Make the Bixby button great again: BixRemap will open Google Now instead

If Bixby isn’t your thing, here’s how to replace it with Google Now.

The Galaxy S8 has been mostly well received by everyone. Blogger and users who have scored their phones already are saying really good things, and even the naysayers are impressed with the hardware. It just seems like a damn good phone so far. But there is one thing a lot of folks are saying they would like to change: The Bixby button.

Bixby seems like a cool robot friend AI thing. Unless you’re on Verizon or in Europe, that is. I won’t dismiss it outright until I’ve tried it long enough to know if I like it or not.

But other people feel differently and want the convenience and familiarity that comes with Google Now and hate that the button is hard-programmed to open Bixby when pressed. Earlier methods to bypass this have been patched by Samsung as they “exploited” services that they didn’t need to access in order to gain control over the button. But because Android developers are crafty and awesome, we have a new app that will save the day.

Developer Dave Bennett is using his own service (you’ll need to enable it when you first run the app) that overrides the Bixby behavior. When you press the button, Bixby opens but is quickly backgrounded while Google Now opens. Ha! Awesome, Dave.

You can grab the app (it’s free) from the Play Store link above. We don’t know if Samsung will find this app not to their liking and patch it away, but it works today so live in the moment and show Bixby who is the boss.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

• Galaxy S8 and S8+ review!
• Galaxy S8 and S8+ specs
• Everything you need to know about the Galaxy S8’s cameras
• Get to know Samsung Bixby
• Join our Galaxy S8 forums

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How to fix one eye displaying darker than the other in VR

A lingering issue plenty of users have reported in VR is one displaying darker than other.

As the technology for VR grows and develop, there are going to be small problems that crop up. One of the lingering problems that’s been cropping up as far back as 2014 and has appeared on Daydream, Gear VR, and even Oculus Rift, is one eye displaying darker visually on the screen than the other.

Read More at VR Heads!

‘Avatar’ sequels start arriving on December 18th, 2020

James Cameron has spent years drumming up hype for his Avatar sequels with little to show for it (the first sequel was originally due this December). However, his team is finally ready to commit to specific release dates — for all the new movies. The production team has revealed that Avatar 2 should arrive on December 18th, 2020, with the rest staggered throughout the next few years. The third movie is slated for December 17th, 2021. There will be a 3-year gap between that and the fourth movie, which debuts on December 20th, 2024. The fifth and final (?) title will appear on December 19th, 2025, 16 years after the first.

Cameron and crew have started “concurrent” production of the sequels, which are poised to make cases for both high frame rate video as well as Avatar’s signature blend of CG with real-world acting. In theory, this gives the team a better sense of the timing than it might have if it was taking a serial approach.

With that said, you may still want to take these dates with a grain of salt. It’s not just that the releases have been pushed back in the past, it’s that the scope has changed over time. Cameron added a fourth sequel to the mix just in 2016, so it won’t be surprising if the schedule shifts due to further creative changes or unforeseen challenges. Really, the big news is simply that the director is getting the ball rolling after years of prep — the dates just give you a rough idea of what to expect.

Via: Variety

Source: Avatar (Facebook)

YouTube fixes Restricted Mode issue censoring LGBTQ+ videos

YouTube says it has fixed the issue that made Restricted Mode a bit too restrictive. The option was supposed to make the website more suitable for minors when switched on, but its older version also filtered out millions of harmless videos, including hundreds of thousands featuring LGBTQ+ themes. It affected Canadian indie pop duo Tegan & Sara’s music videos, a recording of someone coming out to his grandmother and a lesbian couple’s wedding vows, among numerous other perfectly wholesome content. People rightly called out YouTube, which apologized for what it said was a mistake its system made.

While YouTube doesn’t delve into the details of what it had to fix, it assures everyone it has already corrected whatever it was that was “incorrectly filtering videos for [the] feature.” The team also manually reviewed a bunch of censored videos and will use them to train its algorithms. It took a while for the platform to address the problem, but as a result, Restricted Mode now has access to 12 million additional videos.

Despite its promise to roll out more changes in the future, YouTube admits that the system will “never be 100 percent perfect.” Some G-rated videos will likely still get caught in its sticky filters, but at least you can now contact the team when it happens through a new form built for that specific purpose. If you’re wondering what should and shouldn’t be able to go through Restricted Mode’s filter, check out these guidelines the platform listed:

• Drugs and alcohol: If you’re talking about drug use or abuse, or if you’re drinking alcohol in your videos, your videos will likely not be available in Restricted Mode.
• Sex: While some educational, straightforward conversations about sexual education may be included in Restricted Mode, overly detailed conversations about sex or sexual activity will likely be removed. This is one of the more difficult topics to train our systems on, and context is key. If your music video features adult themes like sex or drug use, that video will likely not make it into Restricted Mode.
• Violence: If your video includes graphic descriptions of violence, violent acts, natural disasters and tragedies, or even violence in the news, it will likely not appear in Restricted Mode.
• Mature subjects: Videos that cover specific details about events related to terrorism, war, crime, and political conflicts that resulted in death or serious injury may not be available on Restricted Mode, even if no graphic imagery is shown.
• Profane and mature language: Inappropriate language including profanity like “F bombs” will also likely result in your video not being available in Restricted Mode.

If you put @YouTube on restricted mode a bunch of our music videos disappear. I checked myself. LGBTQ people shouldn’t be restricted. SAD!

— Tegan and Sara (@teganandsara) March 19, 2017

Source: YouTube

Apple Confirms iCloud Subscription Tier Cancelation Emails Were Sent in Error

Apple on Saturday emailed some iCloud users to apologize for a bug that caused them to receive an email earlier this week stating their paid storage subscription plan had been canceled.

The emails went out to predominantly 50GB iCloud subscribers on Wednesday, causing some MacRumors readers to speculate that Apple was discontinuing the storage tier completely. Options to purchase some of the plans through macOS and iOS were also reportedly affected.

However, as predicted, the emails were sent in error. Apple has now followed up the errant message to clarify that it was a mistake and that there has been no change to users’ subscription plans.

“You recently received an email incorrectly stating that your iCloud storage plan has been discontinued,” the email read. “Your 50 GB iCloud storage plan is not affected and will continue to renew automatically.

“We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. If you have any questions, please contact us.”

(Via AppleInsider.)

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Open up in this weekend’s comments thread

Sit back, relax and chat about stuff because it’s the weekend!

The weekend is finally here. The five days between them sometimes feel like they take forever, but this week was pretty cool with all the Galaxy S8 stuff. Flo and Daniel have to be especially grateful that the calendar says Saturday this week. Be sure to have a look at the reviews (some things need more than one) they wrote for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ if you haven’t already.

• Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ review: Such great heights
• Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ review: Simply two of the best

I’m sure they weren’t the only ones working long hours to get things done. But that’s all behind us and it’s time to enjoy life two days at a time.

Part of the way we relax is on the couch with a phone surfing the internet. When you’re doing that it’s always fun to talk about things with other internet surfing relaxed folks. Here’s an open space where you can do just that. Talk about anything with anyone (but be kind to each other and don’t go too far). Phone stuff is cool, but so is car stuff or lawnmower stuff or the best way to make a Mint Julip stuff.

Here’s my random thought to get things started:

I got to play with a PS4 Pro, Xbox One and a Gaming PC all hooked to the same fancy ASUS ROG monitor and all playing the same titles earlier in the week. Anyone who says a console looks and plays as nice as a PC isn’t being honest with themselves or you. And not just a little bit — when you see things side by side it’s a little crazy how much difference is between good (console) and great (PC). A PlayStation or Xbox is still awesome for playing games on the couch, but try not to compare either to a PC the way I did because you’ll never unsee it. I was happier before I did it.
Now it’s your turn. Tell us all something cool!

Recommended Reading: Juicero and the Silicon Valley hype machine

Silicon Valley’s $400
Juicer May Be
Feeling the Squeeze
Ellen Huet and
Olivia Zaleski,
Bloomberg

We never bought into the hype of a $700 juicer, but the folks at Juicero were able convince some that its WiFi-connected device was worth the investment. Well, you now only have to hand over $400 as the price dropped since it launched. Unfortunately, the juice packs that the machine uses can be squeezed by hand, which led the company’s CEO to offer refunds this week to unsatisfied customers.