Because it’s Monday, here’s a good cup of coffee – according to science
Everything is better with more science, despite what movies about oversized lizards warped by radiation and man’s hubris would have you believe. And would you believe, there’s a scientific way to get the best out of your morning cup of coffee? Of course there is, and Ars Technica has the entire breakdown for you. From breaking down the chemicals in your morning cup and what they do to what each step in the process (from bean to roasting it to what sort of water is best, among other steps) entails, this is how you would make the healthiest, most tasty, cup of wake-up juice. And, at the very end, don’t add milk or sugar. You heathen, you.
If you used to sell guns on Facebook (seriously, who does that?), you won’t be able to any longer
Online shopping is one thing, using Facebook to buy and sell guns… that’s something else. And it’s also a thing of the past, as the social network will no longer be allowing private sales of firearms on Facebook. Globally, in case you thought that this would be a region-based thing. Facebook already bans and monitors the public sale of drugs and other illicit medical goods and you’re probably going to have a hard time offering other illegal items for sale at well. Facebook’s Monika Bickert said “Over the last two years, more and more people have been using Facebook to discover products and to buy and sell things to one another. We are continuing to develop, test, and launch new products to make this experience even better for people and are updating our regulated goods policies to reflect this evolution.” In other words, no more private gun sales, though licensed retailers will be able to advertise sales to users as long as the transaction doesn’t conclude on Facebook.
Samsung introduces OTA update that adds Android ad-blocking capabilities
Online advertisers may find that their days are more numbered than previously though. Ad-blocking has been surging of late and Samsung have just fired their own salvo into the online ad wars by releasing an update for their Android 5.0 handset. The update, which was sent as an OTA (over the air) update, adds ad-blocking capabilities to Samsung’s web browser. The point, with the launch of the new API, is to allow developers to develop ad-blockers for Samsung’s web browser (as opposed to the mobile version of Chrome, for instance). And there’s already at least one ad-blocker already active for Samsung’s browser. What with Apple introducing a similar API for iOS last month, mobile advertising may have to get creative in a big hurry.
Google tests Project SkyBender, a drone that delivers 5G internet
There are no secrets any more, unless you have aliens in your basement. Even then, we suspect something. But Google’s solar-powered internet drones, which go under the name Project SkyBender, have been outed, as have the tests that the company has been doing at Spaceport America. You know, while Virgin Galactic isn’t using it all that extensively just yet. Google’s drones are conducting tests with millimetre-wave transmissions, which could be the basis for 5G internet access some time in the future. Unfortunately, millimetre-wave transmissions fade out a lot faster than 4G. So either we blanket the country in antennae or we let Google continue their ‘phased array’ tests. You can grab all the details of the tests from the source link below, including the little bit where Google declines to comment. Because secrets.
