Opera warns that its web sync service was hacked

Data breaches happen all too often, but it’s rare that they target your browser’s sync service… and unfortunately, Opera just became one of those exceptions. The company is warning users that it detected a hack in its sync system that may have given intruders access to login details. While your passwords are likely safe (all synced passwords are encrypted, for example), Opera isn’t risking anything. It’s resetting all sync account passwords, and it recommends that you change any linked third-party passwords to be on the safe side.

Opera is quick to note that the majority of its 350 million users won’t be affected, since most don’t use sync. However, this still leaves about 1.7 million active users at risk, and there are likely more inactive users who are storing useful passwords. True, it’s doubtful that the breach will lead to serious damage, but this certainly isn’t the kind of news Opera would want following its sale to a Chinese security giant.

[Thanks, Kristy]

Source: Opera Security

Second life

What’s the best way to enjoy this column? With a big cup of Kona.

I like good coffee. Anyone who knows me well knows that I obsess about it. Good beans, a high-quality grinder, and time. Patience. Every morning, I stumble downstairs, boil some water in my well-used Hario gooseneck kettle, and proceed with the ritual: grind, weigh, pour-over. It takes five minutes, longer than many people are willing to wait for good coffee, but to me it’s a rule, not an exception. There is nothing better than that first sip of bright Kenyan coffee as the sun pours in through the blinds, the radio on in the background, sounds of voices familiar and present, comforting.

I think everyone needs these rituals to look forward to each day, to fill in the gaps between the rote and mundane.

I also play dodgeball. It’s something I’ve done for almost ten years, and I’ve broken almost that many fingers (often the same one multiple times). It’s always a conversation starter — “Like the movie?” No, nothing like the movie. Better! — but it’s also an entirely different world than my day-to-day. I get to leave my pinging phone in my bag for two hours, and channel my troubles into a winning score on the court. Cliché, sure, but there’s a reason exercise is the best thing you can do for anxiety.

We are publishing fewer articles overall, with an emphasis on quality over quantity.

As the Northern Hemisphere cools, and the days shorten, I have to remember to really appreciate the rituals, the breaks in the norm, and the opportunities to pull away from the myriad screens that keep me tied to my work, and increasingly my friends and family, day after day.

You’ve seen some of that realignment of thought on Android Central since I took over as Managing Editor, publishing fewer articles, with an emphasis on quality over quantity. In the next few weeks, you’ll see an even greater emphasis placed on individual writers (with some big announcements), and a new approach to news that will hopefully find a compromise between the news ticker (that we admittedly rolled out too early) and the high-quality analysis you expect from a site of AC’s reputation and influence.

As I said in my introduction, my mandate is to make Android Central, and Android as an idea, more broadly accessible to everyone. We already have Jerry doing an amazing (AMAZING!) job delving into the parts of the ecosystem in a way that is both accessible and comprehensive. I’m so excited to read his Saturday column every week, and you should be, too.

Many people just want to know which phone to buy at a certain budget, or what case to get for their brand new Droid.

But many people just want to know which phone to buy at a certain budget, or what case to get for their brand new Galaxy S6, or Moto G4. AC should be accessible and valuable to those who arrive randomly after fastidiously making their coffee in the morning, or returning from the gym, or hanging with friends. People whose phones are a part of their day, not their entire day. I love that we can, and will, cater to both audiences.

We have a busy week coming up. IFA is just around the corner, and you’ll start seeing a trickle leading into a flood of announcements from almost every company whose tendrils even graze the Android ecosystem. Last year we got new smart watches from Samsung, new phones from Huawei and Sony, and some pretty big surprises. I’m excited to see what these same companies have learned in 12 months.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy your week!

Daniel

‘Jason Bourne’ in 3D is making moviegoers in China nauseous

In China, where 80 percent of movie theaters built in the last 10 years have 3D projectors, movie studios often release “exclusive,” three-dimensional adaptations of movies that won’t actually see a 3D release stateside. While that can be lucrative for a studio’s bottom line, the plan apparently backfired for Universal Picture’s latest big budget action flick. Jason Bourne may be dumb about technology, but as The Hollywood Reporter explains, a 3D conversion of the film is actually leaving moviegoers feeling dizzy and nauseous, thanks to director Paul Greengrass’ face-paced, handheld camerawork.

“I really felt sick during the fight scenes when I watched it in 3D,” one viewer wrote on Weibo. “It was like a low-budget movie. I need to watch again in 2D.”

According to state-owned Chinese newspaper Global Times, disgruntled (and possibly dizzy) moviegoers took to the streets in Beijing’s Chaoyang district earlier this week to demand their money back. Making things even more difficult for Matt Damon’s fans in China is the fact that almost no theaters are carrying the 2D print in the film’s opening week and ticket prices for 3D editions are often twice that of a 2D screening. Global Times reported that only eight of the 149 theaters in Beijing had the original version of Bourne’s latest exploits. According to Universal Picture’s Beijing office, however, the movie studio is working with distributors to fix that. Either way, the film still managed to pull in $25.1 million during its first three days in China.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Global Times, Deadline

US military worries it will lose the AI war

It took a while for the US military to bolster its defenses against cyberattacks, and it looks like there’s a similar deficit when it comes to artificial intelligence. A new Defense Department report says that the country needs to take “immediate action” to speed up its development of AI war technology. Academic and private research on AI and autonomous tech is well ahead of American forces, the study says. There’s a real chance that we could see a repeat of what happened in cyberwarfare, where the US was focused so heavily on launching attacks that it left itself off-guard.

Naturally, the board already has some advice. It recommends that the Pentagon gather more intelligence on other nations’ AI capabilities, and develop “counter-autonomy” solutions. The military could deceive or overwhelm autonomous war machines, for example. Also, the writers suggest that the US pour many more resources into developing and testing learning AI, such as weapons that adapt to battlefield conditions.

There’s no guarantee that officials will heed the advice, or even that it’s absolutely necessary. However, there are good reasons why the US might not want to sit on its hands. The board cautions that rivals (such as China and Russia) have “less restrictive” policies on lethal autonomous hardware, such as killer robots. That doesn’t mean that the US should follow their lead, but it may need technology that can thwart deadly AI systems before it’s too late.

Via: Defense One

Source: Secretary of Defense (PDF)

Mobile Nations Weekly: Ludicrous zero-day nougat

Android goes to 7, Apple goes to the repair kit, and Tesla goes for maximum speed.

Android 7.0 Nougat is finally here! … if you have a Nexus phone. If using a modern Nexus phone, it might be a while before you get the update — or never. But does that really matter?

Apple found itself in sticky security waters following the disclosure and prompt patching of a trio of particularly nasty zero-day exploits. What’s more terrifying than these sort of “fix it immediately” exploits is who is making them: private malware firms that cater to governmental desires for ever-more-prying eyes. Thankfully, Apple did the right thing and moved fast to patch their products.

The long-awaited HP Elite x3 is finally here. Kind of. Almost. But Windows Central got one and went hands-on with the latest and greatest Windows Phone anyway. It’s the first Windows Phone to tout both a fingerprint scanner and an iris scanner, and all sorts of high-powered bits.

The Tesla Model 3 is set to start at $35,000. Tesla’s newest Model S option, the P100D, starts at $134,500. It’s just a small difference. But that P100D is the quickest production car on the planet, making it to 60mph in a dizzying 2.5 seconds. If you can afford it… and the inevitable speeding tickets.

So you’re interested in getting into VR, but which headset should you be donning? VRHeads sits down and looks at the desktop-class options to figure out which is better: HTC Vive or Oculus Rift?. It’s a tough call with how many variables are at play here, but rest assured that both are pretty damn cool.

Android Central — New-gat software

Though we’ve had months of Developer previews to play with, Android 7.0 Nougat was finally made official this week. Updates started hitting Nexus devices, and we got to dig into the headline features of the final release version. The Developer Preview track is sticking around, too, and we’re in line for a new version by the end of the year.

If you’re wondering why phones like the Nexus 5 and Xperia Z3 Compact won’t be getting Nougat, Jerry has a great explainer for you. It basically comes down the Snapdragon 800 not offering the right specs for the software, and that’s unfortunate.

Further on in Nougat land, we got a couple more teases of the upcoming LG V20, which will be the first phone to ship with Android 7.0. Google teased it with the launch of Nougat, and a later leak showed off what seems to be another “second” display ticker like the V10.

• Your phone may never get Nougat, but does it really matter?
• Moto Z, a second opinion — Mods shouldn’t make the phone
• Will my phone be updated to Android 7.0?
• Top 5 Android 7.0 Nougat features you need to know!
• How to manually update your Nexus
• How to fix Galaxy Note 7 battery life problems

CrackBerry — DTEKing around the globe

BlackBerry’s rollout of the DTEK50 continued this week. Multiple Canadian carriers have made the device available in-store and across their online store-fronts. Additionally, BlackBerry has now added the device to the BlackBerry Beta Zone which offers up beta versions of BlackBerry’s applications and upcoming OS releases. In other news, BlackBerry’s software business continues to gain momentum with new customers in Australia and New Zealand.

• BlackBerry’s software business continues to grow with new customers in Australia and New Zealand
• BlackBerry DTEK50 now available from multiple Canadian carriers
• BlackBerry adds DTEK50 and Hub+ Suite beta programs through Beta Zone

iMore — The age of the zero-day

Both Apple and the iMore staff are getting busier and busier as event season nears, and this week was no exception. The company disclosed and patched three nasty zero-day exploits, released two new betas (one as a result of the aforementioned patch), and had another headphone jack-less rumor come to the forefront. Over on our side, we released our Back to School Gift Guide, took a look at the Logitech Create for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, and dug into the hidden history of educational gaming on the Mac. And on the Network, special guest Jason Snell of Six Colors wonders if betas and leaks have spoiled the magic mystery of Apple events — but if so, it’s probably going to be okay.

• How to use Siri with CarPlay
• How to stop WhatsApp from sharing your number with Facebook
• How to use iOS 10’s new Bedtime feature
• Apple Talk 11: iPhone upgrade pressure

Tesla Central — P100D

While everybody might be anxiously waiting for the relatively affordable Tesla Model 3, Tesla’s not stopping work on their much more expensive Model S and Model X electric cars with the introduction of the P100D option. The new 100kWh battery pack makes the Model S now the fastest-accelerating production car ever, with a 0-60 time of a mind-numbing 2.5 seconds.

At the same time, it’s also the longest range production EV ever, with 315 miles on a charge. There’s just one catch: it starts at $134,500. Of course, it’s worth noting that Tesla is using the P100D battery as a testbed for some of the new advanced battery tech that will find its way into the Model 3, so it’s not bad that Tesla’s still tinkering on the high end.

• Tesla Model S P100D goes for maximum Ludicrous Mode: 0-60 in 2.5 seconds and 315 miles range
• Where’s the non-performance Tesla 100D and how much range will it have?
• Have a Tesla P90D? You can upgrade it to a P100D… for a price

VR Heads — Tripping the Rift

Choosing between the two big Desktop-class VR headsets is no small decision, for several reasons. Arguably the most important of those reasons is that we’re not really at the beginning point for “New VR” yet. Developers are still figuring out what works, and hardware manufacturers are still tweaking to service everyone. It’s an exciting time, which is what makes the choice so hard.

• HTC Vive vs Oculus Rift: Which is best?
• RevolVR is a huge next step in smartphone-based VR!
• Exploring multiplayer shooters and their limitations in VR

Windows Central — The Elite-ist

Windows 10 Redstone 2 is only beginning but what it packs for features is slowly starting to come into focus. Our exclusive report this week highlighted the return of OneClip – a cross platform copy, paste functionality – as one productivity-focused tool destined for Windows 10.

Our Jez Corden sat down with Xbox marketing chief Aaron Greenberg to discuss the new One S, Beam, and more.

There were no new Fast Ring releases this week, but we did see a Release Preview for a new cumulative update appear.

Finally, the HP Elite x3 superphone with a Snapdragon 820, front-facing speakers, and every bit of technology jammed into is starting to hit store shelves. We did a quick unboxing and compared its fingerprint and iris scanners for performance.

• Mozo’s Surface Sleeve brings a stylish look while delivering some protection too
• Pokémon Go app PoGo-UWP adds Pokedex, line inventory and more with the latest update
• CBS All Access is now on the Xbox One and Xbox 360
• The best graphics card for under $200

The case for a Material Dark theme in Android

I love hex black and a dark UI!

You Nougat-lovers can’t deny,

That when an app installs in an itty, bitty space,

With a dark theme in your face,

You get sprung!

Google and Android are filled with white, white, white UIs. It wasn’t always that way, but it is now. The only real dark system UIs available right now are downloadable TouchWiz themes, and Google’s apps are whiter than my jean-365-days-a-year legs. Night modes have been toyed with in Developer Previews the last two years but have never amounted to much of anything. And really, even if they had stuck around, it wouldn’t’ve been the dark theme we wanted anyway.

A dark theme, a night mode, and a Material Dark app.

Let’s get some terminology straight first, because we keep interchanging some similar but distinct terms. A dark theme is a UI that is primarily a dark color rather than white. Android itself used a dark theme back in the Holo days. There are a lot of apps with dark themes out there, frequently calling them night modes, but they’re wrong. Night mode should be reserved for the blue light filter that’ll keep your screen from keeping you up while you surf YouTube in bed. Some manufacturers have included blue-light filters in the past, and third-party apps have offered it, too.

We shouldn’t be lobbying Google for this. We should be lobbying everyone.

Then we have what I’m affectionately calling Material Dark, a Material Design-compliant UI based on a dark gray or black background with strong pops of accent colors. It’s not enough to ask for an app to have a dark theme; it needs to be a well-designed and tested dark theme that fits current developer guidelines. Material Dark is what we should push for in Google’s apps and in every app that we use and care about.

We’ve begged for a device-wide dark theme, but that’s not what we really need. We don’t need a toggle that switches your whole system from light to dark, because there are apps that I’ll always want in a Material Dark UI, apps I’ll only want to be dark at night, and apps that work better in white. Fun as it was to have that night mode toggle in my Quick Settings on the developer preview, it just wasn’t going to work.

And we shouldn’t be lobbying Google for this. We should be lobbying everyone. Lobby Google to give us Material Dark Google Apps — please, please lobby Google for Material Dark Google Apps — but ask the developers of your favorite apps if they could add a dark theme. Samsung has a dark theme for most of its system apps, so ask Motorola and LG why your Moto Z and your V20 can’t have a dark dialer for when you’re calling your designated driver at closing time.

Lobbying for Material Dark for individual apps rather than begging for a magical device-wide dark theme because individual apps can be easily updated with a dark theme without a system or device upgrade like any Nougat night mode would’ve required. It can reach more people and improve the experience for more users without having them shell out money for a new phone.

Think of this: how often do you open the Settings app on your phone? How often do you open YouTube? On which one would a dark theme matter more to you day-to-day? So why is it we bitch more about Settings not having Material Dark than YouTube?

The white, bright Material Design theme on YouTube can take users out of the videos they’re trying to watch and strain their eyes, meaning they’re watching fewer videos and Google is losing views. Why doesn’t YouTube use Material Dark — like YouTube Music already does — when users will get far more use out of it?

Google Apps aren’t the only apps that need to go dark. Facebook needs Material Dark. ABC News needs Material Dark. Pokémon Go really needs Material Dark, if not Material Black for the amount of power it could save AMOLED users. It can potentially double the UI work for a developer, but it’s a feature that users actively seek out in their apps, and can help apps stand out from the pack.

But we have to ask for it. Politely, repeatedly, and in numbers. I’ve been asking for a Material Dark Google Play Music app since the day they announced the current white/orange color scheme. I love pumpkin seeds — I will rock the jack-o-lantern music player! What apps do you want to see go Material Dark? Sound off in the comments!

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

Russia’s search giant is making a self-driving shuttle bus

Internet search giants making self-driving cars appears to be a trend, and Russia’s Yandex wants in. It’s partnering with Daimler, truck maker Kamaz and government-backed researchers at NAMI on an autonomous shuttle bus that could carry up to 12 people and travel about 124 miles on a charge. Yandex is contributing its experiences with artificial intelligence, computer vision and voice recognition, and it’ll even be central to the interface — you’ll use a Yandex-linked mobile app to pinpoint your destination.

NAMI will start testing the self-driving bus on closed circuits in 2017, and it’s bound to be a while after that before you can see one (or something like it) cruising the streets. There’s no guarantee that you’ll ever get to ride this bus beyond Russian borders, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Yandex’s technology finds its way into more vehicles. If nothing else, this is further evidence that driverless transportation is quickly becoming a worldwide phenomenon.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Fortune

After Math: Only the essentials

It was a pretty kick-ass week in terms of interplanetary exploration — and not even just in NMS. Astronomers found a potentially habitable planet just 4.2 light years from us! This could be our first stop beyond Mars but it’s going to take a while to get there, so we’re going to have to travel light. That means bringing nothing but the most essential of supplies — like scouter drones, custom-designed hazmat suits, efficient solar power generators and 8K televisions. Numbers, because how else are you going to calculate the interstellar rocket’s payload fraction?