Lawyer in copyright-trolling porn shakedown pleads guilty

Copyright issues typically follow big companies legally challenging folks who upload protected content without their say-so. But the two lawyers behind Prenda Law took file-sharing infringement to a bizarre level when they uploaded porn videos and laid in wait to sue anyone who downloaded them, raking in an incredible $6 million in extracted settlement fees. Both John Steele and Paul Hasmeier were indicted in mid-December for perjury, fraud and money laundering, and yesterday Steele pled guilty to the latter two. A porn troll has fallen.

Apparently, co-defendants Steele and Hansmeier had set up sham companies to get copyrights to pornographic movies — some they filmed themselves. Then they uploaded the videos to file-sharing websites and waited to pounce on users who downloaded them. Once they zeroed in on someone, the lawyers subpoenaed ISPs to get their victim’s information, taking a page from the patent troll playbook to threaten them with shame and legal penalties if they didn’t cough up thousands of dollars in settlement cash. Both men obscured their role in making the films and hid that they would profit from the lawsuits.

The beginning of the end came in spring 2013 when a US district judge sanctioned both lawyers for defrauding the court and passed their case to the FBI. After years of odd twists and turns, Steele has finally thrown in the towel and will be sentenced soon. His partner Paul Hansmeier’s case hasn’t been resolved, though he did lose his law license last year after legal regulators accused him of the same fraudulent activity marking the FBI and IRS case.

Via: Ars Technica

Source: US Department of Justice

Apple Captured 79% of Global Smartphone Profits in 2016

The iPhone captured 79 percent of global smartphone profits in 2016, according to new research from Strategy Analytics obtained by The Korea Herald. Global smartphone profit stood at $53.7 billion, with Apple’s iPhone profit accounting for $44.9 billion.

Apple held 14.5 percent global smartphone marketshare in 2016, second behind Samsung’s 20.8 percent global marketshare. For comparison, Samsung, which posted an $8.3 billion profit, accounted for 14.6 percent of global profits in 2016.

The Cupertino company typically dominates global profit share despite not holding a large amount of marketshare in the smartphone segment. In the first quarter of 2015 alone, Apple accounted for 92 percent of global smartphone profit on 20 percent of actual smartphone sales. Similarly, in the fourth quarter of 2014 Apple captured nearly 90 percent of smartphone profit.

Much of Apple’s success in late 2014 and early 2015 can be attributed to the popularity of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, sending Android global profit share down to 11.3 percent during the fourth quarter of 2014, down from 29.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013.

The popularity of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus helped bolster a .5 increase in smartphone shipments year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2016, edging Samsung to make Apple the world’s top smartphone maker in the quarter.

Related Roundup: iPhone 7
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Apple Says Many of the Vulnerabilities Detailed in ‘Vault 7’ Leaks Already Patched

Earlier today a new series of Wikileaks leaks that revealed the United States Central Intelligence Agency’s efforts to hack iPhones. The leaks detail a number of iOS exploits that can be used to bypass security on devices. Tonight, Apple said in a statement provided to TechCrunch that most of the vulnerabilities detailed in the leaks have been patched.

“Apple is deeply committed to safeguarding our customers’ privacy and security. The technology built into today’s iPhone represents the best data security available to consumers, and we’re constantly working to keep it that way. Our products and software are designed to quickly get security updates into the hands of our customers, with nearly 80 percent of users running the latest version of our operating system. While our initial analysis indicates that many of the issues leaked today were already patched in the latest iOS, we will continue work to rapidly address any identified vulnerabilities. We always urge customers to download the latest iOS to make sure they have the most recent security updates.”

Apple says its initial analyses indicates that many of the exploits detailed were patched in the latest version of iOS, and that it will continue to patch identified vulnerabilities. The Cupertino company closes by saying that it always urges users to download and install the latest version of iOS to ensure that they have the most recent security updates.

The Vault 7 revelations aren’t the first time the CIA has targeted Apple’s mobile devices. In 2015 it was reported that the CIA worked on ways to compromise both iPhones and iPads.

The full list of so-called “Year Zero” documents can be found on found on Wikileaks’ website.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tags: CIA, privacy, Wikileaks, Vault 7
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Amazon Prime is now available in Mexico

It’s been about two years since Amazon launched in Mexico via Amazon.com.mx, but starting Tuesday online shoppers in the country can finally sign up for unlimited free shipping and streaming video through Amazon Prime. Prime subscriptions have been steadily on the rise in recent years, especially outside of the US, and as TechCrunch notes today the Prime launch in Mexico is Amazon’s first in Latin America.

Prime subscribers in Mexico will also have access to free same-day delivery in and around Mexico City as well as free one-day shipping in Guadalajara, Puebla and Querétaro. Subscribers can also order items from the United States through Amazon EE.UU with free standard (6-9 day) shipping. Meanwhile, Prime Video will be going up against Netflix’s 1.2 million subscribers in Mexico, but will include all of Amazon’s original programming plus “hundreds of popular movies and TV shows,” according to the company.

Pricing is also slightly more affordable than Prime membership in the states: the first year of service will cost just 449 pesos — or about $23 — before doubling in the second year to the regular price of 899 pesos ($46).

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Amazon.com.mx

NVIDIA launches Jetson TX2 platform for drones and robots

NVIDIA has launched Jetson TX1’s successor at an event today, and it was designed to run twice as fast while drawing less than 7.5 watts of power. The product aptly called Jason TX2 is an AI platform for drones, robots, smart cameras and other embedded devices. It can be used for navigation, image and speech recognition, among other purposes. Since it’s more powerful than its predecessor and was specifically designed for “edge computing” — data processing at the source instead of in the cloud or a data center — it could leader to faster, smarter and more accurate devices.

Deepu Talla, vice president and general manager of the Tegra business at NVIDIA, said:

“Jetson TX2 brings powerful AI capabilities at the edge, making possible a new class of intelligent machines. These devices will enable intelligent video analytics that keep our cities smarter and safer, new kinds of robots that optimize manufacturing, and new collaboration that makes long-distance work more efficient.”

The chipmaker has also revealed that around a dozen partner companies are already using the TX2 in different ways. Cisco is using the platform for an all-in-one collaboration device that enables screen sharing, interactive whiteboarding and video conferencing. A company called Fellow Robots relies on TX2 to record on-shelf inventory and to detect items and availability in store. The platform also allows Live Planet to stitch 4K 360-degree videos for live streaming. It powers the vision-based algorithms in a compact-yet-powerful MIT drone, as well.

NVIDIA is now accepting pre-orders for the TX2 Developer Kit in the United States and Europe, with other locations to follow. It’ll set you back $599 to get the carrier-board-and-module, but you’ll at least get the package when it starts shipping on March 14th. The module-only TX2 is priced at $399, but it won’t start shipping until sometime in the second quarter. NVIDIA will also continue selling the TX1 Developer Kit for $499.

Source: NVIDIA

Lawsuit alleges Bose backed Doppler Labs to gain access to its tech

Why it matters to you

Plenty of other companies have come out with similar headphones to the Here One recently, and if Bose loses the lawsuit, this could be bad news for the firm.

Doppler Labs’ Here One earphones allow you to listen to music while choosing how much of the world around you that you hear, even going to far as to make distant sounds easier to hear. Bose’s Hearphones, released late last year, offer a very similar set of features. In a lawsuit filed in Bose’s home state of Massachusetts, Doppler Labs is alleging that this is more than a coincidence.

The filing alleges that Bose made attempts to gain early access to Doppler’s Here Active Listening system and Here One headphones, with the complaint specifically fingering Bose executive Chris Miller. On June 2, 2016, Miller allegedly became one of the backers of the Here Active Listening system. The suit also claims that when the Here One headphones became available for pre-order in June 2016, Miller was one of the first to do so.

More: Doppler Labs Here One review

“In fact, Mr. Miller contacted Doppler Labs’ customer support department on June 28 and June 30, 2016 to explicitly confirm that his order would be one of the first Here One listening systems with Here Buds wireless earbuds to ship to pre-order customers,” the lawsuit reads. “Again, on information and belief, it now appears that Mr. Miller was doing this to gain early access to a competitor’s technology.”

In the meantime, Bose filed a trademark application for its Hearphones on June 17, 2016. Bose wasn’t the only company to launch a similar product around this time, with Nuheara’s IQbuds and the Olive earbuds launching in the latter half of 2016. The difference is that while both of those companies are fairly new, Bose has been in business since 1964, so it’s difficult to imagine why the company would turn to such a risky practice instead of just spending more time on research and development.

More: Conversation-enhancing Hearphones from Bose will help you catch every word

So far, Bose has yet to officially respond to the claims, nor is Doppler Labs offering any details other than what is in the suit.

Will Apple release MacOS 11 or 10.13? We’ll have to wait to find out

Why it matters to you

If you wanted to see a brand-new MacOS 11 to go along with iOS 11 at WWDC this year, you might be disappointed.

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2017 is officially on the calendar, taking place in San Jose, California on June 5 to June 9. There, Apple makes its most important iOS and MacOS announcements, including giving the newest versions their names and numbers.

This year, some speculation suggested Apple might move on from MacOS 10.X, releasing a new MacOS 11 to go along with iOS 11. If some obscure web information is to be believed, however, that is not exactly likely to be the case, 9to5Mac reports.

More: Apple heads back to a familiar venue for WWDC 2017, sets date for event

Whenever the industry is wondering about a company’s upcoming plans, there are a few places that people look to find clues. One place is the web, where pages and placeholders are sometimes published that inadvertently give hints as to what is coming.

9to5Mac

One example is a recently published reference that is part of a “CatalogURL,” or a page that lists a variety of information on available or upcoming products and services. In Apple’s case, a recent CatalogURL includes a reference to MacOS 10.13, which would be the next step after MacOS 10.12, known as Sierra.

If that listing holds true, then we’re not like to see MacOS 11 makes its way in 2017. There is no guarantee that this will happen, however, and if Apple keeps MacOS at version 10, then it would be giving up the chance to release MacOS 11 and iOS 11 simultaneously.

9to5Mac indicates that they’ve seen both MacOS 11 and MacOS 10.13 machines hit their site over the previous few months, and so this might remain a question mark for the foreseeable future. Of course, we don’t have that long to wait until WWDC 2017, at which point all of the relevant Apple questions will be officially answered.

Netgear Orbi review

Research Center:
Netgear Orbi

One of the big home networking topics customers may hear about in 2017 is mesh technology. It’s recent, expanding on the current wireless router setup by incorporating multiple linked devices rather than relying on just one. It aims to provide complete wireless connectivity in a home or office, sending out a “blanket” of dependable coverage that seemingly fills every gap. There are only a handful of mesh networking kits available to buy for now, with Netgear’s Orbi system serving as one of the premium-priced kits on the market.

That said, the Orbi system isn’t exactly a cheap solution. The base “router” unit alone costs $250while each additional “satellite” unit is another $250. Netgear also sells a two-pack for $400, and a three-pack for an unknown price, sold only through a Costco membership. But with the premium price tags come premium features, such as three wireless bands, and a web-based interface packed full of settings customers can tweak.

This isn’t your typical plug-and-go mesh networking system

The Orbi kit provided to Digital Trends consisted of two nearly identical devices. One unit was labeled as the router, and the other unit as the satellite. At first glance, they were indistinguishable in appearance save for the temporary clear plastic band wrapped around the top displaying their intended purpose.

Kevin Parrish/Digital Trends

Kevin Parrish/Digital Trends

Kevin Parrish/Digital Trends

Kevin Parrish/Digital Trends

The Orbi kit is a completely different setup than what we saw with the Luma Wi-Fi system. All Luma units are small, hexagonal devices that can serve as the router or satellite. Even more, Luma sets out to make the process of installing and setting up the wireless mesh network quick and painless by relying on a lightweight smartphone app. That’s not the case with Netgear’s Orbi system at all. Each device has a specific purpose, and the one serving as a router must be accessed through a web browser.

More: Starry Station review

That should be good news for customers who want full control over their wireless network. The Luma system was highly restrictive despite offering many cool features. But with Orbi, users can dig into the root of the wireless network to change just about anything, such as switching off 20MHz and 40MHz channel width coexistence. Most people don’t know what that means, but if you do, and you have an opinion on it, you’ll be thrilled to see the option.

The initial setup required connecting the Orbi router unit to the ISP’s modem and then connecting a PC or wireless device to the router (wireless or Ethernet). An LED ring at the top of the router turned white once the modem and router got to know each other well, and the network was ready to expand to the additional satellite unit.

Orbi provides plenty of customization.

After finding a place for the satellite and powering it up, its LED ring initially went white and then changed to magenta, the latter color indicating that it’s syncing with the router. Once the two units agreed to be friends, the satellite’s LED ring displayed one of two colors — blue for a great connection, and amber for a fair connection. The sync button was used to reestablish a link with the router when the satellite unit was moved to a different location.

With everything up and running, it was time to connect a PC or mobile device to finish setting up the network. This was done through a web browser via the “orbilogin.com” address, and not a special app distributed through app stores. Through the web interface, users create the administrative account (user name, password, security questions), set up the wireless network’s name (SSID) and password, install new firmware if needed, and register the Orbi system on Netgear’s website.

Network tweakers should love the browser-based interface

Because there’s no app to easily load on a wired or wireless device, users can continue to tweak the Orbi network by opening a web browser, typing in the orbilogin address, and logging on. After that, the first thing they will see is an interface broken down into two main tabs: Basic and Advanced. The Home screens for each tab serve up basic at-a-glance info of the hardware and network, while also providing links to sub-sections to tweak specific settings.

For starters, every category listed under the Basic tab is self-explanatory, so advanced users should have no problems making simple changes to the system. That’s not the case for what’s listed under the main Advanced tab. The Setup section is where hardcore router tweakers can assign a static IP address, use specific DNS servers, so on. Meanwhile, the Security section provides means of blocking and allowing wired and wireless devices on the network, blocking services that use a specific protocol and port, and more.

The Advanced tab’s Administration section is where users can see the router’s status, the stored logs, and a list of connected devices. This is also where users can update the firmware, reset the router’s password, and save/restore a copy of the current settings. The Setup section provides more hardcore settings such as creating a virtual private network (VPN), port forwarding, port triggering, and creating static routes. Users can also turn on remote management to change the router’s settings from outside the network.

What users won’t see in the web-based interface is an option for sharing media across the network. This feature can be found within the standalone Netgear Genie app for PC, MacOS, Android, or iOS, enabling users to turn their PC or mobile device into a file server and video/audio streamer. Thus, despite the provided USB 2.0 port on the router and satellite, the app is the only file sharing feature.

To test the USB 2.0 port, we connected an external drive to the router, but couldn’t find any setting in the interface to enable the connected wired/wireless devices to see contents. The instructions say nothing about using an external drive, leading us to believe that perhaps this port is used to power the Orbi device when no power outlet is around. That led us to seek out customer support to find out more about this mysterious port.

Hello? Is anyone listing to our cry for help?

But that never panned out. When we previously tested the standalone $280 Starry Station router (which isn’t mesh-based), the provided app allowed us to call technical support, who was eager to help us 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With the Luma mesh networking system, the company called us right after we activated the system, which was both eerie and pleasant. Luma also provided immediate access to its 24-hour support line.

That’s not the case with the Netgear Orbi system. The quick-start guide merely provides a link to register the product and download documentation. To get customer support on the phone, users must have the Orbi’s serial number in hand, hunt down the “contact us” option on the website, and choose from a list of options that includes asking the community, searching the knowledge base, opening an email ticket, chatting online with an expert, or calling the company by phone.

Adding to that, customers who purchase the Orbi system have only 90 days of “complimentary” support. Thus, getting any kind of help from Netgear seemed like pulling teeth compared to Starry and Luma. On top of that, to get help from Netgear, customers must fill out a form and upload a proof of purchase despite previously filling in the requested serial number and purchase date.

The parental controls feature is a third-party service

That’s not the only annoyance we experienced with the Orbi system. While the setup provides a link to access parental controls in the web-based interface, the feature is not actually part of the router’s firmware. Instead, users are sent to Netgear’s website to download and install the standalone Netgear Genie app. This is a simple router manager that doesn’t provide the detailed amount of settings offered through the web-based interface. If anything, Netgear Genie is designed to quickly enable features from a mobile device such as the guest network or parental controls.

More: Securifi Almond 3 Smart Home Wi-Fi system review

The parental controls feature is powered by OpenDNS, a service provided by Cisco that blocks web sites based on a community-driven blacklist. The basic service doesn’t require registration, but the version provided through Netgear enables users to customize their list of blocked websites, requiring the creation of a free account. Once logged into OpenDNS, Orbi users are presented with a list of filtering levels to activate: None, Minimal, Low, Moderate, High, and Custom.

Netgear Orbi Compared To

Synology RT2600AC

Linksys Velop

Linksys WRT3200ACM

Plume Adaptive Wi-Fi

Starry Station

D-Link DIR-869 EXO AC1750

Portal Wi-Fi router

Ubiquiti Amplifi HD

HooToo TripMate Titan

TP-Link AC3150

Linksys EA9500 Max-Stream AC5400

Zyxel NBG6815 AC2200

Netgear Nighthawk X4S

Netgear Nighthawk X8

Google & TP-Link OnHub

After the parental controls are set, Orbi customers accessing the router’s web interface can click on the parental controls link and load up the OpenDNS panel instead of using the Netgear Genie app. Despite the fact these controls aren’t baked directly into the router, this setup still works well, and can be reconfigured simply by accessing the OpenDNS website from anywhere and any browser.

Don’t let that “tri-band” advertisement fool you

The Orbi router is an AC3000 class device. That’s because it’s a tri-band system offering one 2.4GHz connection at up to 400Mbps, one 5GHz connection at up to 866Mbps, and another 5GHz connection at up to 1,733Mbps. However, despite Netgear selling this product as a “tri-band” system, that speedy 1,733Mbps connection is only used for the satellite and router to communicate with each other, and can’t be used by other devices. Bummer.

More: Luma Surround WiFi review

Otherwise, the Orbi router consists of six internal antennas (three out, three in), 512MB of system memory, and 4GB of internal storage that’s only used by the Orbi’s operating system. Other features include MU-MIMO technology, beamforming, high-powered amplifiers, and support for 256-QAM modulation. That latter feature essentially means eight bits of data can be transferred per waveform in a Wi-Fi connection, which translates into more data transfers per connection.

So how does the Orbi system perform? Let’s take a look:

Device:
Samsung Galaxy
S7 Edge
Samsung Galaxy Tab E
Microsoft Surface 3
Lenovo Ideapad Laptop
Internal Wireless N
Lenovo Ideapad Laptop
External Wireless N
5GHz Default Max:
867Mbps
450Mbps
867Mbps
450Mbps
450Mbps
5GHz Tested Speeds:
780Mbps
150Mbps
866.5Mbps
N/A
433.5Mbps
2.4GHz Default Max:
400Mbps
300Mbps
400Mbps
300Mbps
300Mbps
2.4 GHz Speeds:
N/A
150Mbps
N/A
150Mbps
N/A

As the table shows, the Orbi system coughs up decent speeds depending on the device. The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge phone performed slightly better than the Galaxy S6 Edge previously used with the Luma system. However, the Samsung Galaxy Tab E tablet appeared to be bottlenecked not by the Orbi system, but what is likely the use of a 1×1 Wireless N component, meaning there’s only one antenna dedicated to transmitting and one dedicated to receiving, limiting the amount of data moving to and from the tablet.

The system managed decent coverage even in a tiled shower.

As for the Surface and Lenovo laptop numbers, these were provided by Windows 10. The Surface 3 hit the maximum theoretical limit on the 5GHz band, presumably due to two transmitting antennas, and two receiving antennas. However, we saw an improved speed on the 2.4GHz band with the Lenovo laptop compared to its performance on the Luma networking kit and the Starry Station router. That’s because the channel widths aren’t locked down to 20MHz, enabling more data transfers on a wider 40MHz channel width.

What’s strange is that when we enabled the implicit beamforming and MU-MIMO features, the connection speeds of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge took a nosedive. The phone saw speeds of 350Mbps instead of the previously seen 585Mbps. This problem cleared up after disabling these two features.

How is coverage when sitting on the porcelain throne?

To test the signal strength, we set the router in a home’s dining room and the satellite in the living room, which are separated by the kitchen and the vestibule. Using the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, we checked the speed in front of the router, in the living room (or about dead center between the router and satellite), outside on the front porch, and in the bathroom seated next to the dining room.

Location
Speed
Strength
Signal
Dining Room
780Mbps
100 percent
-43 dBm
Living Room
650Mbps
100 percent
-44 dBm
Front Porch
97Mbps
80 percent
-64 dBm
Bathroom Shower
260Mbps
93 percent
-43 dBm

As this test shows, the Orbi system provides decent coverage even when standing in a tiled shower with the Galaxy S7 Edge phone. And due to the system’s mesh-based design, that coverage will only get better when additional Orbi satellites are placed throughout the house. The drawback of course is the cost, as each satellite costs an additional $250. As previously stated, the Orbi kit we tested containing the router and satellite costs a hefty $400.

Our Take

Customers wanting to blanket their house or office with Wireless AC coverage should take a close look at Netgear’s Orbi system. Not only does it provide speeds of up to 866Mbps, but it provides plenty of customization so that users can tweak the wireless network for their needs. However, that means the Orbi system isn’t ideal for the mainstream consumer who wants to connect the system and go. It’s also rather expensive up front at $400, and costs and extra $250 per added satellite unit. We’ve seen some sales that slightly reduce the cost, but it remains an expensive system.

Is there a better alternative?

The DT Accessory Pack

Netgear Wi-Fi USB adapter

$48

Netgear Nighthawk S8000 8-Port gigabit ethernet switch

$100

Netgear 5-Port gigabit switch

$25

As we noted with the Lumi review, we really liked the Securifi Almond 3 router, which can be used as a mesh networking device even though it doesn’t ship as a kit. The Almond 3 offers great performance and includes an interesting touchscreen interface. Still, as a mesh-based system, the Orbi setup may be one of the most robust systems we’ve seen thus far. We still have the Eero system to test, so we’ll get back on that claim.

How long will it last?

Mesh networking is rather new, so products like Netgear’s Orbi system are here to stay. The first products began rolling out in the second half of 2016, and more such as the HiveSpot and HiveDot from Asus are slated to hit the market soon. There are non-mesh networking device manufacturers who will argue otherwise, but this technology may be a better option than purchasing a router and additional wireless extenders to fill the dead spots in a home of office. From what we’ve seen from mesh networking thus far, users benefit from blanket coverage rather than a central broadcast and devices repeating weakened signals.

Should you buy it?

Customers willing to shell out the initial $200 for the Orbi router and the added expense of $250 for extra satellites may want to take the Orbi plunge, including PC gamers. There’s quite a bit to tweak, enabling customers to set up the perfect wireless environment. The drawback to the Orbi system is that it’s not meant to plug and go. It doesn’t offer the installment and management simplicity seen with the Luma networking kit. Mainstream customers wanting a simple and physically small setup should consider a different mesh networking product.

Windows Update just not updating? Here’s how to give it a swift kick

Windows Update is sometimes underestimated as a cornerstone of your system’s integrity and security. Microsoft regularly delivers security patches, hotfixes, and software updates through Windows Update, and so if this service stops running or is turned off, then Windows can become vulnerable to bugs and security holes. The update process has been greatly streamlined for Windows 10, but that doesn’t mean it’s always problem-free, especially when it comes to compatibility and patches.

More: 12 of the biggest problems with Windows 10, and how to fix them

Here, we’ll show you how to get Windows Update working again when it fails, and what to do if it looks like an update is causing problems.

Go online and see if there’s a problem

Go online and take a look at Windows update news. We put this step first because it’s surprising how much it helps when you run into an unexpected problem. Search for a phrase like “Windows update problems” or “Windows 10 update” and see if there’s any recent news regarding the software.

In some cases, an update may suffer from known issues and will need to be patched. This is particularly common if the update fails to complete, or causes something to stop working.

The latest example is the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, which, ironically, brought back a host of bugs, errors, and installation failures. Searching for news like this allows you to quickly pinpoint the problem and potentially fix it, or turn updates off for the time being until a solution is found. Which brings us to another important point.

Google’s Gboard keyboard for Android is gaining translation, new themes

Why it matters to you

Google’s Gboard, the search giant’s alternative keyboard for Android and iOS, will soon let you type in another language.

Let it never be said that Gboard, the Google-made third-party keyboard for iOS and Android, doesn’t get a lot of the search giant’s attention. Starting in March, it is gaining a few useful new features in the form of automatic translation, new themes, and minor aesthetic tweaks.

As far as new features go, Gboard’s language translation feature is pretty self-explanatory: It transcribes words into any of the more than 90 languages that Google Translate, Google’s translation service, supports. Once you tap the Translate icon and select a language from the drop-down menu of options, Gboard sends the words you type to Google’s server and pastes the translated result into the app.

More: Google’s new iOS keyboard is the only one you’ll even need to download

One minor drawback worth noting is that translation only works online — even if you’ve saved a language for offline use.

Translating between languages isn’t the only new trick up the beta version of Gboard’s sleeve. It lets you beautify the keyboard with color themes — an improved selector user interface separates solid color themes, recently used themes, and landscape images into separate, easy-to-navigate rows.

Gboard’s update also boasts a “predictive emoji” feature that suggests the emoticon you’re most likely to use next. It adds a shortcut to Android’s voice dictation settings, too, and introduces supports for the Bashkir language.

More: Google brings Gboard search features to the Google Keyboard app on Android

The beta version is available for Android users who opt into the search giant’s testing platform.

Google, which introduced Gboard in May, hasn’t let it stagnate. In August, the search giant added support for five new languages (Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, and French) and Smart GIF, a feature that automatically suggests emoticons for certain things you type — texting “let’s party,” for example, serves up images of balloons, dancing skeletons, and other thematically relevant doodles. In January, Google rolled out the keyboard to Google app users on Android — if you have the Google app installed, you can enable Gboard without needing to download it separately.

Privacy concerns marred its initial release, but Google later clarified that words and phrases typed using Gboard weren’t passed through the search giant’s servers.

“Gboard will remember words you type to help you with spelling or to predict searches you might be interested in, but this data is stored only on your device,” according to its support page. “This data can’t be accessed by Google or by any apps other than Gboard.”