Become a certified Project Manager for just $69!

Project Management happens to be one of the fastest growing fields in several industries right now, and you may be looking to make a switch. But just how does one get started with Project Management and learning the ropes? Well, they take expensive courses that consume a lot of time, right? Wrong.

You don’t have to spend a ton of time and money to begin learning the basics. Meet the Ultimate Project Management Certification bundle which provides you access to 9 comprehensive courses seven days a week, 24 hours a day. From learning the basics to getting more in depth with Six Sigma Black, this is a great way to jumpstart your career change.

With the bundle you’ll get:

• Access 9 comprehensive courses 24/7
• Explore study materials for PMI Risk Management Professional, Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Project Management Professional (PMP), Six Sigma Green Belt, Six Sigma Black Bundle, PRINCE2 Foundation Certification, and PRINCE2 Practitioner Certification
• Learn a structured approach to managing projects
• Understand how to manage stakeholder engagement, service strategy process, & how to analyze data
• Plan human resources needs & identify project risks
• Use exam prep quizzes, tests, & mock exams to ensure you’re ready to take on the real certification exams

Normally, a bundle like this would set you back around $4,300, but right now you can pay a fraction of that. For access at any time of any day to nine different courses, you can’t really beat the $69 price tag here. From learning structured approachings to managing projections to planning upcoming human resource needs, and more, there is tons of valuable information here.

This huge 98% savings won’t last though, so you’ll want to grab it for yourself now before it is too late.

See at Android Central Offers

Just get a new MacBook Pro? Now is the perfect time to move to Android

USB-C is the port all of our new electronics will be using, except for the iPhone. Android is ready to hook up with your sexy new MacBook Pro.

Apple’s new MacBook Pro was met with the same controversy that many new products garner. You can’t please everyone, and there will always be a change or an omission that gets some folks riled up. We all do it, all the time, and this time was no exception. We’re not pointing any fingers.

Ignoring all the hubbub for a moment, the new MacBook Pro is probably a great computer for any professional on the go who doesn’t need extreme 32-bit single-precision floating point format performance, which requires a very expensive and power hungry graphics system. And since most of us don’t have a Quadro P6000 in the computer on our desks at work, this means us. (And if you have a Quadro P6000 installed inside your desktop computer, I am so jealous.) It also looks great for folks who just want a high-end laptop to work on Excel sheets or look at Facebook and want to use macOS instead of Windows or Chrome. Rene has a really well-written and rational review at iMore that you should read if you haven’t.

More: MacBook Pro (2016) review

One of the most common complaints you’ll hear about the new MacBook is that folks are upset that they need so many dongles. With no SD card slot and USB-C ports, all the things you already have can’t plug in without some sort of adapter. Including your iPhone. We can’t fix every issue, but we know how to alleviate the problem of having one piece of gear with a standard, albeit new, port and the other having a proprietary port that’s not going away anytime soon. Make the switch to Android!

The problem isn’t with the MacBook Pro. Like the “regular” MacBook, it uses a standard USB Type-C port with USB 3.1 compliance and is specified for USB-PD (Power Delivery). You need to get used to that because that’s where everything is going to be very shortly. And that’s good. It’s a better bus and interface that most things can benefit from when they use it. Even Apple, if they used it on the iPhone and iPad.

They would be able to transmit all the data they want to transfer through the external bus and would benefit from the engineering other companies have done on an open standard. But too much money has been sunk into the Lightning port already, and moving would cause a user revolt of epic proportions. You will need to use a special cable approved by Apple or a dongle of some sort to connect your iPhone to your MacBook Pro, and shortly the same thing will be said about every computer.

What to look for when buying a USB-C cable

The same can be said for Android phones. Last year when Microsoft, Google, OnePlus and others used a USB-C port on their phones it took courage was early in the life of the standard and the ports on the Nexus 6P or Lumia 950 or OnePlus 3 didn’t support things like USB 3.1 speeds or Power Delivery, but since they used a recognized standard everything you buy today is 100% backwards compatible.

They were looking forward, and we complained about having to buy new cables the same way MacBook Pro buyers are complaining about dongles. But that’s mostly done with, and USB-C to USB-C is simple and better than what we had before. Every “flagship” Android phone released from now until we get something “even better” will have a USB-C port with a bus specified for PD. Just like the MacBook Pro.

If you like the iPhone, but hate the dongles and having two expensive things that can’t use the same stuff like a keyboard or webcam, know that phones like the Pixel and LG V20 are here for you. 2017’s great Android phones will be, too.

And so will we.

Google Pixel + Pixel XL

• Google Pixel and Pixel XL review
• Google Pixel XL review: A U.S. perspective
• Google Pixel FAQ: Should you upgrade?
• Pixel + Pixel XL specs
• Understanding Android 7.1 Nougat
• Join the discussion in the forums!

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Audio-Technica talks headphones tech, from Pure Digital Drive to Hi-Res Audio

We’re sat in Audio-Technica’s downtown Tokyo headquarters, peering through a one-way window overlooking the company’s professional music studio, sat with Keisuke Kobayashi, the company’s director of marketing and engineering. For this isn’t just a headphone brand: Audio-Technica is an audio company with deeper-reaching roots.

But while the company’s headphones sales are in the number one position in its native Japan, the brand hasn’t proliferated the European market to the same extent. Eyes are on the prize, though, with the company having recently moved most staff to its impressive new Machida base, with new products – including the DSR9BT over-ears and Pure Digital Drive technology – making in-roads into never-before-released technologies.

Here’s what Kobayashi had to say about how the headphones market will move forward, whether Hi-Res Audio is widely understood, and what’s next for digital audio technology.

Q. There’s a lot of talk about Apple’s wireless AirPods and Lightning connector headphones lately. Can you see the sense to their ecosystem?

A. “It’s a point of interest. The iPhone has a very strong influence over the market. At the same time, Lightning is not the only solution. And sometimes it becomes a little more cumbersome to specific people. Having a wire is a little bit of a nuisance, perhaps, but Bluetooth and that approach – which we also cater for – is convenient.”

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Q. Where do you see the headphones market going then? What can Audio-Technica offer to stand out?

A. “We look at many different opportunities in terms of technology. However, we tend to believe that by using innovative components in reproducing sound that what really counts is the core ability; and Audio-Technica has strength in transducer production.

“From that point of view we might be a little slower in trying some of the newer available technologies, but sound quality is always paramount.”

Q. Does having a free and open work environment provide the opportunity to explore and create defining new products?

A. “What we can do within the world of sound it is very much limitless. Everyone at the company is very committed to sound. That’s the basic drive.”

It’s led to the creation of the company’s DSR9BT headphones, the first over-ear headphones to ditch the digital-to-analogue (DAC) conversion process to deliver a true digital signal from source to drivers.

Not available until 2017, it’s technology like this that sees Audio-Technica try to separate itself from the competition; to further cement its high-end appeal.

• Audio-Technica ATH-DSR9BT preview: A digital future for high-end headphones

Q. What comes next for wireless technology? Does Audio-Technica have the time to experiment, or is that for other companies to approach you with?

A. “Audio-Technica tends to be rather straightforward in the historic approach, but we are not rejecting newer technologies. In DSR9 – with its Pure Digital Drive technology, which you have seen and heard – that’s one of the approaches we are taking.

Pocket-lint

“That’s not just new digital electronics squeezed into a headphone: it’s a fundamental new technology introduction into the voice coil. Companies have struggled to get this to work before, but Audio-Technica has the necessary expertise in transducer technologies.

“But if we are talking about wireless technologies then there are many potential options [aside from Bluetooth]. But we have balance the cost of making such technologies available and the actual result it will bring.

“Bluetooth still has room for improvement. We are also looking at the use of aptX HD and those newer technologies which provide upgraded user experience.”

Q. How can Audio-Technica make more of an impact away from native Japan?

A. “Audio-Technica has held the number one market share position for the last seven years. We’ve made good progress and steps to establish ourselves in the US and EU also.

“We tended to focus more on the professional side of the business, so we were a little bit late in cultivating the consumer side. Now we’ve started to do that and we’ve got exciting new products coming.

“At the same time I don’t think there is a quick remedy. Audio-Technica has been in the headphone business for more than 40 years. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we fail – but that’s the basic nature of business.”

Pocket-lint

Q. Is part of the challenge succumbing to the way some competitors sell? Say bigger bass and other options?

A. “Audio-Technica produce the Solid Bass range, for example [not available in the UK]. However, we try not to just push heavy bass boost, but to have a fair level of balance between the lower bass and also the other content in the spectrum. That subtlety is important. Whether for electro music or classical music – the key is to deliver a level of enjoyment for the listener.”

Q. Is selling Hi-Res Audio a challenge? Especially when lower quality streaming is widely available. Do you think consumers understand?

A. “It might be confusing. Streaming gets popular due to the ease of the experience and it’s a really convenient offering. I don’t think we should ‘downgrade’ away from this trends. From a popularisation standpoint it’s not a bad thing. “But it is the manufacturers’ duty to let the general public have choices. Sometimes you won’t really get what artists wanted to express when you have some limitations. And that, today, is where Hi-Res Audio fits in – if you don’t experience it, you don’t really have an idea of what it is and how it sounds.”

Q. What is Audio-Technica’s stance on Hi-Res audio? How do you sell that to customers?

A. “The industry needed to provide some wording to promote this new higher-quality material. Hi-Res Audio-labelled products are supposed to provide higher-resolution and a higher quality of sound.

“However, some companies really abuse the Hi-Res label. ‘Now at this price point we have Hi-Res this and Hi-Res that’ [when it’s not true].

“If we were to have a clearer established standard it might be a very good sign for customers to look for a certain level of quality. Audio-Technica is still redefining what is hi-res; re-qualifying the standards. Through those efforts and activity I think we are more clearly able to establish a certain level.

Pocket-lint

Q. So if some are breaking the value of the Hi-Res label, will Audio-Technica create a different badge to sell in a different way?

A. “There is always a business reality. In the market places people wish to know ‘is this really a Hi-Res product?’. So we need to provide that information [using the badge]. So we will promote Hi-Res, of course, but not to abuse the system.”

“We’re also exploring other technologies, to convey the purest sound, such as Pure Digital Drive in the DSR9. These are also Hi-Res capable, of course.”

Q. At the opposite end of the scale there’s the resurgence of vinyl? Why do you think this is happening now?

A. “The reason for the resurgence is helped by two factors: the older generation is one, coming back to experience what they had in the past and they want to enjoy it again; but also the younger generation find it fascinating that this kind of thing can actually make sound, and also be a tangible material – it’s not just one single thing, but kind of a multi art object.

I am very old – so that’s why I’m using this example – and in order to enjoy music years ago you had to have decent audio kit. If you were lucky to have parents or grandparents who were into music then you might have had such equipment at home. If you didn’t then you would have to try very, very hard to get the money together to buy the components. When you do that the actual level of involvement with the listening experience is that much more engaged. If everything is too easy to get then maybe it limits the experience.”

Pocket-lint

A good job, then, that we get to experience the company’s high-end listening room – complete with a wide range of speakers, turntables and, of course, the company’s reference cartridge, the £4,100 ART1000.

It’s an eye-closing experience and the perfect moment of reflection while we digest not only the sushi, but all that’s been said, shown and heard during our visit at Audio-Technica towers.

How to watch 4K Ultra HD content on TV and online

4K TVs were first announced a few years ago, promising to be the future of home entertainment and “the next big thing”. They also arrived with sky high prices that meant many of us couldn’t justify buying one.

Since then, specifications have been deliberated and cemented and there’s even been the introduction of high dynamic range (HDR).

As with anything, as time has gone on, prices have started to fall so buying a 4K TV is now more affordable than ever.

And fortunately, the amount of content you can watch in 4K has gone from very little to an awful lot in the same time period. While you may not be able to watch The Great British Bake Off in 4K just yet, there are plenty of films and TV shows from the major streaming services and live sports to enjoy.

But just how much 4K content is out there, where can you find it and which shows should you be looking out for to best show off your screen? Allow us to explain…

What 4K content can I watch online?

• Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube have 4K content
• Wide range of TV shows and films
• HDR content supported

The two easiest ways to get your 4K fix via the internet is through Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. The two video streaming giants have seriously committed to 4K content and film the majority of their original content in the format. Both also offer a selection of films in 4K Ultra HD, although some of the films on Amazon need to be bought or rented.

Better still, both also stream their original content with HDR too, and Netflix can lay claim to being able to stream Dolby Vision to compatible TVs such as LG OLEDs.

Netflix

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Netflix was one of the first video streaming services to offer 4K content with season 2 of House of Cards being the first to be 4K ready. Since then, it’s library of content has expanded and now includes 26 titles across TV shows, movies and documentaries.

You will need to make sure your 4K TV has an HDMI 2.0 connection and supports HDCP 2.2 if you want to stream from an external player. The majority of 4K TVs released nowadays should have these, but it’s worth double checking. Many Smart 4K TVs also have a native Netflix app installed or available.

Price:

• £5.99/month for 1 screen viewing in standard definition
• £7.49/month for 2 screen viewing in SD and HD
• £8.99/month for 4 screen viewing in 4K Ultra HD

Devices:

• 4K and 4K HDR Smart TVs – Dolby Vision on LG TVs
• PlayStation 4 Pro
• Xbox One S
• 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray players
• Virgin V6 TV box
• Google Chromecast Ultra

Stand out content:

• House of Cards
• Breaking Bad
• Bloodline
• Daredevil

• Netflix review: The leading light in home entertainment

Amazon Prime Video

Pocket-lint

Amazon Prime Video has a wide range of 4K TV shows and movies available to stream, with a number of original TV shows available for free as part of a Prime membership. Films are available to stream but these need to be paid for or rented. Amazon Prime Video also offers Dolby Vision on select titles.

Price:

• £79/year for a Prime membership
• £5.99/month for just Prime Video
• Rent films from 99p to £6.99
• Buy films from £4.99 to £13.99

Devices:

• 4K and 4K HDR Smart TVs
• Xbox One S
• Amazon Fire TV
• Ultra HD Blu-ray players

Stand out content:

• Mad Dogs
• Bosch – available with Dolby Vision
• The Grand Tour – available with HDR
• Mozart in the Jungle – available with HDR

• Amazon Video review: Hitting the Prime time

YouTube

YouTube

YouTube has been supporting 4K content for longer than you might think, with videos uploaded as far back as 2010 having the higher resolution format. Since November 2016, YouTube has also started supporting HDR videos too, but to watch both, you’ll need to have compatible hardware.

Because anyone can upload content to YouTube, there’s likely to be more videos available to watch, although their production values may not be as high as what you’ll find on Netflix and Amazon.

Price: Free

Devices:

• 4K HDR Smart TVs
• PlayStation 4 Pro
• Chromecast Ultra
• Computer that supports VP9 codec and a 4K compatible monitor

• YouTube HDR video: Everything you need to know about YouTube’s latest feature

How can I watch 4K content on TV?

• Sky Q, BT Sport, Virgin TV V6 box (coming soon)

For a long time the only way you could watch 4K content was via one of the streaming services mentioned above, as there wasn’t any Ultra HD broadcast content on TV. That’s all changed now as BT and Sky (and soon to be Virgin Media) will offer a few ways to watch 4K content via a set-top box.

Sky Q

Pocket-lint

When Sky Q launched, it claimed it would have the UK’s most comprehensive selection of 4K content to watch, either live or on demand. We’re inclined to agree, as the service has a large choice of films and TV shows to view on demand and an extensive selection of live sporting events.

On demand content needs to be downloaded to your box before you can watch it, although once a certain percentage has downloaded you can start viewing. Sky Q doesn’t currently offer HDR content.

Sky also offers over 30 4K movies through the Sky Store to rent or buy.

What you’ll need:

• Sky Q 2TB box
• Sky Cinema and/or Sky Sports pack
• Compatible 4K Ultra HD TV

Price:

• £199 for Sky Q 2TB box without Sky Multi-Screen. £60 with Sky Q Multi-Screen at £12/month.
• Sky Box Sets TV bundle for £38/month
• Sky Cinema for £18/month
• Sky Sports for £27.50/month

Stand out content

• 2017 Formula 1 season
• Sky exclusive David Attenborough nature series
• The Martian

• What is Sky Q, how much does it cost and how can I get it?

BT Sport Ultra HD

Pocket-lint

BT was the first broadcaster in the UK to launch a live Ultra HD service. However, that service is limited to one sporting channel, which only shows a smattering of 4K sporting events.

Nevertheless, if it’s just sports you’re interested in, BT’s offering could be worth considering, as it’s much more affordable than Sky Q and BT TV runs on the YouView platform. Because the box is Ultra HD compatible, you can also watch 4K Netflix though it too, with the relevant subscription.

What you’ll need:

• BT YouView+ Ultra HD box
• Total Entertainment TV package
• Compatible 4K TV

Price:

• Total Entertainment currently £10/month if you already have BT Infinity fibre broadband
• BT Sport – free
• Total Entertainment + BT Infinity Fibre broadband from £36/month + £18.99 line rental

• BT Ultra HD YouView+ review: A bold step into future 4K entertainment

Virgin TV V6 box

Virgin Media has recently unveiled its much anticipated V6 box, powered by TiVo, as its 4K TV offering. The big selling point here is that it will support 4K HDR content, something its rivals can’t do.

At launch there isn’t a great deal of 4K content to watch, with the only ways being through Netflix and YouTube. But Virgin Meida has said its box is primed and ready for when 4K broadcasts become a thing. We’re also hoping Virgin Media manages to negotiate deals with BT and Sky to put their 4K sports services on the box.

What you’ll need

• Virgin TV V6 box – £99.95 or £49.95 with a VIP or Full House bundle
• TV package – prices tbc
• Compatible 4K HDR TV

• What is Virgin TV? Everything you need to know about Virgin Media’s Virgin TV V6 box, TellyTablet and more

ICYMI: Pinchers more powerful than dog jaws

Today on In Case You Missed It: Scientists looking into the strength of the pinchers in Coconut crabs found that they exert a force of 3,300 Newtons, which is more than the average dog’s jaw and far stronger than any other crustacean.

Meanwhile, NASA’s plan for the Cassini spacecraft involves getting closer and closer to Saturn’s rings as it uses the last of its fuel reserves, then making a fiery plunge into its atmosphere in April of next year. If you’re feeling brave, feel free to watch the video of the bike going across the top of a dam, although a personal favorite is the salmon launcher. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.

Cybercrime network ‘Avalanche’ shut down in global sting

A mammoth cybercrime network known as Avalanche has been shut down, following a four-year investigation by German police and a coordinated strike by Europol, the FBI and agencies in many other countries. With a name like a Bond movie title, Avalanche was a sprawling cloud-based network that cybercriminals could rent, using it to distribute malware, ransomware, run phishing campaigns and launder extorted or stolen money.

It was particularly popular due to its anonymity, evading takedowns and the feds by using what’s called a double fast flux technique. Almost as impressive as the scale of the network were the lengths taken to protect it. It relied on thousands of new domain names being generated every day, with each one changing both IP address and DNS server every five minutes.

Plenty of people use proxies to watch the Netflix catalogs of other countries. They hide a user’s real location and trick Netflix into thinking the request is originating elsewhere. Avalanche was doing more or less the same thing, but with a proxy that comprised countless thousands of domains, the usually static details of which were changing every five minutes. And instead of watching Netflix, cybercriminals were hiding behind this complex web and commanding a vast botnet to attack companies and banks, conduct email scams, distribute malware and organize money-laundering activities.

Avalanche has been in operation since at least 2009, and in the second half of that year, was responsible for two-thirds of all phishing attacks according to a report from the Anti-Phishing Working Group. German police began investigating Avalanche in 2012 following a significant bloom of Windows encryption ransomware. Just prior to its takedown, the network was thought to involve roughly half a million infected computers daily, and was responsible for sending out one million malware-infected emails every week.

Agencies across the world delivered the crippling blow on November 30th. Five people have been arrested, 37 premises were searched, 39 web servers seized and another 221 taken offline by abuse notifications issued to hosting providers. It’s apparently the largest botnet bust to date, with over 830,000 nefarious web domains shut down as a result of the sting.

Via: Krebs on Security, Ars Technica

Source: Europol, US Department of Justice, UK National Crime Agency

Apple to Change App Store U.S. Pricing to Regional Currencies in 9 Countries

Apple is set to change its pricing from U.S. dollars to local currencies for apps and in-app purchases in nine different countries later this month.

Beginning in the next few weeks, developers will be paid in the local currency for sales in the following countries: Egypt (Egyptian Pound), Kazakhstan (Kazakhstani Tenge), Malaysia (Malaysian Ringgit), Nigeria (Nigerian Naira), Pakistan (Pakistani Rupee), Philippines (Philippine Peso), Qatar (Qatari Riyal), Tanzania (Tanzanian Shilling) and Vietnam (Vietnamese Dong).

Apple has displayed pricing in U.S. dollars across several regions for a while now, but the change to local currencies should make App Store browsing easier for customers in their respective countries.

Apple notified developers of the currency change and assured them that any auto-renewable subscriptions they offer in the affected regions would not be interrupted.

Tag: App Store
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10 best TV shows to catch on Freeview Play this Christmas

It’s almost Christmas and that means there’s a stack of amazing TV shows coming up on the old gogglebox.

All of the major channels will be hosting specials and festive fun, with some major returns and debuts along the way. There’s also one or two old faves as well.

They’ll be broadcast throughout the Christmas and New Year period, but what if you can’t watch them live? After all, what’s a Christmas day without a turkey-infused nap in the afternoon?

That’s where Freeview Play can help. It gives you the ability to scroll backwards through the electronic programme guide in order to catch up with shows you might have missed. Programmes on BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and UKTV Play channels can all be accessed through the EPG, clicked on and they’ll play through each brand’s respective on demand app. It cannot be more simple. You just need a Freeview Play enabled TV or set-top-box connected to the internet.

• What is Freeview Play, when is it coming to my TV and how can I get it?

Of course, other TVs and players might have access to the major TV streaming services too, but you have to seek out the individual apps and manually start the shows yourselves.

So with the tech sorted, all you need is the content. Here are our tips to the 10 shows you won’t want to miss this Christmas time. Just click through the gallery above and even if you don’t manage to watch them live, you can always catch-up with them after. Result.

Get catch-up and on demand TV for £0 per month with Freeview Play. Click here to find out more.