Daily News Courier

Offshore Wind “Backbone” Project Moves Ahead

The Atlantic Wind Connection project to lay undersea cables and transfer offshore wind to the eastern U.S. plans its first phase.

An ambitious power transmission line project to tap the offshore wind resource off the east coast U.S. is taking steps toward actual construction.

Catch the first Android Central Podcast of 2013 this afternoon!

We're back, boys and girls! It's a new year, and we're ready to kick this podcast into high gear. Coming up this afternoon — at a special time of 3:30 p.m. Eastern — we'll be recording Episode 121 of the Greatest Android Podcast in the World! On tap today — our predictions for the year, a preview of what we expect next week from CES in Las Vegas, and more of your e-mails and voicemails.

Not at a computer? Pick up the free UStream Viewer from Google Play [link] and search for Mobile Nations a little before the show (it won't appear until we go live). We'll see you there!

• Join us at AndroidCentral.com/live

Delta updates their app with a privacy policy, California is safe again

Delta Airlines has updated their Android app, bringing $2,500,000,000 worth of new features. All in the form of a privacy policy. 

It's still the same app as before, letting you check in to your flights, grab a mobile boarding pass, or even check your SkyMiles balance. If you are a frequent flier on Delta, it's probably a very useful download.

So what is this upgrade all about, and what does it have to do with billions of dollars? Good question, with an easy answer. Seems that the state of California slapped Delta with a lawsuit because the app had no clear privacy policy attached. Delta had 30 days to comply, or be faced with fines that could total up to 2.5 billion (with a b) US dollars. Rather than make a large donation to California's economy, Delta updated their app today. Quick work, and the addition of the privacy policy is easy to get to — simply tap Traveling with Us, then tap Privacy Policy. 

It's good to see a privacy policy for any app, especially one that collects your credit card info by design. It's also good on some level that the state of California looks out for their citizens, keeping them safe from those who would steal and abuse their private data.

But I cant shake the feeling that threatening a 2.5 billion dollar fine is the best way to go about it. Anyhoo, if you're using the Delta app go grab the update, and if you;re not using it but think you should be, download it from Google Play.

More: InformationWeek

CyanogenMod 9.1 stable builds going out with SimplyTapp NFC integration

If you're looking to give CyanogenMod 9.1 a go, you'll find something new built into the ROM's. As noted on the CyanogenMod blog, CyanogenMod 9.1 compatible devices with NFC will bring integration with Tapp powered by SimplyTapp. The joint partnership was born back at the beginning of CyanogenMod 9 and is now being introduced to allow payments from your smartphone with just a tap:

• To Sign-up – flash CM9.1 on your NFC capable device, and get the Tapp app
• Costs – It is between $0 and $5 to get an NFC card. That all depends on the card or cards you select.
• Cards supported – At the moment you can sign up for a Tapp Anywhere Card (like a gift card with a fixed balance), CyanogenMod Tapp Card (Reloadable), as well as various store cards (depending on location).
• Security – Card credentials are stored in the cloud and enabled to the point-of-sale via standard security mechanisms. By evolving from the plastic card model, this keeps your credentials (aka payment information) secure, accessible by only you, and only when you need them.

Supported devices include Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S (4G), Samsung Galaxy S2 and pretty much any other devices supported by CyanogenMod 9.1 with NFC. Stable builds of CyanogenMod 9.1 are rolling out right now, so if you're interested in learning more about SimplyTapp or testing out CyanogenMod 9.1, you'll find the links below.

Source: CM Blog, Download CM 9.1

From the Android Forums: Multiple Google accounts on one device for Google Play

Super Turtleman asks in the Android forums,

My kids are getting to the age where they're about to start having Android devices. I'd like to create a master account I can have on my phone (separate from my current google account) that I can use to download apps onto my kid's devices. Is there a simple way to do this? Can I have two different google accounts on one device and have them not interfere with each other?

Lucky kids! We think it's great that you're exposing your children to Android, and even better that you're exploring options to provide them with awesome games and apps. The good news is, what you want to do is easy!

Open Google Play on your device, and tap the action bar (or menu button, as the case may be), and select "Accounts" from the list. A new window will open, listing the current active Google accounts in use on your phone or tablet. If the account you want to use is not listed, tap the "Add account" button and follow the prompts to add a new or existing Google account. Make sure this account is selected when purchasing an app, and the app will be available on any Android device using the account in question.

Add this account to your child's Android devices, select in in Google Play, then download and install all the apps you have purchased. It's worth noting that you can tell the Google Play app that you only want to purchase apps or media, or make in-app purchases, by using a PIN. This keeps the kids from being able to charge up your account, and allows you to monitor applications being bought.

It's not quite device profiles, but it's a good way to do what you're looking for. 

Have a question you need answered? (Preferably about Android, but we're flexible.) Hit up our Contact Page to get in touch!

New Dash tweak brings multitasking back to the iOS

Multitasking hasn?t always been easy to achieve on iOS devices. So far, multitasking oriented interfaces like multifl0w and Cardswitcher have proved to be quite popular alternatives and very soon there?s going to be another addition to the family in the persona of the jailbreak tweak Dash.

It has been designed by the SBCoders development team and looks pretty amazing. The interface features a linen wallpaper texture and moves smoothly. It also features a button that will allow users to automatically exit the tweak. Visually the interface feels very native which is a definite plus.

If you have more than one application running on your device they will be suspended in memory in the back showing their last screen. To bring them forward, users have to swipe left and right. One you find your application, tap on the screen and it becomes available for use. Swiping up the application will cause them to close.

So far, the tweak is in beta version and offers five different variants of animation modes. Of course, more will be added in the near future, once the tweak ends its beta period. To choose their preferred mode of animation, users have to go to the Settings of the application and to tap on Preferences.

Choose between: Scoll(default), Cover Flow, Time Machine, Rotary and Cylinder. Even though it is only a beta version, the tweak seems extremely promising for people who want to exploit multitasking on their iOS devices.

By Radu

Source: Apple, iPhone and iPad News | ModMyi – Upcoming Tweak ‘Dash’ is an Eye-candy Multitasking Interface for iOS

Google+ updated with hangout improvements

The newly redesigned Google+ app for Android just keeps getting better. This most recent update brings improvements to hangouts, allowing younger users to initiate them and all users to watch hangouts on air. Most notable when you first open the newly update app, you will see a grey bar at the top of the window with sharing options. This is a welcome addition that saves you that one extra tap when you want to share a post.

In addition, the new version has floating timestamps in photo view. For those of you getting frustrated with spam in the new "events" feature, the ability to report abuse straight from the app has been added as well. We've got a couple screenshots of the new UI after the break, and you can follow the Play Store link above to grab the update for yourself.

read more

WordPress Updates iOS App With Sidebar, Panels and Post Formats

WordPress has today announced that it has made some updates to its iOS app, with version 3.1. The WordPress for iOS blog calls it ?the big one? as it features a complete redesign, as well as lots of fresh features. The interface has been completely updated, with new graphics, colours and sliding panels. Sidebar navigation has also been added, allowing for easy access to other parts of the app via a simple swipe and tap movement. App settings and quick photo are also now readily accessible from the Sidebar too. As far as the iPad app in particular is concerned, a new Panels interface has been added to make the most of the larger screen. The Panels can be moved around and resized to suit your preference. Other features include an option to set the post format for your posts, with the app checking to see what formats will fit your blog theme. Also, Quick Photo and WordPress.com Reader, which were previously only available on the iPhone app, have been added to the iPad app. The very popular WordPress .com Stats have also been added via a new view, and the iPad app also now features a new post preview. Overall, it looks like they?ve done a really good job of sprucing up the apps.

Click here to download the free app: App Store – WordPress

Source: WordPress for iOS ? Announcing Version 3.1: Sidebar, Panels, and Post Formats

Celebrate Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with the Jelly Belly live wallpaper

Personally, I'm not really a fan of live wallpapers but I am a fan of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and arguably more importantly, Jelly Belly jelly beans (except the Harry Potter ones, those are kinda blah!). Jelly Belly looking to have a little fun with the release of Jelly Bean and create some brand recognition has built a pretty awesome jelly bean live wallpaper that is available for free in the Google Play Store. Jelly Belly jelly bean jar, as it is called is one of the more interactive live wallpapers I've used and it offers a cool set of features to go along with it:

• Tap the screen to drop more jelly beans into your jar
• Touch and hold a jelly bean, then drag, spin or flick it
• Shake the phone or tilt it upside down to clear
• Invent your own games, like "Jelly Belly Volleybean" – don't let the bean hit the bottom!
• Choose your favorite flavors to display, like Buttered Popcorn or Very Cherry
• Change the level of gravity to affect the drop/tilt/flick features

One feature that I was glad to see Jelly Belly not overlook was the ability to go ahead and set your own background image. Sure, they include a nice Jelly Belly one with the package but had they left it at that, it would have felt more like an ad. Instead, they opted to make it fun and appealing to use. If you dig live wallpapers, give it a go. This is one even I might keep around for a while.

Twitter for Android adds notifications for specific users, expanded tweets, and bug fixes

Twitter is relying less on the browser these days with a new feature that makes it possible to access more content within its Android app. The latest version of Twitter for Android makes it possible to see expanded tweets, meaning content from select sites will appear directly below the tweet rather than requiring visiting that link in the browser

Expanded tweets is popular on the desktop because it allows users to see a photo without having to leave Twitter.com, and the same principle applies here. Certain photo sharing websites will display images below the tweet, and preview text from news sites like MLB or The Atlantic can appear as well. When someone links to a Kickstarter campaign, the video for that project will appear within the Twitter app.

Notifications also get a very nice change now that push notifications can be set for a particular account. If you only want to be updated when @Foodtruck posts his location, or when @Verizon tweets about a new contest, you now have that option. To enable user notifications, simply follow these steps:

1. Go to an account’s profile page
2. Tap on the drop-down menu next to the “Follow” button
3. Choose “Turn on notifications”

I used to love an app named nanotweeter that offers user notifications, so it’s good to see the official Twitter app embrace the change.