Lenovo’s entry-level Moto E4 and Moto E4 Plus revealed in spec leak

Details on the new entry-level Moto E phones from Lenovo-owned Motorola have leaked out.

The upcoming budget smartphones, likely called a Moto E4 and Moto E4 Plus, will be Android 7.1 devices, according to the German website Winfuture.de. The smaller Moto E4 will not be too different from last year’s Moto E3, as it’ll feature the same 5-inch HD display and 2,800mAh battery. It will however have 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, whereas the Moto E3 only had 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage.

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The Moto E4 sounds more interesting. It’ll have a 5.5-inch 720p display and a whopping 5,000mAh battery. It’ll also feature 3GB of RAM (with a 2GB option) and a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera. The standard Moto E4 is expected to have a 8-megapixel rear snapper. Other specs for both Moto E4 and Moto E4 Plus include a 1.3 GHz MediaTek MT6737M quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 chip and a 5-megapixel selfie camera. The Moto E4 Plus will also include 16GB of storage.

There’s no word yet on US pricing, but the Moto E4 and Moto E4 Plus will reportedly cost €150 and €190 in Europe, respectively. Keep in mind VentureBeat’s Evan Blass has already leaked out images of the devices, pictured above.

We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.

DJI sends out invites for 24 May event likely for tiny new drone

DJI has invited the media to an event in New York City.

The event will take place on 24 May. Other than that, we don’t know much else else. The invite states “seize the moment” in all caps, and then asks journalists to join the drone-maker for a “big” (again, in all caps) announcement. All we have to gone on is the current crop of circulating rumours, which seem to think DJI will come out with its smallest drone yet, though that kind of goes against the “big” theme DJI is pushing.

Keep in mind a recent leaked images of a new DJI device, supposedly called the Spark, appeared on Chinese DJI forums. It appeared to be a drone with the same foldable design of the Mavic Pro, only smaller. A leaked video of the drone also showed that it can be hand-held and has a vertical-tilting camera. Already there’s a lot of speculation floating about whether it’s a low-cost “selfie” drone or one meant for racing.

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To be clear, it’s unknown if Spark will definitely have foldable arms, considering it looks so mini. We also don’t know anything about the controller and whether it comes with a companion app or not. There’s a lot of unknowns right now. DJI hasn’t even confirmed the Spark or that it is working on a new drone, of course, but it did recently trademark the name “Spark”. So, that’s something at least.

The Mavic Pro was DJI’s smallest drone when it released. We imagine the Spark will be available at a cheaper price point for those unwilling to drop $1,000 on a Mavic Pro. Check out Pocket-lint’s Best Drones guide to see what else the Spark may go up against.

Google Trips is now more helpful for anyone afraid to fly

Last year, Google released Trips, an app for iOS and Android that helps you keep track of your itinerary while traveling. It automatically collects information from your Gmail inbox, organizes it and makes it available offline. It even offers suggestions on things to see and do. Now, it’s getting some new features that will make it an even better vacation guide.

Trips will now let you make manual changes to your itineraries. By tapping the “+” button in the bottom right corner, you can add new details like your airline and flight number, or the name of your hotel, even if you don’t have an email confirmation. Also, if you’re traveling by train or bus, Trips will now organize those reservations for you. Previously, it only handled flight, hotel, car and restaurant reservations. Another new feature lets you share your itineraries with others, something that’s no doubt useful if you’re traveling in a group.

While today’s changes bring it more in-line with competing travel apps like TripIt, Trips likely has little appeal for anyone outside of the Google ecosystem. Thanks to Google’s vast amount of location data, however, it has an impressive list of restaurants, activities and landmarks, and it will personalize suggestions based on your interests. That alone might make it worth looking into if you’re in the market for a new travel app.

Via: The Verge

Source: Google Blog

FCC Chairman outlines his plan to gut net neutrality

The future of net neutrality has been uncertain since the November election of Donald Trump. His FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, has made it clear he intends to scale back some of the regulations surrounding ISPs, but details have been scarce. Now we have an idea of the framework the commission will be pursue, and it begins with revoking the classification of ISPs as a “common carrier” service under Title II, which has essentially treated the internet as a public utility for the last two years.

In a roving speech at Washington DC’s Newseum, hosted by the conservative think tank Freedom Works, Pai argued that under president Obama and former FCC chairman Tom Wheeler the agency departed with a decades old “light touch regulatory framework… which enabled the Internet to grow and evolve beyond almost anyone’s expectations.”

The core of his plan is to shift internet back to being a Title I “information” service, as laid out under the Telecommunications Act of 1996. That would dramatically reduce regulation around the industry and, he argues, spur new investment — particularly in infrastructure. Pai claimed that Title II was a solution in search of a problem, enacted to prevent “hypothetical harms and hysterical prophecies of doom,” while stifling innovation. Removing the regulations could ease the burden on small ISPs that serve limited communities, but it also makes it easier for large conglomerates like Comcast (which owns NBC) to give it priority to its own content over that from say Netflix.

The second element of Pai’s proposal is to rescind the “internet conduct standard,” the rule that allowed the FCC to investigate so-called “zero-rating” plans that exclude certain services from monthly data caps. The chairman already announced that he would be ending those investigations, and now he’s proposing to eliminate the rule that led to them. He painted the investigations as regulatory overreach that not only harmed, but actually attacked consumers who were receiving services they like for free under the plans. However, net neutrality supporters like Public Knowledge’s general counsel Ryan Clough says if providers are allowed to zero rate their own video services, they are “effectively charge[ing] customers more to access competing services,” — exactly the sort of “hypothetical harm” that many hoped to prevent by turning to Title II regulations.

Lastly, Pai said the FCC would be “seeking comment” on how to deal with the “bright-line rules” adopted as part of net neutrality in 2015. Those rules are seen as core to the concept of net neutrality. They state clearly that there should be:

• No blocking: broadband providers may not block access to legal content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices.
• No throttling: broadband providers may not impair or degrade lawful Internet traffic on the basis of content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices.
• No paid prioritization: broadband providers may not favor some lawful Internet traffic over other lawful traffic in exchange for consideration of any kind—in other words, no “fast lanes.” This rule also bans ISPs from prioritizing content and services of their affiliates.

A byproduct of these changes is that the FTC would now be in charge of handling privacy complaints. The FCC and Trump administration in general has already courted controversy over its handling of internet privacy rules, and it’s unlikely that shifting the responsibility to the FTC will silence critics.

Many details of the plan are still unclear, and Pai isn’t rushing to push the new rules through without some input from the other commissioners and the public. Rather than use a “Declaratory Ruling” to reverse Title II immediately, the chairman is submitting a “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” (which will be released in its entirety Thursday April 27th). The document must go before the full panel of FCC commissioners for a vote and then, if adopted it would be opened for comment from the public.

Pai appeared to be making an effort to increase transparency at the agency and to offer room for discussion around his proposal. However, he was also quick to dismiss supporters of net neutrality and Title II in particular. Despite years of grassroots activists and internet companies pushing for strict net neutrality rules and Title II regulations, Pai insisted that the move was not about protecting consumers, but a political move meant to “energize a dispirited base” “after a disappointing 2014 midterm election.” FCC commissioner Michael O’Rielly followed Pai with a speech of his own, in which he suggested the commission shouldn’t take into consideration the millions of comments it received in support of net neutrality.

The new proposed rules had plenty of supporters in attendance at the event, including representatives of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, Americans for Tax Reform, National Grange and the American Consumer Institute. But already opponents are piling up. The American Civil Liberties Union and Electronic Frontier Foundation have already voiced their concern, as has the the Internet Association, a lobbying group that represents tech companies like Amazon, Facebook and Google. Democratic senators Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Al Franken of Minnesota released statement condemning the plan within minutes of Pai’s speech ending. Senator Franken warned ominously that, “getting rid of net neutrality would destroy the internet as we know it.”

With the initial vote on Chairman Pai’s proposed rule changes will take place on May 18th and plenty of debate is likely to follow in the coming months.

Source: C-SPAN

Air Force enlists hackers to hunt bugs in its site

Bug bounties have been a staple among startups and online businesses since the days of Netscape Navigator but the federal government has been slow to adopt the beneficial code hunts. However, a year after the DoD’s first such program, Hack The Pentagon, the Air Force announced on Wednesday that it will be hosting one of its own next month.

The USAF will open a select number of its public-facing pages for the program. Should a hacker find vulnerabilities within any of them, they’ll be able to trade that information for cash. And while it isn’t the first branch of the military to host a bug bounty (the Army launched one as well last November), it will be the first to open it to international hackers. Folks from Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand will all be allowed to participate. Even active duty servicemen will be allowed to compete, though Pentagon rules prevent them from claiming the prize money.

HackerOne will administer the bug hunt with registration opening on May 15th. The program itself will run from May 30th through June 23rd, 2017.

Source: TechCrunch

Watch David Hasselhoff in an AI-scripted short film

Robots are slowly taking more and more jobs — and soon, they’ll come for the writers (gulp). That’s the pitch behind director Oscar Sharp and AI researcher Ross Goodwin’s short film It’s No Game, in which an artificial intelligence swoops in during a Hollywood writer’s strike to pen a script for the immortal David Hasselhoff. But the video is something of a meta rabbit hole itself, as all of the Hoff’s dialogue was written by an AI called Benjamin, which was built to scribe an experimental short film last year. Whoa.

To make Benjamin, Sharp and Goodwin took a neural network, fed it a bunch of science fiction films and dribbled in plot hooks from a writing contest. Then they had it create a script for their sci-fi tale Sunspring, which was released last year. The film, featuring Silicon Valley’s Thomas Middleditch, is an enjoyably incoherent mess that somehow gets across its characters’ emotional journeys. But the short film It’s No Game goes deeper down the meta-hole, inserting Sunspring into its plot as a world-changing film that leads the Benjamin AI to take over people’s actions — and write the dialogue for the drama of their lives.

To sum up this meta-tangled mess: A director and AI researcher built an artificial intelligence that wrote a bonkers script for one film, then the humans had it write another one with even more self-aware references and commentary. “Who am I?” Hasselhoff asks the camera at the end of It’s No Game after he’s been puppeteered by AI-controlled nanobots. Then he gets up and walks away wearing his iconic red Baywatch shorts.

Via: Ars Technica

Source: It’s No Game (YouTube)

iFrogz Summit Wireless earphones review

The Summit Wireless are an affordable pair of Bluetooth wireless earbuds that promise 10 hours of battery life and a rugged, sweat-resistant design. Priced approximately $35, they’re positioned as the sort of headphones you’d want for running or working out.

The Summit Wireless feature three different sizes of ear tips as well as two sizes of wing adjustment pieces. In other words, you’ve got a wide variety of fits to ensure the earbuds sit comfortably in the ear and don’t fall out when moving about.

The iFrogz peg the headphones with “up to 10 hours battery life” but that is based on five hours of playback at average levels and five hours of standby time. We found that we could get to the five hours of play with no real problems, but they would not have another five hours of standby. After a few times, we found them dying after five hours of listening and around 2-3 hours of standby.

There’s something a little wonky about the standby in general; ours seemed to lose a fair amount of charge if we let them sit for a few days. After a week of not using them, instead of getting the normal amount of playback, we ended up with roughly half of that.

The iFrogz earphones were built well and seem to hold up to moderate wear and tear. Toss them in a bag, throw them on the counter, or stuff them in your pocket; you can be more that a little bit rough with them. The same goes for sweat and perspiration. The Summit Wireless showed no signs of breaking down and performance never suffered.

The battery is found away from the earbuds and is also where you’ll find the controls for taking calls and managing music. Buttons are somewhat limited, but you do have the ability to adjust volume as well as pause and resume playback.

There’s also a clip on the back of the battery and control unit. This lets you fasten the earphones to your shirt sleeve or collar. Do note that there’s not a ton of slack here. It doesn’t allow for much range so don’t put it too far from your ears. On the other hand, it never dangles or gets in your way when bending over or running at a decent stride.

Given the Summit Wireless’s $35 price tag, we didn’t expect too much for sound quality. The 8mm drivers put out an acceptable volume level, but the overall experience left much to be desired.

You won’t find too much range so don’t pick these up if you plan on really diving into your music. But, if you’re running or working out, you likely aren’t paying close attention to the sound. Pretty much everything we tried music-wise ended up sounding very average. The highs and treble didn’t differentiate itself from the bass and low end. It’s almost as if the audio was smooshed together.

If you’re in the market for headphones that sound great, you’ll spend at least twice what these cost. What you’re getting here is convenience, portability, and resistance to sweat.

The iFrogz Summit Wireless are affordable and well built; however, they’re definitely not music-first. If you’re generally rough on your earphones, you’ll like that these can withstand moderate abuse. Moreover, the Earbud Tips for Life limited lifetime warranty gives you free replacements of earbud tips should they get worn or damaged.

Pick up a pair of the Summit Wireless earphones for about $35 from iFrogz; several online retailers offer them for about the same price, if not a few bucks cheaper. Amazon was selling them for $31.99 at the time of publication of this review.

You’re not too old to play with Hot Wheels in ‘Forza Horizon 3’

The second Forza Horizon 3 expansion is coming out soon and it’s bringing a big dose of childhood nostalgia along with it. Hot Wheels and their iconic bright orange tracks arrive on May 9th as part of the Forza Horizon 3 Expansion Pass or as standalone DLC for $19.99.

Forza Horizon 3 Hot Wheels adds ten new cars to the game, including some of toy brands more famous models like Twin Mill, Boneshaker and Rip Rod. It also has a brand-new campaign set in Australia, where players can complete events and work their way towards the ultimate stunt-driving test: the massive new Hot Wheels Goliath circuit. For creative types, there’s an editing feature called Stunt Swap that lets you modify track sections. And, of course, the Hot Wheels tracks are available in online multiplayer, along with a brand-new Playground Arena.

Forza isn’t the first game to cash in on Hot Wheels nostalgia. GTA Online added Hot Wheels-style tracks in its Cunning Stunts expansion last year. Vehicular soccer game Rocket League added two classic Hot Wheels models as DLC earlier this year, and it’s coming out with its own line of collectible, real-life pull-back cars later this Spring.

Source: Microsoft

FaceApp takes heat for ‘hotness’ filter that appears to favor lighter skin tones

Why it matters to you

As artificially intelligent beauty filters grow in popularity, the programs may be reflecting their programmers’ biases.

The neural network app that edits selfies is now taking a lot of heat for its “hot” filter — FaceApp recently apologized after users noticed the filter designed to make selfies look “hot” was actually lightening skin tones.

After apologizing to users, FaceApp changed the name of the filter to “spark,” and the app says a complete fix is currently in progress. The app uses artificial intelligence to edit selfies, with capabilities extending from turning frowns into smiles to making people look younger or even switching gender.

Yaroslav Goncharov, the app’s CEO and creator, told The Guardian that the skin lightening was a result of a training bias in the neural network and not an intended effect. Neural networks are trained by feeding the computer thousands of images. If those thousands of images tend to be almost all one race, the resulting artificial intelligence platform is biased towards that race.

So I downloaded this app and decided to pick the “hot” filter not knowing that it would make me white. It’s 2017, c’mon guys smh#FaceApp pic.twitter.com/9U9dv9JuCm

— Shahquelle L. (@RealMoseby96) April 20, 2017

FaceApp only launched earlier this year, with the iOS release in January and the Android following a month later, but it’s currently seeing a surge in popularity and adding around 700,000 users daily.

The FaceApp fiasco isn’t the first time AI has become embroiled in skin-tone issues — recent MIT research showed that facial recognition systems have trouble identifying dark-skinned faces, for example. The issue is also exemplified when software engineers use the same open-source training data set for their own apps, moving the bias further into more programs, the research suggests. While FaceApp does use some open-source AI, the AI behind the “hotness” filter was reportedly developed by the company, so the skin-tone favoritism is likely a result of the company itself failing to use diverse images to train the platform.

Other facial filters have also come under fire for favoring certain races and stereotyping others — last year Snapchat removed the “yellowface” filter that turned faces into Asian caricatures with squinting eyes. While many users like the ability to enhance their selfies, the effects are leaving some users asking, who’s supposed to define what “hotness” looks like anyway?

Streaming video from Chrome to Chromecast is about to get a lot better

Why it matters to you

If you’re having trouble casting tabs from Chrome to your Chromecast, you’re not the only one. Luckily, there’s a fix.

Chromecast, Google’s affordable entertainment dongle, is one of the most versatile gizmos out there. It has Netflix and YouTube, of course, but also hundreds of apps, games, and integrations. Another nifty Chromecast trick is the ability to mirror videos from a Chrome browser tab, but historically, that feature hasn’t worked all that consistently — mirrored videos often lag and sometimes crash. Thankfully, though, a fix appears to be on the way.

On Wednesday, Google’s Francois Beaufort drew attention to a cast-related Chrome feature that vastly improves Chromecast tab stability. Before, videos mirrored from tabs had to pass through several encoding steps before they reached the target Chromecast — they had to be rendered, re-encoded, and then beamed over the network. The new system sends video to the Chromecast directly, trimming the overhead and improving performance.

You can test the improved tab casting now, if you aren’t afraid of a little elbow grease. Download and install the Chrome Developer channel, then type “chrome://flags/#media-remoting” (without quotes) in the address bar and hit enter. Hit the Enable button, and you’re golden.

Test it by navigating to any website with a built-in video player, like Vimeo, Ustream, Livestream, or Facebook. Play a video, and then click the Cast button in the Chrome Settings menu.

The new feature’s a boon for low-powered laptops and desktops, which often struggle to encode videos efficiently. And it’s good news for folks who use services unsupported by Chromecast, like Amazon’s Instant Video.

This move is all the more relevant in light of Chromecast’s continued expansion. This week, Nvidia’s Shield TV set-top box gained support for 4K casting from select apps. And last year, Google launched Chromecast built-in, an effort that saw casting capabilities being built natively into devices from Vizio, Sharp, Sony, Toshiba, Philips, Polaroid, and Skyworth.

The experimental casting feature remains under development, and Beaufort didn’t provide a timeline. But here’s hoping it hits public airwaves sooner rather than later.