The soccer madness of ‘Rocket League’ goes cyberpunk June 20th
Earlier this week, the team at Psyonix teased that we’d have even more details about Rocket League’s huge upcoming June patch and now those are here. On June 20th, fans will be able to knock oversized soccer balls into equally oversized nets against the new, neon-drenched and cyberpunky “Neo Tokyo” arena. It’s a free download for everyone, but if you want to add the map’s pair of anime-inspired cars to your collection you’ll have to pony up $1.99 for each in July. Conversely, you could pick up the game’s physical edition starting June 24th (that’s soon!) which includes early access to those and two others.
The patch also marks the beginning of the game’s third season for competitive multiplayer, a slew of additions to item drops, an item trade-in feature and a few other superficial bits and bobs. There are a few more details at the source link, and to help pass the time until the June 20th release, you should probably check out the new trailer embedded below.
Source: Rocket League
Google clarifies how search autocomplete works
In yet another odd development of the 2016 campaign season, Google’s autocomplete feature — not the actual search results, just autocomplete — has come under scrutiny of potential bias. A YouTube video posted by SourceFed (with a followup, posted here) picked up attention after claiming that Google failed to link “Hillary Clinton” with “indictment” in its autocomplete, unlike competitors Bing and Yahoo (that Yahoo is powered by both Bing and Google seems to have gone unmentioned), even if you spot it the i-n-d. So, clearly Google is in the tank for Clinton, right? As it turns out, an alternate and more accurate explanation becomes clear with some knowledge of how Google’s algorithms work.
Contrary to the way SourceFed describes the inner workings of a search engine, Google mentions that its autocomplete does filter for terms, particularly ones that could link someone’s name with things that are potentially hurtful or disparaging. This isn’t especially new information, as Google has previously manually adjusted its results for copyright reasons, and has even been fined for defamatory results.
Searching ‘Donald Trump law’ suggests lawn, but not his numerous lawsuits.
If you’re still not sure it works that way, one could try a similar test with Clinton’s presumptive competitor in the presidential race. While Donald Trump has had stories written about him that include the word “rape” or “lawsuits,” searching his name plus ra- or la- shows neither word as a suggestion. A blog post by marketer and SEO expert Rhea Drysdale goes into more detail about how this works and why, for those interested. Finally, simply typing in Hillary shows a top autocomplete suggestion with “Clinton email” for reasons that should be obvious by now. That single result can’t conclusively prove Google isn’t hiding something, but if it is, then it’s doing a terrible job of warning people off of the ongoing investigation.
Source: Inside Search Blog
Facebook pushes users to download its Moments app
Facebook is urging people to download yet another one of its apps after shoving users towards Messenger. This time, the social network has begun sending out warnings that their synced photos will be deleted by July 7th if they don’t install the Moments app. Facebook gave users the capability to auto-sync their photos on mobile with a private album within its app back in 2012. Three years later, it introduced the standalone Moments app for iOS and Android to house those photos, but it clearly decided to wait a while before phasing the old feature out completely.
According to TechCrunch, users can see more info within the private album that will be affected by the move if they haven’t received an email and a notification yet. If they switched Synced photos on by accident and would like to get rid of the feature, though, then they can take it easy. Just let the deadline pass, and Facebook will do the heavy lifting.
dang i didnt even know facebook privately synced TWELVE THOUSAND of my photos now they tryna delete them wow pic.twitter.com/Ii1fupbHQ7
— a.m. ☆.。.:* (@aurevoiralexis) June 9, 2016
Source: TechCrunch
SodaStream will replace some obsolete Keurig Kolds for free
Now that your Keurig Kold machine is suddenly obsolete, SodaStream is stepping up to replace that fizzy, carbonated hole in your life. The company is offering a free Fountain Jet sparkling water maker — either out of the goodness of their hearts or because they’ve got a bunch of old stock to unload — to anyone affected by the tragic and sudden closure of Keurig’s pod-based soda efforts.
There’s a catch, of course: first you’ll have to send the company a selfie of you with your discontinued Keurig Kold. Mercifully, the company isn’t making you post the soda selfie publicly in order to cash in on the deal. You simply need to email the photo of you and the machine along with your name, address, phone number and the Kold machine’s serial number to info@sodastreamsupport.com. In exchange, former Kold owners get a promo code for a free SodaStream and SodaStream gets a new customer hooked on their proprietary CO2 canisters. It’s a win-win (sort of) and supplies are limited, so get to snapping those selfies.
What is Google Allo, how does it work, and why would you use it?
Whether you like to admit it or not, communication apps are important.
You might use your default SMS app to text your husband or wife about whether you should pick up more milk at the store after work. You might use Facebook Messenger chat with your daughter who is away at university. You might start a group chat in WhatsApp to keep in touch with your team at a work event. There are several communication apps available and many reasons why we use them.
But that in itself creates a problem. We’re using so many apps to talk to so many people in a single day, and in between all that talk, we’re opening up other apps to maybe search the web, find interesting GIFs to share, order stuff online, and book reservations. It can get a bit messy and stressful. Wouldn’t it be great if one communications app could do it all?
Well, that’s what Google had in mind when it created its new communications app called Allo. Here’s everything you need to know about it, including how it works and why you would use it over anything else.
What is Google Allo?
Google actually described Allo as a messaging up for Android and iPhone users. But it does a lot more than just allow you to send messages to other people. It’s a smart messaging app in that it has the power of Google built-in and can apparently learn over time.
How does Google Allo work?
Similar to WhatsApp, Allo is based on your phone number, so you can use it to send text messages to anyone in your phonebook – not just other Allo users. Apart from that, Google highlighted three aspects of Allo that make it unique: Expression, Google Assistant, and Security.
Expression
During a demo at Google I/O, Google showed how you can use Allo to keep in touch with people. It looked like any other messaging app; chats appeared as bubbles, with one person’s chat bubbles appearing on one side in a certain colour, and another person’s chat bubbles appearing on the opposite side, and you could scroll up and down to see the entire threaded conversation.
We also saw that – like Facebook Messenger – you could send stickers, which Google said were sourced from artists around the world. You could also send emoji. But one of the hottest features is something called Whisper or shout. This will let you slide up or down on the send button to change the size of your reply, meaning there’s no need to write in caps all the time when you’re angry.
Continuing with this theme of giving you more ways to express yourself, Allo offers a feature called Ink that lets you get creative with photos. You can doodle on them, for instance. Allo also took the Smart Reply feature from Google’s Inbox app, so now you can quickly respond while on the go. If someone asks if you want to grab dinner, Allo might serve up responses like “I’m in” or “I’m busy”.
Allo uses machine-learning and natural language processing in order to suggest replies on the fly, meaning it can anticipate what you want to say next and how you might say it. The more you use Allo, the better your suggestions become. And they will always be unique to you. However, because messaging isn’t just about texts, replies also contain stickers and emoji.
You’ll even see smart reply options when someone send you a photo. Allo can understand the content and context of photos, thanks to Google’s computer vision capabilities. If someone sends you a photo of pasta, you will see smart replies that include mentions of pasta, yummy, or whatever. The idea here is that assistive technology can help you communicate with little to no effort.
Google Assistant
Speaking of assistive technology, Google Allo has Assistant.
Google Assistant is Google’s latest iteration of a virtual assistant. It’s considered an upgrade or an extension of Google Now. During the main keynote at Google I/O 2016, Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, demoed Google Assistant and said he wanted people to experience “an ongoing two-way dialog” with the virtual assistant. Keep in mind this virtual assistant trend kicked off in 2011, when Apple introduced Siri.
You can read all about how Google Assistant works from here, but we’ll still discuss for a bit how it lives inside Google Allo to help you keep your conversations going without interruption. For instance, let’s say you are chatting with a friend who wants to eat French food for dinner. Google Assistant will then proactively suggest French restaurants nearby at the bottom of the app’s messaging window.
You can tap that suggestion to bring up restaurant cards that everyone in the chat can see. If you choose a place, you’ll see options to contact the restaurant, see Yelp reviews, find it on a map, etc. You can even make an OpenTable reservation in Allo. Google Assistant will prompt in at this point to confirm number of diners, what time you want to eat, and book the table.
That means you no longer have to leave your messaging app to do a Google search for restaurants, copy and paste results, switch back again to share the options, go out again to call the restaurant and book a table, and so on. In Allo, and with Google Assistant’s help, you can get everything done in one app. OpenTable is just one partner, too (more are signed up and coming).
Google Assistant also has access to Google’s Knowledge Graph, so it can help you with all sorts of situations. You can call on Google Assistant at any time just by typing “@google” in Allo. You can chat directly with it and ask anything your heart desires, including “funny cat pics”, to which Google Assistant will respond with a lineup of cat pics pulled from Google Image Search.
Google Assistant can remember things too, including your name, address, and favourite sports team. Remember — it uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to determine stuff, such as the context of your questions. For instance, when you ask “What’s playing tonight?”, Google Assistant can show films at your local cinema. If you then follow up with “We’re planning on bringing the kids”, Google Assistant will know to serve up showtimes for kid-friendly films. You can even say “Let’s seeJungle Book” to purchase tickets.
You could also ask “Is Jungle Book any good”, and then the assistant will display reviews, ratings, and even trailer on YouTube. Notice Google Assistant is able to string your questions together to determine context and serve up the right information. It can also do basic stuff like retrieve your travel itinerary, commute time to work, package delivery information, and more.
You can therefore now use Google in your chats with friends, or you can use it to get things done, and it’s all made possible with just one app.
Security
All messages in Allo are encrypted. Also, Allo offers an Incognito Mode, just like Chrome browser does, meaning you get access to not only end-to-end encrypted messages but features like expiring chats and private notifications. You can therefore keep message safe from prying eyes, control how long they stick around, and permanently delete them from your device.
You basically have additional controls over the privacy of your chats.
When will Google Allo be available?
Although Google introduced Allo in May at its annual Google I/O developer conference, the free app won’t officially launch for Android and iPhone users until this summer. An exact release date is not yet known.
Why would you use Google Allo?
You might want to use Allo as your main messaging app for all the reasons we described above. Allo is tied to your phone number so you can text anyone in your phonebook. You can doodle on photos, book reservations, ask Google Assistant questions, search for information, and enter an Incognito Mode, etc. And the best part is… all of that can get done within this one, free app.
Allo also works with Google Duo.
What is Google Duo?
Alongside Allo, Google introduced a a simple video calling app for iOS and Android. It’s called Duo and is designed to take on Apple’s FaceTime and Microsoft’s Skype by making the system as easy as possible.
As well as featuring end-to-end encryption, Duo will work on even slow, low bandwidth internet connections. It also sports an innovative new feature Google is calling Knock Knock. This enables Duo to show live previews before a call has even been answered. That way users can see what the caller is up to before they pick up. Google has ensured that the technology is super quick.
Like Allo, Google Duo will be available on Android and iOS “this summer”.
The Public Access Weekly: The Safety dance
This week we’re pleased to announce that we’ve rolled out HTTPS, making our site a more secure place to visit. (And yes, it’s about time!) Also this week: Lenovo Tech World happened, Gawker announced its bankruptcy and Warcraft hits theaters. While we hunker down and gear up for the one-two-punch that is E3 and WWDC on Monday, settle in with this week’s must-read stories (and article suggestions!). We’ll have more posts up celebrating the first year of Public Access next week, including that Q&A contest I keep promising, and… maybe a special live video event.
I really could not help myself.
Looking for something to read?
We upgraded the site to HTTPS! I know a lot of you have asked about this, both subtly and real directly, and we heard you. It’s here! It’s up and ready! It’s… provoking a lot of comments!
Likewise, this article on how mods in Fallout 4 are being pilfered and stolen has a discussion going in the comments about the time and effort it takes to build a mod, whether it counts as protected work and what Bethesda’s responsibilities are.
Xbox told us that well, no they weren’t going to add a DVR feature for over-the-air TV to the Xbox One this year after all (despite what they’re previously said at Gamescom). Instead they’re focusing their attention on “launching new, higher fan requested gaming experiences.” That is not sitting well with many One owners, or potential One owners.
Looking for something to write about?
Airbnb recently addressed some recent reports of racism amongst its hosts by saying it has a zero tolerance policy. While the company works on gathering feedback and rectifying the issue, we know plenty of folks with Airbnb horror stories. If you’ve had an unfriendly Airbnb experience, as either a guest or as a host, share your story.
As it turns out, making donations through Paypal with the intent to cancel them later in order to screw over Twitch streamers is a really bad idea. The user in question, who may be on the hook for 50K, has also stated he only attempt to refund one donation (but didn’t respond to Motherboard’s attempts to confirm the story). The question is: Are content streamers entertainers? Should they request payment for their services? Why or why not?
Back in April, we discussed the possibility that smartphones would move away from the 3.5mm headphone jack and whether that was a good move or a bad one. And at this weeks Lenovo Tech World, Motorola unveiled two new handsets that lack the standard. Users will instead need to work with a USB-C adapter to plug in their wired headphones. Is this just a way to get us to buy all new peripherals and accessories, or will it really improve the experience for the user? Gather your thoughts up and tell us how you’re feeling about it.
Hacker hijacks @Deray by redirecting his Verizon phone number
While everyone freaks out over passwords to millions of Twitter accounts floating around, the hijacking of yet another high-profile account shows that hackers don’t necessarily need your password. Activist and former mayoral candidate Deray Mckesson was the latest to have his account taken over, with an attacker deciding to claim Deray supports Donald Trump. According to Mckesson, this happened even though the hacker didn’t have his password, and he had two-factor authentication turned on for his account. In this case, the hacker went a step further, by hijacking his phone number with the help of Verizon customer service.
Today I learned that it is rather easy for someone to call the provider & change your SIM. The hacker got the account verification texts.
— deray mckesson (@deray) June 10, 2016
As detailed in a series of tweets, this morning someone called Verizon posing as Mckesson and apparently armed with the last four digits of his social security number. This person changed the registered SIM on his account to one they controlled, redirecting and SMS to their phone instead of his. After that, they just triggered a password reset on Twitter and waited for the authorization code to come in.
While @Deray was able to recover his account with Twitter’s help (it’s good to be friends with @Jack), for the normal user it might not be as easy. Unfortunately, even with extra security in place like this, social engineering of various types can still put your information at risk. Hackers used a similar message to take control of developer Grant Blakeman’s Instagram page in 2014, and accessed a Gmail account for the CEO of Cloudflare in 2012 by redirecting his AT&T voicemail. Wired writer Mat Honan had his accounts and devices taken over when a hacker convinced Amazon to give up the last four digits of his credit card number, then used that information to get a new password for his Apple iCloud account.
So what else can you do to protect yourself? Unfortunately, many services still use SMS or phone calls to perform the second bit of authentication (using a one-time password powered by apps like Google’s Authenticator removes your phone number from the equation), and when it comes to telephone and cable providers they largely don’t support two-factor at all. Instead, they by default will verify account info over the phone using the SSN, as seen in this case, which is all too easily found by hackers.
Buzzfeed points out a recommendation recently published by the FCC’s CTO: The major mobile carriers will allow you to set your own password that’s required for account access. Sprint requires a PIN at account setup, Verizon can set up a four-digit billing password, T-Mobile will set up a customer care password if you ask, and AT&T lets you set one up via its app. Your internet service provider probably has a similar option, but you may have to request it there also.
Source: Deray Mckesson (Twitter)
Google lends support to the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a wide-ranging and controversial trade agreement between 12 countries that President Obama has strongly supported throughout its creation. Today, he received a major ally in the form of Google — the company endorsed the plan in a blog post. “We hope that the TPP can be a positive force and an important counterweight to restrictive Internet policies around the world,” writes Google SVP and general counsel Kent Walker. “Like many other tech companies, we look forward to seeing the agreement approved and implemented in a way that promotes a free and open Internet across the Pacific region.”
The TPP is far from easy to sum up — but as it relates to tech companies like Google, it contains a number of provisions relating to intellectual property and copyright as well as freedom of internet access and the passage of data around the world. Google supports the TPP in part because of its “strong copyright protections,” limited ability for governments to demand access to encryption keys, and its support of an open internet architecture that would theoretically make it harder for governments to block access to certain websites.
That all sounds good, but plenty of technology companies and organizations have stated that the TPP as written is more problematic than positive. The EFF claims that the TPP will benefit big businesses over consumers and takes issue with the lack of transparency around the agreement’s creation and provisions. The organization also has concerns for what the agreement will do to potential whistleblowers and believes it’ll greatly expand copyright terms and and restrictive DRM schemes. And last year, more than 250 companies signed a letter saying the TPP was “dangerously vague.”
Despite this, President Obama has backed the agreement, and it also has the support of Google’s contemporaries Microsoft and Apple. Whether the agreement is finalized in its current form remains to be seen however — chances are good Obama won’t be able to finish getting it pushed through before leaving office, and presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both have issues with it.
Regardless, Obama continues to push for its passage, both in formal and informal channels — like on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon just last night.
Via: Recode
Source: Google
Say goodbye to the old Yahoo Messenger on August 5th
After more than 18 years of service, faithfully shuttling your messages, emojis and A/S/L requests back and forth across the internet, Yahoo has announced they will be signing off and closing its old Messenger app for good on August 5th. The app launched in 1998 under the incredibly dated name “Yahoo Pager,” but is heading off into the software sunset after the company introduced a more modern version last year.
As VentureBeat points out, the old Messenger was popular with users in the Asia-Pacific region, and according to Bloomberg, the old Yahoo Messenger actually still had a weirdly strong following among oil traders who used the app to bid and gossip on commodities prices. Apparently those two groups aren’t enough to keep supporting such a dinosaur of an app. In a blog post, Yahoo explained the shut down:
While today we provide basic interoperation between the legacy product and the new Messenger, we encourage all of our users to complete their transition to the new Yahoo Messenger as we will no longer support the legacy platform as of August 5, 2016. We intend to continue our focused efforts on the new Messenger, with a goal of delivering the best experience to our users.
After August 5th, anyone still using the legacy Messenger will no longer be able to log in or send messages. Same goes for messages sent through third-party apps built on top of Yahoo’s API. The new Messenger, however, is still available on the App Store and Google Play.
‘Game of Thrones’ star Kit Harington is in the new ‘Call of Duty’
Kit Harington, the actor best known as the fearless, misunderstood warrior Jon Snow on Game of Thrones, plays a dastardly villain in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. He portrays the face of the Settlement Defense Front, a radical organization hellbent on destroying Earth. Even though no one in Game of Thrones is completely innocent, the Infinite Warfare gig is a far cry from Harington’s regular role as a defender of humanity, Activision says.
“Kit is an amazing talent and the consummate pro,” Infinity Ward narrative director Taylor Kurosaki says in a press release. “Our story is about an epic showdown of opposing forces, and Kit immersed himself into the role. …We can’t wait for fans to see Kit play an entirely different kind of character.”
Check out a video of Harington in a motion-capture suit on the Infinite Warfare set right here.
Activision and Infinity Ward, the game’s developer, also worked with Snatch and Sherlock Holmes director Guy Ritchie in creating Harington’s character. Ritchie previously crafted Surprise, a live-action trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.
Infinite Warfare hits PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on November 4th.
Source: Call of Duty
AIVAnet 