Algoriddim’s djay Pro finally makes the move to Windows

After a short few months in beta, Algoriddim’s djay Pro has finally arrived as a native Windows 10 app. Prior to this, the Apple-centric software added Android to its roster of mobile devices, including the iPad Pro, but otherwise hasn’t been available on bigger touchscreens. The extensive line of Windows hybrids seem well-suited to hands-on digital djing, but when you consider the Surface Studio, you have a monster of an interface and a match made in heaven.

For the unfamiliar, djay Pro is a digital dj interface that gives you complete mixing control, with up to four virtual decks and waveform views, sound effects, filters and a crossfader. You can pull from your own local library of tunes in addition to the entire Spotify catalog to suit any occasion. The Windows 10 version of djay Pro, however, isn’t exactly the same as previous versions, at least not yet. The video mixing feature that allows you to blend visuals with your music — assuming you’re really good at multitasking — didn’t make it to this release. It’s on the roadmap, but you’ll have to wait a while.

Algoriddim didn’t rebuild the application from the ground up for this new platform, it used Windows Bridge for iOS to translate djay Pro into a native Windows 10 app. That means it’s just one codebase for the product across all platforms, with just a few local tweaks to adapt to the Windows environment. There may still be a few bugs to work out, but that’s par for the course with a fresh new release.

If you’ve used djay Pro before, you’ll be hard pressed to notice any changes here, so there’s no learning curve using the app on Windows, aside from the machine’s OS, of course. You can finally break from free from tablets to utilize the full touchscreen interface, and while a laptop screen does have a good bit of real estate, the kicker here is the ability to use the Surface Studio and its massive 28-inch PixelSense screen as a dj workstation.

The Studio seems like a breath of fresh air, being able to use the app with so much screen space. Even with the decks displayed, you still get a rich and colorful display area for your digital library’s album icons or track lists. With Spotify integration, you can also search through the vast online libray (with a peripheral or spacious onscreen keyboard) and get multiple columns showing artist/album results, Match recommendations (based on BPM, key and music style) and your current queue. To put tunes on deck, you can drag and drop selections using your fingers and the Pen or by scrolling though options using the Dial interface and clicking to select.

Dial support is still scarce, making its addition here a big step forward. This includes on-screen location sensing, with some incredibly useful interactions, such as scrolling through tracks quickly or using it to control the crossfader or deck. You can drop it onto the track list (assuming your screen is tilted enough that gravity doesn’t take over) and quickly scroll through selections, then pick it up and move it onto one of the active decks or waveforms and scrub through the track. This may sound useful in theory, but trying to backspin with the Dial isn’t really something I’d recommend, based on my brief experience with it. For crossfading, it seems to work best with the Dial on a table and not directly on top of the onscreen fader, but it seems like an improvement over the touchscreen option.

As long as your PC or mobile device has a USB interface, you can also use one of over 60 MIDI controllers with the djay Pro app for Windows 10, providing a more three-dimensional tactile experience with the ability to map hardware controls to software actions. After trying this on the Surface Studio though, I could see the argument for just using a large touchscreen without too many drawbacks.

Algoriddim’s djay Pro arrives today in the Windows Store for $49.99, with free trials available if you want to take it for a test drive first. You’ll need a machine running Windows 10 Desktop Version 1607 or later.

Google might bring curved screens to its next Pixel phone

Google, which has taken a hands-off approach to Android hardware until recently, may be getting more involved in smartphone production. It’s reportedly investing up to $875 million in LG Display to develop a stable supply of flexible OLED screens for its Pixel phones, according to reports from Korea’s Yonhap News and Electronic Times (ET). That would help ease supply problems for the next-gen device, as the current model has been nearly impossible to find.

The search giant would invest a trillion won ($875 million) and possibly more to secure a production line dedicated to its own smartphones. It may also reserve some flexible OLED screens for other devices like a rumored pair of “Pixel” smartwatches. LG display is reportedly mulling the offer, which would be a strategic investment and not just an order deposit. If it signs on, curved screens for the Pixel would likely be built in LG’s $1.3 billion flexible OLED line in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province.

With its Nexus phones, Google let partners Huawei, LG and HTC control all aspects of the devices and hardware. However, with the Pixel and Pixel XL, Google actually took charge of the design and thus, to some level, the hardware. That was both a good and bad thing — the phone was generally acknowledged as the best-ever Google device, but was only released in the US, UK, Australia, Germany and Canada. Even in those nations, it was pretty damn hard to find.

If the news is accurate (and with supply rumors, that’s a big “if”) then Google would be playing favorites with one Android supplier, LG, over another, Samsung. On the other hand, Samsung might be quite okay with that, considering it’s about to launch its own curved OLED Galaxy S8 smartphone and possibly supply the flexible OLED display for Apple’s next iPhone 8. With OLED tech seemingly the only thing that manufacturers want, it makes sense for Google to cut a deal with LG, which isn’t faring so well with its own devices.

Via: Techcrunch

Source: Yonhap, ET News (translated)

Cadillac unveils its answer to Tesla’s semi-autonomous tech

Outside of Tesla, semi-autonomous driving modes are still quite rare. GM, however, wants to make it relatively mainstream. The upcoming 2018 Cadillac CT6 (due this fall) will be the company’s first car with Super Cruise, a technology that can take over during highway drives. If you believe the Cadillac crew, this is the first production car with “true” hands-free driving. Where Tesla’s newer Autopilot versions require that you keep your hands on the wheel, Cadillac only requires that you look at the road. An infrared camera on the steering column tracks your head to make sure you’re paying attention, and the vehicle will send alerts or even bring the car to a stop if you won’t (or can’t) keep your eyes forward.

Super Cruise promises an extra level of mapping accuracy thanks to the use of extensive LiDAR data (recorded by other cars, not the CT6) in addition to the usual onboard sensors and GPS. However, this is also lets Cadillac dictate where you’re allowed to use the feature. It’ll only be allowed on divided, limited-access highways with clear entrance and exit ramps — where Tesla is relatively flexible as to where you invoke Autopilot, Cadillac will make you take the wheel in most cases. This isn’t because it can’t do the job, to be clear. Super Cruise lead engineer Barry Walkup tells The Verge that it’s limiting the feature to “build consumer and regulatory confidence” in advanced driving tech.

The upgrade definitely shares one thing in common with Tesla: it’s expensive. You’ll need to buy the CT6 in luxury or platinum trim levels, which means at least a $66,290 price tag… and you’ll have to pay at least another $2,500 to add Super Cruise (the luxury model also requires a $3,100 driver assist option). GM isn’t exactly democratizing the concept, then. However, this may be the first exposure to semi-autonomous tech for legions of car buyers who may not even know Tesla exists. If it takes off with Cadillac, it’ll increase the pressure on other automakers to step up their game.

Source: The Verge

Minecraft: Pocket Edition Gaining Community ‘Marketplace’ for Creators to Sell Skins, Worlds, and More

Developer Mojang today announced that Minecraft players on iOS, Android, and Windows 10 will soon be able to browse an all-new “Marketplace,” where they’ll find skins, mini-games, textures, and worlds designed by other players, creators, and community members. The company said this marks the first time players will be able to download and play community creations directly from within Minecraft itself.

Not everyone will be able to post creations and sell them on Marketplace, however, as Mojang first requires creators “with a registered business” to submit an application to be included on the store. At launch, well-known Minecraft creators on Marketplace will include Noxcrew, BlockWorks, Qwertyuiop The Pie, Blockception, Sphax, Eneija Silverleaf, Imagiverse, Polymaps and Razzleberry Fox. Mojang said that the update will give creators another source of income from the game.

The idea is to give Minecraft creators another way to make a living from the game, allowing them to support themselves in the creation of ever-greater projects, while giving Pocket and Windows 10 players access to a growing catalogue of fun stuff – curated and supplied by us, safely and simply. And, of course, you can still manually download free community creations you’ve found out there on the internet, too.

Marketplace will include a new currency called “Minecraft Coins,” which users will obtain through in-app purchases on iOS. This will allow creators to choose flexible prices “and take their share of what they sell,” according to Mojang. The company took into account Apple’s 30 percent cut from IAPs, saying that creators will “get the majority” of the profit after Apple — and the other app store platform owners — take their cut.

Items and content purchased in Marketplace will sync across every version of Minecraft that users have logged into their Xbox Live account on. Mojang mentioned that it’s in talks with platform partners, like Apple, to figure out how to ensure all of a user’s content syncs across multiple company ecosystems.

Marketplace will be part of The Discovery Update, which Mojang intends to launch later this spring. Before it debuts, Marketplace will see a beta test run on Android devices in mid-April as a way to test the functionality of Minecraft Coins, and the developer is asking users to leave feedback on all the news on its website.

Minecraft: Pocket Edition is currently available to download for $6.99 on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Tag: Minecraft
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Ford’s hybrid cop car has electric boost for high-speed chases

You may see hybrids as dull econo-vehicles, but as Lamborghini and others have shown, electrons can boost a gas car into another dimension. You’d think there would already be economical hybrid cop cars that can go batshit fast when needed, but Ford has become the first with its Police Responder Hybrid Sedan. It gets twice the mileage of the current Interceptor, but “switches to maximum performance — with the engine and battery working at peak acceleration levels — when needed,” Ford said in a press release.

Based on the Ford Fusion Hybrid, it has “full pursuit” capabilities, and runs on the battery only below 60 mph, depending on the charge (Ford didn’t specify the lithium-ion battery’s capacity, but it doesn’t appear to be the plug-in model). That’s backed up by an Atikinson-cycle 2.0-liter engine that puts out 141 horsepower in the stock Fusion configuration.

It will go into pursuit mode when the throttle is held down for five seconds, engaging both the gas and electric motors. While not as quick as the 3.7-liter turbocharged Taurus-based Interceptor, Ford figures it’ll be fast enough to earn law enforcement’s “pursuit” rating.

With a 38 mpg rating compared to 18 mpg combined for the current car, Ford figures it’ll save around a quarter-gallon of gas per hour, amounting in up to $3,900 a year in savings. At the same time, it’s “certified by police agencies to be tough enough to handle police pursuits for longer periods at different speeds and over obstacles such as curbs and flooded intersections,” Ford writes.

Law enforcement groups are interested in the Police Responder’s economy, but concerned about its reliability. “Anytime you can save money it is good,” Michigan-based Police Chief Thomas Korabik told the Associated Press. “I’d want to see the car first and see how it would hold up.” He also wondered whether it’s big enough to handle the computers and other equipment now hosted by most police cars.

Via: Autoblog

Source: Ford

ZTE’s first Android Wear watch is also one of the cheapest

Android Wear 2.0’s release has been delayed multiple times, and aside from a few watches that have just hit the market, there aren’t many ways to get Google’s latest wearable OS right now. That changes in about two weeks, thanks to ZTE, which is making its first-ever Android Wear watch. It’s called the Quartz, and it will be available on April 21 via T-Mobile for just $200. You can also get it online starting April 14th.

For that price, you’ll get a round 1.4mm AMOLED display, interchangeable 22mm band, water-resistant (rated IP67) body and, most importantly, Android Wear 2.0 and all its improvements. There is also a 500mAh battery, which is larger than the LG Watch Sport’s 430mAh cell. That should hopefully help the Quartz outlast LG’s pair of wearables, which both barely made it through a full day during our testing. The Quartz will also supports LTE, and will be compatible with T-Mobile’s Digits program that lets you use the same phone number across your smartphone and other connected devices.

But there are some tradeoffs the company made to hit that $200 price. In particular, the most notable missing features are NFC, a heart rate monitor and a rotating dial. In addition to cutting costs, ZTE also cited longer battery life, a slimmer profile and less risk of damage as reasons for leaving those out.

As a comparison, LG’s Watch Style, which also lacks NFC, a heart rate sensor and doesn’t have its own LTE radio, costs $250. The Style has a useful rotating dial that makes scrolling easy, though. The Quartz also has to content with the Asus Zenwatch 3, which costs about $255, but runs the older Android Wear for now.

To be clear, this isn’t ZTE’s first smartwatch. It already makes the Axon watch, which runs Tencent OS and only retails in China. All that really means is the company already has some experience making watches, and the partnership with Google here makes for a compelling product.

Google’s Home speaker could soon support multiple accounts

One of the biggest problems with Google Home is the lack of mulit-user support. If you’re the only person that uses the smart speaker, there’s no problem, but for families and other house-sharing groups it’s a real nuisance. Ask the Assistant to create a new calendar appointment, for instance, and it might go into someone else’s diary. Thankfully, it sounds like Google has been working on the problem and will soon be rolling out an update. A message in the Google Home app says “multiple users are now supported,” even though the functionality isn’t live just yet. (Boo.)

In theory, Google Home would recognise your voice and immediately switch over to your preferred Google account. That means it could instantly leverage your Google-related data — your schedule, emails, and playlists, for instance — without you having to dig into the Home app and manually switch. User recognition would also stop other people from accidentally messing with your preferences by conversing with the Assistant while you’re out of the room. We’ll keep you posted on the roll-out — it’s possible Google has enabled the message too early, and an update is still a ways off, but we suspect it’ll be here sooner rather than later.

Whoa, Google Home just got multi user support! pic.twitter.com/lZy3JWd1Fy

— Owen ⚡️ (@ow) April 10, 2017

Via: Owen Williams (Twitter), The Verge

New Patent Describes Waterproof AirPods Case That Could Double as iPhone or Apple Watch Charger

A new patent filed by Apple last year, and published recently by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, details a future iteration of the AirPods charging case that could simultaneously recharge the wireless headphones as well as an iPhone or Apple Watch. In the patent, Apple has visualized an AirPods case that, when placed flat on a surface, could turn into an Apple Watch charging pad thanks to a “wireless power transmitting component” (via Patently Apple).

This would allow the AirPods case to double as a portable charging battery, providing power to both the AirPods internally and a separate device externally. The patent depicts multiple ways for the case to detect if an external device is ready to receive transmitted power, including an optical sensor, a mass sensor, or a mechanical interlock or button. When any of these methods are activated, the case would begin charging the external device, which also could include MacBooks.

Image via Patently Apple

“Such devices can include, for example, portable music players (e.g., MP3 devices and Apple’s iPod devices), portable video players (e.g., portable DVD players), cellular telephones (e.g., smart telephones such as Apple’s iPhone devices), video cameras, digital still cameras, projection systems (e.g., holographic projection systems), gaming systems, PDAs, as well as tablet (e.g., Apple’s iPad devices), laptop (e.g. MacBooks) or other mobile computers. Some of these devices can be configured to provide audio, video or other data or sensory output.”

Additionally, a future version of the AirPods case could have an entirely waterproof design, providing even further protection to the AirPods when they’re placed within the charging case for long periods of time. Apple’s patent depicts ways that the AirPods charging case could have simple water resistance, or could include a full waterproof seal that would be able to survive submersion up to 100 feet for 30 minutes.

Apple notes that In various embodiments the liquid-tight seal shall be rated between 3 (spraying water) and 6 (powerful water jets) while in some embodiments the liquid-tight seal shall be rated between 4 (splashing water) and 7 (immersion up to 1 meter). In various embodiments the liquid-tight seal shall be rated between 5 (water jets) and 8 (immersion beyond 1 meter) while in some embodiments liquid-tight shall mean the seal will protect the electronic device against liquid ingress up to 100 feet for 30 minutes.

Wireless charging has been rumored for this year’s upcoming iPhone 8, which is said to most likely use Apple’s in-house wireless charging methods — like the Apple Watch’s inductive charging — and not an extended-range solution. If the company integrated an inductive charging pad right onto the AirPods case, it would be an interesting mobile solution for users to juice up their Apple Watch or iPhone, but the amount of power that the AirPods charging case could hold remains unclear.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch Series 2, watchOS 3, iPhone 8 (2017)
Tags: patent, AirPods
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
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Steve Jobs’ Prototype Apple 1 Computer Going on Display in Seattle’s ‘Living Computers’ Museum

Living Computers: Museum + Labs in Seattle, which is dedicated to showcasing the history of computing devices from around the world, is this Friday opening up a wing focused on all things Apple. Called the “Apple Computer Exhibit,” visitors will be able to walk through the first two decades of Apple’s products and advances in technology, ranging specifically from 1976 to 1999 (via GeekWire).

The prototype Apple 1 computer on display
The exhibit will house what Living Computers executive director Lāth Carlson described as “the most important computer in history,” a prototype Apple I that sat in Steve Jobs’ office and was used as a demo model in the early years of the company. Visitors will be able to interact with an Apple 1, although it’ll be a different version than the Jobs machine, while also viewing Apple computers like the Apple II, IIe, IIc, Apple III, Lisa, and various Macintosh computers.

Although Carlson admitted that Jobs’ Apple 1 is “also the most boring to look at,” its importance has earned it a spot as the centerpiece of the new exhibit.

“About 200 of these were made, around 70 are known to have survived, and around seven are operable,” Carlson told GeekWire while showing off the museum’s working 1976 Apple I. “We’re going to be running Steve Wozniak’s version of BASIC that he wrote on it.”

The exhibit includes details about Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto, the original $666.66 price point for the Apple I, and “much more.” A point of focus in the new exhibit is Apple’s early connection with Microsoft, and the museum itself was founded by Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates.

“We’ve always actually had a fairly significant Apple collection, and we’ve always had Apples on display,” Carlson said. “I think people a lot of times come here and are a little surprised to see that. They associate us with Paul Allen, with Microsoft. And a lot of times people don’t realize Microsoft provided a lot of the early software and hardware for Apple, and continued to over the years. When Steve Jobs went back to Apple, there was a significant investment by Microsoft — $150 million — to keep the company basically going. And they agreed to keep providing Office for Macs.”

The Apple 1 in question is said to have been used by Jobs and Apple’s first investor, Mike Markkula, as a modified version of the basic computer that the company used to take on the road and showcase its capabilities to potential investors. The machine was left behind by Jobs when he left Apple in 1985, and when Apple allowed employees to clean out his office, an engineer named Don Hutmacher ended up going home with the Apple 1.

When Hutmacher passed away this past year, his family discovered the Apple 1 sitting in his garage, leading to its new residence at Living Computers. Overall, the Apple exhibit in the Seattle-based museum is said to organically fit into the overall story of Living Computers, including the rise of IBM and its support of Microsoft that lead to industry domination. Diverging paths will allow visitors to witness the emergence of Windows 95 in one direction, or the new “evolving story” of Apple in the other direction.

Tags: Steve Jobs, Apple-1
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Possible Google investment in LG Display bodes well for Pixel 2 supplies

Why it matters to you

A rumored investment in production of OLED screens should mean that Google can avoid supply shortages like it’s experiencing with the first-gen Pixel and Pixel XL.

Google has proposed an investment of at least $880 million in LG Display, in return for it building flexible OLED screens for a future Pixel smartphone, according to anonymous individuals speaking to local news source ETNews. Neither company have officially commented on the story, but the sources say LG Display is examining the offer, which may end up being higher than the initial figure quoted in the report, if supplies demand it.

The investment from Google would enable LG Display to stabilize production of OLED screens, which are currently in short supply, and meet the numbers required by Google for a new Pixel phone. No specifications of the screen have been discussed, and although the panels are referred to as “flexible,” this doesn’t mean the entire device will be flexible. The panel inside the Galaxy S8 is flexible, enabling the curve at the sides, for example.

More: Everything we think we know about the Pixel 2

LG Display has two production lines primed for its sixth-generation OLED screens already. The first, named E5, is expected to begin operating after the summer this year, and the second, named E6, in 2018. Google’s investment will be used to increase capacity, and to give the company priority access to the panels being produced, it’s speculated.

Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL phones, which were announced in late 2016 and built by HTC, have 5- and 5.5-inch OLED screens. Rumors have been spreading about the Pixel’s successors, which are expected to launch in late 2017, although leaks have revealed very little about them so far. Demand for the original Pixel has often outstripped supply, a situation Google will want to avoid for the sequels, and securing a steady stream of OLED screens would help immensely.

Demand for OLED and AMOLED screens isn’t going to slow down in 2017. Apple has long been rumored to be securing OLED panels for the next iPhone, or at least the special edition iPhone X model, and may have already struck a deal with Samsung to supply more than 70 million such screens.