Use Feverprints to better understand your body temperature

The Apple Health app will autonomously track your steps and other wellness data, sure, but Boston Children’s Hospital wants its iOS app Feverprints to help you keep an eye on something else throughout the day: your temperature. What Feverprints hopes to achieve by using vast amounts of anonymized data is gaining a better idea of what the normal range of temperatures for a human is, at different times through the day. This could eventually lead to better care and diagnoses of fevers. Simply judging your readings against the standard 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit and calling it good doesn’t quite cut it when that temperature isn’t the baseline for everyone.

“We want to help create a better understanding of the normal temperature variations throughout the day, to learn to use fever as a tool to improve medical diagnosis, and to evaluate the effect of fever medications on symptoms and disease course,” project lead Jared Hawkins says in a prepared statement.

But the app won’t do everything for you. You’ll still have to log your temperature multiple times per day, but Feverprints will remind you to do so, and will anonymize your data. By collecting enough temperature data, the team says that defining “unique patterns of temperature” could aid in diagnosing infections or seeing how effective that gross syrup you just choked down was. Want to get started? Download the app and grab a thermometer — some things still need to be done the old fashioned way.

Source: Eurekalert, Feverprints, iTunes

Samsung Galaxy TabPro S review – CNET

The Good Samsung wisely includes a keyboard cover in the box. Battery life is excellent, and the AMOLED display is better than the screens in much more expensive systems.

The Bad The single configuration is stuck with a sluggish Core M processor, and the keyboard cover allows only two screen angles, neither of which may be right for you.

The Bottom Line Samsung builds a lot of value into the Galaxy TabPro S, including a keyboard cover and advanced display in a very slim Windows tablet.

Samsung’s latest PC takes the name of its Galaxy line of Android phones and tablets, despite running the Windows 10 operating system. The Galaxy TabPro S is a new tilt at one of the most persistent windmills in technology — crafting the perfect Windows tablet.

Cracking the Windows tablet code has been a quest that computer makers have obsessed over for years. It’s a quest that goes back to the days before Windows 10 or even Windows 8, and even before Apple’s iPad made slate-style tablets everyday household objects. Some would say it’s less of a quest and more of a fool’s errand, full of false starts and overhyped promises.

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Sarah Tew/CNET

Most of the time, the Windows operating system and the PC apps that run on it just aren’t designed with the same single-tap access, consistent navigation, and optimal screen scaling as apps that live in the walled garden of iOS and the iPad. Even when Windows 8 introduced a tablet-friendly interface, it failed to scratch that particular itch, and instead just made everyday computing tasks more cumbersome.

Why is it so hard to make a Windows tablet that feels both useful and intuitive, while also providing the kind of instant gratification the best gadgets offer? It’s because we still need these devices to do double duty as everyday workstations for email, office documents and shopping, on top of the easy tap-swipe-flick of media watching and games. Most PC makers have settled on hybrid machines that are full-time laptops and part-time tablets, such as the Lenovo Yoga series, but these are not iPad alternatives and never will be.

Microsoft has come the closest to date, with its evolving Surface line. Over the course of four generations, the Surface tablet has become an excellent overall product, thanks to extensive work in tweaking the physical design, including perfecting the adjustable kickstand and magnetic keyboard cover. I’d recommend the latest Surface Pro 4 as the go-to Windows tablet, but it has a fatal flaw — it’s expensive. That’s because the keyboard cover — by every account a required accessory for even basic everyday use — doesn’t come with the Surface. It instead must be purchased separately, for a not-insignificant $129, on top of a tablet that runs from $899 (£749 or AU$1,349) to $1,799. That puts even the most affordable Surface Pro 4 north of the thousand-dollar mark, an important psychological and practical barrier.

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Sarah Tew/CNET

The Samsung Galaxy TabPro S sets out to emulate the best parts of the Surface line, while also correcting some of its flaws. The biggest news here is that the single currently available configuration, combining a 12-inch AMOLED display (more on that in a minute) with an Intel Core m3 CPU and a 128GB solid-state drive, is $899 (£849, not currently available in Australia), which includes a very familiar-looking and -feeling keyboard cover. With that simple move, including the keyboard in the box, Samsung earns a tip of my virtual hat for showing some respect for consumers.

Samsung Galaxy TabPro S

But the Galaxy TabPro S isn’t perfect, even though it represents an excellent overall value. The keyboard cover, while solid-feeling and very usable, isn’t as evolved as the one on the latest Surface, the Surface Pro 4. The Surface keyboard has moved to island-style keys, closer to what you’d find on a traditional laptop, while the Samsung keyboard has tightly packed keys that do not feel as natural to use.

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Samsung’s new Galaxy TabPro S comes with a snazzy keyboard case that offers two comfortable typing positions.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The Samsung keyboard is also loud and clacky, as opposed to the soft-touch quiet keyboard on the Surface (maybe that’s why Microsoft insists on charging an additional $129 for it). Both have strong magnetic connections that hold the two halves securely together, but the Samsung cover wraps all the way around, covering the front and back of the tablet, while the Surface version is a front cover only, leaving the back of the tablet exposed. That offers more protection, but the slate also popped out of its cover a few times when I was snapping the screen into place.

You’ll miss the kickstand

Ergonomically, there’s one area where the Galaxy TabPro S beats the Surface Pro 4, and one where it falls behind. Removed from its cover, the actual slate portion of the TabPro S is amazingly thin and light, weighing just 1.52 pounds (689g), versus 1.76 pounds (798g) for the Surface Pro 4.

Artbrew Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Artbrew

Based on the specs and features, Artbrew could be the beer making machine I’ve been hoping for. Between the app and the onboard LCD controls, it looks prepared to walk the line between ease-of-use simplicity and detailed options for customization if you want them.

You’ll pick from a variety of recipes or create your own. You can use your own ingredients if you have them or order packs from Artbrew’s website or app. At that point, you can simply add water and the ingredients and hit start, or you can further fine tune your beer if you want to customize how heavy it is, how hoppy it is, or even how alcoholic it is.

Reasons for optimism

As Artbrew works, you can track the progress of your creation on the app. Artbrew connects to Wi-Fi, and you’ll also get a push notification if you need to take any action. It handles almost everything itself, though you’ll need to add yeast to the mix after it cooks so your beer can ferment. Additionally, Artbrew adds up to four different types of hops automatically, but if you want more than that, you can add them in manually during the cook, and Artbrew will let you know when it’s the right time to do so.

You can order ingredient packs.

Artbrew

The similar Picobrew Zymatic took care of the early stages of brewing as well, but you had to cool the mixture yourself before you could add the yeast and start fermenting. Artbrew takes care of that for you. And you can leave the included MiniKeg inside the Artbrew during fermentation, and it’ll maintain an appropriate temp during the couple of weeks it takes your beer to be ready to drink.

Other beer-making bots

• Picobrew Pico
• Brewie
• Brewbot

If you’d like, you can take the MiniKeg with your fermenting beer out of Artbrew, ferment it somewhere else and use a separate MiniKeg to start a different batch. Just like with unassisted homebrewing, the initial stages of brewing with Artbrew will take a few hours and fermentation will last anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks.

The Artbrew and the included MiniKeg let you brew 5L or 1.3 gallons of beer at a time. The Zymatic has roughly twice that capacity, but the Artbrew supposedly fits nicely on your countertop. The Zymatic really didn’t. Artbrew also gains an advantage by including a cycle specifically designed to clean the inner compartments between batches.

Artbrew ships with a MiniKeg.

Artbrew

Reasons for caution

With an expected retail price of $989, Artbrew’s also an easier splurge than the $2,000 Zymatic or Brewie — a similar beer-brewing bot that also costs $2,000. But Artbrew still has a lot to prove to be worth the cost. For one, its temperature controls will need to be precise, as even small variances can produce off flavors. It’ll need to cycle water effectively to agitate the grain during the early stages of the brew or the beer will taste thin. And obviously, the rest of the mechanisms need to prove as effective and easy-to-use in practice as they are in theory.

Outlook

If you’re willing to gamble that Artbrew fulfills its promises, you can contribute to its Kickstarter campaign starting today and get it for a hefty discount. The lowest early-bird pricing is an especially attractive $489. Artbrew is available worldwide. The $989 retail price converts to roughly £690 and AU$1,310 for our readers in the UK and Australia respectively. The Kickstarter discount converts to around £350 and AU$660. The company hopes to ship models starting in September of this year, so get your Oktoberfest recipes ready.

Fitbit Alta review

Buy now from Amazon

Fitbit is a company that excels at fitness tracking features but falls short with design. It’s been that way for years now. The Charge HR and Surge aren’t the worst looking devices out there, but the company didn’t really start focusing on good design until this year with the launch of the Blaze and the Alta.

The Fitbit Alta in particular probably won’t pass as a piece of high-end jewelry, but it does look a little less like a standard Fitbit device. It’s sleeker, slimmer and all around better looking than its predecessors. It also comes with most of the features many folks are looking for in a fitness tracker.

Looks are just the half of it, though. How does it perform, and in what areas does it excel? That’s what we’re here to find out in our full Fitbit Alta review.

Review notes: I’ve been using the Fitbit Alta as my main fitness tracker for 13 days. The Nexus 6P has been my smartphone companion of choice for the duration of this review.

Design

One of the first things you’ll notice about the Alta is that it doesn’t look a whole lot like its predecessors. The Surge, Charge HR and Flex all featured a similar design language, but now it looks like Fitbit is moving away from that. The Alta is slim, measuring just 15.5mm wide, and it’s light enough that you’ll forget you’re wearing it most of the time. On the front it has a big scratch-resistant OLED display that’s much bigger than what you’d find on the Charge and Flex.

You won’t find any buttons on the Alta, and that’s because Fitbit decided to include a touch sensitive display this time around. It’s important to note that this isn’t a touch screen, it’s only touch sensitive. You can wake the Alta’s display by lifting your wrist or double-tapping the screen, and you can scroll through your daily stats by tapping on the bottom or the side of the display. This will allow you to see the time, your steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned and active minutes.

Unregistered taps get annoying very fast

I really value the larger screen size on the Alta, but I have had a few problems getting the device to recognize my taps. Sometimes tapping on the display doesn’t register, which gets annoying really fast. I almost would have preferred a single physical button on the side, similar to what’s offered on the Charge line. Fitbit likely removed the button for aesthetic appeal, but I just wish is was better implemented.

The display is encased in a stainless steel body that can be easily removed if you’d like to change out the straps. The retail version of the Alta comes with a silicone strap, but you can also buy leather and stainless steel bands from Fitbit for $59.95 and $99.95, respectively. Like I mentioned in our Fitbit Blaze review, I love the fact that there are other bands available for the Alta, but I think they’re just too expensive.

Related: Fitbit Blaze review8

Since the Alta is so narrow, Fitbit has employed the same lock mechanism that’s found on the Flex. It sure looks nice, but most of the time I really struggle to put it on. To secure it to your wrist, you need to fit two pegs into two holes, all while balancing the Alta on your wrist to fit it to the right size. The pegs are pretty difficult to secure into the holes, and there have been times I’ve actually given up on wearing it for a few hours because I couldn’t get it on right away.

Once you successfully put it on, though, the Alta is very comfortable. The silicone strap feels very premium and doesn’t attract a lot of dust or hair.

Features and performance

The Fitbit Alta has all the basics covered. It can track your daily activity, your sleep, and your exercise sessions. It doesn’t have a GPS or heart rate monitor on board, but it does come with a few extra features that will make this device a little more attractive than its predecessors.

For starters, to help take advantage of that big display, the Alta can give you text, call and calendar notifications. They all work pretty well for the most part, though I have noticed text messages get cut off after only a few words. Other than that small caveat, the Alta does a great job at notifying you when your phone goes off. And unlike with the Blaze, I have not experienced any connectivity issues whatsoever.

Fitbit has also included move reminders on the Alta. It will notify you every hour if you haven’t reached your hourly goal of 250 steps. You can adjust the time these notifications are turned on, and you can even turn them off for specific days of the week. This is by far one of my favorite parts about the device. It really motivated me to get up and move, even more so than my daily step goal.

Like I mentioned earlier, the Alta can track your steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned and active minutes. It’s very accurate, which isn’t surprising — step tracking and other basic fitness tracking functions are all areas in which Fitbit excels, and the Alta is just as good as any other Fitbit device out there. As is the case with my other reviews, I walked 500 steps down the road with the Alta and counted each one along the way. The device started at 5,478 steps and ended with 5,969, which meant it was just 9 steps off from being spot on. Not bad at all!

I also tested step tracking on the Alta against the Jawbone UP3, Charge HR, Blaze, and the Garmin vivosmart HR. For the most part, the device seems to be in line with its competitors.

Don’t miss: Fitbit Charge HR review3

Workouts are recorded automatically

Since the Alta doesn’t come with any buttons, you won’t be able to set a workout timer or manually start an exercise. It uses Fitbit’s SmartTrack feature that will recognize different exercises and automatically record them in the smartphone companion app. All in all, I really enjoy this feature. It’s worked quite well for me over the past few weeks, and I haven’t had any problems with it recording the wrong exercises. It’ll also recognize when you go to sleep and record your data in the app when you wake up. Even though it doesn’t give you a ton of granular details on sleep stats, the information it does show should be more than enough for the average user.

It doesn’t have a heart rate monitor or GPS, which isn’t all too surprising considering how Fitbit is marketing the device. It’s meant for the average user that doesn’t need all that “extra” stuff. It can do the basics, and it can do them well.

One other notable omission from the Alta is proper waterproofing, and unfortunately this is par for the course with Fitbit devices. Most folks who use fitness trackers regularly (including myself) would love to see a Fitbit that’s completely waterproof, not just “sweat, rain and splash proof.” I’m really hoping Fitbit stops shrugging off this feature and includes it in its next round of wearables.

The charger is really awkward to use, but luckily you won’t have to use it that often

Fitbit says the Alta can last up to 5 days on a single charge, and I can back up that claim. I was able to get the Alta to last 5-6 days on a single charge, even with exercising every day. It’s a really good thing you won’t need to charge the Alta any more than that, because the included charger is pretty bad. It feels cheap and it’s pretty short. It’s also awkward to use — you need to line up the charging pins with the contacts on the bottom of the Alta, then clamp it on to the device. It’d be much easier to charge it with a Micro USB cable, but unfortunately that’s not an option.

For the full list of specs, take a look at the table below:

Software

I’ve said this time and time again, I’m a huge fan of Fitbit’s smartphone companion app. It puts all the information you need right on the home page, and it’s incredibly easy to adjust settings if you need to. The main screen, or Dashboard, is where you’ll see your device, steps, distance, calories, active minutes, sleep stats and more. You can tap on a statistic to get more detailed information about your progress for that day, or to view your stats for the past week, month or year.

Tapping on the device name will bring you to the settings menu, where you can change notification settings, create move reminders, adjust your clock display and a few other things. There’s also a slide out menu to the left that gives you quick access to your daily challenges, friends and account settings. The built-in social features are really nice, as they allow you to connect with other Fitbit users and see how they’re doing.

You can even share data from the Fitbit app with a number of other services. Whether you’re using Lose It!, RunKeeper or MyFitnessPal, you’ll be able to share your data between applications.

Gallery

Should you buy it?

Buy now from Amazon

The Fitbit Alta costs just $129 on Amazon, which is about the same price as other fitness trackers with the same feature set.

If you’re in the market for an affordable, attractive fitness tracker that can handle the basics with little to no problems at all, you should buy the Fitbit Alta. Considering the company has been focusing mostly on features for the past few years, this is definitely a breath of fresh air in terms of aesthetics. It’s not the most powerful fitness tracker out there, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s comfortable, easy to use, inexpensive, and looks good while doing it.

‘Killer Instinct’ arrives on PCs

The PC hasn’t exactly had a wealth of top-tier fighting games (Street Fighter V is more the exception than the rule), but that’s changing today. As promised way back in June 2015, Double Helix has released Killer Instinct for Windows 10 gamers alongside Season 3 of the Xbox One title. Both versions share the same combo-laden fighting game mechanics and characters (including new additions like Halo’s Arbiter), and players on one platform can duke it out with rivals on another. Like you might expect, though, the PC version can look as good as your system allows — it’ll run at 4K if you have both the display and graphics hardware to match.

The title is free to download, although it’s following the now-familiar Killer Instinct model of charging for access to characters and content. You can pay to unlock individual Season 3 characters at $5 a pop, and bundles range from $20 (for the eight Season 3 characters) to $60 for a Supreme Edition that offers every character ever released, all costumes, all sets and perks like experience boosters and in-game currency. If you play on the Xbox One, you’ll also get access to Killer Instinct Classic and its sequel. It’s not really as cheap as it sounds, then, but you’ll get a lot if you’ve been eager to play with Orchid, Saberwulf and crew on your desktop.

Via: Destructoid

Source: Xbox Wire, Microsoft Store

Meter your Ethernet connection in Windows 10 – CNET

Palo Alto Research Center

Because Windows 10 is a “universal” operating system — that is, an operating system for both mobile devices and PCs — Microsoft has made limiting your data connection easy. Well…easy if you happen to be using a nonwired connection, such as Wi-Fi or cellular data, that is.

(Learn how to meter your wireless connection here.)

If you’re hooked up to the Internet via Ethernet, you apparently have no reason to limit your data usage, according to Microsoft. But what if you want to anyway? One reason to consider metering your data connection is because you can control Windows 10’s mandatory updates — Microsoft will not automatically download updates on a metered connection, allowing you to update the OS at your own pace (to manually download an update on a metered connection, just go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and click Download).

Because Microsoft hasn’t built metering Ethernet connections into Windows 10, you’ll need to take a trip into the Registry Editor to change this setting. Messing around in the Registry Editor can break your computer, so the usual warnings apply — do not try this hack unless you’re comfortable using the Registry Editor!

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

1. Right-click the Start button and choose Run to open the Run window. In the Run window, type regedit and press enter to open the Registry Editor. If prompted by the User Account Control, click Yes.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

2. In the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionNetworkListDefaultMediaCost.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

3. Right-click on DefaultMediaCost and click Permissions…

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

4. In the Permissions for DefaultMediaCost window, click Advanced.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

5. In the Advanced Security Settings for DefaultMediaCost, click Change next to the owner.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

6. In the text box labeled Enter the object name to select, type in Administrators and click Check Names.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

You should see a name pop up that looks similar to this. Click OK.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

Check the box next to Replace owner on subcontainers and objects and click OK.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

7. Back in the Permissions for DefaultMediaCost window, click Administrators to select the group and then under Permissions for Administrators make sure the Full Control Allow box is checked. Click OK to exit this window.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

8. Right-click on Ethernet and click Modify. An Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value window will open.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

9. To set the connection as metered, change the Value data to 2.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

To set the connection as non-metered (default), change the Value data to 1. Hit OK to confirm, exit the Registry Editor, and restart your computer to save the changes.

NCAA March Madness heads to Samsung Gear VR for the Final Four

Samsung Gear VR owners will get the chance to experience some high-stakes college basketball action when the final games are streamed live in 180-degree video. Broadcast via a new VR version of the NCAA March Madness Live app, users will be able to check out the Final Four semifinals and the championship game from the courtside.

In addition to checking out the live games in VR, users will also get access to a virtual scoreboard that features live stats from the game. And alongside audio commentary for each game, you can check out the full tournament bracket and video highlights from each game.

The semifinals will take place on April 2 at 3 p.m. ET, while the NCAA Championship game will broadcast on April 4 at 7 p.m. ET. If you happen to own a Samsung Gear VR, you can get ready by grabbing the NCAA March Madness Live VR app in the Oculus Store.

Samsung Gear VR

• Gear VR review
• Five Gear VR games that shouldn’t be missed
• Inside Samsung’s Gear VR web browser
• Gear VR vs. Google Cardboard
• Where to buy Gear VR

Amazon AT&T Best Buy Samsung

Aliens vs Pinball game from Zen Studios will be hugging your face soon

The xenomorphs from the Aliens sci-fi movie franchise are coming to a host of platforms soon in the form of a new pinball game from developer Zen Studios. Aliens vs Pinball will offer gamers three virtual pinball tables featuring various forms of the creature that was first created by the late H. R. Giger.

Aside from that, there’s nothing else known about Aliens vs Pinball, although the teaser image on Zen Studios’ blog also shows the double arm blades of another famous sci-fi alien, the Predator. No release date was announced but it’s more than possible Aliens vs Pinball will be launched on April 26. That’s when 20th Century Fox has called “Alien Day” in reference to LV426, the fictional planet that is the main setting for the first two films in the series, Alien and Aliens.

USB Type-C FAQ — everything you need to know

USB-C is the shiny new thing, but there’s a lot more to it.

More people every day are picking up Android phones with a new power port on the bottom. MicroUSB has started the slow march out, and USB-C is taking its place. It’s an unusual port that does a whole lot more than charge your phone, and the companies that make third-party cables for everything have been learning as they go that USB-C is wildly different from what we’ve been using up to this point.

It’s a change that has brought about a ton of questions regarding safety and extended usage over time, so we’ve put together this handy little FAQ to get you ready to use USB-C.

Why the switch to USB-C?

We’ve been using microUSB in lots of things for a long time now. As an industry standard, it saved many people from needing to worry about using multiple kinds of cables to charge their various gadgets. (So long as those gadgets all used microUSB.) USB-C takes that idea and expands it to a single port that can be used on any kind of computer, not just the small one you keep in your pocket. This oval port aims to replace microUSB, miniUSB, and the rectangular USB-A port you see in desktops and laptops.

Not only is it universal, it’s more capable than all of these other ports combined. USB-C enables faster data transfer between two devices and significantly faster charging of all your devices. It’s a significant step forward, but because there are already a massive number of devices in the world with other USB ports it’s going to be a slow step forward.

Will my battery actually charge faster with USB-C?

Yes. Sort of. Here’s how this works.

The USB-C spec is capable of delivering power at significantly greater rates than anything you’re using to charge your phones and tablets right now. For example, Google’s Pixel C includes a 15W charger that will charge the tablet significantly faster than a Quick Charge 3.0-enabled USB-A power adapter. Google’s Chromebook Pixel 2 includes a 60W charger to charge the massive battery inside that laptop within 2 hours. MicroUSB isn’t capable of delivering that kind of power safely.

That said, USB-C phone chargers for the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X charge at a similar rate to Quick Charge 3.0. Battery capacity and safety come in to play here, so you won’t be seeing phones charging fully in minutes or anything like that. It’s a very fast charge, but if you’re up on current-generation charging tech you won’t notice any significant difference on a phone. Five or 10 minutes, maybe.

When it comes to laptops and tablets, however, things get a lot more interesting.

What are the different kinds of cables?

In order to play nice with most of the computers out there today, as well as all of your current wall and car chargers, many phones with USB-C are shipping with a pair of cables. One has USB-C on both ends, and one has USB-C on one and and the rectangular USB-A on the other end. Shipping both cables ensures you’re able to connect to everything, but it also ensures you get the fastest possible charging and data transfer by using the cord with USB-C on both ends.

Will I need new power adapters?

Eventually, yes. In fact, you should probably plan for it now.

USB-A power adapters aren’t as capable as USB-C power supplies, and while you’re able to charge your phone relatively the same way you can charge your phone right now with your current power adapter, things like supporting multiple rapidly charging USB-C phones and tablets on the same adapter is possible with USB-C. At some point, you’re going to want to update.

Why hasn’t every phone manufacturer switched to USB-C yet?

Phones and tablets are planned months in advance, and the phones we’re seeing released now with microUSB still were being planned before the USB-C spec was finalized. Manufacturers had to choose between rushing to support the new standard or waiting a year. For a company like Samsung, which already had invested significant resources in the microUSB-powered Gear VR, rushing to support a new standard this generation didn’t make sense.

What about the articles I read about faulty USB-C cables?

Some third-party manufacturers had problems early on making USB-C cables that followed the spec and were safe to use. This meant some particularly nasty side effects that resulted in damaged laptops, phones, and testing equipment. When you have a massive retailer like Amazon allowing new products to be listed regardless of regulatory clearance, and manufacturers willing to lie about whether their cables had passed safety checks in order to sell quickly in a market that is competing to see which cable is cheaper and somehow better at the same time, problems arise.

Fortunately, a lot of those issues are being dealt with in a number of key ways. For starters, extra USB-C cables are now much easier to purchase from the companies that made your gadget in the first place. We’re also seeing public outcry and reviews from incredibly smart folks result in significant changes to cables being sold on store like Amazon.com. You can check the reviews section of just about any of the top-rated USB-C cables on Amazon right now and find commentary regarding the quality and safety of the cable. Here’s a great example of what to look for in the Amazon review.

How do I know I’m buying a safe USB-C cable?

The first step should always be your manufacturer. The company that made the hardware you’re using either made the cable that goes with it themselves or contracted out to a trusted source to get those cables made. Those cables are designed to work with the hardware you are using. With exception to a recall performed by Apple, cables provided by the manufacturer have all been safely made. If you’re ever not sure, buying cables from your manufacturer or a trusted brand is a good way to go in this situation.

If you’re specifically looking for third-party cables and want to confirm the quality, you can look in the reviews section for that product on Amazon for detailed analysis or check out Google Engineer Benson Leung’s suggestions on quality USB-C cables.

Are you sure this USB-C thing isn’t a fad?

While nothing is ever set in stone, USB-C is a standard that has been adopted by Apple, Google, LG, HTC, and dozens of other companies already. It’s a new standard, which means it’ll be a while before most folks are only using USB-C, but it looks like that is the general direction things are heading. If you only end up using USB-C to charge your phone for the next year or two, that’s okay. If you dive in head first and only use things that are USB-C enabled, that’s OK, too.

Snapchat ‘Chat 2.0’ adds stickers, audio and video notes, and camera roll access

Snapchat rolls out several smaller updates to its app throughout the year, but every now and then, it surprises us with something major. Today, for instance, it upgraded the app’s chat experience to something described as “Chat 2.0”.

Here’s what you need to know: the chat function living within the app has been overhauled with new multimedia features. One of the features includes the ability to send more than 200 stickers to your friends. These stickers include everything from Snapchat’s iconic ghost to aliens. You can search them by keyword too – just like you can do with Facebook Messenger.

The chat experience has long allowed friends to video call with each other, though you both had to be using the app at the same time as well as using the chat feature. Then and only then would you see the send button in chat turn from yellow to blue, alerting you that you’re able to video call with the friend you’re currently messaging, with a simple press of the blue button.

READ: What’s the point of Snapchat?

Now however you can dial anyone who isn’t present in the chat. You can even just audio call the friend. If he or she doesn’t answer, you can record a brief audio or video note for them, and then they’ll get it the next time they open Snapchat. We think these features are especially interesting because they almost replace or serve as an alternative to snapping your friends.

Chat 2.0 also lets you access your camera roll now. Simply tap the photo button, and then choose the photo or video you want to send. You can even access your camera roll during video calls to send multimedia while you’re talking. Although you’ll see them appear on the left side of the screen as thumbnails, you won’t be able to see the full versions until your call is done.

We think the ability to access your camera roll kills the living-in-the-moment feeling. Snapchat always required users to take a photo or video in the moment; it never allowed them to send photos and videos from their camera roll. So, when you received a snap, you knew it was just taken by your friend and not doctored whatsoever, thus enhancing the app’s ephemeral vibe.

Third-party apps, however, such as SnapUpload, circumvented this limitation and would allow you to send media from your camera roll. It’ll be interesting to see how well those solutions fare going forward after this chat update, especially because Snapchat uniquely even lets users now send photos and videos from your camera roll in batches.

Snapchat, which introduced chat in 2014, now has 100 million daily users, and today’s update marks the first major redesign or overhaul for the chat function since it debuted. The update is rolling out now to iOS and Android.