The Morning After: Thursday, December 30 2016

It’s December 29th and we’re looking back on Twitter’s rough 2016, Tesla’s Autopilot avoiding accidents and another Amazon sale day.

ESP, AI or something else?
Tesla’s Autopilot saw this accident coming and avoided it

Like many other driver assists, Tesla’s Autopilot feature bounces radar off the road to see what’s happening two cars ahead. That’s information a human driver wouldn’t have otherwise, and as you can see in this video, it helped a Model X avoid joining an accident in the Netherlands. Whether or not they’re ready for full self-driving tech, this may at least sell drivers on the effectiveness of Forward Collision Warning systems.

Laziness, activate
Samsung’s Powerbot vacuums connect to Amazon Alexa

The next step after having a robot clean up after you is adding voice commands for the full Jetsons experience. The VR7000 doesn’t have a video display, humanoid appearance or snappy retorts, but now it can start cleaning whenever you say it should. That feature comes thanks to a connection with Amazon’s Alexa system unless you’d prefer to take control directly via an app on your phone.

Ultra / Ultra
Samsung reveals new 32-bit audio systems, UHD Blu-ray player

CES doesn’t start until next week, but we’re already seeing new gadgets revealed, like the “Ultra High Quality” (UHQ) Hi-Fi system and soundbar Samsung just unveiled. It’s claiming that upconverting audio to 32-bit brings a new level of quality and that it can provide decent bass without a subwoofer. On the video side, Samsung’s second-gen Ultra HD Blu-ray player will put movies on your phone (somehow), and configure tricky HDR settings automatically.

The trouble with trolls
Twitter spent 2016 pouring gasoline on its fires

Twitter has a dedicated user base, so why is it in this year’s losing column? A failure to deal with harassment and hate speech on its platform leads the list of reasons and is likely why it failed to find a buyer. Now CEO Jack Dorsey gets a chance to save Twitter as a standalone company — if he can fix the problems instead of making them worse.

20 years of click-spamming
Blizzard is celebrating the Diablo series anniversary across its other games

Blizzard is marking the 20th birthday of Diablo (the game, not the monster), adding themed events and extras to several of its games. The third (and latest) Diablo game, unsurprisingly, gets the most lavish treatment. It’s going to get a Darkening of Tristram event that lets you visit a “reimagined” version of the original game’s cathedral, including some familiar pick-ups. Overwatch, Hearthstone and more titles will also have something to commemorate the influential online RPG series.

Smarter and sleeker.
Ford’s latest self-driving car almost looks like a regular one

Ford has revealed the first images of its new self-driving Fusion Hybrid, with a more powerful computer and improved sensors. It also packs lower-profile LIDAR units that appear to be the “Puck” models from Velodyne, a company in which it recently invested $150 million, making it look less like some gadget-strapped prototype auto.

Up to 50 percent off apps, e-books, games, movies and music.
Amazon is preparing a big digital-only sale for December 30th

Amazon’s next big sale day is December 30th at 3AM ET, and it’s centered around that digital content that we all love. It’s the ideal secondary sale: filling those new phones and games consoles with enough content to take you through the early months of 2017. Amazon is promising breaks on games like Destiny: Rise of Iron, Rocket League and Titanfall 2, but you’ll have to shop around on the 30th to see the full selection.

But wait, there’s more…

• Chinese hackers allegedly stole secrets from US law firms
• LG’s next headset is a wearable surround sound speaker, too
• Lenovo’s latest ThinkPads ship bloatware-free

Simple breath test can detect cancer and 16 other diseases

Ancient Greek physicians figured that our breath was a strong health indicator, but researchers from the Israel Institute of Technology have proven just how true that is. They developed a device that uses nanoparticles to identify 17 different diseases, including lung cancer and Parkinson’s disease, from just a single breath. While the machine isn’t accurate enough yet for real-life clinical diagnoses, it shows high promise as a quick, non-invasive test that could catch diseases in their early stages

The team tested breath samples from more than 1,400 patients and identified 13 chemicals found in eight types of cancers, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, pulmonary hypertension and other diseases. Each of those volatile organic compounds is present in varying amounts, forming a distinctive “fingerprint” for each ailment. “These odor signatures are what enables us to identify the diseases using the technology that we developed,” says research lead Prof. Hossam Haick.

To pick up the presence and ratio of the chemicals, the team built an “artificially intelligent nanoarray” called the Na-Nose. It uses specific sensors, like one made from gold nanoparticles and another that uses a network of carbon nanotubes, to sense the different compounds. The data is then analyzed by an artificial intelligence system, which takes into account age, gender and other factors, picking out the right affliction 86 percent of the time.

That’s not enough accuracy for clinical diagnosis, but it could eventually be used as a routine test to catch diseases in their early phases when they’re much more treatable. “For example, in the case of lung cancer we can increase the survival rate from 10 to 70 percent by early diagnosis,” Haick said in a video (above). It could even be used to identify people who aren’t sick yet, but have a higher risk than others for certain conditions. Moreover, Haick adds, “it is available without the need for invasive and unpleasant procedures, it’s not dangerous, and you can sample it again and again if necessary.”

Via: Quartz

Source: ACS Nano

Volvo’s high-end cars will come with Skype built in

Many people depend on Skype to chat with family, colleagues and clients throughout their working day. To help them stay connected while they’re outside the office, Volvo has announced plans to integrate Skype for Business into its high-end 90 Series cars. Accessible through a large touchscreen dashboard, drivers will see a list of scheduled meetings and a shortcut to their complete contact list. Tapping once will reveal a meeting summary, including the organiser, participants and the ways in which they can join the call. A “Join Meeting” shortcut will reside at the bottom so users can quickly dial in — no pesky pin codes required (hopefully).

Connectivity is handled through your paired smartphone, presumably. Skype is notorious for its dodgy call quality, so here’s hoping it fares a little better in the car. In a press release, Volvo says it’s also exploring how Cortana, Microsoft’s personal assistant, could be added to its vehicles. The automaker is looking at “seamless voice recognition” and “contextual insights” based on the time, location and schedule of the driver. When these efforts will materialize in a dashboard update is unclear, however. Any addition would help Microsoft compete with Apple and Google, who are targeting the industry with CarPlay and Android Auto respectively.

Source: Volvo

Press renders of the Galaxy A3 2017 and A5 2017 leak ahead of unveil

The Galaxy A 2017 series is all set to debut next week.

Samsung is all set to unveil the 2017 variants of the Galaxy A series, with the Galaxy A3, A5, and A7 expected to make their debut on January 5. The company teased the launch earlier this week in which it essentially confirmed that the new models will be water resistant. Press renders of the Galaxy A3 2017 and A5 2017 have now leaked, showcasing their design and giving us a look at what Samsung has in store for 2017.

There are a few subtle variations from the current Galaxy A series, notably when it comes to the speaker placement. It looks like Samsung has moved the speaker from the bottom to the right hand side, placing it above the power button. The design itself is more refined, with the phones sporting rounder edges and a glass back along with a metal frame round the sides.

As for the internal hardware, the latest rumors suggest the Galaxy A3 2017 will feature a 4.7-inch 720p Super AMOLED display, Exynos 7870 SoC, 2GB of RAM, 16GB storage, 13MP shooter at the back, 5MP front camera, LTE, NFC, and Bluetooth 4.1.

The Galaxy A5 2017 has much more enticing hardware in the form of a 5.2-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display, Exynos 7880 SoC with 3GB of RAM, 32GB storage, and 16MP cameras at the front and back. The Galaxy A3 could retail for 379 Euro, while the A5 may sell for as much as 479 Euro.

The phones are slated to be available in four color options: black, blue, gold, and pink. With the launch just a week away, we don’t have to wait long to find out more about the Galaxy A 2017 series.

Wondershare TunesGo: How to manage music without iTunes

Need a better way to manage the tunes on your device? Consider TunesGo from Wondershare.

TunesGo is an app you can download and install on your computer. It works with Windows and Mac computers. With this app, you can manage not only music, but also videos, photos, contacts, messages, apps, and other files on your Apple iPhone or Android device. You can even use it to make GIFs. Here’s everything you need to know it, including more details about the different things you can manage with it.

Note: We checked out TunesGo Suite for Mac. It available for Windows or Mac and lets you manage music files on both iOS and Android devices.

TunesGoPocket-lint

What can Wondershare TunesGo manage?

From the moment you plug a device into a computer running TunesGo, you will see options to manage the following types of files:

Music

Apple iPhone users can transfer songs and videos without iTunes. They can also edit music tags, delete duplicate tracks, and back up their entire music library to their computers. Android users can transfer music and videos to and from a computer without any limits, edit ID3 tags, including album artwork, play counts, ratings, and other related data, and they can backup and restore songs, playlists, and videos.

Photos

Apple iPhone and Android device users alike can import and export their photos, backup photos to their computers, manage albums, and create GIFs from photos, motion photos, or videos.

Contacts

Apple iPhone and Android device users alike can import contacts from their computers and existing email and cloud services, whether that be Gmail, Outlook, and iCloud. They can also backup contacts to their computers and services, as well as easily edit, add, delete, and merge contacts.

SMS

Apple iPhone users can import and export messages to and from their device, as well as backup and restore messages. While Android users can do this too, they can also send text messages from their computers.

Apps

Apple iPhone users can install or uninstall apps – including in batches – from their device to a computer as a batch. Android users can do this as well, plus they can uninstall pre-installed apps and bloatware if they also use the “1-click root” option first.

Is Wondershare TunesGo an alternative to iTunes?

TunesGo is a great alternative to iTunes. With it, you can transfer music from any computer to an iOS device or Android device. TunesGo supports two-way synchronisation as well as songs and videos in more than 30 different formats. You can also use it to fix ID3 tags (including album artwork, play counts, and ratings) and to remove duplicate music files and free up storage space.

What else can Wondershare TunesGo do?

If you have TunesGo Suite, you can root your Android device with just one click. Also, with this edition, both Apple iPhone users and Android users have access to one-click backup options for music, videos, contacts, SMS, apps, app data, calendar, and call logs. Apple iPhone users and Android users can even transfer that data between iOS/Android devices via the phone-to-phone-transfer option, or they can go to File Explorer tab from a PC to get full access to the storage of their mobile device and basically use their device as a flash drive.

We played with TunesGo on a Mac to manage our iOS device and found that the main interface of Wondershare TunesGo includes eight tabs at the top. The first one is for Home, which prompted us to connect our device with a cable. At that point, we could rebuild our iTunes library, transfer iTunes media to device, backup photos to the Mac, or do a phone-to-phone transfer — all from the Home tab. If we wanted to manage specific files, like music, videos, photos, and apps, we could go to their respective tabs found by Home in the nav bar.

One of the other tabs in TunesGo’s nav bar is Toolbox. On the Mac, I could see options to rebuild iTunes library, transfer iTunes to device, phone transfer, GIF maker, and more. People running TunesGo on a PC will see an additional option in Toolbox to root their Android device. Speaking of PC users, TunesGo on a PC has an exclusive tab just for Information. It includes all the contacts and SMS present on your device as well as all the contacts on your iCloud and other accounts. Through the Information tab, you can backup your stuff, transfer contacts, delete contacts etc.

Another exclusive tab found in TunesGo on a PC is Explorer. It enables you to brows files on your device. To see which features are exclusive to TunesGo for Mac or TunesGo for PC, and what you can do with either version using an Android or iOS device, see this page. 

How does Wondershare TunesGo work?

The following playlist provides a thorough overview of TunesGo’s interface and how it works.

How much is Wondershare TunesGo?

TunesGo for Android devices costs $39.95, while the one for iOS devices is $49.95. If you want a manager for both Android and iOS devices, you can get the TunesGo Suite for $59.95. There is no price difference between the PC and Mac versions. Every edition also comes with a free trial.

Twitter and Periscope introduce live 360 video

Twitter and Periscope have just announced they are now rolling out live 360 video, which is more than likely to compete with Facebook Live and Snapchat. Live 360-degree video broadcasts are only available for select users for now, but both companies have said the feature will be rolled out on a global scale in “the coming weeks”.

• Twitter launches live video: Here’s how to broadcast from the app

You’ll know a video is being filmed in 360 because a badge saying ‘Live 360’ will appear on the video. When you watch a 360 video, you’ll be able to change the point of view by either moving your phone around or tapping and scrolling around the screen.

360 Sunset in Florida. First ever #Periscope360 with @Brandee_Anthony https://t.co/AZWbnnT15S

— Alex Pettitt (@Alexpettitt) 28 December 2016

Twitter user Alex Pettitt has posted one of the first live 360 videos and to view it, you’ll need to open it through the Twitter app on your phone. What isn’t clear is how you shoot a 360 video, as neither Twitter nor Periscope have said how it’s done. Presumably only the users who are able to film them know for now.

• Here’s how Facebook just made ‘Live’ video exactly like Periscope, Snapchat
• Periscope tips and tricks

If you’re interested in filming in 360 video then you can sign up to Periscope’s waiting list to be notified of when the feature is available and ready to use.

Samsung reveals a curved, quantum dot monitor aimed at gamers

Samsung has revealed the CH711, a curved quantum dot monitor built “with gamers in mind.” It also appears to be targeting Mac users and designers with the model, judging by the sharp-looking white color scheme and marketing shots (above). The displays, in 27- and 31.5-inch sizes, feature 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, a pronounced 1,800R curvature, 178-degree viewing angle and 125 percent of sRGB coverage. Cables are hidden in the stand, which also lets you flip the monitor to a vertical position, though the heavy curve might make that format a bit awkward.

Samsung has used quantum dots, rather than OLEDS, in TVs for awhile. However, it has only recently used the tech in its monitors, having unveiled a pair of new models at IFA 2016 in September. Most display experts think that OLED (favored by LG) picture quality is superior to quantum dots (used by Samsung) because of the impeccable blacks and lack of light bleed. However, quantum dot displays don’t suffer from OLED’s lag issues and are an improvement over regular LEDs, making them a better choice for gaming monitors.

A curved screen also makes a lot more sense for a monitor than a TV, given how much closer you generally sit to it. And Samsung has previously said that a sharp 1,800R radius “closely follows the curvature of the eyes.” While it said colors are “richer and more vibrant” thanks to the quantum dots, it didn’t give any other color specs, such as whether it’s an 8-bit or 10-bit panel — a detail that would be important for graphics pros.

We also don’t know the crucial price or availability, but Samsung will show off the screens at CES 2017, along with the GFG70 and CF791, the other curved quantum dot screens it recently unveiled.

Source: Samsung

Amazon patent reveals its drone-deploying flying warehouse plan

Amazon’s drone-delivery plans apparently don’t stop with using flying contraptions to ferry people’s purchases to their homes. Based on a patent it filed with the USPTO, the e-commerce giant dreams of launching big floating warehouses near crowded areas and happenings like sporting events. The company calls the blimp-like structures “airborne fulfillment centers,” because that’s precisely what they are. Amazon envisions deploying drones carrying memorabilia or food from these floating warehouses, which will have billboards for advertising, to people attending music festivals or championships.

To reduce the work drones have to do, the blimps will have shuttles to lower them and the goods they have to deliver to the ground, as well as to carry stocks and even people up to the flying warehouse. Amazon also wants all those components to be able to communicate with each other through a mesh network, say, to relay data about wind speed at various altitudes. Plus, the company wants them to be able to communicate with remote computing resources and a command center in charge of inventory. It’s just a patent at this point, though, and a pretty far-out idea at that. Since we might never actually see this one become a reality, check out the image that came with the filing below to see what it could look like.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: USPTO

Amazon planning huge Digital Day sale on Dec. 30 for apps, movies, games, and more

Amazon’s Digital Day sale will discount over 1,000 online-only titles.

Amazon’s Prime Day turned out to be a huge success, and the retailer is now looking to replicate the magic with its first-ever Digital Day sale. For one day only, December 30, Amazon will discount over 1,000 online titles, including apps, games, TV shows, movies, music, ebooks, and more.

Amazon is promising discounts of up to 80% on video games, 50% off on TV shows and movies, 75% off on hundreds of digital comics, and much more. An annual subscription to Plex Pass will be discounted by 50%, and Amazon’s teaser for the sale also lists Destiny, Titanfall 2, and Microsoft Office Home & Business 2016 among others.

The sale comes at an apropos time, as a lot of people will be looking to buy digital content to complement their new gadgets. However, Amazon drew a fair amount of criticism for the quality of deals listed in its Prime Day sale, so we’ll have to wait and see until the sale goes live to see if there’s anything noteworthy on offer.

The sale will be live for 24 hours, and will kick off at 3 a.m. ET on December 30. Head to the link below to see a preview of the deals that will be going live tomorrow.

See at Amazon

Trump isn’t responsible for Sprint bringing 5,000 jobs to the US

President-elect Donald Trump said he was contacted by Sprint executives today and told that the company was making an investment in domestic jobs, according to Reuters and Bloomberg. “Because of what’s happening and the spirit and the hope I was just called by the head people at Sprint and they’re going to be bringing 5,000 jobs back to the United States,” Trump said outside his Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida. “Masa [Son] and some other people were very much involved with that.”

Sprint issued a press release, patting itself on the back for the deal. “We are excited to work with President-Elect Trump and his administration to do our part to drive economic growth and create jobs in the U.S.” CEO Marcelo Claure said in the statement.

“We believe it is critical for business and government to partner together to create more job opportunities in the U.S. and ensure prosperity for all Americans.”

“I just spoke with the head person,” Trump told Bloomberg. “He said because of me they’re doing 5,000 jobs in this country.”

Here’s the problem: Despite what Trump and the press release from Sprint said (and what its CEO recently tweeted), these jobs were part of a previous announcement from Softbank (Sprint’s parent company) CEO Masayoshi Son — not the direct result of working with Trump.

In mid-October, Softbank announced that the company was sinking $100 billion into a tech-investment fund.

Just spoke w/ @realDonaldTrump about @Sprint turnaround & bringing 5k jobs back to America to strengthen the economy https://t.co/zPVjI50vlY

— MarceloClaure (@marceloclaure) December 28, 2016

When I reached out to a Sprint spokeswoman asking if the announcement was a direct result of working with Trump or part of a pre-existing deal, she copy and pasted the press release I’d sent along with my first email. I responded saying I already had the press release and asked again if this was a direct result of working with Trump or part of a pre-existing deal in place. I tagged Sprint in a tweet about the situation, and it wasn’t until after that started getting retweeted that the spokesperson responded.

“This is part of the 50,000 jobs that Masa previously announced,” she said. “This total will be a combination of newly created jobs and bringing some existing jobs back to the U.S.”

This is where we are, folks: Our president-elect is tying his name to something he didn’t have anything to do with, much like he did with “saving” 1,100 jobs at HVAC company Carrier, including 300 that weren’t moving to Mexico in the first place. In November, Trump exaggerated that he stopped Ford from moving a Kentucky production plant to Mexico. In reality Ford announced it wouldn’t move production of one model line to Mexico.

The most troubling thing here is that Sprint played along, even though, when pressed, it admitted the claims weren’t the result of working with Trump.

Source: Reuters, Bloomberg, Sprint