Author: Clinton

The 2016 Formula One season kicks off this weekend in Melbourne, Australia in what promises to be an interesting season.  Mercedes has dominated F1 the last couple of years but all eyes are on Ferrari as they look potent in pre-season testing while Williams, Force India and Red Bull scrap to stay in the hunt each weekend.  And don’t forget that in 2016 there is a new F1 team from America:  HaaS F1.  Whether you are an old fan like me or new to the sport, the Official F1 app for Android is a must-have app.  Regardless if you use the free version of the app or get the extra benefits of the premium monthly service, there is a wealth of information about the teams, drivers, and news from around the paddock with the premium service bringing some great live action and radio at each race.  Overall it is a solid app but there are a few things that could stand a bit of improvement. Here is my review.

Google Photos saw a small but important update yesterday that gives you more control over your videos you have stored in the app and online.  The updated version is build 1.6 for those keeping score at home and it is rolling out to the Google Play Store now.  If you have the app, you should see the OTA for it in the next few days.  The big change is that you now have the ability to fast forward and rewind videos that you have stored as you watch them.  Previously you could only pause videos but if you wanted to go back in the video, you had to tap the play bar to go back or start over.

Google is upping the ante on Chrome OS.  For the past couple of years, the company has had an open invitation for everyone to try and hack into a Chromebook running Chrome OS.  The payout?  $50,000 US.  Not bad but the company have virtually no takers.  Not satisfied and genuinely wanting attempts to hack the OS made, the company has upped the payout to $100,000 US if you can break into a Chromebook or Chromebox.  They are serious about how secure the platform is and are willing to put their money on it.

If you are one of the countless thousands who pre-registered for Google I/O 2016, it is time to start checking your inbox.  Google has started sending out the formal invites to the developer conference and for those of you who have received an invite, you only have 24 hours to secure your place or it is lost forever.  No pressure.

There are a lot of things I love about Android, obviously, but there are a few things now-and-again that make me kinda batty.  One of these things, and it is a simple thing, is the vibration that you get when you type on your keyboard when using your phone.  Don’t ask me why it bothers me so much, but it does.  It is one of the first things I turn off when I setup a new phone or have refreshed one anew.  It struck me however that finding this setting is a bit difficult if you are new to Android or just simply haven’t dug into a least commonly accessed area in Settings, Language & input.  In this How To I’ll show you where this setting is and how you can disable it if you too don’t like the haptic feedback when you type on your Android phone.

Whether you like the bottom navigation bar or not, it looks like it is here to stay in Android.  Today Google updated the Material Design guidelines for app developers, outlining how a bottom navigation bar should be implemented, along with a list of do’s and don’ts on for it.  To this point, Android has adhered more to a tab or top menu design but now developers are being told that a bottom navigation is the way to go as it is a better user experience.