NASA regains contact with spacecraft after a 2-year silence
When mission crews lose contact with a spacecraft or lander for a significant amount of time, that’s usually a bad sign… ask the European Space Agency if you want to know why. However, NASA just showed why you shouldn’t always give up hope. It reestablished contact with STEREO-B, one of two probes studying the Sun and solar weather, after nearly two years of communications silence. The team had lost its connection during a test of the ship’s command lost timer on October 1st, 2014, but kept trying numerous recovery strategies (most recently using the Deep Space Network) until they heard back early on August 21st.
So what’s next? It’ll be a while before STEREO-B is back in action, and there’s no guarantees that it’ll pick up where it left off. The crew wants to check all of the craft’s subsystems, regain attitude control and determine the state of its observational skills before giving it a clean bill of health. Whatever the outcome, the contact itself is good news — both for science and for the mission members worried that they’d never again hear from their pride and joy.
Source: NASA
Netflix will offer an ‘Anne of Green Gables’ series in 2017
Netflix is fond of rekindling childhood memories, and its latest nostalgia trip is a big one. The streaming service is partnering with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on Anne, a TV series based on the classic Anne of Green Gables novels you may well have read growing up. It’ll revolve around its namesake fiery, imaginative orphan and the effect she has on her small town. It won’t be shot on Prince Edward Island, alas (Ontario will have to do), but it will have some veterans aboard. Breaking Bad writer Moira Walley-Beckett is penning the first eight-episode season, while Whale Rider’s Niki Caro is directing and Beginners’ Miranda de Pencier is producing. You should see Anne both on Netflix and CBC TV in 2017.
That’s not the only notable work unveiled today, for that matter. Netflix has also unveiled plans for a new comedy series, Friends from College, that will be co-produced by Neighbors’ Nick Stoller and his wife Francesca Delbanco. The eight-episode first run will revolve around a group of Harvard alums and how well they’re faring in their forties. It’ll have a loaded cast that includes Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele), Jae Suh Park (The Big Short) and Fred Savage (The Wonder Years). Although there’s no timeframe for the debut, production starts in the fall — we won’t be surprised if it joins Anne as part of Netflix’s offerings next year.
Source: Netflix (1), (2)
What’s on your HDTV: ‘Halt and Catch Fire,’ ‘Madden NFL 2017’
The Olympics were a nice diversion, but now it’s back to your regular summer programming schedule. AMC’s hardware hacking series Halt and Catch Fire is back, and Madden NFL 2017 is hitting consoles everywhere. FX’s The Strain brings its vampires back for another run, while HBO wraps up The Night of and Playdead’s latest game Inside arrives on PS4. Look after the break to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).
Blu-ray & Games & Streaming
- The Huntsman: Winter’s War (4K)
- Ash vs. Evil Dead (S1)
- Snow White and the Huntsman (4K)
- The Nice Guys
- The Walking Dead (S6)
- Midnight Run (Collector’s Edition)
- DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (S1)
- Ratchet & Clank
- The Strain (S2)
- Lucifer (S1)
- Roots (2016)
- Narcos (S1)
- Blue is the Warmest Color (Netflix, 8/26)
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Worms WMD (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Hue (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Valley (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
- Metrico+ (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Madden NFL 17
- The King of Fighters XIV (PS4)
- Inside (PS4)
Monday
- So You Think You Can Dance, Fox, 8PM
- WWE Raw, USA, 8PM
- The Fosters, Freeform, 8PM
- American Ninja Warrior, NBC, 8PM
- Chris Harris on Cars (season finale), BBC America, 9PM
- Guilt (season finale), Freeform, 9PM
- Rizzoli & Isles, TNT, 9PM
- Cheer Squad (series premiere), Freeform, 10PM
- Adventure Capitalists (series premiere), CNBC, 10PM
- Major Crimes, TNT, 10PM
- Mistresses, ABC, 10PM
- The Making of the Mob, AMC, 10PM
- Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, TBS, 10:30PM
Tuesday
- Difficult People, Hulu, 3AM
- Casual (season finale), Hulu, 3AM
- America’s Got Talent, NBC, 8PM
- WWE Smackdown, USA, 8PM
- Pretty Little Liars, Freeform, 8PM
- Forged in Fire (season premiere), History, 9PM
- Halt and Catch Fire (season premiere), AMC, 9PM
- MadTV, CW, 9PM
- Dead of Summer, Freeform, 9PM
- Zoo, CBS, 9PM
- Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the LA Rams, HBO, 10PM
- Better Late than Never (series premiere), NBC, 10PM
- The View : 20 Years in the Making, ABC, 10PM
- Adam Ruins Everything (summer premiere), TruTV, 10PM
- One Shot (series premiere), BET, 10PM
Wednesday
- Penn & Teller: Fool Us, CW, 8PM
- Unsung: Howard Hewett, TV One, 8PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- Suits, USA, 9PM
- America’s Got Talent, NBC, 9PM
- Dating Naked, VH1, 9PM
- Dual Survival (season premiere), Discovery, 9PM
- My Last Days, CW, 9PM
- The Night Shift, NBC, 9PM
- Catfish, MTV, 10PM
- Mr. Robot, USA, 10PM
- Tyrant, FX, 10PM
- Any Given Wednesday with Bill Simmons, HBO, 10PM
- American Gothic, CBS, 10PM
- The Night Shift, NBC, 10PM
- Unlocking the Truth, MTV, 11PM
Thursday
- NFL preseason: Falcons/Dolphins, NBC, 8PM
- Battlebots, ABC, 8PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 9PM
- Beauty and the Beast, CW, 9PM
- Ripper Street, BBC America, 10PM
- Lip Sync Battle, Spike TV, 10PM
- Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, FX, 10PM
- Queen of the South, USA, 10PM
Friday
- XOXO, Netflix, 3AM
- Dawn of the Croods (S2), Netflix, 3AM
- Glitter Force (S2), Netflix, 3AM
- Jeff Foxworthy & Larry the Cable Guy: We’ve Been Thinking…, Netflix, 3AM
- The Kicks (series premiere), Amazon Prime
- NFL preseason: Browns/Buccaneers, CBS, 8PM
- Killjoys, Syfy, 9PM
- Dark Matter, Syfy, 10PM
- Ridiculousness, MTV, 10PM
- Superstore, NBC, 10:30PM
- The Eric Andre Show, Cartoon Network, 12AM
Saturday
- UFC Fight Night, Fox, 8PM
- Unwanted Guest, Lifetime, 8PM
- Aquarius, NBC, 9PM
- Boston EMS (season finale), ABC, 9PM
Sunday
- Celebrity Family Feud, ABC, 8PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- The X Factor U (season premiere), AXS TV, 8PM
- Downton Abbey: I Miss Downton Abbey, PBS, 8PM
- 2016 MTV Music Awards, MTV, 9PM
- $100,000 Pyramid, ABC, 9PM
- Fear the Walking Dead, AMC, 9PM
- The Night of (season finale), HBO, 9PM
- Ray Donovan, Showtime, 9PM
- Power, Starz, 9PM
- The Last Ship, TNT, 9PM
- The Strain (season premiere), FX, 10PM
- Survivor’s Remorse, Starz, 10PM
- Braindead, CBS, 10PM
- Roadies (season finale), Showtime, 10PM
- Murder in the First, TNT, 10PM
- Talking Dead, AMC, 10:30PM
- Ballers, HBO, 10:45PM
- Motive, USA, 11PM
- Vice Principals, HBO, 11:15PM
- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, HBO, 11PM
- Geeking Out, AMC, 11:59PM
(All times listed are ET)
Netgear Orbi WiFi System Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
The satelline unit of an Orbi Wi-Fi System
Netgear
Ever since the debut of the Eero, a number of competitors have introduced similar devices, like the Luma or the Almond 3. Today Netgear joined this home mesh network movement with an announcement of its own: the Orbi Wi-Fi System that’s slated to be available next month for $400.
The Orbi system includes two devices, a router and a satellite wireless extender. The two come pre-paired out of the box. You connect the router to an internet source such as a cable modem, then place the Orbi satellite at the center of the home — and that’s it. Now your home is covered with Wi-Fi fast enough to deliver high-speed internet.
Basically, like all home mesh systems, the satellite unit connects to the router’s Wi-Fi network wirelessly, then extends that Wi-Fi network further using its own Wi-Fi broadcaster.
What makes the Orbi Wi-Fi System different, however, according to Netgear, is that it leverages a tri-band setup. This allows the two units to communicate using one band, then the satellite unit can use its other two bands to extend the Wi-Fi network. In theory, this helps eliminate the signal loss that always happens if the extender uses the same band for both receiving and extending Wi-Fi signals.
Though this is a tri-band system (which Netgear says has a combined Wi-Fi bandwith of 3,000Mbps), the Orbi will deliver a only single Wi-Fi network. In other words, you will see only one Wi-Fi name, instead of three.
Netgear says the band that’s used to connect the two devices is a dedicated 5Ghz 802.11ac band that has a top speed of 1.7Gbps, and that you won’t need to figure out where to best put the satellite unit as long as it’s placed at the center of your home. In reality, a 5Ghz band has relatively short range, so depending on how large your home is — as with all Wi-Fi extenders — finding the right spot to place the satellite unit for the best performance can still be tricky.
Netgear claims that the Orbi system can cover a home of about 4,000 square feet. The company says that by the end of the year, it will release Orbi systems that include more than two units as well as add-on units that you can use to expand an existing system, to further extend your Wi-Fi coverage.
To find out how the new Orbi Wi-Fi System stacks up against the Eero, check back next month for its full review.
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The Eero system does Wi-Fi like nothin’ you’ve seen
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Fox starts the Bundesliga season with a soccer VR broadcast
Fox Sports and NextVR are at it again. The two have paired up for live sports broadcasts in VR before and now they’re bringing those immersive views to the pitch in Munich. This weekend marks the beginning of the Bundesliga soccer season in Germany, so what better way to celebrate the kickoff than with a virtual reality live stream. Friday’s matchup between defending league champions Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen will be available in VR for owners of Samsung’s Gear VR headset. What’s more, this is the first time Bundesliga action has been available in virtual reality.
So far, Fox and NextVR have collaborated on four virtual reality broadcasts. The first was Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) coverage back in January and the two companies followed that up with VR footage of both the Daytona 500 and Big East college basketball tournament. Fox owns the rights to Bundesliga broadcasts in the US, so if it were going to showcase a regular-season match, the German league is the one to cover. Game time is 2:30PM ET this Friday, so when the time comes fire up the NextVR app on the Gear VR and the match will be available via the Fox Sports portal free of charge.
Source: Fox Sports
What to do if your Instagram gets hacked – CNET
While on vacation last week (and right after discussing with my sister-in-law how her Instagram account got hacked earlier this year), I went to post a lovely shot from the shores of the Chesapeake only to discover that I was logged out of Instagram. An alert stated that someone in Russia had tried to access my account and in order to verify my credentials, I would need to reset my password via email or Facebook.
First, I tried the Facebook route because I had already linked the two accounts. Instead of getting me back into my account, my repeated attempts only resulted in the repeated message that Facebook had already authorized Instagram.
Next, I tried to reset my password via email. I immediately received an email from Instagram support with a six-digit security code. After carefully scrutinizing the email to make sure it wasn’t also an attempt from a hacker to access my account, I entered the code and was ready to get back to my Instagramming ways. No dice. The code didn’t match with my account email.
I made a second attempt at getting a security code emailed to me, and now it appeared as though my email had been removed from my account. I was locked out.
Matt Elliott/CNET
In a panic, I scanned Instagram’s help center and found a Contact us link. I quickly fired off an email describing my plight.
More Instagram news and tips
- Tips for using Instagram Stories
- Check out Instagram’s new Events channel
- 7 surefire ways to annoy your Instagram followers
In no time, I received a reply with a strange set of instructions and a nine-digit code. Again, I googled around to make sure that this email was, in fact, from Instagram and not a nefarious individual after my massive Instagram audience (95 followers!). After verifying it was the good people at Instagram I was communicating with, I followed the instructions, which were to reply to the email and attach a photo of myself. According to Instagram’s instructions, the attachment had to:
- Include the above code hand-written on a clean sheet of paper, followed by your full name and username
- Clearly show both the code and your face
- Be attached to your reply as a JPEG file
Thankfully, my Instagram feed includes the occasional selfie. I say “thankfully” because Instagram needs to match the attached photo to a photo of your from your feed so they can confirm your identity.
I submitted my mugshot and four hours later received a reply that stated I had successfully verified my account. The last step was to log out of Instagram on all of my devices (which, for me, was just my iPhone where I was already logged out) and click the link included in the email to choose a new password and log back in.
If you are reading this blog post because you are locked out of your Instagram account, I hope it helps to settle your nerves and ultimately regain access. I would also suggest posting a selfie or two now, if you haven’t done so already, if for no other reason than to give Instagram the ability to match your account to your mugshot, should it ever come to that.
How get the Android Nougat update for your Nexus device right now – CNET
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New features in Android Nougat
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Google on Monday announced that Android Nougat will begin rolling out to Nexus-branded devices over the coming weeks. The latest version of the Android operating system adds dozens of new emojis, multiwindow support, direct reply from notifications, improved battery life and other features.
In addition to the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and Nexus Player, the update will also be available for the Pixel C and Android One devices.
Here’s how to check if the update is available on your Nexus device:
- Head to Settings
- Scroll down and select About Phone
- Click on System Updates
- Tap the “Check for update” button
How to jumpstart the update
Don’t want to wait for the update? We have confirmed that those users who are enrolled in Google’s Android Beta Program are being updated to the final version before others. You can sign up for the program here, click Enroll device and follow the same steps to check for an update as listed above. You should see the update available for download within a few minutes.
You can then unenroll from the program once you have installed Android Nougat. This method worked for me on a Nexus 6P and didn’t erase my personal information or apps. We have also confirmed it works on the Nexus 5X.
Win a new Note 7 and metal kickstands from Spigen and Android Central!
We recently took a look at Spigen’s new U100 Universal Kickstand. We put the kickstand through its paces and overall we were really pleased with its aesthetics, as well as its functionality. Make sure you check out the full review! So we’ve now teamed up with Spigen this week to give 100 of you a free Universal Kickstand for your phone, and what’s even cooler is one other winner will also be taking home a brand new Samsung Galaxy Note 7! Keep reading for all the details and to get yourself entered!
THE PRIZE: One Android Central reader will be taking home a brand new Note 7, and 100 additional winners will receive a free Universal Kickstand!
THE GIVEAWAY: Head down to the widget at the bottom of this page. There are multiple ways to enter, each with varying point values. Complete all of the tasks for maximum entries and your best shot at winning! Keep in mind that all winning entries are verified and if the task was not completed or cannot be verified, a new winner will be chosen. The giveaway is open until September 5th, and the winner will be announced right here shortly after the close date. Good luck!
Please note that due to sponsor restrictions, this contest is only open to residents of the US. International residents, we currently have a contest for you HERE!
Win a new Note 7 from Spigen and Android Central!
First major Nougat update coming soon, new Developer Preview landing this fall
Android is moving ‘into a new regular maintenance schedule over the coming quarters.’
Now that Android 7.0 Nougat has been released we’re starting to hear the first details on what’s next for Google’s OS. In a post on the Android Developers blog, Engineering VP Dave Burke lays out what’s next for Nougat.
We’re moving Nougat into a new regular maintenance schedule over the coming quarters. In fact, we’ve already started work on the first Nougat maintenance release, that will bring continued refinements and polish, and we’re planning to bring that to you this fall as a developer preview. Stay tuned!
So it appears that the Android Beta Program will live on, though the nuts and bolts of how devices will get back on the dev. preview channel (from the current stable Nougat release) aren’t entirely clear right now.
The timing suggests the first Nougat MR (maintenance release) could land around the same time as the widely rumored HTC-built 2016 Nexus phones. Indeed, one build.prop leak from the smaller of the two phones identifies “Android NMR1” (Nougat MR1). (A maintenance release is not to be confused with Android’s separate monthly security patches, which operate independently.)
The quarterly maintenance release cycle is also a big change for Android, raising the possibility of a 7.1 release before the year’s end, and maybe a 7.2 or 7.3 early in 2017. That’s going to put pressure on phone manufacturers and carriers, most of whom are already struggling to cope with Android’s yearly updates.
Android 7.0 Nougat
- Android 7.0 Nougat: Everything you need to know
- Will my phone get Android Nougat?
- All Android Nougat news
- How to manually update your Nexus
- Join the Discussion
PlayStation Plus memberships will cost more starting in September
PlayStation Plus will cost you a lot more starting next month – but only if you live in the US and Canada.
Starting 22 September, PS Plus’ yearly fee will increase by $10 (from $49.99 to $59.99), while the 90-day one will only increase by $7. If you’re a new subscriber, you’ll immediately get the new pricing if you join next month, but all current subscribers won’t feel the impact until it is time for them to renew their memberships. So, if you’ve been mulling a subscription, it’s cheaper for you to join now rather than later at a higher rate.
PS Plus is Sony’s online service that is mandatory for online multiplayer on the PS4, but the service also doles out free games, discounts, and more to paid members. The 90-day subscription used to cost $17.99/£11.99 (or a full year was $49.99/£39.99, but if you let the subscription expire, your downloads would be taken away. If you re-subscribe though, your digital rights to all your downloaded games are given back.
Since launching the service in 2010, Sony has kept membership pricing the same. Now, however, prices will increase in the US and Canada. Sony said the new pricing will reflect “the current market conditions”. Nothing else will change, meaning you will get all the same benefits and features, including online multiplayer, free games, exclusive discounts, and online save storage.
Sony said the one-month subscription will remain the same price at $9.99. Also, if you’re a subscriber and don’t want to continue with the new pricing, Sony said you should disable auto-renewal in your account settings by the cut-off date.
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