Sonic comes to the Apple TV

If even you still own an old Sega console, the chances are you haven’t played it in years. Luckily, a number of the company’s most popular games, including Sonic the Hedgehog, have been ported to modern app stores. That means you can get your gaming fix, even if it is on a mobile device. If you’ve already downloaded or are tempted to buy Sonic the Hedgehog 1, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 or Sonic CD on your iPhone or iPad and own the new Apple TV, we have some good news: you’ll soon be able to play them all directly on the box for the very first time.

Sonic 1 is available today, with Sonic 2 will becoming available on March 24th. Sonic CD comes a full seven days after that. Sega’s keeping quiet on why it’s making gamers wait to get their hands on the other two titles, especially since they’re already live on the App Store, but staggered release dates may give you more time to appreciate the Green Hill Zone before enjoying one of the best level themes of any game: the Chemical Plant Zone.

Source: Sonic 1 (App Store), Sonic 2 (App Store), Sonic CD (App Store)

T-Mobile ‘Binge On’ Adds YouTube, Google Play Movies, and More

T-Mobile has announced that Binge On, its free video streaming feature, now supports YouTube, Google Play Movies, Discovery GO, Fox Business, Red Bull TV, and many other newly added video providers. The complete list of partners is available through T-Mobile’s website.

Binge On is a free program that allows T-Mobile customers on a qualifying Simple Choice plan to stream unlimited 480p video from over 50 partners, including Netflix, HBO NOW, and Hulu since launch, without any of the data used counting towards their plan. The incentive has been criticized by some as a violation of net neutrality — accusations that T-Mobile has repeatedly denied.

In December, YouTube accused T-Mobile of throttling all video, and not just the video of its Binge On partners. T-Mobile responded by saying that “mobile optimized” or “downgraded” are better phrases to describe how Binge On works, and stressed that all customers can disable the feature through their account settings. Earlier in the month, the FCC said it was looking into how the program works.

Yesterday, T-Mobile announced that it has renewed its partnership with Major League Baseball. Ahead of the upcoming season, the carrier said it will be gifting all T-Mobile customers with a free one-year subscription to MLB.TV Premium, a cross-platform service for streaming live baseball on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Android, PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Chromecast, Roku, smart TVs, and more.

Tags: T-Mobile, YouTube, Binge On
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Hands-on Video of iPhone SE and iPhone 7 Cases Reveal Differences Compared to Current Devices

In a new video from Unbox Therapy, YouTuber Lewis Hilsenteger shares a hands-on look at third-party cases intended to fit both the iPhone 7 and iPhone SE. Assuming they are based on accurate designs, the two “leaked” cases in the video appear to confirm previous rumors about each iPhone, including the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack in the iPhone 7 and an iPhone SE form factor that is very similar to that of the iPhone 5 and 5s.

Hilsenteger starts by comparing the supposed iPhone SE case to an iPhone 5, finding that the sixth-generation iPhone generally fits well into the iPhone SE case, with one minor discrepancy in the alignment of the volume buttons on the side of the device. This is most likely due to the expected design tweak on the 4-inch iPhone SE, which is rumored to adopt the curved-edge glass of recent iPhone models rather than the flat glass and sharper chamfered edges of the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s.

He then moves on to comparing the iPhone 7 case with one for an iPhone 6s, noticing a “much larger opening” for the smartphone’s camera. While an iPhone 6s fits almost perfectly inside the new iPhone 7 case, the cutout fails to align with the camera of the iPhone 6s and extends noticeably farther down.

Current rumors state that a possible dual-camera system would be exclusive to the larger iPhone 7 Plus, and while the cutout on this smaller-screened iPhone 7 is larger than on the current model, it appears more likely designed for a larger single-lens camera than a dual-lens camera. Rumors have been inconsistent about whether the iPhone 7 rear camera will be flush with the rear shell continue to protrude slightly as on current models.

The bottom cutout of the iPhone 7 case also appears to corroborate previous rumors that the next generation of iPhone will cease support for the 3.5mm headphone jack and move onto a universal Lightning cable solution for charging and music playback. Similar to a leaked case image from earlier in the month, the bottom section of the case has cutouts for possible stereo speakers with a Lightning adapter set in between.

When Hilsenteger attempted to place a 3.5mm headphone plug through the speaker cutout while the iPhone 6s was placed in the case, he confirmed it was in fact too slim of an opening to successfully connect the headphones.

Renderings from Feld & Volk, which worked from leaked designs of the iPhone 7, suggested that the iPhone 7 might also be substantially thinner than the iPhone 6s. In Unbox Therapy’s video today, however, it appears the current model of iPhone fits snugly into the iPhone 7 leaked case, suggesting any reduction in thickness would be very minor.

Apple is expected to reveal the iPhone 7 during an event in its usual September timeframe, but the 4-inch iPhone SE is expected to be one of the centerpiece devices at the company’s March 21 ‘Let Us Loop You In’ spring event. The company today launched a new live events app on the tvOS store to get fans ready for the live streaming event from the new Apple TV on Monday.

Related Roundups: iPhone 7, iPhone 5se, iPhone SE
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Aston Martin and F1’s Red Bull are working on the fastest hypercar ever

Aston Martin is working hard to create the fastest car the world has ever seen with the catchy name AM-RB 001.

That name encompasses the company’s partnership with F1 Red Bull Racing. The result of this is the Aston logo on the F1 car for the 2016 season, which says a lot about how closely the two are working together. It also helps show just how advanced the tech in this new road-legal hypercar will be.

Officially Aston says it will be “about spectacular beauty, aerodynamic efficiency, advanced technology and getting around a race track in a fast but elegant way.” Unofficially it’s aiming to beat the Bugatti Chiron for the fastest road-car top speed and quickest 0-60mph time. It wants to smash the Nürburgring lap record with this wonder car.

It’s early days for “Project Nebula” as the AM-RB 001 is called. As such there have only been designs created. We say only, but in reality breaking these new barriers of speed are going to be about lots of maths and planning, no doubt.

The early image released, above, shows the car is going to be heavily focused on aerodynamics and will, potentially, feature a mid-engine design.

Aston says it will be showing off a physical model of the car later this year.

READ: New Sky VR Studio kicks of with Team Williams F1 VR experience you can watch online

Apple iPhone 7 dual camera and port features reveled in case leak video

The big reveal of Apple’s iPhone 7 isn’t expected until September but the rumour mill is already up to speed with leaks dribbling out early.

The latest is a leaked case that potentially reveals details of the iPhone 7.

The purported iPhone 7 case was obtained by Sonny Dickson and shared with Unbox Therapy which has uploaded a video detailing the unit. Surprisingly quite a few details have been attained from the case.

The first obvious thing is that the iPhone 7 appears to be the same size and shape as the iPhone 6S as the current model fits in the case comfortably. The power and volume rocker buttons appear to be in the same place.

Unbox Therapy

Rather more telling is the space cut out for the camera. As you can see from the image above the case has a lot more space for a camera than the current model needs. As such rumours of a dual camera have some weight added to them. Huawei has revealed its next P9 will have dual cameras suggesting that’s the way handsets are going.

Also claimed by the video is that the bottom of the case has space for a speaker, microphone and Lightning port but no headphone jack. While the image shows room for a headphone jack, this rumour of a headphone Lightning only connection does keep cropping up.

Expect to hear plenty more leading up to Apple’s expected iPhone 7 announcement in September.

READ: Apple iPhone 7: What’s the story so far?

Unbox Therapy

Now you can ask Amazon’s Echo about your Fitbit stats

It was only a matter of time until someone integrated a fitness gadget with Amazon’s Echo — we should have guessed that Fitbit would be first. Starting today, you’ll be able to ask any of Amazon’s speakers about your Fitbit performance with a new Alexa skill. Once enabled, you can say “Alexa, ask Fitbit how I’m doing today” for a basic overview of your activity. But even more intriguing, you can ask Alexa things like how you’ve slept, or how much activity you’ve tracked, for any of the previous seven days.

Sure, it’s pretty easy just to glance down at your Fitbit device, but the ability to ask about even more complex stats makes this a pretty compelling Alexa skill. Amazon’s virtual assistant will even take the role of a coach with encouraging and inspirational comments, all of which will take the time of the day into account. Asking about your step count in the morning, for example, might get Alexa to say “you’ve got to start somewhere.”

“As we look at how this integration could evolve in the future, there is an endless world of possibilities from fitness coaching and nutrition tips, to guidance before bedtime to help you get a more restful night’s sleep,” Tim Roberts, executive vice president of interactive at Fitbit, said in a statement.

I haven’t had a chance to try out Fitbit’s Alexa skill yet, but on paper it seems like the perfect use of Echo’s voice smarts. It’s much easier to ask about something like the amount of calories you burned yesterday and get a quick reply, rather than open your phone, find the Fitbit app, and drill down to the appropriate screen. It’s even more useful than the voice-powered food and activity logging that Fitbit brought to Microsoft’s Cortana last year.

These workout shorts made me feel like I was running underwater

It’s been almost two days since I worked out while wearing Physiclo’s new resistance shorts, and my legs are still sore. It’s not like I worked out all that hard either. Physiclo co-founder and COO) Keeth Smart guided me through a series of exercises including jumping jacks, squats, knee raises and some stair-climbs. Then we jogged for maybe two minutes; the whole workout only took 10 minutes total. I’m not as fit as an Olympic athlete — I forget to mention that Smart won a silver medal for fencing in the 2008 Olympics — but I’m not a complete couch potato either. What the heck did these shorts do to me?

The answer is that they’ve been built specifically to make all lower-body workouts harder so that you get more out of any given workout. On the surface, they’re similar to standard compression shorts — but they also have built-in elastic resistance bands and panels that challenge your leg muscles at every turn. Each set of leg muscles is targeted by specific bands or panels, so no matter which way your legs move, they’re being challenged. It’s the same theory behind the leg weights that some wear while training; anything that makes the workout harder means you’ll burn more calories, raise your heart rate and generally get more out of the work you do.

According to Physiclo’s testing, working out with their compression shorts leads to 23 percent more muscle activity and a 14 percent increase in calories burned. I can’t speak to those specific numbers, but there’s no doubt in my mind that I was working a lot harder than I normally would. Smart likened the experience to working out in a pool, with the water providing natural resistance, and it’s a pretty apt comparison. I noticed it the most when finishing up a set of exercises — as my muscles naturally started to feel fatigued, the shorts made finishing up what I was doing even harder.

That said, it’s also worth noting that most of the exercises I was doing aren’t ones I typically do when working out, so my muscles were going to feel extra-sore anyway. Most of my workouts are strictly runs, so this was a bit of a different beast. I’m looking forward to wearing the shorts and doing one of my more standard workouts to see how that goes. Smart cautioned me to take it slow and not try to do the same routine I otherwise would — if you usually run five miles, he told me, run three instead and see how you feel.

At $100, Phyisclo’s shorts (they also come in full-lenght tights for both men and women) aren’t cheap and thus will probably be looked at mainly from people who are a bit more serious about their exercise routines than I am. But Smart told me his team spent a lot of time tweaking the amount of resistance in the shorts so that they appeal to a wide range of athletes, and I’m curious to try them and see if I can get more out of my running routine.

Physiclo’s products aren’t really targeted at someone like me, who runs three times a week to try and be a bit healthier and more active. They’re for more serious training, and they’re priced accordingly at $100. Making them too strong would have meant that I could barely have used them at all, and Physiclo doesn’t want to limit its market appeal. If you do a lot of working out that’s focused on your lower body and are looking for a new tool to push yourself a bit further (and have the cash to spare), Physiclo’s products are worth a look.

A dangerous piece of PC ransomware is now impossible to crack

What do developers do after discovering a software vulnerability? Why, patch it, of course. Ironically, criminal have learned that lesson too, as one gang has updated the notorious TeslaCrypt ransomware with new features that are impossible to “crack,” according to Cisco’s Talos security arm. That means user infected with the latest version (3.01) of the malware can no longer use white hat-engineered software to get their files back. Until someone finds a new solution — and that seems unlikely — victims will have to pay.

Companies like Kaspersky and Cisco’s Talos have reverse-engineered various pieces of ransomware, helping corporate clients and anyone else rescue files without paying. The security community has also developed better detection and distribution disruption methods for the scourge. According to Talos, “this has lead adversaries to iterating and improving upon the previous release of TeslaCrypt.”

We can not say it loud and often enough, ransomware has become the black plague of the internet, spread by highly sophisticated exploit kits and countless spam campaigns.

Previously, it stored the private key needed to unlock files on your own machine. However, after generating the key locally, TeslaCrypt 3.01 transfers it to the bad guy’s server and deletes it from your PC. As a result, “the private key never has to leave the [attacker’s] server and the ransomware uses a different key for each victim,” according to Talos. With the 256-bit key nowhere to be found and very hard to brute force, the only way you can get your files is to pay.

“We can not say it loud and often enough, ransomware has become the black plague of the internet, spread by highly sophisticated exploit kits and countless spam campaigns,” Talos says. Attackers are going after bigger targets that can afford to pay more, with potentially catastrophic consequences, as we saw at a Hollywood hospital. The best defense is to back up your files, but even that might not help. The FBI recently said that “in a new scheme, cyber criminals attempt to infect whole networks with ransomware and use persistent access to locate and delete network backups.”

Via: PC World

Source: Cisco Talos

Sky is becoming a virtual reality broadcaster

Sky has known for some time that virtual reality has a huge part to play in the future of broadcasting. Since 2013, it’s been investing in VR production company Jaunt, and last year, Sky News released its first 360-degree video report. Today, Sky’s announced that it’s no longer just experimenting with the technology, and it’s committed to creating a broad range of VR content in the realms of sport, news, movies and other entertainment.

This will be the mission of Sky VR Studio, a new in-house production team dedicated to virtual reality experiences. Its first project will debut tomorrow: two movies shot at recent pre-season Formula 1 testing in Barcelona. These will be available as 360-degree videos on Facebook, as well as distributed through Oculus’ platform for Rift and Gear VR headsets. Later in the year, Sky will also launch its own VR app to host this kind of content.

During 2016, Sky says it will release more than 20 VR experiences. These will cover sports such as heavyweight boxing and the Tour de France, as well as “major cultural events,” among other news, arts and entertainment content. Sky is going through period of reinvention currently. In addition to today’s VR push, the pay-TV provider recently launched its next-generation Sky Q service, which embraces our growing preference for on-demand viewing. The new family of hardware also sets the stage for a move into 4K broadcasting, which is set to happen this summer, according to the latest from Sky.

Source: Sky

US to ban hoverboard imports following Segway complaint

Feds might seize even more “hoverboards” now that the US International Trade Commission has banned most of them from being imported into the country. The ITC didn’t issue the order because they’re prone to exploding and catching fire — it did so because of a patent complaint filed by Segway. Under the general exclusion order, any “personal transporter” that infringes upon Patent No. 8830048 (one of Segway’s many, many patents) isn’t allowed to enter the US.

The patent’s abstract reads:

An apparatus controller for prompting a rider to be positioned on a vehicle in such a manner as to reduce lateral instability due to lateral acceleration of the vehicle. The apparatus has an input for receiving specification from the rider of a desired direction of travel, and indicating means for reflecting to the rider a propitious instantaneous body orientation to enhance stability in the face of lateral acceleration. The indicating may include a handlebar that is pivotable with respect to the vehicle and that is driven in response to vehicle turning.

In the ITC’s notice, it says Segway named 13 specific companies, which it believes infringe upon its intellectual property, in the complaint it submitted in 2014. They include Robstep Robot., Shenzhen INMOTION Technologies, Tech in the City, Freego USA, UPTECH Robotics Technology, Beijing Universal Pioneering Technology, FreeGo, EcoBoomer and Roboscooters.com. Most of these entities import self-balancing scooters from China. Segway also included Chinese company Ninebot in the list, but the Tianjin-based corporation ended up buying Segway in 2015.

Ars Technica notes that the president still has to approve the ITC’s order within 60 days, though it doesn’t sound like he has a reason to oppose it. That said, folks who hate the scooters might want to hold off on celebrating — it’ll likely take time to enforce the ban if the president approves it.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: Federal Register