FBI’s FOIA website will make it easier to submit requests in March

The FBI’s decision to stop accepting email-based Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests wouldn’t have sounded so bad if the agency didn’t present horrible alternatives. Compared to email, snail mailing and faxing requests would take much longer, after all. Plus, the beta version of the eFOIPA submission web portal requires too much personal info and has too many restrictions. Fortunately, the feds seem to have heard the people’s complaints and will roll back the portal’s worst limitations when it officially opens on March 1st.

An FBI spokesperson told The Daily Dot that the final version of the website won’t ask for your phone number — apparently, the beta only asked for one so the feds could contact you in case something went wrong with the request you sent. You also don’t have to indicate your country of origin anymore. The spokesperson said it was only necessary to auto-populate the address fields. More importantly, the FBI will tweak the portal’s terms of service to allow you to send an unlimited number of requests, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

These changes definitely make eFOIPA a lot more usable, though email still would’ve been the better choice. As Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press’ attorney Adam Marshall told The Daily Dot:

“I’m glad to hear they are lifting some of the restrictions that were put in place by the online portal. But I think there are still significant questions and issues that need to be answered and resolved. I think [email] is the most ubiquitous form of communication. And the government should be doing everything it can to make it easier for people to request information — not harder.”

Source: The Daily Dot

Microsoft Previews Touch Bar Support For New MacBook Pros Running Office

During Apple’s MacBook Pro keynote last October, Apple briefly mentioned that Microsoft was working on introducing support for the new Touch Bar across its suite of Office applications.

While Microsoft has yet to officially roll out the support, Office users can opt to test the new Touch Bar features by becoming an “Office Insider”, which is basically a public beta program.

In Word, Touch Bar users will be able to activate the distraction-free Focus Mode to remove the Ribbon, and access text formatting and font style options.

In PowerPoint, the Touch Bar will show a graphical overview of all slides in a deck, and offer the ability to reorder slides. Excel is set to get the most useful Touch Bar features though, bringing recently used functions, color cells, and chart options to the MacBook’s OLED strip.

Lastly, Outlook brings a today view to the Touch Bar, allowing users to see calendar appointments for the day, while recently used documents will display when composing emails, for quickly attaching files. Skype call functions are also set to be available from the Bar.

Office users interested in testing the Touch Bar functions in the beta program – along with any attendant bugs/issues – can sign up to become an “Office Insider” here.

(via The Verge.)

Tag: Microsoft Office
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Vivaldi browser will become much more share-happy with version 1.7 update

Why it matters to you

Vivaldi already offers an interesting alternative to the top browsers, but the latest update make it even more attractive.

The battle for your browser is often perceived as being a two- or three-horse race, but that’s not really the case. Other browsers, like Vivaldi, can offer some unique features to users, not least because their lower usage adds a layer of security by virtue of their relative obscurity. In its latest update to version 1.7, Vivaldi has added a lot to aid sharing.

Vivaldi is a relatively young browser, having only become publicly available for the first time in April 2016. Built by the founders of the original Opera browser, it’s garnered over a million users to date, and supports a number of visual and functional customization features.

More: Battle of the browsers: Edge vs. Chrome vs. Firefox vs. Safari vs. Opera vs. IE vs. Vivaldi

Its latest update is all about sharing. Built-in screenshot functionality is one of the key additions. It lets users capture what they see and what they don’t, saving entire web pages for sharing if needed. A small camera icon has been added to the browser’s status bar, which opens up a pop-up window with all of the options about where you want it copied or saved automatically.

You can even include the annotations you made on specific web pages. Vivaldi developers see it as a way to share web pages without a user at the other end having to load the whole thing — you can simply share the image with annotations to highlight what your friend is interested in.

If you don’t want to save the image and share it manually, you can also copy it to the clipboard and then paste it into a photo-editing tool, or into direct applications like Slack or Twitter.

Other features added in this update include improved sound control for tabs. No longer will Vivaldi users be faced with the common web problem of a tab suddenly playing a video or music, leaving users scrambling to figure out which one. Vivaldi 1.7 adds the ability to mute all tabs, or do so on an individual basis.

Smaller enhancements made to the browser experience include quicker access to favorite and pinned tabs, native MacOS notifications, configurable top-level domain expansion, and extra warnings for non-HTTPS websites that request passwords.

An Uber-for-laundromats is aiming to wash away the competition with a big expansion

Why it matters to you

You might not have realized just how easy it is to get someone else to do your clothes washing.

If your apartment is a washer-free zone and you never have time to get to the laundromat, hopefully you’ve sorted out some way to get your clothes clean rather than traipse around in garments smelling as grim as they feel.

One solution is an app-based collection service that could otherwise be described as an “Uber for laundromats.” Such services have been popping up with increasing frequency in recent years, and have been doing well in some of the larger cities.

They operate pretty much as you’d expect. Simply choose a pick-up time on the app, hand your funky gear to the driver, and wait for it to come back smelling of roses – the clothes, not the driver, though a pleasantly scented driver would of course be more than acceptable.

U.K.-based Laundrapp, for one, has been gaining attention in the battle to grab, wash, and return your rags. Currently sitting pretty in the nation’s top-20-startups list and also offering its service in parts of Australia and New Zealand, the outfit this week announced it’s planning to launch in 13 additional countries before year-end, though it’s holding back on expansion into the U.S. for now.

Part of its strategy is to hook up with large franchises, so in China, for example, it’s hoping to strike a deal with a company that has 6,000 laundromats on its books, the Telegraph reported.

Laundrapp opened for business in 2014 and works via iOS, Android, and the web. The startup told the Telegraph that many of its customers are recent graduates who “use their mobile phones like remote controls for their lives”, as well as young families and busy city workers.

More: Just in case you’re into doing your own laundry, here are some of the best washers you can buy

In the U.S. there are a bunch of similar services all vying for attention, among them FlyCleaners, Cleanly, and Instawash. But competition is tough in this emerging space, with some startups – Washio for one – disappearing down the drain during the ongoing battle for customers.

Most only serve a limited number of cities for now, but over time will likely roll out to more locations. Services, turnaround time, and pricing vary between startups, so shop around for the best deal if you’re well and truly done with doing your own laundry.

Here’s BlackBerry’s latest plan to make some money

Why it matters to you

It’s been a tough few years for BlackBerry but it’s clearly determined to make a success of its switch to software and services.

As it witnessed its share of the smartphone market slide unceremoniously into a deep, dark hole, BlackBerry switched its focus several years ago in a bid to keep the company alive.

Software and services would save the company, CEO John Chen told anyone who cared to listen, and more recently BlackBerry has once again been showing signs of life.

One of its latest plans is to offer many of the design and security features of its enterprise-grade BBM technology to developers keen on incorporating such features into their own software.

Announcing its BBM Enterprise software development kit (SDK) this week, the subscription-based product is designed to allow enterprise developers to easily offer messaging, voice, and video in mobile communications, incorporating the kind of secure wrapping on which BlackBerry built its reputation.

The move puts the Canadian company up against outfits offering similar services such as Twilio and Plivo, among others. If successful, its own alternative could become a decent revenue generator for BlackBerry as it continues with efforts to stabilize the ship.

In a blog post announcing the BBM Enterprise SDK, BlackBerry COO Marty Beard wrote, “The ability to quickly build secure chat, voice, video, and SMS into enterprise applications is extremely valuable for the collaboration culture of the modern business world.”

More: DT gets its hands on BlackBerry’s next flagship smartphone

Beard pointed out that BBM Enterprise is “a distinct entity” from its well-known BBM app, “built from the ground up with enterprise-grade security.”

BlackBerry’s COO cited several examples of how its technology could be utilized, such as “a police officer using their smartphone to stream live video from a crime scene back to the precinct,” and “a doctor talking with a patient through a secure voice channel,” adding that all the exchanged information would be encrypted.

“Rather than having to interrupt their workflows by jumping to a third-party tool, employees can work and enjoy secure, reliable communication within the same set of apps,” Beard said.

BlackBerry’s BBM Enterprise SDK will soon be available for iOS and Android developers, with more details expected toward the end of this month.

Android Pay confirmed to come to Android Wear 2.0 following official leaked screenshots

Android Wear 2.0 is expected to be officially unveiled until tomorrow, 9 February, along with the first two watches to feature the software, the LG Watch Style and Watch Sport. However, usually reliable Twitter tipster @evleaks has said both the watches and the new software will in fact be released today, 8 February. We haven’t seen anything official from Google just yet, but the day isn’t over, so watch this space. 

• Android Wear 2.0: What’s new in the major software update for watches?

Either way, we’ve already been given our first look at one particularly important feature thanks to Google. Android Pay was heavily rumoured to come to Android Wear smartwatches with the release of Android Wear 2.0 and now there are official images of what the feature will look like on the Android Pay in the Google Play Store.

Update: the launch of both the watches and the platform have been moved up a day, to February 8th. *checks dumbwatch*Hey, that’s soon! https://t.co/dzG6YPc4kp

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) 4 February 2017

The images show a user’s card being selected and the words “Hold to Terminal”, which is obviously a payment terminal, whether it be in a shop or perhaps even somewhere like the London Underground, a green tick to show the payment has been successful, and a screen that shows previous transactions. This screen includes high street stores Boots and Costa Coffee, confirming they will be two retailers that will support Android Pay.

Android Pay’s tap-to-pay feature on smartwatches will only work if the watch has an NFC chip built into it, which at the moment, no Android Wear smartwatch does. That’s all expected to change when Android Wear 2.0 is released, hopefully alongside the first two LG-made watches to come running the software.

• LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style: Release date, rumours and specs
• Android Pay explained: How it works and where it’s supported

Android Pay for smartphones launched in the UK in May 2016 and the feature has been long requested to make its way to Android Wear smartwatches to make them a bigger rival to the Apple Watch. 

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Google Pixel: What’s the rumoured difference?

Samsung’s next flagship smartphone – the Galaxy S8 – is due to debut in the next few weeks, with rumours suggesting we will see it announced on 29 March, followed by its release in mid-April.

The leaks have been plentiful over the last couple of months though so while nothing is official as yet, we have a good idea as to what we can expect and how it might compare to its competition. Here is how the Samsung Galaxy S8 stacks up against the Google Pixel, based on the speculation.

• Samsung Galaxy S8 rumours

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Google Pixel: Design

• Similar dimensions for both expected
• S8 rumoured to offer more exciting design
• S8 should be waterproof

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is rumoured to offer similar dimensions to the Galaxy S7, despite claims of a larger screen size. It is thought the new smartphone will retain the glass and metal sandwich but slim down the bezels for an almost all-screen front with the possibility of soft keys built into the display at the bottom.

Reports claim Samsung will ditch the physical home button at the front and reposition the fingerprint sensor to the rear, while also adding a dedicated side button for launching the Siri-like personal assistant, Viv. Leaks present a solid, premium device with a lovely design that will likely offer IP68 waterproofing, USB Type-C and a headphone jack.

Google’s Pixel features glass and metal as its primary materials too, though rather than an all-glass rear, the Pixel has just the top third in glass, creating a recognisable design statement. There is a circular rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C and Google has also opted to retain the headphone jack but there is no waterproofing.

Measuring 143.8 x 69.5 x 8.5mm, the Pixel is ever so slightly larger than the S7, but that could mean it’s a very similar size to the Galaxy S8. It has no physical buttons on the front either, though the bezels surrounding the display are much larger than what is reported for the S8.

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Google Pixel: Display

• S8 expected to offer larger display
• S8 rumoured to have a higher resolution than Pixel
• Both thought to use AMOLED

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is reported to be coming with either a 5.7-inch display or a 5.8-inch display, either of which is said to be curved, like the S7 edge, making for a more interesting design.

Rumour has it Samsung will stick with a Quad HD Super AMOLED display, meaning the pixel density will be either 524ppi or 514ppi, but it is claimed the screen will still offer improvements on the Galaxy S7.

The Google Pixel has a 5-inch Full HD AMOLED display, putting its pixel density at 441ppi, meaning the Galaxy S8 will offer a shaper, crisper display on paper. The Pixel is protected by 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and it is a flat display, making the finish a little more standard compared to what is expected for Samsung’s new device.

• Samsung Galaxy S8 vs S8 Plus: What’s the rumoured difference?

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Google Pixel: Camera

• Both expected to have 12MP rear cameras
• Both expected to have 8MP front cameras
• S8 rumoured to feature iris scanner

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is said to be coming with the 12-megapixel Duo Camera found on the Galaxy S7, offering the same aperture of f/1.7. It is claimed the S8 will have a new visual search feature though and no doubt there will be a few other improvements too, such as optical image stabilisation.

The front-facing camera is reported to be an 8-megapixel sensor that has auto-focus and it is also thought it might include an iris scanner.

The Google Pixel has a 12.3-megapixel rear camera featuring an aperture of f/2.0, while the front camera is an 8-megapixel snapper with an aperture of f/2.4 and fixed focus. The rear camera features 1.55µm pixels and it offers phase detection and laser autofocus, but no optical image stabilisation.

• Google Pixel review

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Google Pixel: Hardware

• S8 rumoured to have faster processor
• S8 expected to have larger battery capacity
• S8 should have microSD

Rumours suggest the Samsung Galaxy S8 will feature either the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, or the Exynos 8895 chip, depending on the region. There have been reports of 4GB, 6GB and 8GB of RAM, as well as suggestions of both 64GB and 128GB storage models, both of which should have microSD.

The Google Pixel runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, which is supported by 4GB of RAM. It is available in 32GB or 128GB storage options, with no support for microSD expansion.

In terms of battery capacities, the Galaxy S8 is rumoured to be coming with a 3000mAh cell, which as we mentioned is expected to be charged via USB Type-C, while the Pixel has a 2770mAh capacity, also charged via USB Type-C.

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Google Pixel: Software

• Pixel has pure Android experience
• S8 rumoured to have Bixby voice assistant
• Pixel has Google Assistant

The Samsung Galaxy S8 will launch on Android Nougat with Samsung’s TouchWiz software over the top, while the Google Pixel runs on pure Android Nougat.

Samsung is rumoured to be offering the Bixby voice assistant on the S8, and it is also rumoured to be coming with an always-visible status bar, as well as the ability to connect it to a monitor for a desktop view of Android.

Google’s Pixel on the other hand, is the only device to currently offer Google Assistant built-in. It also offers a very clean, seamless Android experience as it offers no bloatware, which also means it is first in line for software updates.

• What is Google Assistant?

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Google Pixel: Conclusion

Based on the rumours, the Samsung Galaxy S8 will feature a larger, sharper display, more powerful hardware, a larger battery capacity and a more exciting design.

The Google Pixel is a fantastic smartphone though and although it might not have a curved display, or the latest processor, like the S8 is expected to offer, it does have a pure Android software experience, along with an excellent camera.

Everything is speculation for now when it comes to the Galaxy S8 but we will update this feature with the official specs when they are announced, as well as when we have reviewed it to see how these two devices compare in the real world rather than just on the spec sheet.

Google Play listing shows how you’ll pay on Android Wear

Google is hoping the release of Android Wear 2.0 will push more people toward smartwatches, and one of the key pillars of that strategy is Android Pay. Ahead of the launch, it has (perhaps accidentally) released some screenshots on the Play Store that show how it’ll work and look. At supported retailers with an Android Pay or contactless logo, you simply hold your NFC-equipped Android Wear watch next to the terminal until it’s approved. It’ll then detail the latest transaction in a list, and you can scroll to see your recent history.

In other words, you’ll get the ability to pay like a boss from your wrist instead of digging around for your phone, a feature Apple Watch and Samsung Gear S3 Watch users have had for a while now. However, there’s a catch — your smartwatch must have an NFC chip, and no current models do, so current owners are out of luck. Thanks to a leak, however, we know that LG and Google are set to release two models, the LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style. We also know that Android 2.0 itself is coming in early February, thanks to a developer letter.

The screenshots and other tidbits confirm that LG’s watches (and possibly others) and Android Wear 2.0 itself should arrive imminently. Once that happens, we’ll likely learn other details, like whether you’ll even need a phone with you to pay with Android Wear (some models reportedly have built-in LTE) very soon.

Via: Droid Life

Source: Google Play

600-year-old starlight addressed a loophole in quantum theory

Quantum entanglement, where two particles are separated by space and yet inextricably linked by the laws of quantum mechanics, has already been proven to be real, but something called the “freedom-of-choice loophole” has so far made it impossible to definitively prove the theory. That is, until physicists from the University of Vienna and MIT addressed that loophole with a blast of 600-year-old starlight.

If two particles are entangled, then any measurement made on one of them will be instantly reflected in the other. As MIT News notes, the freedom-of-choice loophole is the idea that there may be outside variables or other unseen factors that can make two particles appear to be entangled when they aren’t. In other words: some hidden, non-quantum force may influence the second particle in the time it takes to measure the first one, making them appear to exhibit the same properties. In the past, researchers have tried to account for this by introducing highly controlled experiments and random elements, but those still didn’t close the loophole.

In 2014, however, a team of physicists came up with an experiment that would use photons emitted from a star 600 light years away as a random number generator and remove a large amount of doubt that loophole created. The experiment was recently run for the first time and its massive setup was detailed in the journal Physical Review Letters today: the entangled photons were generated in a lab in Vienna and then shot out via lasers to two different measurement stations several blocks away in opposite directions. A telescope at each station measured the color of the photons streaming in from a specific star and then used that wavelength to determine it should measure a specific property of each of the photons in order to confirm their entanglement.

While the experiment still doesn’t completely rule out outside influence, it does mean that those forces would had to have been set in motion 600 years in the past in order to influence the outcome of the experiment — a very unlikely proposition. “We’re saying, in order for some crazy mechanism to simulate quantum mechanics in our experiment, that mechanism had to have been in place 600 years ago to plan for our doing the experiment here today, and to have sent photons of just the right messages to end up reproducing the results of quantum mechanics,” Alan Guth, professor of Physics at MIT and one of the researchers on the team explained. “So it’s very far-fetched.”

Via: MIT News

Source: Physics Review Letters

BlackBerry Messenger Enterprise promises secure comms for business

Faulting BlackBerry for its lack of apps or antiquated design ideas was fair, but the firm’s dedication to security spoke for itself. The company is going to take that reputation and use it to retool BlackBerry Messenger as an enterprise-level communications platform. Appropriately dubbed BBM Enterprise, the app offers end-to-end encryption for all communication methods; voice, video and text-based comms will all be secure.

“Imagine a police officer using their smartphone to stream live video from a crime scene back to the precinct,” a post on the company blog reads. “Or imagine an ER physician who needs quick answers from a surgeon in another office or around the globe… Any information exchanged between the two will be encrypted and comply with HIPAA regulations.”

Like Bloomberg notes, the market for such options already has a few offerings like Twilio and Nexmo. BlackBerry specifically calls out the former in its blog post, saying that it isn’t an elegant solution because it forces developers to use a few different APIs simultaneously. BBM Enterprise, apparently, will be easier to work with. More interested in the BlackBerry keyboard than you are secure messaging for work? The company’s collaboration with TCL, the Mercury, will launch February 25th.

Source: Inside BlackBerry, Bloomberg