The new Microsoft Paint lets you share terrible 3D doodles
As rumored, part of the new WIndows 10 Creators update is a brand new version of Paint. In 3D. Microsoft general manager Megan Saunders showed it off onstage using a 3D scan of a sandcastle from the stage, positioned into a scene with her daughters, over a beach background. The good news is that you can export your final creations, render in 3D and post to Facebook and even make custom emojis using the new functionality. You can even jump into Pinterest-alike boards from the community and grab bits and bobs to throw into your masterpiece. Same goes for exporting and printing Minecraft creations you’ve made. It looks gimmicky and schlocky, sure, but it’s not like you could replicate a Jackson Pollock in Microsoft’s simple toolset before.
Click here to catch all the latest news from Microsoft’s big Surface event.
Lenovo, HP and Dell are all working on $300 Windows VR headsets
Microsoft’s holographic computing platform will crossover to the world of virtual reality. It was first announced at Computex earlier this year and today at the company’s Surface event in New York City that vision came to life on stage. The new Windows Creators update will fire up VR headsets from companies like HP, ASUS, Lenovo, Dell and Acer. Modeled after Microsoft’s HoloLens, these new headsets will carry an internal tracking system and will also be untethered. The devices will work with Windows PCs and will start at $299.
Developing…
Click here to catch all the latest news from Microsoft’s big Surface event.
Elgato Launches First HomeKit-Enabled Light Switch
Elgato today launched the Eve Light Switch, the first available light switch to support Apple’s HomeKit platform.
Eve Light Switch replaces a standard light switch to transform any single or multi-bulb setup into an intelligent lighting system controllable via Siri voice commands or the Elgato Eve app. The switch connects directly to an iPhone or iPad using Bluetooth LE, without the need for a hub, gateway bridge, or Wi-Fi configuration.
The switch has a clean, white modern design with a capacitive touch sensor to manually turn a light on or off with the tap of a finger. The switch requires a neutral wire and replaces a single pole switch. It is not intended for use in a 3-way installation where lights are controlled by more than one switch.
Homeowners can create HomeKit scenes to control Eve Light Switch and other HomeKit-enabled accessories with a single command. The light switch can also be controlled away from home with a third-generation Apple TV running software version 7.2.1 or later or a fourth-generation Apple TV with tvOS 9.2 or later set up as a Home Hub.
iDevices introduced a similar HomeKit-enabled wall switch at CES 2016 earlier this year, and had aimed for second quarter availability, but it has since delayed the product’s launch until the fourth quarter. The switch will connect over Wi-Fi and features a customizable LED night light and support for 3-way installations.
Eve Light Switch is available starting today for $49.95 on Amazon and Elgato’s website. The companion Eve app is a free download from the App Store [Direct Link] for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models running iOS 9.3 or later.
Tags: HomeKit, Elgato
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Apple to Announce New App Focused on TV Show Discovery at Tomorrow’s Event
Apple plans to announce a new app that will help viewers discover TV shows at its “Hello Again” media event tomorrow, according to Dawn Chmielewski for USA Today.
The app, dubbed “The Watch List” internally but expected to have a different name, will reportedly recommend TV shows based on the content users access through their Apple TVs.
For example, an FX Networks subscriber might receive a recommendation to watch the new dramatic series Atlanta, the report said.
For network programmers, it provides a central hub for promoting new shows — a helpful tool at a time when old programming tricks for launching a new series, such as wedging a freshman show next to a hit program, don’t work in the digital world.
The report suggests an Apple TV focus, but it does not specifically mention if the app will be for iOS, tvOS, or both platforms.
Apple’s “Hello Again” event kicks off at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Thursday at its Cupertino, California headquarters.
Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 10
Tag: usatoday.com
Buyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Caution)
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OnePlus 3T: Release date, rumours and everything you need to know
The OnePlus 3 is a fantastic smartphone and although the company ditched the “flagship killer” branding, it is probably this generation that would have been most-worthy of the tagline.
Unfortunately for all those who thought the same us and now own the OnePlus 3, your device might be about to go out of date. No the OnePlus 4 isn’t coming just yet, but there has been talk of a faster OnePlus 3 going by the name OnePlus 3T.
Here is everything we know so far.
OnePlus 3T: Release date
A OnePlus device with the model number A3010 recently passed through China’s version of the FCC – the China Compulsory Certification. A OnePlus designer is then claimed to have confirmed a new device from his Weibo account, referring to the device as the OnePlus 3T.
Neither confirms a release date or price, but the approval from the Chinese Compulsory Certification suggests the device will appear sooner rather than later. There has been talk of a December release, which would make the OnePlus 3T available just in time for Christmas.
OnePlus 3T: Design
The OnePlus 3 features an all-metal, beautiful design and the OnePlus 3T is rumoured to feature the same. Chances are, it will be no different to its slightly older brother.
If this is the case, the OnePlus 3T will be made from anodised aluminium, measure 152.7 x 74.7 x 7.35mm and weigh 158g. The OnePlus 3 is available in Graphite and Soft Gold colour options so we’d expect the same for the OnePlus 3T.
A physical button with a fingerprint sensor built-in will be found on the front of the OnePlus 3T if follows the same design path, while the rear will see a small centralised OnePlus logo, with a larger camera sensor above it towards the top.
OnePlus 3T: Display
Like the design, the display of the OnePlus 3T is expected to remain the same as the OnePlus 3. This means a 5.5-inch Full HD panel for a pixel resolution of 401ppi, putting it slightly lower than the recently launched Google Pixel and Pixel XL.
Google opted for Quad HD on its larger device, which is the same size as the OnePlus 3 and expected OnePlus 3T, but we can’t see OnePlus moving to a higher resolution screen on what is seemingly an incremental upgrade device rather than a new “flagship killer”.
- Google Pixel XL review: Android’s new heavyweight champion
OnePlus 3T: Hardware
According to the rumours, the OnePlus 3T will feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, which is a slightly enhanced version of the Snapdragon 820 found in the OnePlus 3. This is the only area where the new device is rumoured to differ.
Launching a OnePlus 3 upgrade with the new processor not only puts it in line with the latest Google flagships terms of speed, but it will also make the OnePlus 3T more VR-friendly given the SD821 has been specifically associated with virtual reality.
All the other hardware is expected to remain the same as the OnePlus 3, meaning 6GB of RAM, 64GB of storage and a 3000mAh battery. Dash Charge will of course be supported again no doubt and USB Type-C will also be present.
- Google Pixel review: Pure, wonderful, enhanced Android
OnePlus 3T: Camera
As you might have guessed by now, the camera combination on the OnePlus 3T is rumoured to be the same as the OnePlus 3.
That means you can expect a 16-megapixel Sony sensor on the rear featuring 1.12µm pixels, an aperture of f/2.0 and 4K video recording capability. It will also likely come with optical image stabilisation, something the Google Pixel devices don’t offer, and phase detetion autofocus.
On the front, the OnePlus 3T should come with an 8-megapixel snapper, offering fixed focus, an aperture of f/2.0 and 1080p video recording capability.
- OnePlus 3 review: The flagship killer we’ve been waiting for
OnePlus 3T: Software
The OnePlus 3T should arrive on Android Nougat with the Oxygen OS overlay. Whether the new device will feature the 7.1 software build is not yet known, but this would make the most sense.
OnePlus weren’t the quickest to update its devices to Marshmallow after the final build was announced in October 2015, with users having to wait over six months, so it would be great to see the OnePlus 3T arrive on the latest software straight from the box.
OnePlus 3T: Conclusion
Based on the rumours, the OnePlus 3T will be the OnePlus 3 but with the latest Snapdragon 821 processor and it will arrive before the end of 2016.
Whether OnePlus will announce a couple of extra surprises for the OnePlus 3T remains to be seen and we are still waiting on a concrete release date, but if you’re considering buying a OnePlus 3, you might want to hold off for a few weeks.
Rumours should of course all be taken with a pinch of salt, but is it worth the risk of seeing your brand-new device potentially replaced with a faster model almost immediately?
AT&T reportedly spies on its customers for government cash
AT&T controls a big chunk of America’s cellular infrastructure, and it turns out that it’s been using that power for super-creepy purposes. The Daily Beast is reporting that the telco has essentially turned itself into a spy-for-hire in the pay of the government. According to the piece, the company’s Project Hemisphere is providing warrantless surveillance, thanks to some legal gray areas, that score it millions of dollars from taxpayers.
The existence of Project Hemisphere has been known since the New York Times reported on it way back in 2013. Back then, it was presented as a minor tool that was only employed in a handful of states for specialized anti-drug operations. If these new revelations are accurate, then Hemisphere’s being used for a wide variety of crimes all across the country ranging from murder all the way through to Medicaid fraud. AT&T’s information is good enough that it can tell investigators where someone was when they made a call, who they were speaking to and, as we know from the EFF, it’s easy to divine intention just from those two pieces of information.
AT&T owns a massive proportion of America’s landline switches and cell towers and stores phone metadata for years, possibly decades. Ordinarily, this bulk collection is mandated by law and the data should be made available upon request with a warrant. AT&T, however, has decided that there’s money in this particular banana stand, and is going above and beyond the call of duty to data mine our personal data, turn it into a product and sell it off.
The company has already responded to the allegations, telling the Beast that there is “no special database.” Which is odd, because the site sources leaked documents where AT&T specifically requests that its name isn’t used in judicial proceedings. After all, if it has nothing to hide and isn’t doing anything dodgy, then why would it need to make outsized requests to protect its privacy? A cynic would say that AT&T values nobody’s privacy but its own, but that’d just be the cynic talking.
Source: The Daily Beast
MPs want Sky and Virgin Media to make public channels more visible
Pay-TV providers in the UK may be forced to do more to promote the on-demand content of public service broadcasters (PSBs) on their platforms in the future, under new rules being discussed by MPs. The Digital Economy Bill, announced earlier this year in the Queen’s Speech before being published a few months later, sets out obligations for broadband coverage/speeds and writes a requirement for age gates on porn sites into law, among other things. It’s currently making its way through the House of Commons, and yesterday members of the Public Bill Committee proposed a new amendment that would ensure PSBs like the BBC gained more visibility on pay-TV platforms — a direct reaction to our changing viewing habits.
You see, telecoms regulator Ofcom already requires pay-TV platforms give PSBs — or what I’d call the traditional terrestrial channels of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 — a mandatory level of “prominence” on their services. That’s why these channels are always listed at the top of the electronic programme guide (EPG) on Sky, Virgin Media and the like — though even this rule is considered slightly outdated, with supplementary channels like CBeebies buried way down the list. The main problem is, the EPG is becoming progressively less relevant as the convenience of on-demand content and catch-up services change the way we watch TV.
The Public Bill Committee discussed that not only do PSBs now have to compete with streaming services like Netflix, but they’re becoming increasingly hidden on pay-TV platforms. Sky Q is a perfect example of this. The new service almost discourages you from watching live TV, with the UI specifically geared towards on-demand viewing. Understandably, Sky uses this to primarily recommend and promote its own premium content, from shows to sports to movies and box sets. As noted in our Sky Q review, the BBC has allegedly already complained to Sky about unfair representation.
The fact that PSB catch-up content is rarely visible is seen as a growing threat. If the public isn’t aware of what they have to offer, there will be less eyeballs on adverts, which leads to less money to invest in content, and so on. In the BBC’s case, it could be hard for them to meet targets set out in the Royal Charter if less people turn to iPlayer for entertainment (which in turn would make it harder to justify the value of the licence fee). Following a recommendation by Ofcom last year that the situation needs addressing, MPs are suggesting an amendment to the Communications Act 2003 that expands the required prominence pay-TV providers must show PSBs to include their on-demand content and services.
The issue of prominence is tied to another long-standing debate around retransmission fees. PSBs have argued for forever that providers like Sky and Virgin Media should pay fees to host PSB channels, since they don’t see any of that sweet subscriber cash despite adding significant value to pay-TV platforms. The Digital Economy Bill scraps a section of the Copyright, Patents and Designs Act 1988 that prohibits PSBs from charging retransmission fees. This was originally intended to promote the retransmission of signals in underserved areas, long before the advent of streaming services and such.
While repealing this section may come to haunt services like TVCatchup, which profit from streaming free PSB channels and framing them in adverts, the government has already said it won’t affect relationships with regular pay-TV providers, and that it will look at introducing new legislation if PSBs try to push for retransmission fees. The argument is that PSBs are already compensated through cheap spectrum licences and prominence within pay-TV providers’ EPGs. Should the amendment to the Communications Act make it into the Digital Economy Bill, expanding prominence to cover on-demand content may give PSBs a competitive leg up, while also putting the grumbles over retransmission fees to bed.
Source: UK Parliament
Alexa makes Amazon’s new Fire HD 8 tablet even more useful
With the Echo and Echo Dot, Amazon proved that its Alexa assistant — and voice commands in general — could actually be pretty helpful. But how will it fair on a device that isn’t listening to you all the time? That’s the question I had when Amazon unveiled the new Fire HD 8, its first tablet to include Alexa support (it’s also coming to the last-gen Fire tablets over the next few weeks). Instead of just shouting “Alexa” or “Amazon” aloud, you have to hold down the Fire HD 8’s home button to activate the assistant, similar to how you’d access it on the Fire TV. That means using Alexa is less seamless than on Echo devices, but it still ends up making the Fire HD 8 a more capable device.
Aside from needing to press a button, Alexa works just as you’d expect on the Fire HD 8. It accepts all of the voice commands as the Echo devices, and it supports most of the skills from third-party developers. (As Amazon tells it, some devs require specific devices for their skills, but there aren’t many of those around.) And yes, if you’ve connected smart home devices to another Alexa device, you’ll be able to control them from the tablet as well.
Because I can’t just shout for Alexa, though, I noticed that I use it differently on the Fire HD 8 compared to the Echo. It’s easy enough ask about the weather while you’re reading an ebook, or have it tune into your favorite radio station while you’re perusing your favorite site. But if your hands are full while cooking, you can’t easily reach over to change the episode of a podcast that you’re listening to. I learned pretty quickly that the hands-free aspect of Alexa on the Echo and Echo Dot is a big reason why I warmed up to it so quickly.
I can understand why Amazon isn’t letting you use your voice to access Alexa on the Fire HD 8, though. It’s just a $90 tablet, and while it’s a bit faster than the previous version, battery life remains a major concern. It’s simpler to just have people manually access Alexa, rather than to have a background service sipping battery life while it waits for your command. Heck, it took Apple years before it made Siri completely hands-free.
There is one change for the better when it comes to using Alexa on a tablet: It takes advantage of the screen to display some helpful cards based on what you request. If you ask for the weather today, you’ll also get a glimpse at what the temperature looks like for the rest of the week. There’s also an experimental feature for existing Echo owners called “voice cast,” which will display cards about requests to your Echo on your Fire HD. Unfortunately, it didn’t work on my Echo or Echo Dot, but I’ll give it a pass for now since it’s still in testing. Amazon says that feature should be available to owners of the New Echo Dot within the next few weeks.
Despite not being as useful as it is on Echo devices, it’s hard to complain about having Alexa on Amazon’s tablets. The company isn’t charging any extra for the feature, and it’s not stopping it from driving down the cost of its slates either. That being said, I can’t wait to see Alexa go completely hands-free on future Amazon tablets (and perhaps on the current devices when they’re plugged in and charging).
Watch Microsoft’s big PC event right here
Microsoft’s “Imagine What You’ll Do” event is just under an hour away. The company is expected to show off new hardware and software at the New York City show — you can read all about it here — including an all-in-one Surface PC, some major Windows 10 updates (including that new version of Paint) and possibly even an Amazon Echo competitor.
Of course we’re there, and you’ll be able to follow along with our liveblog for second-by-second analysis, but there’s also a livestream for you to watch. The event kicks off at 10AM ET, and after it’s over you’ll be able to watch a replay of the whole thing in the same player.
MasterCard Announces Facebook Messenger Bot for Purchases and Account Management
During the Money 20/20 conference taking place in Las Vegas this week, MasterCard announced that it’s creating a chatbot for Facebook Messenger that will allow customers to “transact, manage finances, and shop via messaging platforms.” Like many other companies, MasterCard is getting in on the chatbot craze to boost customer loyalty and profits; according to Gartner “nearly $2 billion in online sales” will pass through an artificial intelligence bot on mobile by the end of the year.
For MasterCard, the company is introducing two chatbots: MasterCard Bot for Banks and MasterCard Bot for Merchants. The distinction in the chatbots lies in their intended use on the consumer side of Facebook Messenger, where users will be able to chat with the bank bot to ask questions about their account, look at purchase history, monitor spending levels, receive assistance with financial literacy, and more. Powered by Kasisto’s KAI Banking AI platform, the MasterCard bot intends to accomplish all these tasks with the conversational ease of “texting a friend.”
“At Mastercard, we believe that AI-driven conversations between companies and their customers can drive better customer experiences in places and platforms that consumers are already engaging in.,” said Kiki Del Valle, senior vice president, Commerce for Every Device, Mastercard.
“Mastercard Labs has been testing integration of key Mastercard products and services within different messaging platforms and we’re thrilled to test Mastercard KAI on Messenger first. We will keep moving this test-and-learn approach to the next phase by developing chatbots that are naturally ingrained into a consumer’s daily life and helps our partners stimulate business interactions that are more conversational.”
When users want to shop and spend in Facebook Messenger, MasterCard Bot for Merchants will let them execute transactions through Masterpass. The shopping bot was developed in-house at MasterCard Labs and is planned to work “across multiple verticals” when it launches, from airlines to numerous retail chains, letting customers shop without needing to visit a separate app. The company mentioned the bot will be coming to “various messaging platforms,” confirming that Facebook Messenger is simply the first app getting the MasterCard chatbot.
Merchants will be able to use MasterCard’s experimental Bot Commerce API on the MasterCard Developers platform when it’s opened up for testing later this year, but a public launch of the retail-focused chatbot wasn’t announced. MasterCard Bot for Banks was tipped for a debut “early next year,” but so far only for users within the United States.
Facebook first introduced chatbots into Messenger in April, and the platform has since been embraced by a number of partners. Other credit card companies have launched an AI-enhanced bot for their customers, including American Express, but even game companies like Blizzard have figured out ways to use a chatbot to their advantage, this week teasing content for Hearthstone within Facebook Messenger.
Tags: Facebook, Facebook Messenger, MasterCard
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