Pokemon Go’s Halloween treat will stuff you full of Candy
Pokemon Go is getting into the spirit of Halloween, with a special in-game event running from 26 October through to 1 November.
Some of the treats that Pokemon Go has in store are a little disappointing: suggesting that there will be more Zubats around to make things spooky is a bit like reaching into a treat basket and pulling out a packet of organic raisins.
Who wants raisins? Who wants more Zubat?
Fortunately, Pokemon Go will also be going crazy with the Candy, with double Candy on offer for all Pokemon you catch, evolve and transfer. That potentially means you’ll be able to ratchet up the Candy needed to evolve some of those rarer forms – if you’ve been hoarding extra Pokemon you don’t need, wait until 26 October before transferring them back to the Professor.
- Pokemon Go: How to raise your XP level, power up and evolve your Pokemon
- Pokemon Go buddy: How to use the new buddy system
Talking of rarer forms, Niantic has said that there will more of the following Pokenom to catch: Drowzee, Gastly, Gengar, Golbat, Haunter, Hypno, and Zubat.
Of these, Gengar is perhaps the most interesting as it’s the only one on the list we’ve never found in the wild – although that will be different for those living elsewhere.
You don’t have to do anything, you just have to step out the door and play as normal, and cash-in on those extra Candy from 26 October.
Blockchain gets its first test with international trade
Some financial gurus are convinced that blockchain (the underlying tech behind bitcoin) is the future of business, and they might already have some proof. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Wells Fargo have conducted the first international, inter-bank trade deal to use blockchain for the transaction. It was a relatively modest experiment that shipped $35,000 in cotton from Texas to China, but it demonstrated the advantages of taking humans out of the equation. The deal included smart contracts that automatically sent payments and transferred ownership as the cargo reached certain locations. The companies involved didn’t have to waste time sending documents, processing money or worrying about potential fraud.
Don’t expect blockchain to be a mainstay of trade in the near future. Wells Fargo tells the Sydney Morning Herald that there are “significant regulatory, legal and other concerns” that have to be resolved before it’s used on a regular basis. However, the advantages make it hard to ignore. Existing shipping processes can take days, especially for cross-continent trips where time zones are a major factor. Blockchain reduces the transaction time to minutes — cargo could arrive much sooner, which means less time waiting for the products you want to buy.
Via: Reuters, Sydney Morning Herald
Source: Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Vixole’s Matrix shoe puts an active LED display on your feet
Now that Nike’s Back to the Future-inspired high tops exist, and the famous self-lacing tech has arrived on a consumer product, even footwear is beginning to get smarter. With a little crowdfunding help, Vixole will be making its own contribution to the growing lineup of forward-thinking kicks, with its Matrix shoe. The startup’s Indiegogo campaign launched today and aims to put customizable LED displays for static or motion graphics on everyone’s feet. It’s not just for eye candy, however: The design includes an array of sensors that can adjust the visuals according to movement, GPS coordinates or even react to your playlist.
Vixole made its first announcement about the Matrix a few months back, providing mockups of its intelligent footwear and even surfacing its prototype on occasion. I met up with Ali Ma and Haidong Dong, two of the founders, to check it out and learn a bit more about their plans. This is the second footwear project for Ali, who previously launched Essential Marks, sneakers designed with LEDs circling a transparent sole. Haidong joined to help on the business side and this led the duo to take things one step further for their follow-up project.
With the help of its team of designers and engineers, the company has laid out the plans for the Vixole Matrix smart LED high top. The final design will wrap a 22ppi LED display around the rear of the shoe’s upper within injection molded thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). This is a durable, flexible material, similar to what’s you’ll find on products like the Nike FuelBand SE.
Sensors including units to detect sound, light and bending, along with an accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer will be installed inside a specially designed insole. There will also be haptic sensors on board, so if you wanted you could get vibrating notifications and prompts for turn-by-turn directions. This set of features could be combined with LED blinkers on each shoe — a useful option, say, if you were riding a bike. There will even be a step tracker, which seems like a no-brainer for smart footwear.
Other potential uses could add some flare to a night on the dance floor; actively react to your skateboard stunts; or even connect to third-party apps to provide motion capture data. This is one of the reasons why the Vixole team is making the software open source. There will be a mobile app to help control and customize the illumination tech on Vixole’s shoes including the ability to capture and convert photos into displayable graphics. You’ll also be able to access the Vixole marketplace to download new designs or share your own creations.
Right now the team is at the proof of concept stage and the Indiegogo campaign will help take the product from prototype to the final market version. With all this tech on board, the estimated retail price of $345 seems reasonable enough (they’re smarter than Yeezy’s, after all), but if you take advantage of the crowd-funding deals you could score a pair for as low as $225.
Apple Sold 70% Fewer Apple Watches This Summer Compared to Last
The latest numbers from market research firm IDC reveal Apple Watch shipments totaled an estimated 1.1 million units in the third quarter, reflecting a three-month period between June and September, a sharp 71.6% decline compared to an estimated 3.9 million Apple Watch shipments last summer.
The decline can be at least partially attributed to the lack of an Apple Watch refresh until the final two weeks of the quarter, when the Apple Watch Series 2 and slightly updated first-generation models launched. The overall smartwatch market also declined an estimated 51.6% in the third quarter.
Apple still maintained its position as the overall leader of the worldwide smartwatch market with an estimated 41.3% market share, despite posting the second largest year-over-year decline among the leading vendors. Garmin finished in second with an estimated 20.5% market share following strong 342.2% growth.
Garmin’s growing list of ConnectIQ-enabled smartwatches and the new fenix Chronos allowed it to leapfrog Samsung, which captured only 14.4% market share based on an estimated 400,000 smartwatch shipments, according to IDC. Lenovo and Pebble rounded off the top five with an estimated 100,000 shipments respectively.
Apple does not disclose Watch sales in its quarterly earning results, instead grouping the device under its “Other Products” category alongside the likes of iPods, Apple TVs, Beats, and accessories. The focus will now shift to the more important fourth quarter, encompassing the busy holiday shopping season.
Related Roundups: Apple Watch Series 2, watchOS 3
Tag: IDC
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums
Apple Details Launch Countries for Apple Watch Nike+, Confirms Bands Will Not Be Sold Separately
In a press release sent out today, which further confirms the launch of the Apple Watch Nike+ this Friday, October 28, Apple has given detailed information on the availability of the running-focused device as the rollout begins this weekend. For its official launch on Friday, the Apple Watch Nike+ will debut in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and 38 other countries.
Following the October 28 debut of the device, Apple will then keep expanding the launch of the Apple Watch Nike+ in 7 countries on Saturday, October 29, and one country on Sunday, October 30. Below is the complete list of countries the wearable will be made available throughout each launch period.
October 28:
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Canada
- China
- Columbia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- India
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Luxembourg
- Macau
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Monaco
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Puerto Rico
- Singapore
- South Africa
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Russia
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- United States
October 29:
- Bahrain
- Greece
- Kuwait
- Oman
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- UAE
October 30:
- Israel
The Apple Watch Nike+ comes with a collection of exclusive features baked into the device’s hardware, including the new Nike+ Run Club app, so users can get the most out of running with the Apple Watch as possible. In the new press release, Apple also confirmed that the Nike Sport Bands will be sold exclusively in Apple Watch Nike+ collections, and not be sold separately.
Otherwise, the Nike device is the same as all of the other Series 2 Apple Watches, with built-in GPS, “the brightest display Apple has ever made,” and water resistance up to 50 meters. Apple Watch Nike+ will be available in 38 mm at $369 and in 42 mm at $399 from Apple.com, Nike.com, Apple retail stores, “select” Nike retail stores, and some department stores including Macy’s and DICK’S Sporting Goods.
Related Roundups: Apple Watch Series 2, watchOS 3
Tag: Apple Watch Nike+ Edition
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums
Apple Registers Three New Macs in Europe Ahead of Thursday’s ‘Hello Again’ Event
Just three days before Apple’s “Hello Again” event, where it is widely expected to announce new Macs, French website Consomac has discovered a new Russian-language regulatory filing, in the Eurasian Economic Commission database, that points towards at least three new models launching soon.
The three new Macs, identified only with model numbers A1706, A1707, A1708, are likely to be new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros alongside a new 13-inch MacBook, which could be a refreshed Air model, based on previous reports. However, adding confusion to the mix is the consecutive sequence of the model numbers.
The filing, published today, satisfies Russia’s requirement for companies to register all products containing encryption and/or cryptographic tools.
Over the weekend, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said he believes the highlight of Apple’s event on Thursday will be a redesigned MacBook Pro in both 13-inch and 15-inch sizes, adopting an OLED touch bar and Touch ID sensor, USB-C with Thunderbolt 3, and the same butterfly keyboard design introduced on the MacBook in 2015.
The all-new MacBook Pro is also expected to have faster Intel Skylake processors and faster graphics, possibly including the option of AMD “Polaris” graphics on higher-end models. Kuo said Apple will offer a new option of 2TB SSD storage, while it or a third-party supplier will release a MagSafe-like USB-C charging adapter.
The new 13-inch MacBook, meanwhile, is likely to be a refreshed MacBook Air, which would align with other rumors claiming that only the 13-inch MacBook Air will be seeing an update with new USB-C ports. However, there is an outside chance the model could be a slightly larger version of the current 12-inch MacBook.
Related Roundups: MacBook Air, MacBook Pro
Buyer’s Guide: MacBook Air (Don’t Buy), Retina MacBook Pro (Don’t Buy)
Discuss this article in our forums
IBM Watson collaborates on EP with Grammy-winning producer
IBM’s Watson has upended any romantic notions of songwriting by making it a precise formula of inspiration, emotion, musical theory and trends. The AI system’s new music algorithm, called “Beat,” helped producer Alex da Kid create his first solo EP of four songs, the first of which, Not Easy (feat. X Ambassadors, Elle King and Wiz Khalifa), dropped on Friday. To be clear, IBM’s bot didn’t write the song, but rather generated “completely new musical scores” that da Kid (who produced singles by Dr. Dre, Rhianna and others) used as inspiration for the tunes.
IBM first outed Watson Beat earlier this summer. For Da Kid, the algorithms collected music cultural trends and over the last five years, including Nobel Prize speeches, Billboard song lyrics, movie synopses and more. Another Watson bot, the Tone Analyzer, examined two million lines of social media content to grasp the emotions around all that data.
It then studied recent musical trends, examining the pitch, time, key signatures and note sequences in songs. Combining that with the emotional and cultural analysis, it was able to create brand new musical scores based on moods like joyful or devastated, or an atmosphere like spooky or cheerful. (Check here to see scores created earlier by Watson Beat.) “Using this technology, Alex could create new songs — even snippets of songs, like a bass line –- until he found a sound that inspired him,” the team says, adding that the song itself is “100 percent organic.”
Just because it can, Watson also created a visualization of the data using IBM’s Cognitive Color Design tool to help Da Kid design the album’s artwork and colors.
Da Kid says that Watson was able to show him the heavy emotions that millions of people were feeling around the world. “Normally when I start creating, I just talk to people about their failed marriages or whatever,” Da Kid says. “[With Watson] it’s almost like having a million of yourself reading a million books at once and a million articles, and understanding social media. I could never do that.”
So enough analysis, how is the actual song? It has a country-fried flavor to start with, and the beat progresses nicely to Wiz Khalifa’s rap. However, the word “generic” came up during my informal survey, which isn’t surprising considering that the computer scanned thousands of hit songs, social media posts, culture trends and more. As Engadget’s Aaron Souppouris found out when looking at the first computer-generated musical, “by coming up with the perfect formula … you invariably create something that’s formulaic.”
Note 7 debacle forces Samsung to offer next-gen discounts in Korea
In an effort to retain Galaxy Note 7 customers in South Korea, Samsung is offering a big discount on the upcoming Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 models. The company will effectively offer 50 percent off the next-gen phone, provided that Note 7 customers upgrade to the current Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge models. Samsung recently killed its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone because of fire and explosion problems. It initially misdiagnosed the problem as being battery-related, and issued replacement phones that were still defective.
While users in the US claim that Samsung isn’t making good on property damage caused by the Note 7, the company’s home base is no less pleased, either. Hundreds of users filed a class action suit over the defective device, Bloomberg reports. An attorney for the law firm handling the suit says it has gathered 500 Note 7 owners in just five days and said consumers are “very angry.” On top of that, a consulting firm has advised shareholders to vote against Chairman-in-waiting Jay Y. Lee from joining the board.
So far, Samsung has lost an estimated $5 billion in sales and up to $26 billion in market value. To stop disgruntled Note 7 customers at home from switching brands, Samsung is letting them join the Galaxy Upgrade program and pick up a Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge. They’ll just need to pay off half the price, either at once or by payments, and can then upgrade to the Galaxy S8 or Note 8 for free once they come out. The program will be offered until the end of November, but customers who already upgraded the Note 7 to a Galaxy S7 can apply for the new deal retroactively.
Via: Reuters
Source: Samsung Korea (translated)
The Original iPod Turns 15 Years Old
On Sunday, Apple’s original iPod celebrated the 15th anniversary of its launch on October 23, 2001. The reveal of the iPod by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs in 2001 was preceded by the usual breadcrumb trail of mystery, rumors, and leaks, with most reports pointing to a new “breakthrough digital device” coming from the company later in the month. Apple even hinted itself that “it’s not a Mac.”
Some speculation went against rumors that the device would be an MP3 player, even suggesting it could be “something more sophisticated such as a component for a home digital stereo system.” Still, most reports pointed toward the impending launch of the “iPod,” a device that would allow customers to ditch their cumbersome CD players and listen to thousands of songs from one device in their pocket.
In the official keynote address, Jobs referred to the Mac as the focal point of the Apple customer’s digital lifestyle, with the new iPod device as the ultra-portable, music-enabled addition to that lifestyle. The iPod launched for $399 with a 5GB hard drive that could hold up to 1,000 songs, a 10-hour battery life, a black and white LCD screen, came equipped with FireWire to enable a connection between it and iTunes on a Mac, and was the size of a deck of cards (2.4″ wide, 4″ tall, 3/4″ thick).
A few individuals who were part of the iPod’s launch looked back at the device over the weekend, although Apple itself remained silent on the topic. In the first official promotional video for the iPod, a collection of Apple executives and musicians — including Phil Schiller, Jony Ive, and Moby — are seen discussing the creation and impact of the device. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Moby remembers “how magical it was,” and remarks on how much has changed with the iPod, and its successor in the iPhone, in 15 years.
“It’s a little disconcerting when I look back at the past, but the past still sounds like the future,” Moby says. “I remember when 2002 seemed like an unimaginably far time — like, really far away. Now it’s like a distant past.”
Technology is, obviously, the perfect physical encapsulation of this: “Remember those multicolored clamshell laptops that Apple had?” he says. “Now they seem old and clunky, like a weird pair of sneakers. But at the time, they just represented the future. The same thing with the iPod, at the time it was so futuristic, and now it just seems like an adorable relic.”
The first alternative iPod lineup, dubbed the iPod mini, debuted in 2004, followed by the iPod nano and iPod shuffle in 2005. The iPod touch was eventually introduced as a non-cellular counterpart to the company’s iPhone, and became one of the longest-lasting iPod lines to date (six generations), tied with the classic line, but behind the iPod nano (seven generations).
In 2016, Apple still manufactures and sells the iPod touch, iPod nano, and iPod shuffle, but the three devices have long been removed from the main toolbar navigation on its website, and are now located under “Music.” The three current iPods on sale bear little resemblance to the original device’s famous click wheel interface, which was mechanical in the first generation and touch-sensitive in subsequent lines. The last iPod with a click wheel, the iPod Classic, was discontinued by Apple in 2014 and marked the sixth generation of the device.
The iPod began Apple’s quest to make music a mainstay in its customers’ lives by finding a seamless and effortless way for songs to be carried around, in opposition to the size of CD players and the general confusion at the time over how other MP3 players worked. Today, music is a bigger part of Apple than ever, with Apple Music slowly growing in subscribers and the iPhone now essentially the modern version of the original 5GB iPod from fifteen years ago.
This week at a Mac-focused event, it’s also expected that the company will debut the wireless “AirPods.” The Bluetooth device will be the newest implementation of its ubiquitous headphone line, which began alongside the iPod in 2001.
Related Roundups: iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod touch
Buyer’s Guide: iPod Shuffle (Don’t Buy), iPod Nano (Don’t Buy), iPod Touch (Don’t Buy)
Discuss this article in our forums
How to share and review apps in Google Play
Google Play has a lot of app in the store… so how do you find the right ones?
Search can show you what you want if you’re specific enough — maybe — but most of our apps don’t come from search, they come from our friends, they come from strangers, they come from opinions. They come from our feedback others have left, which is why almost every app you’ve ever used has had one of those annoying little pop-ups asking you to rate it. Good apps deserve to be shared and championed. Bad apps deserve to be rated, too.
- How to share apps from Google Play
- How to share apps via Family Library
- How to rate apps in Google Play
- How to review apps in Google Play
- How to add apps to your Wishlist
- How to access your Wishlist
How to share apps from Google Play
Say you’ve got a cool app you want a friend to try. Say you need to video chat with your mom and she doesn’t have Duo or Skype installed. Instead of telling them to go find it themselves, you can share a link to the app directly in Google Play.
Tap the Google Play icon on your home screen.
Swipe in from the left edge of the screen OR tap the three-line menu icon in the top white bar to open the menu.
Tap My apps & games.
Swipe up to scroll down the list of Installed apps.
Tap the app you wish to share.
Swipe up to scroll down the app listing, past the rating and reviews.
Tap the Share button.
Tap to select which service you want to share your app’s link through, such as sharing it on Twitter.
Share the link.
How to share apps via Family Library
If you are part of a Family Library, you can share some of your paid apps with your family. Not every app you ever purchased is eligible, but any apps you can share with family are welcome, and here’s how we do it if you didn’t set Google Play to automatically share your apps with the family.
Tap the Google Play icon on your home screen.
Swipe in from the left edge of the screen OR tap the three line menu icon in the top white bar to open the menu.
Tap My apps & games.
Swipe up to Scroll down the list of Installed apps.
Tap the app you wish to share.
Below the Install and Uninstall buttons will be a toggle for Family Library if your app is eligible. Swipe the toggle right.
After that, apps will appear in a Family Library tab of My apps & games on your family members’ devices, ready to install.
How to rate apps in Google Play
If you think an app is great (or not so great), then you should tell you friends, you should tell everyone, and most of all you should tell Google by rating it in Google Play. Ratings help Google figure out which apps to show users in search results. Ratings are important, and here’s how to make one.
Tap My apps & games.
Swipe up to Scroll down the list of Installed apps.
Tap the app you wish to rate.
Swipe up to scroll down past the app listing’s screenshots. You’ll see your name and five empty stars.
Tap the star rating you wish to give the app.
The full review window will pop up, but you don’t have to fill it out if you don’t want to. Hit Submit to confirm your rating.
Your ratings will appear along others in the app’s listing, and if your Google+ friends and Google contacts see the app listing, they may see your rating before those of strangers.
How to review apps in Google Play
If you have specific praise (or scorn) for an app, then you can voice it in a review. App reviews on Google Play also serve as important feedback for developers, though any problems should be addressed with the developer directly before airing them in a public review. Reviews are easy to leave and easy to change, so make sure you keep yours current!
Tap My apps & games.
Scroll down the list of Installed apps.
Tap the app you wish to rate.
Swipe up to scroll down past the app listing’s screenshots. You’ll see your name and five empty stars.
Tap the star rating you wish to give the app.
The full review window will pop up. Type in a title and your review.
Tap Submit to save your review.
How to add apps to your Wishlist
The Wishlist in Google Play is often overlooked and ignored, and not without reason. As you can’t share your Google Play Wishlist, many don’t see the point in putting apps on it only for themselves. I find the Wishlist quite useful, allowing me to keep apps and movies on it while waiting for them to go on sale (or for more Google Opinion Rewards credit to roll in). It’s also great at keeping apps and elements together before projects, such as a new home screen theme or a DIY project.
Tap to open the listing of the app you wish to add to your Wishlist.
Tap the outlined bookmark icon to the right of the app’s title.
The bookmark icon will fill in and a message will appear stating the app is being added to the list. Should you wish to remove the app, simple tap the bookmark icon again.
How to access your Wishlist
Another reason Google Play Wishlists are often ignored is they’re somewhat buried in the store. It’s easy to get to, but still out of sight, out of mind for most. Here’s where it’s hiding:
Tap the Google Play icon on your home screen.
Swipe in from the left edge of the screen OR tap the three line menu icon in the top white bar to open the menu.
Swipe up to scroll down past Redeem and Send gift.
Tap Wishlist.
What’s on your app wish list?
What are some apps you think are worth sharing with friends, families — and the AC community? Let us know on the comments!
AIVAnet 