VUDU iOS App Updated With $2-$5 Disc-to-Digital Movie Conversions Using Barcodes

Walmart today announced that a new update to the mobile app for its streaming movie service, VUDU, will allow customers to scan and digitize any physical DVD or Blu-Ray into digital form for a price between $2 and $5, right from their smartphone. The update is an expansion of Walmart’s “Disc-to-Digital” in-house service, which encouraged customers to bring their physical movies to a local Walmart to transfer them into cloud storage, and in recent years also added digital conversion on home computers.

Now, Mobile Disc-to-Digital will work on both iOS and Android devices and will support nearly 8,000 films from Lionsgate, Paramount Home Media Distribution, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. VUDU said it intends to keep adding support from more distributors over the coming months.

“The average movie collector owns nearly 100 DVDs and Blu-rays. We know these customers have invested a lot into building their physical movie collections,” said Jeremy Verba, general manager, Vudu. “As more and more customers create digital libraries, we are constantly looking for ways to help them unlock additional value from the movies they already own.”

“Like Walmart, at Vudu we’re always striving to save our customers time and money,” added Verba. “Our Mobile Disc-to-Digital service is a key part of Vudu’s broader effort to make digital entertainment access simple and convenient.”

To convert a movie into a digital copy, customers must navigate to the new disc-to-digital section of the VUDU app and scan the physical barcode of the film they want to digitize. Here they will be presented with digital options and prices: converting a DVD to SD or a Blu-ray disc to HDX costs $2, while converting a DVD to the higher-definition HDX costs $5. Users can keep scanning and adding movies in bulk, and once the digitalization is finished, all of the movies can be viewed on any VUDU-enabled device.

To ensure that users are scanning in copies of films that they have already purchased, the VUDU app will enable disc-to-digital conversions only when it can determine that the user is at their designated home/billing address.

VUDU is available on the iPhone and iPad [Direct Link], and today’s Mobile Disc-to-Digital update will go live at 12:00 p.m. EDT. An engineer working for the streaming company recently confirmed that an Apple TV app is in development, with no clear timetable as to when it might debut.

Tag: VUDU
Discuss this article in our forums

‘iPhone 8’ Still Expected to Launch in September in Limited Quantities

Apple’s widely rumored high-end iPhone with a 5.8-inch edge-to-edge OLED display will launch in September, although the majority of stock may not be available until later in the fourth quarter, according to the latest research from Barclays analysts Blayne Curtis, Christopher Hemmelgarn, Thomas O’Malley, and Jerry Zhang.

“iPhone X” concept by designer Gabor Balogh
The prediction suggests that Apple’s tenth-anniversary iPhone, which has been variously dubbed the iPhone 8, iPhone X, iPhone Pro, or iPhone Edition, will still be available in limited quantities in September. However, shipping estimates could slip to several weeks out just minutes after pre-orders begin.

What do you think Apple’s rumored “special edition” iPhone will be called? Tweet us your own ideas.

— MacRumors.com (@MacRumors) March 18, 2017

An excerpt from the Barclays research note obtained by MacRumors:

Suppliers generally had good things to say about the upcoming iPhone 8 launch (for our purposes iPhone 7s, iPhone 7s Plus, and iPhone Pro) as new features drive a more complicated manufacturing process and higher ASPs. We now believe that all three devices will feature wireless charging and will all be launched in the normal September timeframe, although the majority of iPhone Pro volumes may not be available until Q4.

Barclays contradicts a recent report that claimed the 5.8-inch iPhone will be announced alongside updated 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models, or the so-called iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus, but might not go on sale until much later.

By the sounds of it, availability of Apple’s first iPhone with an OLED display could be similar to the iPhone 7 Plus in Jet Black, which was virtually nowhere to be found through the holiday shopping season last year. When an Apple Store or reseller happened to get a few Jet Black models in stock, they sold out almost instantly.

The analysts, citing information from Apple’s supply chain following a trip to Asia earlier this month, also reiterated their expectations for the 5.8-inch iPhone. Many of its predictions echo those already made by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a respectable track record at revealing Apple’s plans.

Barclays said the phone will feature a 5.8-inch display with 5.15 inches of usable screen, as Kuo said. It expects Touch ID to be embedded in the display, and the remaining space could be for virtual buttons. It believes the device will have wireless charging, but wireless charging accessories will be sold separately.

It said the 5.8-inch iPhone’s stacked logic board design will provide more space for a larger battery and other components, as Kuo previously said. Other features Barclays expects include a front-facing 3D sensor module, the same dual camera setup as the iPhone 7 Plus, and a film-based Force Touch solution.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8 (2017)
Tag: Barclays
Discuss this article in our forums

Instagram Continues to Build ‘Safer, Kinder’ Community With Two-Factor Authentication and Blurred Posts

Instagram today continued its rollout of pressure free, community-focused updates that now include a blur filter to obscure potentially sensitive content, as deemed by the Instagram review team when a particular post is reported. Instagram said that this means users are “less likely to have surprising or unwanted experiences in the app,” but they can still view the image or video by simply tapping on the blurred post.

Security is getting beefed up in the new update as well, with Instagram enabling two-factor authentication for every user. As it is everywhere else, when the security measure is implemented by a user they will have to type in a code — sent through a text message — every time they log in to their Instagram account. Instagram said that these updates will help the app continue to move towards “fostering a safer, kinder community.”

Instagram’s kindness-focused hopes for its community will be represented in a worldwide meet-up happening March 25 and 26, where users everywhere can find local meet-ups “to share their stories and spread kindness in the world.”

The first step is to celebrate the kindness our community is already known for. On March 25 and 26, tens of thousands of Instagrammers all over the world will come together for Worldwide InstaMeet 15 to share their stories and spread kindness in the world. You can find an InstaMeet near you or spread kindness by leaving an encouraging comment, giving an inspiring person a like or sharing a message of support with a friend.

Our teams are focused on making Instagram a kind, welcoming place for everyone, and we’re just getting started.

Earlier this week, a Bloomberg report stated that Instagram is working on a way to let users book appointments directly within the app by visiting pages of hair salons and restaurants. The move is said to be intended to take on the likes of Yelp by also adding a way for users to post reviews of businesses on their Instagram page, fostering a community of opinions to inform potential customers of the quality of the location.

Tag: Instagram
Discuss this article in our forums

LG G6 tips and tricks: Get to grips with the long-screened flagship

As has long been the case, LG loaded its latest flagship with its own flavour of Android. That means some features and customisation options are available here that might not be available on other phones, or just work differently. 

• LG G6 review: The first truly great flagship phone for 2017
• Best LG G6 cases: Protect your new LG phone

This is our comprehensive list of tips and tricks to try on the LG G6 when it lands on your doorstep, or when you go to pick it up. 

LG G6 Home screen tips

Change home screen layout: LG lets you change how you want your home screen to be organised. You can have a traditional version with an app drawer, a simplified home with large icons and text, or the new default: no app drawer. Head to Settings, tap the Display tab, then choose “Home Screen” and select the style you want.

Customise app icons: As with previous LG phones, you can manually change the appearance of any app icon. Just tap and hold on the icon you want to change, then press the little purple paintbrush icon. You can then choose to add your own new icon, or select a pre-existing one. (This only works when you have the “Home and app drawer” home screen layout.)

Customise folder appearance: Tap and hold on any of the app folders you’ve created, then tap the folder title. You’ll then be able to not only change the name of the folder, but change the background colour.

Enable Smart Bulletin: One of LG’s long serving software additions is Smart Bulletin. It’s essentially a widget that appears on the home screen showing useful information from calendar, music, health, Evernote or smart settings when you need it. Head to Settings > Home Screen and switch the Smart Bulletin toggle to the on position.

Change screen swipe effect: In the same settings menu you’ll find the screen swipe effect option. This essentially changes the animation or transition between each of the home screens when you swipe through them.

Change icon shape: By default, all app icons have a rounded square background. To remove it, stay in the home screen settings menu and choose “Icon shape”, then select “original” to remove the icon background.

Pocket-lint

Add, remove or reorganise virtual buttons: In the Display settings menu you’ll see a “Home touch buttons” option. Select this and you can change the button combination to add a button for dropping down the notification shade, or launch the Capture+ and QSlide features. You can also choose to switch between white and black buttons.

Adjust DPI: Making use of Android Nougat’s built in feature, you can now change the resolution of displayed icons and text. Stay in the Display settings menu and select “Display size” option, then slide between the three available options to adjust.

Change system theme: Still within the Display settings, hit “Theme” and you can choose from and apply a new theme. This changes the app icon design, wallpaper and menu colour schemes. To download new themes, either hit the download icon in the top corner or head to the SmartWorld app.

Change system font: In the same Display settings menu, under the Font section you can choose between six pre installed font types, six font sizes and select the bold option if you want thicker strokes.

LG G6 display tips

Scale apps to fit 18:9: With LG’s 18:9 screen, apps don’t automatically scale to fill screen. That means you often to see black bars across the top and bottom of the display. To change the ratio, go to Settings > Display and scroll down to “Appearance”. Choose the App Scaling option and select the app you want to change, and choose the 18:9 option.

Filter out blue light: In the same section you’ll find a toggle for Comfort View which filters out blue light for more comfortable night time reading/watching. Switch it on, then tap the three dots to adjust how aggressive you want the filter to be. You can also activate this by dropping down the quick settings shade and selecting it from the options. 

• LG G6 vs Google Pixel XL vs Pixel: What’s the difference?

Activate Always-on display: Similar to Samsung, LG phones have an Always-on display feature that shows a clock and notifications on the lock screen in standby. Settings > Display, scroll down to “basic” and then toggle the on switch to activate it.

Customise Always-on display: Hit the three dots next to the Always-on toggle and you can customise what shows up there. You can choose a digital or analogue clock as well as having your signature. You can set a daily timeout period for when you don’t need it on, or switch on the Brighter Display mode which makes it more visible, but drains more battery.

Activate KnockON: KnockON lets you wake or lock the phone by double tapping the screen. You can switch it on in the display settings by heading to the advance settings section, then hitting the toggle switch.

LG G6 lock screen tips

Add a weather animation: One of the cool things about LG’s lock screen is that when it rains or snows, you can get an animation to show up. Just head to Settings > Lock Screen and toggle the weather animation switch.

Add app shortcuts: In the lock screen settings screen, tap “shortcuts” and then hit the “+” icons to add the apps you want access to directly from your lock screen. You can add up to five.

Change swipe effect: Select the swipe screen effect option and then choose between five different animations which show up when you swipe to unlock the phone.

Switch off lock screen: In the lock screen settings, choose the “Select screen lock” option then select “none”. This is also the menu for choosing how you want to unlock the phone, whether that’s by PIN, Pattern or fingerprints.

Add a Knock Code: In the same screen lock settings as above, you can activate the Knock Code. Essentially, you knock the screen in a chosen pattern and unlock the phone that way.

Pocket-lint

LG G6 keyboard tips

LG’s built in keyboard is very customisable, for this section in our tips article you’ll find everything you need in Settings > General > Language and keyboard > LG Keyboard.

Add languages: In the LG Keyboard settings, choose “select languages”, then choose which languages you want to add to the keyboard. Many will have different keyboard layout options, so you can choose between QWERTY, QWERTZ and AZERTY for multiple languages.

Change key layout: Head into “Keyboard height and layout” the choose the top layout option. Here you can move the keyboard settings and symbols buttons.

Remove/add number row: Tap the “Extended keyboard” toggle to add or remove the number row that sits on top of the keyboard in portrait mode.

Change height: To make the keyboard taller or shorter, select “Keyboard height” then you can drag the top of the keyboard up or down the screen to meet your height requirements.

Enable full landscape keyboard: By default, the landscape version of the keyboard is quite compact. Go to “Keyboard type in landscape” and select the second option, this way the keys will fill the screen.

Split keyboard in two: If you enable the “Split keyboard” option in the height and layout options, you can drag the keyboard apart while in landscape mode by spreading two fingers on the screen.

Enable one-handed mode: Switch on the “One-handed operation” toggle and you can position the keyboard right near the right or left edge to make it possible to type with a single digit.

Activate/deactivate word suggestions: Back in the main LG keyboard settings list there’s a “Word suggestions” option. Toggle it to add a row to the top of the keyboard which suggests words as you type. Tap the three dots to customise this by enabling emoji prediction, next word suggestions and add words to your personal dictionary.

Swipe/flow typing: Toggle the “Path input” button to the on position, then you’ll be able to type by gliding your thumb or finger across the letters.

More: In the “More” options you can switch sounds and vibrations on or off, or the pop-up on keypress option which shows a bubble with characters above the letter as you press it. You can also activate/deactivate the auto-capitalisation and auto-punctuation options.

Handwrite messages: With the keyboard on the screen, tap and hold the settings cog and press the pen icon. You’ll then need to download languages and, when done, you can scribble letters on a pad and the phone will translate it to text.

Speech to text: Similar to the last step, just select the microphone icon instead of the pen.

Pocket-lint

LG G6 Smart Settings tips

Part of what’s great about LG’s software, and has been for years, is that there’s a Smart Settings menu. Here you can automate several functions so that you don’t have to think about it. Just go to Settings > General then choose Smart settings.

Set a home location: Choose the “At home” function, and turn on the option, accepting the location access request. Then choose “Change home address” option and let it find your GPS location and save that as home.

Change settings based on location: Once your home location is set you can tell your phone to automatically change your sound profile as well as your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections. You can also set it to change when you leave your set home location in the “Away from home” menu.

Auto-launch a music app: Whether you use Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, Tidal or any other music app, you can set your phone to automatically launch it when you connect your wired or wireless earphones. In the Smart Settings menu choose either the “When earphones are plugged in” or “When Bluetooth device is connected” option. Then you just need to choose the app you want it to launch.

LG G6 camera tips

Say cheese to take a picture: Launch the camera, tap the settings cog and toggle the “Cheese shutter” button.

Track moving objects: To keep moving objects in focus as you’re shooting video, toggle the “Tracking focus” switch. Note: This feature only works in FHD and HD quality, it won’t work shooting 4K.

Shoot manual mode: To enable manual controls, tap the little square “A” icon with “auto” written beneath it. You can then choose manual mode, and you can manually adjust focus, ISO, shutter speed, exposure, brightness and white balance.

Switch between front/back cameras: To change between the front and back cameras you can either tap the camera icon on the screen (has a rounded arrow beneath it), or just swipe up or down on the screen.

LG G6 general tips and shortcuts

Shortcut keys: Go to Settings > General and toggle the “Shortcut keys” option. With this on you can click the volume up button twice to launch Capture+ or the volume down button to launch the cameras.

LED flash notifications: Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Hearing and then toggle the “Flash alerts” setting. With this on, the bright camera LED will flash to let you know when you have an incoming message, call or an alarm.

End calls with power button: In Settings > General > Accessibility > Vision you’ll find an “End call with the Power Key” option. Switch it on, now you’ll be able to hang up on people with the button on the back of the phone.

Take a long screenshot: Launch Capture+ – either by double pressing the volume up button or the virtual button you’ve added to the bottom of the screen – then choose “Extended view”.

Markup screenshots: Launch Capture+ and take either a regular or extended screenshot, then use the tools at the top of the page to draw or write on those screenshots before saving or sharing them.

Edit quick tiles: Drop down the quick settings shade the tap “edit”. Now you can add, remove or rearrange existing tiles.

If you discover any other hidden features or options, be sure to sound off in the comments section with any tips we might have missed. 

Corsair’s first gaming desktop isn’t for tinkerers

It’s been almost two months since PC parts maker Corsair teased its first finished computer, giving us nothing but a name and a picture of the front and sides of the system. Now, the company is finally ready to show off the Corsair One in detail, and we’ve already had a chance to take a closer look at the new system. But before we let you start drooling over the pictures of this VR-ready gaming PC, here’s some basic information. The Corsair One will be available for $1,800 (a $2,200 Pro version is also available) via Amazon, Newegg and other online retailers starting today. We tried the Corsair One Pro in particular, and promptly took a slew of pictures for those of you who love gaming hardware. Enjoy.

For that price, you get a seventh-generation 4.2GHz (4.5GHz boost) Intel Core i7-7700K processor, an NVIDIA GTX1070 graphics chip (GTX1080 on the Pro), 16GB of RAM, a 240GB SSD (480GB on the Pro), a 1TB hard drive (2TB on the Pro) and a liquid-cooling system wrapped up in a black-and-blue Tron-esque enclosure. Whew. If you build your own computers, or are really into obscure PC component information, you’ll probably appreciate knowing that the One uses a Z270 motherboard and Corsair’s SFX 80 Gold small form factor power supply unit.

The 14.9-inch-tall (or 380mm) tower is made of blasted aluminum, and features a triangular ventilation setup that draws air in from the vents on either side and pushes it out through the fan at the top of the chamber. All told, the Corsair One weighs a hefty 7.2kg, or 15.8 pounds.

The device was built with gamers and PC-upgrading enthusiasts in mind, but it’s not meant to be taken apart. Although you can remove the tower’s top, which is attached to the fan, Corsair says the One wasn’t designed to be a “user serviceable system.” A company spokesperson tells Engadget that the One’s dis-assembly and re-assembly is “a lot more involved than a traditional CORSAIR DIY product — that’s why we sell it as a fully built system, and not a DIY kit.” To that end, the company is also offering a two-year warranty, and will provide rapid-warranty replacement for faulty parts, as well as service centers for in-warranty upgrades.

As it stands, the system should provide enough power and functionality to please those who want a VR-ready system. It has, on its front and back, a total of seven USB ports, two HDMI 2.0 sockets, two DisplayPort 1.4 connections as well as Ethernet and audio jacks. The Corsair One will also run what its makers promise is a clean, bloatware-free version of Windows 10 Home.

Considering prices for gaming PCs can range between $500 and even up to $8,000, the Corsair One’s cost is reasonable for what it offers. An even higher-specced version, called the Corsair One Pro (Webstore), is also available for $2,300, if the first two aren’t quite powerful enough for your intense gaming needs. The Corsair One’s price comes close to what ASUS asked for its ROG GCB20 gaming tower at launch. That machine is also VR ready, though it uses older parts.

Shia LaBeouf’s anti-Trump livestream moves to the UK for ‘safety’

Since its launch in January, Shia LaBeouf’s anti-Trump art piece has been mired in controversy. In its short life, “He Will Not Divide Us” has been shut down by New York’s Museum of the Moving Image (its original home), played a part in LaBeouf’s arrest following a scuffle and relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Fears over public safety have made it hard for LaBeouf and his two co-artists, Luke Turner and Nastja Säde Rönkkö, to find a permanent home for their project in America, so they decided to remove it from the US completely. It’s now been adopted by the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (FACT) in Liverpool, England, where where a flag bearing the name of the project will be streamed live 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the remainder of the Trump presidency.

In a statement, LaBeouf said that threats and criminal activity from message boards including 4chan and 8chan had shown that America “is simply not safe enough for this artwork to exist.” Already, the performance artwork has been stolen and defaced, a nearby field was set on fire and gunshots were fired in its vicinity.

Originally, the exhibit allowed visitors to demonstrate their resistance to the 45th President of the United States by saying the words “He Will Not Divide Us” into a camera mounted on a wall outside the Museum of the Moving Image in New York and Historic El Rey Theater in Albuquerque.

Before arriving in Liverpool, the project dropped the camera and switched to the flag, which was moved an unknown location. 4chan users managed to track it down and replaced it with a “Make America Great Again” hat earlier this month. Although FACT is a well-known cinema and art gallery, the organisation may have taken precautions to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen again.

Via: The Fader, FACT

Source: He Will Not Divide Us

ICYMI: Watching plants grow and playing ‘Mario Kart’ with an actual car

Today on In Case You Missed It: The thought of watching a plant grow seems, well boring. But researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology in Austria used lasers, fluorescent lights and a microscope to track the growth of a flowering weed’s roots. The end result is a close-up 3D video that looks more like a glowing burrowing worm than a plant. The researchers also twisted the plate the plants are growing on to see how the roots adjust to changes in gravity which could be helpful when we need to grow food in space.

Meanwhile a teenager was able to talk his dad into allowing him and his friends to use the family’s Chevy Volt as a giant controller for Mario Kart. The team figured out how to extract data from the vehicle’s OBD port with a Raspberry Pi. They then mapped the steering wheel, accelerator, brake, high beams and windshield wipers to the racing game running in an emulator on a laptop. No word on if this mod helps you avoid the dreaded red shell.

As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @strngwys.

Misfit’s Vapor will run Android Wear instead of its own OS

Android Wear smartwatches are saddled with the problem that the tech companies making them suck at fashion design. So it’s good news that one of the better-looking smartwatches out there, the Misfit Vapor, will run Android Wear 2.0 instead of the custom software we saw at CES 2017.

Water resistant to 50 meters, the Vapor (a bold name choice for a tech product) is equipped with a unique round touch bezel in rose gold or black, and has solid tech specs, too. That includes a 1.39-inch AMOLED display, Snapdragon Wear 2100 chip, 4GB of memory, an accelerometer, gyroscope, heart-rate sensor and GPS.

Android Wear 2.0 obviously gives the Vapor a lot more flexibility, letting users pick from a wide range of apps, watch faces and fitness tracking programs. The touch-sensitive bezel has Android Wear 2.0 support, letting you scroll through apps and watchfaces and respond to notifications “without obscuring content on your display,” Misfit writes. The company will also include its own custom watchfaces and apps.

Misfit’s parent Fossil today unveiled hundreds of hybrid and touchscreen watches, including Android Wear 2.0 models from Diesel, Emporio Armani and Michael Kors. That’s good news for fashion-conscious connected watch buyers, and also nice for Google — the new watch models arriving with the launch of Android Wear 2.0 were underwhelming, style-wise. Thanks to Fossil (and Tag Heuer, if you’ve got the cash) there are now some options you won’t need to hide under your sleeve.

The best part of the Vapor is perhaps the aggressive $199 price. It’ll ship some time this summer and work with any smartphones running Android 4.3 or iOS 9 and higher.

Source: Misfit

What the internet taught me about dressing like an adult

Last December, I bought a pair of jeans from Uniqlo. That was the only time I purchased clothing from a brick-and-mortar store in all of 2016. For the past few years now, I’ve done most of my clothes shopping online. Not just because it’s convenient, but because the internet provides me with fashion alternatives that I would never have discovered otherwise. The internet not only opened my eyes to different style options; it helped me feel more comfortable in my own skin.

I wasn’t really a girly girl growing up. As a kid, I ran around in shorts, and abhorred dresses. In high school, my interests trended toward science and fantasy novels rather than makeup and fashion. I didn’t learn what “foundation” was until I was 20 years old, and much of my wardrobe consisted of T-shirts and jeans. Sure, I wore the occasional dress for special occasions, but it was more out of obligation than anything else. Looking like an adult was something grownups did, and I wasn’t in a big hurry to grow up.

In my early 20s, however, I started feeling some pressure to look more presentable, especially when interviewing for jobs. So I started paying attention to what other people wore. I studied fashion magazines and TV shows and wandered around mainstream stores like Gap and Banana Republic — generic enough brands that I felt sure I couldn’t go wrong.

I soon found that the clothes I liked in fashion magazines and TV were often wrong for my body type. Not only am I short — I stand a mere five-foot-three — but I’m also pretty chubby. So “petite” size clothes were too small, while “normal” sizes were too long and needed to be hemmed or tailored. I grew to loathe off-the-rack shopping, with endless trips to the changing room, only to leave feeling disappointed.

So when online shopping took off in the early aughts, I embraced it wholeheartedly. At last, I could easily find sizes I normally had trouble finding in retail stores. It was a godsend, especially to someone like myself, who abhorred spending hours in malls.

Still, I took relatively few fashion risks, and I kept to the brands I trusted. I had it in my head that I could never really wear clothes that were “sexy” or “feminine” because they didn’t make those kinds of clothes in my size. Plus it was a style of clothing that I never thought I could pull off, given my tomboy childhood. It wasn’t that I was uncomfortable with it; it’s just that I never thought I could wear something like that. It just didn’t seem very “me.”

Credit: Modcloth

A few websites helped me see things differently. The first was Modcloth, which introduced me to the world of vintage-inspired fashion. It struck me as a more affordable alternative to Anthropologie, a brand known for its soft, feminine pieces. But what was particularly intriguing about Modcloth is that even the most flirty of dresses came in my size. On a whim, I thought, hey, why not take a risk? It looks like it might fit. So I ordered a green ruffled dress with a zip that ran up the cleavage. And, to my surprise, it looked pretty good.

That kicked off a Modcloth love affair that lasted for several years. I started experimenting with all manner of looks, from sensible sheath dresses to flirty laced skirts, because these were clothes that actually fit me. It gave me a freedom to try different things; to figure out exactly what my style was. All of a sudden, I was not afraid to wear pretty much anything.

I explored this even further with a personalized styling service called Stitch Fix that launched a few years ago, but which has grown quite a bit since then. Though the company declined to reveal user numbers, Stitch Fix says it’s now shipped “millions” of fixes, and brought in $250 million in revenue in 2015 alone. The idea behind the service is that you plug in your measurements, answer a few questions about your style preferences and budget, and it sends you a selection of clothes for a $20 fee. If you don’t like them, you can send them back in an enclosed envelope. If you do decide to keep any of the clothing items, the earlier $20 will be applied as a credit toward a purchase. But if you buy the entire package, you get 25 percent off everything.

My first package contained five different items, three of which I didn’t like — one was an oversize cardigan that made me look like a blob, one was a humdrum shirt and another was a dress that didn’t fit. But I also received a green chevron tank — a style and pattern that I never thought would be my thing — that fit perfectly. I loved it. I also kept a necklace and a clutch. So I returned the items I didn’t like, with a note explaining why.

A month later, I went ahead and gave Stitchfix another shot. This time, all the items were perfect, in a surprising way. Pink cropped pants? A laser-cut see-through blouse? These are not the kind of clothes I would ever pick out for myself. And yet I really liked them, and they looked flattering on me, too.

These days, there are many other stylist options on the internet. Keaton Row and Tog & Porter are a little more high-end, but also promise a more personalized service. Trunk Club started as a service for men, but has since expanded to women. Similarly, Stitch Fix now has a men’s section too. Bombfell is one that serves exclusively men. Seeing how beneficial Stitch Fix was for me, I would certainly recommend giving the online stylist a shot.

Growing up, I never thought of myself as a clothes horse, because I just wasn’t comfortable enough with who I was and, importantly, I didn’t really figure out how I wanted to present myself to the world. What I’ve realized — with the help of the internet — is that if you take away sizing limitations and preconceived notions, that I have the freedom to dress and look however I want. That, I believe, is truly what it means to dress like an adult.

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

NASA AI auto-captured the changes in famous Ethiopian volcano

Artificial intelligence can help satellites and other spacecraft observe interesting phenomena before humans even spot them. Case in point: NASA’s Earth Observing 1 (EO-1) spacecraft started capturing images of Ethiopia’s Erta Ale volcano as soon as it developed a new fissure in late January. Volcanologists are keeping a close eye on Erta Ale, since it’s one of the handful of volcanoes with lava lakes at the summit. They sent in requests asking NASA to use its Earth Observing-1 satellite to snap photos of the eruption, but by that time, the images were already available.

EO-1’s AI called Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment (ASE) was alerted by one of the other satellites in its network about the event. It then sent EO-1 to work, photographing Erta Ale’s evolving lava lakes way before anybody even asked. ASE has been guiding its host satellite’s actions for the past 12 years. It notifies researchers within 90 minutes of detecting an event and giving EO-1 a new task within a few hours. A ground team typically takes weeks to accomplish the same thing.

[Image credit: NASA/JPL/EO-1 Mission/GSFC/Ashley Davies]

The EO-1 was designed to test cutting-edge satellite tech, and the team was only supposed to use the AI for six months. However, they were so successful that they “did it for more than 12 years.” During that span of time, ASE ordered the satellite to map active lava flows, monitor methane leaks and to keep an eye on reforestation efforts in the Amazon, among many other tasks.

NASA will shut down EO-1 and ASE by the end of March, but everything they’ve accomplished won’t go to waste. They’ve managed to convince astronomers that AIs will make it possible for spacecraft to act as soon as an event takes place. As ASE lead scientist Ashley Davies said, it will allow probes to “capture valuable science data that would otherwise be lost.”

Source: NASA