OnePlus teams up with Colette to launch limited-edition OnePlus 3T

OnePlus and Paris-based fashion boutique Colette are releasing a limited-edition version of the OnePlus 3T smartphone.

Dubbed the OnePlus 3T Colette edition, the phone is described as a “all-black edition” of the OnePlus 3T premium flagship smartphone. It is being launched now in celebration of Colette’s 20th anniversary. OnePlus has revealed it will even briefly host a pop-up shop in the Colette store in Paris only on 21 March to sell 250 units.

• OnePlus 3T tips and tricks: Master your 2017 flagship killer

The phone has 128GB of storage, 6GB of RAM, a Snapdragon 821 processor, Dash Charge, Android with OxygenOS, and a special engraving with the Colette logo. OnePlus will be offering a free set of the Bullets V2 earphones with each unit. If any of this interests you, the specially-made OnePlus 3T will be available for €479 (around £416).

Meet a new vision of class and power! Get the OnePlus 3T colette edition only at @coletteparis. Learn more https://t.co/0Zev7smhjb pic.twitter.com/OVawt8auqc

— OnePlus (@oneplus) March 15, 2017

This isn’t the first time OnePlus has teamed up with Colette. They also partnered last year. OnePlus collaborated with Colette ahead of the launch of the OnePlus 2 and the OnePlus X. It also did another pop-up shop for the OnePlus 3. OnePlus’ latest pop-up will open at 11am GMT on 21 March in the Colette store at 213 Rue Saint Honore in Paris.

Check out Pocket-lint’s review of the OnePlus 3T for more details about what the original phone features.

OnePlus

Google’s AI gets human help to avoid offensive search results

Google is making a new push to eliminate offensive search results such as those that appeared from US neo-Nazi site Stormfront in response to queries about the Holocaust. As Search Engine Land noticed, the site has revised its guide on how to assess search result quality for around 10,000 of its “quality rater” contractors. That includes a new “upsetting-offensive” content flag for the promotion of violence or hate against minorities and other groups, racial content, graphic violence and human trafficking.

On a search for “holocaust history,” for instance, Google instructs raters on how to handle two different results (below). The first shows a post from said racist site Stormfront on Holocaust denial, something that’s actually a crime in over 20 countries. Google tells raters to flag that with the “Upsetting-Offensive” flag “because of the direct relationship between Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism.

Google says the second example from The History Channel doesn’t require the “Upsetting-Offensive” flag, though. Even though it’s clearly an upsetting topic, “this result is a factually accurate source of historical information” that, unlike Stormfront, “does not exist to promote hate or violence against a group of people,” the document states.

Once the raters flag a result, nothing happens immediately. Rather, they’re used by Google’s coding team and, in turn, its AI algorithms, to improve the search engine overall. Once all that kicks in, someone searching for history about the Holocaust will be less likely to run into a denial site, if things go as planned. However, determined searchers will still find such results if they specifically seek them out by naming a site, Google points out.

The company has used the new guidelines with select raters and updated its algorithm late last year. Now, searching with a query like “did the holocaust happen” no longer returns Stormfront as the top result and instead surfaces pages from the United States Holocaust Museum. Other queries still turn out questionable results, but Google told Search Engine Land it’s “pleased” with the raters’ work so far. “We will see how some of this works out,” said Google engineer Paul Haahr. “We’re learning as we go.”

Via: Search Engine Land

Source: Google

Netflix offers 20 classic ‘MST3K’ episodes to the world

In the not-too distant future (April 14th, 2017 AD), a brand-new season of crowdfunded Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes will hit Netflix. Before then, however, 20 classic episodes of the show have been added to the streaming service globally both to whet appetites and create new fans of the cult classic. The episodes include fan favorites as Manos: The Hands of Fate, Time Chasers and Space Mutiny.

It’s not the first time that Netflix has used such a strategy, offering a show across its global audience in time for a revival. For instance, while Gilmore Girls was available in the US since October 2014, Netflix released the show worldwide on July 1st. That paved the way for the Year in the Life revival series, which made its global debut the subsequent November. Similarly, a handful of MST3k episodes have appeared on US Netflix, but this could be its widest rollout since.

Owing to the mishmash of varying rights holders, it’s never been easy to watch MST3k episodes outside the US. By releasing 20 of the show’s finest episodes, including Space Mutiny, the number of people who can recall that weird show with the puppets talking through movies should increase substantially. We’d pepper this closing line with in-jokes, but let’s be honest, it is just a show, and we should really just relax.

Sound waves can be used to fool your phone’s motion sensors

It’s tempting to assume that the sensors on your mobile devices are trustworthy. Surely something that relies on real-world activity can’t lie, right? Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case. Scientists have discovered that you can fool mobile devices’ motion sensors into registering non-existent data by playing the right sounds. The technique involves playing a tone at the resonant frequency for the spring structures inside accelerometer chips, much in the same way as you might shatter a wine glass. It’s not strictly hacking (not in the conventional sense, anyway), but it could lead to an outsider taking control of motion-related features in the right circumstances.

In tests, the team managed to steer an app-controlled toy car by playing carefully crafted music through an Android phone’s speaker. They also got a phone to spell out the word “walnut” in a graph through another piece of music, and made a Fitbit tracker record imaginary steps using a basic speaker. None of these specific attacks are particularly frightening, but the team notes that this could theoretically be used to hijack drones or other vehicles that depend on motion sensing to get around.

The good news: this is relatively easy to defend against. There are two “low-cost” software solutions to thwart the resonant frequency exploit, and the researchers have already reached out to manufacturers (including Fitbit and Samsung) to make sure they’re aware of the issue. This particular vulnerability might not last long. However, it’s still an eye-opener — it shows that sensor security can be just as important as the operating system or your apps.

Source: University of Michigan (1), (2)

Cancelled ’90s arcade fighter ‘Primal Rage II’ released online

Forget Tekken 7, 2017’s hottest new fighting game has just arrived – only it’s 22 years later than originally expected. After being cancelled in 1995, Kotaku reports that Atari’s long-lost Primal Rage II has found its way onto the internet. Downloading an emulator will allow 90’s fighting fans to dive straight into a competent build of the ill-fated beat ’em up. While some menus are still incomplete and it has its fair share of bugs, players will find that the dino-brawling itself works.

For the uninitiated, Primal Rage made a name for itself in the ’90s thanks to its cutting-edge stop motion animation. The prehistoric fighter soon found it’s way onto almost every home gaming console available at the time, prompting the announcement of a sequel. Just a year into development, however, Atari’s financial troubles gave them cold feet, causing the company to pull the plug on Primal Rage II.

This isn’t the first time a canned gaming project has appeared online. With video games often costing huge amounts of money to produce, it’s no surprise that countless brilliant concepts have fallen by the wayside over the years. Thanks to the ease of communication afforded by the internet, however, not all canceled titles are doomed to the scrapheap of history. Now, let’s see more of that promising looking Star Wars 1313 please, LucasArts.

Source: Kotaku

NVIDIA releases a tool to benchmark your VR setup

If you’ve ever wanted to make sure that your PC’s virtual reality setup is running as well as it possibly can, you now have the software you need. NVIDIA has released its promised FCAT VR tool, which can check for dropped or synthesized frames, warp misses and other signs that a VR title isn’t running smoothly. It’ll even show you how a VR program runs at different detail levels, so you’ll know if you need to tone down the graphics setting to get optimal performance.

You’re most likely to find use for this as a gamer, since it’s an easy way to gauge whether or not your PC is fast enough to handle that hot new VR experience. However, NVIDIA also sees this as particularly helpful for developers and hardware makers that want to fine-tune their products. You may see fewer games that choke on reasonably fast hardware, and graphics card drivers that are more explicitly VR-friendly.

Source: GeForce

Frank Oz on Muppets, puppets and CG Yoda

Frank Oz needs no introduction. He’s voiced iconic characters like Yoda and Miss Piggy and directed classic films like Little Shop of Horrors and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. His impact extends far beyond geek circles; he’s a creative legend in Hollywood. I had a chance to chat with Oz at SXSW this week about his upcoming documentary, Muppet Guys Talking: Secrets Behind the Show the Whole World Watched.

As he explains it, the film is the first time several core Muppet puppeteers had a chance to sit down and dish about their experience with the series. Of course, I couldn’t help but ask about his entire career. We discussed how he managed to pull off scenes in The Muppet Movie and Little Shop of Horrors as well as how CG compares to traditional puppetry. And yes, I asked him about CG Yoda as well as if the character will be making a return in Star Wars.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from SXSW 2017.

McDonald’s Tests Mobile App Ordering That Uses Geo-Fencing to Optimize Food Prep Time

Although it’s late to the mobile ordering trend, McDonald’s today has begun testing an update to its smartphone app that will allow customers to create an order anywhere and pay for it through the app when they arrive at their local McDonald’s. In a bid to avoid customer congestion, long wait lines, and cold food, the app will use geo-fencing to detect when each customer is getting closer to the McDonald’s and alert staff to begin preparing their meal accordingly (via Reuters).

The tests have begun today at 29 McDonald’s locations in Monterey and Salinas, California, and will expand to 51 new locations Spokane, Washington on March 20. Jim Sappington, McDonald’s executive vice president of operations, said that the tests are intended to work out any kinks in the mobile order and pay update before a wide rollout in almost all of the 14,000 U.S. McDonald’s locations by the end of 2017. Around 6,000 others will also get the update in Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, Australia, and China.

In the current state of the McDonald’s app [Direct Link] users can browse the menu, get deals, and find nearby locations. Sappington hopes that the update results in an overall experience that’s “clearly better” to use.

If its famous french fries are served cold or if mobile customers have to wait for orders, “you get a question of ‘Why did I use the app?’,” Sappington said. “Our focus is to make the overall experience clearly better.”

McDonald’s said that automating more orders should cut transaction times, reduce errors and free up workers to do things like deliver food to tables or cars in spots designated for mobile orders.

“It’s better to be right than to be first to market,” McDonald’s Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook said recently.

While customers will browse the menu and place their order outside of the local McDonald’s, the app is said to ask for an order confirmation and payment “when the customer arrives at the restaurant,” seemingly when the geo-fencing feature kicks in. After that, the kitchen will begin preparing the order. Janna Sampson, a McDonald’s investor, questioned the utility of this process: “If they don’t start your order until you pull in the lot, are you really gaining that much time?”

In the final version of the app, customers will also be able to pick table dining, drive-through, or curb-side delivery when they place their meal orders. McDonald’s competitors like Chick-fil-A include mobile ordering with counter pick-up as well as a QR code-based checkout option. McDonald’s didn’t detail how payments work with its new mobile order update, but traditional credit cards tied to user accounts are expected. Given McDonald’s early embrace of mobile wallets like Apple Pay, those could be included as well.

Tag: McDonald’s
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Apple Opening Three New Stores Next Saturday, Including First in Downtown Miami

Apple today announced that its all-new retail store at the new Brickell City Centre shopping mall in Miami opens on Saturday, March 25 at 10:00 a.m. local time. Apple has four existing stores in the Miami area, but this will be the first to be located in the city’s thriving downtown core.

Apple Brickell City Centre will be one of three Apple retail stores to open on that day alongside new locations at Schildergasse in Cologne, Germany and Jinmao Place in Nanjing, China, which also open at 10:00 a.m. local time respectively. All three are brand new stores, not renovated or relocated ones.

Brickell City Centre is a new shopping and mixed-use development in Miami’s financial district. Apple’s plans to open a retail store there were revealed in February 2016, and construction began shortly afterwards. The location is expected to be one of Apple’s largest retail stores in Florida.

Apple continues to renovate and expand a number of its stores across the United States with a new design introduced in 2015, including its relocated St. Johns Town Center store that opened March 11 in Jacksonville, Florida. Apple’s Woodland Mall store in Grand Rapids, Michigan is next on the docket.

The newer look often includes wider open spaces with some combination of large glass doors, touch-sensitive sequoia wood tables and shelves, seating areas for community events, large 6K resolution video screens for product marketing, indoor trees, and light boxes extending the length of the ceiling.

Elsewhere in the United States, Apple’s expanded Pentagon City store in the Washington D.C. area reopened on March 4, while its Danbury, Connecticut store location closed for renovations in early February.

Related Roundup: Apple Stores
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Huawei Watch 2 Sport vs. LG Watch Sport: Which Android Wear 2.0 watch is better?

Huawei has finally taken the wraps off the second iteration of the Huawei Watch, and unlike the first time around, the company has actually launched two devices: The Huawei Watch 2 Sport and the Huawei Watch 2 Classic. Given the slew of new sports-focused devices — including the recently-unveiled LG Watch Sport — it can be hard to decide which one is right for you.

That’s why we’ve decided to compare one of Huawei’s latest watches with LG’s latest flagship when it comes to specs, design, and other notable facets.

More: The best fitness trackers you can buy

Specs

Huawei Watch 2 Sport

LG Watch Sport

Size
48.9 x 45 x 12.6 mm (1.93 x 1.77 x 0.50-inches)
45.4 x 51.2 x 14.2 mm (1.79 x 2.02 x 0.56-inches)
Weight
57g (2.01oz)
89.4g (3.15oz)
Screen
1.2-inch AMOLED
1.38-inch P-OLED
Resolution
390 x 390 pixels
480 x 480 pixels
Operating System
Android Wear 2.0
Android Wear 2.0
Storage
4GB
4GB
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100
Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100
RAM
768MB
768MB
LTE Support
Yes (international version only)
Yes
Connectivity
GSM/HSPA/LTE/Wi-Fi b/g/n
GSM/HSPA/LTE/Wi-Fi b/g/n
Bluetooth
Yes, version 4.1
Yes, version 4.2
GPS
Yes
Yes
Battery
420mAh
430mAh
Water Resistance
IP68
IP68
Sensors
Accelerometer, gyroscope, heart rate, barometer, compass
Accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, heart rate, barometer
Colors
Orange, Black, Grey
Titanium, Dark Blue
DT Review
Hands-On
3/5 Stars

It seems as though wearable devices are a lot less varied in the specs department than smartphones, and that proves to be true in this case. Both the LG Watch Sport and Huawei Watch 2 Sport feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, which is Qualcomm’s wearable-specific chip. Not only that, but they also both offer 4GB of storage, 768MB of RAM, LTE support, and Wi-Fi support. In other words, you could certainly argue that these are the same devices in a different case.

There are, however, a few subtle differences. The LG Watch Sport, for example, features Bluetooth 4.2 instead than Bluetooth 4.1, which is slightly faster and adds Bluetooth over Internet Protocol version 6. While there are advantages to Bluetooth 4.2 over Bluetooth 4.1, in reality, you’re unlikely to notice a difference in the connectivity between the two.

When it comes to battery life, the LG Watch Sport offers a 430mAh battery, while the Huawei Watch 2 Sport opts for a 420mAh alternative. It’s possible that the Huawei Watch will eat up battery quicker than LG’s offering, but we’ll have to perform more tests before we can be certain.

When it comes to general performance, there’s basically no difference between these two devices.

Winner: Tie