HTC Vive orders are getting canceled by mistake

HTC Vive orders are getting canceled by mistake

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HTC was hoping that the introduction of the Vive VR headset would help turn the company around. Flowing red ink from every orifice  in its corporate body following the flop that was the HTC One M9, the Vive era got off to a great start whenthe company grossed $12 million in the first 10 minutes of accepting pre-orders for the headset.

But a problem has developed. Processing issues with financial institutions have led to the accidental cancellation of Vive pre-orders. HTC is working with its customers and the banks and has already reinstated orders for a number of customers. The HTC Vive costs $799.99 and is scheduled to start shipping this coming Monday, April 4th.

If you received a notice stating that your Vive order was automatically cancelled, you should immediately call your bank or financial institution. And you might want to give HTC a call as well at (888) 216-4736. As we noted, HTC is expecting big things from the Vive. HTC co-founder and current CEO Cher Wang said back in January that "Smartphones are important, but to create a natural extension to other connected devices like wearables and virtual reality is more important."

"While fulfilling this week's orders for HTC Vive, a limited number of individuals were affected by auto cancellations due to processing issues with financial institutions. We're actively working to resolve this, and have already reinstated orders for some customers. We want to assure our customers that we'll work with them to process their payment so they can receive their Vive when they were expecting it. If you pre-ordered a Vive, we encourage you to contact your financial institution to notify them of upcoming charges."

Other companies like Samsung, Google offer various VR "hardware" and with companies like McDonald's and Coke turning their packaging into VR viewers, it certainly seems that corporate America is drinking the Kool Aid. And that dovetails with Ms. Wang's comments about the importance of Virtual Reality to HTC's financial reality.

source: AndroidCentral

Cortana celebrates her second birthday as a personal assistant by adding new features

Cortana celebrates her second birthday as a personal assistant by adding new features

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Blow out the candles on the cake, Cortana is now two-years old. Microsoft's virtual voice-activated personal assistant was introduced on April 2nd, 2014 at the BUILD developer conference. Cortana first appeared on Windows Phone 8.1, handling search requests and certain operations via voice. Since then, she has branched out to Windows 10, Android and iOS, and can now handle cross-platform tasks.

Recently, it was announced that Cortana will be able to keepAndroid users up-to-date about their notifications across various devices. The personal assistant will also help you to send texts from your PC. Other new features include the Cortana Collection, which will appear in the Windows Store. This is a series of apps recommended by the virtual personal assistant. In addition, Cortana will now make suggestions during the course of a day. She will offer to phone in a lunch order for you, or arrange a cab or other form of transportation.

While testing alongside Siri and Google Now usually results in a third-place finish for Cortana, the other two virtual personal assistants are much older and more mature than she is. It is usually considered bad form to broadcast a woman's age, but in this case we don't think that Cortana will mind. And thanks to the iOS and Android apps, and her inclusion on Windows 10 PCs, it appears that Cortana will be around for some time to come regardless of what happens to Microsoft's smartphone business.

source: MSPoweruser

Apple expects to discover the FBI's new method to unlock the iPhone

Apple expects to discover the FBI's new method to unlock the iPhone

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Now that the FBI has discovered a way to unlock Syed Farook's Apple iPhone 5c without Cupertino's help, the law enforcement agency has become the belle of the ball. As we told you last week, numerous police agencies are asking the FBI to help them open an iPhone that they feel might contain evidence. For example, the Conway Police Department in Arkansas is going to use the resources of the FBI to unlock an Apple iPhone and Apple iPod touch related to a double murder.

Regardless of whether the FBI responds to Apple's request to spill the beans over how it unlocked Farook's handset, the smart money says that Apple will soon figure out the FBI's magic trick and quickly put the kibosh on it through a software update. Apple needs to issue a fix to close the vulnerability used by the FBI. If this code becomes public, every iPhone owner on the planet will be in danger of having personal information stored on the device hacked. Ironically, this is the exact reason why Tim Cook was so adamant against developing a special version of the iOS for the government to use to unlock the San Bernardino terrorist's iPhone.

Apple might have a chance to learn how the FBI unlocked the Apple iPhone 5c through a court case in New York involving an Apple iPhone 5s belonging to a drug dealer. If the case continues, Apple is expected to use the discovery phase of the trial to demand that the information be turned over to its attorneys.

Some believe that Israeli software company Cellebrite, the manufacturer of machines used to move contacts and other data from one phone to a new one, is behind the FBI's new found powers. The day that the FBI announced that it had unlocked the deceased terrorist's phone without Apple's help, a $15,000 contract between Cellebrite and the FBI was discovered online.

source: Reuters

One Drive for iOS receives update; save multiple pictures and videos with one tap

One Drive for iOS receives update; save multiple pictures and videos with one tap

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Microsoft's cloud storage system OneDrive has updated its app for iOS to version 6.13.1. With the update, users can now save multiple photos and videos from their camera roll, using one click. Select the files that you want to store in the cloud, tap share, and you will be given the option to "Save Photos and Videos."

The update also exterminated a bug that played havoc with the VoiceOver and album features. Microsoft also points out that if you're having sync issues, or any issues with the app, all you need to do is shake your phone and a request will be sent to Microsoft engineers to investigate the problem(s).

OneDrive is a freemium app, which means that it is free to download and install, but there are optional in-app purchases you can make to enhance the OneDrive experience on your iPhone or iPad. For example, you can purchase 100GB of cloud storage for $27.99.

To install OneDrive for iOS on your iDevice, click on the sourcelink.

OneDrive cloud storage for iOS receives update

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source: OneDrive (iOS|Android|Windows) via MSPoweruser

Video shows BlackBerry Priv running Android 6.0

Video shows BlackBerry Priv running Android 6.0

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Since we haven't heard anything about the BlackBerry Privreceiving the update to Android 6.0, Priv owners should be happy to see the video clip that we've embedded with this story. It shows the first Android powered BlackBerry running Android 6.0.1. Unfortunately, we have no idea when this update would be sent out. In the U.S., it would be up to Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T to give final approval to the update, and to schedule a day for it to start getting pushed out.

The update would give the Priv new features like Doze. which puts the phone into a deep sleep when inactive. Apps stop working in the background, and standby time is greatly improved. This should increase the battery life of the phone. The update also adds Google Now on Tap which brings contextual search, and gives you search results based on the content displayed on your phone. And with the update, users can give or deny permissions to apps on a feature-by-feature basis.

Hopefully for Priv owners, whether they are sporting the unlocked or carrier branded model of the device, they aren't waiting too much longer for Android 6.0 to arrive.