Wannabe urban gardeners, how about this indoor farm to get you started?

Why it matters to you

If the idea of urban gardening appeals but you’re concerned about space, then the Altifarm is definitely worth a look.

If you’ve always fancied tending your own vegetable garden but live in a place so small that such a hobby seems impossible, then there may be a solution.

The Altifarm is a modular solution for wannabe urban gardeners that lets you grow vegetables and herbs year-round, inside your apartment.

The Indiegogo project recently blasted through its funding target, so the Altifarm could be in your lounge, or possibly on your balcony if you have one, within months.

Described as “a complete home farm,” the kit comprises four tiers to keep it compact and, according to its Mumbai maker, can be set up in just five minutes. It’s on wheels, too, so you can easily move it around if necessary,

And here’s another bonus — if watering your garden feels like too much effort, or you’re worried about forgetting such duties, then fear not. The setup includes an automatic watering system, with your only responsibility to fill up the reservoir around once a week.

If your apartment doesn’t let in much natural light, the Altifarm also offers a low-power light pack that provides all the necessary light wavelengths to get your greens growing fast. There’s even a purpose-built greenhouse extension pack — essentially a clear plastic covering with a zipper — to protect your plants from extreme weather should you choose to put your Altifarm outside.

If you’re still making excuses about why you can’t grow your own food at home, then consider how everything that you produce will be free from all of those nasty chemicals used in modern-day industrial farming.

More: New farming startup takes agriculture indoors

Of course, as the Altifarm is fairly small, growing large fruit and vegetables would be something of a challenge. But the startup helpfully suggests nourishing edibles such as strawberries, raspberries, bell peppers, lettuce, herbs, and even broccoli and cauliflower. But take note, the setup doesn’t come with soil or seeds, so it’s entirely up to you how you fill it. The green-fingered crew behind the kit has a website providing tips on how to get started with your Altifarm with posts such as “12 awesome foods that are perfect for your indoor garden” and “a guide to growing vegetables and flowers from seeds.”

The Altifarm’s Indiegogo page offers a range of deals depending on how many extras you purchase with the base product. Prices start at $179, offering a decent saving of $70 on the expected retail price.

B&O Play’s Beolit 17 is big, beefy sound in a delightfully Danish body

Bang & Olufsen’s lifestyle arm B&O Play has announced the Beolit 17, the latest addition to its range of Beolit speakers first launched in 1939, but currently just comprising the Beolit 15.

• Bang & Olufsen Beolit 15 review: Portable picnic party

This new model still looks like a picnic basket, but it will pump out music with more power – 240 Watts – than its slightly smaller sibling. B&O Play says it’s been able to fit the Beolit 17 with more power thanks to a complete redesign, which has got rid of the cable compartment found on the Beolit 15. B&O Play also promises up to 24 hours of battery life on a single charge.

In true Danish and B&O Play fashion, the Beolit 17 is a bit of a looker. You get lashings of brushed aluminium, a real leather handle and a non-slip and scratch resistant tray on top for placing your smartphone on.

Besides its more-than-likely great sound quality, the Beolit 17 has a new one-touch connect button on the top side, which can be configured to access one of four functions using the companion Beoplay App.

The functions include Alarm, which will wake you with either of two B&O Play preset tunes or the last song you streamed from your smartphone. The Connect function will immediately play the last song you streamed to the speaker from Spotify, Remote will play or pause the music, or a double tap will skip to the next track.

Finally ToneTouch, which will adjust the Beolit 17’s sound settings to your ToneTouch preset. ToneTouch is a function within the companion app that lets you manually adjust the speaker’s sound signature to your personal tastes.

The B&O Play Beolit 17 is available now in natural and stone grey finishes for £449 or $499.

Samsung Galaxy S8 launch: When is Galaxy Unpacked 2017 and can you watch it online?

Samsung usually uses Mobile World Congress to launch its annual flagship, but thanks to the Note 7, the schedule has changed.

The company has already confirmed it will not hold its “Galaxy Unpacked 2017” event in February but rather in March. Samsung reportedly wants to ensure that everything is 100-per cent correct with its next Galaxy flagship, considering the Note 7 suffered from explosive battery issues and had to be recalled and ultimately killed. Here’s everything you need to know about Samsung’s event.

• Samsung Galaxy Note 7 alternatives: Super-sized phones that won’t explode

Galaxy Unpacked 2017: When is Samsung’s event?

Samsung announced in a tweet that it will kick off its splashy Unpacked event in New York City on 29 March 2017 at 11am EST (4pm GMT).

Galaxy Unpacked 2017: What will Samsung announce?

Evan Blass

Samsung Galaxy S8

Previous release patterns would have seen Samsung launch the Galaxy S8 at MWC 2017, but instead, the company announced the Tab S3 tablet. It did, however, later tweet that its next Galaxy Unpacked launch event would be held on 29 March 2017 in New York City. In the tweet, the company essentially teased that we can expect a smartphone. It even used the hashtag #UnboxYourPhone.

#UnboxYourPhone 29.03.17. Live at https://t.co/N18H5SqB3Q pic.twitter.com/sMIHgnKIms

— Samsung UK (@SamsungUK) February 26, 2017

Rumours claim Samsung will break from tradition and release two curved devices this time around, rather than one flat and one edged. So, we are expecting both models to offer a dual-edge display like the S7 Edge does. It’s also been reported that the phones will come with their own Bixby AI, too. Check out Pocket-lint’s round-up for more details about what else the Galaxy S8 might feature.

Pocket-lint

Bixby AI

Forget about Google Assistant, Samsung’s next flagships will sport their own voice assistant. This assistant is thought to be called Bixby, and it will let you do everything from control Samsung home appliances and third-party apps to search for objects in pictures and process payments with your voice. Check out Pocket-lint’s round-up for more details about how else Bixby might work.

AKG

AKG earphones

While at Mobile World Congress in February, Samsung announced that it’ll bundle a pair of AKG earphones with its next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8. The company also revealed it will bring AKG-tuned audio to future Galaxy smartphones. Keep in mind Samsung recently acquired Harman International Industries for about $8 billion — and AKG falls under the company’s umbrella.

Galaxy Unpacked 2017: Can you stream Samsung’s event?

Yes. Samsung will livestream Galaxy Unpacked 2017 at http://www.samsung.com/galaxy at 11am EST (4pm GMT). We will update this post with the live-stream video when it becomes available.

Project Scorpio and Xbox One to get Mixed Reality headsets in 2018

Microsoft has announced that it hopes to introduce Mixed Reality headsets to its Xbox console gaming platform by 2018. That means the Xbox One and forthcoming Project Scorpio could get their own augmented or virtual reality devices next year.

Microsoft rebranded its Windows Holographic tech recently, to Windows Mixed Reality, and announced that other manufacturers would be creating their own headsets for PC. Previously, the Microsoft HoloLens was the only flagbearer for the system.

Acer is the first to show its hand, with the Acer Windows Mixed Reality Developer Edition, as revealed at the Games Developer Conference in San Francisco this week. It looks more like a VR headset in design, with an attached cable, but still has AR abilities. It will start shipping to developers soon.

Other manufacturers keen to make their own hardware include Asus, HP, Lenovo and 3Glasses, but we would expect that list to grow once console support enters the fray.

• Microsoft HoloLens preview: An augmented vision that’s still very much in the future
• What is Project Scorpio? The future of Xbox explained
• PS4 Pro vs Project Scorpio: What’s the difference?

Standard specifications for Mixed Reality headsets include two hiigh-resolution LCD displays with 1440 x 1440 pixels, a native refresh rate of 90Hz, built-in audio out and microphone support, and a single cable with HDMI 2.0 and USB 3.0 for display and data connectivity respectively.

Microsoft will unveil more information about its Mixed Reality programme at its own Build conference in May.

Motorola Moto G5 vs Moto G4: What’s the difference?

Motorola announced the Moto G5 and G5 Plus at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The two devices add a more premium finish to last year’s models, while also improving in several areas.

You can read how the Moto G5 Plus compares to the G4 Plus in our separate feature, but here we are looking at how the standard Moto G5 compares to the Moto G4.

Motorola Moto G5 vs Moto G4: Design

• G5 is smaller and lighter
• Both have 3.5mm headphone jack and Micro-USB
• G5 has a fingerprint sensor

The Motorola Moto G5 features a metal build with a front-mounted fingerprint sensor and a camera array on the rear that looks very similar to the Moto Z, featuring both the camera lens and flash module in a circular housing.

The signature “M” sits underneath the rear camera, and there is a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top, while Micro-USB sits at the bottom. The Moto G5 measures 144.3 x 73 x 9.5mm and weighs 144.5g.

The Motorola Moto G4 features a metal frame but it has a plastic rear, making it look more budget than the new device. The “M” branding remains and the rear camera setup is more subtle too but the G4 doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor.

Like the new device, the G4 has a 3.5mm headphone jack, Micro-USB for charging and it measures 153 x 76.6 x 9.8mm, hitting the scales at 155g, meaning it is both bigger and heavier than the G5.

• Motorola Moto G5 preview

Motorola Moto G5 vs Moto G4: Display

• G5 has smaller display
• Both Full HD resolutions
• G4 has Corning Gorilla Glass 3

The Motorola Moto G5 has a 5-inch display with a Full HD resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 440ppi. It is a flat display with no fancy curves or 2.5 glass and Motorola hasn’t specified what protection is on board.

The Motorola Moto G4 has a slightly larger 5.5-inch display, also with a Full HD resolution meaning there are a few less pixels per inch at 401ppi. It too is a flat display and it is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

• Motorola Moto G4 review

Motorola Moto G5 vs Moto G4: Camera

• Both have 13MP rear cameras, 5MP front cameras
• G5 has phase detection autofocus
• G5 has a display flash

The Motorola Moto G5 has a 13-megapixel rear camera with phase detection autofocus, an aperture of f/2.0 and 1.1µm pixels. On the front, there is a 5-megapixel camera with a f/2.2 aperture and 1.44µm pixels, along with a display flash.

The Motorola Moto G4 also has a 13-megapixel rear camera, also with aperture of f/2.0 and a dual-LED flash, but it misses out on the phase detection autofocus.

The front camera is also the same as the new model in terms of resolution at 5-megapixels with a f/2.2 aperture and auto-HDR. It misses out on the flash though.

• Motorola Moto G5 vs Moto G5 Plus: What’s the difference?

Motorola Moto G5 vs Moto G4: Hardware

• No NFC on either, so no Android Pay
• G4 has bigger battery
• G5 has more RAM

The Motorola Moto G5 has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor under its hood, supported by 3GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, which is expandable via microSD.

There is a 2800mAh battery on board, charged via Micro-USB as we mentioned previously, and compatible with the company’s Rapid Charger. As we also mentioned, there is a fingerprint sensor and 3.5mm headphone jack but no NFC.

The Motorola Moto G4 has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 chip, 2GB of RAM and 16GB or 32GB of storage, also with microSD support. It has a 3000mAh battery, also charged via Micro-USB and it features support for fast charging but there is no fingerprint sensor on board and it too lacks NFC.

• Motorola Moto G5 Plus vs Moto G4 Plus: What’s the difference?

Motorola Moto G5 vs Moto G4: Software

• Both run on Android Nougat
• Similar experience

The Motorola Moto G5 launches on Android Nougat with Moto Experiences, which includes Moto Display and Moto Actions. Motorola typically offers very little bloatware meaning you get an almost sure Android experience, as well as fast updates to the latest build.

The Moto G4 launched on Android Marshmallow but has since been updated to Nougat. Both devices should therefore offer a very similar software experience.

Motorola Moto G5 vs Moto G4: Price

The Motorola Moto G5 and the Moto G4 both start at £169 so unless you opt for the 32GB model of the G4, you all pay the same.

Motorola Moto G5 vs Moto G4: Conclusion

The Motorola Moto G5 makes several improvements on its predecessor, mainly in terms of design. The new device is much more premium, whilst also offering a sharper display, more RAM, camera improvements and it adds a fingerprint sensor.

The Moto G4 has a larger battery however, as well as a larger display and there is also the option of a larger internal storage model so some may still prefer this model. The new device costs the same and offers advancements though so it’s the more obvious choice.

News site deters comment rants by making you take a quiz

It’s all too easy for comment sections to get nasty, especially when people rush to spout off without having read more than the headline. How does a site prevent rants from showing up without resorting to cutting-edge tech? If you’re Norway’s NRK, the answer is simple: make people take a quiz. The news outlet is trying out a system that asks you to pass a short multiple-choice test, making sure you’ve at least had a cursory read-through before you share your opinion. It leads to more informed discussions, as you might guess, but it also introduces a brief delay that might give you a chance to cool down and write a more rational comment.

The quiz is experimental, and is only showing up on certain stories from NRK’s technology section (namely those with sensitive topics, like surveillance). If successful, though, they could become ubiquitous.

It’s trivial to circumvent the quiz (there’s already a script that does it), but that’s not really a concern. If you’re tech-savvy enough to load a script or modify code, you’re probably not going to rage in the comments as it is. This is more about raising the bar so that only those who really, truly want to participate in a healthy discussion will get through. It won’t completely deter trolls, but it could prevent otherwise reasonable people from saying something they’ll regret.

Source: NiemanLab, NRKbeta

Apple won’t have to pay $533 million to an iTunes patent troll

It’s taken two years, but Apple has finally reversed a patent ruling that required it to pay $533 million in damages to a little-known technology developer. On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit threw out a jury verdict that had judged Apple to have violated intellectual property owned by Smartflash — specifically its copy protection, payment systems and storage patents — with its iTunes software.

A unanimous three-judge appeals panel said Smartflash’s patents were too “abstract” and did not go far enough in describing an actual invention to warrant protection. Smartflash had previously accused Apple of purposely infringing on the inventions because it had allegedly briefed a Cupertino executive on them over a decade ago.

The outcome isn’t surprising for a number of reasons. In July 2015, U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap ordered a damages retrial relating to misleading jury instructions. The following year, some Smartflash patents were invalidated by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the same reasons cited by federal judges in yesterday’s hearing. Even Samsung, a company known for dragging Apple through the courts, lined up to defend its rival when it was accused of infringing the same patents.

Source: Reuters

Spotify Testing New Lossless Audio Quality Subscription Tier

Spotify is prepping the launch of a lossless audio version of its streaming service, according to The Verge. The new subscription tier is said to be called Spotify Hi-Fi and will offer higher bandwidth lossless audio quality to members.

Lossless audio is CD quality, meaning the files aren’t compressed, so users are said to hear the music the way the artists intended, though whether one can tell the difference between compressed and uncompressed tracks depends on the listener.

Anyone get this invitation for Spotify Hi-Fi? Looks awesome! pic.twitter.com/2aeYXMIHJD

— Cody Kloepfer (@Semantics) March 1, 2017

Spotify began testing the service with a small group of users on Tuesday, according to reports, offering the tier for $5 to $10 above the $10 per month price of a standard Spotify subscription.

However, users who received the invitation to sign up for the Hi-Fi service either got an error message or were told the service was unavailable in their area at the time.

Currently, Tidal is the only major music streaming service to offer an optional lossless audio tier, although other, lesser known lossless services do exist. A Tidal HiFi subscription costs $19.99. Most music streaming services, including Apple Music, offer streams at a maximum AAC 320 kbps. 

Tag: Spotify
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Yahoo hackers accessed 32 million accounts with forged cookies

In a regulatory filing, Yahoo revealed some additional details about data breaches that have affected over a billion accounts. Among that information is the news that hackers who obtained Yahoo’s code and were able to create their own cookies were able to access 32 million accounts through 2015 and 2016. Additionally, the 10-K statement provided to the SEC says that Yahoo notified 26 individuals and consulted with law enforcement after it became aware that state-sponsored hackers had exploited its account management tool for access.

Yahoo publicly revealed the extent of these breaches in December, but admits in the report that in 2014 “it appears certain senior executives did not properly comprehend or investigate, and therefore failed to act sufficiently upon, the full extent of knowledge known internally by the Company’s information security team.”

As a result of the investigation, its board has decided that CEO Marissa Mayer will not receive a cash bonus she was to receive for 2016, while general counsel Ronald S. Bell resigned. As a result of the revelations that account information had been stolen, which Mayer says she became aware of in September of last year, Verizon cut $350 million from its offer to acquire Yahoo.

Security Incidents

Description of Events

On September 22, 2016, we disclosed that a copy of certain user account information for approximately 500 million user accounts was stolen from Yahoo’s network in late 2014 (the “2014 Security Incident”). The Company believes the user account information was stolen by a state-sponsored actor. The user account information taken included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords (the vast majority with the “bcrypt” hashing algorithm) and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers. Our forensic investigation indicates that the stolen information did not include unprotected passwords, payment card data, or bank account information. Payment card data and bank account information are not stored in the system that the investigation found to be affected. We have no evidence that the state-sponsored actor is currently in or accessing the Company’s network.

On December 14, 2016, we disclosed that, based on our outside forensic expert’s analysis of data files provided to the Company in November 2016 by law enforcement, we believe an unauthorized third party stole data associated with more than one billion user accounts in August 2013 (the “2013 Security Incident”). We have not been able to identify the intrusion associated with this theft, and we believe this incident is likely distinct from the 2014 Security Incident. For potentially affected accounts, the user account information stolen included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords (using the MD5 algorithm) and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers. The stolen information did not include passwords in clear text, payment card data, or bank account information.

In November and December 2016, we disclosed that our outside forensic experts were investigating the creation of forged cookies that could allow an intruder to access users’ accounts without a password. Based on the investigation, we believe an unauthorized third party accessed the Company’s proprietary code to learn how to forge certain cookies. The outside forensic experts have identified approximately 32 million user accounts for which they believe forged cookies were used or taken in 2015 and 2016 (the “Cookie Forging Activity”). We believe that some of this activity is connected to the same state-sponsored actor believed to be responsible for the 2014 Security Incident. The forged cookies have been invalidated by the Company so they cannot be used to access user accounts.

The 2013 Security Incident, the 2014 Security Incident, and the Cookie Forging Activity are collectively referred to herein as the “Security Incidents.” With respect to each of the Security Incidents, the impacted users and appropriate regulatory and law enforcement agencies have been notified.

The Company, with the assistance of outside forensic experts, has concluded its investigation of the Security Incidents. The Company continues to work with U.S. law enforcement authorities on these matters.

Independent Committee Investigation

As previously disclosed, an independent committee (the “Independent Committee”) of the Board of Directors (the “Board”) has investigated the Security Incidents and related matters, including the scope of knowledge within the Company in 2014 of access to Yahoo’s network by the state-sponsored actor responsible for the theft and related incidents, the Company’s internal and external reporting processes and remediation efforts related to the 2014 Security Incident and related incidents. The Independent Committee has concluded its investigation, although it will continue to review developments regarding the Security Incidents and report to the Board on these issues, and cooperate with various government entities. The Independent Committee was assisted by independent counsel, Sidley Austin LLP, and a forensic expert. The Board has separately been advised by other outside counsel regarding the Security Incidents and recommendations regarding remedial actions.

Based on its investigation, the Independent Committee concluded that the Company’s information security team had contemporaneous knowledge of the 2014 compromise of user accounts, as well as incidents by the same attacker involving cookie forging in 2015 and 2016. In late 2014, senior executives and relevant legal staff were aware that a state-sponsored actor had accessed certain user accounts by exploiting the Company’s account management tool. The Company took certain remedial actions, notifying 26 specifically targeted users and consulting with law enforcement. While significant additional security measures were implemented in response to those incidents, it appears certain senior executives did not properly comprehend or investigate, and therefore failed to act sufficiently upon, the full extent of knowledge known internally by the Company’s information security team. Specifically, as of December 2014, the information security team understood that the attacker had exfiltrated copies of user database backup files containing the personal data of Yahoo users but it is unclear whether and to what extent such evidence of exfiltration was effectively communicated and understood outside the information security team. However, the Independent Committee did not conclude that there was an intentional suppression of relevant information.

Nonetheless, the Committee found that the relevant legal team had sufficient information to warrant substantial further inquiry in 2014, and they did not sufficiently pursue it. As a result, the 2014 Security Incident was not properly investigated and analyzed at the time, and the Company was not adequately advised with respect to the legal and business risks associated with the 2014 Security Incident. The Independent Committee found that failures in communication, management, inquiry and internal reporting contributed to the lack of proper comprehension and handling of the 2014 Security Incident. The Independent Committee also found that the Audit and Finance Committee and the full Board were not adequately informed of the full severity, risks, and potential impacts of the 2014 Security Incident and related matters.

Source: Yahoo 10-K

Smartwatch implants help track elephant sleep patterns

Humans are obsessed with sleep. We’ve not getting enough of it, and the tech world is flooded with wearables that confirm this fact. Now, scientists hope using activity monitors to study how and why animals sleep will help us get a better night’s rest.

Professor Paul Manger from Wits University and his colleagues are using a tracker called an Actiwatch to study elephant sleep patterns in Botswana. They removed the watches’ bands, insulated them with electrical tape and biologically inert wax, then attached them to the elephants’ trunks. The trunk is the most mobile appendage, Manger said, and if it’s still for more than five minutes it’s reasonable to assume the animal is asleep.

Using the loggers and GPS collars, researchers found the elephants slept for two hours per day on average. They slept standing up most of the time, only lying down for about an hour every three or four days. This is likely the only time they were able to go into REM sleep, which means elephants possibly don’t dream on a daily basis. The team also discovered the pachyderms could go without snoozing for up to 48 hours when disturbed by predators or poachers. Instead, they’d walk up to 18 miles away from the disturbance, giving up a night’s sleep to avoid danger.

Previous behavioral research found zoo elephants can sleep for around four hours per day, either standing or lying down. If this new study is confirmed, wild elephants will have the shortest-known sleep time of any land mammal.

“Understanding how different animals sleep is important for two reasons,” Manger told Phys.org. “First, it helps us to understand the animals themselves and discover new information that may aid the development of better management and conservation strategies, and, second, knowing how different animals sleep and why they do so in their own particular way, helps us to understand how humans sleep, why we do, and how we might get a better night’s sleep.”

Via: Phys.org

Source: PLOS ONE