How to make your own Ethernet cable

You can make your own Ethernet cable to achieve lengths that are more useful and save some money in the long run. Here’s how.

Whether you want to make some cabling of a specific length or just wish to have a little more fun than picking up Ethernet cables from your local store, it’s actually an easy and straightforward task to make your own. This process can also help you repair damaged cable in the home or at the office without having to fork out cash for replacements. To get started, here’s what you’ll need:

• Ethernet cable.
• Crimping tool.
• RJ45 modular connector.
• Cable tester.

For the cabling itself, you can pick up pre-assembled cabling that are ready to use and then cut to size or you could save some more money and pop to your local DIY store who should be able to cut some from a reel for you. You can pick up the crimping tool, modular connectors, and a cable tester in one package:

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The cable testing equipment isn’t required (you can easily check by connecting the cable to your PC and router), but it makes things easier because you can just reach for a nearby tool and not have to fetch a device.

Cut the cable to the length you require.

Using the crimping tool, strip away the cable jacket.
Check to see if you nipped away at the wires inside.

Spread the twisted wires out.

(The thin thread that joins the four twisted wires allows you to pull the jacket back further, but note that there may be a plastic spine in the middle that requires cutting, along with the wires.)

Straighten out the wires.

Line them up in order, using the guides below:

Looking at the underside of a connector, the copper contacts are in eight individual slots, numbered one through eight. We’re using the T568B standard, which differs slightly from the T568A standard for wiring Ethernet cables.

Slide the wires carefully into the RJ45 connector.

Insert the cable into the crimper tool and press hard to secure the connector.

The clamp within the connector should press against the cable jacket. You should not be able to test the cable using the tool or plug each end into a device and see if a connection is made.

Fear not if you don’t get the wires lined up perfectly because it can take some practice to get the hang of preventing the wires from overlapping or locking as pairs into the connector. If you make a mistake, simply cut a bit behind from where you were working, and try again.

Get half-off one season of any TV season or movie with this sweet Google Play offer

Brace yourselves: Spring TV is coming.

Tons of exciting new shows are hitting the airwaves this season, as are new seasons of shows we already know and love! Whether you want to catch up on The Flash before Tuesday’s Music Meister episode, cook up some nostalgia on Good Eats or you just want to grab the complete Batman The Animated Series, Google Play has you covered with a wonderful little offer on TV right now. We can also get half-off a movie while we’re in a shopping mood.

Where was this during Stella last week?!

Google Play is currently offering half-off on any single season of any TV show, HD or SD. It’s a one-time discount that uses the Redeem code N7RLS2XPXQWLE0PLCNMEKR, so choose carefully. If you want to increase your bang for your buck, it’s worth mentioning that this promo works on multi-season packs, like the complete Batman TAS we mentioned above, or on Seasons 1-5 of Game of Thrones, if you need to really catch up and missed that free SD copy of Season 5 from yesterday.

We can also get a movie half-off as well, if you need to stock up on Oscar-winners or maybe Beauty and the Beast before you go watch the new one.

This offer is good from now until April 15th, so if your show hasn’t started yet, you can just hang on to this code for the next month.

Should Google Home intervene when someone threatens self-harm?

A Google Home responds to a father and son’s mention of death. Could this have been intentional?

My husband and I have had quite an experience adapting to the Google Home in our home. We love its presence, truly, but there are continually times when we’re surprised at some of the interactions we’ve had with it.

For example, there have been several instances where we’d be chatting loudly and casually between the two of us, about something or other, when the Google Home would suddenly respond, despite the fact that neither of us had uttered the ‘OK Google’ hot key. It’s quite hilarious when it happens, though — we always laugh — and it sort of validates this running joke we share that our Google Home is actually just a roommate who lives here for free in exchange for all the knowledge it brings.

I didn’t think much of these random interactions until this week’s All About Android, where I’m a co-host. We had a (https://youtu.be/huIiSGJBhrA?t=1265) from a father who was playing a game with his son in a room where the Google Home was stationed. They had reached a part of the game narrative where they were too stuck to go on, and realized that the best way to complete the story in its entirety was to effectively kill their characters off and start anew. But then…

As we were moving on with the game, somebody spoke up and said, “I just want you to know, you’re not alone. Here’s the number for the suicide prevention hotline.”

It was our Google Home, and I think that when my son had said that we should kill ourselves, Google heard that, and that made it pop up with that message.

We already know that Google Home — and, by virtue, Amazon Echo — is constantly listening in, and that this actually a bit of an issue with owning one. And we already know that what you say could be used in a court of law. But it’s curious why it would respond in an instance where there was no specific query directed at it. Does that mean that Google Home is always listening for a chance to interject? Or does it listen for intonation in the voice; whether it’s conversational, and thus it must be conversing with it? Or, is it because even uttering the word Google will make its digital ears perk up in preparation for the next query?

Is Google Home listening, and could it act as an intermediary when someone is trying to harm herself?

For the most part, I thought it was interesting that Google Home responded after it somehow computed that someone was talking about suicide. I doubt it cared who was talking about it; it sounds like it was pre-programmed to listen for that specific phrase and reply in the event that it’s sitting idly in the room of someone who is truly considering the act. I wasn’t able to recreate this scenario at home, however, but as I was writing this article, Google Home responded. What’s triggering it?

This particular event also has me mulling over whether this is a glimpse at our robot future. Are artificially intelligent devices being programmed to be our friends? Or is this what Google merely considers an extra feature — an aid that maybe a programmer thought would be worth including considering the rates of suicide around the world?

What do you think? Has your Google Home ever responded in this manner?

Google Home

• Google Home review
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• Google Home vs. Amazon Echo
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This is what Mass Effect: Andromeda looks like in 4K HDR, simply stunning

Mass Effect: Andromeda will finally be available from next week, although Xbox One owners with EA Access subscriptions are able to play the first five hours already.

They will know what we are also rapidly finding out; that it is a worthy successor to one of the greatest role-playing games trilogies ever released. And while we work on our full, in-depth review, we thought we’d share a stunning gameplay video sent to us by Nvidia.

Not only does it explain some of the tech behind the forthcoming game, it was shot in glorious 4K HDR itself so shows exactly how good the game can look.

If you have a TV or box capable of playing YouTube in 4K HDR you’re in for a treat.

Even without HDR, it still shows a simply stunning game and matches a previous 4K gameplay trailer released at the beginning of December last year that we also present below.

EA and Bioware’s Mass Effect: Andromeda will be available from Thursday 23 March in the UK, on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

It will have HDR and enhanced graphics on PS4 Pro, while the PC version will have 4K HDR on supported graphics hardware, such as the Nvidia GTX 1080. It also supports Nvidia Ansel in-game screengrabbing, which captures 360 vistas of the action to view through a VR headset or interact with on a conventional flatscreen in a browser.

ABC News lets you watch multiple streams on your Apple TV

We live in an era where there’s so much breaking news, most of it terrible, that there’s simply not enough time for our brains to cope. ABC News agrees, which is why it’s updated its Apple TV app to let you stream multiple channels at once. As TechCrunch reports, the app lets you pick from a dozen different feeds, letting you watch two side-by-side or, if you’re really hardcore, four at once.

It’s hardly new technology, since MLB At Bat already lets you watch multiple games at the same time, but its inclusion here is interesting. After all, news streams are significantly more intensive to watch and, you’d think, niche compared to sports coverage. Then again, we now exist in a world where we’re glued to Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and all the rest at, often the same time.

Source: TechCrunch

Uber’s self-driving car tests aren’t going as well as planned

Uber has lots of work to do to catch up with its rivals’ self-driving car technologies. According to the internal test reports Recode obtained, the company’s 43 self-driving cars autonomously drove a total of 20,354 miles during the week ending on March 8th. That’s impressive, considering it’s four times the number of miles Uber’s first 20 autonomous cars drove in January. However, the robotic vehicles also had more help from their human drivers that Uber would have liked.

Based on the data in the documents, the drivers had to take over from the self-driving system every mile for one reason or another. They include navigation issues related to unclear lane markings, the system missing a turn or bad weather preventing it from working properly. Drivers also had to take over due to auto-detected hard decelerations or abrupt car jerks more frequently last week than in January.

Uber didn’t count events that might have led to serious accidents, such as those that would have damaged property or hit a person — those were counted as “critical interventions.” Thankfully, the vehicles drove an average of 200 miles between these critical interventions last week. The average used to be 114 miles between each one, so there’s definitely some improvement. But Uber testers didn’t see a steady rate of progress either, since the average seems to dip and rise back up.

The ride-hailing firm is currently testing its autonomous vehicles in Pennsylvania, Arizona and California, though a lawsuit filed by Google could put a stop to the trials. Google is accusing Otto, an autonomous trucking company Uber acquired last year, of using materials stolen from Mountain View’s self-driving car division Waymo. It’s now asking the court to block the firm’s autonomous car operations.

Source: Recode

EU orders Facebook and Google to prevent consumer scams

Social media platforms are still a wild, wild west of consumer fraud, with uncountable numbers of scams everywhere. The EU has ordered Facebook, Google and Twitter to put a stop to them or risk facing “enforcement action.” It’s demanding that the social media companies find a way to spot and remove such listings as soon as they’re aware of them and create direct communication lines with watchdogs to discover wrongdoing.

“Social media companies need to take more responsibility in addressing scams and frauds … it is not acceptable that EU consumers can only call on a court in California to resolve a dispute,” said EU Commissioner Věra Jourová in a statement.

Authorities and advocacy groups are getting more and more complaints from consumers about scams and services that don’t respect EU consumer laws. If you fall for a “Microsoft support” scam originating from a nation outside the union, the fraudster obviously isn’t going to offer you a refund or 30-day cooling-off period. Instead, “given the growing importance of online social media networks,” the EU intends to start holding the hosting platforms responsible, said Jourová.

The aim is to stop scams involving consumer payments, subscription traps via free trials, counterfeit product sales and fake promotions. The EU says Facebook, Google and others cannot “deprive consumers of their right to go to court” in their home countries, require consumers to waive their rights, hide sponsored content or change contract terms and conditions without consumer consent, among other things.

Considering the huge number of scams that quickly appear and disappear, the new rules could make enforcement a costly challenge (though as critics have pointed out, Facebook can spot a naked breast faster than you can say “double-standard”). The Commission is giving the three firms a month to come up with solutions, or “consumer authorities could ultimately resort to enforcement action.” We’ve reached out to Facebook, Google and Twitter for comment and will update the story if we hear back.

Source: European Commission

Philips Hue Reveals New Candle Light Bulb Coming to Europe in April and U.S. Later This Year

Philips today announced that its connected smart bulb lighting system, Philips Hue, is getting a new addition in the form of the E14 candle light bulb. Customers will be able to buy the new bulb in both color and white ambience versions in the U.S. later this year, and in Europe in April. The common candle bulb will fit a wide arrange of household lighting fixtures, and Philips said this means that Hue “can now be used in over 80% of light sockets commonly used in households around the world.”

“The candle has been one of the most requested products by Philips Hue customers. We’ve spent time ensuring it is of the highest quality and available in both white ambiance and white and color ambiance. It is an important next step to ensure seamless integration in all rooms, giving you the freedom to personalize lighting throughout your home,” says Sridhar Kumaraswamy, Business Leader Connected Home Systems at Philips Lighting.

Otherwise, the candle light bulb will function the same as previous Hue products, connecting to the company’s smartphone app through the Philips Hue Bridge accessory and allowing users to customize lighting colors, set schedules and geo-fences, and turn the lights on and off. According to Philips, candle light bulbs are mainly used in decorative lamps made for the bedroom, and with the white ambience bulb’s dimming features users can get a better night’s sleep and wake up more energized.

The new accessory is a 40W bulb with 470 lumens of brightness and will be priced around $40 for a single bulb when it launches in the U.S. later in 2017. Philips didn’t mention if it would debut a Hue Starter Kit with the new candle light bulbs, but if it does the package would likely cost the same as current starter kits, which currently run between $70 and $200, depending on the type and amount of bulbs included.

Tag: Philips Hue
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iPhone 7 Pre-Orders in Indonesia Begin March 24 Following Apple R&D Investment

Indonesian carrier Smartfren has announced it will begin accepting iPhone 7 pre-orders on Friday, March 24. Pricing has not been disclosed, but customers can sign up on Smartfren’s website to receive more information. In-store sales at select authorized resellers will begin on Friday, March 31.

While the iPhone 7 has been available in many other countries since September, the Indonesian government recently enacted a policy that requires 4G-capable smartphones to have at least 30 percent “local content,” which can be hardware, software, or in this case, a commitment to invest in the country.

Apple satisfied the requirements of that policy when it committed around $44 million towards research and development in Indonesia over three years, which will include building an iOS App Development Center in the country. Apple received a “local content certification,” allowing it to sell iPhones throughout Indonesia.

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were the last smartphones that Apple officially sold in Indonesia, according to local website Coconuts Jakarta.

Indonesia, an island country bordering Malaysia in southeast Asia, has an estimated population of over 260 million people.

Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Tag: Indonesia
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Samsung 4K HDR TV choices for 2017: QLED Q9F, Q8C, Q7C and Q7F compared

Samsung’s 2017 line-up of TVs is on us, introducing more models that promise to offer outstanding results.

The big introduction is QLED being pushed as the flagship branding, with four models in this new top tier carrying the Q moniker. Other categories of TV will then drop into place under QLED, but for now, this the mainstay of Samsung’s 2017 line-up.

• What is QLED? Samsung’s new TV tech explained

There’s a lot to digest and the potential for plenty of confusion, so we’re breaking them down into the nitty gritty, so you know exactly what the difference is between all these models.

Samsung

Samsung QLED Q9F

• Screen sizes: 65in, 88in
• QLED, 3840 x 2160 pixels, HDR
• Prices: £4,899.99 (65), £17,799.99 (88)

The flagship TV for 2017 is the Q9, with the F designating that this is a flat TV. The new QLED branding is really a change of direction with positioning these TVs: in fact they use Samsung’s third-generation of Quantum Dot technology, so more advanced than the KS models of 2016. It also bumps the brightness to 1500-2000 nits.

The big difference in these QLED models is better colour accuracy and higher colour volumes at higher peak brightnesses.

The Q9F has a very minimalist design, it’s edge lit and framed to look more like a picture than a television, combined with a No Gap Wall Mount system that’s almost flush to the wall and the Invisible Connection cable to the One Connect box.

The thing that really puts the Q9F in premier position over the other QLED models is dimming. There are 32 dimming blocks on the Q9, meaning more accurate light control, leading to deeper blacks and enhanced contrast over the other QLED models.

This TV is really about delivering that premium visual experience along with that stunning design, there’s 40W speakers too.

Samsung

Samsung QLED Q8C 

• Screen sizes: 55in, 65in, 75in
• QLED, 3840 x 2160 pixels, HDR, Curved
• Prices: £2,999.99 (55), £3,799.99 (65), £5,799.99 (75) 

Although Samsung is pushing the flat Q9 as its “best” TV, the Q8 is just a step down and is curved. It comes in a range of sizes, dragging the price back down to the more affordable at 55-inches, although it’s still expensive at £3000.

The Samsung Q8C offers 360-design that goes a long way beyond that of 2016 models, with a premium metal back, moving on from the big plastic panel of the rear, as found on the old KS9500, making the Q8 much more of a show piece. 

It also offers that Invisible Connection to the One Connect box and like the other TVs in the QLED family, there’s a choice of stands, with built-in cable management.

• In the muddle of HDR and Quantum Dots, it’s Samsung’s ‘Invisible Connection’ that’s got our geek juices flowing

This is an edge lit TV but drops the dimming blocks to 12, so it’s not quite as well equipped as the Q9, but still offers outstanding visuals. The new ultra-low reflectance film on the 2017 QLED TVs is designed in part to enhance viewing angles and contrast over previous models. Like the flagship Q9, this TV will give you around 1500 nits brightness. 

The Q8C has 60W of sound on board in a 4.2 configuration.

Samsung

Samsung QLED Q7C 

• Screen sizes: 49in, 55in, 65in
• QLED, 3840 x 2160 pixels, HDR, Curved
• Prices: £2,199.99 (49), £2,499.99 (55), £3,299.99 (65) 

Taking a step down again is the Q7C. You’ll have spotted that C in the name meaning that this is another curved model. It comes in a smaller size than the Q8C, bringing you down to just over £2000. 

The display technology on the Q7C is pretty much the same as the Q8C, but the design is different, slightly less premium on this model. It still gets the Invisible Connection to the One Connect box, however, so you can achieve a respectably minimal installation. 

Again this is edge lit and like the Q8C you have 12 dimming blocks, so this isn’t as effective in black delivery as the flagship Q9. The audio takes a drop from the Q8C offering 40W in a 2.2 configuration. It’s bright, however, at 1500 nits, perfect for HDR delivery. 

The Q7C sits alongside the Q7F, which is a flat version of the same model.

Samsung

Samsung QLED Q7F 

• Screen sizes: 49in, 55in, 65in
• QLED, 3840 x 2160 pixels, HDR
• Prices: £1,999.99 (49), £2,299.99 (55), £3,099.99 (65)

The Samsung Q7F is likely to be the model that sells in the greatest volume, as it’s both flat and comes in a range of realistic prices and sizes. The 55-inch model at £2,300 will probably be the model that most people are after and we expect that RRP will soon shift to that £2000 sweet spot. 

The Q7F offers the same configuration as the curved model, offering a slim design with that Invisible Connection to the One Connect box. The display also has those 12 dimming blocks, so the performance should be the same as the Q7C, only flat. It also has the same 40W 2.2 channel speakers. This is also a 1500 nits TV. 

All these Samsung QLED TVs offer full smart connectivity, detecting connected devices and automatically identifying what they are, and passing the control information to the new Premium One Remote. That means you can control your Xbox One with your Samsung remote – and you don’t have to do lengthy setup.

The Samsung QLED models are on pre-order, expected to be available to buy in the UK from 29 March.