2016 June 30 | AIVAnet

Jun

Look at this ridiculous 200-watt laser bazooka

YouTuber and insane laser electrician Styropyro has outdone himself once again. While his previous experiments have led to a homebuilt lightsaber and a dangerous laser shotgun, this time has more than added more than five times the power to create a massive, 200W “laser bazooka.”

For reference, a standard laser pointer is 0.005W, while a laboratory laser is 0.5W — meaning it can still damage your eyes even if you’re only staring at the spot of light on the wall. The laser bazooka, meanwhile, is 400 times more powerful than the most dangerous lab laser. The total power consumption is nearly a kilowatt, Styropyro says, or roughly the same as a microwave oven.

Appropriately enough, the device was built from scrap metal and the blue laser diodes ripped out of some broken DLP projectors. The lasers from the projector are run through an optical component called a knife-edger, which combines them into one retina-searing beam that can toast a piece of 2×4 in seconds. In fact, the the resulting beam is so powerful, our homebrewed mad scientist also had rig up a special welding helmet just to operate it. In other words: don’t try this at home, kids.

Jun

On-demand food service delivers beer with your meal

There’s no shortage of online food delivery services, and services that deliver alcohol. However, getting both at the same time is a challenge. How are you supposed to complement that burger with a tasty brew? DoorDash has an answer. As of today, customers in southern California (other cities are coming, at least in the US) can order both alcohol and food at the same time, whether the drinks come from a restaurant or a liquor store. Your options will depend on the relevant corporate partnerships, but it could save you the hassle of placing a second order or (gasp) drinking something tamer.

The option will usually be expensive (DoorDash is temporarily waiving delivery fees when you order Bud, Bud Light or Stella Artois), so this is something of a gamble. However, it might well pay off — you’ve probably had a moment when the absence of alcohol at home made it that much more tempting to head out for dinner. It won’t be at all surprising if other delivery rivals quickly follow suit.

Via: VentureBeat

Source: DoorDash

Jun

Google Fit gets a colorful redesign and improved goal setting

Google has rolled out a major Fit update with a complete visual redesign, new watch face and features for Android Wear, a new home screen widget, more detailed goal-setting and more. Version 1.57.50 is the company’s biggest update to the app in quite awhile, and appears to be a big part of the Android Wear 2.0 overhaul Google promised at I/O last month. The changes are apparent from when you first open it, as the previous, rather sparse home screen now has images, charts and a lot more color.

On the app’s home page (above), Google has replaced the single activity dial graph with individual cards and dials for each goal, showing what you’ve done and how days you have left to meet it. Scrolling down will reveal a chart of your weight, recent workouts (complete with a map), and more (below). Hitting the floating action “+” button lets you set new goals, log your weight, add an activity and more.

As for the new goals, you can now get a lot more specific than before. It has more activities and more specific metrics, like steps, duration or times per week, day or month. Any goals go to the top of landing page to keep you motivated and let you know if you’re hitting the targets. There’s also a new widget that lets you put your goals on your phone’s home page or lock screen, in case you need a front-and-center reminder to get moving.

To drill down to specific activities, you now go to the “Timeline” screen, by accessing it from the navigation drawer or bottom of the landing page. Those act much like they did before, showing your activities relative to your goals, and letting you see them on a graph over time.

Google Fit also got a design revamp on Android Wear. As before, the first screen you see shows your goals, but with more information and a new white text on black look. Scrolling up shows your activities today, a chart of your heart rate and more. Touching the pink bottom bar lets you pick an activity like walking, running and push-up challenges. From there, you can select one and start your workout, all without touching your phone.

There’s also a new Android Wear watch face that looks more like an old school dial watch (above right) with readouts for calories, miles, time and the number of steps. The app is now rolling out to Android users, and if I was able to get it in Europe, you should be able to download it now in the US.

Source: Google Play

Jun

NBC: Rio 2016 broadcast is its ‘most live Olympics ever’

While NBC has been criticized for years over its use of tape delay, a combination of multiple channels, live streaming and Brazil’s favorable time zone (just hour ahead of ET) mean that shouldn’t be a problem this summer. For Rio 2016, NBC says this will be its “most live Olympics ever” with 4,500 hours of coverage streaming on NBCOlympics.com and the recently renamed NBC Sports app. Also new this time around is that the NBC Sports app is on connected TV devices (it launched on Roku and Apple TV last year), not just mobile. You will, of course, still need a cable or satellite account to login and view everything, although NBC hasn’t revealed all the details on how that will work.

As previously revealed, NBC will have Ultra HD footage (downconverted from 8K) of certain events available the day after they happen, so watch to see which providers will carry that. Complete with HDR and Dolby Atmos audio, it will consist of 83 hours of footage that kicks off the day after the Opening Ceremony. It’s also doing VR for the first time with these Olympics, although we don’t have any details on what that will include. There are more details on what’s split up across which networks in the press release if you need to plan out a schedule, but there’s plenty of time to get everything worked out before the first events start August 3rd.

Source: NBC Sports

Jun

BLU R1 HD Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

It’s hard to say without seeing the phone and feeling it in my hands if the Blu R1 HD that Amazon is selling for $50 — half-off its retail price — is a good deal for Amazon Prime buyers (you can also get the Moto G4 for $150).

But specs do indicate what you might expect from a phone, so with that in mind, let’s dig on in.

Amazon’s two ad-supported phones for Prime members Moto G, left, and BLU R1 HD.

Amazon

The Blu R1 HD has:

5-inch screen
8-megapixel rear camera with flash
Aluminum body
1.3 GHz quad-core processor
8/16GB internal storage with 1/2GB RAM (two capacities) — 16GB version costs $60
Up to 64GB with a microSD card
GSM technology, so it will work with AT&T and T-Mobile

These are low-end specs that suggest basic performance. At the very least, $50 is a tempting deal for anyone looking for a cheap smartphone that does the essentials, a cost-effective pick, say, for your tweenager’s first phone, or a handset you’re loaning overseas guests when they visit, or maybe even a backup to stash in the car for emergencies. These cheapies have their uses.

What’s this about ads?

The larger question in my mind is how well can you deal with Amazon running ads all over the screen? This is part of the deal: a cheap phone in exchange for a lifetime of ads. I haven’t seen this in action yet (but I did request getting this phone in for testing), so it isn’t clear how invasive the ads are on the phone’s 5-inch screen, and how often you may accidentally press one.

I don’t like ads myself, so in my mind, paying $50 more for a phone like this is still a bargain. That said, over time, it might be easy enough to tune them out.

Who’s Blu?

If you don’t know Blu, don’t worry. The Miami-based company has quietly been around under the radar for years, mostly selling its inexpensive, dual-SIM handsets in South America, though it’s broadening its presence in the US through direct sales and retail deals like this one with Amazon.

Blu distributes a range of handsets from entry-level phones to aluminum rigs housing higher-end specs. Check out this $200 Blu Vivo 5 we saw earlier this year.

Jun

Sony Xperia X Performance review – CNET

The Good Absolutely brimming with power, the Sony Xperia X Performance is well designed and the only new Xperia to be waterproof.

The Bad Battery life needs a big boost for this phone to live up to its potential.

The Bottom Line The Xperia X Performance runs rings around the basic Xperia X and is a great phone for anyone who likes their handsets with a bit of grunt.

If you’re a “Top Gun” type and expect your phone to have the power of a jet engine, then you’re exactly who Sony had in mind with the Xperia X Performance.

The X Performance (never to be called the XP, I’m told by Sony) is the turbo-charged version of the Xperia X. Sony has packed more processing power into the Performance, along with speedier LTE 4G connectivity and a slightly bigger battery. Other than that, the two phones are almost identical, from the 5-inch full HD screen to the 23-megapixel camera on the rear. But trust me, the differences are very noticeable.

At US$699/AU$999, it’s less expensive than I’d anticipated (no pricing or launch details for the UK, but the price converts to around £525.) With the basic X model costing $549/AU$799, that’s not much of a price hike at all.

Design

When I first saw the phone, I confess to finding the smooth, rounded edges and matte back a little pedestrian. But my opinion changed significantly while using it. It’s comfortable to hold, and when I went back to compare it with the Z5 and Z5 Premium I found it to be the best looker of the group.

My colleague Jessica Dolcourt called the Xperia X a “great one-handed phone” and the same goes for the Performance. Where she and I disagree is on screen size: A 5-inch screen is perfect for her dainty fingers. My hands are about twice as big, and 5-inch phones make me feel like I’m using a Fisher Price “My First Phone” toy. But 5-inches is what’s on offer here and I happily admit that’s a good size for 80 percent of the world.

Shining a limelight on the Sony Xperia X…
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Performance

With the word Performance in the name, I had some high expectations for this phone and it didn’t disappoint. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 quad-core 64-bit processor is a big jump up from the X and the numbers prove it. It far outstrips the Xperia X and actually rivals the Samsung Galaxy S7.

Sony Xperia X Performance benchmark scores

Sony Xperia X Performance

2,328

5,448

29,398

Sony Xperia X

1,418

3,714

17586

Samsung Galaxy S7

2,323

5,429

29,031

Legend:

Geekbench 3 Single-Core
Geekbench 3 Multi-Core
3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited

Note:

Longer bars indicate better performance

The phone feels exceptionally slick and fast. Apps open rapidly and navigating is smooth as silk. This speed even transfers over to the fingerprint sensor. Built into the power button like previous Xperia models, this is the most reliable and quick biometric security I’ve ever used on a phone. If you’re in the US, however, you’ll just have to take my word for it, because Sony has disabled the fingerprint scanner for your region.

The X Performance is also the only of the new X range to be water and dust proof. It’s rated IP65/68, which means you can not only splash the thing, you could leave it under a metre of water for 30 minutes (you know, if you desperately wanted to).

Jun

Toyota recalls another 1.4 million cars with defective airbags

Airbags have been at the center of the largest auto recall this year. Japanese corporate Takata’s faulty airbags have forced major automakers to recall about 60 million cars in the US alone. While the automative industry is still dealing with the extent of the risks associated with Takata’s airbags, which have been linked to over a dozen deaths and a hundred injuries, Toyota has now announced a second recall. The Japanese carmaker is recalling 1.43 million cars because of defective inflators and another 2.87 cars that have fuel emission problems.

While a chunk of that recall seems to follow the on-going airbag disaster that’s related to the inflators, Toyota has said that it has nothing to do with Takata airbags. The airbags, which come from a different supplier that hasn’t been named, have a small crack in the welding of the inflators that could cause them to expand unexpectedly. No deaths or injuries have been reported due to the issue yet but the Japanese carmaker is taking no chances. The second recall will affect the company’s hybrid models including the Prius and the Lexus CT200h built between 2010 and 2012.

Source: The New York Times

Jun

PS Plus members get free early access to ‘Paragon’ on July 5th

In more Games That Aren’t Overwatch news, Epic Studios is offering PlayStation Plus members a $20 Starter Pack for its hero brawler Paragon for free. That includes early access to the game over a month before the open beta launches on August 16.

Once it replaces the Founders Pack on July 5th, PS4 gamers can choose the Starter Pack and start playing. It also includes a few skins, in-game currency boosts, emotes and challenges for a couple characters. While it’s not a lot of goodies compared to the feature-filled but pricier Challenger- and Master-tier bonus packs, the gifted extras are nice for a free-to-play game that players won’t need to spend another dime on.

Unlike Blizzard’s hero shooter, Paragon inherits more gameplay from the Massively Online Battle Arena genre with a third-person camera and upgradeable skills. The game opened early access for both PC and PS4 in March, but Epic is going out of its way to court console players. In addition to the free invitation, weekly rewards await the entire PS4 playerbase if they hit certain accomplishment targets.

Source: Epic Games blog

Jun

Use these 7 sites to keep your desktop wallpaper fresh – CNET

Taylor Martin/CNET

How long has it been since you last changed your desktop wallpaper? It may be time to mix it up a bit.

Changing your wallpaper to something inspirational can help you jump right into work without procrastinating in the morning, or one of beautiful scenery might remind you to take a walk and enjoy the outdoors for a change. But for most people, wallpapers are purely for aesthetics — personal expression or to show off that gorgeous 4K monitor to make your coworkers jealous.

Whatever reason you have for constantly changing your desktop wallpaper (or not), it’s always nice to have a few sources on hand for your next wallpaper. Here are seven of the best wallpaper sites around.