Nintendo tackles 3DS piracy with ‘freeShop’ takedown

Homebrew software designed to imitate the Nintendo eShop has been issued a takedown notice by the house of Mario. FreeShop allows 3DS owners to browse, search and download games using “titlekeys,” a form of encryption employed by Nintendo for its online store. As Kotaku reports, it was sold as a way for people to download games that they had already bought. While that may be true, it also enabled piracy through large-scale titlekey sharing. A quick search and you’ll find plenty of titlekey databases online, as well as video walkthroughs explaining how to use them.

If you head to the freeShop listing on GitHub, you’ll now be greeted with a DMCA takedown notice. The full version detailing Nintendo perceived infringements can be read here. It says: “Nintendo encrypts the game files available from its eShop servers to prevent users from accessing those files without paying for them. Nintendo believes the freeShop application circumvents Nintendo’s protection measures by decrypting the game files accessible from its eShop servers, allowing freeShop users to access and play Nintendo’s eShop games for free.” It’s unclear if the takedown will affect people who already have the software installed, however.

Nintendo is known for its aggressive stance on copyright. The company is quick to issue takedown notices for fan-made video games such as Pokemon Uranium and Another Metroid 2 Remake (AM2R), both of which were nominated (and subsequently disqualified) for The Game Awards. An online collection of Nintendo Power magazines disappeared in August, almost certainly because Nintendo caught wind of its existence. The company has a divisive stance on YouTube videos too, demanding substantial ad revenue for uploads that contain footage of its games. FreeShop’s recent takedown was, therefore, inevitable, though we wouldn’t be surprised if fans find a way to host it elsewhere.

Via: Kotaku

Source: Freeshop (GitHub)

New Report Delves Into Inner Workings of Foxconn’s Zhengzhou iPhone Plant

In a lengthy new article posted online today, The New York Times has delved into the inner workings of Foxconn’s major iPhone manufacturing plant in Zhengzhou, China, referred to locally as “iPhone City.” The article describes how the facility became one of Apple’s major global manufacturing plants, as well as the “hidden bounty of perks, tax breaks, and subsidies” uncovered behind the scenes of Foxconn’s operations — negotiations Apple said it is “not a party to.”

Looking at the origins of Apple’s move to production overseas, the article first details Steve Jobs’ decision to manufacture the Macintosh in its facilities in Texas and California in the mid-1980s. Following the company’s financial slump in the 1990s, Jobs upon his return made the decision to outsource production in places like China. Partnerships with the likes of Foxconn provided Apple with the “heft and expertise” to create products, including the original iPod, on a massive scale.

Workers leaving the Foxconn factory

When Apple’s sales took off after the introduction of the iPod in 2001, Foxconn had the heft and expertise to meet the demand that accompanied each hit product. Foxconn’s factories could quickly produce prototypes, increase production and, during peak periods, hire hundreds of thousands of workers.

“They have brilliant tooling engineers, and they were willing to invest a lot to keep pace with Apple’s growth,” said Joe O’Sullivan, a former Apple executive who worked in Asia.

As the launch of the iPhone approached, Foxconn began scouting locations for a new facility around China and created an Olympic-level competition among cities to be the home of its new plant. Officials from various cities offered perks like discounted energy and transportation costs, lower social insurance payments, and over $1.5 billion in grants for factory construction and dorms for workers. After Zhengzhou was chosen, it only took a few months between the signing of the deal and the launch of assembly lines in August 2010.

The city created a special economic zone for the project and provided a $250 million loan to Foxconn. The local government also pledged to spend more than $10 billion to vastly expand the airport, just a few miles away from the factory.

“I was impressed,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer, who was part of the early discussions about setting up a factory. “They were very focused.”

To create its cohesive export system, Foxconn insisted that the Zhengzhou facility be located within a “bonded zone.” This allowed Foxconn to bypass China’s stringent restrictions on foreign manufacturing and directly import and export iPhone components, which was further expedited thanks to the facility’s purposeful proximity to a nearby airport.

The iPhone plant continued to ramp up, and in 2014 included 94 production lines for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5s, with an estimated 230 million smartphones having been exported from Zhengzhou in the years it had been open. The government referred to it as “one of the nation’s crucial export centers.” With all of the work came a labor force “the size of a national army,” who relied heavily on government subsidies and produced 500,000 iPhones a day at peak.

A crushing work force begins arriving for the early shift at 6:30 a.m. They travel by foot, by bus, by motor scooter and even by pedicab. They file steadily into dozens of factory sites, spread out across 2.2 square miles. At the peak, some 350,000 workers assemble, test and package iPhones — up to 350 a minute.

The government pays recruiters a subsidy for every worker they hire, Mr. Liu said. “If the demand is high, then they will pay more,” he said. “If the demand is low, then the payment will be low, too.”

One of the other major topics of the article centered around the help that Foxconn has received from the Chinese government in return for providing its services to Zhengzhou’s financial and political surge over the years. Foxconn is said to receive a bonus for each export target it reaches, according to government records discovered by The New York Times, with subsidies totaling $56 million in the factory’s first two years of iPhone manufacturing.

Foxconn, in a separate statement, said it was grateful for the support of the government, noting that it was “no different than similar tax breaks all companies get in locations around the world for major investments.”

In response to questions, Apple said it was aware of the government’s infrastructure support. But the company added that it had no knowledge of specific grants, subsidies or tax breaks given to its manufacturing partner.

Foxconn remains a loyal partner in Apple’s manufacturing processes to this day, most recently considering expansion into the United States and gearing up to be a major supplier of the 2017 iPhone.

The rest of The New York Times’ findings, discovered through over 100 interviews with factory workers, logistics handlers, truck drivers, tax specialists and current and former Apple executives, can be read in the full coverage here.

Tags: China, Foxconn
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You can now pre-register for Super Mario Run on Android!

Mario Mario and his brother, Luigi Mario.

It looks like the temporary exclusive between Nintendo and Apple for Super Mario Run is coming to an end, which means you’ll soon be able to enjoy the latest punch to the nostalgia on your Android phone. That means everyone not quite satisfied with playing emulated Mario on phones can soon enjoy the portrait-only, single button, competitive online version of Mario inspired by everything you remember from your childhood. All you need to do now is pre-register and wait, which is totally different from the waiting you were already doing right?

Super Mario Run exploded onto iOS recently, quickly becoming the highest grossing mobile game and holding that title for about a week. The game gives you access to the first three levels in the first world for free, but asks you to pay $10 to access the rest of the game. Whether this experience deserves your money is entirely up to you, but the more you play the game the more you earn race tickets, which allows you to compete directly against other Super Mario Run players to see who can grab the most coins before time runs out. If you have a lot of friends playing the game with you, this part of Super Mario Run quickly becomes addictive.

Head to the Play Store to pre-register for Super Mario Run if you want in on the game as soon as it becomes available!

Xiaomi Mi Box review: Good price doesn’t mean great value

Xiaomi offers the least expensive full Android TV experience, and it comes with compromises.

The Android TV marketplace is … sparse. Though there are plenty of happy customers out there using the old Nexus Player or the high-end Shield Android TV, there just isn’t a vibrant grouping of choices in the same way you can find an Android phone to fit every want and need. Companies don’t see value in making an Android TV box that isn’t likely to sell in big numbers, particularly as Chromecast continues to eat away at the low end.

Enter Xiaomi with the Mi Box: a small, nondescript black box offering a full Android TV experience, 4K HDR video and a remote for just $69 — easily the lowest price for one of these devices running a fully sanctioned version of Android TV. Xiaomi has seen some success selling multiple generations of set top boxes under the Mi Box brand running its own customized version of Android adapted to the big screen, but this is its first swing at using Google’s proper TV-focused version of Android. And at the same time it’s one of only a handful of products it actually sells in the U.S.

Google clearly needs as many companies making Android TV devices as it can get, and Xiaomi would love to expand its brand presence in the U.S., so on the face of it this makes for a great partnership. But does the Xiaomi Mi Box with Android TV live up to the expectations of being “the box to get” — and crucially chosen over the Chromecast Ultra — for Android fans out there? The answer is in this review.

Gets the job done

Xiaomi Mi Box Hardware and accessories

The Mi Box is small and unassuming, and that’s just fine with me. Coming in black with a lightly textured plastic exterior, there’s nothing exciting here. At just 101 mm square it isn’t much larger than the Qi charging pad next to it in my entertainment center. It’s small enough that you could easily get away with stashing it behind another box or even double-sided taping it to the back of the TV if needed.

The little rounded square sits up off of any flat surface with a rubberized ring that keeps the relatively light box from sliding around from the bends of stiff cables. The ports are all hidden nicely on the back, and the only thing aside from that on the box is a small “Mi” logo on the top and a very faint white LED on the front edge indicating that the box is awake.

Xiaomi’s remote gets the job done, though it isn’t as sleek or nice as the one you get in the (over twice as expensive) NVIDIA Shield Android TV. A circular directional pad with a button highlights the top while standard Android TV controls and a volume rocker sit underneath it. The remote is Bluetooth, of course, and runs on two AAA batteries that are included in the box. The one big downside for me here is that the remote doesn’t offer a 3.5 mm headphone jack for plugging in headphones for personal listening, which is something you get with boxes like the Roku 4 and Shield Android TV — then again, the Mi Box is less expensive too.

The cables are on the short side, but at least they’re included.

When it comes to cables, things are as basic as the box itself. The Mi Box ships with an HDMI cable in the box (unlike Amazon’s Fire TV) though the cable itself is only about three feet long. The power cord is an integrated unit with a relatively large brick on the outlet end and a barrel connector on the box’s end — the cord is also about three feet in length. Considering how inexpensive HDMI cables are it’s hard to complain about having a short one in the box, but the short power cord without a standard connector (like USB-C or even Micro-USB) can hamstring the possibilities of placing the box around your entertainment center setup.

Every set top streamer is going to have its little hardware quirks, and the Mi Box overall isn’t at any real disadvantage compared to the rest. For most people, simply plugging in the two included cables will be the only physical interaction they have with the Mi Box for months. And the one part of the experience you actually touch, the remote, feels nice enough and performs its intended functions perfectly.

Coming up short on 4K

Xiaomi Mi Box Software and experience

One of the strong suits of Android TV is that it’s nearly identical across boxes and TV sets that run the software. The idea is that you can pick up the remote to any Android TV device and navigate around freely, save for a few changes in the settings (for specific device functions). Xiaomi, like other Android TV makers, offers a “Mi Box recommends” section on the home screen showing some content apps that you’ve heard of before, but that’s it in terms of customizations.

Android TV really doesn’t get enough credit for what it does well.

Android TV still doesn’t offer a massive collection of apps, but all of the mainstays are here — Netflix, Hulu, Fox Sports, ESPN, Sling TV, Vudu, Pandora, CBS, Showtime, HBO Go, Plex, VLC … the list of big names goes on. It is also a fantastic portal for Google’s own media services, including YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV and Google Play Music. It’s all enhanced further by the inclusion of Google Cast support, with tons of additional content offerings there. Though the Mi Box supports Bluetooth game controllers the game offerings just aren’t there on Android TV — but to be fair the likes of the Fire TV haven’t taken the gaming world by storm either.

I don’t think Android TV gets enough credit for being a really good-looking and easy-to-use interface with most of the big-name apps that the average person is looking for. And when it’s paired with the right hardware I’d take it over the competition, especially if you’re at all hooked into the Google services ecosystem.

Inside the Mi Box is a very run-of-the-mill spec arrangement, with a 2GHz quad-core (Cortex-A53) processor, 2GB of RAM and 8GB of storage — the latter of which capable of being expanded via a full-sized USB-A port on the back. That’s all about in line with what you get from other set top boxes in this price range, but unfortunately that hardware can’t provide a great experience when displaying content at its full advertised 4K resolution.

As I touched on separately before writing this full review, the Mi Box really chugs along when you leave it set to its default 4K resolution. It seems as though the hardware should be able to handle it, but somewhere along the line between that hardware and the software optimization it just can’t keep up a smooth frame rate in the same way that the Chromecast Ultra can. Things smooth out and work just fine when you set it to 1080p, and that’s probably fine for most people who don’t have a 4K TV let alone 4K content to watch, but for a box that’s marketed as supporting 4K resolution it’s a real bummer to admit defeat and lock it down to a lower resolution.

The one other software shortcoming on the Mi Box seems to be an exacerbation of an overall Android TV problem in that it doesn’t do a great job of automatically sleeping and waking up on its own. In what seems like an admission of the problem, unlike some other Android TV boxes the Mi Box actually has a “power” button on it, which you can press to forcibly sleep the box and then press again to wake it explicitly. If you don’t sleep the Mi Box it stays available all the time as a Google Cast target, which is good, but at the same time it also seems to randomly wake itself — and because of HDMI-CEC, it will turn on your TV in the process. After a few nights of waking up to my TV turning on to the Android TV interface, I started forcing it to sleep with the remote when I was done using it.

In an awkward position

Xiaomi Mi Box Bottom line

The addressable market for the Mi Box is much smaller than I originally thought when the box was first announced. At the same price as the new Chromecast Ultra, fans of the Google ecosystem will be better served by Google’s own streamer that offers more consistent performance and simpler setup. If the Chromecast Ultra’s lack of a physical remote is a shortcoming (which it undoubtably is for many), there are other options out there. For $20 more you could get Amazon’s Fire TV with better performance, near-identical content offerings and also a full remote, or a Roku 4 with similar characteristics. For $30 less than the Mi Box you could snag the simpler Fire TV Stick with a remote, or Roku’s Streaming Stick competitor.

The Mi Box sits in a weird middle ground; one that doesn’t have many potential customers.

That puts the Mi Box in a weird middle ground, where it only really appeals to diehard Android fans who love Android TV itself, shunning boxes and sticks from Amazon and Roku, but also don’t want to lay out the cash for something like the NVIDIA Shield Android TV (or its expected 2017 successor). Because if you look just at performance and interaction with Google’s ecosystem, the Chromecast Ultra is a better bet; and if you look at performance and availability of a remote while also having almost the exact same content offerings, Amazon and Roku offer better choices.

More: Where to buy the Xiaomi Mi Box

Xiaomi’s Mi Box is a very interesting offering that can succeed as a low-selling streamer that appeals to those who want Android TV exclusively and don’t want to pay much for it. But as the flag-bearer that is the only recently released Android TV box, it lets down the ecosystem with its inconsistent performance and will not steal many customers away from Amazon, Roku and Google itself.

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Best apps to download on a new Android phone

These are the apps you should immediately download on your new Android phone!

If you or someone you know just got their first Android phone, firstly… congratulations! Regardless which make or model you’re using, you’ve got a very capable and customizable device, and it all starts with the apps found in the Google Play Store.

Google includes the full suite of very valuable apps which include Gmail, YouTube, Google Play Music, and Google Photos, but that’s really just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite apps that we think you should consider when you’re just starting out.

• Authy 2-Factor Authentication
• Gboard – The Google Keyboard
• Kindle
• Netflix
• Nova Launcher
• Pocket Casts
• Pushbullet
• Spotify
• Solid Explorer
• TheScore
• Uber
• Weather Underground

Authy 2-Factor Authentication

Securing your devices and accounts is very important, and no one does two-factor authentication better than the folks at Authy.

If you’re unfamiliar with the process, two-factor authentication adds another layer of security by creating six-digit tokens that expire every 60 seconds. This extra layer of security will keep you safe from hackers and account hijackers and, best of all, Authy is free and supports most major multi-factor authentication accounts including Facebook, Dropbox, Amazon, Gmail, and thousands of other providers.

Download: Authy (Free)

Gboard – The Google Keyboard

There are a bunch of great keyboards available for Android, but the best of the best is currently Gboard, Google’s own keyboard.

Gboard is completely free, supports gesture typing for both individual words and entire sentences, a bounty of languages, and a modest choice of themes.

Gboard employs Google’s own speech-to-text engine for voice dictation, and while it might not be the best at predictive text, it does learn from your typed data across Google’s apps and services. Gboard has pretty much every feature you’d want from a touch keyboard, including the ability to quickly search Google from virtually anywhere in your phone. It’s fast, reliable, and minimalist, with theme options to tweak in the settings.

Download: Gboard – The Google Keyboard (Free)

Kindle

Book lovers who have made the switch to digital materials already know about the eponymous e-readers, but Kindle’s app for Android lets you access all your favorite books from Amazon’s e-book catalogue right from your phone, without having to lug another piece of tech around with you everywhere.

There are millions of titles available via Amazon, which include magazines and newspapers. There are thousands of public domain classics available, and you may even be able to check out e-books from your local library. Take advantage of reading in the digital age and customize your reading experience by adjusting font sizes, screen brightness and background color, while searching and dictionary functions built right into the app are perfect study tools for students working on essays and book reports.

Download: Kindle (Free)

Netflix

It’s ubiquitous in our culture these days, and an absolute must-have for pretty much any device you own. In short, Netflix has come to exemplify how millions of people unwind and keep themselves entertained.

The Netflix app for Android lets you watch all your favorite shows using your phone data or when connected to Wi-Fi, with a recent update allowing for offline viewing of a large swath of the service’s content. You’ll also find full compatibility with Chromecast, allowing you to use your phone as a remote to control things while casting your favorite shows and movies to your TV. A subscription is required, but you probably know someone with a login you can borrow if $10 a month is too rich for your blood.

Download: Netflix (Free)

Nova Launcher

One of the best parts of using Android is the sheer amount of customization that’s available to you — if you’re willing to put in a little bit of work to do it. Android phones come with a manufacturer’s default launcher pre-installed, but if you’re looking for something different, Nova Launcher is a great option for theming and customizing your phone to reflect your personality, or your favorite shows or hobbies.

Nova Launcher lets you change icons, layouts, animations and more to completely tweak almost every aspect of your phone’s look and feel to your exact specifications. We’ve included a link to the free version of Nova Launcher below, but if you’re serious about theming, you’ll want to check out the paid version. You’ll also want to keep it locked on the Android Central home page, as we frequently post theming how-tos that give you step-by-step instructions for keeping your phone looking fresh and cool, like this recent article on Star Wars themes.

Download:
Nova Launcher (Free)

Pocket Casts

Podcasts are amazing, and Pocket Casts makes listening to podcasts even better. While you might scoff at paying money for a podcast app when Google Play Music and Spotify do the same for free, the folks behind Pocket Casts have incorporated some really smart features that you need to know about.

For one, they’ve got this feature that trims out the silence in all the podcasts you listen to, and if you’re a heavy listener, that time will really add up fast. Other features include a smart volume boost which increases the volume for voices while keeping background noise to a minimum, full integration with Android Auto and Android Wear, and cloud-based subscriptions and playback, so you can sync your podcasts between your phone and the web service or (more importantly) keep all your subscriptions when you switch over to a new phone.

Download: Pocket Casts ($3.99)

Pushbullet

Pushbullet lets you receive your phone notifications on your computer, so you don’t have to constantly check your phone every time you feel the buzz. Anyone who works with a computer for a living knows how distracting checking your phone can be.

Pushbullet not only lets you see who’s trying to contact you — via text and phone call, but also supporting popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Kik and Facebook Messenger — and lets you respond with your computer’s keyboard. So, not only will you never miss a notification, you’ll be able to quickly respond to the important stuff and dismiss the less-important stuff for later.

Download: Pushbullet (Free)

Spotify

Millions of people have made Spotify their go-to source for all their music, and for good reason. You’re able to listen to a shuffled mix of music from nearly any artist or band for free, but the real fun begins when you sign up for Spotify Premium.

Not only does Spotify Premium provide better sound quality, it also removes ads and lets you play any song by any artist when you want across all your devices. You can also build and share playlists with friends and family, along with an option to download music to your device for offline listening. And then there’s other smart features like Discover Weekly, which curates a playlist of new music Spotify knows you’ll love based on the bands and genres you listen to on the regular.

Download: Spotify (Free)

Solid Explorer

You don’t have to root your Android phone to conveniently access files on your phone. Solid Explorer lets you do all that and much more, though you’ll need to play to unlock the full version.

Solid Explorer lets you organize and manage all your files, including those stored in cloud services such as Dropbox, Google Drive and more. You’ll be able to read and extract .zip, .rar, and other compressed file formats, along with options of creating password-protected folders and .zip files within the app. And if you do decide to root your phone, you’ll be able to use Solid Explorer to browse your system files with ease.

You can try Solid Explorer on a trial basis for 14 days before having to pony up for the full version.

Download: Solid Explorer (Free Trial)

theScore

Sports fans need to know the score at all times, and there’s no better sports app out there than theScore. They’ve got full up-to-the-minute coverage for all the major sports leagues, including NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA Football, NHL, English Premier League, La Liga, Champions League, World Cup and all major sports and competitions. You can personalize your feed to only include the sports and/or teams you’re interested in, so you’re never bothered by a score for a game you’re not interested in.

Pair this with alerts for goals, key moments, final scores and breaking news and with one app you’re never more than a quick glance away from the absolute latest, up-to-date information. It bills itself as “real time, all the time” and that’s probably the best way to think about it.

Download: theScore (Free)

Uber

Uber is taking the world by storm and changing the way people think about getting around. Whether or not you’ve used Uber seems to depend on it’s legal status in your city, or how frequently you travel. The taxicab industry is furious because Uber has jumped in with its ridesharing app and service that makes it way easier to get a ride somewhere.

Simply download the app, plug in your credit card or PayPal details, and you’re ready to hail an Uber car to wherever you are. You can determine your fare estimation before requesting a car, and you’ll be able to see details about the car and driver coming to get you an watch for their arrival on the app map as you wait. There’s also different levels of service, from UberPool in which you share your ride with other riders for a cheaper fair, or UberBlack for a more upscale experience.

Download: Uber (Free)

Weather Underground

Weather Underground provides the most accurate hyper-local weather forecasts right on your phone, with interactive radars, satellite maps and severe weather alerts included so you always know what’s on the way.

At a glance, you’ll be able to view current temperature and conditions from your local weather station include temperature, wind speed & direction, humidity, dew point and visibility. Weather Underground also makes use of crowd reporting, fostering a community of weather enthusiasts who report live data from weather stations in their own backyards, with this crowd-sourced data generates forecasts that are targeted to your precise location. You’ll also enjoy the option of customizable widgets, so you don’t even need to launch the app to see your local weather conditions.

Download: Weather Underground(Free)

What are your suggestions?

These are our picks that would make up our Android app starter pack — what would be in yours? Let us know in the comments!

Save huge on Transcend flash memory in this Amazon Gold Box Deal!

Flash sale for flash storage!

Get a shiny new Samsung Galaxy S7 or HTC 10 for Christmas? Amazon and Transcend have you covered in today’s Gold Box deal with deals on microSD cards and flash storage!

The bulk of today’s deal is Lightning-port flash drives for our friends on the other side of the mobile ecosystem, but there are also a smattering of microSD, SD, and SSDs for the rest of us. As with most Gold Box deals, they’re likely not going to last long, so if you need a microSD card for any new toys, you better get over to this deal and pull the trigger before it’s gone. Here are some of the deals you can take advantage of:

• Transcend 64GB UHS-1 microSD card – $14

• Transcend 128GB UHS-1 microSD card – $34

• Transcend 480 GB TLC SATA III 6Gb/s 2.5″ Solid State Drive – $87

See at Amazon

Roku tips and tricks: 14 things you probably didn’t know you could do

You’ve landed yourself a Roku device and want to know its hidden features. No problem.

To help you get the most of your set-top box, we’ve rounded up 14 cool things you likely didn’t know were possible on the Roku platform. For instance, we’ve included a tip on how to stream local media from your devices.

We’ve also mentioned tricks like how to rearrange your streaming channels or transform your TV screen into a cracking fireplace. Check out them out below.

Rearrange your streaming channels

When you add streaming channels, they are automatically arranged by default on your home screen. But you can rearrange them to how you prefer. Just select the channel from your My Channels section, then click the options button (*), and select Move channel.

Add a new theme to your home screen

The default Roku theme is pretty shade of purple, but if you’d like to switch it up, go to Settings, then Themes, and try one of the other free themes (including Graphene, Decaf, Nebula, or Daydream). Roku also recently added a Themes category to the Roku Channel Store.

Transform your TV with a screensaver

Like themes, Roku offers extra screensavers under settings (Settings > Screensaver). You can also go to the Screensavers category in the Channel Store to get even more screensavers, such as Presto’s cracking fireplace.

Use your mobile device as a remote

Every Roku player comes with a physical remote.

But if you lose it or for whatever reason don’t feel like using it, you can use the Roku mobile app for Android or iOS as a powerful Roku control center. Once installed on your mobile device, it lets you browse, add, and rate channels. You can also use it to enter text using your device’s own keyboard, or stream content from your mobile device. It even works with all Roku players.

Voice search without the remote

The new Roku 3 and Roku 4 each have a physical remote with a mic and search button for voice-searching.

You can use it to find movies, TV shows, actors, and directors from nearly 20 top streaming channels, including Netflix and Hulu Plus. But this feature is also available through the Roku mobile app for Android and iOS and is supported by current-generation players and Roku TV models.

From the Roku mobile app, select Search from the main menu, and then “Voice” to get started. Go here for more detailed instructions.

Rename your Roku players

Those of you with multuple Roku players in your home can log into your Roku.com account and rename your devices, making it easier for you to differentiate your players when using the Roku mobile app or casting from Netflix or YouTube.

Click Rename under the My linked devices section and follow the prompts.

Instant replay captions

Have you ever watchED a movie and couldn’t understand a character’s dialogue due to mumbling? Simply press the replay button and the subtitles will pop up. But you have to enable the feature first (Settings > Captions > click on “Instant replay”).

Record antenna content

Roku offers channels beyond streaming services. For instance, Simple.tv and Tablo TV allow you to watch, pause, and record live TV (over-the-air TV programmes via an antenna) on your Roku player or Roku TV model. 

Screen mirror from your your phone

Similar to Apple’s AirPlay feature, Roku lets you mirror stuff from your phone to your TV. Check out Roku’s screen mirroring beta for Microsoft Windows and Android devices. It provides an easy way to mirror videos, apps, web sites, and more from your device to a TV via your Roku.

You can learn more about how to started with Roku’s screen mirroring beta from here.

Stream music, photos, and videos from your phone

Roku’s mobile app (for Android, iOS or Windows Phone) doubles as a remote control. It’s also loaded with features, such as Play On Roku, which lets you to stream music, photos, and videos saved on your phone to your Roku.

Just click “Play On Roku” from the pull-down menu in the mobile app, and then choose the type of content you wish to stream. Keep in mind you can use other apps while streaming, but if you’re mirroring, everything you see on your phone display will appear on your TV.

Play files from your local network or USB drive

Some Roku players have a USB port so you can plug in a USB drive and play back personal video, music, and photo files stored on the drive. You just need the Roku Media Player channel to do so. The channel also lets you play back files from a DLNA server on your local network.

Learn more about which files the Roku Media Player supports from here. The Plex and MyMedia channels will also let you stream personal media.

Cast from YouTube and Netflix

YouTube and Netflix both feature a cast button that allow you to send video from those apps to your TV. Download the apps to your phone as well as your Roku Player, and then tap the cast button from the mobile apps. Your devices must be connected on the same Wi-Fi network.

Expand storage capacity for channels

If run out of storage space for channels on your Roku player, insert a microSD card into the microSD slot on the back of the unit.

It can only be used to store channel information, thus enabling your Roku to load channels faster. It can’t be used to store video files or other content. When the card is installed, the card will automatically be formatted.

Go here to learn more about installing a microSD card on a Roku. 

Add private channels

Did you know there are unofficial channels you can install to your Roku player?

Private channels are not displayed publicly because they might have adult content, still be in beta, or maybe they’re an unofficial third-party channel for a service without an app. You won’t find them when you browse the channel store, so you’ll need to install them with a code or link.

Private channels can be added through the Roku website. Sign into your Roku account, then go to the My Account page, and select Add a Private Channel under Manage Account. You can then enter the channel access code and select “Add Channel”. You can find private channels to add through sites like channelstore.roku.com, RokuGuide.com, StreamFree.tv, and RokuChannels.tv.

Want to know more?

Roku offers this cheat sheet with 101 other helpful tips and tricks.

Samsung may turns its hand to wireless in-ear headphones for Galaxy S8

We’ve seen it time and time again, Samsung and Apple being in constant competition with one another. Where one goes, the other tends to follow, or go one better. Apple has recently released the AirPods, a pair of wireless in-ears with a proprietary W1 chip that lets them instantly connect to an iPhone or iPad.

• Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Edge: What’s the story so far?

Now, fresh rumours are suggesting Samsung will produce its own pair of wireless in-ear headphones. It’s not clear if they will be bundled with the phone, or sold separately.

The S8 is expected to ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack, like the iPhone 7, and use USB Type-C for audio instead. USB Type-C audio should allow for higher quality audio to be passed through a wired connection. But because it will use USB C, you won’t be able to connect your current headphones, so you’ll either have to get a pair that will use the bespoke connection, or get a wireless Bluetooth pair.

There’s a slight chance the new in-ears will use Harman audio technology following Samsung’s acquisition earlier this year for $8 billion, but this has yet to be confirmed.

• Apple AirPods review: Wire-free future or design disaster?

Other features, such as one to rival Apple’s W1 chip, haven’t been confirmed either, but hopefully we’ll hear more details around MWC in February.

Here and MobilEye team up on self-driving tech for automakers

There are so many companies working on autonomous car tech that we’re now seeing the inevitable next phase: partnerships and consolidation. Case in point is a tie-up between MobilEye, the sensor maker that supplied sensors to Tesla before a messy split, and Here, the mapmaker Nokia recently sold to a German automaker consortium. The idea is to package Here’s HD Live mapping software with MobilEye’s hardware and sell it as a third-party automated platform to any interested car manufacturers.

MobilEye had a very public falling out with Tesla, accusing the EV maker of “pushing the envelope” in terms of safety. Elon Musk’s company in turn said that its former supplier tried to block tech it was trying to develop in-house. Meanwhile, MobilEye has made other deals with BMW, one of the owners of Here, and Delphi, the auto parts company started by GM.

With the tie-up, Here will use MobilEye’s so-called “roadbook,” a cloud-based map of the world’s roads derived from crowd-sourced vehicle sensor data. That”ll give Here’s HD Live mapping system access to “landmarks and roadway information to assist in making a vehicle more aware of — and better able to react to — its surroundings,” the companies say. MobilEye, in turn, be able to store its raw sensor data in Here’s open mapping platform, making it easier to update and maintain the roadbook.

Here points out that autonomous vehicles need precise and up-to-date map data, and thinks it can “accelerate that work with MobilEye.” In turn, MobilEye says it wants to create a “world HD-map standard” with Here, “with the objective of eventually launching an industry-wide initiative.” Considering the huge number of players now in the self-driving game, however, it’s hard to see any kind of “industry-wide” buy-in on proprietary tech at this point.

Source: Mobileye

Sex at CES: An uncomfortable coupling

When I arrived at the Las Vegas Convention Center in January 2012, CES was a sexless desert of 4K TVs, second-tier smartphones and (yawn) Ultrabooks for days. I’d heard stories about scantily clad porn stars co-mingling with the same dumpy tech dudes who continued to stalk the show floor, their oversized polo shirts tucked into ill-fitting khaki pants.

Tech veterans recalled days spent rubbing elbows with adult film stars and nights stuffing dollar bills into g-strings. But from where I was standing, in a sea of brightly lit displays and air-borne illness, there was nothing sexy about the world’s biggest technology showcase.

For nearly three decades, porn co-existed with tech either formally in the “adult software” section of CES, or informally at the Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE). But AEE and CES were an uncomfortable coupling. Like a fuck buddy who says he loves you when you’re banging, but hides you from his friends, CES never fully acknowledged its relationship with the sex industry.

When Paul Fishbein, the founder of AVN (organizer of AEE), first came to CES in 1984 he was a total noob. He’d recently graduated from Temple University with a degree in journalism, and as an employee of an early video store, saw a rising demand for adult movies. In February 1983, eight years after Sony set off one of history’s most publicised format wars with the introduction of Betamax, Fishbein published the very first copy of Adult Video News (AVN), a consumer guide to the budding porn industry.

“None of these people had ever seen an adult film. Because, before home video you could not see adult movies, except if you went to a theater or you had Super 8 films, or went to an adult book store,” Fishbein says. “So, all of these new customers were looking for adult films. And they were asking us, ‘Can you recommend an adult movie, we just got our new VCR?’”

Soon after publishing the first issue, Fishbein started receiving subscription requests from neighborhood video stores across the United States. AVN proved more popular with retailers than consumers, so Fishbein took his small consumer newsletter, packed with interviews of stars and directors, and refocused it as a trade publication, a sort of X-Rated Variety.

By the time he arrived at Chicago’s McCormick Center for CES in the summer of 1984, Fishbein had found his niche and had already published the first iteration of the AVN awards, the so-called Oscar’s of porn, as a print-only supplement. That year, he shared a table in the adult software section of the show with legendary cult filmmaker Russ Meyer who was there distributing films and signing autographs.

The cover of the July 1986 issue of Adult Video News, featuring Nina Hartley and a fire hose.

The presence of adult videos at CES seemed an obvious fit. As the home video market took off, so did the porn industry. VHS and Betamax players were the hardware, and porn, their (hardcore) software. As VHS gained acceptance over Betamax, the legend of porn as a technological kingmaker solidified, but Fishbein and other adult exhibitors never really felt welcome at CES.

“CES put up signs saying, ‘Warning: Porn stars are using these bathrooms,’” adult film star Ron Jeremy recalls. “Like, you know, we’re letting you know that these diseased, herpes-riddled stars are using the same toilets.”

While hardware manufacturers were given prime real estate on the Las Vegas Convention Center floor, Fishbein says, adult video companies were tucked away in the back of the Sahara hotel, roped off from the rest of the conference.

“Literally, you had to leave the convention center and find your way to the Sahara if you wanted to see the adult people,” Fishbein said. “The adult people always felt like second class citizens because they were paying top dollar for the exhibit space, but they weren’t sure they were getting all the traffic.”

After years of being on the outskirts of CES, AVN’s customers started pushing for a stand-alone tradeshow. In 1998 AVN broke away, taking porn’s biggest players with it.

“It made us feel kinda good, like, look you screwed us a little too much,” Jeremy said. “Now you can kindly go fuck yourself.”

From 1998 to 2011, the Adult Entertainment Expo ran concurrently with CES, giving porn a dedicated platform and tech executives an X-rated escape. CES attendees were given free entrance to AEE, providing a captive, sex-hungry audience for the porn industry and the opportunity for big business deals.

At its peak, AEE was a wall-to-wall circus of mulleted muscle hunks, bleach-blondes with beach-ball boobs and slack-jawed onlookers. Women teetering on razor-thin stilettos sprawled across card tables, perched atop bar stools and swung around free-standing stripper poles, occasionally stopping to pose for a picture or sign an autograph.

God, it’s that puppy exuberance of conventioneers let loose with a bunch of girls in skimpy outfits.

Kelly Holland, CEO Penthouse

Image Credit: Getty Images

Penthouse CEO Kelly Holland, then a documentary filmmaker, recalls interviewing Nina Hartley, famous for her voluptuous posterior, while she was bent over a table at AEE. A line of eager CES attendees trailed behind her, waiting to cheese it up with her butt.

“God, it’s that puppy exuberance of conventioneers let loose with a bunch of girls in skimpy outfits,” Holland said. “There’s very little that approaches that level of exuberance, actually. You take that many nerds and technology geeks with pocket protectors and pens and jam them into tight quarters with a bunch of porn stars and you’ve never seen so many beaming smiles. They’re like kids in Disneyland, really.”

But just like a kid on a cotton-candy sugar high, the porn industry came crashing down in the late noughties. A combination of free porn flooding the internet and the onset of the great recession led to the undoing of the industry’s Hollywood-style studio system.

“It was a real watershed moment, because it was a confluence of bad things all happening at once, Fishbein says. “It was a shit storm.”

He describes AVN at the time as a bloated business with too many products, too many employees and mounting debt. The combination of stress and a personal tragedy led Fishbein to sell his stake in 2010. Under new management, the show’s organizers chose to move AEE, now commonly referred to as AVN, to a date later in January, driving a wedge between porn and technology’s premier events. Fishbein says the move was a huge mistake and refers to a now diminished AVN as a “flea market.”

“It was a ghost town for AVN for the first two or three years,” Holland says. “It was a horrible, tragic, pathetic show. I always felt sorry for the vendors that were there — we weren’t exhibiting at the time — because they were just standing in these booths and there was no one there. Everything looked forlorn and desolate.”

The show has since reestablished itself as a sort of Comic Con for porn, but the absence is glaring. AVN needed CES to drive attendance (we reached out for exact numbers but did not receive an answer in time for publication). CES on the other hand, saw record turnout in its first year going solo, but there was clearly something missing.

From the time that Fishbein established AEE as its own show, the Consumer Electronics Association had taken a hard stance against adult exhibitors. With the shows no longer occupying the same week, there’s practically zero visibility for the sex industry at CES.

The days of taking lunch breaks with James Deen and Jenna Jameson were done, but there were still plenty of sexual outlets for the suits at CES. About an hour outside of Las Vegas, in a small town called Parhump, Nevada, a handful of brothels line a dirt road. Sheri’s Ranch, sits near the end of that road, just past the world famous Chicken Ranch, “where the west is still wild.” Inside, as many as 25 “legal courtesans” entertain guests in themed rooms and bungalows year-round. This is the “unofficial brothel of CES.”

Sheri’s Ranch earned that title presumably because of the upswing in business the brothel experiences every year during CES. Dena, the ranch’s madame says conference attendees have frequented this and other brothels between lunch breaks or after the show floor closes since she can remember, but after AVN and CES split, there was a significant surge in business.

“I think it was a distraction having [CES] when AVN was going,” Dena says. “So, instead of, driving an hour to come see us where you can do it legal, they were hitting the after parties for AVN or trying to pop in there to rub elbows with some porn stars.”

Dena says the ranch takes on a “bachelor party feel” during CES, with clients ready to escape the buttoned-up confines of the convention. The show’s official stance prohibiting adult companies has created a censorious oasis in the middle of sin city, but sex has been making a quiet comeback at CES, starting with a family-run sex toy company from small-town New Hampshire.

OhMiBod’s Best of CES award winning device, Love Life Krush.

In 2011, OhMiBod, a burgeoning toy company run by husband and wife team Brian and Suki Dunham, was looking for a mainstream platform for its iPod-connected vibrator that let users screw to their own beats. After an initial rejection, the Dunhams petitioned the CEA and eventually made their way onto the show floor.

“I think it was great,” Brian Dunham says. “They said, ‘Let’s give it a try and if it works, great. If it doesn’t work and we get a lot of blow-back, then you know, you probably won’t be invited back.’”

The CEA let OhMiBod in under the same conditions as other exhibitors, prohibiting the “showing of film, photos, games or other software in the exhibit area which are deemed objectionable, including explicit or simulated sex, nudity or violence.”

According to Suki, OhMiBod was “tucked back in a corner” between Taser International and Yahoo! and didn’t feel completely welcome.

“We did, I think, get kind of checked on,” Suki Dunham says. “And I find it funny, because of course many of the tech companies hire talent for their booth, and they hire certain talent to get people interested in what they have to show, even if it’s, whatever it is, new tech in automotive. There’s talent there, meaning women that are very good-looking and all, you know, dressed up or sexy or whatever. We would never do that in our booth, because that that would be counterproductive for us, because we’re trying to push the ball forward, and to me that makes us regress.”

Sex was present at CES, but it wasn’t the same tits out, dick swinging sideshow that AEE once provided. Sex at CES was a decidedly more sterile affair, unless of course, it came in the way of booth babes selling also-ran HDTVs. The Dunhams say reactions continue to be a mix of juvenile giggles, knowing nods and genuine interest.

“We still get, every year, the comment, ‘Aren’t you at the wrong show?’” Suki Dunhams says. “Meaning that we’re not at AVN. People feel uncomfortable about sex. It’s really funny, but some men still act like 10-year-old boys when it comes to sex.”

Despite the sideways glances and juvenile commentary, CES is a big money maker for OhMiBod. In its five years at the show, the company has secured big distribution deals with retailers like Target and Brookstone, mainstream press coverage from publications like Wired and last year’s Best of CES Awards win for “Best Digital Health and Fitness Product.” It might seem that CES has warmed to sex as a legitimate money maker, but the recent addition of adult film studio Naughty America comes with a caveat that shows how little has changed since Fishbein first attended in 1984.

In an official statement a CTA spokesperson said, “When making decisions on any CES exhibitor, the Consumer Technology Association first determines if the exhibit/product fits into one of our stated product categories. In the case of Naughty America, we determined that the product truly fit under Virtual Reality, and helps demonstrate the range of content and usage for this ground-breaking technology. As a rule, adult content/products are not allowed on the CES show floor and do not fit into a defined product category. At CES 2017, Naughty America will be in a private meeting room, not featured on the show floor.”

Like the porn studios that came before it, Naughty America will be cordoned off, far from Samsung, Sony and tech’s other major players. Meanwhile, many argue that the next big shift in computing, virtual reality, could benefit from porn’s mass appeal in the same way that VHS did in the early days of home video. It’s impossible to quantify porn’s impact on technology, but this quiet codependence is far from over.

“The whole dialog around sex is always so uncomfortable so no one is ever going to proclaim how they respect the adult industry or how valuable it is to driving their technologies forward,” Holland says. “Did someone from Google come to talk to me about VR? Yes. Did they make me swear on a bible that I would not talk about it and identify them? Yes. Was Panasonic uncomfortable when their CTO was there about his involvement with me? Yes. But did he fly over from Japan to sit on a set with me? Yes. So people are pragmatists. You know? They’re not gonna upset their boards, they’re not going to shake up their consumer base.”