Makeblock’s Lego-like ‘Neuron’ teaches kids robotics and code

Makeblocks, a company known for kid-friendly robotics and DIY hovercraft-drones, is launching a new gadget-building platform called Neuron. It’s like Lego meets Littlebits — you get over 30 blocks with different functions that kids can snap together and then program to create science experiments or gadgets like an internet-connected cat feeder. The system is platform agnostic, the company says, so it can work with products like Lego and even Microsoft’s Cognitive Services AI platform.

There are six kits available: Explorer, Explorer Pro, Light Wizard, Science Lab, Smart Life and All-in-One. Each is equipped with basic blocks like a light sensor and adjustment knob, with the different kits featuring specialized blocks geared toward a child’s interests, like cold cathode, WiFi and camera blocks. Others include a voice sensor, Bluetooth, ultrasonic and display module.

Once your kit is set up, you can program it using Makeblock’s mBlock, a graphical and flow-based programming system, with “no prior coding knowledge necessary,” the company says. It also promises steady updates to allow for new projects and capabilities. mBlock is based on Scratch 2.0, a code teaching program, so it should be easy for kids who’ve done some Arduino programming to pick up.

Other features include remote control via WiFi (letting kids water plants or feed pets via a smartphone), high durability, third-party software (including Microsoft’s Cognitive Services AI platform) and Lego compatibility, presumably letting you marry Neuron with Mindstorms, or at least use Lego blocks as structural elements in projects.

The Makebot Neuron project is launching on Kickstarter starting at $69, meaning you’re taking a mild risk ordering it. However, the Shenzhen, China-based company says its products are in over 25,000 schools, and it has done a bunch of successful Kickstarter campaigns, including the mBot robot building kit (above), Codeybot code-teaching robot and Airblock drone-cum-hovercraft, which garnered $830,000 by itself.

Source: Makeblock

Russia-backed malware can now target Macs

The state-backed Russian group accused of hacking the Democratic National Committee appears to be expanding its repertoire. Bitdefender Labs researchers have obtained a sample of a Mac-native variant of Xagent, the backdoor malware linked to Russia’s APT28 (aka Fancy Bear or Strontium). The code not only allows swiping passwords and capturing screenshots, but includes a module that can swipe iOS device backups created by iTunes. While it’s easy to encrypt those backups, this theoretically gives intruders a chance at snooping on iPhone data without having to compromise the iPhone itself.

As for the evidence? The modules in the Mac variant of Xagent show a “number of similarities” to the components for Linux and Windows, Bitdefenders says. The malware’s command-and-control addresses are also eerily similar to the ones APT28 uses for another malware tool, Komplex.

There’s still a lot left to be uncovered. The security team only has the malware itself, not a full picture of how an attack works — Komplex, which infects Macs through a hole in the notorious MacKeeper antivirus kit, is one possible vector. It’s also unclear what other modules are available. Either way, this isn’t exactly comforting for Mac users who may find themselves in Russia’s crosshairs. It’s possible to protect against Xagent (Bitdefender says its AV software will work, and others likely will too), thankfully. The concern is that Russia might have already used the malware, or that it may target people who are unaware of the threat.

Via: CSO

Source: Bitdefender Labs

HTC’s mobile VR headset won’t be a copycat

HTC is quickly establishing itself as a virtual reality-focused company, and that’s evident with its plans to enter the mobile VR arena. In an interview with CNET, company CFO Chia-lin Chang has revealed that it’s launching a mobile VR headset in 2017 (teased last year) that is “not a phone slapped onto a headset.” It’s not just another spin on the familiar Gear VR or Daydream View formulas, to put it another way. The exec drew parallels to the Vive, which targets the high end of the PC-based VR space.

Given the Vive’s relative success (it managed to upstage the Oculus Rift to a degree), it’s not surprising that HTC would bet on conquering mobile VR as well. The question is whether or not this bet on VR will work. Although the Vive has helped stem the bleeding, HTC is still losing money — a second headset isn’t guaranteed to bring the company back to profitability. It’s still too soon to tell how large the VR market will get, and HTC may end up becoming the champion of a category that never truly reaches the mainstream.

Source: CNET

Apple Begins Selling D-Link’s HomeKit-Enabled ‘Omna’ HD Camera With 180º Lens

D-Link today announced that its new Omna 180 Cam HD Camera, unveiled at CES 2017 last month, is now available to purchase at Apple.com for $199.95.

The cylindrical Omna 180 Cam HD features a 1080p camera with a 180-degree field of view, a built-in microphone and speaker with two-way audio, infrared night vision up to 16 feet, and motion detection with the option to record motion-triggered video clips directly to a microSDXC card up to 128GB with no subscription costs.

HomeKit support enables users to control the Omna 180 Cam HD with an iPhone or iPad through Apple’s Home app on iOS 10. When the camera detects motion, users can receive Lock screen notifications to get a snapshot of what’s happening in their homes. The camera can also trigger Scenes with other HomeKit products.

D-Link said the Omna 180 Cam HD Camera will also be available to purchase at Apple retail stores around the world later this month.

Tags: HomeKit, Apple retail, D-Link
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Huawei and Pantone collaborate to give products a splash of colour

Huawei has confirmed it has partnered up with The Pantone Colour Institute to “feature the latest colour trends in Huawei’s upcoming product launches”. The partnership has been created to help Huawei’s new products, most notably and likely the P10 and P10 Plus, stand out from the crowd and allow users to “express themselves to the world around them”.

• Huawei P10 and Watch 2 confirmed, announced during MWC on 26 February

Huawei has been teasing information, including confirming the P10’s existence, on its Twitter account and lately has been making several references to different colours. Particular reference has been made to green – Greenery is Pantone’s colour of the year 2017 – blue and gold. No prizes for guessing which colours the P10 will be available in.

• Huawei P10 and P10 Plus: Release date, rumours and everything you need to know
• Huawei P10 video render shows more rounded edges and front-mounted home button
• Mobile World Congress 2017: Nokia, Sony, Huawei, smartphones and more

Huawei has said more details about the partnership and the products to benefit from it will be announced at its press conference on the 26 February, a day before Mobile World Congress kicks off. We’re also due to the P10 officially unveiled, alongside the Huawei Watch 2, which should come running Android Wear 2.0 out-the-box.

Panasonic will update top-tier 2016 televisions to support hybrid log gamma

There’s a lot of chatter in HDR land about a new format called hybrid log gamma, or HLG to its friends. 

Hybrid log gamma is a new system for high dynamic range that’s been co-developed by the BBC and it could be a future solution for broadcast HDR. While the regular HDR10 and Dolby Vision work when you’re streaming a big budget movie or the latest blockbuster series from Netflix, but HLG is designed to be backward compatible, not require a complete change in workflow and be easy for studios to adopt.

Additionally, HLG doesn’t require any specific hardware – as Dolby Vision does – meaning its a format that’s fairly easy to add to existing TVs.

• What is Hybrid Log Gamma and why should you care?

So 2017 is rapidly turning to the year of HLG announcements, with Panasonic confirming that it will be adding support for the format to its top-tier 2016 TVs (e.g., DX750, DX802, DX902). This might not happen in all territories and there’s no confirmed timeframe, but it is happening.

That is in addition to the new 2017 TVs that will support HLG, meaning you’re well placed should the format be adopted by broadcasters.

The BBC has already run some HLG trials and LG was vocal of its support when it announced its new OLED televisions at CES 2017; Sony has subsequently also confirmed that it is going to be updating its 2016 TVs, as well as including support in new 2017 sets.

All we really need is some actual content and Panasonic has a solution there too, as the new Lumix GH5 is the first camera that will capture content in HLG format.

• What is HDR, what TVs support HDR, and what HDR content can I watch?

Pansonic’s All Connected audio vision explored: Much improved multi-room audio

Panasonic has taken the wraps off its new range of audio products, that join the company’s All Connected multi-room streaming platform.

The new products include a one-box hi-fi micro system, slimline, wall-mountable all-in-one sound system and a new soundbar with wireless subwoofer.

Panasonic has undergone extensive research and testing with the three to not only improve the sound quality, but the whole user experience, ease of use and ultimately synchronisation with other products in its repertoire.

We were invited to a private listening session of the new products, to see how things have changed and to hear about Panasonic’s audio plans going forward.

Panasonic PMX-152 connected micro hi-fi system

We started with the PMX-152 [pictured above], which is the succeeding model to the PMX-100 micro hi-fi system.

At £549 it’s not cheap, but Panasonic believes the sound quality and list of features more than justifies its price. It’s the first Panasonic CD micro hi-fi system to benefit from the company’s CD High-Res Master feature which claims to up-sample CD audio to high-resolution quality.

MP3 Re-Master and Bluetooth Re-Master technologies also aim to deliver the best possible sound from compressed sources.

The 152 is compatible with other All Connected multi-room speakers too, and Panasonic says it’s tapping into a segment of the multi-room market that nobody is currently filling, or at least filling well.

Sonos may be the name that first comes to mind when you think of multi-room, but it relies on integrated music streaming services or an external source via line-in when connected to a Control or Control:Amp.

Panasonic’s system lets you stream music via DLNA, AirPlay or Spotify Connect over Wi-Fi to other products, but can also re-stream external sources via Bluetooth. For example, you can play a CD on the PMX-152 and it can be streamed to another speaker in the same room, or even one in the kitchen. Although it does rely on Bluetooth, so the other product(s) will need to be in range.

Volume levels for all speakers or systems in a group can be controlled together or individually, but for now you can only play the same song on all speakers rather than separate ones in different rooms.

Panasonic SC-HC1020 connected lifestyle hi-fi system

Panasonic

The SC-HC1020 is Panasonic’s lifestyle hi-fi system, serving up a slim design that can be wall mounted if you don’t have a surface to put it on, or just prefer the overall look. The new model has received more external design changes than internal upgrades, and now sports a more symmetrical design compared to its predecessor.

Panasonic has also developed a new wall-mount sound mode, that noticeably changes the sound from it being placed on a surface, to on a wall.

When on a surface, it delivers a sound with a generous amount of bass weight, while keeping the vocals clear. Move it to a wall and that bass weight becomes a bit overpowering, turn the wall mount mode on however and a fair amount of it disappears. You’re left with a clear, full-bodied sound that also benefits from wide dispersion around the room, ideal for a one-box system that may not be in the centre of your room.

Like the other products announced, the SC-HC1020 can re-stream music to any other All Connected speaker.

Panasonic SC-HTB488 connected soundbar

Panasonic

Finally, Panasonic has a new soundbar, the SC-HTB488, which sports a completely new design. The new model ditches the upward firing speakers from its predecessor, instead focusing on pushing sound straight at the audience rather than up over their head. This is partly to help it fare better with music as well as movies. Panasonic says a lot of soundbar owners want to use their ‘bar for both purposes, but often find they can’t compete with a dedicated system when it comes to music.

The new design, coupled with improvements to the internal speaker drivers and rethinking the wireless subwoofer have had a significant effect. Music has a lot more impact than before and vocals are much clearer. The bass could be a bit too much for some, but settings for this can be adjusted.

The same powerful sound is carried across to movies too. Whereas before dialogue was good, you never felt the full force of explosions or high-action scenes, fortunately that’s now been addressed and the new soundbar delivers a lot more oomph. Our only niggle from our brief time listening to the soundbar was that we noticed some other sound effects, such as birds chirping in the background or glass shattering were lost a little.

Panasonic All Connected app for iOS and Android

Panasonic has made several improvements to its All Connected app for iOS and Android too. The app will automatically find any All Connected speaker or systems on the same network, and if you want to create a group of speakers to send audio to, you simply drag and drop them together. It’s a nice touch and something that sets the app apart from the competition.

Also, when you insert a CD to one of the CD systems, the app will read it and access Gracenote to download album artwork and track names. Before, the app wasn’t able to do this and just showed ‘Track 1’, ‘Track 2’ and so on.

We’re impressed with Panasonic’s new offerings, hearing the new products versus the old side by side made it clear several improvements had been made to the sound quality. The addition of the All Connected multi-room platform across all products makes them a viable alternative to the likes of Sonos and Bose as you can stream other soures such CD or vinyl around your home.

IMAX opens first VR theater in Los Angeles

The first of many planned IMAX theaters dedicated to virtual reality has opened in Los Angeles. Trading large, wraparound screens for small, immersive headsets, the facility allows anyone to experience VR without buying a high-end gaming PC or video game console. As UploadVR reports, the LA center has a mixture of HTC Vive and Starbreeze StarVR headsets. They’re stored in 14 isolated “pods” which also contain a Dbox cinema chair, a vibration-emitting Subpac vest and a variety of physical controllers. You can buy experiences individually, such as John Wick Chronicles, or grab a “sampler” if you want a broader taste of VR.

IMAX has been teasing its VR centers for almost a year now. Since then, we’ve seen other cinema chains, such as MK2 in Paris, construct similar installations dedicated to virtual immersion. The idea is simple: most people have never tried the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, due to a lack of funds or space in their living room. There’s also a group of people who just want to try the occasional experience — if you’re a climbing fan, for instance, you might want to play Sólfar Studios’ Everest VR, but little else. With IMAX VR, you can now access these experiences on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Credit: IMAX

At launch, IMAX has a mixture of immersive games and movies including Star Wars: Trials on Tatooine, Eagle Flight and The Walk. To stand out, IMAX is also working on exclusive content. It’s not ready just yet, but the company has raised $50 million to aid its development and the construction of additional VR centers. These are planned for New York, California, China and the UK. Before they’re built, IMAX needs to prove that the business model works. While there’s interest in VR, it’s not clear how many people want to try and pay for the experience on a regular basis.

Source: UploadVR, Variety

Microsoft hikes UK Surface prices because Brexit

Thanks to the Brexit vote, the weakened pound is causing many companies to adjust prices to cover the shortfall, and today you can add Microsoft to that list. The cost of the company’s enterprise software and cloud services increased at the start of the year, but this morning Microsoft quietly hiked prices of some of its consumer devices and software too, as spotted by a TechCrunch tipster.

On Microsoft’s online store, you’re now expected to pay at least £150 more for a Surface Book, though the price of the top, Core i7 configuration has risen by £400 — over 15 percent — from £2,649 to £3,049. That’s quite the jump for an already expensive product. While not as significant, Surface Pro 4 prices have also increased by up to £150 depending on configuration.

For whatever reason, Microsoft isn’t sharing a complete list of affected products, but the official line is: “In response to a recent review we are adjusting the British pound prices of some of our hardware and consumer software in order to align to market dynamics. These changes only affect products and services purchased by individuals, or organisations without volume licensing contracts and will be effective from February 15, 2017. For indirect sales where our products and services are sold through partners, final prices will continue to be determined by them.”

If you were considering a Surface purchase, then, you might want to shop around now before third-party retailers have a chance to react to Microsoft’s adjustments.

Just a few days ago, Sonos confirmed it would be hiking the prices of its products by up to 25 percent next Thursday. Sonos and Microsoft are reacting fairly late to the post-vote currency fluctuations, though. OnePlus kicked things off last July, followed by HTC in August and Apple in September. Apple has actually reacted twice, first by increasing hardware prices and last month, putting app costs up by 25 percent. Already this year, Tesla’s EVs have become that bit more expensive, and we’d put money on more companies following suit in the near future. Not that we have any left.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Microsoft

‘Team Fortress 2’ patch fixes decade-old bug

Video games with a dedicated developer team periodically release software patches to fix broken things. Sometimes these come at the behest of the title’s community, and dedicated users can be counted on to pick apart janky or erratic flaws faster than developers can address them. Unless everyone misses something for, say, a decade. That’s how long a particular bug had been in the shooter Team Fortress 2 — since it was released in 2007 — if a pair of modders are to believed, an issue that studio Valve finally fixed in yesterday’s game update.

The phenomenon would’ve flown under history’s radar if Reddit user sigsegv__ hadn’t called attention to a particular fix nestled in this recent patch’s unusually dense list of addressed issues. In a comment, sigsegv__ pointed out that he’d reported this bug to Valve after a developer of the TF2 Classic mod, Nicknine, first exposed the issue in a video a few weeks ago and claimed it had been in the game since its original release. sigsegv__ made his own video exploring its severity:

To explain the bug simply, if someone started the game as one of three particular classes and then shifted to any of the six others, their character would have one set of hitboxes and the server would register a slightly different one to other players. The mismatch between animated model and actual hittable zones means a decent amount of shots taken over the game’s ten-year lifespan were likely near-misses when they should’ve been hits, assuaging the ego of anyone who swore they’d gotten that sweet headshot that one time.

Fixing it was as simple as changing one line of code, sigsegv__ claims in the Reddit comment, but knowing which line and where was the real trick. We’ve reached out to both modders and Valve, and will update when we know more about the bug. For now, rest easy that your shots are slightly more accurate and a long-overlooked wrong has been righted.

Source: Reddit