NASA starts drop testing Orion with a dummy crew on board

The Orion capsule’s first manned mission isn’t scheduled to take off until 2023 at the earliest. NASA is already preparing for it, though, and has begun a series of water impact tests using a mockup of the spacecraft with a dummy crew on board. Engineers at the Langley Research Center dropped the mockup in a 20-foot-deep Hydro Impact Basin from 16 feet above the surface for the first test out of nine.

The two dummies inside — a 105-pound woman and a 220-pound man — will help them analyze how landing in the Pacific Ocean after coming back home from Mars or another deep space mission affects the human body. They could then make adjustments and take precautions to prevent astronauts from getting injured during landing based on their findings. These nine tests are meant to assess what the capsule could go through on its way down (while attached to a parachute) in different scenarios. That’s why NASA plans to simulate different wind conditions and even wave heights in the future.

Source: NASA

BlackBerry Priv review: Maybe BlackBerry shouldn’t die

I need to start by saying that I’ve never owned a BlackBerry device. I’ve never found them attractive, and as Android grew over the years, that became more true. We’ve seen several platforms die in Android’s wake, such as Palm and Windows phones, but somehow, BlackBerry is still here.

But in the trying struggle, something had to give. The company was forced to throw away its precious mobile OS and join the Android bandwagon. This new effort debuted with BlackBerry’s newest flagship, the Priv.

It’s a valiant effort, and the Priv actually turns out to be a great option in the slew of top-running Androids today. Let’s go over how that is.

Design

The Priv isn’t a small phone. Although the 5.4″ display is kinda of in that grey area between reasonable and large sized phones, the Priv feels as much as phablet in hand as 5.7″ devices do. That’s attributed to the width. For instance, the 5.7″ Note5 is 76.1mm wide while the Priv is 77.2mm. It’s also not the lightest phone on the block, at 192g.

The compromised dimensions are not in vain, though. BlackBerry’s did not give up its signature physical keyboard, and for what it’s worth, it’s one of the only Androids you can find today with the feature (the only flagship, certainly). The screen slides up from its base in portrait mode to reveal tiny keys.

I’ll cut to the chase, a keyboard this small just doesn’t make sense. If you’re doing to do a keyboard slider phone, do it in landscape. You must use your fingernails with keys this small, and I just don’t find myself typing faster than on a virtual keyboard. Maybe if you’ve become skillful with this keyboard over the years with a BlackBerry, but newcomers will probably stay away from it (which is a bad thing, because that’s one of the Priv’s selling points.).

I apologize for starting off negative. Actually, I’ve come to like the design overall. From a top view, you can see that the sides are rounded, which makes for a great grip. The back is not removable, so the SIM and microSD trays pop out from the top. The casing has a carbon fiber texture and is smooth and somewhat sticky to the touch. While “sticky” may sound unappealing, it keeps the Priv from sliding out of your hand.

While we’re on the back, towards the top there is a modest circular camera hump. It’s lined with a silver ring that reads “Schneider-Kreuznach”, referring to the specialty optics (which we’ll cover in the Camera section).

BlackBerry has not yet joined the metal movement, but I actually wasn’t deterred by the plastic build. The Priv feels refined, solid, and definitely shows BlackBerry’s phone-building experience. However, I do get that plastic creaking when I put pressure on the chassis, and because you have moving parts, the screen ever-so slightly wobbles. But to me, this is the trade-off in having a slider.

I don’t know why BlackBerry chose to put the power button on the left side of the phone (I’m not left-handed). It drove me nuts at first, but I eventually got used to it. What’s also interesting is that there’s three buttons on the right side. The top and bottom ones control the volume, and the middle one…doesn’t really do much. It can mute phone calls, but aside from that, when I press it, it just brings up the sound controls. It would’ve been nice if BlackBerry allowed the user to remap it to different things.

One last point is that the speaker is front-facing, on the bottom.

No, it’s not a dual, stereo speaker setup like on a couple flagships, but it’s way better than a rear firing speaker (or even a bottom placement).

Performance

Here’s a quick breakdown of the Priv’s specs:

• Display: 5.4″ QHD (2,560 x 1,440 pixels) AMOLED panel
• Chipset: Snapdragon 808 (hexa-core, 1.8GHz)
• Memory: 3GB of RAM
• Storage: 32GB, expandable up to 200GB via microSD
• Cameras: 18MP f/2.2 Schneider-Kreuznach rear and 2MP (720P) front
• Battery: 3,410mAh capacity
• OS: Android 5.1.1 Lollipop (at the time of this writing)

I haven’t had any big issues with performance on the Priv. It isn’t the smoothest or most fluid Android experience out there, but it’s not a laggy mess either. You do get the occasional stutter as you’re navigating the UI, similar to a Galaxy phone. That is a little surprising, because the Priv looks like a near-stock build. I guess there’s more BlackBerry stuff in the background than it lets on (we’ll talk about software a little later).

Display

BlackBerry joins the AMOLED bandwagon, and I’m glad it did. This display looks great to my eyes. Unlike the Nexus 6P, which also uses a current AMOLED panel, I don’t find myself missing my Galaxy device (Samsung manufacturers the best AMOLED displays). The colors aren’t too vibrant or dull. It can get bright and does well outdoors. And thanks to the QHD resolution, the images look clear and sharp.

Interestingly, BlackBerry chose a curved screen for the Priv. You wouldn’t expect something so flashy on a BlackBerry device, but I appreciate that the company recognized it needed an aesthetic bump.

The curve is subtle but noticeable (it doesn’t slope as much as Samsung’s Galaxy Edge phones). Don’t expect it to add anything in regard to functionality; it’s just for looks.

It’s worth mentioning that BlackBerry takes advantage of that OLED panel and incorporates Ambient Display (screen minimally lights up to show notifications) and double-tap-to-wake. You’re also allowed some color adjustment – white balance (between cool and warm) and saturation (between subdued and vibrant).

Camera

The Priv introduces a Schneider-Kreuznach lens (a German optics manufacturer) with a meaty 18MP capture resolution. Sounds impressive on paper, but let’s see if that translates to great performance. Here are some sample shots.

1 of 12

I was pretty satisfied with the quality of the pictures. I surely surpasses my expectation for a BlackBerry device. You don’t need perfect lighting to get a great shot. I wouldn’t call it the best out there, though. The camera can struggle in a dynamic range (slightly overblowing the light), and the focusing can be hit or miss. For some reason it doesn’t always auto-focus on the closest subject, even when you move it closer. The capture speed also isn’t the fastest out there, but it’s passable.

Battery

The Priv’s 3,410mAh battery was a great performer in my experience. It easily could get me through a day, with some to spare. Of course, everyone’s uses their phone differently, so take that into account. I tried to get a varying usage between T-Mobile’s network and WiFi, using common apps like Chrome, Maps, YouTube, Play Music, Google+, Twitter, Feedly, Flipboard, and Slack.

I want to also praise the minimal idle battery drain (the long, smooth slope on the graph above was while I was sleeping). The Priv is on Android 5.1.1 (Lollipop), so it’s missing Google’s nifty Doze standby battery optimization. BlackBerry’s solution fortunately appears to be comparable.

Software

As mentioned earlier, the Priv appears to run a mostly stock version of Android. That’s really just on the surface, as BlackBerry incorporated plenty of tweaks, but I appreciate that the UI keeps Android’s true aesthetics. The home and lock screens, notification pull-down, app drawer, and Settings menu all have Material Design’s looks and animations. Let’s talk about what BlackBerry has added.

I noticed a little star appearing on some icons, and had no idea why. Eventually, I figured out that BlackBerry does this whenever that app gets a notification. It’s pretty cool, actually. When you pull down the notification shade, the apps that correspond to your current notifications are shown along the top. What’s more, if you click on one of the icons, it’ll isolate the displayed notifications for just that app.

That’s neat and a great organization tool for busy folks.

Typically, in Android, when you swipe up from the Home button, you’re taken to the Google app. BlackBerry has taken this opportunity to give you more shortcuts.

By default, you can also access BlackBerry’s device search or the BlackBerry Hub. Fortunately, you can change the shortcuts in the settings.

I became quite fond of BlackBerry’s virtual keyboard. When I receive a phone, one of the first things I do is install Google Keyboard. I didn’t on the Priv.

It’s simple, like Google Keyboard, and the key placement/spacing is just right. A really neat thing about it is that the word predictions pop up around the keys as you’re typing. You swipe your finger up to select the word, so there’s minimal finger travel. Once you get used to it, it’s really efficient.

For BlackBerry fans, you of course have the company’s array of tools. BlackBerry Hub brings them all together, as a one-stop shop.

Familiar BlackBerry apps are present, such as BBM, Calendar, Contacts, Notes, Tasks, etc. Additionally, BlackBerry still promises security, with a system called DTEK. It’s meant to secure your personal data and monitor for any foul play from apps. DTEK automatically watches over your phone (in real time), but takes it a step further by notifying the user when an app requests sensitive information and providing a log of the app’s behavior. You can read more about DTEK here.

BlackBerry gives the curved edge some use with a pull-out tab, not unlike Samsung’s Edge Panel. Just swipe from the edge and you’ll get a quick peek at information from BlackBerry’s Calendar, Messages, and Tasks apps. You can also set favorite contacts.

Final Thoughts

I’m not a BlackBerry fan, but all in all, I have to admit that this is a good phone. It didn’t blow my expectations, but certainly surpassed them. The Priv is definitely a nice and different option out there among the select flagships. It can stand with the pack, in my opinion, and that’s quite an improvement for BlackBerry.

I’m now kinda left hoping that BlackBerry sticks around, and I want to see it build on the Priv’s design. I’m not a fan of the tiny keyboard, though, and hope that they dump it or make the phone a horizontal slider. I also would like to see more premium materials, especially since it’s not a cheap phone. It’s currently going for $637.

We’d like to give a shout out to B&H Photo for providing our Priv review unit!

The Public Access Weekly: Renegades, rebels and rogues

Howdy! This post marks our twelfth Public Access Weekly article, and it’s just occurred to me that it’s been nearly a whole year since we first launched Public Access with tales about your first screen names, ISP haikus and growing up geek stories. Don’t worry, I’m not getting all nostalgic on you… yet. But as we get closer to our June 1st anniversary, I will be planning some special posts and assignments so if you have suggestions on how we should celebrate, leave ’em in the comments!

Now, down to business: I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating that Public Access is not an enterprise/B2B/marketing/SEO page and those are not the kinds of articles we are looking for. As we forge ahead with some of our Big Master Plans for Public Access, I’ll be increasingly cracking down on this so make sure you familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines.

If you’ve published a post that doesn’t concern technology in any way, that is focused on business or enterprise needs, or that exists to push SEO keywords, your post will be pulled and you’ll get an email explaining why. If you put SEO links in your article, I will pull them with zero warning. Honestly, I don’t like to police the posts and articles that appear on Public Access, and we try to be exceedingly flexible about what counts as “tech related post” so please respect the community.

Also while I know a lot of you were not a fan of our comment break, I will say this: The feedback has been truly and sincerely invaluable and since we’ve reinstated them, we’ve noticed an improvement in the quality of the comments. So thank you to everyone who took the time to express your thoughts and suggestions — I read every email, and every Tweet and Facebook comment — and thank you to everyone who is making an effort to respect your other commenters. Also, if you’ve emailed me applying to be a moderator, I will have news for you soon so keep an eye out for an email from me.

Looking for something to read? Check out:

Last week Devindra posted his Oculus Rift review; this week HTC’s Vive is up! (Those of you who were asking for a side-by-side comparison will dig on this piece too.)

Google recently announced that those who own Revolv smart home hubs should maybe start looking into other options… Since they’ll be bricking the devices starting next month.

Tesla, Tesla, Telsa! Yeah, it was a pretty big week for the EV manufacturer: the company fielded a flood of pre-orders for the Model3 and our own Roberto Baldwin got a chance to take a spin in one.

Looking for something to write about? Mull over:

eSports has been a pretty big topic this week with the UK looking to make an international tournament for the category, Twitch creating a new league and a new recap show in the works. Are esports really a ‘sport’? Do they deserve an Olympic-style event or a SportsCenter-style show? Or will this all just blow over in a matter of months?

Tomorrow is a geek holiday — Internet of Things Day! I was excited to find out about this holiday, as it gives me a new day to add to the Complete Guide to Geek Holidays. Share how you’re celebrating, cover an IoT Day event, or write about your favorite IoT device.

Quantum Break is Xbox One’s biggest console exclusive…. Or is it? Many commenters in this story are debating about whether or not “console exclusive” does or does not cover PCs which is becoming a pretty interesting conversation in its own right. But back to the game: Is Quantum Break really a reason to buy an Xbox One (as our article headline claims)? Is any game good enough to buy a console? If so, which one? And hey, while we’re on the subject, go for it: Tell us what you think “console exclusive” means to you, or should mean with reference to games such as this.

What is Apple’s True Tone display?

Apple recently launched a 9.7-inch iPad Pro with a new display technology called True Tone.

It works a lot like the white-balance-compensating system found in the iPhone’s camera flash, allowing the iPad’s screen to determine just the right percentage and intensity of white light you need. The idea behind the whole concept is that whites tend to look different under different light, but with True Tone enabled, the iPad can shift how the display looks no matter the lighting.

An adjusted white point should make reading text comfortable on the eyes, while the dynamically-adjusted brightness, when paired with the low-reflectance display, should equal more readability in direct sunlight. So, when the first 9.7-inch iPad Pro reviews surface, don’t be surprised to hear the screen is easier to use whether indoors with overhead lighting or sitting by the window.

Here’s everything we know so far about True Tone…

Apple True Tone: How does it work on the iPhone?

When Apple announced the iPhone 5S, it revealed the LED “flash” of past models had been replaced with a new one that the company called “True Tone”. It’s made up of two LEDs: one white and one amber. They fire in tandem when the flash is enabled and work with software algorithms that assess the colour temps of the scene, allowing the iPhone’s flash to adjust the intensity of white light vs. amber light.

This flash is not about providing more light but instead about providing light of a more accurate colour. The True Tone flash has both an amber and a white LED to produce two tones of light that can balance the foreground with the background. It reads the scene and fires off both LEDs in varying intensities to create up to 1,000 different colour temps, thus making both indoor and outdoor images more balanced.

Apple True Tone: How does it work on the iPad Pro?

The new, smaller iPad Pro features four sensors that measure the ambient light colour and brightness. The tablet uses this information to adjust its display. It can basically correct white point and illumination based on your environment lighting in order to render the right kinds of white under any light source. This technology isn’t new, however, as some desktop monitors have been offering it for a long time.

The thing to remember is that the human optical system is constantly comparing near-white to perfectly white, and that a “better” white can affect our perceived contrasted of whatever we’re looking at, meaning an adjusted white point should be more comfortable on our eyes. It also means that the iPad Pro should be more readable in direct sunlight, thus improving its usability ever so subtly.

Here’s how Apple explained its True Tone/Retina display:

“The 9.7-inch iPad Pro features advanced display technologies, including a True Tone display, which uses new four-channel sensors to dynamically adjust the white balance of the display to match the light around you for a more natural and accurate, paper-white viewing experience. The advanced Retina display is 25 percent brighter and 40 percent less reflective than iPad Air 2, making content even easier to see indoors and out. It uses the same wider color gamut as the iMac with Retina 5K display, delivering 25 percent greater color saturation for more vivid colours. A custom timing controller, photo alignment and oxide TFT deliver incredible color, contrast and clarity.”

Apple True Tone: Does it need to be enabled on iPad Pro?

Yes. Unlike the iPhone’s True Tone flash, the smaller iPad Pro’s True Tone display can be enabled and disabled. Under Settings, go to Display and Brightness, and switch on True Tone. Under this menu, you’ll also see a Night Shift toggle. Night Shift works similarly to True Tone.

Apple True Tone: Is True Tone related to Night Shift?

Night Shift is a feature introduced in iOS 9.3. It uses the iPad Pro’s clock and geolocation to automatically adjust the colours in the display to the warmer end of the spectrum after dark. The result is a better night’s sleep for you. Night Shift basically works like True Tone, but for a different reason. It makes the screen get warmer closer to your bed time in order to reduce the amount of blue light emitted from the screen.

This will make the display appear more orangey. But a warmer display should be much more comfortable for late-night reading when ambient light is likely to be lower. Apple has suggested that blue light can affect our sleep by throwing off our circadian rhythm, which moderates our body clock. It suppress the secretion of melatonin, too. Harvard researchers and their colleagues have even proved this with experiments.

So, Night Shift should reduce the negative effects of using the iPad Pro at night.

Twitter has two new board members, including one who uses it

This morning Twitter announced it’s swapping out two board members for new faces. In the filing, it revealed that Peter Currie and Peter Chernin will step down after the annual meeting, to be replaced by Pepsi exec Hugh Johnston and UK entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox. Most notable about these additions is that in Fox, the board will have a director who is a prolific tweeter with over seventeen thousand posts on her account, while Hugh has… 2 (both posted today).

More additions to the board soon, ones that will bring diversity and represent the strong communities on Twitter. This matters & is a must.

— Jack (@jack) April 8, 2016

Facing calls for increased diversity among the company’s ranks and its leadership, CEO Jack Dorsey promised more additions soon that will “represent the strong communities on Twitter,” echoing the sentiments of chairman Omid Kordestani. While we don’t know what that will look like yet, hopefully adding an active user can increase focus on more features the service’s current users will appreciate.

I’m joining the board of @twitter Thanks @jack @omidkordestani I can’t wait. Best. Job. Ever. Watch out silicon valley :-))

— martha lane fox (@Marthalanefox) April 8, 2016

Looking forward to partnering with @jack @omidkordestani and the @twitter Board to strengthen its power and impact.

— Hugh Johnston (@hughjohnston) April 8, 2016

The entire Board is working to bring greater diversity to our ranks. Watch this space

— Omid Kordestani (@omidkordestani) April 8, 2016

Source: Martha Lane Fox (Twitter), Hugh Johnston (Twitter), Twitter 8-K (SEC)

SpaceX proves its reusable rocket can land at sea

The folks at SpaceX have successfully demonstrated that their Falcon 9 rocket really is capable of blasting off to orbit and landing back down on a drone ship. It stuck a ground landing back in December 2015 after a handful of failed attempts to land at sea — Falcon 9 reached the barge and nearly made it in all those previous instances, but something always went awry. This time, the rocket gracefully touched down on the ship named “Of Course I Still Love You” after ferrying a Dragon capsule with supplies for the ISS, thanks in part to its recent upgrades.

SpaceX updated Falcon 9’s booster and tweaked its “legs,” which are supposed to be able to support its weight when it lands. One of its previous attempts failed, because its legs didn’t lock properly and gave out. According to VP for flight reliability, Hans Koenigsmann, that’s pretty much all they changed: “There’s minor changes on the nuts-and-bolts level, but that is basically all the changes that we did.” Since its next step is to prove that the rocket that landed can be reused, SpaceX announced at a press con that it’s launching the same Falcon 9 in May or June if tests ensure that it’s still in perfect working condition.

Landing from the chase plane pic.twitter.com/2Q5qCaPq9P

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 8, 2016

Onboard view of landing in high winds pic.twitter.com/FedRzjYYyQ

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 9, 2016

The 1st stage of the Falcon 9 just landed on our Of Course I Still Love You droneship. Dragon in good orbit pic.twitter.com/SYyUCDZE3k

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 8, 2016

Congrats SpaceX on landing a rocket at sea. It’s because of innovators like you & NASA that America continues to lead in space exploration.

— President Obama (@POTUS) April 8, 2016

Via: Space, The Verge

Source: NASA, SpaceX

Alphabet’s latest robot looks positively interstellar

Alphabet’s intent to get rid of Boston Dynamics hasn’t affected its other robotics programs, from the looks of it. On Japan’s New Economic Summit stage, the Google-X-subsidiary SCHAFT unveiled a new bipedal unit that’s capable of climbing stairs, carrying a loaded barbell on its “head” unit, laterally stepping through a row of seats at a soccer stadium and even maintaining balance when a section of pipe is placed under its feel. IEEE Spectrum writes that this was part of Google exec Andy Rubin’s keynote at the event, but that the debut wasn’t part of a product announcement or “indication of a specific product roadmap.”

So it looks like the clip of the anonymous bot navigating a rocky beach in the video below is indicative of the project’s lonely future. But hey, maybe director Christopher Nolan can put it to use in a sequel for Interstellar — the biped strikes awfully similar that movie’s monolithic robot companion, TARS.

#Robots on stage at #NEST2016! pic.twitter.com/qUyOtJPlye

— Rakuten Today (@RakutenToday) April 8, 2016

Via: IEEE Spectrum

Source: Rakuten Today (Twitter)

Android Central 282: All things LG G5

Phil, Jerry, Andrew and Russell gather ’round the fire to discuss anything and everything LG G5. The good. The not-so-good. And whether you should actually consider buying this phone. This is an audio-only podcast this week.

Thanks to this week’s sponsor!

• Harry’s: Start shaving better today and save $5 off your first purchase with coupon code

 

Podcast MP3 URL: http://traffic.libsyn.com/androidcentral/androidcentral282.mp3

Cyanogen OS 13 brings Marshmallow to the OnePlus One

OnePlus has now confirmed that Cyanogen OS 13, which is based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, will begin rolling out to the OnePlus One via an over-the-air update starting tomorrow, April 9. Speaking on OnePlus’ forums, a OnePlus representative announced the imminent rollout, stating:

Our friends over at Cyanogen have informed us that CM 13.0 (ZNH0EAS26M) based on Marshmallow will drop starting tomorrow. The rollout will be staged so only some of you (random) will get it at first, and as always, patience is appreciated.

While CyanogenMod is referenced rather than Cyanogen OS, some users have already begun receiving the OTA update, confirming that it is indeed CyanogenOS 13.

Regardless, OnePlus One owners should begin seeing the update arrive over the coming days. Once updated, you’ll have access to all of Android 6.0 Marshmallow’s goodies, which include Doze mode, granular app permissions and more.

Once you’ve received your update, be sure to chime in with your thoughts in the comments and on our forums!

Thanks for the tip, Leo!

OnePlus One

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• News
• Specifications
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Watch SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket land on a drone ship in the middle of the ocean

SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 to the International Space Station and has already landed the rocket on a drone ship, marking the first time the company not only sent cargo to the station following a failed resupply mission but also the first time it’s successfully completed an ocean landing.

The rocket carried a Dragon cargo spacecraft stuffed with nearly 7,000 pounds of supplies for the station as well as an expandable habitat that will allow for astronauts to move around. It’s also carrying up a several science experiments, including one experiment that will help investigators study muscle atrophy and bone loss in space. There’s even cabbage that will be grown and consumed by ISS crew members.

And we have liftoff of @SpaceX cargo resupply mission to the @Space_Station. Watch: https://t.co/KX5g7zfYQe https://t.co/A1nhEt34yO

— NASA (@NASA) April 8, 2016

The Dragon is expected to dock on Sunday but will return to Earth on 11 May with important samples, such as body samples taken by astronaut Scott Kelly during his extended stay in space. This launch is one of many SpaceX (which has contracts with NASA) ISS resupply missions over the next 8 years. It’s sent cargo to the station six times. One attempt failed in June, however, due to a faulty strut in a fuel tank.

Congrats to the @SpaceX team & @ElonMusk! Way to stick the landing & send #Dragon to @Space_Station. https://t.co/TCJCQljJBZ

— NASA (@NASA) April 8, 2016

After the rocket launched today, SpaceX landed a part of the vehicle on a floating drone ship at sea. SpaceX has only successfully landed a rocket post-launch just once – and that was in December at a ground-based landing site in Florida. The ocean landing today is the second time SpaceX has successfully landed its rocket, and it’s doubly significant because it shows SpaceX can handle two different types of landings.

It’s also significant because it shows SpaceX can recover and reuse rockets, thus reducing the cost of resupply missions in space.