Smart 3D modeling lets you mess with faces in videos

Have you ever wanted to mess with a video by making its cast say things they never would on camera? You might get that chance. Researchers have built a face detection system that lets you impose your facial expressions on people in videos. The software uses an off-the-shelf webcam to create a 3D model of your face in real time, and distorts it to fit the facial details in the target footage. The result, as you’ll see below, is eerily authentic-looking: you can have a dead-serious Vladimir Putin make funny faces, or Donald Trump blab when he’d otherwise stay silent.

This isn’t about to reach software you can buy, but the implications for video creation are big if it becomes more than a university project. You could use the tool to mess with your friends by having celebrities say audacious things, or have famous figures recite dialogue in movies without needing to painstakingly animate faces frame by frame. In other words: get ready for an era when even the most plausible videos aren’t safe from a little computer trickery.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: Stanford University, University of Auvergne (PDF)

LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition is back on sale as pre-orders kick off at AT&T

After being removed from store shelves last year, LG’s LTE-enabled Watch Urbane 2nd Edition is now back up for sale, with pre-orders kicking off at AT&T.

The Watch Urbane 2nd Edition made its debut in November with a bigger 1.38-inch P-OLED screen, standalone LTE connectivity, IP67 certification, and a 570mAh battery. But just a few week after launch, LG announced that it would not sell the device, citing “a hardware issue which affects the day-to-day functionality of the device.” A faulty screen component was to blame for LG’s decision, which the manufacturer said would “potentially impact our image quality over the life of the device.”

It now looks like LG has worked out the kinks, as the Watch Urbane 2nd Edition is once again up for pre-order at AT&T. The carrier is offering the smartwatch for $360 outright, or $18 a month over 20 months if you want to go down the instalment route. You can also get the device for $99.99 on a two-year agreement if you buy it alongside the LG G5 on AT&T’s Next plans.

See at AT&T

LG’s Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE returns to AT&T

AT&T isn’t just banking on the LG G5 to start its spring with a bang. After months of sorting out glitches, LG is re-launching the Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE on AT&T as of today. The cellular-linked, NumberSync-friendly Android Wear piece is available for $18 per month on a 20-month installment plan ($360 total), or $100 if you buy it alongside a G5 on an AT&T Next plan. That’s before the $10 per month you’ll need to pay to add the smartwatch to your shared data plan, we’d add. If you absolutely need to stay online when your phone is at home, though, this might hit the spot.

As for the G5? That little old thing? Pre-orders are starting today at AT&T, with a launch planned for April 1st. Buying the modular smartphone will set you back $23 per month on a 2-year AT&T Next plan, but the network is offering a Buy One Get One deal that provides a free G5 (or rather, the credit for one) if you add it on a new second line and pay for it on a Next 24 plan. The BOGO promotion is comparable to what you get for the Galaxy S7, but it’s worth considering if you’re looking for an alternative to Samsung.

Source: AT&T (Watch Urbane 2nd Edition), (G5)

‘Forza Motorsport 6’ gets eSports tourneys anyone can join

If you’re the sort to regularly set lap records in Forza Motorsport 6, you’re about to have your moment in the sun. Making good on its bet on eSports, Microsoft has announced two Forza-based eSports tournaments for late March that give any would-be Lewis Hamilton a chance at winning real prizes. The first, the Race Off Pro Series, will have you vying for Formula E glory starting on March 24th. If you place well enough in time trials and full-on races, you’ll win a trip to London to compete in a championship with cash prizes.

The second is more up your alley if you’re not so fond of electric cars. Major League Gaming is hosting its first Forza Motorsport 6 tournaments starting on March 26th. They’re free to enter, and give you the choice of racing S Class cars either one-on-one or in three-person teams. So long as you thrive, you’ll head to New York to compete in a cash prize tourney on May 21st. Winning either competition isn’t going to be easy when you’ll likely be facing racers who’ve memorized every last inch of the track. Nonetheless, it’s likely your best chance at translating your Xbox One racing skills into tangible rewards.

Via: Xbox Wire

Source: Formula E, MLG

Telltale reveals the first details of its ‘Batman’ game series

When Telltale Games confirmed late last year that it was working on a Batman game series, it didn’t reveal much beyond the game’s very existence. At last, though, it’s ready to dribble out some details. The series will translate at least some of Telltale’s character-driven formula to the Caped Crusader’s story when it arrives this summer. Unlike Rocksteady’s games, the emphasis is as much on Bruce Wayne as his alter ego: choices you make in Wayne’s private life will influence what he faces as Batman (and vice versa), including whether characters will go through “corruption or redemption.” You’ll even have the option of dealing with certain scenes as Wayne or Batman, no doubt with far-reaching consequences.

As for the general style? It’ll be set in the modern day and should have the gritty vibe of an “R-rated film,” but it won’t be realistic. Much akin to Telltale’s flagship The Walking Dead adaptation, you should expect comic book art brought to life (with the influences of artists from the past 75 years, the company says). You won’t see companions like Robin or Nightwing surface, either. It’s far too soon to say whether or not the game will be any good — we don’t even know what villains are involved yet — but it’s evident that Telltale doesn’t want to simply rehash the stories from other developers.

Via: Eurogamer

Source: Telltale Games

Blind woman may see thanks to gene therapy and light

Optogenetics, or mixing gene therapy with light treatments, is finally getting a proper field test: doctors have given a blind Texas woman the first optogenetics-based therapy in hopes of restoring some of the vision lost to a degenerative retina disease. The procedure injected her eye with viruses containing DNA from light-sensitive algae, letting them mimic the eye’s rods and cones by generating electricity whenever they’re subjected to light. The patient won’t get full vision even if the therapy is a runaway success, but it could be enough to let her know when there’s nearby activity.

Whether or not this works is far from certain. Doctors are going to watch the woman’s progress closely over the next year, and she may need up to three more treatments. The cells also can’t adjust their light sensitivity the way a retina can, so a truly effective system might need video glasses that automatically tweak the image brightness as the wearer ventures indoors or outdoors. Even so, this promises to be a breakthrough — it’s less intrusive than the current solution, which implants a chip that stirs cell activity. Eventually, certain forms of blindness may be relatively easy to mitigate.

Via: MIT Technology Review

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov

Airbnb now books stays in Cuba for everyone

Airbnb was quick to open its doors to Cuba once the country enjoyed warmer relations with the US, but there was a big gotcha: you could only book a stay if you were a US traveler. That ruled out… well, most visitors to Cuba at the time. Today, though, it’s a different story. In sync with President Obama’s trip to the island nation, Airbnb has received a special exception that lets its Cuban hosts accommodate anyone, whether they’re locals or Canadians on snowbird vacations. The expanded service starts April 2nd, or a year to the day when the company first set foot in Cuba.

It’s a big deal, even if you’re an American who took advantage of the relaxed rules in the past. The country is already Airbnb’s fastest-growing market, with roughly 4,000 homes added since April 2015. That rapid growth is only likely to continue now that Cubans can host anyone — and that, in turn, will increase the chances that you find a prime location without breaking the bank. This could be particularly crucial in Cuba, where your choices used to be limited to either mediocre state-run hotels or their pricey, foreign-run counterparts.

Source: Associated Press

Here’s how ‘Star Wars Battlefront’ does Jabba the Hutt’s palace

Part of the allure of Star Wars Battlefront is seeing how it translates classic scenes from the movies to the video game world. How will it handle Jabba the Hutt’s palace, for example? As of this week, you now have a good answer to that last question. EA and DICE have posted a trailer for the imminent Outer Rim expansion that gives you a solid look at Jabba’s home, whether it’s the vast sail barge garage or the tighter confines of the throne room. The clip also offers a peek at the volcanic world of Sullust and the two new hero/villain characters, Greedo and Nien Nunb — Greedo’s multi-shot ability looks like it could be a real ace in the hole when you’re surrounded by enemies.

The Outer Rim pack (which also includes five new weapons/cards and a new Extraction mode) arrives on March 22nd, so you won’t have long to wait before you can explore things first-hand. Be ready to pony up, though, as you’ll have to get it using the $50 season pass. And in case you’re wondering: while the trailer does pit Han Solo and Greedo against each other, it sadly doesn’t say who shot first.

Source: EA (YouTube)

Mobile Nations Weekly: S7, SE, W10M, and even BB10

Deciding, releasing, updating, and event…ing.

So you’ve read the Samsung Galaxy S7 reviews and you’re wondering if you should go buy one. Well, here’s some more data to help inform your decision: should you get the standard S7 or the S7 edge? Should an S6 owner upgrade to the S7?? Is the Galaxy S7 camera really the best? And should you just wait for the Note 6?

The past two weeks have been all Samsung, but things are about to get crazy with an Apple event on March 21st. What are are we expecting there? Probably the 4-inch iPhone SE, a new 9.7-inch iPad Pro, software updates, and maybe a few cutting references to the fight between Apple and the FBI.

But if Windows is more your thing, it was a big week on the mobile front with the full public roll-out of Windows 10 Mobile. A total of 18 different phones got the update, but owners of some lower-end and older high-profile devices were left out in the cold. And in big app news, Twitter for Windows 10 Mobile arrived, bringing a bunch of long-awaited features to the mobile platform.

Now, that’s not everything — not by a long shot. Keep going for more of this edition of Mobile Nations Weekly!

Android Central — S7palooza

We’re well into the swing of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge being available, and there’s still so much to talk about. Verizon is now offering an annual upgrade program for the new phones, while SD card makers are duking it out to offer great deals to accompany your new phone.

We’ve been exploring the larger decisions around the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, such as which model you should pick, whether it’s worth the upgrade from last year and if it might even be an upgrade from a six-month-old phone.

The LG G5 is back in the news after a bit of a lull following its announcement, as we now have details on pre-orders, more information on the cost of its modules and how carriers are going to sweeten their deals for the phone.

• Camera shootout: Galaxy S7 vs. iPhone 6s Plus vs. Nexus 6P vs. Lumia 950
• The Android N Dev Preview can wreck your Nexus
• If you’re not using Google Opinion Rewards, you’re Androiding wrong
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge versus Nexus 6P
• Samsung Galaxy Note 6: Imagining the next Note

CrackBerry — Core updates

The past week was a pretty eventful one for BlackBerry, all things considered. We got several core app updates for BlackBerry 10 including Twitter, BBM and what has now become a hotly debated update for Facebook that caused BlackBerry to reiterate their strong commitment to the BlackBerry developer community. Plus, we’re now seeing the first real signs of BlackBerry 10.3.3 being released.

• Twitter for BlackBerry 10 updated to fix image display issues
• BlackBerry reiterates their strong commitment to the BlackBerry developer community
• BlackBerry OS 10.3.3 is now one step closer to release

iMore — March event madness!

Monday March 21st sees the first Apple Event of 2016, where Tim Cook, Jony Ive, and company are widely expected to announce a new 4-inch iPhone SE, a new 9.7-inch iPad Pro, some new Apple Watch bands, and the final versions of iOS 9.3, watchOS 2.2, and tvOS 9.2. New Macs? We’ll have to wait and see!

iMore will be there live to bring you back all the action, so make sure you keep it locked and re-loaded! And if you’re curious what’s been happening with the ongoing battle over encryption and privacy, check out all our FBI vs. Apple updates.

See you Monday!

• iMore 500 — we celebrate 8 years of podcasting with amazing guests
• How iPhone captures such true-to-life photographs
• What no indie developer wants to hear about the App Store
• http://www.imore.com/apple-march-event

Windows Central — At long last

Microsoft had a rather substantial week as Windows 10 Mobile is now officially official. Rollout of the OS upgrade for Windows Phone 8.1 began at 10:10am on Thursday and landing on 18 different Windows Phone models. Of course, not everyone was thrilled as older devices with 512MB of RAM and the Lumia 1020 were left in the cold.

Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile for Insiders were also updated in the Fast Ring to build 14291 with Extension support for the Edge browser, improved Maps and driving, and much more.

Twitter released their app for Windows 10 Mobile after months of being on the PC desktop. The app launched with high praise from users with smooth scrolling, excellent performance and an exclusive dark theme. Twitter promised more updates to add new features in the coming months.

Speaking of apps, we caught our first glimpse of the new Bank of America app for Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile. The app is set to launch on Monday, March 28 right before Microsoft’s Build conference.

• How to update your older Windows Phone to Windows 10 Mobile
• Xbox in your PC: The Universal Windows Platform is premature, but not evil
• Windows 10 build 14291 for PC: Everything you need to know
• Windows 10 Gems: Get in better shape with Garmin Connect

AC editors’ apps of the week: Fenix, Cartwheel, Eve: Gunjack and more

Our weekly app picks

It’s Appday Sunday and that means we’re back with more of our favorites to share. Every week we bring a handful of great apps to the table and share them with everyone. Sometimes they are new apps, sometimes old standards, but every time they are apps we love to use.

Give these a look and then take a minute to tell us all about the apps you are using and love so we can give them a try. We all find some of our favorites right in the comments on these posts!

Russell Holly — Eve: Gunjack

There’s a whole lot of people in my immediate social circle getting Gear VR headsets this week, and with that comes the questions about what games they absolutely must install right now. While we’ve worked hard to assemble several great lists of apps for folks getting started on the Gear VR, I find myself always coming back to Eve: Gunjack.

Set in the Eve Online universe as a side story to Eve: Valkyrie, Gunjack puts you in an exterior turret on a large ship as the last line of defense. Move quickly, shoot the things, win the points. It’s an adrenaline rush, and with a decent set of headphones you can truly get lost in this game.

Eve: Gunjack is available in the Oculus store, which we can’t link to because it’s only accessible through your Samsung phone after you’ve connected it to a Gear VR.

Jen Karner — Playstation Network

I spend a lot of my time playing video games, whether that means on console, PC, or my smartphone. Really though, I’ve always been a PlayStation gal at heart. They won me over early, what can I say? So when I finally managed to pick up a PS4, I was pretty stoked to realize there was an app that could let me access my system even when I’m not near a computer.

The PlayStation app lets me access tons of content direct from my phone. My favorite is the ability to purchase a game using the app, and have it downloaded, installed, and ready for me by the time I get home. There’s also the ability to see my notifications, check my wall, and chat with friends through PSN. You need a PS4 and a Sony Entertainment Network account to use all the features, but if you’re a console gamer with a soft spot for PlayStation, it’s worth checking out.

Download: PlayStation App (Free)

Phil Nickinson — Flyover Country

Where am I? Where am I going again? What the hell is that under us? And more important — when’s lunch? Those are the usual thoughts when I wake up midway between Points A and B, 30,000 feet (more or less) overhead. Lunch usually takes care of itself in one form or another (be it liquid or otherwise), but what’s passing by on the ground can be harder to figure out. Sometimes the IFE map helps, or one of those online flight-tracking sites. But Flyover Country takes things two an entirely different level.

You put in two points — generally where you’re taking off, and where you’re going. And it fills in the blanks, using info from a number of sources. You get all sorts of points of interest, the ability to track yourself via GPS, and to save information offline. And it’s not just for planes — choose car/foot mode and it drills down to a tighter area. It’s a bit of a science experiment (this whole thing is funded by the National Science Foundation), and a bit more fun. Give it a go.

Download Flyover Country (Free)

Andrew Martonik — Cartwheel by Target

Pretty much everyone is a deal hunter of some sort, looking for for coupons, specials and discounts wherever you shop. If you’re that kind of person and shop at Target with any frequency, the Cartwheel app needs to be on your phone.

The Cartwheel app is all about coupons and discounts for items at Target — but instead of finding paper coupons or tracking them down all over the internet, they’re all in one place. Browse through recent or popular coupons or search for something specific, and when you find one (or 10) you like you can load them all up in the app. Next time you’re at the store, you simply show a barcode on your phone to apply all of your selected coupons at once, saving you anywhere from five to 50 percent on each item. The coupons can even be combined with other in-store deals and your Target card five percent discount.

Just like any other coupon system there can be a bit of a false economy in that you may be tempted to buy things you wouldn’t have otherwise … but if you’re already shopping at Target, it’s worth having this app installed to check out when you’re ready to head to the store.

Download: Cartwheel by Target (Free)

Ara Wagoner — SMS Backup & Restore

My dad’s Moto X 2013 is getting a little long in the tooth, but until it completely stops working I don’t see him buying another phone, so when he mentioned that he’d been seeing a bug where his Wifi wouldn’t automatically connect anymore, I decided that before I direct him to our [best unlocked](The best unlocked Android phones http://www.androidcentral.com/best-unlocked-android-phones) or [best cheap Android phone guides](The best cheap Android phones http://www.androidcentral.com/best-cheap-android-phones) I should help him factory reset the device once to give it a spring cleaning.

After backing up his photos and his Google Keep notes, we needed to back up his text messages. I had never bothered backing mine up since my contacts were saved and most of my messaging happens through Hangouts, so we downloaded SMS Backup & Restore, installed the plug in that allowed it to backup to Google Drive, and executed a backup. When we wiped the device and restored his cloud backup, every message came back. The only hiccup was that since he was sending his group texts as individual SMS instead of MMS, the texting groups he kept for organizing the office Happy Hour was lost, instead leaving 31 individual threads. And I’m not sure I can blame SMS Backup & Restore for that. But the app looked good, was easy to maneuver, and worked as advertised.

Download: SMS Backup & Restore (Free, In-app purchases)

Alex Dobie — Fenix

The recent controversial changes to Twitter’s official timeline — paired with other longstanding annoyances — have had me searching for a new Twitter client for Android, and the one I’ve settled on is mvilla’s Fenix, a slick, Material-style app that puts photos front and center. An intuitive tabbed interface lets you switch between your timeline, mentions and direct messages, while the slide-out menu on the left gives quick access to other areas. Multiple accounts are supported, and there’s even a neat “dark mode” feature for those wanting to save battery power on AMOLED devices. That’s just some of the customization supported in this very full-featured app.

Priced at $5.69, you’ll need to fork out a bit more than you might be used to, but the polish and feature set of Fenix more than justifies the price of admission.

Download: Fenix for Twitter ($5.69)

Jerry Hildenbrand — United States Constitution

The next time you need to get all constitutional on social media, be prepared. You can read the full text of the United States Constitution, including all the amendments and articles, right on your phone. There’s even a table of contents and resizable text options. As a special bonus, historical and important documents like Jefferson’s Wall of Separation letter and King’s “I have a dream” speech are reproduced in full complete with background information.

There aren’t any apps to help understand it all, but at least you can know what it says.

Download: United States Constitution (Free)