The Morning After: Wednesday December 7, 2016
This morning, we’re reading about how Google has upgraded its search app to keep personal information and news events separated, the same company’s attempt to solve router troubles forever… and the Novint Falcon’s transformation from haptic games controller to sex toy.
Your to-go guide
Google’s search app splits up news headlines from your upcoming events.
The automated interests formerly known as Google Now are getting another refresh. In a change that’s rolling out first on Android (soon on iOS) the app will display two different sections of information. Upcoming has all of your personal info, like incoming packages, calendar events and reservations. Feed is where current events, sports and trending updates will go. In the age of personal AI assistants, figuring out a place for different types of info is going to be key.
Technology’s biggest patent fight still isn’t over
Supreme Court sides with Samsung over Apple patent penalty
Samsung’s Supreme Court appeal worked: the justices unanimously voted that the company’s violations of Apple’s iPhone design patents were only valid for a part of a smartphone, not the entire device. This means the $548 million penalty sum will return to the lower courts and be reduced. To what degree, however, is up to the courts. The iPhone’s design is iconic — and that will be noted.
It makes a world of difference
Spotify Connect is live on Sonos
After a short beta period, a feature that lets Sonos owners control their audio gear from within Spotify’s app is available to all. It works across desktop and mobile, and can jump from speakers to headphones with the tap of a button.
The next big thing in teledildonics
Computer Love: Novint Falcon (NSFW)
The Novint Falcon debuted as a haptic joystick in 2005, and despite a lot of enthusiasm, never made it to market in a big way. Now, it’s had something of a resurgence, but this time as a sex toy. In this edition of Computer Love, Executive Editor Christopher Trout investigates whether its hardware is up to the task.
An end to “Have you tried switching it off and on again?”Review: Google WiFi
Google WiFi is a solid choice if you’re looking for a router that mixes smart design with simple features and solid performance,. However, users who like to get their hands dirty may prefer the control and flexibility of more conventional products. For the rest of us, Google WiFi will likely provide an easy transition to the connected home. Check out our full review.
Somehow it’s not just an endless RIP list
The top ten Twitter conversations in 2016
The clock is almost up on 2016, and not a moment too soon. Twitter has a round up of the top conversations from this year, including Game of Thrones, Brexit and Black Lives Matter in its Moments format. Of course, it wasn’t all death and politics — remember, Leo finally won an Oscar.
But wait, there’s more…
- Constant updates and online functionality pushed Bungie out of making ‘Halo’ games
- Chance the Rapper’s ‘Coloring Book’ is the first streaming-only album up for a Grammy
- Apple’s TV single sign-on feature is live
Judge sentences celebrity hacker to five years in prison
A federal judge has sentenced Alonzo Knowles, the Bahamian man who hacked into celebs’ emails to get scripts, secrets and sensitive photos, to five years in prison. That’s twice longer than what the federal sentencing guidelines suggested, because Judge Paul A. Engelmayer felt that Knowles “would be a clear and present danger to commit the very same crime again.” While the hacker expressed remorse in court (“What I did was wrong. I could have ruined people’s lives,” he said), he sent out some emails from jail that cemented the judge’s decision to hand him a longer sentence.
In them, he said he’d “shake up Hollywood for real” by writing a book, “name dropping everyone involved” in it and including pictures he didn’t leak in the past. He also said that he plans to hack into Twitter accounts to promote the book, which he wants to sell for $35. “Everyone loves gossip. I cant wait to get out i already know how the cover is gonna look,” he added.
Knowles got access to celebs’ emails by infecting their computers with malware and sending them fake automated text messages. If they prove to be quite tech-savvy, he’d hack into their friends’ accounts to find juicy info on them or any sensitive images. Knowles was arrested in December 2015 when he tried to sell unreleased scripts for six episodes of Starz TV drama Power. He flew to New York to meet the potential buyer, who turned out to be an undercover agent.
Back in May, the defendant pleaded guilty, and his lawyer asked for a 14-month sentence. Unfortunately for him, Judge Engelmayer decided that his emails show he’s devoid of remorse and that he belongs behind bars in federal prison, where he has no access to the internet.
Source: The New York Times, CBS News
Fitbit Buyout Will See Pebble’s Time 2 and Core Wearables Canceled, Refunds Issued
Late last month we reported that Fitbit was closing in on a deal to acquire smartwatch maker Pebble “for a small amount”. Bloomberg has now revealed that the buyout will cost “less than $40 million” and exclusively concerns Pebble’s software assets, which are being sought by Fitbit “in a bid to better compete with Apple”, according to people familiar with the matter.
Yesterday’s update on the details of the acquisition comes at a time when the wearables market as a whole appears to be facing increased uncertainty and significant profit hurdles. Earlier this week, in response to IDC market research claiming that Apple Watch’s share of the wearables market had fallen to 5 percent, Apple CEO Tim Cook said Apple Watch’s sell-through rate had hit a new high. Cook was responding to data which suggested fitness trackers “reigned supreme” in the market, yet Fitbit has seen its own struggles, with the company’s shares tumbling 30 percent after announcing mixed third-quarter results and weak guidance for its fourth quarter.
To improve its standing in the market, Fitbit reportedly wants to hire Pebble’s software engineers and testers, and get hold of intellectual property including the Pebble OS, watch apps, and cloud services. The $40 million buyout sum does not include Pebble’s debt and other obligations, product inventory or server equipment, all of which will be sold off separately, said the people, who asked to remain anonymous.
The news all but confirms the end of the road is in sight for Pebble’s entire product line-up, including its most recent smartwatch announcements, the Pebble 2, Time 2, and the Pebble Core. The Pebble 2 has already started shipping to people who funded the startup through crowd-funding site Kickstarter, but the Time 2 and Pebble Core will be canceled and refunds will be issued to Kickstarter backers, said the sources.
Following the buyout, Pebble’s offices will be closed and former engineers will relocate to Fitbit offices in San Francisco. There’s no word yet as to whether Fitbit will decide to use the Pebble brand in future.
The deal will make Pebble stock held by employees “worthless”, said sources, with the money earned on the acquisition going to debt holders, vendors, some equity investors, and Kickstarter refunds for the Time 2 and Pebble Core orders.
Tags: Pebble, Fitbit
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Amazon Rolls Out Music Unlimited ‘Family Plan’ to the U.K. for £15 per Month
Amazon has expanded its Family Plan for Amazon Music Unlimited to the U.K., following initial rollout across the U.S. last month.
The plan costs £15 a month, or £149 a year, which works out at a lower price of £12 per month. The subscription supports up to six family members (at least 13 years of age) for simultaneous listening and personal recommendations.
On the plan, a single family member uses a “shared payment method” to pay for the subscription, such as a debit or credit card that Amazon uses to charge each month for the service. Each member can make purchases on Amazon and Amazon Music Unlimited with the shared payment method, while the main subscriber receives notifications of all activity within the group. The plan also retains the same functionality as the Individual Plan subscription.
Amazon Music Unlimited has a library of 40 million songs and is available under four optional plans. Prime members can sign up to the streaming service for £8 per month or £79 per year, while non-Prime members pay £10 per month. For Echo or Echo Dot owners, a cheaper £4 per month plan is available, but is restricted to music playback on the smart device.
Tags: Amazon, Amazon Music Unlimited
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Sony’s PlayStation Division to Release 6 Mobile Games for iOS Next Year
Sony is set to release up to six games for iOS in the financial year starting April in the hope of replicating Nintendo’s phenomenal success with Pokémon Go (via Reuters).
The upcoming titles will bring popular Sony franchises such as Everybody’s Golf to iOS devices for the first time, said the company. Previously Sony has only launched a few games for smartphones through its music entertainment division, but the new games will be “mobile designated” and be produced through its PlayStation business.
Everybody’s Golf on PlayStation 4
Sony also revealed on Wednesday that it is working on 10 mobile gaming titles, including those to be released next year. The 10 titles include PaRappa the Rapper and Arc The Lad. Japan will be first to get the games, before rollout to other Asian countries and eventually likely elsewhere, depending on initial success.
Despite its huge success in the console market worldwide, Sony is facing increasing heat from mobile in countries such as Japan, the world’s third largest game market where mobile gaming accounts for more than half of the $12.4 billion market, according to games research firm Newzoo.
The announcement comes just a week before Nintendo debuts Super Mario Run on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The endless runner game goes live on the App Store on December 15 for $9.99.
Tag: Sony
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Magic Leap will soon test its technology in the real world
We might be getting closer to finally finding out what Magic Leap’s mixed-reality headset looks like. The ultra-secretive company has posted a job listing on Glassdoor for a Field Engineer, who’ll actually have to drive around with its devices and collect data in real world locations. “Work will entail setting up and using high precision equipment to capture both environments and user behavior in home settings,” the listing reads. Magic Leap announced a Star Wars and a Twilio partnership this year, but its technology is still shrouded in mystery even now.
Sadly, the job listing is as vague as the company has been these past years and it’s hard to deduce much from what’s written in it. One thing’s clear, though: the new hire will be based out of the company’s headquarters in Plantation, Florida, so folks living could get the first glimpse at Magic Leap’s mixed-reality device.
Here’s the listing in full:
“This position involves collecting data with Magic Leap devices in real world locations. Work will entail setting up and using high precision equipment to capture both environments and user behavior in home settings. Applicants will be based at Magic Leap Headquarters in Plantation, and drive with equipment to nearby locations for data collection.
A successful applicant will be comfortable working with complex hardware and software, be able to debug common problems, and meticulous with logging of collection data so that all collected data is usable. Some experience working with Linux command line tools is a plus.
Additional Information.”
Via: Quartz
Source: Glassdoor
Sony’s Project Field brings card games to life
From Skylanders to Amiibo, “Toys to life” have been a pretty lucrative way for video game companies to make money. Sony has been more-or-less absent from the field, but today it’s announcing something not too dissimilar: Project Field.
The company is showing off dedicated smart pads that pair with a phone or tablet to bring card games to life. Imagine a game like Hearthstone, for instance, but with physical cards that you buy in store. Or the physical and digital versions of Pokémon Trading Card Game fused together.
When a user places a card on one of the pads, it’s identified using an NFC-like wireless technology. The pad then sends the card’s exact position to the phone or tablet using Bluetooth. Once the card is in the game, the pad is able to detect movement — if you slide a card to another position, for example. The cards will be both readable and writable, meaning in-game status changes can be saved. Depending on the game, players will also be able to “grow” a character, with stats stored on the card.
Sony announced Project Field today as part of a broader push to get PlayStation games onto mobile phones, and says it has “multiple” projects planned for the platform. The first title to be announced is based on Yokai Watch, the hugely popular Level-5 RPG.
This isn’t a drastically new idea — Sengoku Taisen, Kantai Collection and other Japanese arcade games already blend collectible cards with video games. Nintendo’s Amiibo cards for Animal Crossing also have built-in NFC chips. Where Project Field differs is in portability, and potential reach. If the pads are sold at a reasonable rate, players will be able to get an arcade experience anywhere they can bring a tablet.
While Project Field is only slated for release in Japan, the worldwide appeal of Skylanders and Amiibo means an international release doesn’t seem impossible.
Source: PlayStation Japan
Pearl Black Galaxy S7 edge with 128GB storage debuting in Korea later this week
Samsung’s answer to the Jet Black iPhone 7 is here.
Samsung is looking to introduce new color options to increase sales of the Galaxy S7 edge for the holiday season. We’ve already seen the Blue Coral variant break cover last month, and Samsung is now getting ready to launch the Pearl Black color option in South Korea on December 9. Notably, the new color variant is expected to come with 128GB of storage.
The information comes by way of SamMobile, which posted live photos of the device last month. From the images, the Pearl Black color option looks like a glossier version of the Note 7’s Black Onyx variant.
Samsung is expected to officially launch the Pearl Black color option shortly, and as of now there’s no information to suggest it will make its way to global markets. We’ll let you know if we hear otherwise. What do you guys make of the new color variant?
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Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes gets Android-exclusive content ahead of Rogue One premiere
This is the Android content you’re looking for…
Another year, another Star Wars movie for fans to get hyped over. In celebration of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story premiering at theatres across North America country on December 16, Android gamers can enjoy exclusive content in Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, the massively popular collectable card game RPG set in the Star Wars universe.
Starting today, and exclusive to Android, you can grab the new Rogue One Heroes Pack for free. The pack includes K-2SO, the new Droid that will be featured in the Rogue One movie. Once unlocked, you’re able to keep him forever and upgrade him to seven stars. Expect more Rogue One-based content included in the Heroes Pack.
This Rogue One content is only available for a limited time, so don’t be a scruffy nerfherder — log in and grab your exclusive Heroes Pack before December 16 so you don’t miss out.
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