The big VAIO, Toshiba and Fujitsu merger is still on

We’ve been reporting on rumors that three of Japan’s PC makers, VAIO, Toshiba and Fujitsu are planning to merge their computing divisions for a while. Now, Bloomberg has apparently received confirmation that a deal is on the cards thanks to Hidemi Moue, CEO of Vaio’s parent company. If the news organization is to be believed, the agreement to bring together the three businesses will be signed by the end of March. The new firm (which is likely to be called VAIO) will control more than 30 percent of Japan’s market, making it bigger than current number one Lenovo.

As we said back in December, the deal makes sense since all are too sickly and weak to remain relevant on their own. In addition, each one has strengths that the others do not, VAIO with the remnants of Sony’s branding, Toshiba’s foothold in North America and Fujitsu’s pull in Europe. Pooling resources will also enable all three to save bundles of cash on manufacturing and jobs where effort is currently duplicated across all three firms. Of course, Bloomberg’s analysts are less optimistic about the move, with one source saying that the new outfit will be strong in Japan, but weak elsewhere in the world.

Source: Bloomberg

Coleco’s Chameleon retro game console will soon hit Kickstarter

Coleco’s Chameleon console promises a true old-school gaming experience. That means its games will look and feel like the titles you might have played decades ago, and they absolutely won’t release wallet-thinning DLCs. They’re not computers in a console’s body like modern models. Its developer, Retro Video Game Systems, Inc., plans to release new games (in cartridge form, of course) by indie developers and SNES titles ported for the system. But before that happens it still has to raise funds via Kickstarter, beginning on February, 26th 2016.

The upcoming crowdfunding campaign won’t be this console’s first rodeo. As Gizmodo Toyland notes, the company tried to raise funds for the console last year via Indiegogo, when it was still simply called Retro VGS. It had an ambitious funding goal — $1,950,000 — but only raised a bit over $80,000. It’s called Coleco Chameleon now, as the company signed a deal with the old gaming company. Coleco used to make handhelds and mini-arcades for Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, among other games, back in 80’s.

According to the developer’s Facebook page, you can get a Chameleon if you pledge at least $135. It’ll come with a controller and some cables, including HDMI and A/V jacks, since it works with a wide range of displays. The best thing about it, though, is that you won’t need to download a Day One patch and can start playing as soon as you get it… assuming it makes its way to backers this time around.

Via: Gizmodo Toyland

Source: Retro Video Game Systems, Inc.

UK proposes to starve porn sites that don’t verify age

The UK has banded about the idea of forcing porn sites to implement age gates for some time now, and today it’s turning that talk into walk. New legislation proposed by the government would require any provider of adult content to verify the age of visitors, or face attacks on their revenue streams and other services that keep them online.

In doing so, it hopes to protect the innocence of youth by bringing internet pornography in line with other mediums, such as top-shelf magazines, adult DVDs and linear TV broadcasts. Age verification is already mandatory for UK-based porn sites, but under the new proposals, the UK government wants to hold the whole internet to account.

The legislation would offer a fairly simple ultimatum: implement “robust” age verification checks, or suffer the consequences. Should a site not comply with this order, the designated regulator would go about starving the provider of the funds that keep it afloat. Those that rely on advertising revenue would see demand for their banner spots plummet — the police use an identical strategy to put the squeeze on piracy-promoting sites — and subscription services would find their payment providers (e.g. PayPal) withdraw support.

The regulator could also target “ancillary services” that keep the site running, ordering the relevant web hosting company to simply take it down, for example. Obviously, these tactics require the intervention of third-party service providers, and under the proposed legislation, their cooperation will be mandatory. The government hasn’t got it all figured out just yet, though, such as what method of age verification would be the most appropriate.

Age gates that simply ask you to confirm you’re over 18, or require you to input a date of birth, aren’t “robust” enough, the government argues — though this seems to be all that’s required of UK-based porn sites currently. Parroting Ofcom’s guidance on acceptable measures, age verification could take the form of a credit card check, identity corroboration using a database like the electoral roll, or any other proof of age like a pay-monthly mobile phone contract, which are only available to over 18s. The government admits that it may be unfair to ask site visitors to expose their identity in order to prove they’re an adult, though, so what type of age gate might be appropriate is still very much up for debate.

It’s no secret blocking torrent sites at the ISP level is almost a pointless exercise, and the government is well aware of the sheer volume of porn available online. It’ll be impossible to get every provider to pay heed to UK law and some sites will no doubt adapt and survive, even if the government does manage to choke their ad revenue or get their payment processor to pull out. But 70 percent of all UK porn traffic is shouldered by only 50 websites, and they’ll be targeted as a priority.

Plenty of finer details need to be ironed out before the legislation can be put up for approval, and the government is running a public consultation on the proposals until mid-April. These mandatory age gates are part of a broader agenda to protect children from age-inappropriate content online. The government established a system for adding age ratings to UK music videos last year, for instance, and the major ISPs are required to push adult content filters at the router level. The latter initiative wasn’t exactly proving popular, however, leading several providers to turn these filters from opt-in to opt-out to improve adoption.

Via: Ars Technica

Source: UK Government

ICYMI: Spacey HoloLens use, spy submarines and more

Today on In Case You Missed It: DARPA is about to start testing an autonomous submarine called Sea Hunter, designed to find and trail larger submarines for weeks at a time.
NASA is using HoloLens technology to communicate with other scientists in different locations. Using augmented reality and collaboration software, they can all look at project designs or challenges together.

A Samsung-backed startup is launching athletic shoes with pressure sensors inside that can track your posture and balance. It has a companion app to coach you through workouts because dumb shoes won’t be enough anymore.

Nissan’s new video demonstrates the company’s parking assist feature with office chairs. Once someone claps, all the chairs return themselves to their proper tucked-in locations. It’s cool to see but also sadly, most likely a stunt to promote actual cars.

As always, please share any interesting science or tech videos, anytime! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd.

Weekly Poll Followup: Leave your Chromecast at home

Last week we asked if you travel with your Chromecast. The Chromecast is small and portable, so it’s easy to understand why you might want to pack one up in your travel bag. This is especially true if you find yourself traveling more often than you find yourself at home. With that in mind we wanted to know just how many of you actually travel with your Chromecast!

You had four choices in last week’s poll: “My Chromecast stays at home”, “I bought a spare just for travel”, “I take my Chromecast everywhere” and “I don’t have a Chromecast.”

This week’s winner with 49 percent of the overall vote, was “I leave my Chromecast at home”. In second place with 27 percent, or 1096 individual votes, was “I don’t own a Chromecast”. With 13 percent of the vote, “I take my Chromecast everywhere” came in third place. In last place with a solid 12 percent of the vote, was “I bought a spare just for travel”.

Do you leave your Chromecast at home, or keep it with you? Let us know where you use your Chromecast in the comments below!

LG to show off the 5.7-inch Stylus 2 at MWC 2016

Alongside the G5 and some new midrange entries, LG has now announced that it will unveil the LG Stylus 2 at Mobile World Congress 2016. The Stylus 2 is the follow-up to 2015’s G4 Stylus, packing a large 5.7-inch screen and, as the name implies, a handy stylus.

The smartphone also packs some notable extras to take advantage of the included stylus. For example, a feature called Pen Pop toggles a shortcut menu when the stylus is removed. The Stylus 2 also includes what LG is calling Pen Keeper, which helps users keep from misplacing the included stylus by sending a notification if it detects the phone is in motion while the stylus is removed.

As for basic specs, that 5.7-inch screen comes in at a relatively low 1280 x 720, and the phone itself is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor running on a 3,000mAh battery. There’s also 1.5GB of RAM on board, along with 16GB of storage, expandable via microSD. As for cameras, you’re looking at a 13MP rear shooter, with an 8MP camera up front.

LG will be showing the Stylus 2 off at MWC 2016, and we’ll bring you more from the show floor.

Press Release:

ALL NEW LG STYLUS 2 TO MAKE FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE AT MWC 2016

Enhanced Stylus Pen Offers Easy Note Taking and Drawing Experience

SEOUL, Feb. 16, 2016 ― LG Electronics (LG) will unveil its new LG Stylus 2, the enhanced sequel to the G4 Stylus, at MWC 2016 to be held in Barcelona, Spain. The exceptionally-priced 5.7-inch handset shares many of premium features available on LG’s flagship models but also includes a pen with a nano-coated tip for more accuracy compared to the previous rubber-tipped pen.

The device features a set of proprietary functions developed specifically for the LG Stylus 2 to enhance the user experience such as Pen Pop, which toggles a popup menu when the stylus is removed to offer shortcuts to Pop Memo and Pop Scanner. Also new to LG Stylus 2 is Pen Keeper, which prevents the stylus from being misplaced by displaying a popup message when the phone is detected as being in motion when the stylus bay is empty. What’s more, the new Calligraphy Pen font allows one to write as beautifully and decoratively as if using a fountain pen.

Only 7.4mm thin and weighing 145g, the LG Stylus 2 is noticeably thinner and lighter than its predecessor. The handset delivers a unique design statement with the incorporation of a Protruded Flat Display in the front, Spin Hairline pattern on the back and metallic frames on all its edges. The LG Stylus 2 sports a hefty 3,000mAh removable battery and a SD card slot to allow users to enjoy a variety of multimedia content on its large 5.7-inch screen. . “LG Stylus 2 provides both the big screen and premium notetaking functions of a premium large phone at a price of a mid-tier phone,” said Juno Cho, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “This device is another example of our commitment to the mass-tier segment where there is so much opportunity for growth and creativity.”

LG Stylus 2 Key Specifications:

• Display: 5.7-inch HD In-Cell Touch (1280 x 720)
• Chipset: 1.2GHz Quad-Core
• Camera: Rear 13MP / Front 8MP
• Memory: 1.5GB LPDDR3 RAM / 16GB ROM / MicroSD
• Battery: 3,000mAh (removable)
• Operating System: Android 6.0 Marshmallow
• Size: 155 x 79.6 x 7.4mm
• Weight: 145g
• Network: LTE / HSPA+ / GSM
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g, n / Bluetooth 4.1 / USB 2.0
• Colors: Titan / White / Brown

Google gets musical with its latest Android ad

As the Grammy Awards bring a myriad of musical medleys to televisions tonight, Google has released a musical tribute of its own in its latest Android commercial. As the latest in a series of ads featuring the “Be together. Not the same.” tagline, Google drives that sentiment home using a pair of pianos. However, while one piano is tuned normally, the other is a little special. From Google:

A piano has 88 keys. Each one is different. But what if they were all the same? To find out, we took apart a piano and reengineered it so that it only plays one note: Middle C. Be together. #NotTheSame

While the actual Android operating system doesn’t make an appearance, the concept behind the ad still makes it a fun watch. Be sure to take a gander at the ad above, and let us know what you think in the comments. And if you’re interested, you can check out a separate video that goes over how the ad was put together as well.

Source: Android (YouTube)

Hands-on: Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 and A7 2016

Flagship-level design and build quality for half the cost.

For those that can’t justify the cost of a Galaxy S6, Samsung has the Galaxy A series, which offers a similar design with hardware that’s a step down from its flagship. When the Galaxy A3, A5, and A7 launched last year, there wasn’t a frame of reference for Samsung, as the A series was its first attempt at all-metallic devices. But with the Galaxy S6 and Note 5 featuring a glass and metal design, the 2016 refresh of the Galaxy A series brings the devices’ design in line with that of the Galaxy S6 and the Note 5.

As such, we’re looking at metal sides with chamfered edges, and glass backs protected by Gorilla Glass 4. Even the protruding camera sensor at the back is similar to that of the Galaxy S6. The edges are rounded, you get the volume rocker on the left and the power button on the right, and both phones have fingerprint sensors embedded in the home button. The sensor works just as well as it does on the S6 and the Note 5, although you can configure only three fingerprints (you can set up to six on the flagships). With dimensions of 151.5 x 74.1 x 7.3 mm, the Galaxy A7 is not too unwieldy for one-handed usage, and with an overall weight of 172g, it has a reassuring heft to it.

When it comes to the specs on offer, the Galaxy A7 offers a 5.5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display, with much better color accuracy from the first-gen model. Despite the screen size, the Galaxy A7 is barely larger than the Galaxy S6, thanks to the narrow bezels. Under the hood, the phone is powered by the Exynos 7580 octa-core processor, which offers eight Cortex A53 cores (ARMv8-A architecture) clocked at 1.6GHz. The GPU is ARM’s Mali-T720 MP3, clocked at 700MHz. Samsung is also offering an international edition of the Galaxy A7 with the Snapdragon 615, which has four Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1.2GHz and four Cortex A53 at 1.5GHz.

Other specs of the Galaxy A7 include 3GB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory, microSD slot that can take memory cards up to 128GB in size, 13MP camera with f/1.9 lens, 5MP front camera, LTE Category 6 connectivity (300Mbps down), Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1 LE, and dual SIM functionality. When it comes to battery life, the Galaxy A7 outmatches the Galaxy S6 with a 3300mAh battery. Combine that with a Full HD display, and you get a battery that lasts a day and a half with ease.

The Galaxy A5 shares most of the specs, with the major difference being the screen size, which is at 5.2 inches. You still get the excellent Full HD Super AMOLED display. Storage is also the same at 16GB, although the amount of RAM is reduced to 2GB. The battery sees a decrease to 2900mAh, which is still great for a 5.2-inch device.

The main drawback with the Galaxy A5 and A7 2016 is the storage, with 16GB far too less considering you’re left with around 11GB after the system partition. Given their pricing, Samsung should have offered 32GB as standard on the phones.

Samsung went with a 13MP camera on the first-gen Galaxy A series, and while the megapixel count is the same in this year’s models, you now get optical image stabilization. Photos taken in daylight offer plenty of detail, although the image processing is noticeably different from the Galaxy S6 in low-light conditions.

When it comes to the software side of things, Samsung is yet to roll out the Marshmallow update to its phones, and as such the Galaxy A5 and A7 come with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop out of the box. Samsung’s continuing to partner with Microsoft when it comes to pre-installed apps, with both phones offering Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote and Skype. We’ll talk about the real-world performance in the review, but as of now, the Galaxy A7 and A5 do not present any problems.

The first-generation Galaxy A series was targeted at emerging markets, and Samsung is continuing the trend with this year’s refresh. The Galaxy A5 and A7 are available in India for ₹29,400 ($433) and ₹33,400 ($492). Samsung also launched the Galaxy A3 and the Galaxy A9 with a massive 6-inch display in China, and as of now there’s no mention as to when these phones will be available in other markets.

Stay tuned for in-depth coverage of Samsung’s latest.

Samsung teases water resistance for upcoming Galaxy S7 phones [Update]

Ahead of the official unveil of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge at Mobile World Congress, Samsung Indonesia has posted a video on its YouTube channel teasing its upcoming flagship phone. Tagged #TheNextGalaxy, the commercial shows Indonesian archer Dellie Threesyadinda incorporating the phone’s predecessor, the GS6 edge+ into her training.

In one section of the video, last year’s phone is briefly shown being used out in the rain, implying that rumors of water-resistance in the GS7 series may be on the money. The video also shows off wireless charging — a well-known GS6 feature — and Samsung Indonesia’s teaser website points to a camera that can take better pictures in low-light conditions. (This is all stuff we’ve previously heard in Galaxy S7 leaks to date.)

Samsung will reveal all on Feb. 21 in Barcelona. Stay tuned to Android Central for all the details from the ground!

Update: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the rumored Galaxy S7 edge itself appeared in the video. In fact, the phone in question is a Galaxy S6 edge+.

Source: YouTube (Samsung Indonesia); Via: The Verge

Samsung Galaxy S7

The Galaxy S7 is expected to be announced at Mobile World Congress in late February 2016.

• Complete Galaxy S7 news
• Join our Galaxy S7 forums
• The Galaxy S7 could come in three sizes
• The microSD card slot might return in the GS7
• Fewer megapixels in the GS7 camera might be better

An Indian brand is going to launch a $7 smartphone later this week

Ringing Bells, an Indian handset vendor, is all set to launch a smartphone for under ₹500 ($7) on Feb. 17. The vendor already has an LTE-enabled handset that retails for ₹2,999 ($43), and with its upcoming phone, called the Freedom 251, it is looking to promote the government’s Make In India initiative, and empower “India to the last person, transforming India’s growth story.”

From the media invite:

The phone will be popularly priced at under Rs 500. This event and launch stands as a true testimony of success of the latest initiatives taken by the Government of India.

The vendor will make the phone with “immense support” from the Indian government, with the country’s Union Minister of Defence Manohar Parrikar set to launch the handset. This isn’t the first time the government has worked with a vendor to make affordable hardware available to the citizenry. In 2011, Datawind was commissioned to make tablets that retailed for $45.

We’ll have more details about the Freedom 251 in a day’s time. It will certainly be interesting to see what the vendor manages to offer for $7.

Source: Facebook (Ringing Bells)