The Pixel’s secret weapon: Unlimited full-resolution camera backups
When you buy a Pixel Google lets you back up all the pictures and video you shoot for free, at full resolution. That’s a pretty big deal.
Google has made much fuss about the camera on the Pixel and Pixel XL (they share the same specs). A hearty endorsement from DXOMark, samples from the camera development team, and even some 4K footage with image stabilization have people interested because a great camera is one of those things we want the new phone we buy to have.
Along with the new camera hardware and image processing chops inside the Snapdragon 821, an overhauled camera app means we’re going to be taking more and better pictures and video. The one thing that is pure icing on the cake is that we’re also going to be able to back up all of them to our online Google storage through the Photos app at full resolution without paying for any extra storage.
That’s a huge draw if you’re planning to get the most out of the camera on the Pixel.
Anyone with a Google account is given 15GB of free storage through Google Drive, and if you use the Google Photos app (Android and iOS only) you have unlimited backups — but not at full resolution. Google gives two choices for camera backup to the photos service — High Quality and Original. The Original setting backs things up as an exact copy of what came from the camera. There are no size limits for pictures or video, and there is no compression or optimization. However, these backups count against your 15GB of free storage.
The High Quality setting allows for video (of any length) at 1080p quality and photos of 16MP resolution or lower to be backed up and uploaded without counting against your storage limit. The software automatically resizes both still pictures and video, and uploads them automatically. Google says these photos “will essentially look the same using either storage option” and for the most part they do, but sometimes it’s easy to see the compression and the backed up copy just isn’t nearly as good as the original.
The monthly storage fees for large library of 4K video could easily cost more than the payment for the Pixel if financed.
If you use the Pixel to back your photos up, none of this matters. You’ll get an exact copy of what came from the camera stored online where you can look at it or retrieve it anywhere you have an internet connection. With a 4K camera, this can make a big difference. A 1080p video doesn’t look bad, even on a 4K screen, but it doesn’t look as good as UHD 4K does. That’s why we wanted 4K cameras on our phones in the first place. But a high-resolution video has a cost: file size. After compression algorithms kick into gear, it takes about 370MB to store a minute of 4K video. A gigabyte of storage holds a video of two minutes and 45 seconds in length. Start adding up all those short videos you take with your phone, and that 15GB of free storage is going to be able to hold about 40 minutes of footage. Google Drive storage is cheap, but a large library of your 4K videos makes for a monthly bill that can easily exceed the price of the Pixel’s finance options.
A phone with a good camera means you want to be able to snap a pic or two when you see the opportunity or to shoot a few minutes of UHD 4K video when you see something worth remembering. Having a place to store it all that doesn’t break the bank is essential.
Google Pixel + Pixel XL
- Google Pixel and Pixel XL hands-on preview
- In pictures: Google Pixel and Pixel XL
- Pixel + Pixel XL specs
- Understanding Android 7.1 Nougat
- Verizon is the exclusive U.S. carrier for the Google Pixels
- Join the discussion in the forums!
Google Store
Verizon
Chrome Web Store adds support for Cuba starting October 19
Google has sent out an email to registered Chrome developers to let them know that support for free extensions, themes, and apps will be extended to Cuba on October 19.
The default language for the Cuban Chrome Store and any content with multi-language support published there will be Spanish, and any app, theme, or extension currently published to “All Regions” will be automatically published to Cuba’s Chrome Web Store.
If content is not marked for All Regions it will be excluded from the Cuban store by default. Developers are encouraged to check and adjust their publishing settings as needed, as well as internationalize their store listings if they intend to distribute to multiple regions or with multiple language options.
Relaxation of U.S. export controls and sanctions towards Cuba allowed Google to distribute Chrome in late 2014, and as relations continue to improve between the two countries we should see more companies providing their services for the people of Cuba as public internet access continues to grow.
Chromebooks
- The best Chromebooks
- Should you buy a Chromebook?
- Google Play is coming to Chromebooks
- Acer Chromebook 14 review
- Join our Chromebook forums
Watch this GoPro capture Hollywood-style stunts of Hot Wheels cars
Many little boys and girls dream about being Hollywood stunt drivers – but that profession takes a lot of money, practice, and, well, luck.
Unless, of course, they plan to use Hot Wheels toy cars instead of actual cars when testing all their burnouts and drifts. A YouTube channel known as 5MadMovieMakers has been posting slow motion compilations of car flips, twists, and jumps, such as “the Long Jump”, “the Falling Roll”, “the 360 Flip Spin”, “the Double Roll”, “the Halfpipe”, “the Falling Front Flip”, “the Double Jump through Hoops”, and “the Splash Dive”.
However, the channel only shoots Hot Wheels toy cars – like the blue Mercedes C-Class, the orange Muscle Speeder, the red Gazelle GT, the white Horseplay, the white CUL8R, and the black Gov’ner car – instead of real-life cars. And it’s capturing all these stunts using a GoPro Hero Session. The Go Pro is mounted to a modified “Pharadox” Hot Wheels car chassis, and it films everything at 120 frames per second.
Although the footage is slowed to 30 frames per second in post production, both the toy cars and the camera car complete all the jumps by themselves, with minimal changes in post production. Hot Wheels have never been more awesome. Who knew you could make them look like action film set pieces? Watching a tiny toy car soar across a huge gap, with a GoPro positioned up to capture all the action, is ridiculous.
The video below is super smooth and really makes us wish we had some of our old toy cars still hanging around.
Apple hires a Carnegie Mellon professor to improve its AI
Apple isn’t letting Samsung’s acquisition of Viv go unanswered. The Cupertino crew has hired Russ Salakhutdinov, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, as a director of artificial intelligence research. Interestingly, he isn’t giving up his school work — he may well be publishing research at the same time as he’s upgrading your iPhone or Mac. It’s not certain what he’ll be working on, although Recode observes that his recent studies have involved understanding the context behind questions. We’ve asked Apple if it can comment.
The hire could make a big difference for Siri, which has been criticized for evolving relatively little compared to services like Google Assistant. The AI helper may develop a better understanding of what you’re asking, and could be better at handling less-than-explicit or follow-up questions. However, Apple’s use of AI isn’t limited just to voice commands. Remember how iOS 10 uses machine learning for object and face recognition in its Photos app? You could see Salakhutdinov’s influence across many products, giving weight to Apple’s claims that it considers AI a key part of its future.
Carnegie Mellon might not be entirely happy. Uber spent a while poaching from the school’s robotics lab, and now the university has to worry about Apple luring top talent. While that may not be such a bad thing if it leads to more practical applications for AI, it may limit academic studies in the near future.
Excited about joining Apple as a director of AI research in addition to my work at CMU. Apply to work with my teamhttps://t.co/U2hQl2GdhA
— Russ Salakhutdinov (@rsalakhu) October 17, 2016
Source: Russ Salakhutdinov (Twitter)
Acer’s new Chromebook 15 is cheap but compromised
Chromebooks have long had a reputation for being cheap, compromised machines, but things have changed in the last few years. You can now spend hundreds of dollars to get a Chromebook with better design and specs, but there are still plenty of bargain basement options as well. Acer’s new Chromebook 15 falls in the latter category, without a doubt.
The $199 Chromebook 15 replaces last year’s model, which started at the same price point. Given the extremely low cost, there are a bunch of compromises on board worth noting. First up is the screen: Acer claims its 15.6-inch display “[gives] customers additional real estate to view multiple tabs and apps.” That’s a claim we’re going to have to take issue with: the 1366 x 768 resolution is the same as you’ll typically find on 11-inch laptops. Yes, things will be a lot bigger, which might be useful for some buyers, but there won’t be more room to do anything on this screen.
Also, the new Chromebook 15 only comes with 2GB of RAM — it’s almost 2017 and we cannot recommend buying a laptop with that amount of RAM, particularly if you can’t upgrade it. Acer didn’t say whether or not it would sell upgraded models of this computer, but last year you could pick up a model with 4GB of RAM and a full 1080p screen for an extra $80. That’s money well spent.
The new Chromebook 15 does have some things going for it, like a claimed 12-hour battery life. Of course, such a large machine is generally better suited as an “around the house” computer rather than something you’ll use on-the-go, a long way away from power. But it’s also a bit smaller and lighter than last year’s model, which was a boat anchor compared to just about every other Chromebook on the market.
Much as we said when we checked out Acer’s first Chromebook 15, we’re just not quite convinced this is a computer that makes much sense for a lot of people, unless you really value sheer screen size over everything else. Of course, the price is also quite low, so if you just need a cheap laptop, Acer’s new Chromebook 15 should fit the bill.
iPhone 7 update fixes your Verizon connection problems
If you recently snagged an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus and depend on Verizon for service, you’ll want to check for a software update. Apple has released an iOS 10.0.3 upgrade that that fixes a weeks-long problem where some iPhone 7 and 7 Plus users (particularly Verizon customers) would temporarily lose their cellular connections. If you were affected, your LTE connection would unexpectedly drop out and revert you to pokey 3G speeds. There are no other real improvements, but this could make a big difference if your initial iPhone 7 experience has been defined by flaky access.
Source: Apple
NASA unveils a new testbed for electric aircraft
In order to hit its ambitious goal of transitioning aircraft to electric propulsion in the next ten years, NASA has announced a new research wing at the NASA Glenn Research Center’s Plum Brook Station in Ohio. Meet NASA’s Electric Aircraft Testbed — or “NEAT” for short — a new space for NASA Glenn engineers to design, develop and test electric aircraft like the like the GL–10 Greased Lightning VTOL and the LEAPTech wing.
Although it wasn’t NASA’s inaugural electric flight, NEAT’s first test in September used a 600-volt power source to test an electrical system, “that could realistically power a small, one or two person aircraft.” The short term goal is to turn NEAT into a flexible testbed that can build and test power systems for even larger passenger aircraft without having to crash anything in the process. The long-term goal, however, is to create a 20-Megawatt power system that will be light, yet powerful enough to actually get off the ground.
“What we’re hoping to learn now is how to make it more efficient and light-weight,” NASA Glenn’s technical lead on Hybrid Gas Electric Propulsion Dr. Rodger Dyson said. “Next year we’re going to upgrade the size of these motors — we’ll use the same technology to test the higher-power stuff next.”
Source: NASA
ZTE’s Axon 7 Mini smartphone is yours for $300
As promised, ZTE is launching the Axon 7 Mini in the US… and it might just hit the sweet spot if you’re more interested in price than raw performance. The 5.2-inch Android phone (“mini” is clearly a relative term) is now available for pre-order at just under $300, or a full hundred bucks less than the full-size Axon 7. The first orders should ship around October 27th. To recap, you’re still getting the Axon 7’s stereo speakers (with Dolby Atmos support), dual SIM slots and an 8-megapixel front camera. The cost-cutting mainly comes through the 1080p screen, a modest Snapdragon 617 processor, a less-crisp 16MP camera, and reductions to both memory (3GB) and storage (32GB) — it’s really a mid-tier phone with some premium perks.
As such, it’s a tough call as to whether or not you pick the Axon 7 Mini over its rivals. The Moto G4 Plus starts at a lower $250 price and touts a bigger screen, but lacks the audio prowess and won’t feel as high-end as its ZTE counterpart. And a lower-end version of ASUS’ ZenFone 3 can pack more processing power and similar cameras for a comparable price, if you’re willing to shop around. ZTE’s main advantage may simply be its industrial design — it’s hard to find a sub-$300 phone in the US that doesn’t make significant compromises in material choices or sound quality.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: ZTE
Russia hopes to block cruise missile attacks with cell towers
While the United States may have put its blimp-based missile defense system on hold, Russia is taking a more civilian approach to jamming cruise missiles. As Motherboard reports today, the Russian military is planning to mount anti-missile jamming devices called Pole–21s on civilian cellular network towers, giving the Kremlin a wide coverage area in the case of a US missile attack.
As the Russian newspaper Izvestiya noted, the system works with the same antennas already installed on the country’s 250,000 cellular towers and could cover “entire regions like a dome that is impenetrable for satellite navigation signals.” According to a spokesperson for the Russian Defense Ministry, the system has already been tested.
On the other hand, US equipment like Tomahawk missiles are already designed with onboard anti-jamming devices intended to keep them on course in the face of such interference, so it’s unclear how effective a Pole–21 network would be. Deploying the system would also jam Russia’s own communications and navigation systems. Still, one Russian military analyst who spoke with Izvestiya said that even milliseconds of jamming activity is enough throw off a missile’s accuracy. Regardless of its efficacy, US Army officials seem to believe the missile jamming plan is part of a larger effort by Russia to prepare itself for a major attack.
Via: Motherboard
Source: War is Boring, Izvestiya
Netflix’s price hike didn’t hurt subscriber growth
Netflix’s delayed-price-hike strategy has apparently paid off, as its earnings report for the third quarter (PDF) showed it added more customers than expected. By the end of the quarter, Netflix says about 75 percent of its older customers have been un-grandfathered to the new price. Despite that bump, it outdid its forecast of adding 2.3 million customers worldwide by adding 3.57 million (370,000 or so in the US), and it expects to add more than 5 million new accounts to that list over the next three months. As a result, Netflix’s shares are up nearly $20 in after-hours trading.
Netflix surges in after hours trading after subscriber growth beats estimates… #WDYM https://t.co/ZaTfwydAEl pic.twitter.com/yoQPE0Ev3I
— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) October 17, 2016
The streaming company also is apparently recalibrating its hopes for China, as its letter indicates short term plans to license its exclusive content to other services in the country instead of continuing to pursue a way to launch Netflix there. In friendlier countries, expect to see more deals like the new one with Comcast to put Netflix on cable boxes, as it celebrates “a new golden age of content, with consumers everywhere enjoying unprecedented access to amazing amounts of high-quality programming.”
Developing…
Source: Netflix Q3 2016 Earnings (PDF)
AIVAnet 