Verizon Wireless will let subscribers connect to a cell service in Cuba starting next week as the communications veil between the U.S. and its communist neighbor continues to lift after half a century of isolation. Subscribers will be able to get international roaming service in Cuba for anything that qualifies as a World Device at Verizon. Service is strictly 2G, and rates are at the carrier's highest tier for international roaming: US$2.99 per minute for voice and $2.05 per megabyte for data, all on a pay-as-you-go basis. International messaging rates apply. But just being able to land in Cuba and have mobile service when you turn on your U.S. phone is a pretty big deal. Carriers in other countries, like O2 in the U.K. and Telefonica's Movistar in Mexico, already offer some roaming in Cuba. Verizon says it's the first U.S. operator to make it available. Sprint says it will follow soon.
Here's a look at the new and updated apps and games worth grabbing this week.
I love It’s a game about cars playing soccer. What the hell kind of movie could possibly come from this? (Via
Chromebooks are Chrome OS is built on top of the Linux kernel, and you can install a full Linux environment alongside Chrome OS on your Chromebook. This gives you access to
Microsoft is bringing its newfound love of user feedback to the Xbox app for Windows 10, with a beta version launching later this month. The
The British broadcaster looks to cash in on the cord-cutting craze that’s sweeping the United States.
There are plenty of ways for PC gamers to share gameplay videos, what with YouTube and livestreaming services like Twitch. But before you can share a video, you have to capture it first. With Windows 10’s Game DVR feature, you can easily record your gaming exploits and share with your Xbox-using friends—all without downloading and installing additional software like Nvidia’s ShadowPlay or OBS. Here’s how to get started. If you haven’t used the Xbox app before or don’t own an Xbox console, you’ll need to first set up a gamertag—basically, your Xbox screen name. Pop open the Xbox app and follow the onscreen instructions, and the Xbox app will take care of the rest. (The Xbox app doesn’t need to be open in order for the Game DVR feature to work, but you’ll want to get set up with an Xbox account before you dive in.)
One of the best parts of Windows 10 is its deep integration with Cortana, To get started, click on the Cortana icon/search box in the taskbar. Then click the notebook icon in Cortana’s left-hand navigation panel—it’s right under the home icon. (If you haven’t activated Cortana yet, you’ll have to follow the steps that appear to turn it on before you’ll see the standard Cortana interface.)
Intel’s Broadwell-C desktop processor is alive and well—for now, at least. A
The Windows 10 upgrade (which
When Apple announced its next-generation Apple TV last week, Siri was clearly Siri’s mere presence on Apple TV isn’t a monumental achievement, given that other streaming video platforms, such as Roku, Amazon’s Fire TV, and Google’s Android TV, have offered voice controls for a while now. Rather, the way that Siri works on Apple TV is what makes all the difference. Compared to what’s out there already, Apple is leapfrogging ahead in voice interaction on television. (Note that we haven’t had an opportunity to fully evaluate Amazon’s integration of its cloud-based voice-command service—Alexa—with its new Fire TV products.)
Cutting the cord? These apps will stream hundreds of network or cable TV shows for free, no pay-TV subscription required.
Microsoft may have just a single-digit slice of the mobile market, but there’s one segment of mobile that it’s winning: Malware infections delivered via mobile networks. According to a Wednesday report from
The company hopes to woo buyers by adding HDR support to almost all of its 2015 4K TV lineup and throwing in a bunch of remastered blockbusters.
One of the challenges of shifting to a new cloud storage provider is a very practical one: Uploading a lifetime’s worth of data takes Right now,
Search queries on Microsoft’s Bing in the U.S. last month increased by 1%, a slow start to what a company manager predicted would be a big boost delivered by Windows 10. Google remained the U.S. search leader by a large margin, with a share of 63.8%—down the 0.2 percentage points that Bing gained—but with a search query total nearly identical to July. It was Yahoo and Ask.com that posted lower search query numbers in August compared to the month before.
While anti-virus firm AVG congratulates itself over a new easy-to-read privacy policy, users are up in arms over what that policy spells out. The It’s rare to see a privacy policy that so plainly points out a company’s data collection methods and motivations, but that’s the point. AVG recently
