Scientists copy climate change data in fear of a Trump crackdown
Donald Trump’s incoming presidency won’t be kind to climate change science, and that’s making both scientists and government divisions nervous — to the point where they’re taking unusually drastic actions. Researchers at multiple North American institutions, including the Universities of Pennsylvania and Toronto (as part of the Internet Archive’s Trump response), are hoping to save as much public environmental data as possible in case the Trump administration orders its removal. There’s also an independent Climate Mirror project that aims to copy public data before Trump takes office in January.
Is this irrational? Possibly — Trump’s team hasn’t explicitly stated that it would try to erase or otherwise mess with existing climate data. However, the President-elect has been picking climate change deniers for positions in relevant agencies, and has threatened to stop “politicized science” (read: any evidence of human-made climate change). The groups stashing data argue that it’s better to be prepared for a worst case scenario than to assume everything will be safe and discover otherwise. This won’t stop attempts to stifle future collection, but it could make sure that current research isn’t lost.
There are some reasons to suspect that the Trump camp may go to extremes. Most notably, the Department of Energy recently refused a request by Trump to name employees and contractors who’ve attended climate change meetings. While the Department will provide publicly available info, it’s determined to “respect the professional and scientific integrity and independence” of its staff by keeping their names and participation under wraps. In other words, it doesn’t want DoE staff to be punished for conducting ‘inconvenient’ science.
The Trump White House is unlikely to fire many of these workers directly due to laws preventing ideologically motivated job cuts. However, there’s a concern that anyone outed would be intentionally marginalized. Their work might not be officially recognized, for example, or they might be more likely to lose contracts that come up for renewal. Again, there’s no guarantee that the Trump administration would do anything — at the least, however, it appears to be an intimidation tactic meant to discourage DoE workers from pursuing uncomfortable truths about humanity’s effect on the planet.
Via: Washington Post
Source: University of Toronto, Climate Mirror, Washington Post
Nokia returns with a dumb phone from its new owner
It looks like we won’t have to mourn the demise of the Nokia brand for much longer. HMD Global, the new owners of the Nokia name, unveiled their first device today: the Nokia 150. But don’t get too excited yet. It’s a Series 30+ dumb phone that looks almost identical to the Nokia 216 that debuted back in September (which was notably Microsoft’s last Nokia device).
The $26 Nokia 150 sports a 2.4-inch screen, a VGA camera and an impressive 22 hours of battery life (remember when our phones could last for days without a charge?). It’ll be built by Foxconn subsidiary FIH, who bought Nokia’s feature phone business from Microsoft in May, for distribution in PAC, IMEA and Europe early next year.
HMD previously announced that it would release new Nokia-branded phones and tablets powered by Android, which was heartening news for fans of the brand. Arto Nummela, HMD’s CEO who previously served as an exec at Microsoft and Nokia, said in a recent interview with the Economic Times that those devices will appear in the first half of 2017. Judging from recent rumors, it sounds like HMD might unveil its Android smartphones at Mobile World Congress in late February.
Source: HMD
Tech workers unite against a potential US Muslim registry
Employees from large organizations across the technology industry have pledged to never help build a government database targeting individuals by race, religion or national origin, in response to extreme immigration proposals from US President-elect Donald Trump. The signatories come from companies including Google, IBM, Twitter, Mozilla and NVIDIA, though they don’t represent the organizations themselves.
“We are choosing to stand in solidarity with Muslim Americans, immigrants, and all people whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by the incoming administration’s proposed data collection policies,” the pledge reads. “We refuse to build a database of people based on their Constitutionally protected religious beliefs. We refuse to facilitate mass deportations of people the government believes to be undesirable.”
The commitment, which resides at neveragain.tech, explains that tech workers are the gatekeepers of “data about people.” It recognizes technology’s role in aiding catastrophic human rights abuses in the past, specifically mentioning IBM’s work with Nazi Germany during World War II. The pledge includes a commitment to engage in whistleblowing, if necessary, and to advocate for the responsible use of data outside of the tech industry.
Trump has toyed with the idea of establishing a national database of all Muslims and said he plans to deport millions of illegal immigrants. It’s already clear that Trump’s proposed immigration policies would be detrimental for the US technology industry, but the neveragain.tech pledge looks beyond the workforce.
“We recognize that mass deportations precipitated the very atrocity the word genocide was created to describe: the murder of 1.5 million Armenians in Turkey,” the pledge reads. “We acknowledge that genocides are not merely a relic of the distant past— among others, Tutsi Rwandans and Bosnian Muslims have been victims in our lifetimes. Today we stand together to say: not on our watch, and never again.”
Source: neveragain.tech
Oppo’s first Ultra HD Blu-ray player is a tribute to physical media
Add one more Ultra HD Blu-ray player to the list, now that Oppo is ready to release its UDP-203. While the $550 deck doesn’t include any 4K streaming apps like Netflix, Amazon or Vudu, it’s all about high-end disc playback. It’s also able to play Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, DVD Audio, Super Audio CD and CD, if you just can’t let physical media go. There are two HDMI outputs (in case your receiver isn’t able to pass through 4K/HDR video) and one input.
Beyond support for current audio codecs (including bitstreaming for Dolby Atmos and DTS: X surround sound), Oppo is promising an “early 2017” firmware update to support Dolby Vision HDR. We haven’t seen movies released in that format yet, but if/when we do, it could provide even more detail than the HDR-10 format that this and other UHD players are mandated to support.
Of course, there are other options like the now-Atmos-ready Xbox One, as well as standalone decks from Panasonic, Philips and Samsung, while Sony’s first high-end player is due next year. Oppo is also planning another version of this player called the UDP-205, with a few tweaks intended for audiophiles. The first slate of preorders for the UDP-203 are already filled up, but the company says it expects to reopen them on December 16th.
Source: Oppo, FAQ, PR
‘Pokémon Go’ is live in India and South Asia
Pokémon Go has expanded to a new region about once a month, launching in Southeast Asia and Oceania back in August, parts of the Balkans and Central Asia in September and some of the Middle East in November. Today, the game is finally opening in India and these South Asian countries: Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
In a post announcing the expansion, Niantic specifically apologized to their Indian fanbase, citing “a few administrative challenges” that delayed the launch. Players in the country won’t just have Starbucks hotspots, either: regional LTE mobile network operator Reliance Jio has made 3,000 of their stores and partner locations into PokéStops and Gyms. This mobile provider partnership shouldn’t be a surprise, as Niantic partnered with over 10,000 Sprint stores last week to provide American users with the same hotspot action.
Source: Niantic blog
Amazon Debuts App For Shopping on the Apple TV
Amazon today introduced a new app called “Amazon App: Browse, Search, and Shop,” which is designed to let users look for and purchase items from Amazon.com.
Anyone can use Amazon’s new app to browse through and search for products using dictation, but to make a purchase, an Amazon Prime membership is required. Amazon Prime costs $99 per year and offers benefits like Amazon Video and free two-day shipping.
Amazon App includes product details, reviews, and “immersive” product images and videos, all of which can be viewed on the television screen. Purchases are made using the Apple TV remote, but users can also add items to a list to purchase later via an iPhone or computer.
Many Apple TV owners have long been hoping for an app that brings Amazon’s Prime Video offerings to Apple’s set-top box, but this is not that app. It’s limited to shopping only.
Amazon’s new app can be downloaded on fourth-generation Apple TV models for free.
Tag: Amazon
Discuss this article in our forums
Apple Pulls watchOS 3.1.1 Update After Bricking Complaints
Following complaints that the new watchOS 3.1.1 update is bricking some Series 2 Apple Watch models, Apple has temporarily pulled the update.
watchOS 3.1.1 is no longer available for download from the Watch app on the iPhone, with watchOS 3.1 listed as the most recent update for those who had not already downloaded and installed 3.1.1.
After installing watchOS 3.1.1, some Apple Watch Series 2 owners had their devices bricked. Affected Apple Watches are displaying a red exclamation mark on the screen that instructs them to visit http://www.apple.com/help/watch.
The site directs Apple Watch owners to perform a force restart of the Apple Watch by holding down the side button and the Digital Crown, and says that if a restart does not work to restore the device, it will need to be taken in for service.
Resetting the Apple Watch has not worked for customers who have had their watches bricked by watchOS 3.1.1, and replacement Apple Watches will be required. Apple retail locations cannot service Apple Watches in store, because access to the diagnostic port (something not done in-store) is required.
Most users who are affected by the problem own an Apple Watch Series 2, and it is not yet clear why the update failed on some devices and not on others. watchOS 3.1.1 will likely be made available again once the bug is cleared up. Customers with an Apple Watch bricked by watchOS 3.1.1 should visit an Apple retail store or contact Apple support.
(Thanks, Manolo!)
Related Roundups: Apple Watch Series 2, watchOS 3
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
Discuss this article in our forums
Jabra Elite Sport review – CNET
The Good The Jabra Elite Sport is a set of totally fully waterproof wireless sports earphones with a built-in heart-rate monitor that sounds quite good if you can get a tight seal. Works very well as a headset as single or stereo buds. Compatible with leading third-party fitness apps as well as Jabra’s companion fitness app. Charging case delivers two full charges.
The Bad May be a tad bulky for some people’s ears; pricey; battery life between case charges is only three hours.
The Bottom Line Despite some small drawbacks, the Jabra Sport Elite is one of the stronger early entries in the totally wireless headphone arena.
No, the Apple AirPods aren’t the only “true wireless” headphones you can buy. Several other competitors have trickled into the market for standalone left and right earbuds in recent months, including the Motorola VerveOnes, Samsung Galaxy Gear IconX, Erato Apollo 7, Earin and the upcoming Here One. And now Jabra has entered the zero-wire fray with its Elite Sport wireless sports earbuds. They’re available in the US ($250), UK (£230) and the EU (€250), with an Australian launch slated for later in the year (pricing not yet announced, but US price converts to approximately AU$330).
The Jabra Elite sports comes with a variety of eartips and fins to help you get the right fit.
Sarah Tew/CNET
What makes the Elite Sport so elite? For starters, the ‘buds are fully sweat- and waterproof. There’s also an integrated heart-rate monitor that provides “in-ear fitness analysis” and, as you’d suspect from a Jabra headphone, they work quite well as a headset for making calls, with built-in noise reduction technology. According to Jabra, the earbuds analyze external sounds and automatically switch to the earbud with least background noise. I had no problem making calls from the noisy streets of New York, which is a feat.
What also impressed me about these guys was their ability to maintain a steady, hiccup-free connection and stay in my ears while running. They also sound quite decent, though with in-ear noise-isolating headphones such as these, it’s crucial that you get a tight seal to get the best sound quality, and you’ll have to try out a few of the various tips and fins that Jabra provides before you settle into a fit you’re satisfied with.
Once again, none of the included eartips allowed me to get a tight seal. But I dug up an extra large silicone tip from the myriad tips I have lying around the office and — voilà — the sound improved by 25 percent, particularly the bass. The only problem was that with those larger tips, the earbuds didn’t quite fit in their charging case (I couldn’t snap the lid completely shut).
The earphones are fully waterproof.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Of course, there’s a good chance one of the tips will fit you perfectly and you won’t have this problem (my ears are admittedly tough to fit, but there are plenty of people out there with ears that are tough to fit with in-ear sports headphones).
Another downside is the earphones are somewhat beefy. And while they should fit most people’s ears pretty well — and fairly comfortably — due to their size and the shape of my ear, I didn’t find them supercomfortable, though I felt better about them once I found the right tip.
Like competing products, battery life isn’t great — they’re rated at just three hours of music listening — but it’s easy to get extra juice by slipping them into their charging case, which has an integrated battery that gives you two additional charges.
You can use the headphones with your favorite iOS and Android running and fitness apps, including Endomondo, RunKeeper, MapMy Fitness, Runtastic, and Strava, but Jabra has its own training-management app called Jabra Sport Life that’s good, too, and gives you in-ear coaching and feedback.
Facebook’s standalone Events app arrives on Android at last
It’s taken a bit more than two months, but Facebook has finally brought its standalone Events app to Android. Having debuted in October this year, Events lets you stalk see happenings that your friends are interested in attending, as well as affairs hosted by Pages you like and updates from parties you’ve already RSVPed to. You can also look for recommendations of upcoming things to do based on time, location and your interests.
Like the iOS version, Events for Android also lets you add your phone’s calendar to see if you have any conflicts with what you’d like to attend. Unfortunately, Play Store reviews indicate that users aren’t very pleased with the app’s UI so far, saying it looks like a poor port from the version made for Apple devices. You might want to wait just a tad longer before relying on the new app to organize and suggest items for your calendar.
To be clear, you could already look up happenings from your browser or Facebook app, but this service makes it easier to find something to do that might be more relevant to your location or interests. The social network said Events already sees 450 million users worldwide, making it a very useful tool that harnesses its massive footprint to provide comprehensive listings. That utility and potentially vast audience could give Events a longer shelf life than Facebook’s other short-lived standalone offerings.
Via: 9to5Google
Source: Events from Facebook (Google Play Store)
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 is just $249 until Christmas
Get a great compact tablet for a solid price for the holidays.
Though it’s getting a bit old (about a year at this point), the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 is still a really solid tablet and it can be had for a full $150 off retail price from now until December 25. There’s no discount link or coupon code to follow, as the price has already dropped at Amazon.
The Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 has a fantastic Super AMOLED display wrapped in a strong and super-light metal body and powered by plenty of hardware to get you by. The camera isn’t great, the battery is a tad on the small side considering its size and it doesn’t have all of the latest features, but at this price you can probably look past that. (There also haven’t been that many great small tablets released lately.)
Amazon has all three colors — black, white, gold — available, but I’d personally recommend the black model in terms of reducing screen glare. But hey, it’s personal preference. The discount runs until December 25 and is “while supplies last,” so hit up the link below to get in on this great deal.
See at Amazon
AIVAnet 