Samsung exec explains ‘facts’ of the Galaxy Note 7 recall
As Samsung tries to navigate through its Galaxy Note 7 mess, an executive is speaking directly to customers. In a message posted tonight, Samsung America President & COO Tim Baxter puts a personal face to the recall, continuing Samsung’s promise that new, less-volatile Galaxy Note 7s will be available “no later than September 21st.” We’ll see if the company is able to stick to that, but according to Baxter, an unnamed outside lithium battery expert affirmed Samsung’s findings on the safety of battery cells in the new units. The 92
Once those new phones hit the streets, ZDNet reports that you’ll be able to tell the difference because the battery indicator at the top right corner of the screen will be green instead of white. In Korea, exchanges are supposed to begin on the 19th, the first business day back after the local Thanksgiving holiday.
Source: Samsung News, Galaxy Note 7 Recall information
Apple Pays $118 Million Tax Bill in Japan After Underreporting Profits
Apple has paid some 12 million yen ($118 million) to Japan after underreporting income in the country, according to broadcaster NHK (via Reuters). The company has yet to comment on the matter.
Japanese tax authorities determined that Apple failed to pay withholding taxes on profits it earned from subscribers in Japan and shifted to its Irish subsidiary to pay for software licensing.
The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau determined that the unit, which sends part of its profits earned from fees paid by Japan subscribers to another Apple unit in Ireland to pay for software licensing, had not been paying a withholding tax on those earnings in Japan, according to broadcaster NHK.
The news comes just over two weeks after the European Commission ordered Ireland to collect 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) from Apple in unpaid taxes. The executive body said Apple received illegal state aid from Ireland, allowing it to pay a less than 2 percent tax rate between 2003 and 2014. Apple said it is confident the decision “will be reversed,” and Ireland has also vowed to appeal.
Tags: corporate tax, Japan
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Google Safe Browsing makes accessing The Pirate Bay harder
Guess what? There’s another speedbump to browsing The Pirate Bay. Rather than internet providers blocking access to the URL (currently thepiratebay.org), certain web browsers are flagging torrent download pages with variations on the following message:
“The site ahead contains harmful programs
Attackers on thepiratebay.org might attempt to trick you into installing programs that harm your browsing experience (for example, by changing your homepage or showing extra ads on sites you visit.)”
That’s what showed up when I did a search for “New Girl” on Google Chrome. But similar messages appear in Microsoft Edge and, as VentureBeat reports, Mozilla Firefox too. Surprisingly, Apple’s Safari browser wasn’t all that worried about me downloading any nefarious programs and let me see the torrent download page without a hitch.
Clicking the “details” link on the warning page in Chrome offers a clue about why the browser is warning users:
“Google Safe Browsing recently found harmful programs on thepiratebay.org. If you understand the risks to your security, you may visit this site before the harmful programs have been removed.”
It sounds like there may be a bad ad network on the torrent site and that Google isn’t blocking the media repository itself. So, if the bright red screen has you worried, this problem should resolve itself fairly soon. Or if you’re impatient, you can deal with false warnings from The Pirate Bay that your Flash player is out of date.
For what it’s worth, Chrome isn’t blocking the KickAss Torrents alternative (now defunct) Torrentz, despite multiple pop-ups urging me to download a new version of “Flash” for the same reasons as The Pirate Bay. When, in all actuality, I’ve disabled it wholesale. Nice try, jerks.
Via: VentureBeat
Source: Google
DARPA wants an ‘Aerial Dragnet’ to monitor urban drone traffic
Conventional air traffic might be tightly controlled and monitored, but even with the new FAA regulations, drones and other unmanned aerial systems are mostly operating without any government oversight. And that doesn’t sit well with the folks at the Pentagon, who fear that easy access to affordable drones could make them easily adaptable for terrorist or military purposes. To combat this potential threat, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, announced this week an “Aerial Dragnet” program that aims to map all small drone activity in urban settings.
“Commercial websites currently exist that display in real time the tracks of relatively high and fast aircraft—from small general aviation planes to large airliners—all overlaid on geographical maps as they fly around the country and the world,” DARPA’s program manager Jeff Krolik said. “We want a similar capability for identifying and tracking slower, low-flying unmanned aerial systems, particularly in urban environments.”
While the FAA is using much more consumer-friendly burrito delivery tests to build out a method of low-altitude air traffic control, DARPA envisions a system that can be used by the military in urban settings overseas or for homeland security applications in the US. DARPA’s plan would include a network of surveillance nodes that can track slow, low-flying drones without the need for a direct line of sight. Those nodes could be anything from a fixed instrument to a tethered or “long endurance” drone and the whole thing is meant to be cost-effective and highly scalable for larger coverage areas.
While the agency doesn’t have a plan for implementing this dragnet just yet, the program is seeking proposals from teams with “expertise in sensors, signal processing, and networked autonomy.” Full details about the project goals have been posted to FedBizOps and there is a Proposers Day scheduled for September 26th, 2016 in Arlington, Virginia.
Via: Popular Science
Source: DARPA
iPhone 7 Plus teardown reveals bigger Taptic Engine
iFixit has given Apple’s latest plus-sized flagship phone the same treatment it gave its older siblings. It’s currently in the midst of tearing down an iPhone 7 Plus, taking it apart piece by piece to give us a more complete picture of what’s going on inside that rose gold facade. The team already tore down the part where the headphone jack used to be, and it looks like Apple really didn’t make room for the 3.5mm port. That corner of the phone also contains the Taptic Engine, which looks much, much bigger than the one inside the 6s Plus. Makes sense, since the Home button now makes the phone vibrate when you push it.
iFixit also confirms that the new phone’s battery is a bit bigger than the one in 6s plus (2900 mAh vs. 2750 mAh), which supports Apple’s claim that it can last an hour longer. As you can see above, the device’s dual rear camera comes as a single module. It lives in the bigger exterior bump that’s now apparently built into the chassis itself as a water- and dust-proofing measure. You can follow the team as they dig into the the phone’s innards further. But if you’re more interested in what’s inside the Apple Watch Series 2, you can also keep an eye out for its teardown right here.
Source: iFixit
Microsoft renames its Health app after the Band wearable
Sure, Microsoft may not be releasing a new version of its Band activity tracker this year. But that hasn’t stopped the company from rebranding its generically named Health app on Android, as noticed by Paul Thurrott. “We’ve got a new name! The Microsoft Health app is now the Microsoft Band app, everything else is the same,” the patch notes say.
Apparently, bug fixes are a part of the update too, but if recent Google Play reviews are anything to go by, the application still needs a ton more where those came from. Over on iOS, the app still carries the Health name. Now to see if a new moniker sparks fresh interest from its developers. Spoiler: it probably won’t.
Via: Paul Thurrott
Source: Google Play
iPhone 7 Plus Teardown Confirms Longer-Lasting 2,900 mAh Battery
iFixit has published a work-in-progress iPhone 7 Plus teardown that provides a closer look at the smartphone’s internal components, including the battery, display, cameras, logic board, and Taptic Engine for the new pressure-sensitive Home button. Interestingly, the smartphone now opens to it side rather than to the top.
iFixit said the adhesive strip sealing the iPhone 7 Plus is “considerably stronger” than the strip it found in the iPhone 6s Plus, while opening the device revealed lots of glue running along the perimeter of the smartphone. The teardown experts believe the excess glue could be part of Apple’s efforts to add water resistance.
The space previously occupied by the 3.5mm headphone jack on older iPhone models now houses the Taptic Engine and a plastic bumper internally covering the cosmetic speaker holes to the left of the Lightning connector. The small plastic piece is likely another waterproofing measure by Apple.
The teardown confirms the 5.5-inch model has a 2,900 mAh battery, which is just over 5% larger than the 2,750 mAh battery in the iPhone 6s Plus. The battery is rated at 3.82V and 11.1Wh of energy. Apple says the iPhone 7 Plus has up to 1 hour longer battery life than the iPhone 6s Plus.
The iPhone 7 Plus camera array is as expected, including two separate sensors, two lenses, and two sets of optical image stabilizers.
iFixit said it will start its iPhone 7 teardown following its iPhone 7 Plus and Apple Watch Series 2 teardowns.
Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Tags: iFixit, teardown
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Apple Watch Series 2 Teardown Shows Larger Battery and Swimproof Design
iFixit has published a work-in-progress Apple Watch Series 2 teardown that reveals a 273 mAh battery in the 38mm model, which is 33% larger than the 205 mAh battery in the original 38mm Apple Watch. However, battery life is equal to Series 1 models, likely because of the additions of a GPS and brighter display.
The teardown says the Apple Watch Series 2’s adhesive is “much stronger” than the original Apple Watch, and iFixit assumes this is related to improved water resistance. It also appears that Apple has added a larger metal shield next to the Digital Crown, which is also likely an improved waterproofing measure.
Apple Watch Series 2 is marketed as swimproof, with an improved water resistance rating of up to 50 meters that makes it safe to use while swimming, showering, fishing, washing hands, jogging in the rain, and similar shallow water activities. Apple does not recommend scuba diving, waterskiing, or other high-velocity water activities.
iFixit is still completing the teardown, so it will take some time before we get a closer look at the all-new S2 chip and GPS. The website is also working on an iPhone 7 Plus teardown, to be followed by an iPhone 7 teardown.
Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 3
Tags: iFixit, teardown
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
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Uber will pay riders $384,000 due to its misleading tip policy
For a brief, one-year period, Uber’s marketing materials stated that the company’s ride-hailing app automatically charged users a 20 percent tip for drivers. Unfortunately for drivers and users, Uber was actually taking a 40 to 50 percent cut of that tip – a fact which led to a lawsuit claiming the company was misleading consumers. According to Bloomberg Technology, US District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco just approved Uber’s proposed $384,000 settlement with 47,000 users that will essentially refund all of those pilfered “tips.”
While the consumers are getting their money back, the drivers themselves won’t be seeing a payout from this particular settlement. On the other hand, Judge Chen stuck up for Uber drivers last month when he rejected the company’s proposed $100 million settlement with drivers in California and Massachusetts who claimed the company owed them for expenses like gas, vehicle maintenance and insurance. In that case, Chen noted that the proposed amount – which would have amounted to about $24 per driver in the class – was a “substantial discount” for Uber. According to outside estimates, the damages in that case could have amounted to as much as $850 million. While Uber and the drivers have gone back to the negotiating table to hash out that deal, the company’s long-term goal is to make them obsolete.
Source: Bloomberg Technology
Twitter beefs up business users’ customer service offerings
Twitter’s new feature for businesses makes it even easier to hop on the social network and use it for customer service. It enables companies, startups, establishments and so on and so forth to indicate that their accounts can assist people looking for help. So long as they enable the feature on Twitter’s Dashboard, you’ll see the words “Provides support” when you search for their username or @mention them in a tweet. It can pretty handy to know if you can expect a response on Twitter, so you don’t have to mentally prepare yourself for an hour-long hold time.
Besides being able to indicate that they provide support on the website, companies can now also add business hours on their profiles. In T-Mobile’s case (below), for instance, the carrier says it can attend to your needs 24/7. Finally, you’ll see a more prominent Message button on the profiles of companies that can chat with you in private, which could prevent customers at their wit’s end from going nuclear on them in public.
Source: Twitter
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