Hisense M6600 is a £699, 55in curved 4K HDR TV
Hisense has been on the UK TV market scene for a couple of years now, with the manufacturer setting its sights on the upper mid-range market. The company’s philosophy is to deliver much of the same technology that’s found in high-end sets from the likes of Samsung and LG, but make them more affordable and accessible for the average consumer.
- Hisense 75M7900 4K TV review
The introduction of the 55M6600 is the latest testament to that, as it packs in a 55in 4K HDR screen in a body with a subtle curve for a penny short of £700. A similar set from Samsung or LG would cost well over £1000.
Hisense has chosen to create a subtle curved, as opposed to a more drastic one, as it means it can be accommodated in most rooms with relative ease, while bringing the benefits of added depth and immersion to whatever you’re watching. And because it’s only a subtle curve, more people sitting around the TV will get a good image, rather than having just one ‘sweet spot’.
The company says the 4K HDR panel on the M6600 is more than capable of “extending the range of colours available for enhanced realism in the picture” and that it can deliver “stunning levels of contrast”.
The M6600 runs on a quad-core processor, so should be pretty slick in operation and it comes with a full suite of video on-demand apps to get you up and running, including Netflix, Amazon Video and YouTube, all of which support 4K content, as well as BBC iPlayer and Wuaki.tv.
- What is HDR, what TVs support HDR and what HDR content can I watch?
- What is 4K Ultra HD? Ultra-High Definition explained, and why it matters for your next TV
Hisense has also installed DBX-TV’s Total Technology as an audio upgrade over the regular speakers you’d normally find in flat-screen TVs. The technology is made up of three areas: Total Sonics, which claims to provide a customised frequency response, “dynamic bass boost” and 3D sound for overall clarity; Total Volume which keeps sound levels consistent, instead of fluctuating across channels and Total Surround which is said to “create an enveloping sound stage for a truly cinematic experience”.
It sounds like another compelling package from Hisense, and the 55M6600 is avaiable now from Amazon and AO.com for £699.99.
Motorola has a mid-range phone on the way; the Moto M
Lenovo-owned Motorola currently offers the flagship Moto Z and Moto X devices in the UK, along with the affordable, but excellent Moto G series. There’s also the budget Moto E at the bottom-end.
- Moto Z vs Moto Z Play: What’s the difference?
That leaves a space in the middle, but that could soon be filled following the leak of images purporting to be the Moto M. The alleged mid-range smartphone sports an all-metal body and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, features commonly reserved for more premium devices.
The rumoured specs for the Moto M are also pretty impressive: 2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 625 processor with either 3GB or 4GB RAM with 32GB of storage and 4GB RAM with 64GB of storage depending on the market. Both versions appear to have a microSD card slot that will let you expand storage by up to 128GB.
On the front there’s expected to be a 5.5-inch full HD 1080p display, dual microphones and a mammoth 5100mAh battery.
The image and specs leak doesn’t mention price or release date, but considering there’s a fully-built version of the phone, we should hopefully start seeing more news soon.
Google’s AI created its own form of encryption
Researchers from the Google Brain deep learning project have already taught AI systems to make trippy works of art, but now they’re moving on to something potentially darker: AI-generated, human-independent encryption. According to a new research paper, Googlers Martín Abadi and David G. Andersen have willingly allowed three test subjects — neural networks named Alice, Bob and Eve — to pass each other notes using an encryption method they created themselves.
As the New Scientist reports, Abadi and Andersen assigned each AI a task: Alice had to send a secret message that only Bob could read, while Eve would try to figure out how to eavesdrop and decode the message herself. The experiment started with a plain-text message that Alice converted into unreadable gibberish, which Bob could decode using cipher key. At first, Alice and Bob were apparently bad at hiding their secrets, but over the course of 15,000 attempts Alice worked out her own encryption strategy and Bob simultaneously figured out how to decrypt it. The message was only 16 bits long, with each bit being a 1 or a 0, so the fact that Eve was only able to guess half of the bits in the message means she was basically just flipping a coin or guessing at random.
Of course, the personification of these three neural networks oversimplifies things a little bit: Because of the way the machine learning works, even the researchers don’t know what kind of encryption method Alice devised, so it won’t be very useful in any practical applications. In the end, it’s an interesting exercise, but we don’t have to worry about the machines talking behind our backs just yet. With open-source deep learning tools like Microsoft’s Cognitive Toolkit, it might be interesting to see this play out on an even larger scale.
Via: New Scientist
Source: arXiv
Yahoo brings all its bots together in one app
Yahoo has quietly introduced a new app called Yahoo Bots, as recently spotted by VentureBeat. The application, available for iOS and Android, acts as a hub to connect you with all of the company’s virtual assistants. You’ll find bots that provide information from Yahoo News, Yahoo Weather and Yahoo Finance, and more could be added in the future. Meanwhile, Blitz helps Fantasy Football players research their team and manage it, as well as get real-time stats, player news and personalized roster recommendations. If you want to check it out, Yahoo Bots is a free download from the App Store or Google Play.
Via: VentureBeat
Source: App Store, Google Play
Craig Federighi Says Touch Bar on New MacBook Pro Has ‘So Much Potential’ For Developers
YouTube tech reviewer Marques Brownlee has shared an exclusive interview with Apple senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi. The pair chatted about the new MacBook Pro and its customizable Touch Bar, which Federighi said is “going to be great” and has “so much potential” for developers.
Touch Bar is a Multi-Touch strip of glass that replaces the standard row of function keys on the new MacBook Pros, providing users with system-level and app-specific controls that contextually change. For example, when a user types text in a document, the Touch Bar might include controls for adjusting the font face and size.
MacBook Pro users can interact with the Touch Bar using gestures. Tapping activates a control, such as a button, or selects an item, such as an emoji. Touching and holding initiates a secondary action on a control, such as a button. Panning moves an element, such as a slider of photos or emojis, from side-to-side.
The questions and answers below were edited slightly for clarity and brevity.
“Why now? Why 2016 for us to arrive at the Touch Bar?”
A lot of it came together in terms of the technology being just right to really pull this off in this kind of form factor — such as Touch ID and the quality of the display. We wanted it to feel just completely native to the keyboard and completely real — and be so responsive. We were able to take so much that we’ve learned in the hardware for iOS devices — and even so much of the security model of iOS, like for Touch ID — and incorporate some of our custom silicon to make it happen. A lot of things had to come together to make this possible. It’s exciting to finally have it out.
“Similar to Touch ID in the iPhone, Touch Bar will get better with time, right? What are you most looking forward to seeing, maybe in a year from now, when we have these and developers get their hands on it? What kind of stuff should we expect to see?”
What’s been really awesome is that we’ve brought some developers in over the past month — and we just showed a small subset of the ones that had come in and already started doing work — and they have a lot of great ideas. Look at djay Pro. It’s so exciting when we develop a product and we have a vision of what we can do with it with our apps. We know inherently this is a device with so much potential because it’s just a versatile Multi-Touch display. When you get it in the hands of these developers and it’s like, “we didn’t think of that, but that’s just awesome.”
I’m really excited about what we’ve seen so far. I think, of course, a lot of people will do buttons and sliders, but I think there will be this next wave where people say, “hey, this is like custom hardware.” You can create the control that supports the best mechanic for whatever it is you want to do in your app, whether that’s a game doing something really novel or music, which is so awesome for those kind of real-time capabilities. It’s going to be great, but I’m really excited about how fast it’s already happening. I think day one, you get one of these, and it’s going to be great.
Apple’s newly published design guidelines refer to the Touch Bar as an extension of the keyboard and trackpad, not the display. Apple does not want developers to include display alerts, messages, scrolling content, or static content in their Touch Bar extensions, but rather controls that resemble the appearance of the physical keyboard keys in terms of size and color.
Although technically it’s a screen, the Touch Bar functions as an input device, not a secondary display. The user may glance at the Touch Bar to locate or use a control, but their primary focus is the main screen. The Touch Bar shouldn’t display alerts, messages, scrolling content, static content, or anything else that commands the user’s attention or distracts from their work on the main screen.
The guidelines also tell developers not to include functions solely in the Touch Bar to ensure backwards compatibility with older Macs. There must always be a way to perform tasks using the keyboard or trackpad. Apple also tells developers not to use Touch Bar for well-known keyboard shortcuts such as find, select all, deselect, copy, cut, paste, undo, redo, new, save, close, print, and quit.
Tags: Craig Federighi, Touch Bar, MKBHD
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808 Hex Light: Portable light-show on your hand (review)
The 808 Hex Light Bluetooth speaker is equipped with all the right tools to ensure that you are the life of the party. The combination of six color light modes and an EQ bass booster bring all the elements of a rave-like atmosphere in a compact package.
Build
- Price: $79.99
- Size: 3.55″ wide x 6.3″ tall x 3.55″ deep
- Weight: 1 pound
- Color: Black
The speaker is a conical shape design that starts off narrow at the top and gets wider towards the bottom. The foundation is made of metal that has a hexagonal grill. The top of the speaker is where all of the controls lie. There are buttons to increase and decrease volume, the power button, change light modes, hands-free calling, and the EQ bass booster. Pairing the speaker requires long-pressing the power button.
Sound
The compact speaker packs a pretty mean punch in the volume department. It can get pretty loud before the sound starts to distort. When the volume gets too high, the music starts to sound crackly.
The Hex Light speaker has an EQ mode, which is basically a bass booster. The combination of the EQ mode and the bass radiator provides a significant boost in the bass, while dialing back the mid-range. I could physically feel the table vibrating when the EQ mode was on. This is a good option for those that like bass-heavy genres, such as hip-hop. I personally felt that the bass slightly overpowered the vocals in certain songs and turned the EQ mode off. I noticed that navigating to new songs will chop off the first couple seconds of the song.
Lights
The highlight of this speaker is definitely the lights. The color options include everything in the rainbow spectrum. There are six light modes: Solid, Pulse, Breathe, Chase, Chill and Rave. My favorite option was Breathe and Rave.
The Breathe option slowly lights up in rotating colors, while the Rave option lights up to the beat of the song. You can also turn this option off if the lights start to get annoying.
Usage
I found myself using this a lot around the house. This speaker claims to have an eight hour battery life. I only used it for 4-5 hours before I put in back on the charger. I personally do not like to let my electronics die. I used it at around 60-70% max volume with the light mode turned on. The battery life may decrease if used at a higher volume. However, the speaker will probably not be used at such high volumes anyways due to the distortion of sound. It was the perfect device to listen to music while playing Settlers of Catan. Pairing the speaker to my phone was relatively pain-free. However, the speaker makes a somewhat obnoxious sound when it is turned on and off.
There is a hands-free calling option on the speaker which allows you to take calls. I called my friend using this feature and he said he could hear me clearly without any distortion. It is a convenient feature that doesn’t force you to disconnect.
I really liked the sturdiness of the speaker. The main frame is made of metal with a unique hexagonal grill.
I feel comfortable taking this outside and not worrying about it breaking if it does fall on the ground. The speaker is not waterproof, so use it next to a pool with caution.
Summary
The Hex Light Bluetooth Speaker offers a bass-focused music experience. The single-driver packs a pretty mean punch in the volume department. At $79.99 on Amazon with free shipping, this speaker is a bit pricey compared to the other options available at 808 Audio. However, it offers a unique light-show experience that kids will love. If you are a hardcore music lover this is probably not the speaker for you. This speaker is designed for the younger age group that focuses more on entertainment rather than sound quality.
Catch the first glimpse of Faraday Future’s production EV
Faraday Future has yet to unveil its competitor to Tesla’s line of commercial electric vehicles, but it seems we’re getting closer. A video posted today teases the company’s production vehicle as it sails down the desert turns at Willow Springs. “Can’t hear the engine?” the video asks. “You’re not supposed to.” And that’s about it.
Faraday Future doesn’t offer any details about the vehicle, though we do know the company is gearing up for a big reveal at CES 2017 in January.
On top of its EV, Faraday Future has the FFZero1, a concept race car packed with future-centric upgrades like a smartphone in the steering wheel and a port in the headrest that pumps air and water into the driver’s crash helmet. Clearly, the FFZero1 is not designed for trips to the grocery store. That’s where the production car comes in.
Electric performance; a first look at our prototype in action. Keep up with the latest Faraday Future developments: https://t.co/cP1opOqrRn pic.twitter.com/e0ABjEgBem
— Faraday Future (@FaradayFuture) October 27, 2016
The teaser video comes at an opportune moment for Faraday Future, as this week the company’s financial stability was thrown into question. The Los Angeles Times reported that Faraday Future owes the company building its Las Vegas car factory $21 million, with an additional $25 million due in October and $12 million in November. Plus, it owes Nevada state a $75 million performance bond. Faraday Future has yet to comment on the reported financial issues.
Intel Capital doubles down on its Diversity Fund investment
Intel has been an industry leader when it comes to diversity initiatives – both internally and through its investment arm. Last year, Intel Capital announced a $125 million Diversity Fund aimed at boosting women- and minority-led startups. This year, the chipmaker is doubling down on its investment with another $125 million over the next five years, while also broadening the fund’s scope to include LGBTQ founders, veterans and entrepreneurs living with disabilities.
According to Intel, the fund led by Trina Van Pelt and Christine Herron is “the largest of its kind by a significant margin” and it provides access to the company’s business development programs and extensive technology expertise in addition to the capital itself. Staying true to the company’s goal of promoting diversity both inside and out, Intel Capital has also directed all of its investors to not only seek out startups with diverse teams, but also to encourage more inclusive hiring practices in their existing portfolio companies. Intel also notes that more than 60 percent of the new startups in it’s Education Accelerator program are led by women and minorities.
Source: Intel Newsroom
Get a TV guide on your Apple TV today – CNET
Óscar Gutiérrez/CNET
Alongside the new MacBook Pro models today, Apple announced not new Apple TV hardware, but a seemingly small yet important software upgrade for the Apple TV. It’s an app, simply called TV.
This new application replaces the two existing applications, Movies and TV Shows, and combines them into a single app, where you can find all your rentals and purchases. It will also let you browse for new purchases.
But the more important feature of the new TV app are the Watch Now, Up Next and Recommended features. This lets you track your favorite shows across any installed streaming applications (such as Hulu, HBO, Starz, etc.) and view them all in one location. It also suggests things to watch based on popularity and curated lists.
In other words, TV makes Apple TV more like … TV.
Unfortunately, the new TV app won’t be available until sometime in December. On the bright side, you don’t have to wait for similar functionality. All you need is Reelgood. To install and set up Reelgood:
- Press and hold the Siri button on the Siri remote for your Apple TV and say “Reelgood” or open the App Store and manually search for it.
- Click Get and wait for the app to download and install.
- Click Open or find the new icon on the home screen and click to open.
- Select each of the services you want to pull content from. Reelgood currently supports FXNow, HBO, Hulu, Netflix, Showtime and Starz.
- Click Done.
- Scroll to the left and click Login/Sign up.
- Log in using your existing credentials or create a new account with an email address or using Facebook authentication.
Screenshot by Taylor Martin/CNET
Once the app is set up, you can view all the content from all your favorite streaming sources in a single app. You can also view the trailers for movies, which isn’t a standard feature for all the streaming services. Clicking Play will open the movie or show in the streaming app it’s offered in, which is indicated by a small icon along the right side of the screen.
The UI is very intuitive and easy to navigate. At the top of the home page, you can switch between Movies and TV Series. Both sections have several categories, each with horizontal lists of shows and movies that you can scroll through. It’s a familiar interface that makes Reelgood feel very natural to use.
Screenshot by Taylor Martin/CNET
Under the Movies section, you can add movies you want to see to your Watchlist or those you’ve already seen to your Seenlist. Under TV Series, you can add television shows to the Shows you watch. Doing this will put the movies and TV shows you want to see front and center when you open the app. It won’t, however, add those shows or movies to your watchlists within each app — this only builds your Watchlist for Reelgood. Items added to your Seenlist will be available at the very bottom of the Reelgood app home screen.
The one feature that seems like it would be important for a service like this is search. But that’s completely missing from Reelgood. The upshot is that you can already search for shows and movies with Siri. If they’re available for streaming in an app that is installed, you can opt to open the show or movie in the streaming app instead of purchasing from iTunes.
Reelgood is missing some of the pizazz of the official TV app, particularly in the ability to discover new streaming services that a user doesn’t already have installed and view their existing purchases or rentals from iTunes from within the app. But until the official TV app arrives, Reelgood is certainly the best alternative for finding things to watch without endless switching between streaming apps.
PlayStation Vue is on Android TV now, Mac and PC later
Sony keeps getting more serious about its cord-cutter service, PlayStation Vue. After announcing support for Android mobile devices in June, the company has revealed that its streaming app is now available on Android TV. If you have a set-top box powered by Google’s platform, or a compatible TV, you just need to make sure you’re running Android OS 4.4 or higher and you’ll be good to go.
Additionally, web support for Mac and Windows PCs is coming soon, Sony said in a blog post. Although no specific timeline was disclosed, at least you know that feature is in the works. As an incentive for Android TV users who don’t have a PS Vue account yet, Sony’s offering free seven-day trial. That would be a good way to see if you like it more than, say, Sling TV or another internet TV service.
Source: Sony
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