Our new “Stories We Might Have Missed” segment includes stories that we’ve seen around the week that didn’t quite make it into our main posts this past week. At the end of each bullet there should be a source link for our information where you can go grab more details. Enjoy!
NVIDIA Announces GTX 1080
NVIDIA officially announced its new GTX 1080 GPU. This new addition to their lineup is designed for consumers and is essentially the dream GPU for any gamer. According to NVIDIA the GTX 1080 was the “largest GPU endeavor, largest chip endeavor, largest processor endeavor, in the history of humanity”. The budget for this card was several billion dollars, so you know they put a lot of time and work into it. If you were looking to upgrade your GPU, then you should be able to get your hands on the GTX 1080 on May 27th. It’ll run you $599, but you can grab the Founder’s Edition for $699 (it has a differently designed cooler to it). For more information, including tests, check out this article here.
Amazon Brings New Creators to Your Device
Amazon has announced a new service that makes it easier for creators and storytellers to show their content to more people. The service is called “Amazon Video Direct”, or AVD for short. Amazon boasts access to its most engaged audience, choices on sharing titles, expanded customer reach and insightful performance metrics. Creators can earn royalties based off of minutes streamed. They can also make money by doing rentals, monthly subscriptions, ad impressions or purchases. Check out more information on AVD here, and be sure to check out the official press release here.
Google No Longer Requires Unlocked Bootloader for System Images
When you flashed a system image on your device, you needed to have an unlocked bootloader to do so. Google has now made a change that some people might be happy with. They have decided that you no longer need to unlock your bootloader to flash system images. Everything should be pretty much the same as it was before, but you’ll need to agree to their terms and conditions before you get any of the system images. Learn more about this change here.
Are Your Friends Ignoring You?
You don’t have to wonder if your friends are ignoring you anymore. An iOS app called “Battery Share” lets you share your battery level with your friends. Now you don’t have to worry about saying “hey, my phone is dying”, because your friends and family will already know. You can tell when your friend is charging their phone, if their battery is low or if they’re in low power mode. While this might seem a little awkward, it could be useful for parents who are worried about getting in touch with their children. Learn more about this interesting app here. If you’d like to grab the app, check it out here.
Get Rewards for Sweating
A fitness app based out of the UK has come up with an idea that we should be rewarded for working out. Sweatcoin is an app that allows you to use your steps to get rewards like fitness classes or spa packages. You earn one Sweatcoin for every one thousand steps that you take. You can also send Sweatcoins to people and you can even create your own rewards. In the future Sweatcoin would like to give people money for their steps. Don’t even bother suggesting that you’re going to shake your phone to rack up Sweatcoins. The app uses your GPS and accelerometer to get an accurate painting of your steps. Sweatcoin is currently in closed beta. It appears to be based solely in London for right now, so if you would like to sign up for the beta go here. Learn more about the app here.
WhatsApp Releases a Desktop App
WhatsApp has officially released a desktop version of their app. The WhatsApp desktop app allows you to communicate with others without having to take your phone out. It allows for desktop notifications on either your Windows 8 (and newer) computer or your MacBook running Mac OS X 10.9 and up. You’ll also get better keyboard shortcuts with the desktop app. The WhatsApp desktop app is “an extension of your phone”. You need to download the app on your computer, use your phone to scan the code that appears on the computer and then you’re set up and ready to go. Check out more information on the new WhatsApp desktop app here.
