23andMe stops work on advanced gene sequencing

The team at 23andMe is dialing back some of its grander plans for DNA analysis. Co-founder Anne Wojcicki has confirmed to BuzzFeed News that her company has stopped working on next-generation sequencing that would reveal much more about your genes, such as the potential for some diseases. The executive is quick to stress that this isn’t due to financial or regulatory trouble — rather, it’s a question of whether or not that data is useful enough to warrant 23andMe stretching itself thin at this point. The firm would rather focus on its “core business” right now, Wojcicki says.

The market for those next-gen tests is still in its “infancy,” she points out.

It’s true that 23andMe doesn’t have too much to worry about in the near future. Rivals who are betting on advanced sequencing, such as Color Genomics, Helix and Veritas Genetics, are only just getting started. Whether or not they succeed is still up in the air, and 23andMe hasn’t had trouble finding interest among scientists wanting to use its genetic data for medical research. There’s more of a concern for its long-term future: what if that next-gen data becomes extremely useful? BuzzFeed understands that 23andMe let go of key scientists as part of its strategy shift, and it might take a while to get back up to speed if the company needs to step up its sequencing game.

Source: BuzzFeed News

Native Union made a USB hub that blends into your home

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re a gadget freak and may need to recharge multiple devices on a daily basis. That’s when you’re greeted by a pile of messy cables plugged into a dull-looking and maybe under-powered USB hub. Cable boxes may hide the ugliness, but they’re bulky and don’t actually solve the issue. Not one to admit defeat, Native Union — the mad folks behind the marble iPhone case — came up with the ultimate solution: a stylish, cylindrical USB hub dubbed Eclipse. On the outside, it looks like a piece of home decor thanks to its wooden top, but it’s really the inside that got our attention: as you touch the top gently, the main body slowly rises up to let you uncoil the cables tucked inside, while the base emits a subtle halo for night-time usage. It’s rather mesmerizing to watch.

The Eclipse offers three standard USB ports — one of which can be flipped to USB-C — which total up to 7.8A of current, and each standard port can go up to 2.4A while the USB-C port maxes out at 3A. There’s no Quick Charge 2.0 or 3.0 magic here (so the voltage stays at 5V), but the high current output is already plentiful for office hour or night time charging. And don’t worry, all the essential electrical protection mechanisms are in place. The device itself supports 110-240V variable voltage input so you can use it anywhere around the world, and it’s attached to a 4-foot long power cable with an electrical plug of your choice in the Kickstarter campaign.

While Native Union makes its own USB cables, the Eclipse is designed to house any cable that are up to 8-foot long. All you have to do is plug one end into the ports on the inside, then wrap each cable around one of the three slots on the cable management part, pop the part back into the cylinder and you’re good to go. To grab a cable, simply tap the top, let the body rise (powered by a motor), unwind your desired cable, and then tap the top again to let it slowly sink back down. This works even if you choose to hang the Eclipse on the wall — because it’s that good-looking — using the bundled wall mount. There’s a 4mm gap between the outer case and the wooden top, which should let most types of USB cables go through.

The Eclipse is already proving to be quite popular on Kickstarter, as it reached its $50,000 goal within the first couple of hours after launch. For those who don’t mind waiting until April 2017 for delivery, early birds can grab an Eclipse for $49 while everyone else will have to pay $50 — which is still a bargain considering that it’ll retail for $80 next year.

Source: Kickstarter

Apple Delays AirPods, October Launch No Longer Happening

When Apple debuted its AirPods in September, the company said the wireless earbuds would launch in late October. Now that it’s late October, people have been wondering if a release is imminent, but as it turns out, the AirPods are delayed.

Apple today told TechCrunch that it needs “a little more time” before the AirPods are ready for a public release, without specifying the reason behind the delay.

“The early response to AirPods has been incredible. We don’t believe in shipping a product before it’s ready, and we need a little more time before AirPods are ready for our customers,” an Apple spokesperson said to TechCrunch.

Apple did not provide TechCrunch with updated launch information, so it is no longer clear when the AirPods will be available for purchase.

AirPods are Apple’s premium headphone solution for the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, which do not include a headphone jack. AirPods, powered by Bluetooth and an Apple-designed W1 chip, are entirely wireless with no cords between them.

They include advanced features like infrared sensors to detect when they’re in the ear, beam forming microphones to reduce external noise, and accelerometers to respond to touch gestures.

AirPods have been in the hands of reviewers since September and have garnered largely positive reviews for the fit, the features, the simple setup, and the easy recharging.

Tag: AirPods
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Apple’s Custom Mobile Chip Designs Gradually Expanding to Include Graphics Hardware

After years of recruiting graphics architects, Apple has gradually shifted from licensing PowerVR graphics to designing its own custom GPUs for iPhones, according to David Kanter at Real World Technologies.

The new graphics processor is said to have first shipped with the A8 chip in the iPhone 6, with successive versions built into in the A9 and A10 Fusion chips powering the iPhone 6s and iPhone 7 lineups respectively.

For context, Kanter said a modern GPU has three major components that work together in harmony to render graphics:

The first is the fixed-function graphics hardware, which is responsible for tasks like processing API commands, triangle rasterization, and raster output. The second is the shader core, which is the heart of the GPU and executes programmable shaders (e.g., vertex, geometry, pixel, and compute shaders). Last, the graphics driver is the software that runs on the CPU and ties everything together, coordinating the activities of the GPU. The driver transforms graphics applications written in the Metal or OpenGL ES APIs into a series of commands for the fixed-function hardware and programmable shaders that execute on the shader cores.

Apple previously relied on PowerVR chipmaker Imagination Technologies to supply fixed-function graphics hardware, shader cores, and drivers for older-generation iPhones, but Kanter said Apple has since replaced the programmable shader cores with its own more efficient and higher performance design, and developed its own driver and compiler to emit code for its architecture.

While Apple’s GPU architecture has never been publicly documented, Kanter contrasted information from WWDC 2016 sessions and frameworks against basic PowerVR compiler and optimization manuals, concluding that it is clear that the shader core in Apple’s GPU is architecturally very different from the PowerVR line.

Apple’s custom GPUs still appear to use some of the PowerVR fixed-function graphics hardware, but it is clear the company’s dependance on Imagination Technologies has decreased significantly in recent years. Kanter speculates that if Imagination Technologies were acquired, or fell behind from a technical standpoint, Apple could simply design its own fixed-function hardware.

Apple was actually rumored to acquire Imagination Technologies earlier this year, but later said it did not plan to make an offer on the England-based company at the time. Nevertheless, in recent months, Apple has recruited at least two dozen employees from the chipmaker, including former COO John Metcalfe, and those graphics engineers may have played a role in developing Apple’s custom GPUs.

Kanter said Apple has in fact assembled a GPU design team and a graphics driver team that together implemented a large portion of the custom GPUs in the A8, A9, and A10 Fusion chips. In addition to former PowerVR engineers, this team likely includes recent hires from AMD, Google, Intel, and Nvidia.

The transition towards custom GPUs has is said to have resulted in several strategic advantages for Apple beyond increased performance and efficiency, including tighter ecosystem control, better time-to-market and scheduling, reducing its reliance on its suppliers, and reducing bugs without its competitors benefiting.

Full-Length Article: Look Inside Apple’s Custom GPU for the iPhone

Tags: Imagination Technologies, PowerVR
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Apple’s October 2016 Media Event: Spoiler-Free Video Stream

Apple’s “Hello Again” media event kicks off at 10:00 AM Pacific tomorrow, and as usual some MacRumors readers who can’t follow the event live are interested in avoiding all of the announcements and waiting until Apple posts the recorded video of the event so as to experience it without already knowing the outcome.

For those individuals, we’ve posted this news story, which will be updated with a direct link to the presentation once it becomes available from Apple. No other news stories or announcements will be displayed alongside this story.

Apple has become quicker about making event videos available for replay over the past several years, and videos are now frequently available within an hour of an event’s conclusion.

Users waiting for the video to be posted are welcome to gather in the thread associated with this news story, and we ask that those who follow the events refrain from making any posts in the thread about Apple’s announcements.

Tags: spoiler-free, October 2016 event
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Put some love on your home screen with these My Little Pony wallpapers

Another season has come and gone…

…and it was awesome. It still boggles the mind that we continue to see development and depth brought to a cutesy little show designed to sell toy equines. This season brought even more redemption stories into the mix as we had the continued redemption of previous villains. While the fact that almost every villain the show has ever faced has eventually been turned into a friend is a bit naive, the message that we can reconcile with almost anyone is one we need to hear again.

With that, let’s get to some pony wallpapers!

While not all welcomed Starlight Glimmer’s redemption and her ‘replacing’ Twilight Sparkle as the studious pupil in the ‘mane’ cast, I’ve actually quite liked her. Her past misdeeds and her fears concerning acceptance and relapse help bring a depth to that role that we never saw with Twilight. We even got a small reprise of the ‘evil’ Starlight during the show’s take on ‘A Christmas Carol’ to sate those in the fandom that preferred the vindictive, controlling villain we saw last season.

Starlight Studying by Lumic4

Are you still geeking out about that finale? Because I’m still geeking out about that finale. I’ve actually been rather impressed with Thorax’s arc over the entire season, going from a meek, self-exiled outcast to the new leader of an entire race. And while the color scheme for the new Changelings may be… loud, it doesn’t mean we can’t find beauty in it, especially in wallpapers like these that make excellent use of shadows, something Changelings are very familiar with.

All hail the deer-bug king!

King Thorax

Trixie might have technically reformed a few years ago when she had her Alicorn Amulet removed, but this year we saw Trixie actually change for the better, thanks to her newfound friendship with Starlight. Nevertheless, Trixie will never stop showboating, which is great, because the Great and Powerful Trixie is still a delight, especially when she’s putting on one of her shows.

And let’s face it: if you could make fireworks appear anytime, wouldn’t you give your life some flair?

Trixie by dstears

Big Mac has worn a lot of hats (and costumes) the last few seasons, especially with this year’s Dungeons & Discords, but none have topped his dream-powered from the Tantabus battle: Princess Big Mac. This was a great laugh and cheer from the fandom when we saw that episode, but the form was also an important symbol for a great many young boys watching the show: you can be a strong, confident man and still want to be a princess.

Eeyup.

Princess Mac by JoelletheNose

Soarin may not have gotten much screen time this season, but he’s still one of my favorite pegasi. Even as a Wonderbolt, he’s not as haughty or cutthroat as Spitfire, and he’s not as much of an attention-seeker or daredevil as Rainbow Dash. Mostly, though, Soarin is a pony I can get behind because he’s a pony with a one-track mind for his sweet of choice: PIE. And this election season, I posit that a good ol’ apple pie could beat any of the candidates we’re voting for next week.

PIE FOR PRESIDENT. (Seriously, though, folks, please go vote. PLEASE.)

Vote Soarin by Equestia-Election

GM will use Watson AI to recommend services on the road

Artificial intelligence isn’t just being used to automate cars… it’s finding a home in conventional cars, too. GM has unveiled a partnership with IBM that will see the Watson cognitive computing platform power OnStar Go, its latest in-car service offering. The AI technology will suggest stores and services based on your location, your decisions and your habits. If you’re driving home from work, for example, OnStar can remind you to pick up shopping on the way back. It can also recommend restaurants when you arrive in a new city, or tell you that a store order is ready for pickup.

There are already a few companies signing up to use OnStar Go. Mastercard will enable on-the-move payments through cards stored in your Masterpass wallet. ExxonMobil will help you find gas stations, suggest the best fuel and oil and authorize payments while you’re still in the car. Glympse will help you share where you are. iHeartRadio will create personalized radio streams based on your calendars, location and tastes, while Parkopedia will offer both parking info and the opportunity to book a spot while you’re on your way.

Yes, this will frequently amount to in-car advertising — GM isn’t shy about acknowledging that this is an expansion of OnStar’s existing offers and deals feature. All the same, Watson promises to be helpful. It can be cumbersome and even dangerous to search for services while you’re in the car — this lets you focus on the road. This also lays groundwork for self-driving cars, where finding destinations will be more important than figuring out how to reach those destinations.

Source: GM, Mastercard

Microsoft introduces Dolby Atmos support for Xbox One

While Microsoft’s Windows event put a lot of focus of 3D image capturing and designing, the company also made some announcements for the Xbox. Updates for the Microsoft’s games console include being able to host your own tournaments within games, that can be played with friends across Xbox and Windows 10 PCs.

• Dolby Atmos explained: What is it and how do I get it?

But the last announcement of the Xbox section was perhaps the biggest and that’s that Dolby Atmos support will be coming to the Xbox One and Xbox One S with the Creators Update.

The Xbox One can play Blu-rays while the Xbox One S is the first games console with a built-in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player. Both formats can have a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, but until now, neither console has been able to output to a Dolby Atmos AV receiver.

Dolby Atmos expands upon a regular 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound system by adding height channels to create a more enveloping sound field. You’ll need an Atmos speaker setup in your room to reap the full benefits, either by installing cinema speakers or by adding height channel speakers to your existing surround sound speakers. 

The update will mean both the Xbox One and Xbox One S can become more powerful home media devices, combining Blu-ray, 4K and Atmos into one package. Dolby Atmos support will arrive with the Windows 10 Creators Update in early 2017.