Microsoft’s latest Windows Phone 8.1 update will give you the option to pin individual settings to the Start screen, according to Windows Central . The update has also organized the settings into one page and sorted them by categories with a search function built in.
Other improvements include the ability to tailor privacy settings by disabling camera access to specific apps and a new quick text function. Quick text is a set of pre-defined messages that you can paste within your phone’s keyboard.
Microsoft has introduced Bluetooth keyboard support for Windows Phones as well. This comes shortly after the release of it’s foldable keyboard and will surely pave the way for more Windows 10 apps to support real keyboards.
There has been no official announcement made about Windows Phone 8.1 Update 2, but this week Microsoft announced the Lumia 640 and 640 XL at Mobile World Congress and the new version will appear on those devices.
➤ You can pin individual settings to the Start screen in Windows Phone 8.1 Update 2 [ Windows Central ]
Fairphone’s second ethically-sourced handset is coming this summer, but it’s still not all that ‘fair’
Making a handset bereft of conflict minerals is an incredibly tricky business, in fact, it’s so difficult that Fairphone , a Dutch company that wants to make a 100 percent ethical device, still can’t get all that close to its goal.
The company began as an awareness campaign about conflict materials, but later grew into a business. It launched a crowdfunding campaign to see if the idea of creating a conflict-free handset would fly. Fairphone’s spokesperson explained more:
With its proof of concept and demand in place, it went to work in getting its first device to market . Which it did, albeit a bit late for some of its campaign backers. To date, it’s sold around 60,000 devices. That doesn’t sound impressive compared to the tens of millions of phones shipped by big-name vendors, but it’s done that with a small team and no advertising.
It’s not so bad within the context of trying to sell 5,000 either.
First time around, the device was a reference model, but the second version will use an in-house design and a Qualcomm chipset to improve the performance and the overall look. It also gives the potential for giving buyers more customization options.
The biggest problem is that the new phone is still not going to be completely ethical, a spokesperson explained to TNW:
Right now, the company uses the Android operating system, but if the aim is to create a 100 percent ethical handset one day, it’ll have to think carefully about the best way to approach its software, as well as the hardware.
Fairphone says it’s looking at using possible alternative OSes in the future, like Firefox OS or Sailfish. It would even contemplate giving consumers a choice of OS when they first switch on the device, if it could.
One of the biggest challenges – and most obvious questions – is whether enough people care about where the components of their device come from or how they are sourced. Fairphone thinks they do, but it doesn’t have any delusions over changing the world single-handedly.
It’s a long road to go from being an awareness campaign to a fully-fledged handset maker, one that’s made all the longer by Fairphone’s desire to expose every link in the chain. With component makers reluctant to provide full disclosure on every aspect of the production, it remains to be seen whether a 100 percent ‘fair’ phone is an achievable goal, but it’s certainly a worthy one.
Fairphone’s second device is set to arrive this summer, but specific pricing and dates are currently unknown.
Image credits : Fairphone/Flickr
PSA: Do not sleep with your EE Power Bar charging next to you, this one caught fire
Sleeping with electrical equipment plugged in and charging all around us might be normal for many people, but you probably know you shouldn’t really be doing it either, just in case something goes wrong.
If you didn’t already know that, let this picture serve as a reminder:
That’s Katy Emslie’s badly burnt hand, which resulted from trying to extinguish a flaming EE Power Bar .
The power bar that was once plugged into her laptop had exploded and shot across the room from her desk to underneath her bed while she slept. On realizing what had happened, she naturally jumped up and started trying to extinguish the flames in her bedroom, according the Beeb’s report .
As a result, she sustained the injuries pictured and required several hours in hospital.
It could have been even worse though, Emslie explained to the BBC:
A spokesperson for EE told TNW:
We’d certainly hope it was an “isolated incident” but that isn’t going to be a lot of comfort to the millions of other EE customers with Power Bars that need charging. Probably best to keep an eye on them, for now.
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