Friday, December 1, 2017

This Self-Cleaning Water Bottle Is The Last You'll Ever Need To Buy

Never deal with a gross and stinky water bottle again!

You know those times when you misplace your water bottle for a few days, and then when you find it and open it up it smells like death? That gross smell is caused by germs and bacteria that just thrive in stagnant water. Not only is it yucky, it's also very unhealthy and could be a breeding ground for e.coli, Salmonella or worse. Nasty stuff. But with everyone switching over to reusable water bottles, it can be a real hassle keeping yours clean.

The QUARTZ Water Bottle wants to permanently eliminate that issue with its built-in water purification system that uses UV-C light to purify your water so that every sip you take is fresh and clean. This 18oz water bottle is double-insulated and powered by a long-lasting battery that's rechargeable via USB. When you fill your bottle, simply press the button on the lid and the UV-C light will purify your water in 60 seconds — and it also automatically cleans itself every 4 hours so even if you don't touch your water bottle for a full day you'll know the water is safe to drink every time.

The QUARTZ Water Bottle absolutely crushed its Kickstarter goal, surpassing $1 million, but there's still a few days left to back this project and get your own self-cleaning water bottle at a discounted price. The QUARTZ will retail for $99 but you can save some money and help the environment by backing with a pledge today. You can get your very own with a pledge of $59, or pledge $118 or more to get two bottles. As with all these Kickstarter campaigns, the more you spend the better the deal. Interested in going to CES? For $229 you can get four QUARTZ bottles along with two travel sleeves and two tickets to CES in Las Vegas — that's a $200 value alone!

This is the first Kickstarter campaign for the team behind the QUARTZ, but they sure seem to have a hit on their hands having surpassed their fundraising goal 35 times over. The QUARTZ is available in your choice of five colors and is expected to start shipping out to backers in March 2018. If you're done with plastic water bottles but also hate having to clean the stink out of your reusable water bottle every other day, the QUARTZ is the water bottle you've been waiting for!

See Quartz Self-Cleaning Water Bottle on Kickstarter



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Google Photos v3.10 adds text selection mode to Lens, prepares tool to remove obstructions from photos and videos [APK Teardown]

A new version of Google Photos is out in the wild and it's sporting a brand new text selection feature for those with access to Google Lens. A teardown of the APK also reveals that Photos isn't too far from getting a powerful tool for removing obstructions and ghosting effects from images, and it may soon have a new 'themed movie' generator that does all of the hard work of picking out content for short personalized videos.

Read More

Google Photos v3.10 adds text selection mode to Lens, prepares tool to remove obstructions from photos and videos [APK Teardown] was written by the awesome team at Android Police.



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Google's 'Santa Tracker' begins its journey to Christmas (and presents)!

December is here, and that means Google's Santa Tracker is ready to show you the path to Christmas Eve.

Thanksgiving is over, and for many families that means it is time to start decorating for Christmas. While you're busy setting up a tree and figuring out which bulb in your impossibly long strand of lights is in need of replacing, it may have slipped your mind that Google's Santa Tracker app and website started unlocking fun things for you to do with your family.

Not to worry, we're here with a friendly reminder.

For the uninitiated, Google's Santa Tracker is an absurdly large digital undertaking that seems to grow in functionality every year. While there are several Santa Tracker apps and websites out there, Google's offering combines a web app and an Android app to offer a 25-day experience that is all about Santa and Christmas. Each day there's a new activity to unlock, and this year Google's teasing a new drawing experience as well as an app for taking "Elfies" and "the largest online multiplayer snowball fight ever". At the end of the journey, there's a "live" Santa tracker that shows you where on Earth the big man in red is currently flying around.

If nothing else, this is a fun app to Chromecast to your TV throughout December so your kids can see the countdown to Christmas and a great look at the fun and educational activities Google sprinkles throughout the month. Since Google is always adding new things, we're sure to see something fun for everyone before the tracker goes live. Enjoy!

Take me to the Tracker!



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Google Home Mini crashing when music is played at high volume

Google is aware of the issue at hand and actively looking for a fix.

Google's small and cheap Home Mini is bound to be on a lot of people's wish lists this holiday season, but a new issue that's popped up for the speaker has been preventing some folks from listening to music on it at high volumes.

Complaints about this have popped up on the Google Home Help Forum and on Reddit, and while it's unclear exactly what songs or volume levels replicate the issue, one Redditor claims that playing either Royals by Lorde or Icon by Jayden Smith at 100% volume is a good way to test if your speaker is affected.

I decided to give this a try for myself, and sure enough, my Home Mini shut off and rebooted just before Lorde could finish saying she'd never seen a diamond in the flesh.

This is unsurprisingly frustrating, but a Googler has since responded and said that the Home team is aware of the issue at hand and investigating to find a fix.

If you run into the issue yourself, Paula from Google recommends recreating the issue, immediately submitting feedback through the Google Home app, and using the keyword "GHT3 - Google Home Mini reboot at high volume" along with a description and checked boxes so a screenshot and logs are included with the submission.

If you've experienced this bug on your Home Mini, drop us a comment down below.



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Grab the Amazon Echo Dot and a TP-Link Smart Plug for only $35

Amazon is offering an Echo Dot and TP-Link Smart plug for $35 total. All you have to do is add each one to your cart individually and you'll see $24.97 taken out of the cart automatically during checkout. This is the same deal Amazon ran during Cyber Monday only the bundle itself isn't discounted this time.

TP-Link's smart plug allows you to control your appliances from anywhere in the world. You can even voice control your appliances with it by pairing it to your Echo device.

Amazon has been working to make Alexa smarter each week by adding new features, skills, and functionality to it. From being able to control smart home accessories to being able to answer your questions, complete your searches, set reminders, and even make calls for you, these things do a whole lot for how little they cost.



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Let Google Assistant change your life with a Google Home two-pack for $130

Two for the price of one.

Is this deal for me?

Best Buy is offering a two-pack of Google Home voice-activated speakers for just $129.98 today only. This deal is the first of Best Buy's 20 Days of Doorbusters. Google Home usually sells for $129 so this is like getting another for a dollar, however the product is currently discounted to $79.99 if you just want one.

Google Home includes the Google Assistant which will answer your questions, set alarms or appointments and more. You can ask what the weather will be like, what's on the news or who won last night's game and quickly find out. You can also set it up with Spotify to play music, or pair it with Chromecast to start a show or movie using your voice. It can even recognize your voice as opposed to others' voices in your house for a personalized experience.

TL;DR

  • What makes this deal worth considering? - This brings the price of the Google Home down to $65 apiece, which is a $14 savings off its current sale price of $79. Normally this product sells for $129, so this deal is like getting one for a dollar on any regular day.
  • Things to know before you buy! - This deal is part of Best Buy's 20 Days of Doorbusters, meaning it's valid today only.

See at Best Buy



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Take the latest SlashData developer survey and you could win a Pixel 2!

Are you ready for the most global developer survey, designed BY developers FOR developers?

The Developer Economics Q4 2017 survey is here and for its 14th edition, and it's aiming at shedding light on the future of the software industry! Every year, more than 40,000 developers around the world participate in this survey, so this is a chance to be part of something big, voice your thoughts, and make your own contribution to the developer community. And you can even win an awesome prize for participating!

The survey is for all developers engaging in the following software development areas: Mobile, Desktop, IoT, AR/VR, Machine Learning & Data Science, Web, Backend and Gaming. As always the survey is looking to shed lights on questions about the current status and the future of the software industry. Remember that your opinion matters, so answers to these questions can be entirely shaped by you and your fellow developers!

Take the survey

There are some perks to go with your participation. Have a look at what you can get your hands on:

  • Amazing prizes up for grabs like a Google Pixel 2, an iPhone X, a Windows Acer MR headset, a Nintendo Switch, Raspberry Pi 3s and more!
  • A Developer Scorecard showing how other developers responded to the survey questions
  • A free State of the Developer Nation Q1, 2018 report with the key findings (February 2018).
  • A referral program you can join, promote the survey and win up to $700 in cash!

If Cyberpunk is your thing, you will love this survey! Always designed with an extra fun factor, the Developer Economics Survey shares a CyberPunk theme for its 14th edition. Taking the survey means that you will get to find out if you are a Cyber-Cultist, a Scale-O-Fixer or a Console Boy or something else! Sounds exciting right? Take the survey right away and have fun!

Take the survey and win great prizes!



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