Save on the Gear VR and its compatible phones right now!

DailySteals is running a promotion that not only saves you some cash on Samsung’s Gear VR, but also all of the compatible phones. That’s right, you can save $20 on the VR headset and you can also save some money on the Galaxy S6, S6 edge, S7, S7 edge, and Note 5.

Pricing for all the deals include:

• Gear VR – $79
• Galaxy S6 – As low as $299
• Galaxy S6 edge – As low as $349
• Galaxy S7 – $539
• Galaxy S7 edge – $639
• Galax Note 5 – As low as $329

You’ll get the lowest price on an unlocked Verizon branded phone, with the unbranded ones coming in a bit more expensive. The offer is only valid for a couple of days, so if you are interested you’ll want to act quickly on this. Be sure to let us know if you picked up the headset or a phone in the comments!

See at DailySteals

Project Bloks is Google’s platform for helping kids learn to code while they play

Google has announced Project Bloks, a new platform for building physical coding experiences for kids. As a platform, Project Bloks is meant to help kids learn to code by making the experience physical, allowing them to learn to think about how to solve computational problems while they play.

Project Bloks is also meant to help lower the barriers for researchers, developers and designers looking to create this hands-on experiences. From Google:

However, designing kits for tangible programming is challenging—requiring the resources and time to develop both the software and the hardware. Our goal is to remove those barriers. By creating an open platform, Project Bloks will allow designers, developers and researchers to focus on innovating, experimenting and creating new ways to help kids develop computational thinking. Our vision is that, one day, the Project Bloks platform becomes for tangible programming what Blockly is for on-screen programming.

The system itself is made up of three components: the Brain Board, Base Boards, and Pucks. The Pucks are the part of the system that can be programmed with different instructions, and can be switches, dials or buttons. Pucks then attach to Base Boards, which can be connected to one another in any order and orientation. Finally, the Base Boards are connected to the Brain Board, which receives and processes the instructions before sending them to a connected device.

At the moment, Google says that it is taking signups for those interested in participating in a Project Bloks research study to take place later this year. If you’re interested in learning much more about Project Bloks, you can check out Google’s full blog post, along with its detailed position paper.

More detailed satellite images headed to Google Maps and Earth

Google will begin using the Landsat 8 satellite and new processing techniques to get even better shots of the earth than before. With Landsat 8, Google will be able to capture around two times as many images as it could with Landsat 7. Back in 2003, Landsat 7 experienced a hardware failure which resulted in a loss of image quality and diagonal gaps of missing data.

From Google’s announcement post:

Today we’re rolling out an even more beautiful and seamless version, with fresh imagery from Landsat 8 satellite and new processing techniques for sharper images than ever before. Satellite images are often cloudy, but not always over the same place, so we looked at millions of images and took the clearest pixels to stitch together this cloud-free and seamless image.

The images that are being captured are quite awesome, and you should check the rest out at over on Google’s post.

HP’s new touch-enabled Chromebook 11 G5 is ready for Android apps

HP has announced the latest addition to its Chromebook lineup, the Chromebook 11 G5. Set at the budget-friendly price of $189, the G5 packs an 11.6-inch screen and promises 12.5 hours of battery life.

The Chromebook 11 G5 also comes in at 2.51 lbs, and is powered by an Intel Celeron N3060 processor. Most interesting, however, is that the Chromebook 11 G5 is available with an optional touchscreen, making it more than ready to take on Android apps on Chrome OS later this year.

HP says that it designed the Chromebook 11 G5 based off of feedback from students and teachers in order to make the laptop durable and portable. Thus, the company says, the G5 has a slim profile for fitting into backpacks, and there’s the option for an IPS touchscreen display covered by Gorilla Glass for added durability.

As for availability, HP says the Chromebook 11 G5 will be “available through channel partners starting in July and set to hit retailers’ store shelves in October.”

The Honor 5C and MoDaCo show that responsible modding doesn’t have to be a fight

A safe and secure phone often means one that makes things hard on the folks who like to tinker with their toys. But it’s not always a cat-and-mouse sort of game.

Our Android phones are more secure than ever. We’ve got things like SELinux and Samsung’s KNOX and all sorts of behind-the-scenes things that keep our data safe and sound, out of the hands of, well, anyone who’s not us.

But that sort of safety net doesn’t always jibe with the modding community, without whom smartphones may well still be stuck in the Stone Age. The other side of making our phones more secure is that it’s not always easy to crack them open in the first place. A scant few offer unlockable bootloaders. And even kernel sources aren’t released as we’d expect them to be.

There are manufacturers that don’t completely lock things down, of course. And I was a little intrigued to see the recently announced Honor 5C immediately see support from longtime modding community MoDaCo, just as soon as the phone went official.

MoDaCo (and its founder, serial modder Paul O’Brien, for sure) are longtime names in the modding circles. And Honor has certainly upped its game in the mid-range market of late, and we’re only going to hear more from the Huawei offshoot. We caught up with Paul via email to see how this not-quite-partnership came about.

It certainly appears as though Honor is embracing modding like few others, going beyond “By the way, the bootloader is unlockable.” … Can you talk about if/how you’re actively working with Honor on this one?

Paul O’Brien

“I’ve been an Honor fan for a while now, not just the devices, but the approach that they take to engage with their users. A strong social presence, face-to-face events, a big presence at DroidCon, that sort of thing. Honor have been very supportive of MoDaCo too, which is nice! As you know, when I start using a device it’s inevitable that I wind up hacking about on it and traditionally Honor/Huawei has had a bit of a bad rep in this regard. It’s assumed that if you buy one of these devices, it’ll be hard to mod it. That’s like a red rag to me, particularly as I have a few family and friends using Honor devices, and I’m using a Huawei P9 Plus as my daily driver now.

Thankfully, although the Honor UK team haven’t provided specific technical support for my efforts, they have ensured that I have a line of communication open, which obviously pays dividends in getting a head start when devices like the 5C come to market. More than anything else though it’s been a voyage of discovery for me — once I started learning about the internals of how the Honor/Huawei devices work, it kinda snowballed.

Often times just having the kernel source isn’t really enough, right? There’s still … plenty of work to be done. (But that’s sort of the point, maybe?) What does having all these pieces at the same time — stock ROM, kernel, unlock, etc., and at launch — mean for folks looking to mod the 5C?

Sure, and as I mentioned, there’s a perception (quite legitimately in the past) that getting working kernel source for Honor/Huawei devices (including Honor, of course) is hard work. The key word here is “working” — lots of manufacturers are guilty of posting up kernel source that doesn’t compile, has bits missing, isn’t right for the actual shipping device, isn’t updated, etc. Most OEMs can improve in this area. And if I can help make that a reality, then I will. It’s always worth remembering that under the terms of the GPL (General Public License), this is something that’s not optional — companies are legally obliged to be in compliance.

It’s been a voyage of discovery for me — once I started learning about the internals of how the Honor/Huawei devices work, it kinda snowballed.

The kernel source is just a small part of the puzzle. One of the biggest challenges is that the kernel source doesn’t really let you do anything on its own. You need to be able to build the kernel (which means having the kernel config), pack that into a boot image and flash it on your device at the very least — that means being able to unlock the bootloader and having a stock boot image to pull the ramdisk from (which sits alongside the kernel). It’s also important that when you start messing with your device, you can flash back to a stock ROM to fix your device if it all goes a bit wrong.

The 5C is pretty unique in having all these things in place and easily accessible from the off, which should mean that for 5C owners who want to have a play around, they won’t get stuck. Obviously this is good news for Honor too — people won’t be making warranty claims when the inevitably start getting into tricky situations because they want to mod their phone!

The Honor 5C project in Github.

Is there anything about the 5C (or Honor phones in general) that make them more or less easy to work on than, say, Huawei proper, or other similar manufacturers?

Honor phones from a technical perspective are Huawei phones, so they are no more easy or hard to work on than devices from their parent company. Building up custom ROMs based on CyanogenMod, Omni etc. is definitely challenging right now, particularly on the Kirin-based devices. But over the coming months I have a feeling that is going to start to improve a lot. This is important because of Emotion UI — which, although often criticized excessively in my opinion — definitely isn’t for everyone. One thing that is nice about the Huawei phones from a modding perspective is that they are pretty hard to break. They have a quite unique way of managing their recovery partitions (yes, there are two!) and have a pretty good fallback for a worst case scenario where you need to completely re-flash back to stock. That’s not to say they’re unbrickable … they’re just less fragile than some devices I’ve worked with!

A lot of folks are curious about modding their phones, but many of the more mainstream devices make that difficult these days. Is this a good one for someone to learn on? (The price, obviously, but what else?)

Aside from the fact that the tools are already out there to start messing around with the 5C, it makes a good device to start playing with because the Huawei modding community is still in its infancy, particularly outside China. So there’s an opportunity to really engage with people looking to do something different with their devices. It almost feels like the ‘scene’ did for other manufacturers a few years ago. As you say, the price is a big factor too — it’s a lot less scary to hack about on a £150 phone than a £500 one. It’s priced competitively enough, and more than capable enough, to be a second phone that’s actually enjoyable to use.

Is this sort of cooperation from a manufacturer a sort of sea change? Or just a company doing right by its fans?

Right now we see a couple of OEMs starting to appreciate that this sort of thing is important. Nextbit is a good example, and over the past few days we’ve seen OnePlus step up with device trees etc. too. I have been approached by a number of Chinese manufacturers about this sort of thing, so it’s certainly on the radar of the smaller players. It’s hard to know if there’s motivation for the bigger companies in the Android ecosystem to engage with the enthusiast market in this way, but even if they don’t go for a full on approach, there are things they all can do better. As Android fans, we should encourage them to do so and applaud them when they do.

Google Project Bloks: Here’s how a toy system can teach kids to code

Coding isn’t a very kid-friendly subject.

It’s painstaking, requires tonnes of memorisation, and usually results in a lot of time spent sitting in front of a computer. But it doesn’t have to be that way – or at least that’s what Google believes.

The Mountain View-based company is taking a page from Apple’s playbook. Apple recently announced a Swift Playgrounds app that teaches kids how to code in a fun and easy way through the iPad. When you first open the app, you will see several basic coding lessons and challenges. It’s all very reminiscent to Codecademy, but it’s much more visual with loads of graphics and games and other playful features.

Not to be outdone by Apple, Google is launching an initiative called Project Bloks. Instead of using an app, it’s a system of toy blocks. Kids can connect these blocks to not only learn the fundamentals of coding but ultimately control other toys. They can arrange Bloks toys into a specific pattern in order to, for instance, make a connected robot draw lines on paper. This simple task teaches basic coding.

Google Project Bloks: What is it?

Project Bloks is basic coding put in to a playful, physical form. It’s a toy system can take on different form factors and be made out of different materials, but the entire purpose is to help kids develop computational thinking and learn basic coding skills.

Google has published two videos – available above and below – to explain Project Bloks and how it works. In the videos, Google gives a number of examples for what kind of toys can be made with Bloks. We saw a pencil-holding robot that kids can command to draw on paper. We also saw a Bluetooth speaker that can be programmed to play music. Keep in mind Project Bloks isn’t the first initiative to use toys for coding.

Fisher-Price has developed toys with the same goal – and they’re already on sale. But Google said it hopes Project Bloks can go much further. It wants Project Bloks to make coding toys cheaper and easier to make, thus making the ability to learn coding at a young age much more accessible/widely available.

Google Project Bloks: How does it work?

Google

Project Bloks is made up of three components: Puck, Base Board, and Brain Board. When connected, they instruct connected devices – whether that be toys, speakers, or tablets – over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

Puck

Pucks can be programmed with different instructions (turn on or off, move left, jump, etc), and they can take the shape of many different interactive forms (switches, dials, buttons, etc). They don’t feature any active electronic components, meaning they’re cheap and easy to make, and, in fact, all you’d need to make a puck is a piece of paper and some conductive ink.

Base Board

Base Boards are able to read a Puck’s instruction through a capacitive sensor. They act as a conduit for a Puck’s command to the Brain Board. They are modular and can be connected in a variety of sequences to create different programming flows. Each Base Board features a haptic motor and LEDs that can provide real-time feedback. They can also trigger audio feedback from the Brain Board’s built-in speaker.

Brain Board

The Brain Board is a processing unit, built on a Raspberry Pi Zero. It provides the Base Boards with power. It also features an application program interface (API), enabling it to receive and send data to the Base Boards. It even delivers the Base Boards’ instructions to any device with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connectivity and an API.

Google Project Bloks: When will it be available?

Project Bloks isn’t available yet. The project is still in development, as a collaboration between Research at Google, Google Creative Lab, the design firm Ideo, and researchers from Stanford and Chiang Mai University. Google first began developing Project Bloks in 2013. It has unveiled the project now in order to generate interest, find partners, and, perhaps, show how it can contend with Apple’s Swift Playgrounds app.

Google doesn’t want to become a toymaker. It’s introducing Project Bloks as an open-source platform. Google has created most of the technology and coding behind the toys, but it’s going to let interested partners – like toymakers – actually develop the toys that’ll use its Bloks coding technology. Think of it like Android. Google makes Android, and then it lets phone makers build phones that use the mobile OS.

Toymakers have the experience and resources to create a wide variety of Bloks toys that can be put into the market. We don’t know when the first Bloks toys will go on sale, but we’ll update this piece over time.

Want to know more?

Check out Google’s blog post for more details.

Best Buy hopes to offer in-home tech advice

Best Buy can already send Geek Squad and Magnolia to your home when you need a fix or some help setting up a new TV. But what if everything is running fine, and you’d just like to improve your tech? The retailer thinks it can help there, too. It’s piloting a free in-home consultation service where staff will offer advice about your tech goals (such as home automation or multi-room audio), answer questions and send a customized plan. While you’ll undoubtedly be pointed to Best Buy to purchase any missing pieces of the puzzle, there won’t be an obligation to buy anything — you can walk away when it’s all done.

The trial run is only available in Atlanta, Austin and San Antonio, and it’s not certain that it’ll either expand or remain free. Clearly, it’s a calculated bet: the company is hoping that the extra sales it gets from in-home visits will more than offset the cost of sending someone to your door. It may be a necessary move, too. Best Buy is trying to stem the surging tide of online sales, and home visits would discourage you from going on an Amazon shopping spree.

Via: StarTribune

Source: Best Buy

Cozmo is the tiny robot with the big brain, from the team behind Anki Overdrive

US toy start-up Anki has had great success with its artificially intelligent, app-controlled driving games over the last couple of years, but it is finally ready to expand its line-up with a departure from its Drive and Overdrive racing systems.

Cozmo is a small, smart robot that utilises the manufacturer’s expertise in AI, but offers something very different to Anki’s other products.

It still have wheels – well, tracks anyway – so drives around rather than walks. It looks like a cross between a tiny truck and a factory conveyor belt, and was part crafted by the lead designer of the Batmobile.

But it’s not what’s on the outside that’s important. Its brain is the main draw, with more processing power than all of the Mars Rovers combined, so says Anki.

It has an “emotion engine” so evolves and learns about you over time. It then responds to you in ways it thinks are most appropriate. There are complex facial expressions and the mini robot has its own voice and language.

It will also recognise other people in your family, and will brighten when it sees a familiar face.

READ: Anki Overdrive review: App-controlled car racing fun for all the family

There are several games that can be played with Cozmo and he’ll soon let you know when he is bored, by nudging your arm to encourage you to play.

More abilities and features will emerge over time, but Cozmo will be exclusive to the US at first, priced at $180 (£136). It will be available from October and requires an iOS or Android connection to work. Pre-orders are available now from anki.com/en-us/cozmo with $20 off.

At internetmatters.org parents can find all the advice they will need to keep their children safe online. Designed specifically for parents, the site offers a wealth of up-to-date, unbiased information and advice about how to deal with online safety. Parents can learn about the latest issues and technologies, get great tips on how to talk about online safety with their children and get the best advice on dealing with issues and taking action. Created with experts, Internet Matters provides detailed information, but also signposts to best-in-class resources from individual expert organisations. Our goal is to ensure parents can always access the information that they need, in a format that is clear and concise.