This is the first official image of the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1

Dell has already confirmed it would be releasing a new 2-in-1 version of the XPS 13 this year and it should be officially unveiled at CES 2017 this week. Fortunately, we already know what it will look like thanks to a leaked image on Dell’s Canadian website. The image confirms much of what we already expected, a similar design to the current XPS 13, but with a foldable screen so you can use it as a laptop, or as a big-screen tablet.

• Dell XPS 13 review (2015): To infinity and beyond

The 2017 XPS 13 retains the near bezel-free display of the current model, and is expected to have similar specs, including a dual-core Kaby Lake processor.

We’re already big fans of the current model, praising it’s standout display and powerful performance. Here’s hoping the new 2-in-1 model can be even better.

Windows Central speaks of a refresh of the XPS 15 as well, which is said to come with 4GB RAM, quad-core Kaby Lake processor and biometric authentication, such as a fingerprint scanner. It’s not clear if the 13-inch model will also get the extra level of security, but with CES 2017 just hours away, we don’t have long to find out.

‘Blade Runner’ fan project recreates a whole set in VR

If you’re a movie buff, you’ve probably wished that you could walk into a scene and explore it on your own terms. Well, so did software engineer Quentin Lengele — and he’s close to making his dream a reality. He recently released footage of Blade Runner 9732, a years-long project that sets out to recreate Blade Runner protagonist Rick Deckard’s apartment in virtual reality using the Unity engine. The effort models just about everything in obsessive (and to-scale) detail, right down to stray magazines and a view of the dystopic Los Angeles outside. And to no one’s surprise, it captures the movie’s all-important film noir lighting and sound environment.

There isn’t much work left at this point. Lengele mainly wants to spruce up the washroom and add a few more details. The biggest challenge is simply creating a modern VR experience. The creator only has a first-generation Oculus Rift developer kit, which isn’t going to cut it circa 2017 — he’ll need to try things out with a newer headset before you can walk through Deckard’s living room as easily as you would in real life. Even so, this might just give you something to do if the Blade Runner 2049 VR experience just doesn’t cut it. Let’s just hope that the copyright holders don’t mind the project’s existence, as we’ve seen what happens when they do.

Via: Road to VR

Source: Blade Runner 9732

Samsung unveils water-resistant Galaxy A phones with USB-C

After the Galaxy Note 7 debacle, Samsung can’t afford a product misstep this year, and it seems to have gotten off to a good start with the 2017 Galaxy A smartphones. The 5.2-inch A5 and 4.7-inch A3 are packed with new features for folks who don’t want to spend $800 on a phone, most notably fast-charging USB-C tech and a water-resistant metal body. As is becoming typical in this segment, both have better front and back cameras with faster autofocus and better low-light capabilities, giving them more appeal for the social media and selfie set.

The 2017 Galaxy A5 now has 16-megapixel f/1.9 front and rear cameras, 3GB of RAM compared to 2GB last year, a faster 1.9GHz octa-core processor and a slightly larger 3,000 mAh battery with fast USB-C charging. As before, it packs a metal, glass-backed body, but it now has IP68 water and dust resistance, meaning it’ll stand up to rain and dust, even though you can’t swim with it.

The new 720p Galaxy A3, meanwhile, has a 13-megapixel rear camera, as before, but now packs a larger front 8-megapixel selfie camera. RAM goes up from 1.5GB to 2.0GB and the battery is a slightly larger 2,350 mAh and fast-charging, again thanks to USB-C. Both devices now have “enhanced” MicroSD, letting you add up to 256GB of storage, along with Android 6, an always-on display and Samsung Pay support. You can get them in four colors: Black Sky, Gold Sand, Blue Mist and Peach Cloud.

The premium materials and new features should help them better fulfill their intended missions as camera and social-media platforms, but there’s a lot of competition in that price range: The Galaxy A3 runs €329 and the A5 is priced at €429 (around $350 and $450, respectively). For a bit more than the latter price, for instance, you could get a much faster OnePlus 3T, although that model doesn’t have MicroSD storage. Samsung didn’t specify UK pricing yet, but pre-orders open on January 20th. There’s no word on US availability.

Source: Samsung

Play Store carrier billing is now live for Airtel and Vodafone customers in India

You can now buy digital content on the Play Store with your carrier account.

In a bid to make it easier for customers to purchase digital content in India on the Play Store, Google has rolled out carrier billing to Airtel and Vodafone customers in the country. The company tested the waters with Idea last year, and now Airtel and Vodafone subscribers can buy apps, games, movies, and ebooks on the Play Store and bill it to their prepaid or postpaid accounts.

Paying through carrier billing is very straightforward. Select an app or game you want to purchase, choose payment methods, and tap the carrier option. If your number is set up for mobile payments, you will be able to buy content and charge it to your monthly bill if you’re a postpaid user, or use the talktime balance if you’re on a prepaid account.

Smog creates havoc in China on New Year’s Day

If you happen to be in northern China, your new year didn’t exactly get off to a grand start — and pollution is squarely to blame. Smog levels were serious enough that officials took drastic steps to curb emissions, shutting down large swaths of the transportation network. Tianjin, Beijing’s major neighboring city, both closed highways and cancelled over 300 flights at its airport. Beijing itself, meanwhile, axed 126 flights and stopped all buses running to nearby cities. The current conditions are expected to last until Thursday, too, so many of these closures could last for a while.

The disruptions follow smog problems that hit much of northern China starting in mid-December. At the time, officials closed legions of factories and restricted car travel.

As Reuters notes, smog alerts are relatively typical in northern China, where the winter cold has coal power plants working hard to meet demand. However, the pollution this time around was definitely bad — concentrations of harmful PM2.5 particles were about 50 times higher than World Health Organization guidelines. China has been eager to reduce pollution in recent years, but it’s clear that existing efforts haven’t been enough to prevent smog from causing serious disruptions.

Source: Reuters

Bill and Melinda Gates back an implant that could prevent HIV

You don’t have to wait until after an infection to fight HIV. A technique known as pre-exposure prophylaxis has you taking preemptive medicine on a regular basis, greatly reducing the chances that HIV will take root in the first place. Needless to say, such a treatment could change the world if done well — and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation wants to make sure that it’s as easy as possible. They’re investing $140 million in an Intarcia Therapeutics program that will develop an under-the-skin pump implant (you’re looking at it above) that will deliver a steady stream of anti-HIV drugs in 6- or 12-month batches. Instead of having to remember to take medicine every day, you’d only have to top up once or twice a year.

There’s also a variant of the pump targeted at type 2 diabetes. Intarcia started the paperwork on commercial use in November, so you could see it in use relatively soon.

Any practical implementation of the HIV pump is years away. Intarcia still has to settle on a drug to use, and there are regulations and similar hurdles to clear before it’s ready to use. If it’s deployed as promised, though, it could go a long way toward reducing the influence of HIV and AIDS in places like sub-Saharan Africa, where the virus remains a serious problem. Like with many medicines, the biggest challenge is simply getting people to take preventative drugs on a consistent basis — this would make it much less of a hassle. Cost is still a concern (will the medicine be inexpensive enough that wide distribution is practical?), but the technology is at least in place.

Via: Quartz

Source: Intarcia

Samsung concludes Note 7 investigation, will share its findings this month

We’ll finally get to know why the Note 7 blew up.

Shortly after discontinuing the Note 7 in October, Samsung launched an investigation to identify the root cause behind the fires. Samsung initially thought the battery was at fault, which is why it recalled the initial batch of Note 7 units and restarted sales with batteries from another supplier. When those phones also started to explode, the company had to discontinue the device altogether.

According to South Korean daily JoongAng Ilbo, Samsung has concluded its investigation, and will reveal the results of the probe by mid-January. A combination of factors is said to have contributed to the failure of the phone, and Samsung will be looking to share the findings as a way to regain much-need consumer trust and ensure it doesn’t do the same mistakes again.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7

• Galaxy Note 7 fires, recall and cancellation: Everything you need to know
• Survey results: Samsung users stay loyal after Note 7 recall
• Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review
• The latest Galaxy Note 7 news
• Join the Note 7 discussion in the forums!

Dell preps a 2-in-1 version of its iconic XPS 13 laptop

Dell’s XPS 13 has a loyal following for a good reason: it’s a solid mix of portability and speed framed by that eye-catching, near-borderless display. It’s ‘just’ a conventional laptop, however, which rules it out if you want a 2-in-1 like Lenovo’s Yoga series or HP’s Spectre x360. You won’t have to give up that design to get tablet functionality in the future, though, as a Dell product page discovered by Windows Central has spoiled the existence of an “XPS 13 2-in-1.” There’s little there beyond the name and an image, but it’s clear that Dell won’t be reinventing the wheel here — this really is the portable you’ve come to know, just reworked to let the display fold all the way for presentations.

If there aren’t any surprises, this should lead to familiar specs that include 7th-generation Core processors with integrated graphics, solid-state drives and a bevy of ports. As for a release date and price? There aren’t any big clues, but Dell has a habit of debuting gear at CES, which is just days away. And it’s reasonable to presume that the necessary touchscreen will raise the price above Dell’s current $800 starter model. You’ll be paying a premium for the privilege of an ideal Netflix viewing machine.

Via: Windows Central

Source: Dell

France gives you legal permission to avoid work email

New Year’s Day 2017 isn’t just a chance to reflect on the past and plan for the future… in France, it’s a new lease on life for many workers. As of January 1st, the country has enacted a law that requires companies with over 50 employees to negotiate times when staff have the right to ignore email and other communications. If there’s a deal, your employer can’t punish you for refusing to look at your messages beyond set hours. Does your manager need a spreadsheet update while you’re eating dinner? Too bad. And if there’s no deal, the company still has to explicitly outline expectations (and your rights) when you’re off the clock.

The deal isn’t completely revolutionary when numerous companies have binding deals that prevent them from messaging workers who’ve finished for the day. And there’s a possibility that at least some companies will squirm out of this legal obligation by refusing to compromise on expectations and settling for the charter. Technology firms in particular have worried that this might hurt their productivity (the internet runs 24/7, after all), especially for employees that want to put in extra time.

Still, it’s an important step in an era when many companies use smartphones to extract more hours from the rank and file. French companies will be more likely to respect your work/life balance — even if they don’t mark certain hours as off-limits, they can’t make unexpected requests that force you to drop everything. It could also reduce the pressure to prove your corporate loyalty by working whenever you’re asked.

Source: Guardian

Samsung goes overboard to make you care about laundry

Let’s be honest: it’s hard to get excited about laundry machines. Even when they have neat party tricks like Amazon refills and smartphone apps, it really boils down to one question: does it clean your clothes properly? Samsung thinks it can do enough to make you sit up and take notice, though. It’s unveiling a FlexWash + FlexDry laundry machine combo that includes both dual washers (which we’ve seen before) and dual dryers. You can completely clean your delicates without having to disrupt your main load, for instance, or run up to four loads at once if it’s particularly busy.

Samsung isn’t leaning solely on those extra compartments in its bid to win you over. You can control the cycles of both appliances through a smartphone app, and the washer has a couple of aces up its sleeve. A SuperSpeed mode can shrink the wash cycle down to 30 minutes in the right conditions, and a foam deep cleaning technique (a mix of air, detergent and water) is reportedly good enough to tackle bulkier items.

There’s no mention of pricing or ship dates, which suggests that you could be waiting months to install the FlexWash + FlexDry pair in your home. Nonetheless, it’s a clever approach that might make Samsung’s exploding washers feel like a distant memory.

Source: Samsung Newsroom