‘Shovel Knight’ is coming to the Nintendo Switch

If you still can’t get enough of Shovel Knight, don’t fret because even more is on its way. And for a new platform — the Nintendo Switch. There’s a bunch of other news from Yacht Club Games as well.

First up: Shovel Knight is getting renamed to Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove. The swap in nomenclature represents everything that’s changed about the game since its launch, like adding new campaigns, two player co-op (coming to all consoles aside from 3DS and Vita) and a few other new features. Beyond that, when Treasure Trove launches, you’ll be able to start each campaign independent from finishing the main game. Previously, you had to beat the first game to unlock access to the expansions.

What’s more, the base game has been renamed to Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope to bring a bit of uniformity to how all the campaigns are named. Beyond that is the news that this year will see a story featuring King Knight and Battle Mode. Yacht Club promises that the update process will be a smooth one for existing owners and that all the new stuff will be added free of charge via software updates.

And speaking of cost, this spring Shovel Knight will go up in price. Yacht Club didn’t elaborate how much, however, but teased that picking up individual expansion packs might be cheaper than buying the game outright. Hrm. For any other questions, the studio says to ask away and it’ll try answering them on this FAQ page.

Source: Yacht Club Games (1), (2)

The moon may have formed from a group of smaller moonlets

A study published in the journal Nature Geoscience this week suggests an alternate history for Earth’s celestial companion. According to the researchers behind the study, the moon isn’t just one large space rock, but 20 or so smaller “moonlets” made of matter that was blasted away from Earth in a series of impacts and merged together over time into the moon we have now.

As the Washington Post reports, the new study by planetary scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel is a big departure from the previously accepted “giant impact model.” That model claims a hypothetical protoplanet called Theia smashed into the earth some 4.4 billion years ago, sending dust and debris into space that eventually formed the moon. That theory has fallen out of favor with scientists in recent years as researchers studying lunar samples from the Apollo missions have noticed they are remarkably similar to Earth’s chemical makeup. If a giant object did smash into the Earth, there should be some trace of it left in the moon, and as scientists try to account for the similarities, the model starts to become less plausible. Those same Apollo samples also put the moon’s age slightly older at 4.51 billion years old.

“Our model suggests that the ancient Earth once hosted a series of moons, each one formed from a different collision with the proto-Earth,” study co-author Hagai Perets told Smithsonian Magazine. “It’s likely that such moonlets were later ejected, or collided with Earth or with each other to form bigger moons.”

The moonlets theory has actually been around since the 1980s, but Perets and his colleagues are the first to create a working model and perform the 1,000 simulations necessary to demonstrate its possibility. As co-author Raluca Rufu told the Guardian, “with 20 impactors, it would take about 100 million years to build the moon.”

On the other hand, the study doesn’t explain how the moonlets came together to form one supermoon. The giant impact model also helps explain how the Earth got its tilted axis, which the new theory doesn’t account for. That said, the study’s authors believe more lunar samples could help clear up some of the mystery and expect to have more information once China starts exploring the dark side next year.

Via: Washington Post

Source: Nature Geoscience

Adobe wants you to Photoshop your future selfies using just your voice

Imagine a world where you ask your device to make you look 10 pounds skinner in some photo… and it can just do it.

We’ve all wished we could say our essays aloud and have them be written out in a document on our computer – no physical typing required from us. And while early versions of such software does exist, it’s not exactly perfect. Otherwise, we’d be writing this article right now with our voice. So, it’s no wonder many of us haven’t even begun to imagine what else we could do with our voice.

Currently, you can cue up a song on Amazon Alexa, find a place to eat on Google Home, and that’s about it. But what about editing that selfie you took earlier this morning or that unflattering family portrait from last Christmas? Well, Adobe Researchers have wondered the same thing. A digital assistant that can easily edit all your photos would be an absolute game changer for all the Kim Ks out there.

On Wednesday, Adobe Research unveiled (via a video posted to YouTube) a new project that the software company is developing. The video shows a version of an Adobe photo app equipped with a microphone button. Pressing the button appears to activate a digital assistant that can interact with the user and perform several editing functions, such as crop and reframe, all through voice commands.

Adobe has confirmed it’s exploring digital assistant photo-editing:

“To envision this, we combined the emerging science of voice interaction with a deep understanding of both creative workflows and the creative aspirations of our customers. Our speech recognition system is able to directly accept natural user voice instructions for image editing either locally through on-device computing or through a cloud-based Natural Language understanding service.  This is a first step towards a robust multimodal voice-based interface which allows our creative customers to search and edit images in an easy and engaging way using Adobe mobile applications.”

The video is only a proof of concept at this point, but based on the recent success (and expansion) of Amazon’s Alexa voice service, an Adobe assistant certainly seems plausible/realistic.

FBI allegedly paid Geek Squad for evidence

Last May, the defense in a child pornography trial alleged that the FBI used a member of electronics retailer Best Buy’s tech support team, Geek Squad, to peer into the accused’s computer on the hunt for evidence of child pornography. Since then, the defense’s lawyers revealed that the FBI had cultivated at least eight of the company’s IT handyfolk over a four-year period to serve as confidential informants, who all received some payment for turning over data. Obviously, this raises serious questions about whether sending devices into the repair shop forfeits a person’s right to privacy or unreasonable search and seizure.

The eight Geek Squad members in question worked in the tech support branch’s repair center in Brooks, Kentucky, servicing items sent in from all over the country. Technically, users sign consent to search over to Best Buy when they hand their devices over to get fixed. This includes fine print indicating that any evidence of child pornography would require the company to hand the device over to authorities.

But if the FBI paid each of its informants to pass along evidence they’d acquired in the course of their normal job, and plan to keep doing so in future cases, wouldn’t that make Best Buy’s employees functional agents of the bureau? A federal judge is allowing the case’s defense attorneys to explore that relationship between company and government which functionally allowed the FBI to bypass the need for a warrant or acquire specific consent to search. On the first day of the inquiry, an FBI agent’s testimony cast doubt on whether the initial image found by the Geek Squad member and informant technically qualified as child pornography to warrant bureau action.

Best Buy released a statement commenting on company policy and the case at hand:

“Best Buy and Geek Squad have no relationship with the FBI. From time to time, our repair agents discover material that may be child pornography, and we have a legal and moral obligation to turn that material over to law enforcement. We are proud of our policy and share it with our customers before we begin any repair.

“Any circumstances in which an employee received payment from the FBI is the result of extremely poor individual judgment, is not something we tolerate and is certainly not a part of our normal business behavior.

“To be clear, our agents unintentionally find child pornography as they try to make the repairs the customer is paying for. They are not looking for it. Our policies prohibit agents from doing anything other than what is necessary to solve the customer’s problem so that we can maintain their privacy and keep up with the volume of repairs.”

Via: BBC

Source: The Washington Post

PC shipments were still in the pits this holiday

So much for the PC world recovering from 2015’s holiday disaster. Both Gartner and IDC estimate that worldwide computer shipments were down year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2016. The decline wasn’t nearly as bad as it was a year ago (1.5 percent with IDC’s methodology, 3.7 percent with Gartner’s), but that’s not saying much — it just means that the industry didn’t stay in freefall for long. Just why things turned out so glum varies depending on who you ask, though.

IDC is optimistic, and sees this as a sign that the computer business is catching a break now that growth in smartphone and tablet sales is slowing down. Gartner, however, isn’t quite so cheerful. It sees the drop as evidence of “stagnation” and the shift in just how people buy PCs. While there’s fast growth among enthusiasts (think gamers and power users), that’s more than offset by the majority of ‘casual’ buyers who are holding off as they spend more time on their phones. If you only occasionally use your PC, you’re more likely to wait longer before replacing it.

There has been a bit of a shakeup among the leaders. While Lenovo, HP and Dell are still atop the ranks and gaining share, Apple appears to have made a slight recovery thanks to pent-up demand for a new MacBook Pro. The biggest losers were Acer, ASUS and a slew of smaller manufacturers.

The estimates also represent a milestone that the PC world would likely rather forget. It’s the fifth year in a row that shipments are down overall, at roughly 6 percent for both Gartner and IDC. Although there are signs that the market is leveling off, the data casts doubt on previous claims that the computer business is just facing an extended rough patch due to smartphones and slow-to-upgrade corporate customers. This sluggishness increasingly looks like the new normal, and there’s no obvious point at which demand is likely to bounce back.

Source: Gartner, IDC

Galaxy S7 dominates holiday sales, but Android loses ground to iOS in the U.S.

The iPhone is quickly on the way to dethroning Android’s dominance in the U.S., though the platform continues to thrive overseas.

Via Recode, Kantar WorldPanel released data that shows the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and the iPhone 6S accounted for about 31 percent of smartphone sales since Apple’s flagship launched in September 2016.

Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge were up next with 28.9 percent of sales, while Google’s Pixel managed a meager 1.3 percent. KantarWorld Panel refers to the Pixel’s numbers as “strong gains,” but it’s a wonder if it would have sold better had Verizon not confused consumers about its exclusivity.

It’s worth noting that Big Red also made some gains over the holiday:

“Verizon booked nearly a quarter of all US smartphone sales during the Black Friday period, playing a vital role for all brands, including Apple and Samsung.”

Despite the impressive sales of Samsung and Google’s devices, Android’s market share is slowly falling in the U.S. The platform has been on a consistent downturn for the past six quarters. It lost about five percent market share in the last year, though it still makes up about 55 percent of all U.S. smartphone sales.

Not surprisingly, Android is maintaining a strong presence in overseas markets, such as China. Chinese iPhone sales dipped below 20 percent during the same period, about five percent less compared to 2015. Kantar WorldPanel reports:

“Nearly 80% of all smartphones sold in Urban China during the three months ending November 2016 were Android, as local brands continued to dominate the market.”

Huawei represented about 25 percent of all Android smartphone sales in China, though the iPhone 7 was the best-selling device in Urban China, dethroning the Oppo R9.

How to get the Huawei Mate 9 at the best price using Jet.com

Jet.com is a website with tons of products and their goal is simple: saving you money. By opting out of certain online “luxuries”, you can end up spending less on your purchases.

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Google reveals when Android Wear 2.0 will arrive – and it’s soon

You’ll soon have new Android Wear software goodies to keep you busy.

It’s been eight months since Google announced the Android Wear 2.0 update for Android Wear devices, and a few months since it confirmed the software was delayed but would arrive by early 2017. Now, thanks to an email sent to developers, we know when it will release.

Android Police obtained an email sent to Android developers from Google. It specifically noted Android Wear 2.0 would launch “in early February 2017”, before listing items developers should know prior to updating their existing apps for the update. A screenshot of the email is available here. We’ve reached out to Google for a comment, but it’s already confirmed to ZDNet that the email is legit.

In other words, Android Wear 2.0 will definitely launch in early February, bringing a built-in Play Store, the ability for apps to connect to the internet through Wi-Fi (sans a nearby smartphone), new app launcher, support for complications on watch faces, and more. You can learn more about these features and everything else that will be new in Pocket-lint’s guide on the upcoming update.

• Google to launch two Android Wear watches in 2017, others also expected

Keep in mind several watch makers recently unveiled new Android Wear watches at CES 2017 in Las Vegas, so it makes sense that Google would hurry the release, as there hasn’t been any new devices to showcase the software until now.

Faraday Future impressed all the right people at CES

The world got its first look at the Faraday Future FF 91 SUV during a Las Vegas drag race last week. It was a fitting debut for a car that was designed and built in less than two years: It flew off the line in an event building, only to disappear out of sight a moment later. Everyone likes a good race, but for a company that’s recently been hit by financial troubles and departing executives, the race it started at CES needs to be a marathon.

A few days after its hyperbole-infused press conference in Vegas, the automaker announced it had secured more than 64,000 pre-orders of the FF 91, with priority reservations costing $5,000 a pop. That’s an impressive feat when you consider most of those orders are from people who watched a livestream and have never actually seen the luxury SUV in person. It was a defining moment for the company — so much so that after all the pomp and circumstance, Faraday Future might just make it after all.

As you walked into the press conference, it was hard not to think of the reports of the suppliers not getting paid. Open bars and extravagant backdrops are the norm at CES, but this seemed like something more. The holding area for the event’s attendees echoed Tesla’s launch events, with a generous spread of food and drink. Basically, it resembled a party where someone had accidentally invited a bunch of disheveled reporters, too. But once everyone was allowed into the main room with its stadium seating and huge on-stage screen, you had to wonder if maybe this was a sign of desperation. A company so concerned about recent articles that it was overcompensating.

But then I realized, this is the Faraday brand. It wants to exude luxury not just with the FF 91 but in everything it does. If you want the rich and famous to buy your car, you have to show them you’re as lavish as they are. That means playing by the rules of the uber-rich.

Although it’s mind-boggling that during its lengthy press event, Faraday never once talked about the price of its car (oh, and it will be pricey thanks to the breath-taking amount of technology crammed into the SUV). But as the old JP Morgan quote goes, “if you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it.”

What the company itself can’t afford is any sort of delay in the building of its Nevada factory. It not only has to put up the actual structure; it needs employees, machines, suppliers and shipping infrastructure. A hiccup in establishing any of those departments and its 2018 production timetable will get pushed to 2019 or later. If the FF 91 is delayed, the automaker will have to start refunding some of those deposits. Yes, it needs cash, but it also needs to be smart with it. Investors will be watching.

That includes the biggest backer of all. As the FF 91 officially rolled onto the stage for the first stage, the person behind the wheel was YT Jia, chairman and founder of LeEco. He never mentioned funding, but his appearance seemed to infer that Faraday would continue to be funded by Jia’s company. Or at least continue to have a very cozy relationship.

The press (myself included) spent most of the event rolling our eyes at the over-the-top extravaganza of the Faraday Future FF 91 unveiling. It didn’t help that the automaker’s financial and executive woes would cripple any company. For a startup building a car, they could be lethal. Those reports lingered in the minds of every reporter in attendance as the SUV failed to auto-park on stage. But the rest of the audience (not counting well-placed employees) — the ones with the money and clout to keep the automaker afloat — clapped and cheered.

At CES, the company seems to have impressed the millionaires and billionaires interested in a luxury SUV that makes the Model X look like an entry-level Honda CRV. Or at least 64,000 of them. That’s a huge win for the company. Of course it could still fail. Building a few prototypes is tough, but scaling that to mass production while building your own factory from the ground up is nearly impossible. CES helped Faraday immensely. If things continue like this for the company, it has an excellent shot putting a car on the road.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2017.

UPDATE: Original article noted that factory was being built in Arizona. It is actually being built in Nevada.

Alphabet dropped its plan for solar-powered internet drones

Wondering what happened to Google’s solar internet drone project? Unfortunately, we don’t have good news. An Alphabet spokesperson has confirmed to 9to5Google that its X division quietly dropped the Titan project shortly after it folded into X in late 2015. It won’t surprise you as to why: Project Loon’s high-altitude balloons are a “much more promising” way of getting people online in remote locations, the company says. Staffers who were working on Titan have found their way into other “high flying” initiatives, such as Project Loon and Project Wing. You can read the full statement below.

It’s a move you might well have seen coming. Titan’s 2015 drone crash was bad enough, but there were also reports of problems with both transmitting 5G data as well as a low budget. Also, there’s the simple matter of technology: a balloon can stay relatively stationary compared to a drone aircraft, and shouldn’t be as likely to fail since there are fewer parts to break.

Finances also help. Now that many former Google projects have to operate separately under the Alphabet umbrella, they’re under greater pressure to turn their ambitious ideas into practical, profit-driven concepts. And that means that Alphabet is more likely to shutter initiatives that are either running into trouble or redundant, which is certainly the case here.

“The team from Titan was brought into X in late 2015. We ended our exploration of high altitude UAVs for internet access shortly after. By comparison, at this stage the economics and technical feasibility of Project Loon present a much more promising way to connect rural and remote parts of the world. Many people from the Titan team are now using their expertise as part of other high flying projects at X, including Loon and Project Wing.”

Via: Business Insider

Source: 9to5Google