Techlicious

How to enable Twitter's new Highlights feature on Android Make sure you never miss an important tweet or conversation, by enabling Highlights. Twitter on Thursday  announced  a new feature, called Highlights, that's intended to help you stay informed on the most important tweets and conversations among your followers. The feature is limited to English-language readers with the Twitter app installed on an  Android  device, however. While Highlights is officially launching today, April 23, it requires an opt-in to start receiving alerts. To enable the feature on your account, you'll need to launch the official Twitter app on your Android device and bring up the three-dot icon in the top-right corner of your screen. Select   Settings   from the drop-down. Next, tap on your   account name . If you have more than one account, you'll need to complete this process on each account. Tap on   Mobile Notifications . Scroll down until you find the new option

What to Expect at Apple's WWDC 2015 In June, Apple is set to hold its 26th annual Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC, in San Francisco. The conference—scheduled for June 8-12—has often involved some big updates to Apple software and hardware in the past. And with Apple's influence in the tech world only growing—amid the surging iPhone 6 and popular release of the Apple Watch, for instance—there is already plenty of anticipation about what Apple may have planned for WWDC. It's still a bit early, but we've gathered up a few possible Apple ( AAPL ) announcements that are rumored for WWDC, including on Apple TV, iOS 9 and Beats Music. Apple TV An overhaul to the Apple TV is a probably few years overdue—and so some believe the company will likely show off an upgrade at WWDC, especially following the Apple TV price cut to $69. The timing also seems to make sense after the announcement in early March that HBO’s new streaming service, HBO Now, would be exclusi

“Hello” Is Facebook’s New Android-Only Social Caller ID App Say goodbye to calls from unknown numbers. Facebook’s newest app Hello instantly matches phone numbers of incoming and outgoing calls to Facebook profiles to show you info about who you’re talking to, block calls from commonly blocked numbers, and search for businesses to call. Today, Hello is rolling out for public testing in the US, Brazil, and Nigeria, but the catch is that it’s Android-only since iOS won’t let apps interact with phone calls. Hello’s caller ID feature could clue you in to whether you want to pick up a call from a number you don’t have saved by showing their name and profile picture — as long as they haven’t changed the default privacy setting that lets people search from using their phone number. You’ll then see whatever info they share publicly or with you, like city, employer, website, and more. Technically, nothing is changing about Facebook privacy, though it does make personal info mor

What if the iPhone 7 merged with the Apple Watch? Will we all soon bow before the digital crown? This wacky iPhone 7 concept sure thinks so. It was only a matter of time before the  Apple Watch  inspired some far-out concept videos for new Apple products the faithful would like to see. Strangely, the arrival of the company's first signature wearable has inspired the below bizarre take on an iPhone 7 that borrows the watch's novel dial, called the "digital crown" by Apple. The iPhone concept from designer Antonio De Rosa, who has turned at least one of his flights of fancy into a real product, imagines a fully upgraded iPhone 7 that incorporates the dial from the Apple Watch, relocating Touch ID and the home button to the front of the dial. The space once occupied by the home button is replaced by a smaller bezel and a new "Sense Button" that captures gestures and movements for more personalized control. It remains to be seen if the digital cr

Surface 3 + Android Apps? While the ability to run Windows desktop applications is a huge win for Surface 3, it doesn’t help at all with the mobile app gap. But what if you could run Android apps on Surface 3? That might put Surface 3 over the top. As you may know, there are various options for running Android apps on Windows, and these solutions would seem to make particular sense on touch-first devices like Surface 3. The one I’m most familiar with is called  BlueStacks , an Android emulator that lets you run Android apps and games on Windows. But in just a bit of testing on Surface 3, I’m reminded that while BlueStacks “works,” it’s not ideal. That is, it doesn’t work very well. The problems are all technological, I guess. Most appear to be limitations of BlueStacks, not Surface 3. As an Android emulator, BlueStacks loads like a virtual machine, and while you can run it full-screen or in a window, what you can’t do is run Android apps individually, on the Windows de

Spartan For many, it’s not exactly a confidence booster that Microsoft’s forthcoming new browser will be a “Windows App,” rather than a traditional desktop application. It sports the characteristic borderless frames and blockily minimalist aesthetic, and the overall impression is of a stripped-down, simplified version of IE, according to an initial appreciation by Network World’s Howard Wen. ( "First Look: Microsoft's new Spartan browser for Windows 10" ) But, in a lot of ways, that’s probably a good thing – Chrome’s got a very similar look and feel, and it’s doing pretty well for itself. Spartan appears as a Windows app Chrome So what about the browser Spartan’s trying to knock off of its perch? Chrome’s still got major advantages over the rest of the field, including a perceived performance edge, simple and elegant design, and tight integration with Google’s wildly popular web services like Gmail. Simplicity is key for Chrome For the moment, those features

4 ways your Android device is tracking you (and how to stop it) Read on for four ways your Android device is watching you, starting with... Your web history Every time you search the web using Chrome on your Android device—or using Google in a desktop browser, for that matter—Google takes note of what you searched for and which results you clicked. In addition to making your search results more relevant, your Google "web history" can make for a handy, fascinating, and/or creepy way of tracking what you've been searching on over the past days, weeks, months, and even years. Open the Applications drawer (typically, by tapping a button in the dock at the bottom of your Android home screen), tap the Google Settings icon (it looks like a gear), tap Account History , tap  Web & App Activity , and finally tap the  Manage History  button. Voilà: your Google web history, in all its exhaustive glory. You can searc

Microsoft downplays new report of Windows flaw Researchers say a new variation on an old flaw could allow hackers to steal log-in credentials from users of every version of Windows. Microsoft doesn't seem too worried. A look at how "Redirect to SMB" could work in one attack method. Security research firm Cylance says it's found a vulnerability in Windows that could let hackers steal user names and passwords, but Microsoft isn't so sure it's worth focusing on. Any Windows PC, tablet or server running Windows 8.1 or earlier -- and even devices running the as-yet-released Windows 10 -- is subject to a vulnerability Cylance  reported  on its blog on Monday. The company, which dubbed the attack "Redirect to SMB," says the vulnerability relates to a similar flaw first discovered in Windows in 1997 by researcher Aaron Spangler that caused Windows to automatically provide a user's Windows username and password to what it thought was a server

Best Windows Tablet To Buy: Microsoft Surface Pro 3 vs. Dell Venue 11 Pro 7000 Microsoft Surface Pro 3 .  The Surface Pro 3 is Microsoft's latest attempt at bridging the divide between slates and laptops. Like its older siblings, the first and second-gen Surface tablets, the Surface Pro 3 has been designed as a do-it-all device. Microsoft touts the Surface Pro as a powerful device that can rival Ultrabooks and Apple's iPad Air. Software . Because the Surface Pro's touchscreen has been redesigned from being a tiny 10.6 inches to a larger 12 inches, its pixel count was also enhanced from 1920 by 1080 into 2160 by 1440. This gave a boost in pixels per inch, which is 216 ppi compared to the previous 207 ppi. The 3 rd  gen Surface Pro's aspect ratio is also set at 3:2. This allows the device's 12-inch screen to display more content, which is even better compared to the 13.3-inch MacBook Air that has an aspect ratio of 16:10. Furthermore, it gave the device an

Top Android news of the week: Instant Video, Android Wear on iPhones, Dell enterprise hybrid Summary: In Android this week surfaced reports of Android Wear getting iPhone support, Prime Instant Video hits Android, and Dell releases an Android 2-in-1. Class action Google monopoly suit dropped A law suit claiming Android's terms of use created a monopoly has been dropped. The class action suit claimed Google's terms violated antitrust laws in the area of device distribution. The suit had claimed both state and federal antitrust laws were violated by the terms of use. Google had filed a motion with the court to have the suit thrown out, which was granted. Android gets Amazon Prime Instant Video, sort of Amazon's Prime video streaming offering was previously only available on the company's Kindle Fire devices, but is now on all Android devices. Owners wishing to access Prime Instant Video on their Android tablets must install the Amazon AppStore app in order

Microsoft Surface 3: Looking Good The Microsoft Surface 3 is completely different than its predecessors. Say goodbye to RT. It’s more powerful, more full, and more of a laptop replacement than the Surface RT and Surface 2. Windows RT was a failure, we have to admit that right now. I have the first generation of Surface devices, and I still use my RT to this day. But I only use it when I want to show people that a device shouldn’t get that slow in a period of 3 years, even with reboots.  With this new Surface, we see a tablet that has the capabilities of a decent powered laptop that can run simple applications, perform word-processing, and run actual Windows, and it also has that nifty Surface Pen as well. And with Windows 10 on the way, people will obviously get the upgrade for free when it comes out.  The specs are better as well. Of course, you’d expect that out of a tablet that is meant to run full Windows software and register pen input along with a plethora of other t

Firefox For Android Passes 100 Million Downloads In The Google Play Store Google's mobile version of Chrome has become the de facto standard browser for Android, but never let it be said that it's the only option. Mozilla Firefox, which  predates Chrome on both desktop platforms and Android , has been downloaded from the Play Store 100 million times. Mozilla decided to toast the occasion  on its official blog . Aside from the obvious user interface differences, the Android version of Firefox has gradually added compelling features like integration with synced Mozilla services (which are a godsend if you use the desktop browser as your primary web interface), extra user-accessible tools like a fullscreen switch, customized search engines, and add-ons that expand the base app's functionality. Though detailed download information isn't posted to the Play Store, it's probably second only to Chrome (and the original AOSP browser in markets like Chi

Android 5.1 Lollipop Update For Nexus 7 Rolling Out Soon The Android 5.1 Lollipop update for the Nexus 7 should be rolling out soon. Google just posted the factory images for the Nexus 7 (3G) Android 5.1 Lollipop update. The Android 5.1 Lollipop update for the Nexus 7 should be rolling out soon, as Google has posted the factory images for the Nexus 7 (3G) Android 5.1 Lollipop update on the Android Open Source Project page for Nexus devices. Starting in March, Google began rolling out Android 5.1 Lollipop to its Nexus branded devices. The Nexus 6, Nexus 7 2012 Wi-Fi, Nexus 10, and Nexus 5 all began receiving the Android 5.1 Lollipop update. As we previously reported, the Nexus 5 Android 5.1 Lollipop update just began rolling out as well. Android 5.1 Lollipop brings with it some significant changes and improvements over its predecessor, Android Lollipop 5.0. Among the changes are welcome improvements in battery life for devices running the new operating system, and increas

Apple Releases iOS 8.3 To The Public, It Has New Emojis After a  lengthy beta test ,  Apple  has released iOS 8.3 to the public today. You can download and install the update by going to Settings > General > Software Update. This update includes several new features and design enhancements.  Some of the most anticipated features in iOS 8.3 are the new racially diverse emojis, wireless CarPlay support and Messages app improvements. Apple said that it has improved the performance for app launch, app responsiveness, Messages, WiFi, Control Center, Safari tabs, third-party keyboards, keyboard shortcuts and the simplified Chinese keyboard. Here is a breakdown of some fixes that have been addressed in iOS 8.3: WiFi / Bluetooth Fixes A number of WiFi and Bluetooth fixes have been addressed in iOS 8.3. The update fixes the issue where you are continuously asked to input your login credentials. It also addresses the issue where some devices disconnect intermittently from Wi-Fi