Exactly. The test subjects are people who participate in studies. There's probably a reward attached for participation, over here it's usually free cinema tickets and stuff. They're not interested in the activity tracker, they're just interested in the free tickets. So is it any surprise they stop charging and wearing them once the rewards stop? Now, for those who seek them out, do they actually work and get them to move more? Probably not or I wouldn't see so many fitbit owners who're still every bit as much overweight as two Christmases ago when they got 'em. These things do nothing more than remind you you should move more. Your scales already tell you that, and so does your doctor. So by that same logic one could also state that scales and doctors don' t work either.

And everyone's speculating how they will impact computing... Am I the only one even halfway curious about how they sound in an amplifier?

Termination of specimen advised.

Actually, if they paid you $7.99 to watch it, racists would support you.

How's the weather in Soviet Russia?

Oh yes, that one was good. :)

Also, Kung Fury, another free one, also pretty hilarious if their particular brand of stupid humour appeals to you.

Same here, Belgium.

Or the speed of causality, as explained in this episode of pbs spacetime: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

You don't need to share your code. Only if you distribute the binaries do you have to. And then only to those you distribute it to, if I'm not mistaken, and not even proactively, just when/if they request it. But, since they have the same rights to further distribute, not publishing it openly makes little sense.

Just because you don't see the point of a certain feature doesn't mean there isn't one. It only means you're shortsighted. I work for several different customers, each with their own set of URLs I need to be able to quickly jump between. Every customer gets their own tab group. Then there's the tab group for the various sites with documentation for the application they use. Then there's the tab group for my company's URLs such as my time sheets, internal issues etc. And finally, each of my personal projects gets a tab group as well, as does the personal non-work set of tabs. Yes, I could just bookmark everything, and then watch my productivity go down as I keep constantly closing the tabs for customer A so I can replace them with those for customer B. I switch customers on a daily basis; tab groups help me keep things logically organised and quickly accessible. Some people actually use their browser for more than just Facebook, Twitter, youtube and slashdot, you dimwit.

Nice :-P

Not sure how it works under the hood as I've never cared for it on that level of detail, but system apps do receive updates on Android. I assume they come in the form of binary overlays, as you have the option of uninstalling them, while this option is denied you for the actual app. Uninstalling the updates reverts the app to its original feature set. And replying out of band here, but w.r.t. the i-naming for Apple products: never knew it stood for Internet (also should've been capitalised then), but whatever their reasons, it sure was catchier than prefixing everything with "mac". But in those days there was a lot of i-this, e-that, v-the-other-thing and x-whatever going on... For some reason only the i survived... Those guys in Cupertino know their marketing...

Depends on how you use it. I use my Pebble for sleep tracking, and it vibrates in the morning when my alarm goes off.

Yes, I could do without that; I just use it 'coz it's there. Then again, I can also do without all the "bloat" they seem to be adding to smart watches. Trading in the extra functionality for longer operational time between charges is a good deal to me. I don't need a miniature tablet on my wrist, I just want something that notifies me of incoming calls, SMS, emails and IMs, and calendar events, so I don't have to dig my phone out of my pocket every time it beeps for attention.

To be honest though, I haven't taken too close a look at other smart watch offerings. So maybe the extra functionality could be nice to have. It's just that at the moment, I can't envision anything I'd want to use my smartwatch for that I can't already do with the Pebble.

This can be seen as Nintendo just expanding into the casual market, but I remember what happened to Sega...

Yes, but not sure if you can reply from the watch on ios. For Android it's a recent addition. Google is your friend, or you can contact their support through the site, they're relatively responsive.

Same here. I stopped wearing watches because I had allergic reactions to the metal, and for the past 15-20 years I used my cellphone as my watch instead. I don't often need to check the time, and when I do, odds are I'm behind a computer anyway. When I ordered my Pebble, I was a bit concerned because I didn't know how my skin would react to the plastic, but fortunately, the Pebble didn't provoke any reactions.

For me, the main benefits my Pebble brings to the table are moving the notifications out of my pocket and onto my wrist. Incoming phone call? I can glance at my wrist to see who's calling, and with one button press reject the call to voicemail if I'm occupied. The phone is constantly on silent, doesn't even vibrate. All emails, text messages, hangouts conversations arrive on my wrist, very discreet. A simple glance tells me whether to dig the phone out of my pocket to reply, or if it can wait. Having your wristwatch vibrate and casting it a quick glance at it is also a lot less disruptive during conversations/meetings, as opposed having your phone make noises or vibrate in your pocket or on the desk. Especially once people realise you're wearing a smartwatch, and are not constantly checking the time because the conversation bores you. ;)

With the new firmware version, it even allows you to respond right from the watch. I currently have the following templates defined: Driving, Meeting, Just call, Yup and Nope. I may need to finetune them (thinking of replacing the Yup with the more widely applicable OK), but I find them immensely useful for quick responses when I'm otherwise occupied and can't write a long reply. E.g. in the car, when someone starts a hangouts message, I can simply inform them that I'm driving so they know not to expect an immediate reply. Without creating dangerous situations by using an on-screen keyboard while driving. Sometimes people message me and I need to respond before arriving at my destination. Being able to tell them to just call me (have handsfree in the car for a reason), with just a few button presses is immensely useful. Of course, if I didn't have the Pebble, responses while driving would just have to wait. But it's convenient being able to respond right away without creating a dangerous situation.