Transmitter tech opens the door to underwater radio
It’s easy to take modern wireless communication for granted above ground, but it’s useless in areas where the signals can’t propagate, like underwater or in caves. DARPA might have a better way: its AMEBA (A Mechanically Based Antenna) team is developing portable ultra-low-frequency (1Hz to 3kHz) and very low frequency (3kHz to 30kHz) transmitters that could penetrate materials like water and stone with basic data. Scuba divers could send text messages to each other, for instance, while search and rescue teams could still contact the outside world while they’re in tunnels.
The basic concepts of ULF and VLF transmissions aren’t new. They’ve been used in the military for decades for contacting submarines and otherwise impractical feats. The challenge here is packing the necessary electromagnetic power into a relatively small space, since you’re physically moving materials with strong electrical or magnetic fields instead of relying on circuits and amps. Cold War-era VLF stations required vast amounts of land as well as towers hundreds of feet tall. The AMEBA group is counting on breakthroughs in design, insulators, magnets and engineering to make its vision a reality.
The ball will get rolling soon, at least. DARPA is talking to idea proposers on January 6th, and recent science has shown that there’s definitely room for more discoveries in magnetism. The project is unsurprisingly focused on military uses — special forces in particular could use it in situations where they’d otherwise have to go silent. However, it’s not a stretch to imagine these transmitters being useful in any situation where it would be virtually impossible to get in touch.
Source: DARPA
‘Street Fighter V’ will publicly humiliate rage quitters
When Capcom said it was planning tougher penalties for rage quitters in Street Fighter V, it wasn’t joking around. NeoGAF users have discovered that a briefly available PC test release of the game includes a badge that will identify users who are more likely to quit matches in mid-play — as Polygon observes, it’s basically a scarlet letter for fighting games. You’d get another icon if you always stay through the end of a match, too, so you would have an easier time finding players who are just as trustworthy as you are.
It’s not certain when the finished update will arrive, so don’t count on identifying hot-tempered gamers in the immediate future. Combined with gradually increasing penalties, though, this could make it harder for quitters to escape consequences for their actions. That, in turn, could encourage them to honorably accept their defeats instead of jumping ship the moment it’s clear that they’ll lose.
Via: Polygon
Source: NeoGAF
Apple formally challenges the EU’s tax demands
Apple is about to fight the European Commission’s claims that it must pay the €13 billion in back taxes ($13.6 billion) it allegedly owes from its deal with Ireland. The American firm tells Reuters that it’s planning to appeal the ruling this week on the grounds that it not only can’t abide by the decision, but that the figures don’t make sense. To start, Apple argues that the EC falsely determined that two of its business units existed solely on paper, and thus didn’t justify their untaxed profits. They were real, actively managed companies, the company claims. Also, Apple reportedly can’t comply with the decision without making Ireland violate past tax laws that had different rules for residents and non-residents.
As for the numbers? Apple says that European officials ignored advice from Ireland-chosen tax experts when deciding on the penalty, allegedly to maximize the financial damage. The models they suggested for a payout were more realistic, but also led to “much lower numbers” than what the EU ultimately decided on, Apple’s Bruce Sewell argues. He goes on to portray Apple as a “convenient target,” since attacking its practices attracts media attention, and asserts that the Commission itself is exploiting a loophole based on the differences between Europe’s localized tax approach and the US’ global method.
The Commission is likely to fight hard to keep its ruling in place. It believes that Ireland violated EU rules by giving Apple a special tax break, providing an unfair advantage over other companies. However, it’s not going to face Apple alone. Ireland denies that it helped Apple skirt the law, and it still has a strong motivation to offer tax incentives — its reputation as a tech hub was largely built by convincing companies that it was worth setting up shop (and storing money) on the Emerald Isle. It’s concerned that letting the EU collect would scare companies away and hurt its long-term fortunes.
Source: Reuters
Watch Faraday Future’s prototype race Bentley, Ferrari and Tesla
Faraday Future is going more than a little overboard with promo pieces for its production electric car ahead of its January unveiling, but its latest clip at least has some substance. The fledgling automaker has posted a video showing its prototype EV drag racing against some hot competition: Tesla’s Model X P100D (the obligatory electric rival), Bentley’s Bentayga SUV and Ferrari’s 488 GTB. It won’t shock you to hear that Faraday Future’s car wins each of these showdowns (why make the video if it lost?), but that’s good news for acceleration junkies. It means that FF’s vehicle is quicker off the line than even the Model X, which can hit 60MPH in 2.9 seconds using Ludicrous Mode.
Of course, it’s important to take the video with a grain of salt. Faraday Future is choosing opponents that are just fast enough to flatter its car’s performance without beating it. A Model S P100D’s 2.5-second 0-60MPH time might be enough to outrun the FF vehicle, for instance. And drag races against gas-powered cars don’t usually tell the whole story, since the fossil fuel vehicles tend to catch up over long distances and frequently have higher top speeds. You probably won’t complain if you end up buying whatever Faraday Future is selling — just know that it won’t always be the fastest thing on the road.
Via: Autoblog
Source: Faraday Future (YouTube)
Turkey blocks Tor’s anonymity network
Turkey’s President Erdogan and the ruling AKP party are increasingly bent on silencing online dissent, and that now affects you even if you’re smart enough to evade typical censorship methods. Watchdog group Turkey Blocks has confirmed that Turkey is blocking the Tor anonymity network’s direct access mode for most users. You can still use a bridge mode for now, but there are hints that internet providers might be hurting performance even then. The restrictions come alongside a recent government ban on virtual private network services.
While this doesn’t completely shut off anonymity, it marks the start of a disconcerting chapter in the Erdogan regime’s bid to hold on to power. Previously, it was focused on blocking publicly available social networks whenever there are signs of unrest, making it harder for opposition movements to solidify and organize protests. Now, however, it’s instituting more permanent restrictions that make it harder to both coordinate activity in private and get access to uncensored news. Unless you resort to a Tor bridge, you might have to accept that the Turkish government can see what you’re doing when you’re using a domestic internet connection.
Source: Turkey Blocks
First AirPods Orders Begin Arriving in Australia and New Zealand as Apple Stores Begin Sales
It’s Monday morning in New Zealand and Australia, which means the first customers who placed orders for Apple’s new AirPods have begun receiving them according to reports from MacRumors readers.
Deliveries are taking place across the two countries now, and Apple retail stores in Australia have also begun selling AirPods to customers.
AirPods that belong to MacRumors reader Sacha in New Zealand
In Australia, people who were hoping to get AirPods in store lined up early ahead of store openings, and as expected, supplies have been somewhat limited. At some stores, only a handful of AirPods were available, while others appear to have gotten more stock.
Customers who have received their EarPods are so far pleased with them. MacRumors reader Jason was impressed with how easy they were to sync and the sound quality. We’ll have more first impressions a bit later as more customers receive their orders.
Impressed with the ease to sync and setup the AirPods with my iPhone. Nice.
The sound is a lot better than I had anticipated. It can go very loud. Overall, after testing for only 15 minutes or so, sound is a bit better than the EarPods I received with my iPhone 7 Plus, which I mostly pretty impressed with.
And they fit extremely well into my ear – really don’t feel like they will fall out. Very snug!
Based on early information coming from Australia, customers in Asia, the United Kingdom, and the United States will likely want to get to Apple retail locations before they open for the best shot at getting a set on launch day.
Apple has said retail stores will receive regular stock going forward, and third-party retailers like Best Buy are also going to be receiving AirPods stock starting tomorrow.
AirPods orders in other countries will begin arriving as Monday morning arrives. For customers who were not able to pre-order, purchasing AirPods in the store will be the only way to get them before January, as orders placed today will not ship out for six weeks in many countries.
Tag: AirPods
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From the Editor’s Desk: Android trends for 2017
Let’s talk about where it’s all going.
We’ll soon be closing out another year, so it’s time to look ahead to 2017, and see if we can’t take a shot at some of the major trends in mobile in general, and Android in particular. A new round of flagship phones guarantees specs will get speccier, there’ll always be expensive new toys on which to burn your cash. And people will still lose their minds over new devices from Samsung, Google, and to a lesser extent other phone makers.
But what about VR, smartwatches, 4K phones, Android laptops and future Google hardware? Let’s gaze into our crystal ball and see where the Android world might be heading in 2017.
1. 4K phones will become a thing — because of VR
Sure, the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium has existed for over a year — a phone which scored a notable first, but failed to do much of anything with its Ultra HD display. However 2017 will be the year 4K phones go mainstream, and the driving factor behind that will be VR.
That’s not to say every high-end phone will be 4K. (The Samsung Galaxy S8 is variously reported to either use, or not use, a 4K screen, depending on which rumors you believe.) But the extra pixel density of 4K, while totally over-the-top for most stuff you’ll do on your phone, makes a huge difference in VR. When the screen’s just a few inches from your eyeballs, the difference between 500 and 800-ish pixels per inch will seem like night and day.
Outside of VR mode, expect 2017’s 4K phones to run downscaled at 1080p or Quad HD to save power.
2. Android will effectively become a desktop OS
Nobody can quite agree on what form it’ll take, but Android on laptops and convertibles — whether it’s the rumored Andromeda project, an extension of Android apps on Chrome OS, or something entirely different — will happen in 2017. How Google handles this will tell us a lot about its future direction, and the impact on Android as a whole could be significant. Some semi-informed speculation from earlier in the year:
To conquer the desktop (and, let’s be honest, realistically take on the iPad) Andromeda would need to decisively fix Android’s built-in update problem once and for all. Nobody’s going to buy a laptop that sits on an old OS version for up to a year at a time. Or one that’s only guaranteed updates for two years after launch. If Android (through Andromeda) is to play with the big boys in the desktop world, there is simply no way the current Android update model can continue.
Having a desktop-capable OS living in a phone also presents the possibility of a Microsoft Continuum-like feature in future Android/Andromeda phones — an exciting prospect for a number of obvious reasons. (Microsoft had that feature working pretty well on hardware far less powerful than phones will be when Andromeda is ready.)
3. Smartwatches will continue to be weird
Nobody’s making any money on smartwatches, nor can anyone really agree on what they’re supposed to do. On one hand you have Samsung going all-out with crazy high-tech functionality most people will probably forget about or ignore in the Gear S3. On the other you have the Apple Watch basically existing as a more fashionable Fitbit. I wish I could tell you where Android Wear is supposed to fit in among that ill-defined mess; with just one developer preview to go before it’s final, Google is still making major design changes to the still unreleased Wear 2.0.
We still don’t know where Android Wear will fit in the unprofitable mess that is the smartwatch market.
We’ll surely see the two rumored Google-branded smartwatches early in 2017. And AC understands that despite Motorola getting out of the smartwatch game (for now), we’ll see at least two other Android Wear watches arrive from companies not beginning with G, early in the new year.
4. Europe will be about Samsung versus Huawei
HTC is on the ropes, with only two major UK networks picking up the HTC 10. LG’s G5 flopped so badly that Euro carriers balked at picking up the V20. Meanwhile Huawei finally has really great phones with decent software, carrier relationships to match, and a ton of money to spend on marketing. So expect the Chinese firm to establish itself as the major rival to Samsung in 2017. And let’s not forget how far ahead of the pack the Galaxy Note 7 was in terms of design, display and features before it started, well, exploding. The Korean giant will be back with a vengeance in 2017.
Google’s Pixel phone range — probably including two new Pixel phones later in the year — will remain an important, growing niche.
Huawei is still irrelevant in the U.S., and without a carrier partner for phones like the Mate 9, that won’t be changing anytime soon. The nature of that market will make it difficult for anyone to come anywhere near challenging Samsung for the Android crown. In the long term, Google itself stands the best chance.
5. War on Bezels
How do we make phones exciting again? Kill all bezels!
Expect to become bored to tears by constant screen-to-body ratio boasts in 2017. With Apple rumored to finally slash the iPhone’s bulbous bezels, and wacky phones like Xiaomi’s China-only Mi Mix drumming up online hype, not to mention rumors of a bezelless Galaxy S8, 2017 will be the year the industry declares all-out war on space around the screen.
Tiny bezels? Take my money!
Giant glass chin below the display? Go to jail!
It’ll be part of an effort on the part of the major manufacturers to make phones exciting again, and just as a curved screen seemed futuristic in 2015, 2017’s trailblazers will have screens that extend right out to the very edge of their chassis. (The same could apply to other emerging technologies like foldable phones.)
6. Google’s hardware division will grow far beyond Pixel
We’ve already heard rumors of a Google laptop running ‘Andromeda’ landing sometime in the third quarter. And we’ve got those rumored smartwatches as well. Google’s due a tablet at some point, too — which, again, might have something to do with the rumored Andromeda OS. Pixel will remain the centerpiece of the Google hardware family, but between Daydream, Chromecast, Wifi, Google Home and other endeavors, Google’s hardware division will have grown to a reasonable size by the end of the coming year.
And we’re certain to have some more surprises from Mountain View along the way.
7. AI in (almost) everything
Google fired the starting pistol with Assistant on the Pixel phones, and Samsung is rumored to follow up with its own AI assistant in the Galaxy S8. Apple is sure to respond with a smarter Siri on its redesigned iPhones later in 2017. For their part, Android device makers have three unenviable options:
Play ball with Google and get Assistant up and running on new flagship devices.
Do your own thing, like Samsung.
Skip the AI party this year.
HTC and Sony are likely candidates for option 1 — both are already working closely with Google on their UX. (Huawei also hinted at an Assistant partnership in an interview earlier this year.) LG is big enough to try option 2, and it has an ecosystem of TVs and other smart devices that could share the same AI interface. Others will likely pass, particularly as the Google Assistant experience on phones hasn’t been particularly compelling.
Elsewhere, look for increasingly dubious claims that new features “are AI” or “have AI elements” as artificial intelligence becomes one of the year’s tech buzzwords.
Other odds and ends on a working weekend:
- I get it. You want to play Mario. But disabling security settings and downloading dodgy APKs remains, as ever, a bad idea.
- I’ve been using a Gear S2 over the past few weeks, and it’s still a great little watch, as Andrew says here. (Little being the most important distinction compared to the Gear S3 series, which are practically visible from space.)
- That Honor Magic is cool and all, but most of the features which actually make it “Magic” have been available in Google Now for years. (That and it’s China-only, so, y’know.)
- No, Cee-Lo Green wasn’t injured by an exploding Galaxy Note 7.
- But on a related note, if you’re one of the Note 7 holdouts talking about how to avoid device-bricking OTAs, STAHP. What didn’t happen to Cee-Lo could happen to you.
And with that, so long 2016. It’s been weird.
Planet-eating star shows the Solar System’s future
Some 300 light-years away, there’s a star that’s very similar to our own, and it shows that our sun could devour its planets that get a wee bit too close. A team of astronomers, who’ve been monitoring star HIP68468 for years, have revealed the star’s planet-ingesting past in a new study. What clued them in is HIP68468’s lithium content, which is four times what you’d expect from a star that’s six billion years old. Stars typically burn through their lithium content over time, so the element’s abundance coupled with the presence of heat-resistant metals commonly found in rocky worlds can only be explained by the consumption of planets.
“It’s as if we saw a cat sitting next to a bird cage,” Yale University professor Debra Fischer (who’s not involved with the study) said. “If there are yellow feathers sticking out of the cat’s mouth, it’s a good bet that the cat swallowed a canary.” The team saw enough lithium and rocky planet material on HIP68468 to form six Earths. That said, the scientists believe it still has at least a couple of planets left: one is a supersized Neptune, while the other is a super-Earth.
Since the star is very similar to our own, this discovery shows us how solar systems like ours could evolve over time. Before you panic, take note that we’re not getting sucked into an enormous ball of fire anytime soon. Based on the team’s computer simulations, it will take billions of years of gravitational tugs and pulls before our sun starts gobbling up its planets. Besides, Mercury and Venus are bound to go first.
Source: University of Chicago, Cornell University Library
‘Mr. Robot’ creator turns sci-fi legend ‘Metropolis’ into a series
Sam Esmail is apparently taking a very unusual strategy for his next big project beyond Mr. Robot: he’s tackling one of the earliest sci-fi epics. Hollywood Reporter sources say that Esmail is creating a miniseries based around Metropolis, Fritz Lang’s classic 1927 film about a dystopic society. The show is still very early (Esmail may need to finish Mr. Robot before devoting his full attention), but partner Universal Cable Productions is apparently willing to give it a budget fitting Metropolis’ pioneering visuals. Reportedly, the company would be willing to spend a whopping $10 million per episode, and is willing to shop it around to numerous providers, including streaming services.
UCP isn’t commenting on the report. Metropolis would be an appropriate fit for Esmail, though. The movie’s premise revolves around a class struggle between elite industrialists and oppressed workers, with a technological twist — in a way, isn’t that Mr. Robot in a nutshell? The challenge is paying tribute to Fritz Lang’s iconic work while bringing it into an era when robots are no longer mysterious. Given Esmail’s recent track record, it’s promising… the main catch is the likely years-long wait to see the finished product.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Data breach at LinkedIn’s Lynda.com affects 55,000 accounts
Microsoft is getting a little bit more than it bargained for now that its acquisition of LinkedIn is official. LinkedIn’s training site Lynda.com is notifying users of a database breach that includes the passwords of just under 55,000 accounts. All those passwords were “cryptographically salted and hashed” to prevent access the site says, but it’s resetting the logins just in case. Lynda.com is also alerting 9.5 million customers “out of an abundance of caution,” according to the email it’s sending to users.
This new breach pales in comparison to the 2012 LinkedIn password hack, which compromised roughly 117 million accounts. There’s also no indication that the two incidents are connected. All the same, it’s not going to be completely comforting to Microsoft — the tech giant likely didn’t want to start the LinkedIn era grappling with security issues, even if there’s no real damage to users.
Source: VentureBeat
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