Got a second? This app from MIT helps you learn a language in your spare time

Why it matters to you

Our days are full of short moments spent waiting. With these new apps you can turn that spare time into knowledge.

Even in an age of connectivity, our lives are full of relatively empty moments. We may be waiting for an elevator to arrive, for a text message to come through, or for our device to reconnect to Wi-Fi. Through a new series of apps called WaitSuite, a team of researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory want to turn these moments into learning opportunities.

WaitSuite was inspired by apps like Duolingo, a “micro-learning” platform that challenges users to learn new languages in what little spare time they have. The idea is that even short sessions of engagement can accumulate into significant learning over time. However, where Duolingo requires users to open its own app, WaitSuite is integrated into the apps at hand.

“With stand-alone apps, it can be inconvenient to have to separately open them up to do a learning task,” Carrie Cai, an MIT PhD student who leads the project, said in a press release. “WaitSuite is embedded directly into your existing tasks, so that you can easily learn without leaving what you were already doing.”

WaitSuite covers old school tasks like waiting for an elevator (WaitSuite’s ElevatorLearner application activates when it detects Bluetooth iBeacons near elevators) and more modern-day ones like waiting for your device to reconnect to Wi-Fi. When the platform senses that its users are in a state of waiting, it prompts them to answer language vocabulary questions.

“The vast majority of people made use of multiple kinds of waiting within WaitSuite,” Cai said. “By enabling wait-learning during diverse waiting scenarios, WaitSuite gave people more opportunities to learn and practice vocabulary words.”

Although brief, the researchers say these “wait-learning” sessions enabled users to learn some four words per day just while waiting for text messages. And since WaitSuite engaged users through the waiting time, it even kept them more focused on the task at hand since they weren’t tempted by some other time-consuming distraction. Moving forward they hope to include audio capabilities — or even refine the apps to encourage digital downtime.

Google will no longer require apps be pre-installed on Android in Russia

Why it matters to you

Google antitrust battles seriously impact Android and how it works — but in this case, it will also diversify the Android phones available.

Android phones in Russia may soon be a whole lot more diverse. As part of Google’s agreement with antitrust officials in Russia, Google will no longer require that phones sold in the country come with Google’s apps pre-installed. That paves the way for manufacturers to install their own replacement apps instead.

The news comes from Reuters, which notes that this marks the end of a battle that began in February 2015. On top of no longer requiring that apps like Gmail and Maps be pre-installed on Android, Google will also have to create a tool that allows users to change the default search engine — and manufacturers in Russia will still have access to the Google Play Store.

The dispute between Google and Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service has been a long one. While still trying to fend off European regulators, Google was struck with a $6.8 million fine from Russian antitrust officials. That is chump change for a company that nets about $75 billion in annual revenue, but it’s troubling — especially considering that the company’s appeal has been rejected by a Russian court, according to Reuters.

The fine, issued early in August, came months after Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service found Google guilty of stifling alternative search engines, such as the Russian-born Yandex, and other services in Android smartphones. The Moscow arbitration court upheld that decision in March 2016, dealing a blow to the Mountain View, California-based company’s power-broker status among phone manufacturers in the region.

The court agreed with the findings of the FAS — that Google abused its dominant position in the Russian mobile industry to advertise its own apps and services at the expense of local competition. In its decision last year, the agency said Google’s compulsory bundling policy — one that forces phone manufacturers to sign an agreement with the company to preinstall its services in exchange for access to its Play Store app market — was illegal under Russian anti-monopoly law.

The FAS said Russia’s competition laws affect all products that “are supplied to the Russian Federation” — including those from foreign companies.

“We have received notice of the fine from FAS and will analyze closely before deciding our next steps,” a Google spokesperson previously told Digital Trends. “In the meantime, we continue to talk to all invested parties to help consumers, device manufacturers, and developers thrive on Android in Russia.”

In counterarguments before the FAS last year, Google emphasized that its Android partners are free to opt for alternative apps instead of the company’s own. But regulators concluded that most manufacturers found the Play Store an irresistible carrot because it touts more than 2 million apps and a billion active users worldwide. That has led most to, for example, adopt Google as the default search engine on their handsets despite the popularity of Yandex (more than 80 percent of Russians report using Yandex for most Internet searches).

Android has generated billions in revenue and profit for the company since 2008, largely from advertisements shown on Android phones and transactions from the Play Store. In light of the recent decision, manufacturers may decide to supplant the company’s ad platform and app store with alternatives.

And the implications of the fine extend far beyond Russia. The European Union’s European Commission began a line of inquiry regarding the company’s Android practices last year, and in April 2016 accused the company of boosting its own services and apps on Android over other rival services.

In the U.S., Google may still be facing some trouble from the Federal Trade Commission, though the commission’s investigation on Google’s search dominance is still early in the process. The FTC once considered suing the company over similar practices in 2012 but scrapped those plans after officials failed to reach a consensus.

Google has previously told Digital Trends that “anyone can use Android, with or without Google applications. Hardware manufacturers and carriers can decide how to use Android and consumers have the last word about which apps they want to use on their devices.”

Yandex filed the complaint to the FAS in February 2015, kickstarting the investigation that led to the fine.

“We are satisfied with today’s Moscow Arbitration Tribunal decision,” a Yandex spokesperson told Digital Trends. “This decision confirms the FAS findings of the investigation into Google’s anti-competitive practices on Android.”

Article originally published in December 2016. Updated on 04-17-2017 by Christian de Looper: Added news that Google will no longer require manufacturers pre-install its apps in Russia.

‘Leaked’ Intel slide backs rumors of chipset support for Wi-Fi, USB 3.1 Gen2

Why it matters to you

Intel will apparently not only support USB 3.1 Gen2 connectivity within its chipset for motherboards, but Wi-Fi supporting gigabit connectivity as well.

In November of 2016, unnamed sources stemming from motherboard makers and component suppliers claimed that Intel planned to inject USB 3.1 Gen2 and Wi-Fi connectivity into its upcoming eighth-generation “Cannon Lake” 300 Series chipsets. Now a supposed “leaked” slide created by Intel backs those claims, showing what the chipset will support later this year. The authenticity of the slide is questionable given that it doesn’t have any Intel-based info or branding, AS typically seen on official slides.

Here is the info versus the current details regarding Intel’s latest seventh-generation “Kaby Lake” 200 Series chipset:

200 Series PCH-H
300 Series PCH-H
Total number of high-speed I/O ports:
Up to 30 with flexibility
Up to 30 with flexibility
PCI Express 3.0 lanes:
Up to 24 lanes
Up to 24 lanes
USB 3.1 Gen1 ports (5Gbps):
Up to 10 ports
Up to 10 ports total
USB 3.1 Gen2 ports (10Gbps):
—
Up to 6 ports (part of Gen1 total)
SATA 3.0 ports (6Gbps):
Up to 6
Up to 6
M.2 SSD ports:
Up to three x4 ports
Up to three x4 ports
Intel Optane support:
Yes
Yes
DMI speed:
x4 3.0
X4 3.0
Maximum processor PCIe 3.0 configurations:
1×16
2×8
1×8 + 2×4
1×16
2×8
1×8 + 2×4
Integrated Wireless AC support (gigabit Wi-Fi/Bluetooth CNV):
—
Yes

As the supposed leaked slide shows, the only difference between the two chipsets (for now) is that the 300 Series includes USB 3.1 Gen2 technology, Wireless AC, and Bluetooth connectivity. To be clear, the collective that manages the USB standard redefined USB 3.0 when the second generation became final. Thus, USB 3.0 is now USB 3.1 Gen1 with speeds of up to 5Gbps. The new USB 3.1 Gen2 standard, which is usually associated with Type-C physical connections (Type-A is the full-sized rectangular port) and Thunderbolt 3, speeds along at up to 10Gbps.

That said, Intel’s chipsets have supported USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen1 since the standard became golden. And now that USB 3.1 Gen2 is becoming more mainstream, Intel appears to be adding support for that 10Gbps connection as well. The fact that the leaked slide uses USB 3.0 terminology leads to speculation that perhaps it is nothing more than a screenshot of a document table conjured up by theorists using Intel-like colors for an “authentic” feel.

In addition to USB 3.1 Gen2, the slide also suggests gigabit Wi-Fi. If that holds true, this detail could indicate that Intel plans to incorporate a component based on the 802.11ac Wave2 standard, which has a theoretical throughput range of up to 2.34Gbps by incorporating MU-MIMO technology. The Wave1 standard generally used today has a theoretical maximum throughput rate of 1.3Gbps based on SU-MIMO technology. Intel may wait on using the newer 802.11ad specification until the 400 Series chipset hits the market at the end of the year.

802.11ac Wave1
802.11ac Wave2
802.11ac Base Spec
PHY Rate:
1.3Gbps
3.47Gbps
6.9Gbps
MAC Throughput:
867Mbps
2.34Gbps
4.49Gbps
MU-MIMO Support:
No
Yes
Yes
Modulation:
256 QAM
256 QAM
256 QAM
Max spatial streams:
3
3 to 4
8
Max channel width:
80MHz
160MHz
160MHz
5GHz max speed:
1.3Gbps
(433Mbps x3)
2.34Gbps
(~560Mbps x4)
4.49Gbps
(~560Mbps x8)
2.4GHz max speed:
433Mbps
433Mbps
433Mbps

‘Leaked’ Intel slide backs rumors of chipset support for Wi-Fi, USB 3.1 Gen2

Why it matters to you

Intel will apparently not only support USB 3.1 Gen2 connectivity within its chipset for motherboards, but Wi-Fi supporting gigabit connectivity as well.

In November of 2016, unnamed sources stemming from motherboard makers and component suppliers claimed that Intel planned to inject USB 3.1 Gen2 and Wi-Fi connectivity into its upcoming eighth-generation “Cannon Lake” 300 Series chipsets. Now a supposed “leaked” slide created by Intel backs those claims, showing what the chipset will support later this year. The authenticity of the slide is questionable given that it doesn’t have any Intel-based info or branding, AS typically seen on official slides.

Here is the info versus the current details regarding Intel’s latest seventh-generation “Kaby Lake” 200 Series chipset:

200 Series PCH-H
300 Series PCH-H
Total number of high-speed I/O ports:
Up to 30 with flexibility
Up to 30 with flexibility
PCI Express 3.0 lanes:
Up to 24 lanes
Up to 24 lanes
USB 3.1 Gen1 ports (5Gbps):
Up to 10 ports
Up to 10 ports total
USB 3.1 Gen2 ports (10Gbps):
—
Up to 6 ports (part of Gen1 total)
SATA 3.0 ports (6Gbps):
Up to 6
Up to 6
M.2 SSD ports:
Up to three x4 ports
Up to three x4 ports
Intel Optane support:
Yes
Yes
DMI speed:
x4 3.0
X4 3.0
Maximum processor PCIe 3.0 configurations:
1×16
2×8
1×8 + 2×4
1×16
2×8
1×8 + 2×4
Integrated Wireless AC support (gigabit Wi-Fi/Bluetooth CNV):
—
Yes

As the supposed leaked slide shows, the only difference between the two chipsets (for now) is that the 300 Series includes USB 3.1 Gen2 technology, Wireless AC, and Bluetooth connectivity. To be clear, the collective that manages the USB standard redefined USB 3.0 when the second generation became final. Thus, USB 3.0 is now USB 3.1 Gen1 with speeds of up to 5Gbps. The new USB 3.1 Gen2 standard, which is usually associated with Type-C physical connections (Type-A is the full-sized rectangular port) and Thunderbolt 3, speeds along at up to 10Gbps.

That said, Intel’s chipsets have supported USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen1 since the standard became golden. And now that USB 3.1 Gen2 is becoming more mainstream, Intel appears to be adding support for that 10Gbps connection as well. The fact that the leaked slide uses USB 3.0 terminology leads to speculation that perhaps it is nothing more than a screenshot of a document table conjured up by theorists using Intel-like colors for an “authentic” feel.

In addition to USB 3.1 Gen2, the slide also suggests gigabit Wi-Fi. If that holds true, this detail could indicate that Intel plans to incorporate a component based on the 802.11ac Wave2 standard, which has a theoretical throughput range of up to 2.34Gbps by incorporating MU-MIMO technology. The Wave1 standard generally used today has a theoretical maximum throughput rate of 1.3Gbps based on SU-MIMO technology. Intel may wait on using the newer 802.11ad specification until the 400 Series chipset hits the market at the end of the year.

802.11ac Wave1
802.11ac Wave2
802.11ac Base Spec
PHY Rate:
1.3Gbps
3.47Gbps
6.9Gbps
MAC Throughput:
867Mbps
2.34Gbps
4.49Gbps
MU-MIMO Support:
No
Yes
Yes
Modulation:
256 QAM
256 QAM
256 QAM
Max spatial streams:
3
3 to 4
8
Max channel width:
80MHz
160MHz
160MHz
5GHz max speed:
1.3Gbps
(433Mbps x3)
2.34Gbps
(~560Mbps x4)
4.49Gbps
(~560Mbps x8)
2.4GHz max speed:
433Mbps
433Mbps
433Mbps

Great deal! These are our 3 favorite Amazon tech bargains today

Monday’s Gold Box deals from Amazon include a stylish yet powerful HP desktop, a handy GPS system with free lifetime map updates, and a midsize LED TV that fits easily in any room. Score savings up to $133 and discounts as deep as 47 percent. Read on to browse Amazon’s best tech deals of the day.

HP 20 AIO 19.5 Inch HD+ LED Desktop

Apple products are known for being as stylish as they are functional. Now, other manufacturers have followed Apple’s lead with products such as this HP 20 AIO 19.5 Inch HD+ LED Desktop, which is currently 27 percent off on Amazon today only. The desktop has a clean white exterior with a stylish stand and packs a 1 TB hard drive, AMD Radeon R2 Graphics, and more.

This desktop is certified refurbished, but don’t let that deter you — refurbished products endure extra testing for functionality, basic cleaning, inspection, and repackaging to make sure everything works just like new.

The desktop’s 19.5-inch HD+ LED display with 1600 x 900 pixel resolution showcases impressive color and clarity. With dual core processing, the AMD E2 APU handles the graphics to optimize everything from normal browsing to your most power-hungry programs. The 4 GB memory provides high-bandwidth RAM to run multiple applications and browsers at once, while the 1 TB hard drive enables rapid read and write times for large files and complex applications.

This certified refurbished HP 20 AIO 19.5 Inch HD+ LED Desktop normally retails for $449 but today only is discounted to just $316 on Amazon, providing a savings of $133 (30 percent).

Buy now on Amazon for $316

Garmin Nuvi 57LM GPS Navigator System

Before you dismiss GPS systems as completely outdated, consider how you’d find your way around without cell service. A GPS system makes an excellent gift for everyone from dads to grads, which is why we love this Garmin Nuvi 57LM GPS Navigator System, which is currently 47 percent off on Amazon today only.

The Nuvi 57LM features a sleek, stylish, and bright, five-inch dual-orientation display. The GPS has Garmin Real Directions to guide you using recognizable landmarks, buildings, and traffic lights. Easily discover nearby spots for food and gas without turning off the map by using the Up Ahead feature, while enjoying lifetime map updates (which normally will cost around $100 as an add-on).

The GPS provides easy directions — including a Lane Assist with Junction View feature to display upcoming junctions — and uses brightly colored arrows to indicate your proper lan. Enjoy the convenience of always knowing your speed and speed limits, including school zone warnings that modify the screen color to reflect lower speed limits.

The Garmin Nuvi 57LM GPS Navigator System with included lifetime map updates normally retails for $150 but is available today only for only $80 on Amazon, providing a $70 (47 percent) discount.

Buy now on Amazon for $80

TCL 32D2700 32-Inch 720p LED TV

A midsize TV for your bedroom or office without spending a fortune? It’s possible with this TCL 32D2700 32-Inch 720p LED TV deal, which reduces the price to only $140 on Amazon for a limited time. This TV provides premium picture quality and a sophisticated design perfect for bringing entertainment to any room in the house.

This TCL model is a flat-screen LED HDTV with high -efinition resolution for excellent color and contrast, and direct LED backlighting for darker blacks and luminous brightness. HP 720 resolution gives you two times the standard resolution for a crystal-clear picture, and features TCL True Color to offer the latest-generation dimensional sorting and color processing.

The TV has a sleek and sophisticated design with a slim frame and stylish quad pedestal, and the ultra-thin bezel allows the TV to fit more screen into less space, meaning you not only maximize your entertainment space but can also easily mount the device to a wall.

This TCL 32D2700 32-Inch 720p LED TV regularly retails for $230 but is currently available for only $140 on Amazon, saving you $90 (39 percent).

Buy now from Amazon for $140

Master Facebook Messenger with these helpful tips and tricks

More than one billion people use Facebook Messenger every month to stay in touch with family and friends. The app is packed with functionality, which isn’t always obvious. New features, that you might not be aware of, are being rolled out all the time. Check out our tips and tricks below to find out if you’re making the most of Facebook’s popular chat service.

Before we get started…

The first thing you need to do is make sure that you have the most recent version of Facebook Messenger, which can easily be done in iOS and Android.

If you’re an iOS user, open the App Store and tap the Updates tab on the far right. Afterward, tap the Update All button in the top-right corner or the Update button directly to the right of Facebook Messenger, if available.

If you’re an Android user, open the Google Play Store and tap the three horizontal lines in the top left. Then, tap My apps & games from the resulting menu and you’ll see a list of possible updates. Find Facebook Messenger and update it as needed, or just tap Update all at the top.

Two unconventional tools help researchers detect buried land mines

Why it matters to you

Buried landmines injure tens of thousands of civilians every year. This innovative technique may help detect the explosives before they detonate.

A team of researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed an innovative new method for detecting buried land mines, and it combines two unconventional tools: lasers and fluorescent bacteria.

Civilians around the world are continually impacted by live land mines left over from wartime. Detecting the land mines is difficult and removing them is obviously dangerous. And every year, between 15,000 and 20,000 people are hurt or killed by the devices. As many as 110 million buried land mines have been laid in more than 70 countries since the 1960s, according to the United Nations. Millions are still buried and unexploded.

Over the past few years, a number of creative methods have emerged for detecting and detonating land mines, including Massoud Hassani’s windblown device and drone-based system called Mine Kafon.

The new Hebrew University method is inspired by the fact that soils collect trace amounts of explosive vapors that leak out of land mines. Detecting the vapors helps detect the land mine.

The researchers genetically engineered bacteria to give off a fluorescent signals when contacted by the explosive vapors. They then packed the bacteria into small beads and sprinkled them across the top layer of a test site that had land mines buried underneath. From a safe distance, they scanned the site with a laser and successfully detected the location of the land mines. A paper detailing the study was published last week in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

“Our field data show that engineered biosensors may be useful in a land mine detection system,” said Shimshon Belkin, who was in charge of engineering the bacteria.

However, he pointed out there were a few more obstacles ahead: “For this to be possible, several challenges need to be overcome, such as enhancing the sensitivity and stability of the sensor bacteria, improving scanning speeds to cover large areas, and making the scanning apparatus more compact so it can be used on board a light unmanned aircraft or drone.”

Adata’s Premier One SD cards answer videographers’ need for performance

Why it matters to you

New SD and microSD cards from Adata provide V90 support fon users’ high-performance video recording needs.

Today’s digital SLR and mirrorless cameras use increasingly larger sensors and generate huge image files when taking pictures. At the same time, the increasing popularity of 4K video means that videographers are creating massive video files as well. All of that translates to a growing need for not only larger storage capacities but also faster performance in transferring and saving data.

The market is responding accordingly, with new storage options for photographers and videographers that seek to provide both good performance and large capacities. Adata is next up with its new Premier One UHS-II SD and microSD cards, and Premier UHS-I microSD cards, as Anandtech reports.

The Premier One cards are the first from the company based on 3D MLC NAND flash memory, which promises high performance at reasonable prices. Adata is offering UHS-II versions up to 256GB and UHS-I versions up to 128GB. The UHS-II version comply with the Video Speed Class V90 spec, which is aimed at ensuring that storage devices can keep up with today’s video-recording requirements. V90 essentially guarantees a minimum 90 MB/s write speed to handle 4K UHD and 360-degree video.

In terms of general performance, the UHS-II versions also provide up to 290 MB/s read speeds and up to 260 MB/s write speeds in SD card format, and up to 275 MB/s read and 155 MB/s write speeds in microSD format. The UHS-I Class 10 cards provide up to 85 MB/s read and 25MB/s write speeds, with a minimum of 10 MB/s write speed.

Adata has also built error-correcting code (ECC) support into the new cards, which will provide additional data security in devices that support the technology. The UHS-II and UHS-I cards provide a more rugged design that Adata promises includes both waterproofing and dustproofing. The UHS-II versions are support designed for wider temperature extremes from, -25 degrees to 85 degrees Celsius, rounding out the new cards’ ability to keep precious data safe and reliable.

The company hasn’t yet announced pricing on any of the new cards, which will come in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB UHS-I versions and 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB UHS-II versions. Given their functionality and performance, we expect them to fall into the higher ranges in terms of pricing.

How to set up the fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy S8

Set it up so that all you have to do is touch the back sensor to unlock the phone.

So what if the iris scanning and facial recognition unlocking capabilities on the Galaxy S8 are too futuristic for you? It’s okay to do things the old fashioned way — or rather, to stick to a way of doing things that have just become routine for you. Like scanning in your fingerprint to unlock your smartphone.

The Galaxy S8 has a fingerprint sensor, too, though this time it’s located on the back of the device, right next to the main rear-facing camera lens. One you register your fingerprint, you can use it to unlock the phone, unlock the Secure folder, pay with Samsung Pay, and unlock the vault to your online banking account (provided your bank app supports this feature). Here’s how to set up the fingerprint sensor to unlock a world of unlocking.

How to set up the fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy S8

Swipe down from the top of the screen to reveal the notification shade.
Tap the Settings icon in the upper right corner.

Tap Lock screen and security.

Tap Fingerprint Scanner.
Tap Add fingerprint.
Scan your fingerprint.

When you’re finished, you can choose to add another fingerprint or exit out of the screen by tapping Done.

Once you’re back at the Fingerprint Scanner settings menu, you can choose whether to enable Samsung Pass, which uses your fingerprints to verify your identity within any app that supports this functionality. From here, you can also choose whether to use your fingerprints to verify your identity on your Samsung account, as well as with Samsung Pay.

Questions?

We’re standing by to answer any questions you may have. Just leave a comment!

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

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Andy Rubin’s Essential phone shows up at GFXBench site

When prototype meets benchmark app, magic happens. Or something.

Russian mobile enthusiasts at Mobiltelefon have spotted Andy Rubin’s Essential Android phone at the GFXBench.

We saw a glimpse of the Essential FIH-PM1 in March. Today we get to see some of the things that might make it tick. According to the benchmark system information, there’s a lot to look forward to here. And some things that are very odd or just plain wrong.

For starters, we see everything we would expect to see in a phone being developed in April 2017. We see Android 7 with a Snapdragon 835, 4GB of RAM, and a 12-megapixel 4K camera on the back. If you want to sell a high-end Android phone, all of those had better be there. Then it gets strange.

The Essential FIH-PM1 (FIH stands for Foxconn International Holdings, by the way) will not have an 18-inch 2560×1312 display. Sorry to burst your bubble if you were looking for the love child of the Note line and a Dell monitor. It could have the crazy 80:41 aspect ratio (for comparison, the G6 is 82:41 or 18:9) because Android now supports apps built for phones with a “SuperWide screen”. Blame the LG G6 and Galaxy S8 with their Long Tall Sally look.

It will also ship with more than 10GB of storage if it becomes a real thing you can buy. You can put the torches and pitchforks away and let Rubin build his dream phone.

What’s not mentioned at all, possibly because GFXBench has no idea how to classify them or they just don’t exist, are the fancy modular port thingies rumored to be at the bottom of the Essential and any mechanical 3D touch-like features in the display.

What this does tell us is that someone somewhere is testing a phone named the Essential. We reckon it’s probably Rubin’s team and look forward to hearing more.