US suspends ‘premium processing’ for H-1B visas

In a move that could restrict access to foreign engineers, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced tonight that it will “temporarily suspend premium processing for all H-1B petitions.” In a statement, the department said this suspension “may” last six months, and pitched it as an administrative move to speed up all applications. The suspension takes effect April 3rd (the day applications open) nixing a $1,225 option that allowed highly skilled workers to find out if their application for an H-1B visa is approved in as little as a month.

According to a USCIS report, in 2014 about 65 percent of the applications were for computer-related jobs. Because of an 85,000 annual cap on the number of visas awarded, which results in a lottery and delays after applications pass the limit in under a week. Even for workers inside the US, changing jobs or traveling outside the country could be affected while they wait to find out the result.

Financial Times quotes a lawyer saying that “close to 100 percent” of applications from companies like Microsoft utilize the option. Without it, the wait for a decision could linger for months into August or September.

Previously, Donald Trump has claimed he will “end forever” the use of H-1Bs for cheaper labor, and his advisor has suggested an issue with the number of Asian CEOs in Silicon Valley, increasing tension over the program. While Mark Zuckerberg’s tech lobbying group FWD.us has sought to expand the program, US senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), sent a letter this morning asking Trump to deliver on his campaign promise to crack down on H-1B visas.

Whatever the actual impact, the USCIS reasoning for suspending the program is interesting — back in 2001 when it was introduced, INS officials said it was needed to help clear the backlog of pending foreign high-tech worker visas. Now officials claim it’s being suspended for the same reason.

President Trump promised the American people he would put American workers first. It’s time he made good on that promise pic.twitter.com/U9CdnkD57U

— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) March 3, 2017

2/5 Only 65K avail to employees w/o advanced degrees, 20K for advanced. Visas open up beginning of April each year (next is 4/3/17).

— Matt Cameron 🗽 (@matt_cam) March 4, 2017

Source: USCIS, Federal Register

Nautical horror game ‘Sunless Sea’ heads to iPad

Aquatic RPG Sunless Sea has been a big win for British indie developer Failbetter Games. The well-reviewed game has sold half a million copies since its 2015 PC release, and soon, iPad users will be able to get in on the Victorian Gothic adventure. Not long after sequel Sunless Skies very quickly exceeded its Kickstarter funding goal, Failbetter Games announced that Sunless Sea is headed to iPad on March 23rd.

In a statement, the developer said it’s bringing the game to iOS with help from porting specialists BlitWorks, which previously worked on mobile adaptations of Bastion, Invisible, Inc. and other titles. The iPad version is a direct port of the PC game and includes all updates and additional content. Well, almost all, since October’s “Zubmariner” extension won’t be included. While that’s a bummer, the port will include critical updates like “Steel,” which replaced the game’s turn-based battles with a real-time combat system. That’s big, since the sluggish fighting pace was one of few criticisms Joystiq cited in its review of Sunless Sea’s Steam Early Access release.

Failbetter Games has yet to reveal the app’s price. For reference, though, the game currently retails on Steam for $19. That would be pricey for an iPad game, but the BlitWorks-assisted adaptations mentioned earlier currently go for $5 each on the App Store, so perhaps that’s closer to the truth.

Microsoft reduced Windows update sizes by 35 percent

Fans of Windows and snappy downloads will be relieved to learn that Microsoft’s Unified Update Platform, which has been rolling out to Windows Insiders since November, will be available to all retail users starting with the release of the Creators Update coming later this spring. In addition to those very handy snooze and schedule features, the UUP significantly shrinks the size of future updates by saving users the trouble of downloading an entire build of their operating system.

That feature is called differential download packages, which is a technical term for “only downloads what you need.” A differential download looks at the files already on your system and uses them to rebuild the new OS version from there. It sounds simple, but as Microsoft’s Laura Butler points out, it’s no easy task given the decades of legacy code and patches. For a major release like the Creators Update, you’ll still need to download a full build, but the next feature update after that should be significantly smaller — about 35 percent smaller on average, according to Microsoft’s Director of Program Management Bill Karagounis. For Windows Insiders those downloads should be even smaller, but it’s a bit of a trade-off since those systems get hit with more frequent updates.

Source: Windows Blog

Sticker company warns against skinning the Nintendo Switch

Given the portability of the Nintendo Switch, owners may be tempted to personalize theirs. The only problem is that according to dbrand, a company that makes covers for devices like phones and laptops, the system and its controllers don’t react well to vinyl wraps. As described in a Reddit post and a series of tweets, the company indicates that it tested a few options with a pre-release console and a retail model, and found that its screen-printed coating has peeling issues.

@dbrand After removing the skin, it was obvious that the coating on the JoyCons do not play well with any kind of adhesive… (4/6) pic.twitter.com/m8kDluuTOX

— dbrand (@dbrand) March 3, 2017

As such, it’s refunding customers who had pre-ordered Switch skins, and warns people that “both the JoyCons and the Console are not compatible with vinyl wraps or any adhesive-backed skin of any kind.” What’s particularly interesting is that Nintendo itself sells at least one special edition skin, and it’s unclear whether that one will cause any issues.

Interestingly, an early leak of officially licensed accessories from third-party manufacturer Hori included a skin, however now that the Switch has launched it isn’t selling one. We’ve contacted both Nintendo and Hori for more information, but for now, those fortunate enough to have their launch console in hand should be careful with it.

WARNING: Do *not* skin your Nintendo Switch! from NintendoSwitch

Source: r/NintendoSwitch (Reddit), dbrand (Twitter)

Google dominates K-12 education in the U.S. as Apple falls to third place

Why it matters to you

Your child is most likely to be using a Google Chromebook in the classroom lately, and least likely to use a Mac.

It wasn’t that long ago that Apple was in first place in the United States education market, which the company had long pursued at least in part to expose students to Macs and increase the chances that they would continue to use Apple products later in life. Most recently, the iPad had a staggering share in education, as much as 94 percent of all tablets sold in education by some accounts.

Now, that’s all changing. Between Microsoft’s efforts to target the educational market, and Google’s Chromebook initiative offering the lowest cost of entry, Apple has dropped to third place in the market, according to Futuresource Consulting.

More: Get smart: The 25 best educational apps for iPhone and Android

Futuresource looked at mobile PC sales in the U.S. K-12 sector, which achieved 18-percent year-over-year growth in 2016 with 12.6 million units sold. The biggest story is Google’s Chromebook, which grabbed 58 percent of the market in 2016. That’s an increase from 50 percent in 2015, based on affordability, G Suite productivity tools, lower device management costs, and other factors. On a worldwide basis, Chromebook’s penetration is significantly lower, at only 6 percent in 2016.

Futuresoft Consulting

Apple, on the other hand, saw its share of the market fall to 19 percent between iOS and MacOS devices. That’s down from 34 percent in 2014, and 25 percent in 2015. Globally, Apple’s share was at 11 percent in 2016, which is actually a slight increase from 2015’s share of 10 percent. Apple isn’t standing still, however, with a number of initiatives, including its Classroom app and education focus in iOS 9.3 leading the company’s efforts to turn things around.

For Microsoft’s part, its various education-focused programs, including Microsoft Classroom, School Data Sync, and low-cost Windows 10 machines aimed squarely at Chromebook, have allowed the company to maintain its second-place position at 22 percent of the market in 2016. Worldwide, Microsoft is dominant in K-12 education, at 65 percent of the market. Newer initiatives, such as the rumored Windows 10 Cloud edition and Microsoft’s rollout of InTune for Education to help combat Google’s Management Console, are aimed at building the company’s share of education going forward.

According to Futuresoft, the future of the education market is murky. “Microsoft has made huge strides in developing its education ecosystem offering in the past year, with major announcements on both the devices and platform side. To date, however, these developments have not stopped Google’s momentum within the U.S. K-12 market. Microsoft continues to face challenges to win back end-user mindshare.”

The future of the education market will include expanding use of 2-in-1 devices, where Microsoft’s Windows 10 is a particularly strong player. Whether Apple, Microsoft, or Google will dominate is unclear, but one thing is obvious: The education market is important to each of the companies, and they’re going to be fighting tooth and nail for their share of the business.

3D-printed adapters convert old cameras to the widely available 35mm format

Why it matters to you

Traditional film photography can still benefit from new tech — just look at this 3D-printed adapter for 35mm film by Camerahack

Film photography is making a comeback, and while the vintage tech may be easy to find, the film often isn’t — but that’s where modern tech comes in. Camerahack this week shared a 3D-printed adapter that allows 126 film cameras to use the easy-to-find 35mm format.

Camerahack is a personal project by a photographer that decided to build an adapter for his Kodak folding camera that no longer had available film. Since that first adapter, Camerahack now has six different adapters converting cameras with hard to find films into the standard (and still mass produced) 35mm.

More: After refurbishing 10,000 Polaroids, Mint celebrates with sleek new SLR670-S

The Fakmatic 135 to 126 film adapter fits most 126 film camera — including the popular Instamatic — and adapts the camera to 35mm. Because of the camera’s design, the adapter creates square images on the film, and the film has to be re-spooled. But for photographers that want to re-unite with a camera from their past, the adapter makes it possible.

The 3D-printed adapter uses a shell, a new spool and a lid to accommodate the film into 126 cameras. Because of the way the film winds inside the adapter, Camerahack says that a 24 image roll will fit about 16 to 20 images. After each photo, a “black” exposure, or a shot with the lens covered, prevents the images from overlapping.

More: Film Objektiv wants you to rent a film camera for your next photo project

Since Camerahack is a personal project and not a company, there are no warranties on the adapters and the hack takes a bit more than simply starting with a 35mm camera. But for photographers that want to shoot with a camera from their childhood, or want to put a collectable to use, a simple adapter could be a solution.

The 126 to 35mm film adapter sells for 22.50 euros (about $24), and also ships outside Europe, including the United States.

Jeff Bezos has plans for the moon, and they involve Blue Origin, Amazon-like service

Why it matters to you

It’s been awhile since humans have gone to the moon, and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has plans for how we’re going to get there.

No one will ever be able to accuse Jeff Bezos of lacking vision. If the Amazon CEO is anything at all, it’s ambitious. Want proof? His latest endeavor aims to take two of his companies to the moon.

According to a new report from the Washington Post, Bezos and his space company, Blue Origin, has been passing around a white paper that “urges [NASA] to back an Amazon-like shipment service for the moon.” Such a service would bring experiment-related gear, cargo, and humans to the moon by the middle of the next decade, allowing for the “future human settlement” of our natural satellite.

More: Meet Moondrop: A gravity-defying fidget toy that leverages a fascinating quirk of physics

“It is time for America to return to the moon — this time to stay,” Bezos said in an email interview with The Post. “A permanently inhabited lunar settlement is a difficult and worthy objective. I sense a lot of people are excited about this.”

The proposal from January 4 is centered around cargo missions, which will help ultimately establish the aforementioned lunar settlement. And it’s really not outside the realm of possibility. NASA has already demonstrated its openness to working with commercial companies — after all, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been awarded many a contract to fly off into space, most recently to Mars.

And Bezos is seizing upon that opportunity, it would seem. During Thursday’s Aviation Week awards ceremony, Bezos noted, “I think that if you go to the moon first, and make the moon your home, then you can get to Mars more easily.”

The executive said that Blue Origin could be headed to the moon as soon as in July of 2020, but such a mission could “only be done in partnership with NASA. Our liquid hydrogen expertise and experience with precision vertical landing offer the fastest path to a lunar lander mission. I’m excited about this and am ready to invest my own money alongside NASA to make it happen.”

“Blue Moon is all about cost-effective delivery of mass to the surface of the Moon,” Bezos wrote. “Any credible first lunar settlement will require that capability.”

Here’s how Windows 10 Game Mode is going to make your PC games run more smoothly

Why it matters to you

Windows 10 Game Mode is coming soon in Creators Update, and Microsoft has provided more detail on how it works.

One of the more interesting features coming in the impending Creators Update is Game Mode, which aims to improve gaming performance in Windows 10. Gaming remains important to Microsoft, and Game Mode could help solidify Windows 10’s status as the PC gaming platform of choice.

Creators Update should arrive in April, and that could be good timing. Windows 10 just recently dropped below 50 percent of the Steam gaming market, a potential indication that its adoption rate has slowed. Microsoft provided some details at the Game Developer Conference (GDC) on just how Game Mode should improve Windows 10 gaming, as Ars Technica reports.

More: Snake oil, or black magic? Windows’ new game mode is a bit of both

Eric Walston, a member of Microsoft’s Xbox Advanced Computing Group, provided a few more tidbits about how Game Mode will “focus the existing hardware on providing the best possible gaming experience.” As suspected, the essence of Game Mode is that it allocates hardware resources to a running game when it’s turned on.

Basically, Game Mode devotes most of a system’s processor cores to whichever game the user identifies as most important. Processing threads from other applications and system functions are divvied up to the remaining cores, which has the additional benefit of taking away thread contention that can also kill performance.

Game Mode also improves on Windows 10’s tendency to allocate processing time to the focused window, devoting GPU processing cycles to a game that’s currently running and taking away GPU cycles from everything else. GPU memory is also optimized for the target game, which should bring even more processing benefits.

According to our own testing, Game Mode has the most impact on game performance when things start going south. It smooths out a game’s performance at the low end, while contributing only minor improvements to maximum framerates.

Our conclusion was that, so far at least, Game Mode makes for a subtle improvement in the overall experience of playing a game, but it isn’t going to turn your low-end gaming system into a PC gamer’s dream machine. We’ll find out more when Creators Update makes its way to production machines in April and more users — and game developers — have a chance to get their hands on it.

20 tips and tricks to make your Netflix streaming experience even better

It doesn’t take an engineering degree to use Netflix for its intended purpose. You navigate to the user-friendly website, choose what you want to watch, and in no time flat, you’ve got season 3 of Friends streaming on your computer or TV. Easy said, and even easier done.

Netflix has reaped massive rewards from this tried-and-true formula, and the need to improve it is scarce. The old adage says “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” but we believe even Netflix’s excellence can use some enhancing, and we’ve got 20 ways to prove it. From taking advantage of in-depth algorithms to improving the browsing experience, these tips will help you get the most out of your Netflix subscription.

More: The best media streaming device you can buy

Additionally, take a look at our picks for the best Netflix instant movies and the best Netflix instant TV shows.

Rate everything you watch

Every time you finish a television or movie stream, Netflix asks you to give the content a 1-5 star rating. While most people tend to blow past any sort of survey, it greatly benefits you to take the time to rate your Netflix activity.

The streaming service’s in-depth algorithm takes note of your ratings and tailors its suggested titles based upon those ratings. By using the rating system, you can save yourself from spending 30 minutes browsing titles in the back corners of Netflix’s catalog. This spot-on algorithm can cut out search time by suggesting selections related to what you’ve rated highly.

Conversely, the system also takes note of shows and movies you’ve rated low, and will avoid making similar suggestions in the future. Consistently rating what you watch helps fine-tune Netflix in the best way possible.

Set up multiple profiles

If more than just one person uses your Netflix account, setting up other profiles helps keep everyone’s preferences separate. Netflix allows for up to five different profiles, and keeps everyone’s taste preferences and ratings specific to their profile. This is a particularly handy feature for those who have kids. The last thing you need is a row full of Dora the Explorer-related suggestions when what you really want is good sci-fi.

Add Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB rankings

If you’re a fan of combing through reviews before deciding on a movie, then adding both the Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB ratings to your Netflix profile is crucial. Google Chrome users can download the Netflix Enhancer extension to have both ratings show up when browsing through Netflix selections.

The extension also adds the ability to view trailers of any movie selections, but these features are only accessible via the PC/Mac browser version of Netflix and not on the mobile, over-the-top (Roku/Apple TV) mobile app, or game system versions.

Stay on top of what’s new

Each month, we publish an updated list of what’s new on Netflix and what’s going away, so you can easily keep your finger on the pulse of the latest TV shows and films, as well as old favorites you want to catch before they leave the streaming universe.

Sort your queue

The algorithm-created recommendations provided by Netflix in the My List section of your library can be helpful, but those who wish to take a more hand-curated approach can easily do so. Simply go to the My Account tab in the upper-right hand-corner, then scroll down to My Profile, and select the Order In My List link. From there, you can choose whether My List is curated by the computer, or hand sorted by you.

Search hidden subgenres

As it turns out, the streamer has assigned codes to each genre and subgenre, and you can access the full list of movies or programs manually.

In order to do so, you must type the following URL into your Internet browser: http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/INSERTNUMBER. After that, just swap out the “INSERTNUMBER” component with the code that corresponds to the genre you hope to browse, and you’ll get to see all of the options available.

The categories range from fairly general (i.e., anime, drama, and TV series) to extremely specific (i.e., movies for ages 5 to 7, teen comedies, and werewolf horror movies). With how quickly and easily they can be popped into a browser, they serve as a useful tool — in addition to Netflix’s home page and existing browsing options — for finding exactly what you want to stream.

Instead of manually inputting links, Google Chrome users can also install the helpful FindFlix extension to easily search these lesser-known genres. For an in in-depth list of codes, and to learn more about how this feature works, check out our article on the subject.

Get recommendations

Don’t know what to watch? There are a lot of dedicated viewers who offer helpful recommendations for people with a bad case of watcher’s block. We publish two lists, one of our favorite TV shows, and another of our favorite movies on Netflix, and Reddit even has an entire subreddit dedicated to the cause. 

Shuffle play

If you’re feeling lucky, there is a way to randomly choose a film or TV show to watch. Netflix Roulette is a stand-alone site that allows you to pick whether you want to randomly watch a movie or TV show. Those not looking for something completely random can tighten up their options by only watching films with a certain rating window, director or actor’s name, or keyword. May the odds be ever in your favor.

Download movies to watch offline

For years, Netflix subscribers dreamed of the ability to download movies or episodes of their favorite TV shows to accompany them on a long trip off the grid. The dream has finally arrived, and we’re here to help you make that transition go as smoothly as possible, so you can sit back and enjoy the disconnected life.

A couple things to know: You can only download on mobile devices, and the files are only playable through the Netflix app. Want to know more? We’ve written a step-by-step guide to teach you how to save your favorite content for offline viewing.

Manually adjust streaming settings

Those with slower connections can sometimes struggle with constant buffer times — the spinning icon always interrupting whatever you’re trying to watch is bothersome. Sometimes, manually adjusting the streaming bit rate of what you’re watching to a lower setting can help alleviate these issues. Simply press ctrl-shift-alt-s on Windows, or ctrl-shift-option-s on a Mac, and choose a lower number from the middle section of the pop-up menu that appears. Problem solved.

Dad who 3D-printed prosthesis for his son wants to share the technology

Why it matters to you

A 3D-printed hydraulic arm for can help children across the globe. Here is how you can help.

As much as we love writing about crazy Nerf dart-firing air cannons and 3D-printed lightsabers, sometimes you come across a use of modern technology that makes you grateful to be living when we are.

The story of baby Sol Ryan is one example. Soon after being born, Sol had to have his lower left arm amputated due to complications. While he could have waited to have a prosthetic fitted on the freely available National Health Service in the U.K., this would have involved a three-year wait and, even then, it would be a nonfunctional prosthesis for cosmetic purposes.

More: Team uses 3D printing to save the life of injured goose named Victoria

Fortunately, Sol’s father Ben Ryan decided to pick up the slack. After plenty of research, Ben Ryan developed a design for a 3D-printable hydraulic prosthetic arm. Far from simply cosmetic, the arm — complete with movable thumb — is able to operate both manually and with assistance from a compressed air-hydraulic pump.

Now that his son has been given a new arm (seriously, how many dad brownie points do you get for that?), Ben Ryan wants to take his invention to the next level, to help even more kids around the world. To do this he has started up a company called Ambionics, which designs and 3D prints similar hydraulic prosthetics for youngsters.

“At any one stage, there are around 4,000 children in the United States alone who would benefit from one of these devices,” he told Digital Trends. “In developing countries, particularly in war-torn countries, those numbers can be much higher. We need to raise funds and investments so we can bring in the expertise to really help make a difference.”

The result is an Indiegogo campaign, which aims to raise 150,000 pounds ($185,000) over the next month. This money will go on continuing research and prototyping, patents, and Food and Drug Administration approval.

There are signed photos, T-shirts and hoodies available to backers in exchange for their pledges, but ultimately this is about something a lot bigger than just crowdfunding rewards: It’s about making a difference to people’s lives.