Dreezy’s Debut Album to Launch Exclusively on Apple Music

Interscope Records has announced that rising Chicago rapper and songwriter Dreezy’s debut full-length album “No Hard Feelings” will be available exclusively on Apple Music in the United States on July 15 before becoming widely available one week later.

“No Hard Feelings” will feature 19 tracks, including singles “Body” ft. Jeremih, which has nearly 13.8 million Apple Music streams, “We Gon Ride” ft. Gucci Mane, and “Close To You” ft. T-Pain. The album is available for pre-order today at iTunes.com/Dreezy.

Apple Music and Beats 1 have had several exclusives since launching last year. Drake’s new album “Views” had a similar one-week exclusivity period with Apple Music in April, while Dreezy’s single “Close To You” had its “World First” premiere last week on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 radio show. Apple Music was also first to stream Taylor Swift’s “1989” album, although without any exclusivity agreement, while Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic” has been an Apple Music exclusive since 2015.

Tags: Apple Music, Dreezy
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Edward Snowden is not a fan of Russia’s ‘Big Brother’ bill

With Russia about to pass a law that will make it even more Orwellian than it already is, one of the nation’s most famous residents has chimed in. Edward Snowden tweeted that “Russia’s new Big Brother law is an unworkable, unjustifiable violation of rights that should never be signed.” The NSA whistleblower added that “mass surveillance doesn’t work. This bill will take money and liberty from every Russian without improving safety.”

The legislation will force service providers to decrypt all messages, something telecoms in the nation say will be unreasonably expensive to implement. It also means that anyone who voices approval for terrorism on social networks can get up to seven years in prison, and it’ll soon be a crime a crime to not report information about terrorist attacks.

Snowden has been criticized for hypocrisy by seeking asylum in a country with a checkered record on human rights, especially in recent years under President Vladimir Putin. However, he has criticized his host country before, calling a previous crackdown on internet freedom and gay rights “fundamentally wrong.”

‘Store 6 months of content’ is not just dangerous, it’s impractical. What is that, [around] 100PB of storage for even a tiny … ISP?

He also said the plan is technically flawed. ” ‘Store 6 months of content’ is not just dangerous, it’s impractical. What is that, [around] 100PB of storage for even a tiny … ISP?” The bill was approved overwhelmingly by Russia’s lower house and is expected to be rubber-stamped by the upper parliament and signed into law by Putin in the coming days.

Source: The Guardian, Edward Snowden (Twitter)

Uber and Pandora to bring (more) music to rides

Since 2014, Uber and Spotify have allowed passengers to dictate the music that plays while the ride, much to the feigned delight of drivers. Now, the ride-sharing firm has also shaken hands with Pandora, but this time it’s to offer drivers ad-free internet radio from now until December 28th. The music service has been baked-in to Uber Partner, bringing jams to modern-day chauffeurs in the US, Australia and New Zealand. Right now, it’s just a bonus for the folks who get to sit behind the wheel, but the pair are promising that riders who are “registered with” Pandora will get the Spotify-esque ability to control the stereo in the near future.

It’s not clear if the new deal will stand alongside Uber’s existing tight integration with Spotify, or if one audio service is being elbowed-out in favor of another. One thing that does matter is that, so long as you’ve signed up to Pandora, you’ll get the control — which is currently only available to Spotify Premium customers. Maybe the internet radio service is positioning itself as a friendlier, lower-level tier for those people who aren’t sure they need to spend more just to irritate their driver.

Tour de France will use thermal cameras to spot hidden motors

For decades, the world of cycling has struggled to come to terms with the amount of doping in the sport. Lance Armstrong leads a long list of athletes who have used performance-enhancing substances to win, but in recent years, technology has given rise a new form of cheating: hidden motors. With the world’s most famous cycling race just a few days away, Tour de France officials will utilize thermal cameras to detect so-called “mechanical doping,” putting would-be cheats on notice.

In a statement, Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) — cycling’s world governing body — confirmed that it will “have the resources in place to conduct between 3,000 and 4,000 tests.” Thermal cameras have been set up by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission at the request of the French government and can be used on the back of a motorcycle or on the side of the road.

The UCI says it will also employ “unpredictable” testing protocols, including manual bike checks and magnetic scans, to ensure no Tour de France rider is gaining an unfair advantage.

Earlier this year, officials at the cyclocross World Championships found a motor in a bike ridden by Belgian star Femke Van den Driesshe. The professional cyclist received a six-year ban for hiding a Vivax motor and battery in the seat tube of her bike, was stripped of all her titles and handed a 20,000 CHF (20,569 US dollar) fine.

“Since the beginning of the year, we are sending a clear message which is that there is literally no-where to hide for anyone foolish enough to attempt to cheat in this way,” said UCI President Brian Cookson. “A modified bike is extremely easy to detect with our scanners and we will continue to deploy them extensively throughout the Tour and the rest of the season.”

Via: BBC Sport

Source: UCI

Best roaming plans for Canadians travelling to Europe

Planning a trip to Europe? Here are your best options for roaming while taking in the sights, the sounds — or the Seine!

Whether you want to get in some skiing, go backpacking, or hit the winding — and sometimes high-velocity — roads, Europe is an amazing travel destination for Canadians. Roaming in countries like France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom can be expensive if you don’t know which options to choose. Be smart with these great roaming services.

KnowRoaming

KnowRoaming has created a sticker that, using a special tool included in the box, adheres to the underside of a regular SIM card. Once the now-double SIM gets put back of your iPhone or Android Phone, the magic begins. With its free iOS or Android apps, KnowRoaming acts both as a director of information, determining which SIM card needs to be used depending on the phone’s location, and as a full-service MVNO in nearly every country in Europe.

For $7.99 USD per day, KnowRoaming offers unlimited roaming data in a number of European countries, including France, Germany, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, Portugal, Netherlands and more.

Better, it can also automatically forward a Canadian number to its European equivalent, giving KnowRoaming customers the option of making and receiving calls as they would back home.

What to know: KnowRoaming is smart: it assigns a local number whenever it enters a new country, and its excellent iOS or Android apps track call, text and data usage. 3G-only (for now).

Unlocked iPhone or Android Phone needed

See at KnowRoaming

Roamer

Technically, Roamer is an Android app that intelligently forwards your home number to a European equivalent so you can make and receive calls as you would back in Canada. But a little-known side of the business is the Roamer SIM — a single card that connects to the best local carriers in 118 countries, including many in Europe.

While prices are slightly higher than they are on KnowRoaming, it is still significantly cheaper than many roaming plans purchased from a Canadian carrier. To wit, traveling to France offers the following:

• 1 day / €5 / 50MB
• 7 days / €15 / 300MB
• 7 days / €25 / 1GB
• 14 days / €50 / 1GB

The beauty of Roamer SIM is that the company delivers to Canadian (or U.S.) addresses, which means it can be configured prior to leaving. Simply put the SIM in your Android phone and enable it once on the ground in Europe.

What to know: Roamer assigns a local number for every country visited, and usage can be tracked with the free Android app. Phone calls and texts are extra, but still cheap. First 25MB of data is free.

Unlocked iPhone or Android Phone needed

See at Roamer

Buy a local SIM

This option may seem obvious, but it’s also the most onerous. Many Western European countries such as Spain, Germany, Italy, and France have a number of core carriers, such as Vodafone, T-Mobile and Orange, along with dozens of MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) that resell access to those core networks.

Most of the core carriers and MVNOs offer prepaid access, and are some of the least expensive ways to get a local number and cheap data in a foreign country.

There are a few things to keep in mind before purchasing a local SIM card in a European country:

• European networks use different wireless bands than Canadian and U.S. carriers. Most carriers in Western Europe use a combination of 800 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600 Mhz, so make sure that you check your unlocked Android phone for compatibility.
• Many prepaid SIM cards require activation through SMS or a web-based portal, and by default use the local language. Make sure when purchasing, you get the store clerk to activate the SIM, or ask how to change the default language to one of your choice.
• Make sure that, should you need more data, you have a way to do so without requiring a European credit card. This is especially important if you plan on moving from a big city to more rural areas where topping up at a store is not possible.
• If you’re going to be moving between countries, ask when purchasing whether the carrier has European roaming options. Some carriers have deals with other networks that make it cheap, or free, to roam on partner networks in neighbouring or nearby countries.

What to know: Discover the best networks in the country you’re visiting with this helpful European roaming Wiki.

Unlocked iPhone or Android phone needed

Use your own SIM card

In recent years, Canadian carriers have become more serious about European roaming. Spurred by Rogers’ Roam Like Home, today all three major Canadian carriers offer cheap or discounted European roaming packages.

Rogers Roam Like Home

The OG roaming package, Rogers Roam Like Home charges customers $10 per day, up to a maximum of 10 days or $100 per billing cycle, to access their Share Everything plan in most European countries.

Say, for example, you have a Share Everything plan (all of which include unlimited calls and texts) with 2.5GB of monthly data. In any Roam Like Home-supported country, your smartphone will tap into that data allotment while roaming. There are no separate data buckets or fees. After 10 days of travel, that $10 daily fee is waived.

What to know: Overage fees still apply after 10 days of travel, so be careful about using too much data while abroad, and download the MyRogers app to stay on top of data usage. Enroll by texting travel to 222.

See at Rogers

Bell

Bell recently expanded its Roam Better service to include dozens of countries around the world, including many in Europe.

Similar to its U.S.-based roaming option, Roam Better allows travellers to spend a set amount per day — in this case, $10 — for unlimited calls and texts in that country, plus 100MB of data. Unlike Roam Like Home, Roam Better doesn’t eat into a customer’s existing domestic data bucket. On the other hand, it can get pricey, since 100MB is easy to chew through while loading maps and learning about the city.

What to know: After 100MB is used, Bell automatically sends a text message asking whether you want to opt-in to another 100MB of data for $10. Data expires at 11:59pm Eastern Time regardless of where you’re roaming, so be careful; most European countries are between five and eight hours ahead of EST, which means the count will reset in the early hours of the morning. Enroll by texting ROAM to 7626.

See at Bell

Telus bundles

Telus hasn’t extended its Easy Roam product to Europe just yet, so travellers to the continent are best to look elsewhere. Bundles include:

• Europe Combo Pass $50: 50 minutes, 150 texts, 150MB
• Europe Combo Pass $85: 75 minutes, 300 texts, 750MB
• Europe Combo Pass $150: 200 minutes, unlimited texts, 1.5GB

All passes are valid for 30 days.

What to know: Because Telus doesn’t offer a European equivalent of US Easy Roam, it’s very important to either get a bundle before leaving, or turn off roaming completely. Pay-per-use rates for Europe are exorbitant, at $1.50 per call minute, $0.60 per text, and $5.00 per MB data.

See at Telus

Your turn!

Is your carrier not listed? Check with them to see if they have inexpensive daily, weekly, or monthly European travel bundles. Have roaming experiences or tips to share? Leave them in in the comments!

Mercedes-Benz AMG GT first drive: The SLS is dead, long live the AMG GT

What can you learn about a car from simply driving it on a race track? Quite a lot as it happens, particularly when it’s a sports car like the Mercedes-Benz AMG GT.

Mercedes introduced its AMG GT last year as a replacement for the dramatic, gullwing-door SLS. It’s a competitor to higher-echelon Porsche 911 and Jaguar F-Type — cars that aren’t exactly short on their abilities.

The SLS that the AMG GT replaces was a car of total drama. Cartoon proportions and those doors made it a centre of attention wherever it went. But for all that, it wasn’t a brilliant sports car to drive. Its auto-gearbox clunky, its size and girth made it feel hulking rather than nimble. Can the AMG GT change that recipe for the better?

Mercedes-Benz AMG GT first drive: New recipe

The short answer is yes. The AMG is much more petite; smaller in every dimension, with no gullwing doors and no real willy-waving party tricks, beyond a roudy exhaust.

Pocket-lint

It does look good. Well, from the right angles, as you can see from our pictures and how elongated the car can look from low-down. But it’s a classic 2-seater sports car, with soft-yet-taught surface forms and spare, elegant details. Merc’s design is really in a good groove at the moment, and the AMG GT represents that.

Step inside and the cockpit is snug. The centre console is vast — almost like it was lifted from one of Merc’s trucks. Drop into that low seat and, looking past the bullseye vents and fat-boy console sweep, the steering wheel is small and chunky, the tacho and speedo large and clear.

The core knob you need to know about on that console shifts the car from comfort, through sport, sport+ and individual modes. The AMG GT progressively sharpens things up and lets you cope on your own (gears and traction system) as you go.

Mercedes-Benz AMG GT first drive: Roaring start

The GT fires up with a bark. It employs a twin-turbo charge, V8 motor, where the turbo chargers are sited in between the two cylinder banks, giving rise to the engine’s nickname “hot vee”.

Pocket-lint

There are two versions: GT and GT S. The GT gets 462bhp, the GT S a little more at 510bhp. The S also gets a race function to add to those sports modes we mentioned earlier, and three stages of AMG ride control — which adjusts things like damper settings. It also can have ceramic brakes, which is handy for track. However, we drove the “basic” GT — so we can’t tell you more about the value of these functions and the extra power of the S. What we can tell you is that the regular GT proves pretty handy; indeed there’s nothing “basic” about it.

Charging out of the pit lane at Silverstone, we leap for the first corner in an “oh dear that wall is coming up fast” kind of way. Brakes applied, hard, the rear-end jigs about a bit and then we turn hard into the corner.

The first big surprise? The steering is super light. Which at first feels odd for a sport car. We expected to wrestle with it. But as speed and laps build it makes sense — it’s actually a pretty communicative steering rack; possibly better than a Porsche 911. The weighting just takes some getting accustomed to. It turns in extremely keenly, it will get wayward if you get greedy with the power too early out of the corner, but hey this is a 465bhp, rear wheel drive muscle car, what do you expect?

Pocket-lint

Down the next straight and the AMG really covers ground. The engine sounds great, and we switch the noisy exhaust function on to get it doing what can only be described as massive farts on every upshift. On downshift it pops, crackles and burbles in a very distinctive way. Everyone will know you’re coming way before you arrive.

It’s hard to gauge relative speed on a race track sometimes, but we have no problem reeling in the hardly underpowered A-Class A45 AMGs aloso on the track, which gives a small indication of the AMG GT’s prowess.

Mercedes-Benz AMG GT first drive: Gearbox grumbles

Disappointments? Even in its fastest mode, the gearbox doesn’t match a Porsche PDK for speed — in response or change. The AMG visibly yells at you, a big yellow then red “UP!” appearing in the gauge cluster as you charge in on the red line.

Pocket-lint

Pull the paddle at the moment you want to shift, and there’s a small but perceptible delay before the next gear rams home. As pace increases it’s easy to clout the rev limiter. We ended up trying to pre-judge, pulling the shift paddle a couple of moments before the ideal — while still accelerating — in order to allow it its momentary pause.

But that’s the only real fly in the ointment. The brakes — the regular steel units, not the S’s ceramics — don’t fade during our six laps, which impresses given the hammer they take. And the engine, all the while, entertains with its sounds. The biggest compliment we can pay this regular model is to say that we were never wishing we were in the faster S version.

First Impressions

The Mercedes-Benz AMG GT is a wonderful thing on the track. Whether that translates into life on the road, we can’t comment just yet, as ultimately we weren’t let loose into Northamptonshire.

But based on this experience, the AMG GT has the full capability to act like a loon, will give you kicks on a race track, and looks the part too. It costs from £97,210.

So the SLS is dead. Long live the better-in-every-way AMG GT.

Now TV 4K box: Release date, price, specs and everything you need to know

Sky will soon unveil the next stage for Now TV, its internet streaming service that has grown massively over the last couple of years.

It is understood that a new box will be announced this week, which will be 4K Ultra HD-ready and herald the start of a new era of television for Sky and its streaming platform.

So what do we know so far about the Now TV 4K box and the new service? Well, the following for starters…

Now TV 4K box for 2016: What is it?

Sky announced in January that it had a new, more advanced Now TV box on the way.

It didn’t reveal much at the time, save for an image of a larger, slimmer device than the puck-shaped box it currently offers. This lead us and other news sources to speculate that it would be similar to the Roku 4 box, released at the end of 2015 in the States.

That box featured 4K video streaming, so we surmised that the new Now TV box will too. All Now TV devices are made by Roku after all, thanks to Sky’s considerable stake in the company.

More information was seeded in March, when Sky’s director of strategy, Nick Herm, revealed that not only would the new box offer online services, it will come with a built-in digital TV tuner. That would effectively pitch it against YouView and give Sky an all-in-one TV option for those who cannot have a satellite dish on the side of their building.

At the same time, Herm revealed that Sky will be launching Ultra HD channels in “summer” for Sky Q customers. This adds further weight to the idea that the new Now TV box will be capable of streaming them too.

READ: What is Sky Q, how much does it cost and how can I get it?

It is thought that the new Now TV 4K box will be an additional offering rather than replace the standard version already available.

Sky

Now TV 4K box for 2016: Release date

Apart from the “summer” suggestion, we don’t yet know an actual release date when you will be able to buy the new box.

However, Sky is holding a launch event on Wednesday 29 June, which could signal the start of pre-orders or even direct orders for the device.

The Now TV website (nowtv.com) has recently changed to offer an option under the Now TV box tab to include a “choose box” option. This suggests a second box offering will be added sooner rather than later.

Now TV 4K box for 2016: Price

We currently don’t know for sure, but if Sky sticks with the standard Now TV box it currently sells, the new model will be more than the £14.99 you have to pay at present.

It could even be offered as part of a more rounded subscription.

As things stand, you can pay £14.99 for the current box, or £24.99 for the box and a two-month Sky Movies Pass or three-month Entertainment Pass. The box and a one-month Sky Sports Pass costs £36.99.

The passes individually cost £9.99 a month Sky Movies Pass, £6.99 a month for an Entertainment Pass covering multiple Sky and related channels, £2.99 a month for a Kids Pass, and up to £33.99 a month for a Sky Sports Pass.

None of those currently offer 4K services, so there might be a premium for those. And there might be an all-in-one pass that covers everything and the box. We’ll find out at the official announcement event.

Now TV 4K box for 2016: Specifications

There have been few rumours on the spec of the new Now TV box, but if it is similar to the Roku 4, as suggested, it will at the very least have a HDMI 2.0 port with HDCP 2.2 copy protection. You’ll therefore need a TV or AV receiver with a compatible input.

The Roku 4 also has dual-band wireless connectivity, which would be a minimum requirement to stream 4K content.

Of course, Roku’s US device doesn’t come with a TV tuner, so that would be all-new to Now TV. It would offer the entire gamut of Freeview channels in the UK, with additional channels – we expect – to be added as internet streams.

We don’t think there will be a hard drive for recordings.

Now TV 4K box for 2016: Content

Freeview has over 60 channels on offer, with a healthy selection of them in HD. That’s plenty of live stations to view.

However, where the current Now TV box comes into its own is that it also offers several apps, including BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 and Demand 5 (My5), as well as access to its different passes. That opens up the world of on demand movies and TV shows, plus offers Sky-only channels to stream live.

READ: New Now TV Box (2015) arrives, we get watching the latest movies, TV and sport

If Sky also announces new 4K channels, as expected, this could technically be the only place to view them other than through a Sky Q box and setup.

Sky might even shock us all and announce that it is opening its Now TV platform to include additional apps and services, such as Netflix – currently seen as a direct rival to Now TV. There have been murmurings that the alternative movie streaming app might come to Sky Q one day and Telstra TV in Australia recently did something similar with its media streaming box, also made by Roku.

Conclusion

Sky replaced its original Now TV box in August 2015, with a more capable version, but this would be the most significant announcement for the off-shoot service since it first burst onto the market.

The firm was a partner of YouView in the early days, so has long held the opinion that there is a market for a mixture of broadcast and IPTV services in the same device. However, with YouView becoming more synonymous with BT than anyone else – partly thanks to a 4K offering already being made available – it is clear that Sky needs its own box to compete directly.

Whatever the reason, these are set to be interesting times for paid TV and the UK’s streaming services all round.

We’ll update and refresh this piece as soon as we find out more information.

You can now play Oculus Rift games on HTC Vive (again)

VR specialist Oculus has reversed its position on blocking titles from being ported to work on one of its biggest competitor’s headsets. 

In the lead up to a new, available update, Oculus had blocked software that allowed HTC Vive owners to play Oculus Rift exclusives. Called Revive, it essentially allowed people to port Oculus titles onto the Vive platform.

Revive was released by VR enthusiasts shortly after the headset itself went on sale in April. But not long afterwards, Oculus introduced a lock to its software that effectively prevented Revive’s feature set. With this lock in place, the software could check whether or not Oculus hardware was being used. If it wasn’t, the title wouldn’t play.  

The lock caused some controversy and was directly at odds with what Oculus’ founder, Palmer Luckey had claimed in the past. He stated that he didn’t want Oculus to succeed on the back of locking customers to its own hardware. A hardware-based lock clearly opposed this ethos.

READ: Oculus Rift preview: The VR revolution begins here

The u-turn is a clear admission from Oculus that it was wrong about the hardware lock. The company has since confirmed the lock is no longer in place, and that it won’t re-introduce it in future. 

Speaking to Ars Technica, Oculus stated that it “will not use hardware checks as part of DRM on PC in the future”. Instead, it recognises that a vibrant virtual reality strategy relies on multiple headsets being successful: “We believe protecting developer content is critical to the long-term success of the VR industry, and we’ll continue taking steps in the future to ensure that VR developers can keep investing in ground-breaking new VR content,” it said.

Twitter-bot plasters creepy smiles on celebrities’ faces

Not all Twitter bots are racist — some are genuinely creepy, (but in the best possible way). Take @smilevector, an algorithm created by New Zealand neural network researcher Tom White. If you submit a photo of your favorite celebrity in a glum or neutral pose, it’ll turn it into a bizarre, “I just ate a child” kind of grin. The bot “uses a generative neural network to add or remove smiles from images it finds in the wild” or submitted to its follow list, according to its creator.

It can also wipe the smile off of a subject’s face, turning it into a neutral open- or closed-mouth expression. White hasn’t said exactly how it works, but it appears to find grin or frown similar to the subject’s, then crops, resizes and morphs it. The results are often better when it doesn’t quite work as planned, as you can see from the selection below.

😀⬆ pic.twitter.com/FYD6BOpxOU

— smile vector (@smilevector) June 27, 2016

😀⬆ pic.twitter.com/CjduXAqrwd

— smile vector (@smilevector) June 19, 2016

😀⬇ pic.twitter.com/3tIjUGBrMU

— smile vector (@smilevector) June 26, 2016

😀⬆ pic.twitter.com/t5MqtKUpvX

— smile vector (@smilevector) June 22, 2016

😀⬆ pic.twitter.com/6aaW2aDPFM

— smile vector (@smilevector) June 21, 2016

Via: Popular Science

Source: Smile Vector (Twitter)