MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar Will Display Function Keys When Running Windows With Boot Camp

One of the biggest questions about the Touch Bar on Apple’s new MacBook Pro is how it will work with Windows through Boot Camp. That led MacRumors reader Abraham to send an email to Apple’s software engineering chief Craig Federighi, who shared good news for dual-booters.

“Craig, am I correct in assuming that the Touch Bar becomes a row of visual function keys when using Windows with Boot Camp?”
Federighi: “You are indeed!”

Presumably, this means the Touch Bar will likely display virtual function keys between F1-F12, along with an Escape key, when running Windows. It remains to be seen if there will be specific controls for system-level tasks such as volume, playback, and display brightness. Meanwhile, the virtual power button should work, but without Touch ID.

MacRumors cannot fully confirm the authenticity of the email, but it does appear to be sent by Federighi through Apple’s corporate servers based on full headers we saw. Apple executives occasionally respond to customer emails, or it is possible the response was handled by Apple’s executive relations or public relations teams.

Boot Camp is an Apple utility that enables users to partition their SSDs or hard drives and install Windows directly on a Mac, allowing for macOS and Windows to be run side by side. It differs from virtualization software like Parallels and VMware Fusion, which allows Windows to run as a desktop app within macOS itself.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Tags: Windows, Craig Federighi, Boot Camp, Touch Bar
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‘Icarus’ machine can commandeer a drone mid-flight

Security researcher Jonathan Andersson has shown it’s possible to hijack drones that rely on the DSMx signal protocol. Unlike conventional jammers, which simply strip control from the user, this technique gives the attacker full flight capabilities. In an email to Ars Technica, Andersson explained that his new “Icarus” system is effective because it observes the underlying protocol and then brute forces the “secret” shared between the drone and controller. In addition, the setup relies on a “timing attack vulnerability,” effectively pipping the original transmitter’s signal to the drone, so that it accepts the attacker’s inputs and rejects the owner.

Andersson presented his work at the PacSec security conference in Tokyo earlier this week. It’s a timely reminder that drones, like any form of remote electronics, can be hacked with enough time and persistence. DSMx, however, isn’t the only signal protocol. Many drone manufacturers, including DJI, use an alternative protocol which may or may not be vulnerable to a similar attack. Regardless, such methods should be of interest to the government and law enforcement — both to protect their own hardware, and stop the UAVs used by their adversaries. If you’re intrigued too, you can check out Anderson’s slides from PacSec here.

Drone hijack hardware demonstration at PacSec in Tokyo. pic.twitter.com/NQxA82qJTD

— dragosr (@dragosr) October 26, 2016

Source: Ars Technica, Jonathan Andersson (Prezi)

Soylent stops powder sales after making some people sick

Crafting a powder-based drink that can replace your entire diet, it turns out, is pretty darn difficult. Following a total recall of its food bars, Soylent has slammed the breaks on its liquid meals too. The company says “a handful” of customers, or less than 0.1 percent, have experienced “stomach-related symptoms” similar to the ones reported by its snack bar users. (Those, if you need a reminder, include vomiting, diarrhoea and severe stomach pain.) Soylent is still looking for the root of the problem. Its previous powder formula, 1.5, appeared to be fine, so the company is narrowing its search to the ingredients specific to 1.6 and the bars.

“We are going to continue to look into this further and share our findings with the FDA so that they can do their own evaluation,” the company said.

In the meantime, it’s stopping all sales of the powder. The team is focused on “reformulating” the mixture and its nutritional snack bars, and expects both to be back on the market in early 2017. For now, customers will need to start eating like regular human beings — or switch to one of Soylent’s competitors. If, however, you haven’t experienced any problems, you should be okay to work through what’s left of your supplies. “We see no reason to stop enjoying it,” the company said. “But if you have had any sensitivities, we suggest discarding whatever is left and letting us know.”

Even if Soylent fixes the problem, a larger challenge remains — repairing the inevitable damage to its brand. New and longtime customers will be hesitant to trust the company again, especially as its products have a direct impact on their personal health. Soylent is attractive because it’s convenient, but that will matter little if people think it’s dangerous.

Source: Soylent

Galaxy S8 to feature a slick design, improved camera, and an enhanced AI service

The Note 7 debacle has hurt Samsung’s bottom line this quarter, with the company expected to lose a total of $5 billion over the recall and eventual discontinuation of sales. The South Korean manufacturer is looking to turn things around early next year with the launch of the Galaxy S8, and according to The Wall Street Journal, it plans to do that by incorporating a “slick design and an improved camera, as well as an enhanced artificial-intelligence service.”

The comment comes from Lee Kyeong-tae, Samsung’s vice president for mobile communications. He didn’t offer any specifics on how the artificial intelligence service would work, but Samsung will likely leverage its recent acquisition of Viv to build a voice-guided assistant that responds to natural language queries.

Viv is billed as a next-generation assistant, one that’s capable of writing its own code to handle new tasks. To get an idea of how Viv functions, you should take a look at this demo:

At the time of the acquisition, Samsung noted that it will integrate Viv’s service into its home appliances, wearables, and other products:

With Viv, Samsung will be able to unlock and offer new service experiences for its customers, including one that simplifies user interfaces, understands the context of the user and offers the user the most appropriate and convenient suggestions and recommendations.

Viv was built with both consumers and developers in mind. This dual focus is also what attracted us to Viv as an ideal candidate to integrate with Samsung home appliances, wearables and more, as the paradigm of how we interact with technology shifts to intelligent interfaces and voice control.

The Galaxy S8 is also rumored to be the first phone to offer optical fingerprint recognition, which allows the fingerprint sensor to be embedded underneath the display. Samsung is expected to unveil the phone next February at Mobile World Congress 2017.

Google Assistant in Allo: Everything you need to know

OK Google, let’s see what you can do.

Google’s AI-powered Assistant is the standout feature of the Pixel and Pixel XL. The Assistant is baked into the Pixels, and is available as a chatbot in Google’s latest messaging app Allo. The Assistant is an evolution of Google Now, and will make its way on products beyond phones and smartwatches, like Google Home.

Interactions with the Google Assistant are conversational in nature, and the service does a great job of remembering your line of questioning. For instance, you can ask the Assistant about the first Doctor Who episode, and it’ll give you the details in the form of a card containing air date and additional information. Later, if you ask a question along the lines of when the next season will air, it will remember the earlier thread and surface results about the upcoming season.

The goal is to make the Assistant personable and readily available to answer your queries. The service is still in its infancy, but the advantage with Assistant is that it can readily draw on a huge pool of data from Google’s knowledge graph. As more and more users start using the service, it will use its AI smarts to deliver better recommendations.

In this guide, we’ll showcase how the Google Assistant functions within Allo. Think of it as a primer on what the Assistant is capable of today. Given that the underlying functionality of the Assistant is the same across devices, there won’t be vast differences in implementation when using the service in Allo, the Pixels, or Google Home. That said, we’ll expand on its integration within the Pixel and Pixel XL in a separate guide.

Here’s what you can do with the Google Assistant.

How to subscribe to daily alerts in Google Assistant

Google Assistant lets you subscribe to receive news stories, weather information, fun facts, poems, currency exchange rates, and more on a daily basis. The Assistant will automatically use your current location for weather alerts, but you can specify a different location.

When it comes to news, you’ll be able to select publications and categories. You can then select a particular time for the Assistant to deliver the daily briefs. Once you’re subscribed, you can at all your active subscriptions or make changes by asking Assistant, “Show active subscriptions.”

How to use Google Assistant to unwind

Feeling bored? You can ask the Google Assistant to play songs and videos, tell jokes, and if you’re in the mood to procrastinate some more, you can also play puzzles and games with the service. Just say “let’s play a game,” and you’ll see options for solitaire, tic-tac-toe, chat games (guessing Hollywood movies based on emojis is harder than you think), quiz games, and more. Games featured in Google Doodles are also available, including Pac-Man, Rubik’s Cube, and Beethoven.

How to use Google Assistant to set reminders and alarms

With Google Assistant, it’s easy to set alerts, reminders, timers, and more. Just ask the Assistant to set a reminder for a specific date, choose the time, and you’re done. The reminders are contained within Allo and don’t show up in other services like Keep or Google Now.

How to search your photos using Google Assistant

If you’re looking for photos of a particular place or person, Google Assistant will be able to search through your Photos library. You’ll also be able to set search parameters based on when the photos were taken. It’s a nifty feature if you’re looking to access a photo quickly. You can also ask Assistant to surface all images taken at a particular location.

How to use Google Assistant to find your emails

You can search through your Gmail inbox directly from Allo. Assistant will be able to show you your most recent emails, or you can search for mails from a particular person, or emails from a specific day.

How to see your calendar entries in Google Assistant

Assistant integrates with your calendar to surface upcoming appointments. Just ask, “What’s my agenda tomorrow?” and the Assistant will show you your calendar entries for the following day. As Allo has access to your calendar, you can also create new calendar entries from within the messaging service.

How to find things to do nearby with Google Assistant

If you’re looking to go out, the Assistant can recommend nearby restaurants, pubs, hotels, and other places of interest. You can also search for movies playing nearby.

How to use Google Assistant to solve math problems

What good is a voice-guided assistant if it can’t help you solve math problems? Just ask Assistant your query, and it’ll give you the result immediately. It won’t be able to solve complex equations, but if you’re dealing with percentages or currency conversions, the Assistant comes in handy. You can also ask the Assistant for algebra formulas, and it’ll surface a cheat sheet of basic formulas. Wish I had this when I was in high school.

How to use Google Assistant to book a cab

Google is set to add third-party integration to the Assistant via “Actions on Google,” through which you’ll be able to use the service to interact with third-party apps like Uber, and Spotify. Once the integration goes live, you’ll be able to book a cab on Uber, control music playback on Spotify, make reservations on Opentable, and much more using Assistant.

The added functionality will give Google Home a massive boost Amazon’s Echo, which has steadily picked up more features over the course of the last two years. We’ll hear more about Assistant’s third-party integration in December.

That’s it — for now

That’s a quick list of things Assistant is capable of. The service is still in a preview stage, and as such you’ll find several instances where it isn’t quite up to the mark yet. Google says that the Assistant will leverage machine learning to get better at recommendations over time, and the upcoming third-party integration will make it much more useful.

What is Hybrid Log Gamma and why should you care?

The TV world has been on the receiving end of several new buzzwords in the last few years. First there was 4K, which we now know plenty about as it’s pretty much everywhere. We finally have some proper 4K sources to deliver content, in the form of Netflix and Amazon streaming apps, Ultra HD Blu-ray and Sky Q. 

After 4K came High Dynamic Range, or HDR. HDR refers to a picture’s dynamic range and the contrast between the whitest whites and the blackest blacks, the higher a picture’s dynamic range then the closer it is to real life, at least that’s the theory. HDR content uses meta-data – additional information – to tell the TV how bright or dark it should be.

Amazon, Netflix and Ultra HD Blu-ray all support HDR, but you’ll need an HDR compatible TV to see the results. 

• What is HDR, what TVs support HDR, and what HDR content can I watch?

There’s also Dolby Vision, which is Dolby’s own version of HDR. It’s an end-to-end process, with Dolby involved every step of the way. The idea is that what you eventually see on your TV – which needs to be Dolby Vision compatible – is exactly what the director intended.

What is Hybrid Log Gamma?

But now as we come to the end of 2016 and into 2017, the TV world has decided we need a new phrase to get hyped about, Hybrid Log Gamma. Hybrid Log Gamma is a technology that’s been developed by the BBC and Japanese public broadcaster NHK since 2014 and one that will eventually let HDR content be broadcast over the air. As we said earlier, the only ways to watch HDR content on a 4K HDR TV are via Ultra HD Blu-ray, Amazon and Netflix, Xbox One S and the PS4 Pro when it arrives.

Note that all of the current ways of watching HDR involve either a physical source, such as Blu-ray, or a subscription to a video on-demand service. What HLG hopes to do is let you watch live HDR content. 

The BBC’s research and development arm says it set out to create HLG because it knew it couldn’t rely on the end-to-end metadata in current HDR content, because it could be susceptible to interference or get lost during the production process. Also, the BBC says all its equipment is at different stages of its replacement cycle, so it wanted to invent a technology that would rely on only a few pieces. To this end, HLG only requires the BBC to change its cameras and critical monitoring displays. 

How can I watch Hybrid Log Gamma?

The BBC says that HLG has been created in such a way that it doesn’t need to be viewed on a specific type of display, so you shouldn’t need to go out and buy the very latest TV. Although you’ll still need a 4K TV, it doesn’t necessarily have to be HDR.

This is because HLG has been designed as a scene-referred system, which is what’s used for conventional television. This means your TV at home will be able to read the signal and use its own internal technology to reproduce the intended image.

It’s because of this, that Hybrid Log Gamma is backwards compatible, so can be used to increase the dynamic range of a standard dynamic range 4K TVs. Because it’s backwards compatible, it means it can be supported by HDR and non-HDR receivers, so in practice it should be relatively simple to broadcast an HDR feed using HLG.

What tests have been done for Hybrid Log Gamma?

LG carried out the first trial of an HDR broadcast from a live satellite feed in collaboration with the BBC at the SES Industry Days conference in Luxembourg back in May this year. SES Astra, a global satellite provider has an HDR test channel within its network of satellites, which broadcasters can use to test content and display standards.

LG conducted more trials at IFA 2016 in Berlin in September, broadcasting an HLG feed live to the show floor. The company also streamed HDR content that combined HLG and High Frame Rate technologies. While the HLG side of the feed increases the picture’s dynamic range, the High Frame Rate side aims to deliver 100 – 120 frames per second, resulting in a smoother image.

LG has said the “flexibility of the BBC’s innovative HDR HLG technology makes it an excellent choice for broadcast HDR” and that when the test content has been broadcast to an LG 4K OLED TV “HDR HLG content looks more realistic, delivers greater depth and the deepest blacks”.

When will Hybrid Log Gamma be available at home?

There’s no word on when we can expect to see HLG content broadcast into our homes. It’s likely we’re still a long way off, as there’s only one test channel on the SES Astra satellite network. The BBC and NHK are doing a good job in proving it the content can be streamed over the air and into people’s homes, the next thing that we need – as was the case with 4K – is content. 

B&O BeoPlay H7 review: Not at the top of its game

Headphones have been passing through the office in abundance of late, so when the Bang & Olufsen H8 over-ear cans arrived we were expecting something special. The Danish company’s top-end H8 cans are some of the best we’ve heard, but can the step-down H7 deliver quality as solid in a looser over-ear fit?

Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H7 review: Design

B&O is well known for its design, which is typically second to none across its range of speakers and headphones. The H7 stick to the successful formula too: they’re good-looking, well crafted headphones made from decent materials and with enough visual flair to entice buyers in.

The grey and tan finish of our review pair look great, marrying a stitched leather headband exterior with soft cloth-covered interior, juxtaposed with hardier, shinier metal outer earcups. The main ear cup sections are plastic, however, their grey finish lacking the sheen of the metal, yet the colour matching is spot on for it to go largely unnoticed.

Pocket-lint

In terms of fit, the B&O H7 are certainly comfortable for long periods of wear. Whether commuting or sitting in the office all day with then clasped around our ears, their fit is never fatiguing, nor does it pinch too hard, while those cushy earcups are ultra-comfortable and breathable (despite their soft leather finish).

However, the fit is rather loose, so the over-ear cans have the tendency to slide around slightly – which can dramatically affect sound quality (more on that in a bit).

Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H7 review: Sound

Sound quality is the pinnacle of any pair of headphones. And it’s here the H7 cans actually underperform given their price bracket. At £329 you’re paying largely for the materials and brand prestige – but given that the H8 are £70 more, we expected sound quality to strike a similar balance.

The H7, however, lack the deep bass of Bang & Olufsen’s premier headphones, so they’re less engaging overall. Other competitors at this price point deliver a much more lively sound, too. A bit of a surprise, really.

Pocket-lint

Furthermore that loose fit really doesn’t aid sound: if the cans slip around a little you might lose a large portion of top-end compared to, say, if they were perfectly positioned. That’s the trade-off for large over-ear can comfort, to some degree, but when on-the-move we’ve found the H7 to move around a touch too much.

Although that’s not to say the sound quality is bad – it’s far from that. We’re just contextualising here, as there are better options elsewhere. In quiet surroundings, such as when listening to music at home, we’ve been satisfied with the range and breadth of the sound quality. When on-the-move, however, external noises can distract, as these aren’t sealed cans.

Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H7 review: Bluetooth

In addition to the 3.5mm wire that’s included in the box, you can choose to cut the cord if you prefer and use the H7 wirelessly via Bluetooth. Connectivity is ultra simple, with the built-in li-ion battery recharged within the headphones via a microUSB port.

Pocket-lint

We found connectivity to be solid, even with a phone placed in a pocket, with no stuttering or breaks in sound delivery. Problem is, though, the sound levels aren’t particularly loud – a maxed-out Android phone lacked the volume, which is a problem we had with the H8 headphones too. As a result, we’ve not typically used the Bluetooth feature, because it’s just not loud enough for what we want.

Verdict

Bang & Olufsen has achieved a great looking set of headphones in the H7. Problem is, for their £329 price tag there are far better performers out there – and we would certainly pay the extra for the step-up H8 headphones within the company’s range.

The H7’s sound quality is good, yet not the best going. There’s just not the most engaging levels of bass, while the loose fit can mean position works against the sound delivered. And Bluetooth delivery is, once again, too quiet to be of considerable use.

So while Bang & Olufsen hits the nail on the head in terms of design, there are better options in terms of sound at this price point. The H7 over-ears, while good in isolation, are a rare example of B&O not at the top of its game.