Hack your living room with Ikea’s open source furniture

Why it matters to you

Ikea’s new line of furniture breaks with tradition, leaving plenty of room for people to truly make it their own.

Its superstore might be hours away but Ikea goods are all around you. If you don’t have a piece of its carefully crafted kitchenware or flat-pack furniture in your home, your neighbor probably does. The design is always Scandinavian minimalist: slick, clean, and practical, with little room for personalization.

That’s about to change. The Swedish furniture giant is developing a line of “open platform” furniture that’s meant to encourage tinkerers to modify products into new and interesting designs. Dubbed Delaktig (translated from Swedish to “involved” or “participating”), the project was first announced in 2016 as a collaboration with British designer Tom Dixon. Now, Ikea has given a price range ($399 to $899, according to the Wall Street Journal), as well as an estimate for when it will be available — the first few months of 2018.

The first Delaktig piece will consist of an extruded aluminum low frame, wooden slats, and a cushion. With frame in place, customers can connect accessories like lamps, arm rests, tray tables, or privacy screens to customize the piece how they see fit. A number of these accessories can be purchased from Ikea, though their are a few third-party retailers that already sell aftermarket add-ons. The company recently gathered a group of designers for a workshop at London’s Royal College of Art, where students worked together for one week, experimenting with new additions to customize the Delaktig frame.

More: Ikea’s new cabinets are made of recycled materials but don’t look like garbage

Ikea may be trying to capitalize on what’s become a trend among DIY enthusiasts who turn their flat-pack purchases into customized furniture. “People hack anyway,” James Futcher, Ikea’s creative lead, told the Journal, “We want to encourage that.” Though the company supports hackers today, its tone has changed since 2014, when Ikea tried to close “IkeaHackers” a site for fans to share their methods for customizing the furniture.

Oculus owes half a billion dollars to ZeniMax for copyright infringment

ZeniMax versus Facebook ended today with $500 million for the former and a tiny bit of retribution for the latter.

ZeniMax has been awarded half a billion dollars after a judge found that Oculus co-founder, Palmer Luckey, did not comply with a non-disclosure agreement.

According to Polygon, Oculus is paying out $200 million for breaking NDA and $50 million for copyright infringement. Oculus and Luckey each have to pay an extra $50 million for false designation — essentially, when someone falsely claims their origin — while Brendan Iribe, the former CEO of Oculus, will have to pay $150 million.

The ZeniMax versus Facebook (née Oculus) trial started last month and included testimonials from several of the prominent tech figures involved, like id Software co-founder John Carmack, who was questioned about copying code before leaving to work at Facebook, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself.

ZeniMax had referred to the incident as a “heist.”

The trial alleged that Luckey, Iribe, and half a dozen ex-ZeniMax employees had built the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset based on research and copyrighted code that was originally conducted by ZeniMax. ZeniMax wanted $4 billion in compensation, half of which would be awarded for punitive damages. But Oculus had managed to argue down the verdict by claiming that the lawsuit was driven by emotions rather than facts, citing that the company had referred to the initial incident as a “heist.” Oculus denied those allegations.

Oculus said it would appeal the briefing, though we’re not entirely sure what will happen to the Oculus Rift, or whether the case will have any impact on sales.

The Mate 9: a good phone that won’t sell

Are you interested in the Huawei Mate 9? Yes? Great! It’s not a bad phone! It’s just I don’t expect you to actually buy it. Even at a competitively priced $599, I expect it to sell… just okay. Maybe you, the person reading this article and watching this video, maybe you will buy it. You’re a discerning consumer. You’re prepared to go looking for a phone outside the Galaxy and iPhone consumer market. It’s the normals I’m talking about. And that’s too bad.

I’m Michael Fisher, AKA MrMobile, and despite the doom and gloom, I like the Mate 9. Not as much as I like Huawei’s Honor 8, but I mean it when I say this is a positive review. For a positive review that actually sounds like one, check out AndroidCentral’s review by Alex Dobie.

• The Mate 9 is available right here

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Apple AirPods firmware update: How to check for and install latest version

Updating your headphones is now a thing.

Apple has released a firmware update for AirPods, its £159 wireless earbud product. The update, called firmware 3.5.1, began rolling out on Wednesday, bringing undisclosed bug fixes. Although the installation process happens automatically over the air, there are a few things you must do to ensure you actually get the update.

Here’s everything you need to know.

How to update Apple AirPods

To get any available updates for Apple’s AirPods, follow these steps:

• Correctly place the AirPods in its charging case.
• The case must be plugged into a charger.
• The case must be linked to an iPhone nearby and connected to Wi-Fi.

So, if you’ve had your AirPods connected to your iPhone in the past day, odds are the 3.5.1 update already installed.

How to check AirPods’ installed firmware

To check if you have the latest installed firmware, follow these steps:

• Open the Settings app on your phone.
• In the Settings app, go to General > About > AirPods. (Note: AirPods will only display in About when connected to your iPhone).
• From there, look for “Firmware Version” and check the number to see if you have the latest version (which is 3.5.1, as of 1 February 2017).

And that’s it! 

Next Sony Xperia flagship might not unveil at MWC 2017 after all

Sony isn’t going to unveil its next flagship at Mobile World Congress.

A few reports have suggested in recent weeks that Sony will debut a premium device with a 4K display at a press conference in Barcelona on 27 February, but according to Twitter user @Ricciolo1, who has reliably leaked mobile news in the past, that’s not going to happen. While the company is developing what is largely considered a successor to the Xperia Z5 Premium from last year, we shouldn’t expect it at the MWC.

The leakster specifically described the upcoming handset in the tweet as a “premium flagship”, but then included hashtags for Xperia, Sony, Z5 Premium, and successor. He also slyly hinted that the handset could be seen behind closed doors at MWC. In other words, Sony may show prototypes of the device to its partners or maybe even journalists in secret meetings at the show. We’ve contacted Sony for more.

PREMIUM flagship is coming… but don’t hold your breath for #MWC #mwc17 , except the secret rooms… 😉 #xperia #Sony #z5premium #successor

— Ricciolo (@Ricciolo1) February 1, 2017

GSMArena noted that Samsung is rumoured to be hogging every available Snapdragon 835 right now for its upcoming Galaxy S8, so Sony may be waiting to unveil the Z5 Premium successor until more become available. After all, the phone is expected to sport the chipset, along with 4GB or 6GB of RAM, and a Sony IMX400 camera sensor. Check out Pocket-lint’s rumour round-up on the device for more leaks:

• Next Sony Xperia flagship: What’s the story so far?

We’ll know more in a couple weeks. But keep in mind if Sony does unveil the phone at MWC, but then 835 chipsets aren’t available, you probably won’t be able to get your hands on it until early summer.

Instagram is testing multi-photo albums for everyone

It likely won’t be too long until we can all share more than one photo in an Instagram album. The company is reportedly testing out the feature in its latest Android beta release, Droid Life reports. Multi-photo albums was something Instagram previously reserved for its “carousel” ads for the past year. The closest thing regular users got to that was creating a collage with the company’s Layout app, or making do with an ephemeral Instagram Story.

While Instagram’s Android beta users can start building albums, at this point they can’t actually post them to their timelines. That’s not too surprising, though it’s curious so many people can actually access the album builder already. We’ve dropped a word into Instagram to see what’s up, but for now it looks like the feature could be coming soon.

Via: Droid Life

Source: Philip Chang (Twitter)

‘Serial’ team returns with a new true crime podcast

When it debuted in 2014, Serial was a breakout hit for podcasting and an interesting case of the media effecting social justice. The show’s team of This American Life alumni even won a Peabody award for their reporting on the murder of Maryland teen Hae Min Lee in 1999, and a second season tackled the national scandal over alleged US Army deserter Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. While we’re still anxiously awaiting news about a possible Season 3, Serial co-creator Julie Snyder and This American Life host Brian Reed will return with a binge-friendly new true crime spinoff called S-Town.

According to an announcement from the newly formed Serial Productions company, S-Town will follow Reed as he investigates a murder in rural Alabama. And for the biggest, most binge-friendly impact, all of the episodes will be available at the same time when the show is released in March. From the announcement:

Production of “S-Town” began when a man reached out to “This American Life” bitterly complaining about his small Alabama town. He wanted a reporter to investigate the son of a wealthy family who had allegedly been bragging that he got away with murder. Brian agreed to look into it. But then someone else ended up dead, and another story began to unfold—about a nasty feud, a hunt for hidden treasure and the mysteries of one man’s life.

Snyder is listed as the new show’s executive producer, but the usual suspects like her co-creator Sarah Koenig, Ira Glass and Mystery Show host Starlee Kine are also on board as part of the editorial team.

“This story takes so many unexpected turns,” Glass said in a statement. “Every episode is a new surprise. And the story has this feeling and mood that’s different from anything else we’ve done. I don’t think people have heard a show like this.”

Via: Huffington Post

IBM’s Watson will help you file your taxes

Tax experts can find deductions that you might otherwise miss, but they’re only human — they can only find so many potential savings, let alone paint a larger picture of your finances. They’re about to get a helping hand, though. IBM is partnering with H&R Block to make Watson a part of the tax filing process at locations across the US starting on February 6th. After you participate in an initial interview, the artificial intelligence will offer suggestions to Tax Pros (read: experts) looking for deductions, and illustrate the bigger picture for you on a dedicated client screen. Ideally, Watson’s ability to understand context and intent will turn your statements into tangible data that leads to bigger tax breaks.

This doesn’t guarantee that Watson will find dramatic savings. It’s dependent on your input, so it won’t know to go looking for deductions if you haven’t at least suggested something. This is more about eliminating omissions (say, due to changes in tax law) and streamlining the experience than it is exploiting obscure parts of the tax code.

Having said this, the team-up is still in its “first phase.” H&R Block hopes to use Watson in other areas of its business, and the cognitive computing system should improve as it masters the nuances of the tax system. You’re still a long way off from having AI do all the heavy lifting when tax time comes, but this might make a big difference if you’d like help filing and want assurances that you’ll get as large a return as possible.

Source: IBM

AT&T will launch 5G wireless in two cities this year

AT&T’s 5G wireless network just got much more tangible. The carrier has announced that its ultra-fast wireless will launch in two cities, Austin and Indianapolis, sometime later in 2017. And while it’s still early days, the company is confident enough to set some performance expectations. Initially, these 5G areas will deliver peak speeds of 400Mbps or better. And there’s definite room for it to grow — carrier aggregation and other techniques should push that to 1Gbps in “some areas” this year.

The rollout is part of a larger network platform upgrade, nicknamed Indigo, that promises to be more adaptable and responsive. It’ll put more of an emphasis on software-shaped networking (covering 75 percent of the network by 2020) and lean on technologies like machine learning. AT&T is even open-sourcing the code for its network’s orchestration platform, ECOMP.

Don’t expect to walk into a store and buy the 5G phone of your choosing once the service is ready. There’s still no 5G standard, for one thing. Also, new cellular wireless technology tends to launch with very limited hardware choices. Remember how Verizon launched LTE with a handful of bulky, compromised phones, and you were more likely to use it in modems and mobile routers? Expect a repeat. Until the technology has had time to mature, it’ll be more of a showcase for the network than a meaningful upgrade.

Source: AT&T Newsroom

Reddit bans ‘alt-right’ community over harassment

Reddit isn’t done cracking down on harmful communities. The social site has banned its r/altright subreddit for violating policies against “the proliferation of personal and confidential information.” Members were doxxing people to harass or threaten them, in other words. Reddit didn’t tell us exactly what prompted the move, but it clarifies that there were “repeated violations” of its doxxing policy. Moderators either couldn’t or wouldn’t police users’ behavior, then. You can read the full statement below.

It’s doubtful that r/altright will have much of a chance at coming back given both the serious nature of the offenses and the historical behavior of the “alt-right” movement itself. As it is, Reddit may be happy to clamp down in this case. It’s still trying to strike a delicate balance between its free speech ethos and cleaning up hostile elements that scare away users and advertisers. While it ideally wouldn’t have to wait until after multiple incidents before it takes action, this represents a prime opportunity to improve its image.

“Reddit is the proud home to some of the most authentic conversations online. We strive to be a welcoming, open platform for all by trusting our users to maintain an environment that cultivates genuine conversation and adheres to our content policy.

“We are very clear in our site terms of service that posting of personal information can get users banned from Reddit and we ask our communities not to post content that harasses or invites harassment. We have banned r/altright due to repeated violations of the terms of our content policy. There is no single solution to these issues and we are actively engaging with the Reddit community to improve everyone’s experience.”

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Reddit