Zuckerberg is the most known, liked and disliked tech CEO

A new survey from Morning Consult shows that Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg are, if nothing else, the best-known tech CEOs out there. It also shows the power of statistics to confuse — at first glance, the survey appears to show that the pair are reasonably well-liked by the public, with 48 and 39 percent favored ratings, respectively. However, Zuck is also the least-favored CEO, while Cook is in third place in that category. So what’s the deal? Well, most of the 1,935 voters polled hadn’t even heard of the other CEOs in the study, including Jeff Bezos, Satya Nadella, Elon Musk and Travis Kalanick.

That actually makes the favorable numbers useless unless you compare them to the unfavorable numbers. In that case, Jeff Bezos is actually the best-liked tech CEO, followed by Alphabet’s Larry Page, Satya Nadell and Elon Musk. Zuck and Cook are tied for fifth place, ahead of Jack Dorsey and Travis Kalanick, the least popular CEO.

The survey company also asked participants how much they trusted tech companies with their private data and, unsurprisingly, Amazon topped the “confident” list with a 57 percent rating. The public mistrusts Uber as much as it dislikes its CEO, granting it just an 18 percent “confident” rating. Apple, perhaps because of its stand against the FBI, received a 54 percent confident rating, while only 32 percent of users trust Facebook with their data.

The reason that Morning Consult staged this wonky popularity contest was, in part, to show what the public thinks of Tim Cook following his showdown with the FBI.

The reason that Morning Consult staged this wonky popularity contest was, in part, to show what the public thinks of Tim Cook following his showdown with the FBI. It’s hard to judge the results, however, without knowing what they thought of him before Apple resisted helping the FBI unlock the phone of terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook. We don’t have those stats, but the survey company reports that 51 percent of registered voters believe that Apple should unlock the phone, while 33 percent are opposed (16 percent don’t know or care). However, Morning Consult said that “when respondents saw some of Apple’s arguments laid out before them, they grew more likely to support the tech giant’s position in the debate.”

Via: The Verge

Source: Morning Consult

OnePlus X receives minor update to address occasional camera corruption issue

Should you own the OnePlus X, you’ll be pleased to hear we’ve been notified of an update which came through to address an occasional camera corruption issue. Coming in at just 9.5MB, it’s a minor bump to the update that brought manual camera support and a number of fixes.

You should get the update shortly. It’s an incremental roll out, so fear not if you haven’t yet received the hotfix yet, you should be good to go within the next 48 hours. More details on the update can be found over on the official forum.

Let us know in the comments if you’ve received the hotfix.

Tronsmart’s Quick Charge 2.0 wall charger is just $5.50 at Amazon with coupon code

Tronsmart is offering its Quick Charge 2.0 wall charger for $5.50 with coupon code WALLCHAR, a savings of $5. Being QC 2.0 compatible, you’ll be able to charge your phone or tablet at an even faster pace, giving you that extra battery to make it through the day. The charger is also backwards compatible with other devices that don’t support Quick Charge, so this won’t hurt your phone in anyway.

Whether you need another charger for the house, office or just one to throw in a travel bag, you won’t want to miss out on this deal. Remember, you need to use coupon code WALLCHAR for full savings.

See at Amazon

Facebook brings Live broadcasts to Android, starting in the U.S.

Facebook has announced that the company is planning to roll out its Live broadcasting platform on Android in the U.S. Starting next week, those with Facebook installed on their smartphone will be able to stream live video to your friends. Just in case the social network hadn’t fully integrated itself into your daily activities already, you can now stream absolutely everything as well.

The roll out will commence in the U.S. initially with new markets being added over time to bring Android up to speed with the 30 countries supported on iOS. But how exactly does one start broadcasting on Facebook? Simply hit “What’s on your mind?” at the top of your News Feed and choose the Live Video icon.

This will then allow you to whip up a short description and select the audience before going live on air. Number of viewers, names of friends who tune in, as well as a real-time stream of comments will be available as you broadcast. Once you’re finished, the video will be saved on your Timeline for those who missed the broadcast.

As noted already, this roll out will start next week. Stay tuned for updates as to when Facebook rolls out Live video in new markets on Android.

Source: Facebook

‘Hard West’ is getting some Frankenstein-esque DLC next week

The turn-based tactical shooter Hard West is getting a pretty sizeable expansion soon called Scars of Freedom.

If you haven’t already played Hard West you can read our preview, but the simplest explanation of Hard West is that it’s a lot like XCOM, but with a very rich narrative, a Weird West (think Wild West with demons) setting and a ton of additional gameplay elements.

Scars of Freedom doesn’t relate to the main game’s story at all. It’s set in the same world, but with new characters and a new time period. Rather than, as in the main game, having Death narrate the adventure, the two playable characters are their own narrators. And the story they tell borrows liberally from the likes of Frankenstein, Dr. Moreau, and other reanimation / body modding lore.

The first character is Libertee, a slave who is mortally wounded while escaping imprisonment and enhanced without her consent by a crazy doctor type. By “enhanced,” developer CreativeForge means “stitched together from multiple body parts.” And the second is — you guessed it — that crazy doctor, Doctor Gorman. His exact motivations are unclear, but he’s not an archetypal villain, and he ends up working together with LIbertee against a nefarious group known as the “Masked Doctors.”

Most of the game’s core mechanics are intact. You’ll still have a map view, and although this time it’s not centered on prospecting, you’ll still be collecting resources and making decisions that will impact the path you take through the game. Basic combat remains the same as well, but perhaps the most memorable thing about Hard West — the poker-based perks system — has been replaced. Befitting the narrative shift, instead of picking cards to choose perks, you’ll be finding and buying organs or body parts that might prove useful. Examples of parts you can throw in are an “iron stomach” of a federal marshal that provides extra courage, or a bull’s heart that increases your vitality. Essentially, you’ll be turning Libertee into a monster in the name of improving her combat stats.

There are seven new missions in the Scars of Freedom scenario, and the degree of difficulty has been increased over the main game. It’ll launch on March 3rd for $2.99 on PC, Mac and Linux, although original backers of the game on Kickstarter are entitled to a free DLC key. That’s a low price for a considerable amount of content, but of course you need to own the original game to play the DLC. Talking of the original game, it’ll get a big update of its own on March 3rd, which will fix some outstanding issues and also offer some new play modes.

Cleveland Clinic performs first uterus transplant in the US

Doctors in Cleveland have performed the first successful uterus transplant in the United States. But, once the 26 year-old recipient has one or two babies, the womb will be removed so she can stop taking medications that prevent her body from rejecting the foreign organ — a very real risk that’s haunted the procedure in the past. Her previously impossible pregnancy will rely on in vitro fertilization, using her eggs (harvested prior to the transplant) that’ve been fertilized with her husband’s sperm and then frozen, according to The New York Times.

The patient will have to wait a year before that happens though, because she’ll have to heal first. And based on past deliveries, it’s highly likely that the patient will undergo a cesarean section for childbirth to prevent any injury either to the mother or child.

The organ came from a deceased donor, which has been done before, but still proves risky. A previous procedure in Turkey was thought to have been cleared because the recipient had six menstrual cycles following the procedure. The presiding doctors were cautious, however, and said they wouldn’t call the operation a success until the patient gave birth. Sadly, that pregnancy terminated after eight weeks.

The Cleveland Clinic reports that its patient is in stable condition as of Thursday afternoon, but, aside from that, any further details are being withheld until a press conference next week.

Via: The New York Times

Source: Cleveland Clinic

Televisions with built-in Google Chromecast likely to arrive this spring

Chromecast-like functionality is being built into TV sets from Vizio and others.

According to Variety, Google and Vizio have been working together to add Chromecast into Vizio’s new TVs coming out this spring, thus eliminating the need to offer up standard smart TV features such as an interface with on-screen apps. So, with this setup, you’ll be able to send streaming video and music from a smartphone or computer to your TV with a simple button tap.

Google and Vizio might also include a smart remote instead of a traditional remote. The remote will actually be an Android-based tablet that doubles as a dedicated remote control. It will be pre-loaded with apps from media services as well as a programming guide with content recommendations. Vizio will either included this tablet free of charge or ditch the idea altogether.

Vizio is a California-based electronics maker best known for its affordable flat screen TVs. The company hasn’t yet made the jump to the UK, so Brits likely won’t be able to get their hands on these new sets. But according to Variety, Google is working with at least one other manufacturer on building televisions with casting features. It is not yet known which manufacturer is on board.

Entire televisions will obviously be more expensive than the Chromecast, a $35 dongle that plugs into the back of TVs. Google’s streaming device launched a few years ago, was recently updated, and has been a surprise success.

Forget MWC, first official HTC One M10 teaser is in

HTC has released the first teaser for its forthcoming new flagship Android phone, which is now more than ever though to be the HTC One M10.

What looks like a bezelled edge of the new phone – which matches some of the leaks we’ve seen over the last week – is presented on a stark, black background with just the words “Power of 10”. There’s also a hashtag for #powerof10, which suggests that will be the official slogan throughout the phone’s emergence and, likely, subsequent release.

Little else can really be gleaned from the teaser image. We suspect we’ll get a few of these over the coming weeks, until HTC is ready to unveil the device itself.

READ: HTC One M10/Perfume: What’s the story on HTC’s next flagship?

HTC

As for the launch itself, that could be quite a way away still. The common train of thought is still that HTC will hold an event on 11 April, with the device hitting stores in May.

That gives the company plenty of time to tease us further before the official invites drop our way.

One thing’s for sure, as Mobile World Congress finishes in Barcelona, HTC is keen to remind us that we haven’t seen all of the big brand flagship Android smartphones quite yet. This one might just well be worth the wait.

Boston Dynamics’ new Atlas humanoid bot looks ready to take over the world

Boston Dynamics has just shown off its next-generation bipedal robot.

And wow. This thing is intense.

We can imagine in 5 years or more the Atlas being able to tuck our children into bed at night. Its creators just 6 months ago showed off a version of the 6-foot humanoid droid walking outside into unplanned terrain, but it was tethered at the time. This new version ditches the cord and now stands 5-foot 9-inches tall and weighs 180 lbs. It’s like the size of a full-grown man.

Atlas is electrically powered and hydraulically actuated: “It uses sensors in its body and legs to balance and LIDAR and stereo sensors in its head to avoid obstacles, assess the terrain, help with navigation and manipulate objects,” Boston Dynamics explained via a new video published to YouTube. The video shows Atlas walking through snow, picking up boxes, opening doors, etc.

Boston Dynamics

Scientists can be seen trying to trick Atlas, moving boxes on the bot and knocking it over with a stick. We’re happy Atlas hasn’t been given the ability to consciously think, because with this sort of treatment, we envision an eventual rise up from him and his sibling machines. Boston Dynamics also creates a four-legged Big Dog bot for the US military as well as a smaller one called Spot.

Watch the video below to see the future – we mean Atlas – in action.

Apple might introduce full Siri integration for Macs this year

The next version of Mac OS X could come with full-on Siri.

According to 9to5Mac, Apple is working on a major update to OS X El Capitan called OS X 10.12. It’ll likely arrive this autumn with an impressive expansion of Siri capabilities. Siri, which debuted on the iPhone years ago, has since been added to iPad, Apple Watch, and most recently, the Apple TV. So it makes sense that Apple would want to bring its smart assistant to desktop machines.

Apple had been testing Siri integration since 2012 but only now has a better idea of how Siri can work on the Mac. The company has developed a slick user-interface and is almost ready to go public with it. In fact, Apple is expected to unveil OS X 10.12 at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June. During the demo, you can expect to see how Siri for Mac works and functions.

The feature is thought to live in the Mac’s Menu Bar as a Siri icon. It will support voice control, but when you click the icon, a dark Siri interface will appear in the top right corner of your screen. A mockup of this was supplied by 9to5Mac and can be seen below. It looks a lot like Siri on the iPhone and elsewhere, with colourful sound waves and all. Siri will also have a System Preferences pane so you can enable keyboard shortcuts.

There might be an option to enable a “Hey Siri” command under this pane, because – similar to Siri on the iPhone or even Alexa via the Amazon Echo speaker – Siri on the Mac will be always-listening when plugged into power.

9to5Mac said OS X 10.12 is internally codenamed Fuji.

9to5Mac