NASA to use the ISS as a testbed for inflatable living modules

NASA, perhaps more than anyone else, knows that there’s only so much room for packing stuff onto a spacecraft. That’s why it’s testing expandable living modules on the International Space Station prior to sending them to Mars for work and living spaces. The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module will ride along in an upcoming SpaceX Dragon resupply mission to the ISS and from there will be unpacked and attached to the side of the station.

After that it’ll be filled with air to expand from just over five feet in depth and almost eight in diameter to 12 feet deep and over 10 feet in diameter and have its pressure equalized with the rest of the station. In the video below, NASA says that it’s all going to be done pretty slowly given that it’s the first experiment of its kind.

The BEAM needs to prove its mettle against cosmic radiation, durability and long-term leak performance prior to going into deep space, however. Before the expandable spaces go near the red planet, they’ll have to survive two years on the ISS with crew members poking and prodding it for the aforementioned reasons. The video below is a rendering, and admittedly moves along much faster than NASA says the installation process will actually go, but it should give you an idea of what the ISS will look like when the bolt-on test module is in place.

Source: NASA (1) (YouTube), (2)

It’s time to toss your paper owner’s manuals – CNET

Tucked away in the back of a file cabinet, I have an overstuffed folder of owner’s manuals, many of which are for products I no longer own. I’m getting a jump on my spring cleaning this year and throwing out the entire folder.

I no longer need any of these printed manuals in my house — even for the products I still own and use — when any and all owner’s manuals can be found online. The best part? You can do keyword searches to jump to a topic more quickly than paging through a paper manual or using a table of contents or index.

Just Google it

A quick Google search for a product name and model number plus “manual” will find almost alwyas find your desired manual. I went through my printed owner’s manuals, found a PDF online of each manual I still needed, and then tossed the paper versions in the recycling.

Goodbye, old manuals.

Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET

Storing your digital manuals for easy access

You have a few options for storing your collection of PDF owner’s manuals. You could download them to your computer and keep them stored locally in a folder. Or you could pop them on Dropbox, Google Drive or another cloud storage service so you could access them from any of your devices.

How to store PDF manuals in iBooks

My preference is to use iBooks so I can refer to my manuals from my iPad, iPhone or Mac.

To get PDFs to iBooks, use the Safari app. When you are viewing a PDF in Safari, tap the screen to bring up a banner at the top with Open in on the left side and Open in iBooks on the right. Tap the latter and you will download the PDF to iBooks.

In iBooks, I created a folder to store all of my manuals:

• To create a folder, called a Collection in iBooks, tap All Books at the top and then tap New Collection. Give this new Collection a name — say, User Manuals — and then go back to the All Books view where your PDFs reside.
• To move your PDFs to this new Collection, tap Select in the upper-right corner, tap the PDFs you want to move, and then tap Move in the upper-left corner. After tapping Move, you can then choose your new User Manuals folder from the Collections pages.

Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET

To share your iBooks library across your iOS and OS X devices, make sure you are using the same Apple ID for each device and have the sync settings enabled.

In iOS, go to Settings > iBooks and make sure Select Sync Collections and Sync Bookmarks and Notes are both turned on. On a Mac, open iBooks, go to iBooks > Preferences, and make sure the box is checked for Sync bookmarks, highlights, and collections across devices.

5 reasons to pick the iPad Pro over the iPad Air 2 – CNET

The iPad Air 2 can run two apps at the same time, has Touch ID, has a Retina display, and looks (and weighs) the same as the iPad Pro. Oh, and it starts at $399.

So why would you pick the Pro over the Air 2? It’s what’s under the hood.

More storage

In order for the iPad Pro to truly replace a laptop, the storage allotments needed to go bigger; and so they did. The 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro comes in three different storage options: 32 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB.

The iPad Air 2 is only available in 16 GB or 64 GB models.

Apple Pencil support

The most obvious reason you’d choose the iPad Pro over the iPad Air 2 is for the Pencil. Unlike the iPad Air 2, the Pro has a display designed to work with the Pencil. With it, you can jot notes, draw, meditate over adult coloring book apps and have one less reason to carry around a dead-tree notebook.

Yes, you can use a regular stylus with the iPad Air, but the accuracy is no where near the Pencil. Its two sensors react to pressure and tilt, giving you the sense that you’re using a pencil and paper.

As Scott Stein puts it, the Pencil is “far more accurate than the mushier capacitive styluses you’re probably used to trying on an iPad. It’s more like Samsung’s S-Pen for its phones and tablets, or Microsoft’s pen for Surface.”

That “Smart Connector”

Starting with the iPad Pro line, a feature called the Smart Connector automatically pairs any compatible accessory using a magnetic port. That means you don’t have to pair a Bluetooth device manually — the pairing will happen when you “snap in” the accessory.

The Smart Connector also provides power to the accessories; meaning no more bulky batteries in keyboards. For example, Apple’s Smart Keyboard and Logitech’s Create keyboard are both extremely thin keyboards for the iPad Pro.

Right now, it’s not a game-changer, but it’s only a matter of time before Apple releases more accessories that work with its Smart Connector technology, adding to the iPad Pro’s capabilities. No such connectors are found on the iPad Air 2.

4K video shooting, better selfies

Owning the iPad Pro might change your mind about taking photos with tablets.

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro is the same size as the iPad Air 2, but the camera is a huge step up. It has a 12-megapixel shooter on the back and a 5-megapixel shooter on the front. (For comparison, the larger iPad Pro features the same 8-megapixel rear camera, and 1.2-megapixel front camera as the iPad Air 2.)

You can also shoot 4K videos, up from 1080p on the Air 2 and larger iPad Pro.

Better audio

The iPad Pro has four speakers–two on the top, two on the bottom when in portrait mode–compared to the iPad Air’s two speakers along the bottom, near the Lightning port. But what makes the iPad Pro’s speakers so different is that they adjust as you move and reposition the iPad, in order to provide the best sound quality.

iPad Pro 9.7 (pictures)

1 – 5 of 22

Next
Prev

Other features worth noting

There are more reasons why you might pick the iPad Pro over the Air 2.

• The iPad Pro’s A9X chip is a powerhouse compared to the the Air’s A8X chip. You’ll get clearer, smoother graphics, faster response times and the feeling that the Pencil writes like, well, a pencil.
• With the M9 coprocessor, Siri is always listening on the iPad Pro, so you can say “Hey, Siri” and she’ll respond without you holding down the home button.
• The new True Tone display feature that dynamically adjusts the hue and saturation of the iPad Pro’s display based on the ambient light.

You’ll pay a $200 premium should you decide to go with the base iPad Pro, but as you just learned, you’re getting more tablet for your money.

C by GE Life and Sleep LED Starter Pack review – CNET

The Good The C by GE Starter Pack is surprisingly affordable given that it includes color tunable bulbs that sync with your circadian rhythms. The app makes it easy to create preprogrammed scenes that you launch with a single tap.

The Bad As of now, you can’t sync these bulbs up with any larger smart-home platforms or third-party devices, and you can’t control them with voice commands, either. You also can’t set basic timers or schedules for when lights should turn on and off.

The Bottom Line These appealingly low-cost smart bulbs are too dependent on their in-app controls, and don’t actually offer much by way of automation.

Visit manufacturer site for details.

Smart lighting is a common starting point for the connected home, but with a lot of your options, you’ll need to keep a control hub plugged into your router or understand what ZigBee is.

GE wanted to lower that barrier of entry with its C by GE LED Starter Pack. For $50, you’ll get four smart LED bulbs that need no hub, and instead, connect directly with your phone over Bluetooth. Two of these four bulbs — the C by GE “Sleep” LEDs — will even change color temperatures automatically throughout the day, going from a hot, bluish, get-the-hell-out-of-bed tone in the morning to a warm, orangey, you-are-getting-sleepy shade in the evening. The other two bulbs, the C by GE “Life” LEDs, are more basic, offering remote smartphone dimming control at a fixed color temperature in between those two extremes.

Four smart bulbs for 50 bucks is an attractive deal, especially when two of those bulbs are color-tunable. Compare that with the Wi-Fi-enabled Lifx White 800 LED, a color-tunable competitor that costs $40 apiece. Osram’s Lightify LEDs are another color-tunable alternative — they cost $30 each, but you’ll need to buy a one-bulb starter kit for $60 in order to use them. GE’s lights are the best bargain of the bunch — but I’m not sure I’d recommend them — at least not yet.

The “Follow the Sun” feature lets you program the Sleep LEDs to change tone automatically throughout the day — but those changes will only work if you’re within Bluetooth range.

Screenshot by Ry Crist/CNET

The problem? These Bluetooth bulbs don’t work with any larger smart-home platforms yet — that means that you need to be within Bluetooth range (about 50 feet) in order to use them. You also can’t make a lighting schedule or set a timer for when things should come on or off.

The only scheduling option you’ll get is the “Follow the Sun” feature, which changes the color temperature on the Sleep LEDs automatically at pre-programmed times. Even those changes won’t work if you aren’t in Bluetooth range.

Netflix admits it throttles video streams for Verizon and AT&T customers

Following accusations from T-Mobile CEO John Legere that AT&T and Verizon were throttling Netflix streams, Netflix has now admitted that it is responsible for capping the speed of the streams. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Netflix confirmed that it has been throttling video streams for Verizon and AT&T customers for years:

The popular video service said Thursday that for more than five years it has limited its video speeds to most wireless carriers across the globe, including AT&T and Verizon, to “protect consumers from exceeding mobile data caps,” which may discourage future viewing.

Specifically, Netflix says that it caps streams at 600 kilobits-per-second (Kbps) out of concerns that customers may stop using the service if its streams eat through too much monthly data. As for Sprint and T-Mobile, Netflix says that it doesn’t throttle streams going to customers on their networks because “historically those two companies have had more consumer-friendly policies.”

In response to the revelation, AT&T expressed its disappointment to The Wall Street Journal in no uncertain terms:

“We’re outraged to learn that Netflix is apparently throttling video for their AT&T customers without their knowledge or consent,” said Jim Cicconi, AT&T’s senior executive vice president of external and legislative affairs.

For its part, Netflix, which has been a staunch support of net neutrality and an open internet, says that it is looking at new ways to give its users more control over video quality. Part of those plans include a new “mobile data saver” feature that will land later this year, the report notes.

Netflix is the one limiting its video quality on AT&T and Verizon

Last week as T-Mobile CEO John Legere announced that his company’s Binge On program would expand to cover YouTube, he mentioned a strange point: that even the “mobile optimized” 480p Netflix streams T-Mobile offers were higher-res than what you get streaming via AT&T or Verizon. Executives from those companies said they don’t reduce the resolution of videos on their networks, although tests revealed that Legere was right — Netflix does only stream at 360p on AT&T and Verizon. Now the Wall Street Journal has reported that the culprit behind this restriction was actually Netflix itself.

7/ @TMobile has been listening to customers and thanks to a little partnership, @YouTube is now a #BingeOn partner!https://t.co/VQVZoM86Jh

— John Legere (@JohnLegere) March 17, 2016

In an odd wrinkle on net neutrality discussions over whether or not broadband providers might restrict video quality of streaming companies they compete with, Netflix chose to limit its own quality on those two networks. Through a blog post and statements to WSJ, Netflix explains that it set a cap at 600kbps to avoid using up too much data under the caps set by those providers for their customers. Sprint and T-Mobile were apparently exempt because of a history of “more consumer friendly policies.”

It all makes sense considering how quickly users can chew through bandwidth caps with HD video on mobile, although it seems odd that it wasn’t made clear until now. According to Netflix, this hasn’t been an issue for its users, who are more concerned about saving bandwidth than quality. However, it will soon introduce a “data saver” feature on its mobile apps to let users choose what bandwidth they want to stream over cellular networks — just in case you’re willing to burn a few GB so you can actually see what’s going on in Daredevil.

Source: Netflix Blog, Wall Street Journal

Solar storms trigger X-ray auroras on Jupiter

It’s no secret that auroras are a common presence on other planets… however, you might be surprised by the ones you can’t usually see. A new study using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has caught solar storms creating X-ray auroras on Jupiter as they interacted with the gas giant’s magnetosphere (that is, the space controlled by its magnetic field). They make Earth’s northern lights seem downright quaint by comparison — they cover areas larger than our entire home planet, and they’re “hundreds of times” more energetic than what you see in the night sky.

The observations weren’t made solely to get some pretty pictures. NASA hopes to use the data to understand how the X-rays form, which should shed light on both Jupiter and the solar winds themselves. One thing’s for sure: these findings are a reminder that even the most impressive natural phenomena on Earth can frequently be eclipsed by what you find elsewhere in space.

Source: NASA

Hacker sells data stolen from Verizon’s enterprise customers

Verizon suffered a data breach, according to KrebsOnSecurity, but you can breathe easy if you’re just one of the carrier’s subscribers. What the hacker infiltrated was Verizon Enterprise Solutions, a division that provides services to clients from the business and government sectors. Coincidentally, it’s also the task force of sorts Fortune 500 companies call in when their systems get infiltrated. Brian Krebs says a well-known member of a cybercrime forum recently posted a thread selling info on 1.5 million enterprise customers for $100,000. He also offered to share the vulnerabilities he found on Verizon’s website for a price.

The company confirmed to Krebs that it discovered and fixed a vulnerability on its enterprise portal, but not before an attacker got through and stole basic contact information. Verizon didn’t elaborate on how the hacker got in, but the spokesperson said that “no customer proprietary network information (CPNI) or other data was accessed or accessible.”

If only basic contact info was stolen, those customers won’t have to worry about identity theft or credit card fraud. However, the real worry here is that this could be a source for targeted attacks/phishing that turn into the next cryptolocker or leaked W-2 mess.

Source: KrebsOnSecurity

Google’s Nik Collection of desktop photo editing plug-ins is now free

Google has announced that its Nik Collection of photo editing plug-ins are now available for free. Google says that the decision to make the collection free came about as a result of the company shifting focus to its set of mobile photo editing tools:

Photo enthusiasts all over the world use the Nik Collection to get the best out of their images every day. As we continue to focus our long-term investments in building incredible photo editing tools for mobile, including Google Photos and Snapseed, we’ve decided to make the Nik Collection desktop suite available for free, so that now anyone can use it.

You may recall, the collection of desktop photo editing plug-ins came under Google’s purview when the search giant acquired Snapseed developer Nik Software in 2012. In all, it includes seven plug-ins for desktop programs like Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture.

For those who purchased the plug-ins prior to today, Google says that it will automatically start issuing refunds in the coming days. In the meantime, you can check out and download the full collection for free now.

Apple Music beta for Android now has a widget

The Apple Music beta app has been updated with a very Android feature: its own widget. After the latest update, you can now control pause, play and skip tracks right from your home screen via the new widget. Apple has also included a heart icon, allowing you to quickly like any track that pops up.

Of course, there are a few other notable tweaks in the latest update, including the ability to redeem gift cards and more. Here’s the full breakdown:

• Now you can add songs from the Apple Music catalog to playlists without having to add it to your library. You can also:
• Control playback with a widget you can add to your home screen
• Redeem gift cards in Settings to renew your membership using iTunes credit
• See what’s playing on Beats 1 directly from the Radio tab — without having to tune in
• Tap the name of the currently playing song in Now Playing to go to the album
• See which songs are most popular on albums in the Apple Music catalog

If you want to give Apple Music on Android a spin, you can grab the app from the Google Play badge above. New users can also give the service a shot with a 3-month free trial.