iOS

Consumer Reports v. Apple
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Consumer Reports v. Apple: It’s About Trust (Premium)

When Consumer Reports refused to recommend the new MacBook Pro because of battery issues, Apple…

Today is Not the 10th Anniversary of the iPhone

Today is Not the 10th Anniversary of the iPhone

Ten years ago today, Steve Jobs delivered his greatest speech ever. And in announcing the…

Google Calendar Now Integrates with Health Apps

Google Calendar Now Integrates with Health Apps

Google Calendar now integrates with health apps so it can intelligently add fitness goals to…

First Steps: The Proper Care and Feeding of Your Microsoft Account

First Steps: The Proper Care and Feeding of Your Microsoft Account

If you're anything like me, your Microsoft account is the core of your online identity.…

Thurrott Daily: January 1

Office 365 Tip: Use the Office 2016 Offline Installer

Thanks to an offline installer, Office 365 for home subscribers can install Office 2016 repeatedly…

First Steps: Secure Your Online Identity

First Steps: Secure Your Online Identity

Here's a New Year's Resolution to embrace: It's time to take control of your online…

Thurrott Daily: December 30

Thurrott Daily: December 30

Today: Windows 10 Game Mode, Samsung helps Windows 10 Mobile users switch to its phones,…

The Duolingo language-learning app picked up new social functionality this week with a new feature called Clubs. As you may know, I've used Duolingo daily for over two years, and recommend this app highly. (In fact, I'm about to crack a 600 day usage streak.) And it's improved steadily, including the recent addition of bots, which let you converse in a new language in new ways. This new feature presents a similar step forward, but instead of relying on machine learning and AI, Clubs are more about taking advantage of human nature: We tend to be more motivated when other people we know are involved. “Learning a language is an inherently social experience,” Duolingo CEO and co-founder Luis von Ahn says. "One of the hardest things about learning a language is staying motivated, and we believe this new feature will draw friends and family together around a common goal to help our users hit their goals more quickly." Available as a new top-level option in the Duolingo app for Android and iOS, Clubs works a bit like social networking services like Facebook, but is entirely private. You can create your own clubs and invite others, or join clubs that others have created. And then there is a feed that displays each person's achievements---"Paul practiced French!", "Paul did lessons in Abstract Objects 3," and so on---so you can comment on or react to them. I've created a little club with just my wife and I, though we discuss Duolingo, French, and language learning in general pretty frequently already. But I could see this being a nice incentive for people. Download Duolingo for Android Download Duolingo for iOS (iPhone/iPad)

Duolingo Makes Language Learning More Social

The Duolingo language-learning app picked up new social functionality this week with a new feature…

2016 Year in Review

2016 Year in Review

It wasn't the best of times or the worst of times. But 2016 was a…

Android Users Can Now Pre-Register for Super Mario Run

Android Users Can Now Pre-Register for Super Mario Run

Nintendo's smash mobile game, Super Mario Run, is coming to Android. And now users can…

Xamarin Dev Days Now Available for On Demand Streaming

Xamarin Dev Days Now Available for On Demand Streaming

Microsoft has posted all of the content from its Xamarin Dev Days live event, allowing…

Thurrott Daily: December 27

Thurrott Daily: December 27

Today: Amazon had a killer holiday selling period, how to determine the power rating of…

Google Play Music Can Control Sonos Too

Google Play Music Can Control Sonos Too

As it turns out, Spotify isn't the only music app that can control Sonos connected…

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Apple Could Learn A Thing Or Two From Microsoft About Authentication

Apple's 2FA experience is far from perfect, they have a lot to learn from Microsoft…

Hands-On: Spotify + Sonos

Hands-On: Spotify + Sonos

For the past few months, I've been testing a new capability that integrates Spotify Premium…

The Tell-Tale Skype
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The Tell-Tale Skype

This one is personal. And while all technology can be frustrating at times, I've never…

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