Ricoh’s 360-degree camera lineup adds the £250 Theta SC
There’s a new version of the Theta S coming out in November.
Ricoh has introduced a smaller, cheaper version of the Theta S 360-degree camera. It’s called the Theta SC. It has two f2.0 lenses and two 12-megapixel sensors to capture 360-degree photos and 1080p spherical videos. Reviews of the Theta line are good in that people praised its ability to take the complex process of capturing and creating spherical pics and vids down to a single button press.
However, there’s a lot processing going on, and that takes a toll on photo and video quality. The $350 Theta S is Ricoh’s third-generation 360 degree camera that launched last year with Full HD video-streaming capabilities, 8GB of internal memory, dual 12MP 1/2.3-inch image sensors paired with bright f/2 twin lenses, a sensitivity range from ISO 100-1600, and built-in Wi-Fi.
In the last year alone, several 360-degree cameras have launched that offer equal or better quality to the Theta S (you can browse some of those 360-degree cameras in Pocket-lint’s roundup here). The Ricoh Theta SC will have to improve upon last year’s Theta S if it wants to beat similarly priced rivals already available from Samsung, Nikon, Kodak, and others.
Ricoh
Ricoh’s new £249.99 ($300) camera is on sale now in the US at Ricoh’s website, but in the UK, you’ll have to wait until sometime in early November to get your hands on it. It’ll be available in four different colours.
Microsoft was working on a Band that tracked your swimming
Just because Microsoft axed its Band wearable doesn’t mean that there wasn’t another Band in the works. Windows Central forum goer FUD Hater has posted what he says are details and images of a third-generation Band. Reportedly, the activity tracker’s star attraction would have been watersport — much like the latest Apple Watch, you’d have had water resistance and a swimming workout mode. Microsoft would have one-upped its rivals through an EKG sensor with blood pressure monitoring, however, and there’s also talk of RFID support.
It’s still not certain why Microsoft appears to be pulling the plug on Band hardware, assuming it isn’t planning a surprise revival at its October 26th event. However, it may be due to a combination of demand with Microsoft’s ultimate goals. Although Band did flirt with success (there were times when it sold out), its sales didn’t hold a candle to those of either dedicated activity trackers like Fitbit or to smartwatches. And ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley argues that Band was really meant to help Microsoft Health get a user base for its services, not to conquer the market — the company may simply be happy that you’re using its apps.
Via: Windows Central, The Verge
Source: Windows Central Forums
Facebook says it shouldn’t pay back taxes from Irish loophole
Apple and Google aren’t the only big tech companies fighting against requests to pay back taxes they allegedly racked up through loopholes. Filings obtained by Ars Technica show that Facebook is resisting the IRS’ request for taxes owed after the social network reportedly undervalued property transferred to its Irish holding company. If you ask the US agency, Facebook owes $1.7 million plus interest for at least 2010. That doesn’t sound like much for such a profitable company, but Facebook claims that it could wind up paying $3 billion to $5 billion (before interest and penalties) if the IRS really does want money from the past several years.
If you ask Facebook, the IRS hasn’t even settled the matter of how much that property transfer was worth. It’s still “in dispute,” the company says. Not that the agency is likely to show much sympathy, as it has repeatedly fought with Facebook over the auditing process. The IRS maintains that Facebook didn’t produce all the data it needed for an audit and didn’t show up to meet auditors, while Facebook insists that it bent over backwards to supply info and make staff available.
Companies won’t get to use the loopholes in question after 2019 thanks to changes in Irish law, so Facebook may not run into a tax dispute like this again. However, it’s doubtful that Zuckerberg and crew will take much solace in that fact. The whole point of the Irish presence was to minimize taxes — it’s reasonable to say that Facebook will fight tooth and nail to preserve the benefits of its creative accounting.
Source: Ars Technica
Valve’s next VR hardware could be a wrist-mounted controller
If last week’s Oculus Connect left you hungry for more news about virtual reality, maybe news of a new hardware out of Valve’s Steam Dev Days will do the trick. Perhaps the biggest tidbit is that the PC gaming juggernaut is working on a new controller for the Vive headset. What’s different from the current wand, according to TechCrunch, is the device will allow users to pick items up and put them down, all without letting go of the controller.
All of which suggests that the device may be palm or wrist-mounted. Since the event is developer-only, until our on-the-ground source can see the prototype for themselves further details (aside from those found on Twitter) are going to be hard to come by.
There’s some other news, too. Valve apparently wants its Lighthouse tracking system for the controllers to be as commonplace as WiFi, where anyone and everyone can develop for and use it. Currently there over over 300 different companies using the tech for motion tracking. New Lighthouse base stations may arrive next year as well. We’ll update this post with more info as it arrives.
Update: Pictures of the gizmo are surfacing on Twitter and as you might expect it looks very prototype-y.
First look at #valve’s prototype finger sensing controllers. I tried them. Awesome. #SteamDevDays pic.twitter.com/0B3SK48ld7
— Leigh_Christie (@Leigh_Christie) October 12, 2016
Source: TechCrunch
Apple Employees at Carindale Store in Australia Fired in Photo Scandal
Several employees at the Carindale Apple Store in Brisbane, Australia were today fired for stealing personal photos from customers and taking pictures of customers and female staff as part of a lewd rating game, according to Australian news site The Courier Mail.
The behavior was discovered by at the Carindale Apple Store after an employee caught a technician looking through a customer’s iPhone in the repair room.
In the biggest scandal to hit the technology giant in Australia, The Courier-Mail can reveal that more than 100 close-up and explicit photos were taken of female staff and customers without their knowledge and photographs were also lifted from some Apple customers’ phones.
The victims’ pictures were then shared with employees at other Queensland stores to receive a ranking out of 10.
Apple has reportedly brought in an HR executive from “overseas” to “manage the fallout,” but has not yet let employees and customers know who was involved in the breach. Apple confirmed in a statement that the Carindale store is under investigation.
“Apple believes in treating everyone equally and with respect, and we do not tolerate behaviour that goes against our values,” the statement read.
“We are investigating a violation of Apple’s business conduct policy at our store in Carindale, where several employees have already been terminated as a result of our findings.”
According to The Courier Mail, four male employees have been let go from the Carindale store as Apple continues to investigate the incident.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Tags: Australia, Apple retail
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Walt Mossberg Calls Siri ‘Too Limited and Unreliable’ to Compete in ‘Coming AI Wars’
The Verge’s Walt Mossberg today wrote a critical article on Apple’s Siri personal assistant, exploring the service’s shortcomings, mistakes, and inability to answer some simple questions that competing products have no problem with.
Entitled, “Why does Siri seem so dumb?”, Mossberg’s article, covers several questions Siri couldn’t answer, ranging from queries about political candidates to the date of the World Series to the weather in Crete. In each instance, Siri failed to provide the desired information, while Google Now, Google’s Siri competitor, was able to answer every single question correctly.
In recent weeks, on multiple Apple devices, Siri has been unable to tell me the names of the major party candidates for president and vice president of the United States. Or when they were debating. Or when the Emmy awards show was due to be on. Or the date of the World Series. When I asked it “What is the weather on Crete?” it gave me the weather for Crete, Illinois, a small village which — while I’m sure it’s great — isn’t what most people mean when they ask for the weather on Crete, the famous Greek island.
According to Mossberg, Apple has fixed many of the above Siri shortcomings thanks to his feedback, and has “stressed” to him that the company is “constantly improving Siri.” Apple says it focuses more on tasks like placing phone calls, sending texts, and finding places rather than “long tail” questions, which aren’t as popular with iPhone and iPad users. Mossberg speculates that such questions aren’t popular anymore because people “just give up” on asking Siri these types of things due to failed responses.
Mossberg also outlines several failures with Siri’s cloud-based services, from searching through iMessages to locating photos to finding calendar appointments, drawing the conclusion that Apple has “wasted its lead” with Siri, which is now forced to compete with services from Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. Mossberg believes that Siri “seems stagnant” and is “too limited and unreliable” compared to other services.
Though it may not seem like it, Apple has been putting a lot of effort into improving Siri. Back in August, Apple executives Eddy Cue, Craig Federighi, and Phil Schiller explained that machine learning techniques have cut Siri’s error rate by a factor of two, improving understanding. Since 2014, Siri and other on-device features, like the QuickType keyboard, Spotlight, autocorrect, Maps, and more, have been powered by a neural net-based system that is able to provide users with more personalized responses and actions.
Recent rumors suggest Apple aiming to improve Siri’s functionality even further in an effort to build the personal assistant into an Echo-like Smart home device that would do things like control smart home accessories. Apple is also said to be working on an “Invisible Hand” initiative that would allow users to fully control their devices through a Siri command, something that could debut within three years.
Mossberg’s full article on Siri, which is well worth reading, can be accessed over at The Verge.
Tags: Siri, theverge.com
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ZTE ZMax Pro review – CNET
What if I told you there was a smartphone you could buy for under $100? You may be a little skeptical. Surely such a low cost device would come with some sacrifices, right? Wrong.
The ZTE ZMax Pro is a midrange Android smartphone with an impressive feature set. The $99 smartphone may come with a small price tag, but there’s nothing small about it. The phone features a 6-inch display with a pixel resolution of 1,920×1,080. It’s a massive device that can be quite difficult to operate with one hand.
ZTE’s big, blue and budget ZMax Pro
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The phone is equipped by an octa-core Snapdragon 617 processor, which felt speedy during my brief hands on, and is paired with 2GB of RAM. On the back you will find a 13-megapixel camera, while a 5-megapixel shooter sits on the front. The phone comes with 32GB of internal storage, but there’s also a microSD slot to add even more. To power this behemoth there’s a 3,400mAh nonremoveable battery to keep you going all day long.
The ZMax Pro has a 13-megapixel camera and a fingerprint reader on the back (but no NFC, sorry).
Sarah Tew/CNET
Aside from the price, what shocked me the most was the USB-C port for charging and a fingerprint scanner on the back, two features that are more commonly found on devices triple the price. ZTE had to make some sacrifices, though. The phone doesn’t include NFC and can’t be used with Android Pay.
The ZMax Pro will be available exclusively from MetroPCS for $99 on August 1. Preorders begin today.
Specs
- 6-inch display with a 1,920×1,080-pixel resolution
- Octa-core Snapdragon 617 processor
- 13-megapixel rear camera
- 5-megapixel front camera
- 2GB of RAM
- 32GB of storage
- MicroSD card slot
- 3,400 mAh battery
- Rear fingerprint sensor
- Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software
- USB Type-C
Watch as Murs livestreams a world record 24-hour rap session
In what could be one of this week’s most entertaining livestreamed events: LA-based rapper Murs is currently in the middle of a marathon, possibly record-setting YouTube-broadcasted rap session. As part of a promotional stunt with Boost Mobile, Murs is attempting to rap for a solid 24 hours straight (with a merciful five-minute break every hour) to set the record for world’s longest recorded rap session.
According to Pitchfork, there is currently no Guinness World Record for the feat, but in order to qualify Murs has to keep recording for the whole 24 hours. At the time of publication, Murs is on hour three of 24, but if you tune in to the livestream below he doesn’t seem to be too phased just yet. He’s also working off of a tracklist of hip-hop classics and deep cuts, so the result won’t be one unbroken day-long freestyle so much as a physical act of endurance. Still, there are a lot more hours to go before he crosses the finish line.
Via: Pitchfork
Source: YouTube
Facebook is still trending fake news stories
It’s been six weeks after Facebook’s “trending topics” section was publicly called out for promoting a blatantly false story about Megyn Kelly and very little — if anything — has changed. According to a new audit from the Washington Post, that Megyn Kelly incident was far from an isolated case.
In fact, after logging every trending story spotted from four different Facebook accounts during peak workday hours in September, the Post discovered at lease five trending stories that “were indisputably fake” and three others that were “profoundly inaccurate.” One such blatant example popped up the day after Apple’s big iPhone event and claimed that the Tim Cook said the iPhone 8 would have “Siri physically coming out of the phone and doing all the household chores. (The site in question was literally called “Faking News.”)
What’s more: the Post audit found even more times when the trending topics section surfaced straightforward press releases, Medium posts and links to iTunes or other online stores — in other words: things that aren’t news. While the newspaper notes that their results shouldn’t be taken as conclusive because the trending section is personalized to each user, it is clear evidence that Facebook’s switch from human editors to a completely algorithm-driven system still needs some work.
Source: Washington Post
Why a Chromebook isn’t the same thing as a budget laptop – CNET
If your MacBook or Windows laptop is on its last legs, you may find yourself tempted to replace it with a Chromebook. But whether you’re attracted to the lower price or simplicity of use, it’s worth making sure it’ll meet your needs before you hand over your money.
I primarily use a MacBook Pro but have an Asus ZenBook Flip to scratch my Windows 10 itch, and I recently started using a Toshiba Chromebook 2. Each machine has its strengths and weaknesses, but I find I’m using the Chromebook more and more. Then again, I spend most of my time on my MacBook using Chrome and Google Docs so a Chromebook was a natural fit for me. Your mileage, as they say, may vary.
No matter the ways in which you use a laptop, there are areas where a Chromebook differs from a traditional laptop and areas where they aren’t so different. Let’s have a look.
1. The operating system
The main difference is, of course, the operating system. A Chromebook runs Google’s Chrome OS, which is basically its Chrome browser dressed up a bit to look like the Windows desktop. A search button similar to the Windows Start button sits in a taskbar in the lower-left corner along with shortcuts to Gmail, Google Docs, and YouTube.
A status bar sits in the lower-right corner that provides quick access to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, volume and settings. In a blissfully stripped-down settings panel, you can choose a wallpaper and theme, and you can tweak the settings for the touchpad, keyboard and display.
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Google
Because Chrome OS is little more than the Chrome browser, it’s incredibly lightweight compared to Windows and MacOS. Even with low-end parts, Chromebooks feel snappy. Better yet, it updates itself automatically and the updates take a fraction of the time of Windows and Mac updates to install.
The reason I like my Chromebook so much is its easy maintenance. It just works without any effort needed on my part. It always springs to life instantly and never makes me sit through a frustratingly long update and restart routine.
2. The apps it runs and the way it runs apps
Google offers a few familiar touches so that Windows converts will feel comfortable with the operating system, but the similarities stop when you open an application. Most Chromebook apps launch as a new tab in Chrome. A handful — Files, Get Help and Chrome Remote Desktop — open in a separate window.
Unlike Mac OS Sierra and Windows 10, Chrome OS uses only web apps and won’t let you download applications. This means no Photoshop, Skype, iTunes or any other non-Chrome apps you might use.
You can find alternatives in the Chrome Web Store, including online versions from Microsoft itself. You can use Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint and others. And Chrome’s native Google Docs and Sheets can handle Word and Excel files.
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Google
Despite relying on web apps, you don’t need internet access to run a Chromebook. You can edit Google Docs offline and watch movies and shows on Google Play offline. You may not be able to download more than one movie at a time, but a Chromebook can get you through a flight on a Wi-Fi-less plane.
Google’s Android and Chromebook divisions have also teamed up to bring Android apps to Chromebooks, in a process that began earlier this year. Not all Chromebooks have touchscreens, so you may need to get used to controlling Android action with a keyboard and touchpad rather than tapping and swiping on a screen.
3. How much it costs
You won’t need to pay for a Windows software license or that Apple logo, which makes a Chromebook cheaper than any MacBook and most Windows laptops. Chromebooks start at less than $200 (international prices start at about £160 or AU$300) and don’t get much above $500 (about £410 or AU$660) with a few exceptions. You can find a few entry-level Windows laptops in that price range, but they can’t run Photoshop any better than a Chromebook can.
4. Its build quality and display
Chromebooks and budget Windows laptops are indistinguishable from one another from the outside. They typically feature plastic enclosures and low-resolution displays; sleek, aluminum Retina Display MacBooks they are not. Then again, even the cheapest MacBook is about four times the cost of a Chromebook.
I picked the Toshiba Chromebook 2 because it’s one of the few models with a full HD display. Most Chromebooks feature displays with a 1,366×768 resolution. In addition to its relatively high-res display, the Chromebook 2 avoids many budget laptop pitfalls. The plastic chassis isn’t terrible, the keyboard isn’t mushy and the touchpad isn’t skittish.
5. How much storage it supplies
Chromebooks embrace the web and web storage. You’ll get a speedy SSD but it won’t offer a lot of room. A few Chromebook models feature 64GB SSDs but most have 16GB or 32GB SSDs. An entry-level Windows 10 laptop might have an SSD as small as 32GB, but others come with larger but slower 500GB hard drives.
To help offset the lack of local storage, Google throws in 100GB of free Google Drive space for two years with any Chromebook purchase.
6. How it handles your printer
You can’t just connect a Chromebook to a USB printer and start printing. Among the many things you can’t download and install on a Chrome are printer drivers, so you must route your print jobs over the web using Google Cloud Print. You’ll need a cloud-ready printer that can connect directly to the web, or you can use a classic printer connected to a Windows computer or Mac.
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Google
To sum up, a Chromebook has a budget Windows laptop look, it may not run all of your favorite apps, doesn’t offer a much in the way of local storage and can be a bit tricky if you own an older printer.
But don’t write off the Chromebook. It runs a lean OS, so it works well with low-end parts. My Toshiba Chromebook 2 feels snappy with its Intel Celeron processor and 4GB of RAM, and its battery lasts roughly 7 to 8 hours on a single charge under normal use.
But, really, I like it best because it doesn’t spring updates on me at the least convenient of times. Without needing to power and constantly update a more complicated, wide-ranging OS, my Chromebook just works; it’s always on and ready to go whenever I need it.
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