Watch the PlayStation Experience keynote right here!
PlayStation Experience kicks off today in Anaheim, California, offering a weekend of gaming, Capcom and Call of Duty eSports tournaments, and plenty of news for fans of Sony’s wares. The keynote starts at 10AM PT / 1PM ET and it’s poised to feature a handful of game announcements and information about the PlayStation 4, PS4 Pro and PS VR as we head into 2017. Catch it all live right here, regardless of your proximity to Anaheim. Sometimes, the internet truly is incredible.
We’re live at PlayStation Experience this weekend, so stay tuned for developer interviews and hands-on impressions of some of the coolest games at the show. Plus, follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see pictures and videos straight from the Anaheim Convention Center.
Google Chrome Browser 55 Fixes Security Holes and Defaults to HTML5
Google this week began rolling out the latest update to its desktop Chrome web browser ahead of schedule, with Chrome 55 fixing multiple security vulnerabilities and defaulting to HTML5 on the majority of websites.
Google Chrome has been phasing out Flash support since September, when version 53 of the browser started blocking Flash-based page analytics and background elements. Version 54 brought a YouTube code rewrite that forced YouTube Flash players to switch to HTML5.
Chrome 55 brings the most visible move away from Flash by defaulting to HTML5 across the board. Users are now prompted to enable Flash when they visit sites that still use it, exempting 10 of the most popular sites on the web, including Facebook and Amazon.
Chrome 55.0.2883.75 for Mac contains a number of other fixes and improvements, including 26 patches identified by external researchers as part of Google’s bug bounty program, and another 10 security fixes implemented by Google itself. The addition of CSS automatic hyphenation means Chrome can now hyphenate words when line-wrapping, which improves the visual appearance of text blocks.
Chrome 55 should be available to download for most Mac users now. Existing users can update by selecting Chrome -> Preferences via the menu bar and clicking the About section. Users downloading Chrome for the first time will automatically receive the updated version from the Chrome download page. An update for the iOS browser app is expected soon.
Tag: Chrome
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MacBook Pro Users Express Concerns About Limited Battery Life
A subset of users who purchased a new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar claim to be experiencing shorter than expected battery life.
In particular, some users claim to be getting as little as 3 to 6 hours of battery life on a single charge, or between 30% and 60% of the up to 10 hours advertised.
MacRumors forum member SRTM said:
Currently I’m powering a 1080p external monitor and casually browsing with Chrome. At full charge, I’m getting an estimate of 3 hours battery life. With gaming it’s even less.
MacRumors forum member Aioriya said:
I bought a maxed out 13-inch Touch Bar model and I’ve been using it for about a week. With light use, I’ve been consistently getting around 5-6.5 hours when mainly browsing. Apple claims 10 hours wireless web but my battery has never lasted this long.
Reddit user Azr-79 yesterday claimed his new base model 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar received only 3 hours and 45 minutes of battery life on a single charge, despite what he described as “normal usage” in the form of web browsing, watching YouTube videos, and software development.
MacRumors forum member Scott claimed he experienced a 5 percentage point drop in battery life, from 10% to 5%, in just 12 minutes. Google Chrome, a known battery hog, was listed as the only app drawing significant power. The discussion topic he posted in and others are littered with similar claims of sizeable percentage drops in mere minutes.
Other claims on Reddit include anywhere from 3 hours to 5 hours to 6 hours — sometimes more, and sometimes less.
Conversely, some users report battery life exactly in line with Apple’s advertised figures. Reddit user Andrew J., for example, said he was working on non-intensive tasks on his new MacBook Pro for 90 straight minutes, and still had 92% battery life with an estimated 10 hours and 35 minutes of usage remaining.
I’ve been working non-stop for the past 1.5 hours, back and forth between emails, Safari, Calendar, Messages, organizing files, editing some PDFs in Adobe Acrobat DC, and building a financial model in Excel. I started at 100% and am now at 92% battery, with an estimated 10 hours 35 minutes remaining. If you’re not getting this kind of battery life on your MBP you should definitely get it checked out.
Estimates unsurprisingly vary widely based on screen brightness, background processes, and other factors, so user reports are only anecdotal evidence and your mileage may vary. It is also important to note battery life could be initially reduced until Spotlight finishes indexing your new MacBook Pro.
Battery life complaints are nothing new following the launch of a new Apple product. However, some users speculate battery life could be impacted by the new MacBook Pro switching from more efficient integrated Intel graphics to the power-hungrier dedicated AMD Radeon Pro GPU for unnecessary tasks.
Once again, however, there are always claims to suggest otherwise. Reddit user Lebron Hubbard claims he received 5 hours and 48 minutes of battery life on his high-end built-to-order 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar when forcing only the dedicated AMD Radeon Pro 460 graphics to run using gfxCardStatus:
Even though the dGPU rarely kicks in for day to day stuff, the Radeon Pro 460 seems really efficient for small tasks. 5:48 is nothing to scoff at for dGPU only, and it runs very cool and quiet.
Apple’s built-in Activity Monitor and third-party app coconutBattery are useful tools for tracking system processes and detailed battery information.
Apple officially says the new MacBook Pro is rated for up to 10 hours of battery life. Specifically, its tech specs page says all new 13-inch and 15-inch models are capable of up to 10 hours of wireless web browsing, up to 10 hours of iTunes movie playback, and up to 30 days of standby time on a single charge.
TechCrunch placed battery life at 9 hours and 35 minutes for the 13-inch model. Mashable said 10 hours is a fair estimate overall. The Wall Street Journal got 9.5 hours on the 13-inch model. Engadget gauged between 9 and 10 hours of video playback on the 15-inch model. Nilay Patel got 5.5 hours on the 13″ in real-world use.
Apple explains how it performs its battery tests on its website:
The wireless web test measures battery life by wirelessly browsing 25 popular websites with display brightness set to 12 clicks from bottom or 75%. The iTunes movie playback test measures battery life by playing back HD 1080p content with display brightness set to 12 clicks from bottom or 75%. The standby test measures battery life by allowing a system, connected to a wireless network and signed in to an iCloud account, to enter standby mode with Safari and Mail applications launched and all system settings left at default.
Apple’s website also provides tips for maximizing battery life on the MacBook Pro, including updating to the latest version of macOS, optimizing Energy Saver settings in System Preferences, dimming the screen’s brightness to the lowest comfortable level, and turning off Wi-Fi while not connected to a network.
Additional battery optimization advice provided by users includes performing a fresh install of macOS Sierra and resetting the SMC.
Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Tag: battery life
Buyer’s Guide: MacBook Pro (Buy Now)
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Origin PC Evo 15-S review – CNET
The Good This slim, modern-looking laptop has VR-ready graphics, and enough ports to plug in all the accessories PC gaming often requires. Origin PC has a great rep for service and support.
The Bad The minimalist laptop body lacks personality, and its power button is poorly placed. You can find other laptops with the same Nvidia graphics card for less. The display is non-touch, and limited to standard full-HD resolution.
The Bottom Line The Origin PC Evo 15-S shows a premium gaming laptop, even a VR-ready one, doesn’t have to be a backbreaker.
Configure at Origin PC.
For a long time, gaming laptops have been too big, too heavy and too ugly. At least over the past few years, the gaming power in these semiportable rigs has closed the gap with gaming desktops, but for the most part these laptops were were still back-breaking monsters. The big change over the last two years is that PC makers have finally decided it was time to work on the look and feel of these systems, and that’s put us much closer to achieving my dream gaming laptop.
The Origin PC Evo 15-S is one of this new generation of gaming laptops that slim down, while running graphics cards powerful enough to work with virtual reality hardware, such as the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. Razer was a trailblazer in this category, and mainstream brands like Alienware are catching up. Now even Origin PC, a boutique PC builder known for massive no-compromise systems, has a slim 15-inch gaming laptop with one of Nvidia’s new GeForce 1060 GPUs inside.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
It’s a break from the traditional look of the many Origin PC laptops we’ve tested or reviewed previously, even if the overall look of this matte black laptop chassis is a bit generic. That’s because boutique PC builders like Origin PC, Falcon Northwest and others typically don’t design and produce laptop bodies — which is a very expensive endeavor only a handful of big PC makers can take on. Instead they take off-the-shelf bodies from component suppliers such as MSI (which also sells its own systems direct to the public), and tweaks and fine-tunes the components and software to create a custom gaming masterpiece. (Interestingly, Origin PC has designed a couple of custom desktop PC designs, the Chronos and Millennium, and both are excellent.)
By choosing this slim body for the basis of the Evo 15-S, Origin PC sets itself up nicely to provide excellent gaming power, reasonable design and portability, and very importantly, enough connectivity. The Achilles’ heel of many slimmer laptops aimed at power users is the lack of ports. Especially when hooking up VR gear, in addition to a mouse and/or gamepad, you’re going to need a lot of ports, and not just a couple of USB-C ones, as offered by the latest MacBook Pro.
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The Evo 15-S, compared to larger gaming laptops from Origin PC and Asus.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Pay to play
Of course, you’re going to pay a premium for packing this kind of power into a slim, well-built laptop. The Evo 15-S is offered in a single basic configuration, with a Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor, 16GB of RAM, a fast 256GB PCIe SSD combined with a big 2TB hard drive (but note it’s a 5,400 rpm drive), and the new Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 graphic card, which is essentially the same part whether you get it in a laptop or desktop. That very capable combination of parts runs $2,099, which is more than some other laptops with that new Nvidia 1060 cost. For the UK or Australia, the company can provide a custom quote, and the US price converts to about £1,659 or AU$2,816, but there may be a hefty shipping fee and additional taxes.
Origin PC Evo 15-S
| $2,099 |
| 15-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 display |
| 2.6GHz Intel Core i7-6700HQ |
| 16GB DDR4 SDRAM 2,400MHz |
| Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 |
| 256GB SSD + 2TB HDD |
| 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Micorsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit) |
The newly redesigned Alienware 15 or even a stock version of this from MSI can cost a few hundred less, but the Origin PC version doubles the storage to 2TB compared to those other two. Other interesting options include the Alienware 13, which has the same CPU and GPU, but adds a higher-res OLED touchscreen for the same $2,099. That’s a really fun system, but suffers from a lack of ports. You could also go whole-hog and get a big 17-inch Eon-17X from Origin PC, it’s flagship gaming laptop. We’ve tested one of these impressive beasts recently and it’s very powerful, but has a more old-school design.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
The Evo 15-S shares a design sensibility with the classic 15-inch MacBook Pro, although it’s closer in size to the recently retired version than the new slimmer Touch Bar model. It has a minimalist interior, with an expansive wrist rest and large touch pad, but also has a grille for airflow above the keyboard. Cooling is clearly important here, there are also vents on either side and a slightly raised felt-like cover on the bottom, giving the bottom fan vents a little more room to breath.
It’s also surprisingly light, just about 4.3 pounds, versus 4.0 pounds for the new 15-inch MacBook Pro.
RayVio Ellie UV Sterilizing Pod Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
In today’s world of blogs and WebMD, we all know how we’re supposed to parent. But after a few months, or years, or kids, not everything feels life-or-death important. We’ll give the 1-year-old a blanket at night; we’ll feed the 6-month-old formula that’s been at room temperature for an hour; and yes, we’ll use our own mouths to “clean” off the binky junior just chucked on the floor for the ninth time.
A lot of us feel guilty or anxious when we do things we know aren’t “ideal.” But RayVio, a company whose Indiegogo project has reached nearly twice its $40K goal so far, is proposing a solution to at least one of those anxieties: the $130 Ellie UV Sterilizing Pod. The question is, does every anxiety need a solution?
RayVio
Honestly, RayVio’s Ellie UV Sterilizing Pod does appeal to me for a few reasons. First, the tech behind it is compelling: put anything inside Ellie’s lunchbox-size compartment, and high-powered UV LEDs flip on, killing, the company claims, 99.99% of harmful bacteria on it in about 60 seconds. Cool, right?
Second, I’m a new parent, and just keeping track of pacifiers is hard enough. Plus, cleaning them often entails extra stress and time away from the kiddo. To toss all my son’s paraphernalia in a device that cleans it for me would be super helpful.
Of course, the Ellie doesn’t actually clean the stuff. Maybe I’m particularly lazy, but boiling my son’s binkies isn’t the end of the world — it’s the constant scrubbing of bottles to get nasty formula out. And while a sterilizer is well suited to disinfecting bottles growing bacteria, no amount of UV light will clean the gunk out of those bottles. So practically, the Ellie isn’t going to change parents’ daily routines much.
And that’s the problem with the Ellie: it impresses at first brush, but the details destroy that shiny first impression. Suddenly, you have to find room for a lunchbox-size container in your already-overstuffed diaper bag. And you have to find room in your already stretched-thin budget to drop an extra $130. And those aren’t even the biggest problem.
My most serious question regarding the Ellie is whether killing all the bacteria on pacifiers is a good thing. Just a quick online search will yield dozens of articles talking about the immune system benefits kids get when their parents just clean off the binky with their mouth. That’s right: what you thought was just laziness might actually be good parenting.
Looking for baby shower gifts? Check these out.
- An app-connected baby monitor
- The best sleeper on the market
- A clever infant tub to make bathtime a breeze
- An ear thermometer that keeps parents in the know
And this raises a broader question. Should the response to parental anxiety be (1) research to find the best solution for the child’s health, or (2) devices designed to assuage parents’ anxieties? The Ellie seems to represent the latter, not the former. Personally, I’d like to see empirical evidence supporting its use before shelling out cash on a device like the Ellie, or recommending anyone else do so.
RayVio plans to ship the Ellie UV Sterilizing Pod by April 2017 — a goal to be taken with a grain of salt, as with all crowdfunded project goals. The tech behind the Ellie seems promising, but I’d like a little more evidence of its health benefits for kids before recommending it.
Acer Iconia One 10 (B3-A30) review – CNET
The Good The Acer Iconia One 10 is cheap, has clear-sounding front-facing speakers and an expandable microSD card slot.
The Bad The screen looks pixelated. It’s clunky to use and feels flimsy to hold.
The Bottom Line If you’re strapped for cash, the Acer Iconia One 10 is one of the most affordable 10-inch tablets to get, however if you want a good tablet, you’ll need to spend more
The $129 Acer Iconia One 10 reminds me of the $50 Amazon Fire tablet ; it’s not good, but it’s good for the price.
It’s a lot cheaper than any iPad and $100 less than another cheap 10-incher, the Amazon Fire HD 10 ($230), which has the same screen resolution. The $200 Lenovo Tab 2 A10 is the next best thing, offering a sharper screen but not much else.
Acer Iconia One 10 is easy on the wallet,…
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The Acer’s front-facing speakers are a great addition (since most tablets have them on their edges, making them easy to block) and they sound crisp and clear for movie dialogue. Unfortunately, like most tablets, heavy bass in music sounds muddled.
The front-facing speakers direct sound toward you.
Josh Miller/CNET
Its sub-par screen makes it a less desirable candidate for anyone interested in using it to watch a lot of video. HD video just doesn’t look as sharp as it should and pixels stand out like a fresh pimple on a forehead. Also, its maximum brightness level is on the dim side and the screen is very prone to reflection.
For a tablet as cheap as the Acer Iconia One 10, I the lackluster build quality didn’t surprise me. The plastic back and the angular design looks kind of cheap and it it feels like it might break if you squeeze it too tight.
I’ve seen better-looking tablets.
Josh Miller/CNET
The tablet runs smoothly when doing basic, casual tasks, like checking email and browsing the web, but big games like Hearthstone and Asphalt 8 take their time to load. Once loaded, the games run rather smoothly, save for some slow frame rates if downloading apps or files in the background.
Twist crams most of the world into a single charging adapter
An all-in-one travel charger for your mobile tech.
Travelling to another country and realizing that single travel charger you brought isn’t nearly enough for your phone and watch and tablet may be the ultimate First World Problem to some, but the truth is travelling with multiple international chargers quickly fills your travel bag. UK chargers are much larger than US chargers, for example, and the adapters don’t help a ton.
Twist is an interesting new solution that is especially useful for anyone who travels between multiple power systems, but it’s also not bad if all you want is a good 4-port USB charger.
The concept is fairly simple. You have a big white barrel capable of outputting 20W/4A across 4 USB ports, with a twisting mechanism in the center that allows you to switch between US, Europe, and UK charging pins. You can also tweak the US charging pins so they match the Australian format.
The only thing stopping me from using this every day is how big it is compared to a traditional US charging adapter, but it’s absolutely earned a spot in my travel bag due to how light and simple it is.
For $40 on Amazon, you’re getting what you pay for. This is a little more expensive than some of the manual 2-port adapters, which is to be expected. It’s unlikely to be something you use every day, but as someone who travels with a lot of USB tech this is a welcomed way to save space in my bag.
See on Amazon
ICYMI: Crowdsourcing the space poop problem
Today on In Case You Missed It: NASA and HeroX are asking for help from the public to try to create a bathroom that can be used for up to six days, inside space suits. Previously astronauts have worn diapers during missions in space suits, but that’s only a short-term solution that won’t work for the US goal to get to Mars. You can read more about the request here.
Meanwhile, we took a deep dive into physics with the news about a far-off star’s magnetic field and how it may have proven the theory of Quantum electrodynamics. If you’re interested in the first art installation created in space, you can find out more here. The Russian resupply mission that failed is here.
Whatever you do, tell your tech friends about the Internet Archive’s efforts to duplicate itself, just in case something goes terribly wrong with the Trump Administration. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ESA will fund ExoMars 2020 despite Schiaparelli’s demise
The ExoMars mission will live on despite the Schiaparelli’s lander unfortunate mishap. At a meeting in Switzerland, European Space Agency’s member countries have agreed to set aside €436 million ($464 million) to make ExoMars 2020 a reality. That’s the second part of the mission that arrived on Mars this year, and it aims to land a rover on the red planet in 2021 to drill into the Martian surface and extract samples from various depths.
The agency has loads of work ahead, especially since Schiaparelli was designed to demonstrate and test out the rover’s landing system. As you know, it unfortunately crashed before touching down and even went missing for a while. Jan Worner, ESA’s director general, says he’s very confident his team can do it. “We need to work hard because it’s not only some rover, we have the payloads from different sources — all of this has to pack together. It’s not an easy thing, but we are confident that we will succeed.”
According to TechCrunch, $362 million will come from both ESA and its mission partner Roscosmos, but the European agency has to provide the remaining amount. As a result, ESA had to cancel one of its projects: the Asteroid Impact Mission, which was supposed to slam probes against an asteroid to see what would happen.
Via: TechCrunch, New Scientist
Source: ESA (1), (2)
Six amazing all-electric motorcycles
Zero-emissions cars are popping up left and right, but motorcycle design has been a little late to the game. Yet, all-electric motorcycles and are zooming down the streets in increasing numbers. With varying engine sizes, charging times and driving ranges, each new electric motorcycle that hits the market offers something unique. From far-out futuristic designs that look like something Batman would ride to bikes that could have driven off a Star Wars set, cutting-edge electric motorcycles have broken the early trend that suggested EVs ought to look like dorkier versions of their fossil fuel counterparts. Other electric motorcycles target ambitious performance standards — from blistering top speeds to longer driving ranges and even some fun features like built-in LED effects.
BMW Motorrad VISION NEXT 100
Leave it to BMW to create an electric motorcycle fit for the world’s most popular superhero. The self-balancing BMW Motorrad VISION NEXT 100 is an all-electric, zero emissions ride that looks like it was designed for Batman himself than your average biker, with a sleek, matte black frame and futuristic style. Unveiled last month in Los Angeles, BMW’s newest electric motorcycle features a triangular design similar to the luxury automaker’s previous bikes, but this time it is comprised mostly of carbon fiber and polished aluminum. The Motorrad’s ability to stand on its own aids in the ride’s stability and safety — BMW is even suggesting that riders can go without a helmet. While we wouldn’t recommend that approach, BMW created a smart visor for the rider to wear, which replaces both the windshield and rearview mirrors while enabling the rider to access navigational data and other information on bike performance.
AP Works Light Rider
The world’s first 3D-printed electric motorcycle came hot off the presses earlier this year. Light Rider was created by APWorks, a subsidiary of Airbus, and the fully electric bike boasts a 37-mile range and a top speed of 50 miles per hour. The prototype sports a frame that looks more akin to an alien skeleton than a standard cycle, and it weighs only 13 pounds — around 30 percent less than the average e-bike. With the motor and all its wiring hidden inside the casing, this bike looks like something straight out of a science fiction film. Only 50 of these futuristic high-end bikes will be created, and each will be sold for a whopping $56,000.
Concept Honda Chopper
A few years back, someone created a concept motorcycle that would get the attention of any Stormtrooper in its vicinity. The Honda Chopper stems from the mind of designer Peter Norris, who typically works in video games. The Chopper concept calls for a different approach to motorcycling, and Honda seems like the carmaker that might be able to get away with a launch of something this wild. With electric motors mounted right on the wheels, the Chopper has a lower center of gravity than the standard motorcycle, which lends to its stability and handling. No word on whether Honda R&D is actually considering production on such a thing, but the concept is pretty intriguing.
Johammer J1
The Johammer J1 electric motorcycle has promised to do what none before could deliver: 125 miles of all-electric range on a single charge. The bike is able to exceed the energy storage capacity of the average e-bike thanks to a larger, enclosed compartment for its larger batteries. Manufactured in small quantities in Austria, the Johammer J1 runs on high-density batteries created specifically for this all-electric cycle. The e-bike initially sold for $31,860.
Voxan Wattman
Upon its release in 2013, the Voxan Wattman was known as the world’s most powerful electric motorcycle, thanks to its 12.8kWh battery pack. The all-electric motorcycle can go from zero to 60 mph in a mere 3.4 seconds for a quick, emissions-free getaway. Perhaps one of its best features, though, is that the battery can be fully charged in about half an hour – and that gives the bike a range of around 111 miles. Launched as a concept bike, the Voxan Wattman was primed to take on the motorcycle market, but the company dropped the project after it was plagued by a host of complications.
The Tron Lightcycle
In 2011 Parker Brothers Choppers created the Lightcycle: an all-electric motorcycle that doubles as a moving light show. Outfitted with an array of LEDs, the Lightcycle is capable of traveling as fast as 100mph and has a 100-mile driving range after just 35 minutes of charging time — but its makers insist that isn’t the point. The motorcycle’s contoured frame and wheels are all lined with glowing LEDs, which accent its hardened steel frame, and a carbon fiber and fiberglass body. Driving an emissions-free chopper like this at night would be a sure-fire attention-getter in any urban environment.
AIVAnet 