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Your Google Wallet funds are now insured

The money in your bank account is typically covered by federal insurance, but your internet payment services typically aren’t. If PayPal or Venmo went belly-up, you’d probably lose your existing balance. That won’t be a problem if you’re using Google Wallet , though. Google is now holding your Wallet funds in banks with FDIC insurance , so your digital credit is now that much safer. This isn’t to say that rivals leave you completely vulnerable — PayPal has fraud protection, for instance. However, the Wallet move means that you won’t have to go to court to get your cash back if Google goes bankrupt, no matter how unlikely that is . Filed under: Cellphones , Internet , Mobile , Google Comments Source: Yahoo Finance

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Your Google Wallet funds are now insured

Comcast’s gigabit internet hits northern California in June

Comcast is bringing its twice-as-fast-as-Google-Fiber internet service to northern California. Potential customers will need installation of professional-grade equipment to access it and, you’ll have to be near its fiber network — Fresno, Monterey, Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area are among the places on the list — to qualify. That’s not all, either. Statewide, it’s rolling out a 250 Mbps “Extreme 250” speed tier for cable internet customers. The telecom giant’s also boosting speeds on its existing tiers as well, with lower priced-plans getting jumps from 25 to 45 Mbps depending on the package at no added cost. Perhaps the best news about all this is that you won’t have to wait too much longer for it all to take effect. Comcast says it’ll start the cable internet upgrades in May with continued rollouts taking place the rest of the year, while the 2Gbps fiber service starts rolling out in June. And just like that, there’s another gigabit competitor in Google HQ’s vicinity with Fiber nowhere in sight. [Image credit: Shutterstock] Filed under: Internet , HD Comments Source: Comcast

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Comcast’s gigabit internet hits northern California in June

Jay Z is calling Tidal users to personally thank them for signing up

In addition to signing on a roster of big name artists to help lure new subscribers, Jay Z is handling some of the customer service duties as well. Mr. Carter is calling folks who signed up for Tidal’s music streaming service to personally thank them. It sounds odd, but the company confirmed to us “that’s 1000% true.” He’s not the only one, though, as Tidal executive Vania Schloge told Business Insider that Jack White and others are calling subscribers, too. Using one of the services’ features, artists can log in and see exactly who is listening to their music alongside contact info for those people. It’s certainly a personal approach, but one can wonder if that star-packed relaunch didn’t provide the boost in new subscriptions the company hoped. Of course, being a part owner of the project is certainly motivation to get more involved. I just wonder if Jay Z used a video phone . [Image credit: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images] Filed under: Internet , Software Comments Source: Business Insider

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Jay Z is calling Tidal users to personally thank them for signing up

Google launches ‘Works with Cardboard’ program for its VR headset

Google wants all apps developed for its Cardboard VR headset to work properly with, well, any version of its device. That’s tougher than it sounds, since the headset’s open-source, and a lot of companies and individual users are tweaking it to their heart’s content. To make it happen, Mountain View has launched the “Works with Google Cardboard” project, which gives headset makers the power to ensure their design plays nicely with apps made for the device. It doesn’t matter if they use metal or plastic, cut the materials out using any dimension or adjust the optic, so long as they input all those details into the Cardboard website to get a QR code to attach to their creation. Once they (or another user) scan that QR code using the headset’s app, all applications designed for Cardboard will be optimized for their viewer. Makers selling their headsets can also apply for a certification badge indicating their design is compatible with apps and games developed for the device. Mountain View has even put together a shop where people can get headsets that have both a “Works with Cardboard” badge and a QR code. Speaking of apps, Google has also launched a new set of design guidelines for developers, which focus mostly on how to make their creations usable. In addition, the company has released updated Cardboard SDKs for Android and Unity with better head tracking and drift correction. Users, on the other hand, can now find compatible apps more easily, thanks to the new Music and Video, Games, and Experiences Cardboard application categories. If you’re yearning for more significant updates than these, though, don’t worry — it looks like the company has big plans for the device. A team from the School of Engineering in Trinity College Dublin has just joined the Cardboard division, bringing their ambisonic surround sound technology with them. Google says it will use that technology to bring “immersive audio to VR” in the future. Filed under: Wearables , Google Comments Source: Google Developers , Get Your Cardboard

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Google launches ‘Works with Cardboard’ program for its VR headset

WikiLeaks lets you search Sony’s hacked emails (Updated)

When a group calling itself the Guardians of Peace hacked Sony Pictures in late 2014, thousands of private emails and information about top executives, actors and Hollywood hotshots hit the ‘net. The messages revealed pay discrepancies between male and female stars, and contained copies of films that hadn’t yet seen release. Some of these emails contained racist and derogatory comments from Sony Pictures staff, including co-chair Amy Pascal, who consequently left the company in February. Now, all of these emails are available in searchable form on WikiLeaks . Anyone interested in digging through Sony Pictures’ email archives can now search by specific term, sender, recipient, attached filename or email ID. Update: Sony is not pleased with WikiLeaks’ decision to host the emails and the company is currently weighing legal options, Variety reports. A Sony spokesman provided the following statement to the site: “This information was stolen from Sony Pictures as part of an illegal and unprecedented cyberattack. WikiLeaks is not performing a public service by making this information easily searchable. Instead, with this despicable act, WikiLeaks is further violating the privacy of every person involved.” Filed under: Internet , Sony Comments Source: WikiLeaks

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WikiLeaks lets you search Sony’s hacked emails (Updated)

Etsy’s massive IPO puts big money behind small sellers

Selling handmade stuff on the internet is big business, and Etsy’s IPO shows just that. The online marketplace completed its initial public offering today, raising over $270 million towards a total valuation of more than $3.5 billion — not too shabby for a company that’s not yet profitable. If you’re not familiar, Etsy offers folks who deal in “handmade goods, vintage items and craft supplies” a place to sell their goods online. Sure, the site takes a cut , and it generates revenue from ads, shipping and payment processing . What’s more, it has attracted 1.4 million active sellers and 19.8 million active buyers (as of Decemeber) in its 10 years handling those sales. The company was clear about its history of losses when it first announced plans to go public, admitting that it may never turn a profit. However, as the popularity of handmade and unique wares continues to grow, eager sellers are likely to opt for the site’s community as a means for promotion as much as its e-commerce tools. It’s also poised to make a big splash in mobile, recently hiring one of Pandora’s top executives to lead that charge. [Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images] Filed under: Internet Comments Source: CNBC

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Etsy’s massive IPO puts big money behind small sellers

This camera is powered by its own photos

No, you haven’t stumbled across an internet video from 1997 — that’s the output of one of the cleverest cameras you’ll see in a while. Columbia University researchers have developed a self-powered camera whose pixels both record light and turn it into electricity. The trick is the use of photodiodes (which are common in both cameras and solar panels) that are permanently set to collect energy, not simply conduct it. As you can see from the blurry, goofy animation above, the existing technology won’t compete with the camera in your phone, let alone a pro DSLR . Columbia’s prototype captures just 1, 200 black-and-white pixels, and it needs a lot of light just to keep running. Even so, it’s promising. If scientists can refine the technology to work at multi-megapixel levels, you could see cameras that last a long time on battery, and might not need a battery at all. Filed under: Cameras , Science Comments Via: EurekAlert Source: Columbia University

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This camera is powered by its own photos

Now Android devices can understand your chickenscratch

Tired of typing on your tablet? Sick of speaking to your phone? Well, if you’ve got Android 4.0.3 or higher, you are in luck because Google Handwriting Input for Android has just hit the Play Store. This utility app supports both printed and cursive writing styles, understands 82 languages and can even decipher hand-drawn emojis. What’s more, it doesn’t require you to use a stylus — though for languages not based on the Roman alphabet (like Japanese, Korean or Hindi), a writing implement definitely helps . I just downloaded this to a Nexus 6 and it understood my scrawlings reasonably well. The only issue of immediate concern is the warning that Google will be saving all of the input text — including any passwords and credit card numbers — so take care with what you write. Filed under: Handhelds , Tablets , Internet , Google Comments Via: The Next Web , The Verge Source: Google Play , Google Dev Blog

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Now Android devices can understand your chickenscratch

Car safety system monitors your body language to prevent accidents

Many collision avoidance systems watch out for other cars or pedestrians to keep you safe. But this new one called Brains4Cars being developed by Cornell and Stanford University researchers adds a camera that monitors you (or the driver’s, if it’s someone else) body language, as well. The computer that’s watching you on cam can detect your face and head movements to find cues on whether you’re turning or changing lanes. With data from a radar and another camera keeping an eye on the environment, the system can warn you if it’s too dangerous to turn. For instance, if you’re turning left, the left side of the steering wheel or seat can vibrate as a warning — the researchers believe sound and visual signals could be incorporated into the system, as well. In addition, the system can also pull GPS info and issue a notification if you’ve taken the wrong turn, or if you’re driving the wrong way down a one-way street. To develop the system’s algorithm, the researchers recorded 10 people’s driving activities for two months. They then used the data to analyze a separate set of driving videos. The result? Their algorithm was able to predict the driver’s actions 3.53 seconds in advance and got it right 77.4 percent of the time. Obviously, it’s nowhere near perfect yet — shadows seem to confuse the system’s face detector, and it can’t predict turns when the driver doesn’t move his head to peek at incoming traffic. The researchers are working on it, though, and are also looking to add more features including tactile sensors on the steering wheel and brake pedal, as well as infrared sensors. They’re also considering the ability to detect whether you’re looking at a phone or smartwatch to warn you against texting and driving at the same time. Filed under: Transportation Comments Source: Cornell , Brains4cars

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Car safety system monitors your body language to prevent accidents

Yup, there’s a Sodastream for cocktails

Our modern consumer age hasn’t been kind to SodaStream, since bottles of soda are cheap enough that you don’t need to make your own at home. Thankfully, the company has finally worked out that cola-addicted teens aren’t its future customers, but drunk adults who want something fancy for cocktail parties . That’s why the firm has teamed up with name-brand designer Yves Behar (he’s previously designed the SodaStream Source ) to develop the SodaStream Mix, which is one part CO2 injector and one part internet of things device. You see, Mix can’t be a buzzy new gadget unless it’s connected to the cloud (it is), and the company has also baked in Bluetooth and app compatibility as well. Touch the screen and cycle through to the alcohol section and you’ll be presented with a variety of recipes for you to follow. When done, insert the mix into the SodaStream and hey, the hardware will carbonate it. The company promises that the device can compensate for the differing fluid density levels of each drink, so it’ll ramp up (or down) the fizz for a drink with pulped fruit compared to a whiskey sour. There’s no word yet on how much this costs, or even if you’ll be able to buy it, but there’s one idea we want to leave you with: Fizzy Cocktails. Filed under: Misc Comments Via: Cool Hunting Source: SodaStream

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Yup, there’s a Sodastream for cocktails