Mobile

Thurrott.com Best of CES 2017

Thurrott.com Best of CES 2017

Brad and I scoured the halls of the LVCC and the surrounding hotel and convention…

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…

HMD Announces Its First Nokia Smartphone

HMD Announces Its First Nokia Smartphone

HMD is set to launch its first Nokia-branded smartphone, the Nokia 6. But it will…

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…

CES 2017: Google Assistant is Coming to Android TV

CES 2017: Google Assistant is Coming to Android TV, Android Wear

Google announced that it will bring its Google Assistant to Android TV, Android Wear 2.0…

Thurrott Daily: CES Day 0 Special Edition

Thurrott Daily: CES Day 0 Special Edition

Brad and I are flying to Las Vegas tonight for CES, but things are starting…

CES 2017: Here Comes the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835

CES 2017: Here Comes the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835

The disrupter has been unveiled at last. Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to meet the…

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

Thurrott Daily: January 1

Today: Windows 10 is now used by more than half of Steam gamers, Computer Gaming…

Still Waiting for the Chromebook Revolution that Never Came
Premium

Still Waiting for the Chromebook Revolution that Never Came (Premium)

Android apps on Chromebook could trigger an extinction moment for the PC. But Google never…

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…

2016 Year in Review: Our Top Posts

2016 Year in Review: Our Top Posts

With 2016 finally drawing to a close, it's time to look back at another great…

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…

Thurrott