Pie’s launch is the litmus test for Project Treble

Android Pie Statue

Android 9.0 Pie is finally here, for some smartphone users at least. It’s a familiar story for many; a new version of Android hits, Pixel users grab it right away, and the rest of us wait for roadmap announcements from our smartphone manufacturers. This can be agonizing, especially as there are often delays.

Project Treble, introduced with Android 8.0 Oreo, should alleviate this stress, making it quicker and easier for manufacturers to update phones. How quickly manufacturers get around to rolling out Pie updates will tell whether Treble has worked or whether Google wasted a lot of time.

Why Treble is so important

Fragmentation is still one of Android’s biggest perceived weaknesses, especially when rolling out more crucial security patches. It’s been a year since Android Oreo’s release, yet the operating system features on just 12 percent of all Android phones currently in use. It just takes manufacturers too long to update existing handsets, and support rarely lasts more than two years.

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Historically this hasn’t all been the fault of smartphone manufacturers. Before Project Treble, manufacturers relied on chipset manufacturers like Qualcomm for updating their platforms to work with the latest versions of Android. Older chipsets, especially non-flagship versions quickly dropped from the support list. Treble essentially defines a clear separation between the hardware and software layers, making it simpler for manufacturers to update Android software without waiting for chipset manufacturers.

Google has removed the update bottleneck. Brands don’t have any excuses to hide behind anymore.

The good news for consumers is manufacturers don’t have any excuses to hide behind anymore. Google has made providing updates much easier. Now we can see which brands actually care about providing long-term updates. Unfortunately, not all phones updated to Oreo support Project Treble, so many will still miss out on faster updates.

Android 9.0 Pie updates should generally arrive a lot faster than previous versions. Manufacturers have had the beta code for a while and can immediately begin work on their final software without the previous chipset wait. Updates should roll out before the end of 2018, rather than in the new year like last time. Any slower and Treble won’t feel like a worthwhile investment.

The situation looks promising so far

A number of Android smartphone manufacturers already appear to be making use of Project Treble to roll very quick Android 9.0 updates out to their handsets. Essential Phone customers are already good to go. OnePlus has also promised updates for its range of smartphones, although a timetable hasn’t been forthcoming. A few other phones from Nokia, Xiaomi, and others also saw Pie beta software, and therefore should get a final version soon.

If big brands delay updates until 2019, Treble won’t have been a worthwhile investment.

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Larger manufacturers are also making plans for Pie releases this year. Vivo told Android Authority it plans to release Android Pie in Q4 2018. Sony confirmed it will release the update for its XZ1 and XZ2 ranges starting in September. Huawei is also reportedly testing Android 9.0 for high-profile phones like the P20 Pro, Mate 10, and Honor 10.

Of course, we still haven’t heard a peep from a certain large manufacturer, which has historically been slower with updates. Project Treble’s success could well hinge on whether Samsung feels like keeping up with its smaller competitors’ updates.

Project Treble isn’t just about bringing brand new versions of Android to consumers though. It encourages manufacturers to roll out regular security patches and fixes as soon as they are available. For Treble to really be a success, we need to see fast updates to Pie, as well as consistently prompt security patches.

Next: Which manufacturer updates its phones the fastest? Android Oreo edition

Source: Android Zone

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How to Exclude a Category From Your WordPress Homepage

Do you want to exclude a specific category from your website’s homepage? By default, WordPress displays posts from all categories on your homepage. In some cases, you may not want that. In this article, we will show you how to easily exclude a category from your WordPress homepage.

Exclude Category from WordPress Homepage

Why Exclude a Category from WordPress Homepage?

WordPress allows you to sort content into categories and tags. Now sometimes you may want to use a category for posts that are not part of your normal blog entries.

By default, WordPress does not allow you to hide posts in specific categories from homepage or archives. This leaves you with unwanted posts appearing on your homepage.

That being said, let’s see how you can easily exclude a specific category from your WordPress homepage. We will show you two different methods, and you can choose the one that best fits your need.

Method 1: Exclude a Category from WordPress Using Plugin

First thing you need to do is to install and activate the Ultimate Category Excluder plugin. For more details, you should follow our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you’ll need to go to Settings » Category Excluder page. It will display all the categories that are available on your WordPress blog.

Category excluder settings

From here, you can simply check one or multiple categories under the ‘Exclude from front page’ column. If you want, then you can also exclude the category from RSS feeds, archives, or even from WordPress search.

Exclude category

Don’t forget to click on the Update button to store these settings.

Now you can visit your website to see that the posts from the selected categories are excluded from the front page.

Method 2: Exclude a Category from WordPress Homepage Using Code

This method requires you to add code to your WordPress files. If you haven’t done this before, then see our guide on how to copy and paste code snippets in WordPress.

You will need to add following code to your theme’s functions.php file or a site-specific plugin.

function exclude_category_home( $query ) {
if ( $query->is_home ) {
$query->set( 'cat', '-5' );
}
return $query;
}

add_filter( 'pre_get_posts', 'exclude_category_home' );

Don’t forget to replace ID (-5) with your category ID. It will hide all blog posts from homepage belonging to the category that matches this ID.

Note: Make sure to add a minus (-) sign with the category ID.

Not sure how to find the category ID? See our guide on how to find category IDs in WordPress.

If you want to exclude multiple categories, then you can change the code like this:

function exclude_category_home( $query ) {
if ( $query->is_home ) {
$query->set( 'cat', '-5, -9, -23' );
}
return $query;
}

add_filter( 'pre_get_posts', 'exclude_category_home' );

Simply replace the IDs (-5, -9, -23) with your category IDs to exclude them from your WordPress homepage.

We hope this article helped you learn how to exclude a category from your WordPress homepage. You may also want to see these most wanted category hacks and plugins for WordPress that will help you use categories more efficiently.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Exclude a Category From Your WordPress Homepage appeared first on WPBeginner.

Source: Wordpres

The post How to Exclude a Category From Your WordPress Homepage appeared first on TuneMaster.ml.

Two more painfully forced and awkward Samsung ‘Ingenius’ ads are here

A video still from the series of Samsung "Ingenius" ads. YouTube

  • Two new spots in the series of Samsung “Ingenius” ads are now live.
  • The new spots focus on the capabilities of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9.
  • One of the ads is at least a little humorous, while the other is just awful.

Prior to the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, Samsung started posting a new series of advertisements to its YouTube page called “Ingenius.” The ads all focus on an Apple store employee who continuously tries to convince customers that Apple products are superior to Samsung’s products.

Of course, the skeptical customers all seem to think the Apple store employee is wrong and/or crazy because Samsung products are clearly superior in every way, forever and ever, amen.

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Now that the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is launched and up for pre-order, we are blessed (or cursed) with two more ads in the “Ingenius” series which center directly on the capabilities of the latest Samsung flagship.

The first – simply entitled “Pen” – features an Apple store customer asking about the Apple Pencil and how it compares to the S Pen in the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. The Apple store employee says the difference is that the Apple Pencil can only be used on the iPad, which Samsung obviously thinks is hilarious.

Check it out here:

I will admit that the “Pen” spot is not the worst of the “Ingenius” bunch, simply because it’s true: the Apple Pencil is pretty useless if you don’t have an iPad Pro. And the part where the Apple employee says he has ten fingers got me to chuckle a bit.

However, the second spot – titled “Power” – is a pox on humanity and probably one of the worst advertisements I’ve ever seen. Unlike the “Pen” spot, “Power” doesn’t seem to have any clear direction; it’s just two people arguing about nothing where nothing funny happens. Watch to see for yourself:

Samsung’s marketing department has used its rivalry with Apple as a marketing strategy for a long time in many different ads. But these “Ingenius” spots only seem to be saying one thing: “Samsung isn’t Apple, and isn’t that great?”

The problem is that many, many people around the world think Apple is pretty awesome, and these silly little videos aren’t going to change their minds. Instead, it just makes the Apple fans cringe and the Samsung fans…also, cringe.

Are you sick of these ads, too? Or do you think they’re hilarious and insightful? Hit up the comments and let me know.

NEXT: The evolution of the Samsung Galaxy Note S Pen

Source: Android Zone

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