; as well as provide new notifications and summaries when scans are complete and threats are found.

Another major addition is going to be Windows Ink, which is available for the first time in the Anniversary Update. Windows Ink enables you to write on your device as you do on paper, creating sticky notes, drawing on a whiteboard, and easily sharing your analog thoughts in the digital world. Windows Ink is integrated into apps like Maps, Microsoft Edge, and Office.

Microsoft is also reminding users of their older operating systems that the self-imposed deadline for upgrading from older versions of Windows 10 is July 29. Meaning that users have until then to get the latest OS an this new update for free. Once again the Windows 10 Anniversary Update launches on August 2, and will be free. If you'd like more details be sure to head over to the Windows 10 blog and read the full announcement

Google May Have Just Killed Off Your Favorite Song Lyrics Site

Searching out lyrics to your favorite songs on the web can lead you through a gauntlet of rather questionable sites. However, for those of you that do so frequently you typically have a reliable go to source that you know will fill your needs. Some of those sites may soon become obsolete as Google has formed a partnership that will bring more lyrics directly to you via your search results.

The Web giant has partnered with LyricFind, the world's largest lyric-licensing service, to add lyrics from more than 4,000 publishers to its search results and Google Play Music. Unlike most other sites LyricFind works directly with songwriters and rightsholders, to license and collect new royalties ensuring that those parties are paid for the songs and the lyrics you are seeing

"We're happy to expand the depth and quality of lyrics available on Google's services. We're working together to make lyrics available to a larger audience in a faster and more efficient way. By helping to source lyrics for Google’s search results and Google Play Music, LyricFind continues to demonstrate how lyrics data can be integrated into a variety of services for music discovery and monetization," LyricFind CEO Darryl Ballantyne said in a statement.

Adding song data and details to search results is nothing new for Google. Some of your favorite searches likely already include snippets containing about 120 to 150 words; the rest can be found via a link to Google Play Music, where you can buy a song with one click, or give it a listen (if it's already in your music library). However, it looks like this might be the first attempt Google has made at directly licensing and sharing revenue from those search pages.

For Google, the arrangement is designed to capture the significant amount of traffic around lyrics -- and subsequently funnel them towards its Google Play Music services. This is potentially bad news for several of the current licensed lyric sites such as AZLyrics.com, which has long dominated search results, and some of your favorite unlicensed sites as well. With viewers able to see much of a given song’s lyrics immediately, click-through rates to these sites are likely to decline.

Your Next Phone May Come Directly From Google

When shopping for a smartphone most consumers recognize names like Apple, Samsung, HTC and LG. However, many outside the geek world may not know or recognize the name Nexus or know that the Nexus program is a Google partnership formed with several companies aimed at creating phones and tablets that deliver a "pure" Android experience. According to recent reports however, Google may be planning to take things to the next level and may be working on creating their own hardware.

According to The Telegraph, Google is working closely with mobile operators with plans on releasing a Google-branded phone that, unlike the Nexus program, will be entirely developed internally allowing Google more control over the "design, manufacturing and software" of the devices. As of right now Apple is the only mainstream manufacture that has such control, which allows them more consistency in their user experience. Something that Google and Android has struggled with over the years.

The move to developing their own hardware comes at a time when Google has been working to expand their reach in the mobile segment. Earlier this year the company started expansion of their own wireless cellular service Project Fi. A program that offers users a low cast pre-pay service with no contracts utilize cell towers rented from Sprint and T-Mobile.

The new device, will reportedly be released by the end of the year, and while it is unclear if any carriers are actually looking at carrying the device or what sort of specs we might see, it is clear that by taking control over their own device development Google wants to yet gain shake up the mobile industry.

Steam's 2016 Summer Sale Is Here With Great Bundle Pricing

Even though I might not be a major gamer I am a major geek when it comes to getting hot deals. So it shouldn't be a surprise that I'm always excited when Steam's annual sales come around, and this year is no different!

As one of Valve's major events held each year, the 2016 Summer Picnic Sale features tons of discounts on a vast variety of games featured in the Steam store. This time around, Steam is doing things a little different, and doing away with some of the daily deals and other features we saw in previous sales. This means unlike their other major sales events you won't have to constantly check in to the Steam site to see what discounts are being featured on Steam's front page.

Previous Steam sales typically assigned games one of two prices at any given point: a normal discounted price and an even-more-discounted price that only took effect when Valve was featuring the discount on its front page. If you truly wanted to save, you had to be glued to Steam's site. Now, any discounts Valve features on its main Steam page are just that—highlighted deals, but deals that will remain the same whether they're currently being featured on the page or not. Of course this takes a little of the fun and adventure out of it but it definitely makes it a bit more helpful and ensures everyone has access to the same deals at any time.

As a special offer in the Summer Picnic Sale, select games are available in themed complete-the-set bundles! This is by far going to be one of the best deals you can get during the sale since it will allow you to buy the entire set of games for additional savings. Don't worry if you already own one of the games, Steam has said they will automatically be removed from the price!

The different bundles include a variety of great games like Slime Rancher, The Witness, Scrap Mechanic, DuckGame, Gremlins Inc, and more!

• The Metroidvania Bundle
• The Survival Bundle
• The JRPG Bundle
• The Turn-Based Strategy Bundle
• The Building Bundle
• The Point-And-Click Bundle
• The Party Games Bundle
• The First-Person Puzzle Bundle

For those looking for an even better deal you can score additional savings at Best Buy this week. They are offering  20 percent off a second card when you buy any gaming currency card. So should you buy two cards of the same amount, that works out to a total discount of 10 percent. That's not a huge amount--$10 if you were to buy two $50 cards--but it's still essentially free money. The Steam ale and all these offers will be available now through July 4th at 10am Pacific.

Have you found any hot deals or great game discounts woth mentioning? Feel free to share what you find below so we can consider purchasing them.

E-Book Buyers Check Your Accounts For Your Credits Today

Good news e-book buyers, if you purchased e-books from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Apple between April 1, 2010 and May 21, 2012 you may be entitled to a free credit on your account thanks to the long awaited payments of a price-fixing settlement that has been years in the making!

At the heart of this issue is an antitrust lawsuit that was filed against Apple and several book publishers dating back several years. In the lawsuit and subsequent settlement  Apple and publishers Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster agreed to refund customers over $400 million dollars for their role in an alleged e-book price-fixing scheme.

Beginning Tuesday the credits were being deposited directly into the e-book buyer’s accounts or mailed as checks. Readers who qualified will get a $6.93 credit for every e-book they bought that was a New York Times bestseller, and a $1.57 credit for other e-books, according to Hagens Berman, the law firm that brought the original suit.

For Amazon customers that believe they have purchased a qualifying e-book, you will be automatically receiving credits in your account. All you need to do is sign in to your Amazon.com account and click on this link to see how much you got.

“Eligible customers do not need to do anything to receive these credits. If you are eligible, we have already calculated your credit for you and added it to your Amazon account,” according to Amazon’s webpage explaining the settlement.

For more details on the lawsuit the attorneys have set up a web site answering questions for e-book buyers about whether they are eligible for any of the settlement money.Just a note, you should act quickly to check on and use your credits as the settlement credits will only be valid through June 24, 2017. After that date, they will expire by order of the court overseeing the settlements.

New FAA Drone Rules May Ground Commercial Delivery Plans

Several companies like Amazon have been keeping a close watch on the FAA and hopes were high that they would easy some of their restrictions that would allow for new services like Amazon Prime Air delivery to take effect. Unfortunately the FAA decided to keep in place many of their temporary restrictions that will severely hinder, if not totally ground, any company's plans to create a viable drone air delivery program.

With the newly released rules, scheduled to take effect in late August, the FAA outlined the official restrictions that will apply to thousands of companies that wish to use drones as a part of their commercial ventures. While the new rules did relax a few licensing requirements and allowed for a few new changes such as twilight hours of flight. They kept in place the line of sight requirement which will have a major impact on how companies utilize drones. This rules requires that operators or observers maintain sight of the drone at all times. Something that will likely make it prohibitive for large scale delivery services to take off.

The FAA's 624-page rulebook allows commercial drones weighing up to 55 pounds to fly during daylight hours and lower than 400 feet in the air, or higher if within 400 feet of a taller building or tower. The aircraft must remain within sight of the operator or an observer who is in communication with the operator. The operators must be at least 16 years old and pass an aeronautics test every 24 months for a certificate and a background check by the Transportation Security Administration.

The FAA is offering a process to waive some restrictions if an operator proves the proposed flight will be conducted safely under a waiver. The FAA will make an online portal available to apply for these waivers in the months ahead.

“With this new rule, we are taking a careful and deliberate approach that balances the need to deploy this new technology with the FAA’s mission to protect public safety,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “But this is just our first step. We’re already working on additional rules that will expand the range of operations.”

More details on Part 107 and the announcement can be found on the FAA's website.

New Microsoft Tool 'Refresh Windows' May Be The End All to Bloatware

One of the biggest complaints we've ever had with purchasing OEM or pre-manufactured PC's is the sure volume of pre-installed software that you are forced to endure when getting your new machine. This 'bloatware' that computer makers pack on new machines often slows down that fancy new PC you just bought and in some really bad cases could leave your machine open to security issues.

Now we may have a new tool to eradicate bloatware, and from a very unexpected source! Microsoft has released a free tool for Windows 10 users that will scrub your PC clean of all that unwanted pre-installed software, leaving you with a fresh clean install of your OS. According to the Microsoft Answers article which outlines the details -- the new tool dubbed Refresh Windows downloads and installs a recent, pristine build of Windows 10 on the PC, overwriting the pre-installed version.

Most Windows 10 users probably know that there is a Reset This PC tool in Settings that lets you reset your PC back to its original, factory condition. But since PC makers can modify the system image used by Reset This PC, the resulting clean install is anything but clean, and will include whatever crapware the PC maker decides to include. Refresh Windows will take a few steps beyond that and give users a truly clean image of Windows 10, similar to installing a retail version of the software!

Just keep in mind this is going to be a barebones install, which most of us geeks like anyways, and that all non-Microsoft applications that were bundled or already installed on Windows 10 -- the exception include the Mail email client and the Edge browser -- are eliminated during the refresh. According to the release notes "It will also remove most pre-installed applications such as OEM applications, support applications, and drivers."

So keep in mind this also means you will need to be prepared to download all your drivers if they aren't already covered by those available in Windows 10. So things like your video card, sound card, and many of the peripherals will need to be manually installed.

Refresh Windows hasn’t been officially released yet, but you can download it directly from Microsoft here. However, there is a catch -- the new tool only works on Windows 10 Insider builds, although it will also work on the Windows 10 Anniversary Update when it’s released at the end of July. For more details be sure to read the full Microsoft Answers post.

Quickly Find Android Pay Promotions Available to You

Google has made it easier than ever to find all of the current Android Pay promotions available to you! The search giant has just launched an official Android Pay promotions page for the service, which like many similar pages for their other services features an all-in one style approach for finding apps and deals.

The new page details all the promos you can take advantage of once you sign up for the payment service as well as listing all the current Android Pay-compatible apps. For instance, the page lists Uber's offer, which gives you $10 off for your next ride, and explains that you'll have to type the code ANDROIDPAY in the ride-sharing app's promo section to claim it.

While most of the deals require you to enter codes, some applications will automatically apply discounts if you choose the mobile wallet as your payment option upon checking out. If you regularly use an app that's compatible with the service, you may want to check the portal every once in a while to make sure you're not missing out on a great deal.

If you aren't currently using Android Pay you can download it via the Play Store here. Once you have your credit card setup on the service you can start utilizing the promotions right away, just note that some of the offers are one time use only and may only be available for a limited time.

What is Bluetooth 5 and What Will it Do For You?

 For many users out there Bluetooth is a part of your every day lives. From wireless to keyboards and mice to connecting your phone to devices like your car, hands-free headsets or wireless speakers, or for the newest IoT devices like smart refrigerators. Even though most of us use it every day most don't know that the Bluetooth standard is ever changing and evolving!

Today the Bluetooth Special Interest Group has taken the Bluetooth standard to all new heights when they formally unveiled Bluetooth 5, the newest iteration of this widely used technology.

Bluetooth 5, projected for release in late 2016 to early 2017, will quadruple range and double speed of low energy connections while increasing the capacity of connectionless data broadcasts by 800 percent. It achieves all this alongside its industry-leading power performance. With the major boost in broadcast messaging capacity, the data being transferred will be richer, more intelligent. This will redefine the way Bluetooth devices transmit information, moving away from the app-paired-to-device model to a connectionless IoT where there is less need to download an app or connect the app to a device.

“Bluetooth 5 will transform the way people experience the IoT by making it something that happens simply and seamlessly around them,” said Mark Powell, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG. “Increasing operation range will enable connections to IoT devices that extend far beyond the walls of a typical home, while increasing speed supports faster data transfers and software updates for devices. And now with the ability to broadcast a much richer set of information, Bluetooth 5 will make beacons, location awareness, and other connectionless services an even more relevant part of an effortless and seamless IoT experience”

What the new Bluetooth standard will me for you!

While the major benefits of Bluetooth 5.0 seem pretty obvious it may be a few of the lesser obvious features and benefits that will mean the most to you. First though let's get the obvious out of the way!

Faster more efficient data connections and greater range means your devices will be able to transfer more information back and forth quicker and easier all while being able to maintain more connections and at greater distances. So for instance you can have your phone connected to a Bluetooth speaker, walk throughout the house while sending data to your smartwatch or other devices and neither should slow down, stutter or drop their connection.

The current range of low power Bluetooth 4 devices is limited to about 30ft while high power devices tops out about 300ft, with Bluetooth 5 we could theoretically see that boosted to about 120ft for low power and 1000ft for high power devices.

The lesser obvious benefit will be one that will help almost all current Bluetooth users that have ever had issues pairing their devices (and haven't we all had that issue!). Bluetooth 5.0 will offer connectionless data transfers. Instead of automatically requesting to pair with a device, Bluetooth 5.0 will be smart enough to analyze the type of connection required to transmit the information.

This adds a second benefit as it is expected that Bluetooth 5 will further propel the adoption and deployment of beacons and location-based services in the home automation, enterprise, and industrial markets. These ‘beacons’ will be physically placed Bluetooth hubs that will give smart devices a better understanding of their surroundings. Bluetooth 5 connected devices will send custom information people actually find useful in that moment without connection and application barriers.

As mentioned Bluetooth 5 won’t actually hit the market until late 2016 or early 2017, and while the new hardware will be backwards compatible with your older devices you'll likely need all new hardware to take full advantage of all the benefits. Either way it looks like we’ve still got a little bit of waiting to do before we actually get our hands on this tech and get to see what cool things companies dream up to do with it!

Facebook Begins Forcing Messenger App On Mobile Users

If you are an active Facebook user and one of the many long time hold-outs from updating or migrating to the stand-alone Messenger App you may soon be left little choice! Facebook has decided they are nailing shut one of the few remaining options mobile users had for accessing chat via their phones and has, quite forcefully, begun pushing downloads of their Messenger App.

For several months now Facebook has been doing its best to gradually push users towards their messenger platform. A move that started when the company decided to build the service outward as a stand alone from the main mobile application. However, until now users could easily access their messages and chat with friends using their browser and the mobile site. Unfortunately that wasn't good enough for Facebook, as they seemingly want to drive as many users as they can to installing the app.

Beginning this past weekend the company began working to remove the Messenger function on the mobile version of its website, pushing users instead to a landing page and redirect instructing you to install the separate Facebook Messenger app. According to Engadget, Facebook’s push toward Messenger for mobile website users appears to affect only Android users for now, but it’s probably only a matter of time before iOS users get forced to Messenger as well. 

Facebook insists that this move comes because it wants users on Messenger so they can have the “best experience” while chatting with their friends. Of course, we highly doubt that, especially with Facebook pushing more adds and service through the messenger platform. I suspect this is more about the all mighty dollar than anything else!

Those of us that still want or need to use Facebook and want to use the messenger service, but not be bothered with the privacy concerns or other issues we've discussed that plague the Messenger app still have one last glimmer of hope. We can jump through a few minor hoops and access our messages though the main site. One simply needs to avoid the mobile site, instead using "Desktop View" on our mobile phones. 

T-Mobile's Rewards Program Puts AT&T's to Shame

T-Mobile CEO John Legere really knows how to shake things up in the mobile world! So it comes as no surprise to us that he did just that at the company's Uncarrier 11 event.

Legere used the event to announce the launch of a new customer loyalty program that is unlike almost anything you've ever seen before. One that honestly puts the rewards program AT&T offered last week to utter shame!

“Get ready for a gratitude adjustment, America! This Un-carrier move is all about giving you a good thanking! No strings. No gotchas. Just ‘thank you for being a customer!’” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. “At T-Mobile, we already wake up every day working for our customers—so I’ve decided to make it official and turn T-Mobile customers into T-Mobile owners by offering them stock. And we’re thanking customers every week with cool stuff from brands people love. For free. Every Tuesday!”

As part of the newly announced Uncarrier 11 initiative, T-Mobile launched StockUp, a new rewards program that grants one share of company stock to every T-Mobile primary account holder. Those folks can bank up to 100 shares a year by referring their friends -- not too shabby, considering shares are currently valued at $43.62 and T-Mobile's strong financial growth could nudge that number even higher

Existing customers can claim their T-Mobile stock starting tomorrow, June 7, through June 21 in the T-Mobile Tuesdays app, and customers can learn more about growing their ownership when they recommend T-Mobile at www.t-mobile.com/StockUp.

In addition to offering every customer the change to become an owner of T-Mobile shares, Legere announced T-Mobile Tuesdays, a new app that thanks T-Mobile customers with free stuff and epic prizes, every single Tuesday. For starters you'll get free dinner and a movie every week. T-Mobile customers can carry out a free medium two-topping Domino’s pizza, free small Wendy’s Frosty and free movie rental from VUDU, Walmart’s video on-demand service.

If that isn't enough of a reward T-Mobile is offering even more! As a part of the program each customer will get an additional freebie of some kind that could be tickets, a gift card, free subscriptions, or free ride-sharing. This week, it’s tickets to go see Warcraft in theaters. To top it all off they are going one step further and offering everyone a chance at winning a majorly "EPIC" prize. One lucky T-Mobile user will be randomly selected for an “epic” prize. This week’s epic prize is a trip on a party bus for someone and 40 of their closest friends to a private showing of Warcraft with all-you-can-eat candy, popcorn, and soft drinks. Other epic prizes in the lineup include:

• a trip for two to Vegas to stay at Mandalay Bay with tickets to see UB40 at the Mandalay Bay Beach and roll VIP style at Luxor’s LAX Nightclub. Plus $100 in Lyft credits to get around town.
• a trip to MLB All-Star week in San Diego for you and a lucky guest, including exclusive access to the Home Run Derby press conference and batting practice to see the top players up close and personal.
• a once-in-a-lifetime expedition for you and your hiking buddy up the legendary Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru, complete with accommodations, meals, and tours from The Clymb.
• a trip to New York City to refresh your wardrobe with a $10,000 shopping spree with the help of an in-house stylist in the private Gilt showroom.

T-Mobile has partnered with a slew of businesses including American Giant, Buffalo Wild Wings, Condé Nast, Fanatics, Fandango, Gilt, HotelTonight, JackThreads, Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures, Lyft, Major League Baseball, MGM Resorts International, Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Shell, StubHub, The Clymb, The Grommet and Warner Brothers to make these prizes possible.

For more information on Un-carrier 11, check out www.t-mobile.com/GetThanked and the Un-carrier 11 media kit at newsroom.t-mobile.com/news-and-blogs/un-carrier-11.htm.

Facebook Teams With Game Developer Blizzard For Live Game Streaming

For those gamers out there that are obsessed with live streaming their own games, or watching other gamers in action, a new deal between game giant Blizzard and social media giant Facebook will offer you a new way to get your fix!

Blizzard has unveiled a new partnership with Facebook that will let you stream several of Blizzard's most popular games directly to your Facebook fans and followers through Facebook Live. More over the deal will also create a cross platform partnership that will allow you to use your current Facebook login and information rather than a new Battle.Net to play Blizzard's games.

The collaboration will begin later this month with the integration of games such as World of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, Diablo III, StarCraft II, and Blizzard's most recent blockbuster release, Overwatch.

"Blizzard games are best when played with friends, so it's important to us to provide our players with features and services that make it easy and fun to share their experiences with each other," said Gio Hunt, executive vice president of corporate operations at Blizzard Entertainment. "We're working closely with Facebook on this integration for Overwatch, as well as our other games, and we look forward to sharing further details on our plans as development progresses."

As part of the collaboration between the two companies, Blizzard recently hosted multiple livestreams via Facebook. The first series of streams centered on Heroes of the Dorm, Blizzard's collegiate tournament featuring its popular team-brawler Heroes of the Storm. Last week, Blizzard hosted a livestreamed launch event for Overwatch on Facebook.

"Blizzard has a passionate community of players, and an incredible track record for launching innovative and high-quality gaming experiences," said Leo Olebe, global games partnerships director at Facebook. "Our collaboration on Overwatch demonstrates Facebook's commitment to partnering with AAA game companies, while further empowering Blizzard gamers to connect and share the content they're most passionate about with the friends they play with around the world."

AT&T 'Thanks' Customers With New Rewards Program

As the mobile carrier wars continue on AT&T is hoping an old gimmick will help keep loyal customers happy. The company is starting up a new rewards program this summer called AT&T Thanks which will offer AT&T and DirecTV free movie tickets, special deals on concerts, exclusive content and more as part of the program.

"Great service goes beyond the day to day relationship we have with our customers – it also includes ways to say thank you – we appreciate you," said David Christopher, Chief Marketing Officer of AT&T Entertainment Group. "AT&T thanks is kicking off with some great entertainment-focused benefits and will build over time. The relationship we have with our customers will get better and better with exciting ways for us to show our appreciation."

Here are some of the new benefits of the program:

• 'Ticket Twosdays': AT&T postpaid wireless customers will qualify to get a free movie ticket on AT&T when they buy one at full price for a Tuesday showing. These are available to qualifying customers once every week for the duration of the program. Customers can visit AT&T Thanks to learn how to receive a coupon code for a free ticket exclusively through MovieTickets.com for participating theaters, including all Regal Entertainment Group theaters.
• LIVE NATION Priority Pre-sale: AT&T customers will get exclusive pre-sale access to the hottest concerts and events starting this summer. Select customers will also be able to get in on access to exclusive experiences with their favorite artists.
• Unique Content: Select DIRECTV subscribers will get access to special content coming soon to their TVs and their favorite mobile devices.

In addition, AT&T Thanks will be giving out special "surprise" rewards to certain customers, including "tickets to live events, device and accessory perks, data giveaways, and more." As the program evolves, offers will be tailored to customers based on their services and packages with AT&T.

Find Your iPhone Using Google's New Phone Locator

Android smartphone owners are undoubtedly familiar with using Google's Android device manager to track and locate their lost Android devices. However, Google has pushed things a step further with a new option to locate lost and missing devices.

Dubbed, Find your phone, this new feature allows to you find just about any device that has been setup on your Google account in a few simple steps. You can not only locate your phone or tablet, but also lock and call it, secure your account, leave a callback number on the screen, and more. The best part is the new feature isn't limited to just Android devices, it can now be used on iOS devices, and soon, you’ll also be able to access it by searching Google for “I lost my phone.”

To get started using the Find your phone feature you'll need to make sure you have your Google account setup on each of your devices. From there you can access it via the Find your phone section of the My Account page for your Google account. Click on it and you will see a list of the devices -- including phones, tablets, Android and iOS devices -- on which you have signed in with your Google account.

Once you choose your iOS device you'll see five suggestions, unfortunately not all of these suggestions will work - more on that below. Here are the current options available, all of these will work on Android devices, just not iOS

• Find and lock your iPhone
• Try calling your phone
• Sign out on your phone
• Reach out to your carrier
• Reach out for local help

As mentioned not all of these suggestions will work for iPhone or iPad users because as unfortunate as it is Apple doesn't allow certain third parties to take control of an iOS device. Therefore Google has linked many of the features to iCloud.com so users can use the built in Apple services. For instance if you click the Find and lock your iPhone option you'll be sent over to iCloud where you can then locate your iPhone on a map or enable Lost Mode to remotely lock your phone. For Android users that very same option gives you Ring and Locate buttons to call your device or locate it on a map without leaving the page or signing into iCloud.