Google Play Newsstand gets redesigned home screen, bottom toolbar
Google Play Newsstand is now better than ever.
Google has released a new version of Play Newsstand, its one-stop shop for news, magazines and other written content, with an updated home screen design and a bottom tab bar that replaces the left-side hamburger menu.
The design is definitely more personal, greeting you by name in a new tab titled “For You” along with a daily briefing that attempts to cull together written and video highlights from the past few hours based on sources and topics that you’ve previously shown interest in.
Like many of Google’s recently-redesigned apps, this is not a radical reworking but a maturing.
Like many of Google’s recently-redesigned apps, this is not a radical reworking of how Newsstand works, but a maturing of what has been happening within Google’s design team for the last couple of years. The bottom tab makes new content easy to find, and appears — in the age of larger phones with bigger screens — a more appropriate way to separate parts of the app without forcing mobile users to dig into the increasingly disused left-side hamburger menu.
Google has also renamed a couple of the sections. “My Library” is now just “Library,” while “Bookmarks” is the more realistic “Read Later.” Finally, Google now lets you get a daily briefing notification each morning, which it hopes will increase time in the app.
Play Newsstand 4.0, which does away with its bright purple color scheme for more sedate darker purple accents, is rolling out slowly over the next few days.
What do you think? Do you even use Google Play Newsstand, or do you prefer another news app?
BT launches Dolby Atmos sound with 4K TV packages, get the stadium experience at home
BT has upped its TV credentials and taken the fight to Sky Q with the announcement that Dolby Atmos will be supported with select sports shown in Ultra HD from next year.
- BT launching BT Sport Ultra HD, with a new UHD YouView set-top box
- Dolby Atmos: What is it and how can I get it?
The addition of Atmos will not only make BT the first broadcaster to support the sound format, but it will add an extra level of immersion at home. Dolby Atmos adds an extra height channel to programmes, instead of having ‘regular’ surround sound at ear level. By adding the extra height channels you’ll get a more enveloping sound effect.
In order to get Dolby Atmos, you’ll need a compatible AV receiver and either in-ceiling speakers or upward-firing height channel speakers, as well as the BT Ultra HD YouView box+ and Ultra HD subscription.
- BT Ultra HD YouView+ box review: A bold step into future 4K entertainment
BT has also announced that its new and improved YouView TV service will be automatically rolled out to customers’ set-top boxes during the early part of 2017. The new version claims to provide a “faster and slicker TV experience” and will coincide with the launch of a new BT TV app, which will let you stream live TV and on demand programmes to mobile devices, as well as manage recordings.
BT will also add to its current selection of sports programming with boxing on saturday nights thanks to a partnership with BoxNation.
Delia Bushell, managing director of BT TV and BT Sport said: “BT’s mission has always been to provide a high quality, premium TV service at prices that give unbeatable value to UK consumers. We will keep driving the pace of innovation in content, broadcasting and our customers’ experience”.
“In 2017 we’re going to further shake up the market by releasing our new viewing experience across our TV guide and on demand, our new TV app and on our BT Sport channels, provided as a free upgrade for our customers.”
NES Classic Mini review: Comes up a little short
Nintendo has had its problems of late, especially when it comes to home consoles, but things are looking up.
The forthcoming Switch is intriguing, full of potential and could turn the tide for the Japanese gaming giant when it releases in March 2017. The company has also pulled a masterstroke by drawing on its impressive past to present a cheap and cheerful machine in the interim.
The NES Classic Mini – or Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System, to give it its full name – is a tiny plastic box full of memories (if you’re a given age, anyway) and we love it.
For a mere £50, it reminds us of our first forays into console gaming and represents everything that is great and good about videogames. Or it’s the perfect opportunity for those young whippersnappers to get their heads down in a bit of retro gaming charm.
Can you buy games for the NES Mini?
- 30 classic titles built-in
- Can’t buy new games
The NES Classic Mini is a games console – although you cannot buy additional games for it down the line. That’s because it comes with a standard 30 pre-installed titles, all cleverly chosen from the original NES console’s celebrated past.
The main unit is a diminutive version of the early 80s Nintendo Entertainment System (otherwise known as the Famicom in Japan) and therefore gives you access to an amazing line-up of games that made waves back then.
The first Super Mario Bros trilogy are all there, as is the original Legend of Zelda, Metroid and Kirby’s Adventure. You also get excellent arcade conversions of Donkey Kong, Pac-Man and Ghosts & Goblins.
- Full list of games available on NES Classic Mini
Pocket-lint
They all play exactly as they did on the original console, except for the fact that, because the output is HDMI and upscaled to suit your modern TV, they look considerably better than when run on a fuzzy, old 14-inch CRT set.
Funnily enough, if you’re really into the retro theme, you can change the display options to make your screen look like an old telly, complete with fake scan lines. But why do that when it looks excellent as it is, on especially on a big flatscreen?
We hooked up the NES Classic Mini to a 65-inch LG 4K OLED TV and it looked spectacular – Mario seemed to be the size of a house cat. Yes, the pixels are more pronounced and the 8-bit effects look more like Lego the larger the display, but the colour representation has never been better and other all-in-one retro machines we’ve tried in the past tend to have an element of picture ghosting. Not so here.
Pocket-lint
There is one specific issue amplified by playing on a big screen though: you have to sit so close that you can’t quite see what you’re doing.
How long are the NES Mini controller cables?
- One classic NES controller included
- 30in/75cm cable is short
- Wii Nunchuck extension cables compatible
Along with the shrinking of the console, Nintendo has taken the decision to dramatically shorten the controller cable too. You get one remade NES controller in the box and its lead, at 30-inches long (so 75cm), is stingy to say the least. The cables on the original controllers were also short, but they were about a third longer. And that was when tellies were about 10 times smaller.
Pocket-lint
It means you have to almost literally sit on top of the NES Mini to play. When it’s connected to your TV using the HDMI lead that comes as part of the package, you are no more than two to three feet away from the screen. Fine for a bedroom TV, less so for a 65-incher in the living room.
Nintendo will no doubt say that you need to be close to the console as it sports a reset button on the front that pulls you out of a game and back to the main menu screen. There is also a clever freeze option, which halts and saves your progress as you do, ready to be picked up again from that spot later. However, we know that the controller is designed to be authentic, but surely that option could have been put on it rather than the front of the box? And if it’s that authentic, why isn’t the cable as long?
Thankfully, some accessory manufacturers are planning to release controller extension leads. And as the end connector is now the same as the one found on the Wii Nunchuck, if you find an extension cable for that still on sale, it should work too. Alternatively, you could invest in a longer HDMI cable and power lead, but that involves dragging the NES Mini around as you waggle the pad. Clumsy.
Does the NES Mini come with a power adapter?
- Micro USB to USB for mains power
- No mains plug included in the box
- HDMI out to connect to TV
The power lead itself is another bone of contention. It is a standard USB lead, with a USB at one end and Micro USB at the other, like the ones you used to get with Android phones (until USB Type-C came into play). The problem is that you don’t actually get the power supply itself – you have to provide your own USB plug adapter.
Pocket-lint
Yeah, we probably have at least 20 of them per household these days, and many of us have started to change our wall sockets to include USB ports anyway. But, it’s hardly plug and play. More no plug and no play. A bit cheeky given the £50 cover price. And while Nintendo has been taking this approach with “upgrade” 3DS machines, this NES Mini is no such thing, so no excuse.
Verdict
The caveats could put some people off but, while annoying, the games and ease of use have drawn us back time and time again to the NES Classic Mini. The 30 games stored in its miniscule bowels are each worthy of the term classic and a joy to revisit.
Without the NES we would never have had the PlayStation or Xbox. Mario the plumber would have been someone you’d more likely see at the end of Watchdog. And Zelda would just have been a scary space witch puppet from Terrahawks.
For all its faults, the NES Classic Mini isn’t just a games machine or toy, it’s a reminder of what Nintendo was capable of before motion gaming and Balance Boards. And that you don’t need fancy gimmicks, bells and whistles to serve up pure entertainment.
You just need a longer bloody controller cable. Then the NES Classic Mini would be retro perfection.
ICYMI: Neural net video can go from Monet to Matisse, live
Today on In Case You Missed It: Facebook’s latest AI tech, called Caffe2Go, can add painterly styles and colors over the top of your videos in real time, processing the changes from your smartphone. In other AI news, researchers at the University of St. Andrews used Google’s Project Soli tech to create a computer ‘eye’ that can identify objects it is placed up against. It does a great job too; able to tell what is an apple, orange, empty or full water glass or what body part it is looking at. Maybe “Where we’re going, we don’t need eyes to see” is because the computers can see for us.
Finally, we wanted to show you just one more AI project: it’s how Google is detecting where endangered sea cows are located, tracking them more easily than humans in boats can. If you’re into high-speed hijinks, check out Red Bull’s latest video. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
BT to roll out next-gen YouView TV update and app next year
With Sky Q growing in popularity and Virgin Media soon to unveil its new 4K set-top box, BT knows it needs to keep innovating its own TV offering or be left behind. That’s why it’s today announced a fresh round of updates for its YouView-powered platform and confirmed plans for a new mobile app, all of which will be available next year.
BT says its “next generation YouView TV service” will give customers the ability to quickly find the programmes they want and will put on-demand content front and centre thanks to its new image-rich navigation. Support for Dolby Atmos sound will also be added to BT Sport Ultra HD broadcasts in January, ensuring that all the big matches have audio to match those pixel-rich pictures.
The new BT TV app will build on the YouView update, extending that new design and usability to smartphones and tablets. The company notes that the app won’t launch until next summer, but it’ll include options to manage recordings and stream live and on-demand programmes, much like the Sky Q app does now.
Source: BT
The Engadget Podcast Ep 14: Welcome to the Terrordome
Trigger warning: This episode in a solid hour of Donald Trump talk.
If you’re still with us, strap in. Dana Wollman, Nathan Ingraham and Devindra Hardawar join host Terrence O’Brien to talk about how social media traps us in echo chambers. The they’ll envision what the world of tech and science looks like under a President Donald Trump. Hint: Things are a little bleak.
The Flame Wars Leaderboard
Wins
Loses
Winning %
Christopher Trout
5
1
.833
Mona Lalwani
3
1
.750
Dana Wollman
10
6
.625
Devindra Hardawar
10
9
.526
Chris Velazco
3
3
.500
Cherlynn Low
6
7
.461
Nathan Ingraham
4
6
.400
Michael Gorman
1
5
.167
Relevant links:
- Under Trump the future of Net Neutrality and broadband is uncertain
- Planet Earth might be the biggest loser under President Trump
- Donald Trump’s ‘Transition Team’ launches GreatAgain.gov
You can check out every episode on The Engadget Podcast page in audio, video and text form for the hearing impaired.
Watch on YouTube
Watch on Facebook
Subscribe on Google Play Music
Subscribe on iTunes
Subscribe on Stitcher
Subscribe on Pocket Casts
Facebook disables ‘ethnic affinity’ ads for housing, jobs
Facebook will disable settings that let advertisers exclude racial and ethnic groups when buying ads for housing, employment or credit, the company wrote in a blog post. It first started allowing “ethnic affinity” marketing several years ago, letting advertisers target specific multicultural groups. However, Propublica noticed that it was able to place housing ads that excluded African Americans, Hispanics, and other groups. That caught the eye of the Congressional Black Caucus, which called it a violation of the Fair Housing Act.
After meeting with members of the Congressional Black and Hispanic Caucus groups, the company agreed to make some changes. “We will disable the use of ethnic affinity marketing for ads that we identify as offering housing, employment or credit,” VP Erin Egan said. To do that, the social network will use algorithms that detect and disable ethnic affinity marketing for ads in those categories. It will also update its policies to make the rules clearer and require advertiser “to affirm that they will not engage in discriminatory advertising on Facebook.”
To avoid these problems in the future, I urge Facebook and other technology companies to address the lack of diversity in the ranks of their leadership and staff by recruiting and retaining people of color and women.
It appears that the company will still allow ethnic affinity marketing in other ad categories, though. It defended the practice earlier, saying that it “helps brands reach audiences with more relevant advertising.” It’s not unusual, of course, for advertisers to display different ads for the same products in specific TV markets, for instance, or ethnically-targeted magazines.
However, even outside of housing or employment, many critics still find the practice questionable. For instance, Universal created two completely separate ads for the film Straight Outta Compton, then targeted white and African American users separately on Facebook. As Ars Technica put it, the version aimed at white users makes it look like a gangster film, negatively reinforcing cliched stereotypes. Meanwhile, the ad aimed at black Facebook users focuses on the history and personalities of the artists.
Facebook says that “discriminatory advertising has no place on Facebook,” and that it will continue to speak with civil rights groups and policymakers to fight the problem. Black Caucus member Rep. Yvette D. Clarke commended Facebook on the change, but thinks it needs to make a more fundamental shift. “To avoid these problems in the future, I urge Facebook and other technology companies to address the lack of diversity in the ranks of their leadership and staff by recruiting and retaining people of color and women,” she tells Engadget.
Via: USA Today
Source: Facebook
iPhone Supplier Japan Display Seeks Financing Needed to Shift to OLED Displays
iPhone display supplier Japan Display is in “advanced talks” with the government-backed fund Innovation Network Corp. of Japan to receive around ¥75 billion ($703 million) in financing, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The bailout deal could help Japan Display improve its LCD display technology to better compete against OLED displays, while the investment could also go towards trying to set up its own manufacturing lines for mass-producing OLED displays.
Apple is widely expected to launch at least one new iPhone with an OLED display next year, with rumors pointing towards a curved 5.5-inch-or-larger model with glass casing. Japan Display’s domestic rival Sharp recently said it is building a new OLED facility in Japan to manufacture the displays for a “key customer,” while Samsung and LG Display are reportedly in the mix as well.
OLED displays typically have sharper color contrast and brighter colors compared to LCD displays, while the technology allows for flexible, curved designs. OLED panels also typically have faster response times and better viewing angles compared to LCD technology, with the option for an always-on mode. Samsung smartphones have used AMOLED displays, based on OLED technology, for years.
Rumors suggest Apple will release at least two traditional 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone models with LCD displays next year, as it has used since the original iPhone in 2007, so Japan Display may still have time to ramp up its OLED efforts.
INCJ already owns a controlling 36% stake in Japan Display, a joint venture formed in 2012 by the display making divisions of Hitachi, Sony, and Toshiba. Japan Display has struggled as of late due to the rise of OLED, with its revenue in the July-September quarter declining 25%. The company posted a quarterly net loss of ¥4.9 billion, but it projects a small operating profit for the full fiscal year.
Sharp received a similar financial infusion when it was acquired by Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn for $3.5 billion earlier this year.
Tags: OLED, Japan Display
Discuss this article in our forums
Zuckerberg says Facebook didn’t influence the election
If you controlled a media publishing platform that connected to millions of people, it’d make you a pretty powerful individual. Not so, according to Mark Zuckerberg, who has come out against the notion that Facebook helped win it for Trump. TechCrunch reports that the CEO was challenged about his social network’s laissez-faire policy towards stopping the flood of fake, bubble-reinforcing propaganda. He thinks that the notion that the torrent of fabricated stories “influenced the election in any way is a pretty crazy idea.”
Zuckerberg believes that it’s wrong to suggest that the diet of false stories, much of it generated in Macedonia, influenced things. Instead, he said that “voters make decisions based on their lived experience,” and that you “don’t generally go wrong when you trust that people understand what they care about.” In addition, the Zuck says that the company studies fake news and analyzes how it can be improved, and feels that fake stories aren’t much of a problem. In the same breath, the company is also pledging to do more to tackle fake news in the future.
The Facebook chief also said that the problem isn’t to do with the news feed, or people’s social networks at all, but the level of engagement. He added that “the biggest filter in the system is not that the content isn’t there,” but that “you just tune it out when you see it.” That’s at odds with what Facebook said last year, too, when it said that if you were only seeing self-reinforcing stories, its because your friend circle wasn’t diverse enough.
Source: TechCrunch
Instagram chief confirms live video is coming to the platform
Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom has confirmed to The Financial Times that the Facebook-owned company is bringing live videos to the photo-sharing app. Systrom said in the interview: “Live is really exciting for us. I think it can enhance what we’re doing. If I’m trying to strengthen relationships with someone I love, them streaming video to me live would be an amazing way to be closer to them.” The feature first surfaced last month as an experimental offering in Russia, where some users spotted an icon clearly marked “Live” next to a row of Instagram Stories.
Based on the screenshots posted by Russian publication T Journal, it’ll work similarly to Facebook Live. If you want to broadcast anything, you’ll have to fire up the camera and click “Go Insta!” Unfortunately, the users who got access to the experimental feature weren’t able to find out more than that, since clicking the icon marked “Live” brought them to an empty “popular live broadcasts” page. You might also have to a while before being able to find out yourself: Systrom didn’t exactly say when the feature will become available.
Via: Pocket-Lint
Source: The Financial Times (paywall)
AIVAnet 