Amazon’s Fire TV devices ship with a custom, Android-based operating system called Fire OS. But it’s possible to replace the default software with something that looks and functions a bit more like Google’s Android TV. Xda-developers forum member burcbuluklu has posted a guide outlining the process for doing that with an Amazon Fire TV Stick […]
android tv
Lilbits: Is Google getting serious about privacy?
Google is a company that makes a vast amount of money from advertising. Apple makes its money by selling hardware, software, and services. So it makes sense that if one of these companies was going to take a stand against data tracking, it’d be Apple – the company has long used privacy as a selling […]
Google’s “Sabrina” Android TV dongle will be cheaper than a Chromecast Ultra
Google’s current-gen 4K media streamer is the $69 Chromecast Ultra. But the company’s next 4K media streamer could be cheaper and far more capable. We already knew that Google was working on an Android TV dongle code-named “Sabrina” that would likely launch this fall. Now we have a pretty good idea of the price: it will […]
Lilbits: Happy 25th birthday Windows 95 (please don’t crash)
Microsoft released Windows 95 on August 24, 1995, which means the operating system is old enough to vote, drink, and do just about anything in the US except run for president. While Windows has come a long way in the past 25 years, if a modern Windows user were to fire up Windows 95 today, […]
Lilbits: Apple is worth $2 trillion, hard drive failure rates, and the US vs. Huawei
It probably doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone that Apple is basically a money-making machine these days thanks to a combination of sales of popular hardware and control of an ecosystem that allows the company to take a cut of sales of apps, games, music, videos, eBooks, and other content. But Apple became a […]
Android TV is getting instant apps, improved keyboard, and other new features
Google’s Android TV software is, unsurprisingly, based on the same software that powers Android phones, tablets, and other devices. Not all the features you can use on phones are available on TVs… but Google has announced it’s bringing one of its mobile to its smart TV platform. Soon developers will be able to offer “instant […]
Lilbits: Samsung leftovers, LibreOffice 7.0, and another PC with a 6W AMD Zen chip
Yesterday Liliputing reported that Lenovo has two new low-cost laptops for the education market that will be among the first to ship with 6-watt AMD processors based on the chip maker’s Zen architecture. But I forgot at the time that Lenovo also has a mini-desktop that will use the most powerful of those new chips. Lenovo […]
Lilbits: Raspberry Pi and PinePhone projects and making a game of conference calls
A lot of us are spending more time than ever on video conference calls these days… and one developer has found a way to alleviate the boredom. The B-REEL Meeting Intruders Chrome extension turns a Google Meet session into a game of Space Invaders, where you can zap each chat window… and if you do […]
Lilbits: Lenovo’s AMD gaming laptops, T-Mobile’s Android TV streamer
The Lenovo Legion brand may be expanding to include smartphones soon. But Legion is first and foremost a name associated with Lenovo’s gaming PCs. And the company just introduced a whole bunch of new models powered by AMD Ryzen processor and NVIDIA GeForce graphics. The Lenovo Legion 5 is available with 15 or 17 inch displays, up […]
Xiaomi Mi TV Stick coming soon for €40 (1080p Android TV streamer)
As expected, Xiaomi is launching its smallest Android TV device to date. The Xiaomi Mi TV Stick is a pocketable gadget that you can plug into the HDMI port of any TV to turn it into a smart TV with support for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and other services. It comes with a Bluetooth remote control […]