How to turn your armchair activism into online good

A lot has been going on around the world lately, and you may have felt the need to express your frustrations at things happening that you don’t agree with. Sitting around and complaining about the injustices happening around you is fine (relatively speaking) when you’re a teen with limited resources. But as a grownup, you should help the causes you support. In addition to pledging money, signing petitions and participating in one of the many marches around the nation, there are several other ways for you to help people in need without having to leave your house. And you can do them regardless of your political leanings.

One of the most immediate things you can do, if you have space in your home, is volunteer to house those who need shelter. When Trump issued his original refugee ban in January, Airbnb announced it would provide free housing to refugees and those not allowed in the US. The company has since expanded the offer, pledging to accommodate 100,000 displaced people around the world over five years. If you have the room and wish to participate, you can sign up on Airbnb’s website.

Another opportunity to protect the oppressed or bullied is YouTube’s Heroes program, which recruits volunteers to flag inappropriate comments and videos, as well as add captions and subtitles to clips. As children, we relied on our parents or adult caregivers to defend us against mean kids or neighborhood tyrants. Now that we’ve grown up, we should support others as well, especially in places that can get as abusive as YouTube and the rest of the Internet.

There are many ways to volunteer online without politics getting in the way, too. You can “micro volunteer” — that is, carry out small, short tasks to benefit ongoing projects. There are a plethora of options for you here — from playing a short game to snapping pictures of your food — that require very little effort at all. The website for Micro Volunteering Day, which happens every April 15th, lists dozens of ways you can help scientists, researchers and nonprofit organizations through simple tasks.

If you’re concerned about the environmental impact of the recent confirmation of climate change skeptic Scott Pruitt as head of the Environmental Protection Agency, you can zero in on green volunteering opportunities. These include tagging images of animals to aid conservation efforts, recording snowfall levels or soil data to create real-time maps and reporting wild fruit and vegetable sightings to minimize food waste.

Finally, if you have the cash to spare or you’re willing to openly declare your stance on a particular issue, you can always donate or add your name to a petition. Change.org is just one of many online petition portals that lets you support a movement. And if you’re willing to pick up the phone, calling your district representative is a more-effective way of ensuring your voice is heard on issues you feel strongly about. Calls to congressional offices are logged, and if enough of them are recorded, legislators sometimes have no choice but to reconsider controversial bills and policies.

Regardless of your motivation, a large part of being an adult is taking care of the people around you. And thanks to the vast reaches of the Internet, you can leave a real impact and truly benefit those in need.

Check out all of Engadget’s “Adult Week” coverage right here.

Samsung Introduces Siri Rival ‘Bixby’ Ahead of Galaxy S8

Samsung today officially announced Bixby, a new intelligent interface for its devices, starting with the upcoming Galaxy S8.

Galaxy S8 renders leaked by Evan Blass
Samsung said Bixby will be “fundamentally different” than virtual assistants like Siri and Cortana in that it will be deeply integrated within apps. The interface will be able to support almost every task that an app is capable of performing using conventional touch commands, rather than just a few selected tasks.

When using a Bixby-enabled application, users will be able to call upon Bixby at any time and it will understand the current context and state of the application and will allow users to carry out the current work-in-progress continuously. Bixby will allow users to weave various modes of interactions including touch or voice at any context of the application.

Samsung added that Bixby will be intelligent enough to understand commands with incomplete information and execute the commanded task to the best of its knowledge, and the interface will then prompt users to provide more information and “take the execution of the task in piecemeal.”

Samsung said Bixby, at its core, is about removing friction. The interface will have a dedicated button on the left side of the Galaxy S8, and its supposed completeness, contextual awareness, and cognitive tolerance is designed to make using the smartphone more seamless and intuitive.

Dr. Injong Rhee, Samsung’s head of research and development for software and services, speaking with The Verge:

“A lot of other agents are focused on being knowledgeable, providing answers to fact-based questions, glorified extensions of search. Bixby is capable of developing a new interface to our devices, or devices that are going to host Bixby.”

Bixby will initially be limited to ten preinstalled apps on the Galaxy S8. The intelligent interface will gradually expand to Samsung’s other smartphones, and even its other products like TVs, wearables, and air conditioners, while Samsung plans to open up Bixby to third-party apps in the future.

Tags: Samsung, Galaxy S8, Bixby
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Apple’s AR Team Includes Talent From Lucasfilm and Weta Digital, Smart Glasses Still ‘A Ways Off’

It’s been known that Apple has people working on augmented reality initiatives for future devices, which range from the technology’s inclusion in a future version of the iPhone to separate “mixed reality” glasses. Today, a Bloomberg report has gathered all of the speculation surrounding Apple and AR together, while also providing some insight into a few lesser-known areas of Apple’s AR project.

Apple’s augmented reality team is said to combine “the strengths of its hardware and software veterans,” along with new additions within the company, according to people familiar with Apple’s plans. The team is run by Mike Rockwell, who came from Dolby, and also consists of Yury Petrov (formerly of Oculus), Avi Barzeev (formerly of HoloLens), Cody White (formerly of Amazon’s VR project “Lumberyard”), Tomlinson Holman (formerly of Lucasfilm), and more.

A concept image of what AR on future iPhones could look like.
The total scope of Apple’s AR team is rounded out by many camera and optical lens engineers, as well as “people with experience in sourcing the raw materials for the glasses.” Apple has even included talent from 3D animation company Weta Digital, which worked on films like Avatar and The Lord of the Rings. This team of individuals, along with AR advocate Tim Cook, see the new technology as a way for Apple “to dominate the next generation of gadgetry and keep people wedded to its ecosystem.”

Apple has built a team combining the strengths of its hardware and software veterans with the expertise of talented outsiders, say the people, who requested anonymity to discuss internal strategy. Run by a former Dolby Laboratories executive, the group includes engineers who worked on the Oculus and HoloLens virtual reality headsets sold by Facebook and Microsoft as well as digital-effects wizards from Hollywood. Apple has also acquired several small firms with knowledge of AR hardware, 3D gaming and virtual reality software.

The separate glasses are said to still be “a ways off,” but AR integrated iPhone devices could show up much sooner, said the inside sources. Bloomberg compared the AR glasses to the Apple Watch, mentioning that the technology would come with its own OS and likely be tethered to an iPhone to send images and content to the user while consuming a lot of power, forcing Apple to find a battery life solution that would fit in the wearable’s small frame. In addition to battery problems, Apple will have to find a way to convince users to wear the glasses in the first place.

Explanations regarding the usefulness of AR on an iPhone remain scarce, but some feature details were also provided by Bloomberg today. The camera-specific abilities include ways for users to change the depth of an entire photo, or the depth of a specific object in the photo. In the past, Apple has cited interest in such technology, filing a patent for a digital camera with a refocusable imaging mode adapter that could be included in an iPhone. Former CEO Steve Jobs even met with a company, Lytro, who created the first light field camera.

Hundreds of engineers are now devoted to the cause, including some on the iPhone camera team who are working on AR-related features for the iPhone, according to one of the people. One of the features Apple is exploring is the ability to take a picture and then change the depth of the photograph or the depth of specific objects in the picture later; another would isolate an object in the image, such as a person’s head, and allow it to be tilted 180 degrees. A different feature in development would use augmented reality to place virtual effects and objects on a person, much the way Snapchat works.

Apple is believed to be working on virtual reality technology, in addition to its interest in augmented reality, but with the success of apps like Pokémon Go the rumor cycle has taken to suggest that the company is betting more on AR. It’s still unclear when a product including either piece of technology might launch. Recent concept images of the “iPhone 8” have taken a crack at visualizing AR features on an Apple smartphone, baking in “enhanced Siri” abilities and augmented reality directly into the user interface.

Although many companies continue to invest time and money into both AR and VR, data collected by a number of market research firms late last year suggested that sales for such devices were weakening amid consumer apathy, grown out of a lack of interesting content and expensive prices.

Related Roundup: Apple VR Project
Tag: bloomberg.com
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Apple Online Store Going Down for ‘Maintenance’ Tomorrow Morning Ahead of Rumored Product Updates

Apple has updated its System Status page to indicate that its online store will be “updated and unavailable” due to “maintenance” tomorrow, Tuesday, March 21, between 3:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

The timing of the downtime will naturally stir speculation given that Apple is rumored to launch new products as early as this week. Moreover, Apple commonly issues press releases at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, which is exactly when the so-called “maintenance” update is scheduled to be completed.

Last week, a well-known research firm that requested confidentiality told us that, based on their own sources, it expects Apple to announce new products later this month, most likely during this week. The research firm did not say which products it expects, or the manner in which they will be announced.

The research firm did not disclose which products it expects Apple to announce, but rumors have widely suggested at least a trio of new iPad Pro models will be unveiled as early as this month, including an all-new 10.5-inch model with slimmer bezels and updated 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch versions.

Given that it is already March 20, and that Apple usually invites the media to its launch events at least 10 days beforehand, an update to its online store accompanied by a press release is likely at this point if new products are imminent.

Japanese blog Mac Otakara said Apple will host a March event to debut its new iPad Pro lineup, a larger iPhone SE model with 128GB storage, new Apple Watch bands, and a red color option for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but this rumor is looking increasingly unlikely with only 11 days remaining in March.

Apple recently redesigned its System Status page to provide more granular details about the status of its services, so there is no precedence for it foreshadowing new product announcements this way. In saying that, it is certainly possible that the downtime will indeed be related to maintenance and nothing else.

(Thanks, Nathan!)

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Tags: system status, Apple retail
Buyer’s Guide: 12.9″ iPad Pro (Caution)
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Researchers make concrete production carbon neutral

Concrete is not just the key to our built future, but a principal reason as to why we won’t live to see the utopia it creates. After all, production of the building material contributes around five percent of the planet’s total CO2 emissions. Thankfully, Professor Stuart Licht, the scientist who’s already worked out a way to save us from disaster, may have developed the solution.

Licht is the mind behind STEP, a process where atmospheric carbon dioxide is sucked out of the sky and turned into carbon fibers. That would turn a gas that is slowly killing us into a cheap, and abundant, material that’s both ultra-strong and ultra-light. Imagine the waste products from power stations being turned into airplane fuselages or car bodies.

Since STEP’s announcement, Licht and his team has been working on improving the process to increase its usefulness. The latest change has been to make the system, now called C2CNT, create carbon nanotubes, which could form the basis of anything from composite materials through to batteries. It’s worth noting, too, that researchers recently found a way to turn graphene into a superconductor.

Licht’s latest trick has been to examine a way to make concrete production climate neutral, cheaper and more efficient. His idea is, essentially, to graft on a small C2CNT plant to the concrete factory’s exhaust flue, catching all of the CO2 that would otherwise be pumped out. The process would then separate out the carbon dioxide, which would be spun into carbon nanotubes, and oxygen.

The oxygen would then be pumped back into the concrete plant’s furnaces, making them burn far hotter with far less fuel need, saving money. The carbon nanotubes, meanwhile, could then be sold on the open market at a for-profit cost that would make it highly persuasive to any business-type. After all, Licht’s calculation is that for every $100 of cement produced, the factory would have $60,000 worth of nanotubes to sell.

One of the strengths of Licht’s solutions is that he’s intending to make global warming solutions cheap and cost effective. Narrow-minded accountants aren’t likely to spend big on climate-saving technology from a sense of altruism, after all. But by selling the by-products of concrete for tens of thousands more dollars than the concrete itself could, and should, be persuasive.

Source: Science Direct, (2)

Openreach’s VR videos detail the humdrum life of a network engineer

Of all the incredible and entertaining uses of virtual reality, trust Openreach to come up with arguably the most boring content ever for the fledgling medium. BT recently agreed to spin its Openreach infrastructure business into a legally separate company after pressure from regulator Ofcom and the telecoms industry as a whole, but in the interim, the show must go on. Openreach today announced an engineering recruitment drive that aims to attract 1,500 trainees over the next either months to embark on a year-long programme. And for the first time, they can sample some of the mundane realities of being a network engineer through the magic of VR.

Potential trainees will be able to immerse themselves in such 360-degree video experiences as: kneeling next to a roadside cabinet, clinging to the top of a telephone pole and exploring the inside of an Openreach van. And you needn’t feel like you’re missing out if you have no intention of becoming an Openreach trainee. The company has published all the videos to YouTube for anyone with a PC, phone, tablet or VR headset to enjoy.

Source: Openreach, YouTube

Samsung unveils Bixby, its Siri competitor

It was only a matter of time until Samsung launched a full-fledged virtual assistant of its very own — “S Voice” just never quite cut it. Today the company unveiled Bixby, a new assistant that’ll debut with the Galaxy S8 on March 29th. Naturally, it’s meant to help Samsung differentiate itself from Apple’s Siri and Google’s Assistant. Bixby seems different on a conceptual level: It’s meant to serve as a new voice-based interface for controlling your apps, rather than just something that you can ask a few questions.

“Instead of humans learning how the machine interacts with the world (a reflection of the abilities of designers), it is the machine that needs to learn and adapt to us,” Samsung senior vice president InJong Rhee wrote in a blog post. “The interface must be natural and intuitive enough to flatten the learning curve regardless of the number of functions being added. With this new approach, Samsung has employed artificial intelligence, reinforcing deep learning concepts to the core of our user interface designs.”

Yes, that all reads a bit like a buzzword salad, but there’s definitely a need for a different sort of virtual assistant. Siri has mostly been a disappointment, and Google Assistant is still getting off the ground. The big problem for Samsung is that, historically, it hasn’t been known for innovating with software as much as it has with hardware. Just look at how disappointing S Voice has been for the past few years.

As the company explains it, Bixby will be able to control almost everything you could do in an app with a touchscreen. It will reportedly also be contextually aware, allowing you to jump between voice and touch commands as you’re trying to accomplish something. Finally, Samsung claims Bixby can understand incomplete commands, so you hopefully won’t be forced to memorize rote phrases.

It’s still unclear what’s powering Bixby at this point. Samsung picked up the AI assistant company Viv last year, which showed off some intriguing capabilities when it was first demoed. But according to the WSJ, Bixby is actually based on an upgraded version of S Voice. We’ll most likely see Viv’s technology integrated into Bixby down the line, though.

Source: Samsung

Mysterious Apple device turns out to be a… badge reader

The frenzy to uncover pre-production Apple devices is not what it used to be, but folks still go to great lengths to find secret Cupertino info. That’s why a recent FCC discovery about a mysterious NFC and Bluetooth-equipped Apple device caused some internet frothing. The filing showed a device with Bluetooth and NFC wireless capability, but no other details or pictures. Along with the screw positions on the label, that led to speculation that the long-awaited 4K Apple TV could be coming soon.

However, Business Insider has spotted a follow-up FCC filing of the same device, and this one has plenty of pictures. They show it’s likely just an NFC-enabled badge reader that attaches to a door entry system (insert tire deflating sound). What’s more, this seems destined for Apple’s own corporate or retail use and not for consumers.

If you’re really looking (hard) for something interesting, the device could be the keyless entry system Apple’s using at its new spaceship “Apple Park” campus opening next month (April 2017). Either way, we imagine that Apple is having a good laugh about it, and it’s a reminder of why we always tell readers to take such rumors with a grain of salt.

Via: 9 to 5 Mac

Source: FCC

Young, sexy, and adventurous? Guess says its new Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch is for you

Why it matters to you

Guess is the latest to prove that in 2017, it’s finally possible to choose a smartwatch made by brand that understands fashion and style, rather than just technology.

No, it’s not a line from a poorly written dating profile; fashion and lifestyle brand Guess really does say its new Guess Connect smartwatches are just the thing for the “young, sexy, and adventurous.” Guess has taken a stab at smartwatches before, when the company teamed up with Martian for a range of hybrid watches. Only those wearables aren’t especially sexy or adventurous. This time, Guess is working with Google and Qualcomm, and the result looks considerably smarter.

Guess will produce two versions of the new Connect, a 41mm version it says is for women, and a larger 44mm model for men. The two are differentiated by color and style, too. The 41mm Connect will come in shades of silver, gold, or rose gold, and have clear crystals around the case. The 44mm Connect will be made in classic and sport looks. Accompanying the different body styles are more than 100 different watch face and sub-dial combinations, ready to fine tune the Connect’s look even further, plus a range of straps.

More: Montblanc Summit smartwatch: Our first take

Android Wear 2.0 will be installed so the watch works with both Android and iOS, while its Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor provides the power. Guess hasn’t released any further technical information regarding the Connect watches, and therefore we don’t know whether they will come with GPS, how large the battery will be, or the size and resolution of the screen. The announcement is quite early, and Guess intends to put both watches on sale after summer, targeting release for some time during the fall or winter this year.

The Guess Connect comes soon after Montblanc announced the Android Wear 2.0-powered Summit smartwatch, and Tag Heuer revealed the Connected Modular 45 watch. Both these cost considerably more than Android Wear watches made by Huawei and LG, and it’s likely the Guess Connect will fall into the same price bracket. For reference and comparison, the current Guess Connect, with technology from Martian, cost at least $250 depending on the style.

Best app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time

Everyone likes apps, but sometimes the best ones are a bit expensive. Now and then, developers make paid apps free for a limited time, but you have to snatch them up while you have the chance. Here are the latest and greatest apps on sale in the iOS App Store.

These apps normally cost money, and this sale lasts for a limited time only. If you go to the App Store and it says the app costs money, that means the deal has expired and you will be charged. 

More: 200 Awesome iPhone Apps | The best Android apps for almost any occasion

Crazy Tapper +

Just tap and tap stars as quickly as possible and compete with players worldwide. See how high of a score you can achieve in just 60 seconds.

Available on:

iOS

Balloon Love

This addictive but simple game is for people who love balloons. Love Balloons float across your screen unpredictably. Tap them, but don’t tap the black ones!

Available on:

iOS

Louvre HD

Can’t get to the Louvre IRL? No problem, just use this app and take a unique, guided tour through one of the world’s most famous collections of art and culture.

Available on:

iOS

Fireworks Tap

This app was created for my infant son. Tap the screen and watch the fireworks explode. Unleash your inner pyromaniac.

Available on:

iOS

Cleaner Pro

Your contacts are the most important data in your phone, and they easily become messy if not consistently updated. Take care of that problem with this app.

Available on:

iOS

Ruler

Put your finger on screen and slide your phone with the other hand. Pull arrow down to reel off and you have an accurate tape measurement!

Available on:

iOS