Sony posts everything you need to know about the PS VR
Since VR headsets are a fairly new category, Sony wants to entice you to buy the PS VR by publishing a lengthy FAQ about the device. In it, the company talks about everything, from its $400 to $500 (for the core bundle) pricing to technical information you need to know to be able to use it. For instance, Sony advises you to switch off your headphones’ surround sound, because it will interfere with the headset’s 3D audio. Further, wireless earphones won’t work with the device — you’ll have to use cans that you’ll be able to plug into the headset with a 3.5mm jack.
Another interesting tidbit is that your PS4 will work with the TV just fine even when it’s hooked up to the PS VR. However, this passthrough feature doesn’t work for HDR signals. So, if you want to take advantage of your TV’s HDR capability, you’ll have to unhook your PS VR and plug your TV straight to the console.
Besides these points, Sony also talks about the first games you’ll be able to play on the platform, its cute Aim controller, multiplayer capabilities and just about anything you can think of to ask. The PS VR will be available on October 13th. You can’t pre-order one anymore, by the company says it will give partner retailers extra units to sell on launch day.
Source: Sony
UberPool riders in London might have to do some walking
Uber has performed a number of experiments in the UK, and its latest slightly rewrites how fares for UberPool work in London. Whereas before a driver might take a roundabout way to get to your on-demand bus stop, now there will be more direct routes.
Rides requested between 6am and 9pm will have passengers directed to a “smart pickup point” where, if the app’s estimates are correct, you’ll arrive the same time as your driver. The idea is to shorten time spent in the cars by avoiding detours and traffic jams. The downside is you might have to hoof it a bit to reach both your pickup point and final destination.
We reached out to the company and asked what made this so different from the pre-existing “smart routes” and were told that the routes were just a test last year, whereas these are explicitly “smart pickup points.”
Fancy giving it a try? The service is offering a discount on UberPool fares, and the discount code is at the source link below.
Source: Uber
Full-body 3D scanning is about to get faster and cheaper
3D scanners come in all shapes and sizes these days, and obviously the bigger you go, the more you have to pay. In the case of full-body scanning, many existing solutions require you to stand still for 12 to 14 seconds which isn’t ideal for both the customer and the vendor, plus they tend to take up a large amount of space. Luckily, that won’t be the case with a new machine from Japanese startup VRC. Unveiled at CEATEC, the Shun’X — “shun” meaning “instantaneous” and “x” implying limitless possibilities — can scan a person in merely four seconds, and its footprint takes up just six square meters of space as opposed to the typical nine to eleven square meters.
On the inside, the Shun’X model at CEATEC is powered by eight Nikon DSLRs plus an ASUS Xtion Pro Live depth camera accompanying each of them, and these are split into two pillars — with another four filled with high-performance LEDs — that spin around a person. CEO Yingdi Xie, who has spent over ten years doing research in Japan prior to forming VRC, pointed out that it’s this combination of DSLRs and depth cameras that makes his system more precise than the others. Once the scan is done, VRC’s custom PC software will locally output a render in about two minutes, which is again faster than what the competitors offer and somewhat more convenient than their mandatory cloud services (which are usually for subsidizing the cost of the hardware alone).
A video posted by Engadget (@engadget) on Oct 4, 2016 at 12:00am PDT
While Xie wouldn’t directly reveal a price for his solution, he did drop a big hint: A similar DSLR-only system may cost about $150,000 if you buy it outright, whereas the Shun’X is aiming to slash that price by half; and it can even go lower, depending on the configuration. Better yet, because of the much higher throughput, Xie reckons an existing vendor can afford to charge as low as $10 per 3D render using the Shun’X. Just to compare, Artec’s “Optimal” business package charges each Shapify Booth vendor $20 per 3D model file (it’s $39,000 for the machine plus pre-payment for 3,000 files), so consumers would have to pay more after a markup; either that or the vendor buys the hardware for $180,000 to avoid that charge.
It’s still too early to tell whether the Shun’X will become the next big thing in the 3D scanning market, as VRC has only just started taking orders, but one thing’s for sure: Digital content creators in the likes of fashion and gaming businesses will greatly benefit from this rapid, high-precision scanner. 3D printing studios may also want in on this, though they are probably more desperate for faster printers.
Source: VRC
The difference between Google Now and Google Assistant – CNET
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
Personality-filled, voice-activated digital assistants are everywhere. Apple has Siri, Microsoft has Cortana and Google has Google Now and Google Assistant.
At the moment, Google Now and Google Assistant are still two separate things — Google Now works from within the Google Android and iOS app, while Google Assistant is found in Google’s Allo chat app and integrated into Google Home and Google’s Pixel phones — but I suspect these two virtual assistants will merge into one sooner rather than later. Google Assistant is already a major part of the Google Pixel phone, and it’s even taken over Google Now’s spot as the result of a home key press.
But for those of you who are wondering which is which after everything Google announced October 4, here’s a quick rundown:
Google Now
Enlarge Image
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
Google Now is Google’s voice-activated personal assistant — similar to Apple’s Siri or Microsoft’s Cortana. Unlike Siri and Cortana, Google Now isn’t platform-specific; the app works on both Android and iOS devices, though its hardware-controlling capabilities are limited on iOS. The app lets you quickly search the web and perform a variety of tasks — such as scheduling events and alarms, adjusting your device’s volume and posting to social media — using natural-sounding voice commands.
Enlarge Image
Google Now is more of a glorified Google search than a true virtual assistant.
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
Google Now is convenient for when you want to use the power of the Internet and your mobile device without actually picking it up — like Siri and Cortana, Google Now offers hands-free accessibility from the lock screen with the command, “OK, Google.” But while Google Now can look up everything you need to know on Google, and access information in your personal Google accounts, it doesn’t really get to know you, and that’s where Google Assistant comes in.
Google Assistant
Google Assistant is basically the next generation of Google Now — it does most of the same things, plus more, and it has a friendlier, more conversational interface. The preview edition of Google Assistant debuted in the Google Allo chat app and Google Assistant will also be found in the Google Home and integrated into the Google Pixel phone. Google Assistant performs all the same tasks as Google Now: web searching, scheduling events and alarms, adjusting the hardware settings on your device and pulling up information from your Google accounts.
Enlarge Image
While Google Now gives you search results, Google Assistant tries to make those search results more accessible.
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
While Google Now is, in many ways, a souped-up, voice-activated Google Search, Google Assistant offers up information in a more conversational and (Google hopes) more accessible format. For example, Google Assistant turns search results into one-sentence answers, and, for a question like “What are some nearby restaurants?” presents information in an easy-to-tap card format instead of a linear Google search page.
Enlarge Image
Google Assistant remembers personal details (not just your search terms and upcoming flights), as well as information from past chats.
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
More from Google’s event
- Google Pixel phones, Daydream View and Chromecast Ultra: Everything Google just announced
- Google’s Pixel, Pixel XL are superphones set to take on iPhone 7
- See all of our Google coverage
Google Assistant also has deeper artificial intelligence than Google Now — or any of the other virtual assistants, for that matter. Unlike Siri and Cortana, Google Assistant can carry on a two-way conversation with you, learn personal details about you (such as your birthday or your favorite breed of dog) and recall information from previous conversations for context.
While this functionality isn’t all that impressive in the preview edition of Google Assistant, Google has high hopes for the future — an Assistant that knows much more than just your favorite color and that can combine all of Google’s powers to do things like plan an event (as opposed to just scheduling one). As Google said during its live event, the more you use Assistant, the smarter it gets.
Google Assistant is already starting to take over Google Now’s territory in the Google Home and the Google Pixel phone. When you press the home button on the Pixel, you’ll get Google Assistant instead of Google Now; when you say, “OK, Google” to a Google Home, you’ll get Google Assistant instead of Google Now as well.
Pixel, the first real Google phone, in pictures
1 – 5 of 35
Next
Prev
How to enable end-to-end encryption on Facebook Messenger – CNET
Secret Conversation’s end-to-end encryption helps keep your Messenger convos safe.
Screenshot by Alina Bradford / CNET
Facebook is making your messages more secure with today’s introduction of end-to-end encryption within Messenger. The rollout started with a major encryption update of Facebook-owned WhatsApp in April 2016, but Facebook didn’t begin trials until July. Now it is available to all 1 billion users.
End-to-end encryption means that your conversations are encrypted from one device to another so the conversation can’t be accessed by anyone other than the sender and the intended receiver. Facebook’s new encryption, appropriately, is called Secret Conversation.
How to set up end-to-end encryption
Setting up the Secret Conversation option is simple. There are two ways to do it.
To enable end-to-end encryption in a conversation:
Go into a Messenger conversation
Tap the circle with an “I” in it on the upper left side of the screen
Select Secret Conversation from the Settings menu and a popup will ask you, “Turn on Secret Conversations?”
Select Turn On
You can also start a Secret Conversation from the home screen:
Tap the plus symbol.
Tap the lock icon.
Select the person you want to message.
Now this conversation is protected by end-to-end encryption. You will need to turn on this option for every conversation or else you won’t get the encryption protection.
Set a timer…
You can make your messages even more secure with the use of Secret Conversation’s timer option. Tap the clock icon in the text box and choose how long you would like your message to last. Your choices range from one day to five seconds. When the time runs out the messages delete themselves and disappear.
…Or delete Secret Conversations
If you don’t want to set a timer, you can manually delete the conversation. Plus, there’s no way to turn off Secret Conversations. The only option is to delete your conversation thread and start an new one without turning on the encryption option.
To delete a Secret Conversation:
Tap the person’s icon
Tap Secret Conversations
Tap Delete Secret Conversations
Tap Delete All
The downsides of secret conversations
A word of warning, by turning on Secret Conversations, you can only communicate in this conversation thread using the device you used to turn on the encryption option. To talk to the same person using a different device you will need to start a new Secret Conversation.
Also, this encryption option doesn’t work for everything. While it does work for messages, pictures and stickers, it doesn’t support group GIFs, videos, messages, voice and video calling or payments.
Seven tips for securing your Facebook account
1 – 5 of 7
Next
Prev
9 things Google Home can do that Alexa can’t – CNET
CNET
Google announced its Amazon Echo competitor back at its I/O developer conference in May. Today, it made Google Home official with a release date and price.
It also gave us a closer look at how the company plans to compete with the more established household assistant today, Alexa.
While Google has its work cut out in getting broad third-party support that includes other smart-home brands, there is already a healthy list of in-house features Google Home will be capable of out of the gate that Alexa could only hope to add in the future.
Here are nine things Google Home can do that Alexa can’t.
Touch controls
Both the Alexa speakers and Google Home come with physical controls for when voice input is less ideal.
You can spin the ring on the top of the Amazon Echo and original Echo Dot or volume control buttons on the Tap and second-generation Dot. There are also button controls to invoke a command or keep Alexa from listening with all Alexa speaker models.
On top of the Google Home speaker is a touchpad that can be used to control the volume, trigger the voice assistant and more. The switch to turn off listening for Google Home is around back.
More from Google’s event
- Google Pixel phones, Daydream View and Chromecast Ultra: Everything Google just announced
- Google’s Pixel, Pixel XL are superphones set to take on iPhone 7
- See all of our Google coverage
Play Google Play Music and YouTube Music
Both Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home come with support for plenty of third-party streaming services, like Pandora, Spotify and TuneIn. However, both companies are keen on promoting their in-house music services, not their competitors’. The Alexa speakers put Prime Music first, while Google Home would rather you use Google Play Music.
Technically, you can stream any audio to the Alexa speakers if you pair them to your devices using Bluetooth. And Google Home will allow you to stream any audio service that has a mobile app with Chromecast support.
However, with Google Home, you can also stream your favorite songs from YouTube Music, so long as you’re a YouTube Red subscriber. And if you’re not, the Google Home speaker comes with a free 6-month trial of YouTube Red.
Play songs based on context
Don’t remember the name of a song? With Google Home, it shouldn’t be a problem. Using a little contextual awareness, Google Assistant can understand which song you’re talking about, find and play it.
During the press event, the example given was, “OK, Google, play that Shakira song from ‘Zootopia.’” The song “Try Everything” by Shakira started to play.
So long as you have some information on the song you want to play, Google can try to fill in the blanks and, hopefully, play the song you were looking for.
Act as an audio receiver for Chromecast
Naturally, Google Home acts as an audio receiver for Chromecast. Meaning, if you want to throw a song from your phone to a better speaker, you can tap the Cast logo from within a supported app and select Google Home, just as you could any televisions or speakers with Chromecast installed.
Multiroom audio
You can also create groups with Google Home and Chromecast devices, which will allow you to sync up multiple speakers and play audio around the house, much like Sonos.
This is one of the bigger complaints from the Alexa camp, since the speakers do not communicate very well with one another. You can’t use two Amazon Echos to play stereo sound in a single room or have multiple speakers play the same music around the house.
Send information to your phone
Google Home is powered by Google Assistant, which is the more intelligent and honed version of Google Now. What this means is the same AI is shared between your phone and home speaker, and information can be passed between your devices.
If you’re asking Google Home for information, you can also tell it to send that information — such as directions — to your phone, if it doesn’t automatically. This will only work if your phone has Google Assistant. For the time being, this feature will be limited to the Google Pixel and Pixel XL.
Throw images, audio and video to your television via Chromecast
Not only can you cast audio to the Google Home speaker, you can use the speaker itself as a controller for your other Chromecast devices.
As demonstrated at Google I/O, a kid is asking Google Home about stars. He says, “Can you show me on the TV?” and a YouTube video of Alpha Centauri gets cast to the nearby television. And as demonstrated earlier today on stage, you can voice search for content on Netflix or ask for search results of your own Google Photos to be cast to the television.
This Chromecast integration may be the single largest leg up Google Home has over Alexa, but that could be remedied in the future with the Fire TV Stick.
More natural, contextual conversations
You can have a back and forth with Alexa. When you ask for certain things, especially when using skills or ordering items from Amazon, you may have to answer questions for Alexa to fully understand what you’re looking for. But that’s it. You’re typically just answering questions to help Alexa better figure things out.
However, the interaction with Google Home appears to be more natural. You can ask additional questions which are contextually based on the original question. For instance, Google demonstrated asking for Adele’s real name, then following up the answer with, “How many Grammys has she won?” Google fills in the blanks and understands that “she” is Adele.
This is unsurprisingly reminiscent of Google Now’s contextual awareness, and it certainly gives Google Home an advantage over Alexa, if only in how natural your interactions will be with Google’s speaker.
Customizable hardware
Until recently, if you wanted anything other than a black Echo, Echo Dot or Tap speaker, you would have to disguise it, wrap it in an aftermarket skin or find a case to fit. Now you can purchase the Echo and Echo Dot in white. Beyond that, you’ll still have to look to third-party options for customizing the look of your speaker.
Color customization is a native feature offered by Google for Home. The top will remain a white polycarbonate, but there are seven total base colors to choose from: carbon, copper, snow, mango, marine, violet and painted steel.
Pricing for the bases has not been announced and they’re still listed as Coming Soon on the store page, so you can’t preorder a base color with the Google Home.
Don’t worry — your OnHub router will work with Google Wifi – CNET
Last year, Google partnered with Asus and TP-Link to launch the OnHub line of smart routers.
With their sleek appearances, easy to use mobile applications and subtle automations, OnHub routers were aimed at consumers who didn’t want to fiddle with settings or optimization. But OnHub came at a price. Both models had hardware features that weren’t unlocked at launch and hefty price tags, to boot.
Today, Google announced a brand-new, very similar product: Google Wifi. It’s much smaller, just as sleek and more affordable at just $129 (converted, that’s about £101 or AU$170) for one or $299 (£235 or AU$393) for three.
Google Wifi will be available for preorder in November and will be available early December through the Google Store, Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart.
Google Wifi: The first Wi-Fi system that…
1 – 4 of 4
Next
Prev
The key feature is the ability to place several Wi-Fi “points” around the house using multiple Google Wifi units to create a mesh network that blankets your entire house with better wireless coverage. Rather than outfitting the far corners of your house with repeaters, bridges or powerline adapters, in theory, you can just strategically place multiple Google Wifi points around the house for a similar effect with much easier setup.
Enlarge Image
Screenshot by Taylor Martin/CNET
Within this mesh network, the Google Wifi points “work together to determine the best path between points for your data.” As you move throughout the house, your devices will automatically switch to the nearest Google Wifi point to provide the strongest, most reliable signal.
As ominous as Google Wifi may seem for the future of OnHub, current OnHub owners have nothing to fear.
Ben Brown, Google senior product manager, stated on the Keyword Blog that Google Wifi is “built on the strengths of OnHub” and the “next step toward ensuring that our homes can have great Wi-Fi everywhere we need it.” Google Wifi is merely a continuation and rebranding of OnHub.
More from Google’s event
- Google Pixel phones, Daydream View and Chromecast Ultra: Everything Google just announced
- Google’s Pixel, Pixel XL are superphones set to take on iPhone 7
- See all of our Google coverage
As such, OnHub routers will work seamlessly with Google Wifi points. A support page for OnHub reads, “OnHub and Google Wifi will work together. So if you have an OnHub and need more coverage, simply add a Wifi point to your existing network and — voila — you now have a mesh Wi-Fi network.”
As for the application, the OnHub app, currently called Google On, will simply be renamed as Google Wifi, and it will control both OnHub routers and Google Wifi points.
Bowers & Wilkins P9 Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
The Bowers & Wilkins P9 Signature is available now.
Bowers and Wilkins
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Bowers & Wilkins has a gift for its fans: a new flagship headphone, the P9 Signature ($900, £700, AU$1,400).
I haven’t played around with it yet, but it does look swanky, and Bowers & Wilkins is calling it its best-sounding and most luxurious headphone to date. It’s also the company’s largest over-ear headphone and weighs a hefty 415 grams.
Completely custom made, Bowers & Wilkins says the headphone is engineered by the team responsible for the class-leading 800 D3 loudspeaker and features “bespoke” technology and a “crystal-clear listening experience that’s created through the innovative placement of the transducer, which is positioned to provide a more natural listening experience.”
The P9 Signature in its case.
Bowers and Wilkins
Needless to say, with that kind of build-up, I look forward to testing out a pair and getting CNET contributor Steve Guttenberg’s thoughts on the sound along with editor Ty Pendelbury’s.
While we wait for a review sample, here’s a look at the headphones’ highlights, according to Bowers & Wilkins.
- Crafted from Italian Saffiano leather, using a ‘stamping’ technique that gives the material a distinctive cross-hatch finish.
- Memory foam cushions in the earpads help isolate noise from the outside world and mold to the shape of the user’s head over time, providing both an acoustic seal and an incredibly comfortable listening experience.
- Aluminum arms make them ideal for music on the move thanks to their innovative foldable design and material choice, which adds greater durability.
- 415 grams
- 40mm drivers
- The luxurious case is crafted from Alcantara (suede-like feel) and Saffiano leather detail.
- Come with three high-performance cables suitable for use at home and on the go (one cable has an inline remote with microphone).
- An additional Lightning cable is in development and will be out from early 2017 free to those who have registered their P9 on http://www.bowers-wilkins.com.
Google Pixel XL Phone Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
James Martin/CNET
At an event this morning, Google announced a slew of new products, including the debut of the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. The phones have the same design, same processor, same storage and same camera. So with all this sameness, what are the differences?
Well, there are not many. And that’s good, because even if you get the smaller one, you’re not missing out on any cool features. The real differences are in battery and screen size, as well as the resolution and price.
- Screen size: Despite the Pixel XL having a larger screen with more resolution, the smaller Pixel still sports a very respectable 1,920×1,080-pixel display.
- Battery: The Pixel has a 2,770mAh battery and the Pixel XL a 3,450mAh battery. Until we test the phones, we can’t be certain how much more battery life, if any, the Pixel XL will get.
- Price: For a 32 GB model, the Pixel starts at $649 and the Pixel XL at $769. Both are available for preorder today — except the blue version, which is sold out.
The Pixel and Pixel XL come built-in with Google Assistant and support for Google’s Daydream VR platform. Google touts that the camera on the Pixel series is better than on any other smartphone. DxOMark, a camera-testing website, gives the Pixel’s camera a score of 89 — the highest for any smartphone.
Hands-on with Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL phones
Lexy Savvides checks out Google’s new Pixel and Pixel XL, both of which boast the Snapdragon 821 processor and sport a 12-megapixel camera.
by Lexy Savvides
Close
Drag
Check out the full specs for both phones below, and take a look at our hands-on video of the Pixel and Pixel XL.
Google Pixel and Pixel XL specs
| 5-inch; 1,920×1,080 pixels | 5.5-inch; 2,560×1,440 pixels |
| 441 ppi | 534 ppi |
| 5.66×2.74×0.34 (at its thickest) | 6.09×2.98×0.34 (at its thickest) |
| 143.84×69.54×8.58 (at its thickest) | 154.72×75.74×8.58 (at its thickest) |
| 5.04 oz; 143 g | 5.92 oz; 168g |
| Android 7.1 Nougat | Android 7.1 Nougat |
| 12.3-megapixel | 12.3-megapixel |
| 8-megapixel | 8-megapixel |
| 4K | 4K |
| 2.15GHz + 1.6GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 | 2.15GHz + 1.6GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 |
| 32GB, 128GB | 32GB, 128GB |
| 4GB | 4GB |
| None | None |
| 2,770mAh | 3,450mAh |
| Back cover | Back cover |
| USB-C | USB-C |
| Google Assistant built-in; unlimited cloud storage; Daydream VR ready | Google Assistant built-in; unlimited cloud storage; Daydream VR ready |
| $649 (32GB); $749 (128GB) | $769 (32GB); $869 (128GB) |
| £599 (32GB); £699 (128GB) | £719 (32GB); £819 (128GB) |
| TBD | TBD |
More from Google’s event
- Google Pixel phones, Daydream View and Chromecast Ultra: Everything Google just announced
- Google’s Pixel, Pixel XL are superphones set to take on iPhone 7
- See all of our Google coverage
AIVAnet 