Brexit’s good for tech, Brexit’s bad for tech
Ever since 52 percent of referendum voters helped decide that life would be better outside of the European Union, Britain’s economic future has been less than certain. The government continues to insist “Brexit means Brexit” and is attempting to negotiate trade terms before invoking Article 50 early next year, leaving markets and statisticians to estimate its true impact.
While those talks are held behind closed doors, some of the world’s biggest technology companies — Google, Facebook and IBM — have seized the opportunity and confirmed their commitment to the UK. “Leavers” may see it as justification of their vote, but there’s more to these announcements than meets the eye.
It started when Google CEO Sundar Pichai visited London last week and announced plans to bring VR to one million UK schoolchildren. He later followed that up with updated plans for its new London HQ in Kings Cross. With help from Heatherwick Studio and Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), Google’s first “wholly owned” building outside of the US will be constructed in the capital, creating up to 3,000 new jobs.
Facebook’s commitment to the UK came yesterday with a promise to hire 500 workers when it opens its new London HQ in Fitzrovia next year. Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook’s European chief, underlined Britain’s importance as a tech centre and that it’s “an important part of Facebook’s story.” When its new offices open next year, the company will employ a total of 1,500 people in the UK.
Today, IBM announced it will triple the number of its datacentres (from two to six) in the UK, allowing it “keep pace with growing client demand” and underscore its “long-standing commitment to providing innovative solutions to the UK.” The company didn’t note the referendum in its statement, but IBM Europe’s General Manager for cloud services, Sebastian Krause, told Reuters that “everyone has concluded the UK economy will continue to be very strong and there will be significant opportunities with or without Brexit.”
All three announcements can easily be positioned as pro-Brexit, confirmation that tech giants aren’t phased by the UK’s current economic status. Matt Hancock, Minister of State for Digital and Culture, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan are happy to proclaim that “Britain is open for business.”
Yet another endorsement of a UK free of EU regulation as a tech hub for the world
https://t.co/7Q7IG6mrq8 #becauseofbrexit— jamie martin (@jamieamartin1) November 21, 2016
Before the vote, UK tech was earmarked as one of the industries that would experience the brunt of the impact. In fact, when we asked 50 technology companies that are either based in the UK or have large operations there, only one (Dyson) supported the Leave campaign.
Skeptics will also be aware that Google’s Kings Cross redevelopment has been on the books since 2013, when it spent $1.6 billion buying the land on which its new offices will reside. As for Facebook, it confirmed it was starting work on its new London HQ in September 2015. Both companies were committed to the UK months, if not years, before the EU referendum.
Building offices is one thing, but finding skilled workers to fill them is another matter.
Britain, more specifically London, is renowned for bringing in talent from across Europe, but its standing could be affected should the UK impose tougher immigration policies. Building offices is one thing, but finding skilled workers to fill them is another matter.
An average 15 percent fall in the value of the pound certainly makes hiring UK workers more cost-effective for Google and co. as a whole, but that same fall will make hiring non-UK talent hard: A £100,000 salary that used to be worth €140,000 is, at the time of writing, worth €117,000. With every aspect of Brexit, both sides can tout their own positives and negatives, but the reality is, until Article 50 is triggered, and the trade deals signed, no one really knows what the future has in store.
Facebook is testing public WiFi finder on mobile
Facebook has started testing a feature that will help you find the nearest public WiFi networks you can access for free. TheNextWeb has spotted the experimental feature in the iOS app, where chosen users can toggle on “Find WiFi” in their menus. The social network’s spokesperson confirmed its existence to VentureBeat, explaining that the company has begun rolling out a “new feature that surfaces open WiFi networks associated with nearby places” in order “to help people stay connected to the friends and experiences they care about.”
Once you’ve switched on the feature, the Facebook app will automatically detect places with free WiFi near your location and mark them on a map. It will even list the location’s business hours, its nature and WiFi name, so you know you’re not connecting to the wrong network. As TNW mentioned, the feature seems like an obvious move for a company that’s promoting its ability to broadcast live videos. But it sounds a lot more useful for developing nations where a lot of people don’t have mobile data subscriptions.
[Image credit: TheNextWeb]
Via: VentureBeat
Source: The Next Web
Touch Bar MacBook Pro Orders Begin Shipping to European Customers
The first wave of European shipments of MacBook Pros with Touch Bars appear to be out for delivery, after several Apple customers across the pond and beyond saw their orders enter the “Preparing for Dispatch” stage over the last 48 hours.
Many MacRumors readers in the EU are reporting notifications of imminent courier deliveries, while a handful of readers in Germany, Sweden, France, and the U.K. claim to have received their new MacBooks early this morning.
The new MacBook Pros sold out quickly, with shipping estimates moving from 2 to 3 weeks to 3 to 4 weeks hours after they went on sale. Current shipping estimates are 3 to 4 weeks. Apple’s Phil Schiller said that the company has received more online orders for the new MacBook Pro than any previous model. Slice Intelligence sales estimates suggest the new model has already outsold all competing laptops in 2016.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar starts at $1,799 while the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar starts at $2,399.
European readers interested in tracking their orders and discussing their configurations and shipping status can join our dedicated MacBook Pro pre-order EU shipping thread.
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Apple Exploring Possibility of Foldable iPhone With Flexible Display
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published an Apple patent on Tuesday that shows the company has been researching a foldable iPhone design that uses a flexible OLED display.
First spotted by AppleInsider, a patent titled “Flexible display devices” describes an iPhone design that folds in two when not in use, reminiscent of the old clamshell cellphones Motorola used to make in the 1990s.
Apple’s version utilizes a number of flexible parts including an OLED and a hinged metal support structure, made in one example of a nickel and titanium alloy known as nitinol, which has special elastic properties. Flexible polymers are used in alternative embodiments.
Apple envisions that the upper housing could include cameras, display controllers, speaker modules and light sensors, with the lower section of the chassis containing microphones, CPU and graphics processor, along with vibrating and other typical smartphone mechanisms.
The two sections connect via a single- or multi-shaft hinge that allows them to rotate relative to each other, while flexible printed circuit boards keep the connection intact. The flexible display meanwhile runs over the two sections and includes extra material to support two or more folding configurations.
Apart from the the more familiar clamshell folding system, the patent describes how the display could fold outward, allowing both halves of the screen to remain accessible when the phone is closed shut. This second configuration also includes clips for fixing to the user’s clothing.
Later in the patent, Apple explores other more elaborate embodiments including a two-hinge design vaguely reminiscent of a Jacob’s Ladder toy, and goes on to consider cover glass and viewing angle details.
The patent is more a point of interest rather than an indication that Apple is set to release a foldable phone, however the research could make its way into other products. The technology could be implemented in a large iPad that folds away, for example.
In addition, next year’s 10th anniversary “iPhone 8” is expected to include a flexible OLED display, but the traditional overall form factor will most likely remain.
Related Roundup: iPhone 8 (2017)
Tag: patent
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Why you need to upgrade your light switch to the Eve Light Switch
The Eve Light Switch (USA & Canada only) is the world’s first light switch with HomeKit technology built in allowing you to do much more than just any old regular light switch.
Here are five reasons you should upgrade your light switches in your house today.
1. Always on
Eve Light Switch replaces a single pole switch, and enables you to use the Eve app or Siri to control your existing chandeliers, built-in lights, ceiling lamps, ceiling fans, and more even if the light has been switched off at the wall. That means unlike other “smart” bulbs you’ll always be able to turn it on even if the switch on the wall has been turned off.
2. No need to upgrade your bulbs
The Eve Light Switch is the intelligent bit, not the bulbs in the light sockets in the room. That means you don’t need to replace every light in your house, but merely the light switches in the rooms you want to control. And because the Eve Light Switch features a capacitive touch sensor to let you manually turn a light on or off, even family members and guests without an iOS device are able to operate your lights.
Elgato
3. Set timers and automations
Eve Light Switch transforms any existing single or multi-bulb setup into an intelligent lighting system. HomeKit enabled means that you can not only control the lights connected via your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, but also have them automated based on set actions like walking into a room, or when you get within a certain distance to your house. You can create scenes to control Eve Light Switch and other HomeKit-enabled accessories with a single command, or set timers and have them work on their own.
4. Control yours lights from your phone
Like other Eve accessories, Eve Light Switch connects directly to your iPhone or iPad using Bluetooth low energy technology, without the need for a hub, gateway bridge, or and without disturbing your already crowded WiFi network.
If you have an Apple TV 4 connected to your home wireless network, you can also control your lights even away from your home.
5. Group light switches
If you have Eve Light Switch in multiple rooms you can group them in the Eve app and say one sentence to control all your lights via Siri, without lifting a finger or roaming your home.
Buy Eve Light Switch for US $49.95 / CA $69.95 at Elgato’s Online Store, Amazon US and Amazon Canada.
Malicious Video Link Causes iOS Devices to Freeze, Requiring a Hard Reset
A malicious video link that when played in Safari causes iOS devices to crash has been discovered this morning.
Playing the MP4 video in question through Safari appears to have no effect at first, but gradually the operating system slows down before it freezes completely, after which only a hard reset will bring the device back to life. YouTube channel EverythingApplePro has posted a demonstration (i.e. not the original video) showing the exploit in action.
The bug appears to affect iOS builds as far back as iOS 5, while iPhones running iOS 10.2 beta 3 are said to power off and show the spinning wheel indefinitely.
If you fall victim to the prank, you’ll need to hard reboot to get your device working again. According to a Reddit post by user Riddle, currently the top level domains hosting the video appear to be vk.com and testtrial.site90.net, but bear in mind that the video could be hosted on other sites quite easily and that URL shorteners can mask the actual address you’re being linked to.
This kind of prank isn’t new. Three years ago, a text exploit made the rounds that caused both Mac and iOS devices to crash.
(Via 9to5Mac.)
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HTC’s 10 Evo is a Bolt for the rest of the world
Mixed bag of hardware launches Nougat and HTC Sense globally.
As rumored, HTC today took the wraps off the HTC 10 Evo, a global version of the Sprint-branded Bolt. Aside from some branding changes, this is the same phone we recently reviewed, with a questionable assortment of hardware: HTC 10-style metal unibody, a bigger 5.5-inch screen, water resistance, USB-C audio only (#donglelife) and a nearly two-year-old Snapdragon 810 processor, with 3GB of RAM. There’s also a big focus on audio in general, with the bundled Type-C cans debuting HTC’s BoomSound Adaptive Audio.
At least the software is bang up-to-date, with the latest Android 7.0 Nougat preloaded along with HTC’s Sense interface.
Here’s what Florence Ion had to say in her review of the HTC 10 Evo’s American cousin:
The Bolt is a definite look at what HTC has in store for us next year. I’m expecting a super cool aluminum smartphone with top-of-the-line hardware and a rear-facing camera that can better capture low light. For now, consider the Bolt a mere test run that shows off Sprint’s network — and one that isn’t likely worth $600 to you.
The HTC 10 Evo will launch in Europe this month, but there’s no word of any carrier partnerships or SIM-free price just yet. To the latter point, the current £500 unlocked price of the higher-specced HTC 10 (not to mention competitively priced rivals like the OnePlus 3T3 could make things tricky for HTC. For what it’s worth, the Bolt’s $600 cost would place it around the same price point as the HTC 10 in the UK, if prices were converted over directly.
More: HTC Bolt review
OnePlus 3T now available in the U.S.
Snapdragon 821 for $439.
OnePlus’s new mid-cycle flagship refresh, the OnePlus 3T, is now available to buy unlocked, directly from the upstart manufacturer. The phone is shipping today in both 64GB and 128GB storage configurations, with the base model coming in at $439, and the more capacious model running $479. Right now the only color option is the new “gunmetal” hue, with “soft gold” set to arrive at a later date.
Compared to the soon to be discontinued OnePlus 3, the 3T steps up to a Snapdragon 821 processor, a 16-megapixel front camera, a bigger 3,400mAh battery and additional software tweaks. Besides those differences, you’re basically looking at the same phone, and as such the 3 and 3T will be on the same software update schedule in future.
Here’s what Andrew Martonik had to say in his review of the phone:
Even with the modest price bump, the OnePlus 3T is an amazing value. It has great hardware, slick and responsive software, amazing battery life, strong rear camera and every internal spec you could want. Even its few weaknesses, like slightly low screen brightness, lack of waterproofing and questionable software update frequency, are minimal bad marks on what is otherwise an exceptional phone. At $439, you can’t find a better value than the OnePlus 3T.
The OnePlus 3T rollout continues next week, with a European launch on November 28.
See at OnePlus
OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T
- OnePlus 3 review: Finally, all grown up
- The OnePlus 3T is official
- OnePlus 3 specs
- OnePlus 3T vs. OnePlus 3: What’s the difference?
- Latest OnePlus 3 news
- Discuss OnePlus 3 in the forums
OnePlus
Netflix 4K now available in Windows 10 but you probably can’t get it
Windows 10 users can now view Netflix shows and films in 4K Ultra HD, hurrah! But you need a PC running a chipset not widely available yet, boo!
It has been announced that it is now possible to view Netflix in 4K through Microsoft Edge on a Windows 10 PC or laptop. The only problem is that it requires a 7th generation Intel Kaby Lake processor to run.
Considering laptops and PCs with 7th gen chipsets are only just hitting the market (and for a pretty penny) it’s more than likely you haven’t got one yet. And if you are the type of person (like us) that builds your own PCs, you can’t even buy Intel’s Kaby Lake CPUs yet – they are currently only available to OEMs and manufacturers.
- Netflix review: The leading light in home entertainment
- How to watch Netflix on TV: Your complete guide
- Netflix offline viewing finally coming, before end of 2016
It’s mind boggling really. Even if your PC has an Nvidia GTX 1080 graphics card, Intel i7 Skylake processor and is capable of munching through GTA V in 4K, you still can’t play Netflix in 4K in a browser.
Still, it’s a start. Maybe once it’s been tried and tested for a while it’ll become more widely available.
It should be pointed out you will also need a 4K display and a top level Netflix subscription to access Ultra HD content, which costs £8.99 a month in the UK. You’ll also need a broadband connection of at least 25Mbps.
Sod it, just buy a PS4 Pro or Xbox One S.
Scientists’ realistic lab-grown gut tissue thrives in mice
A team of scientists have not only created gut tissue that’s so close to the real thing, they’ve also successfully grafted it into mice for the first time. The team converted ordinary skin and white blood cells into pluripotent stem cells, which have the capability to transform into any type of cell. By providing the right nutrients, they were able to induce the stem cells to turn into basic intestinal tissues. But they didn’t stop there — they also created nerves that gave the tissue the ability to pulsate, which is what moves food through our gastrointestinal tract.
Jim Wells, one of the researchers from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio, said:
“I feel this is one of the most complex tissues to have been engineered. It has the inner lining that does all the absorption of nutrients and secretion of digestive juices, fully functional muscles that propel the food through the gut, and nerves that control the pulsed muscle movement.”
To test if their creation works, they grafted small patches of it into the kidneys of live mice. They found that the tissue survived just fine inside the animals, and the mice’s body even supplied it with blood and immune cells, even if the scientists didn’t create a blood supply for the tissue. If the same thing happens inside the human body, then doctors can use the material for patients who need it.
At this point in the time, the researchers are testing two-centimeter tubes made with the material. However, they’re thinking of extending the tubes to 10 centimeters, so they can be used to extend the gastrointestinal tracts of babies with short bowel syndrome. Adults would need longer tubes than that, so it might take much longer to develop transplants for full-grown humans. The team also believes the material can help them look into inflammatory bowel and Crohn’s diseases more closely and figure out how to help people with those conditions.
Via: New Scientist
Source: Nature Medicine
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