Galaxy S8 and S8+ update to fix red tint issue is now rolling out in India and Europe

Samsung’s OTA update to fix the Galaxy S8 red tint is now live in two markets.

Samsung is now rolling out an OTA update that fixes the red tint issue on the Galaxy S8 and S8+. The update kicked off in Korea last week, and is now available for Indian and European units. The fix is going out to S8 and S8+ units in the UK, Germany, and Turkey, and should be rolling out to additional countries in the region shortly.

The phone itself isn’t going on sale until May 5 in India, but Samsung is kicking off deliveries a few days earlier for customers that have pre-ordered the device. With over 80,000 bookings, Samsung is seeing a lot of interest in its flagships from the subcontinent.

The update comes in at 426.7MB, and alongside the display calibration to fix the reddish tint noticed by a few customers using the S8 and S8+, it includes the usual stability and bug fixes.

Update: Added details for the OTA rollout in European markets.

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Aukey’s multiport USB-C hub is a great desktop dock for your Chromebook

Connect all your stuff and charge your Chromebook with this handy hub.

I am finding this Aukey USB-C hub is a really great gadget for my Acer Chromebook 14. Not because it adds any specific ports or does a thing I can’t do with my Chromebook another way, but because it’s an all-in-one solution that turns my Chromebook into a desktop machine.

Once set up you plug in one cable and have it all.

Chromebooks are designed to be a portable way to get to the internet. But as anyone with a Chromebox will tell you, they can make for a fine desktop machine. The biggest drawback, at least for me, is plugging everything in when I’m at my desk because I can just pop it open and use it instead. It’s totally worth it when you connect to a nice monitor or your favorite keyboard and mouse. But sometimes, lazy just wins.

Not anymore. Now I just connect one USB-C cable and have access to my monitor, an Ethernet connection, my keyboard and mouse and any backup drives I might want to use. And I can charge my Chromebook at the same time!

See at Amazon

What you get when you connect the multiport USB-C hub to your Chromebook (or MacBook)

• 4K 30Hz HDMI out or 1080p over VGA
• An RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet port
• Two USB 3.0 ports (USB-A legacy)
• USB-C port with Power Delivery

There’s no mystery or magic at play here. Laptop users have been using small docking solutions when they want to have a more traditional sit-down experience since forever. And your Chromebook is a laptop when all is said and done. It’s a convenient and relatively cheap way to use the same computer all the time. Simply connect your peripherals to the hub, supply power to the USB-C port if you want to, and when you connect to your Chromebook everything just works. I’ve been using it with an HDMI cable, and Ethernet connection and a Logitech unifying receiver for my mouse and keyboard and think it’s one of the best little gadgets I’ve used in a long time.

This is why we love USB-C.

The USB-C Power Delivery feature really puts its usefulness over the edge. The Hub includes one USB-C port that you can use to connect a USB-C peripheral, like a thumb drive. Because of the way USB-C PD works, you can also plug a compatible charger into the port and provide power for the other USB ports as well as the Chromebook it’s attached to. This is great if you only have one port, and a reason why the entire industry is moving to USB-C.

Best of all, it’s still a small USB-C hub. It will fit into your bag or briefcase and you can carry it with you if you’ll need this sort of connectivity outside of your house or office. I can see this being pretty useful for anyone giving a presentation, as power, a projector, and a wireless pointer can all be attached with no worries. You do need a Chromebook (or any laptop) with a proper USB-C port but most any laptop you buy now will have that covered.

Android compatibility

A lot of us will instantly wonder how this works with an Android phone. The answer is “it depends”.

A phone with a proper USB-C connector sees the hub and provides power via USB to it. Things like mice, keyboards, thumb drives and other “dumb” devices work with no problems. The good stuff that you might want for your phone are a little different.

You need to have a phone with USB-C and video out through USB support for it to even have a chance to mirror your display. I haven’t found one that does the trick yet, but there is still a long list of phones to try. For now, I’ll say it doesn;t work and you shouldn’t buy it with that in mind.

Ethernet is the same story. You need to have a phone with support for ethernet over USB (most Androids have this) and has driver support for the Realtek 8152 chipset. Some phones will have this while others won’t. I’ve found phones with support for one of the requirements, but not run across one that can handle network over USB-C and has the Realtek chip support. Don’t buy this for Ethernet for your phone. Aukey does provide the driver files needed, but installing them requires you build them from source and install them as kernel modules, which means rooted phones and a lot of knowledge is needed.

Should you buy it?

If you have a newer Chromebook like my Acer Chromebook 14 or a MacBook, heck yes. It’s not super cheap at $85 but it’s solid (made from a chunk of aluminum!) and will last as long as your laptop does. The same goes for any Windows laptop where ports are at a premium or you just want a “docking station” solution. It’s one of those products that I would spend my own money on after trying it because I find it so useful.

This is awesome for a Chromebook, not so much for a phone.

If you’re just looking for a way to connect a mouse or have Ethernet on your phone, there are cheaper solutions that were designed for just that. Something like this one for $30 that works just fine with the Pixel phones and the Pixel C will do the trick.

Always pick the right tool for the job, and if you want a simple all-in-one connectivity solution for your laptop, the Aukey multiport USB-C hub is a great tool.

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Grab the Cisco complete network certification bundle for $49

Getting ready for a career change, or ready to take your current one to the next level? If so, you’ve got some studying ahead, lots of prep work, and maybe even a large cost associated with the choice.

Pay less for a limited time Learn More

You don’t have to spend a fortune in order to get ready for the next step in your career, especially with this Cisco complete network certification training which is currently 98% off! From learning at your own pace, to a mix of instructor-led videos and self-assessment tools, there are ways for everyone to learn this information and succeed.

• Take all the training modules required to sit for 11 different certification exams
• Learn from a mix of instructor-led videos & self-assessment tools
• Learn at your own pace w/ course access for an entire year
• Access training materials for both CCNA & CCNP qualifications
• Build your technical skills for corporate networks
• Learn the fundamentals of IP networking protocols
• Understand how to improve network traffic flow & throughput via interconnecting devices and configuration
• Learn to apply Cisco best practices to real-world scenarios
• Improve your technical skills
• Become a higher-value employee or job candidate once you’re certified

Don’t miss out on this 98% savings! Learn More

Priced at just $79 you are getting way more than you are actually paying for. Normally this certification training would set you back over $7,000, which is a much higher price tag to pay for it. This massive bundle gives you training to ace eleven Cisco certification exams, from interconnecting network devices to securing entire networks. By course’s end, you’ll be ready to dive headfirst into a lucrative new career.

Don’t miss out on this sweet deal, your future self will thank you!

Meet the BlackBerry KEYone this month at CrackBerry Meetups across Canada!

The CrackBerry Meetup Tour is coming back, and it’s starting in Canada this month!

This isn’t an Android thing — at least not directly — but our friends over at CrackBerry will be touring parts of Canada to meet up with BlackBerry fans who want to try the KEYone prior to its release on May 31.

The meetups will take place in Calgary, Vancouver, Ottawa and Montreal (they already did Toronto!) throughout the month, and, if you’re in the neighborhood, we’d love it if you registered!

RSVP for KEYone!

Calgary – Friday, May 5th

Vancouver – Saturday, May 6th

Ottawa – Saturday, May 13th

Montreal – Monday, May 15th

Every attendee gets entered for a chance to win a KEYone, so make sure you go if you’re around!

Sign up for future CrackBerry meetups

If you haven’t yet, be sure to visit our global CrackBerry Meetup Groups page, where you can sign up for your city. If an official CrackBerry Meetup is coming your way, we’ll be sure to let you know.

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Samsung’s newest app rewards kids for showing smartphone self-control

Screen time is good, but it can be quickly abused. Samsung wants to help parents monitor it.

Samsung has introduced a new app for users in the U.S. called Marshmallow (via Android Police), and it has nothing to do with the aging version of Android. Instead, it’s an app aimed at helping parents monitor and limit their kids’ smartphone usage, with kids gaining self-empowerment over how long they spend staring at a screen.

The app is installed onto a compatible Samsung phone (pretty much any Galaxy from the last couple of years, including the cheaper A and J lines) as an administrative controller, so it cannot be disabled or deleted without a parent’s password. Once installed, it allows parents to limit the apps that can be opened on the phone, as well as set limits for how long the device can be used.

Using Samsung Marshmallow, a child learns how to use a smartphone naturally by making his or her own smartphone usage plan, achieving goals, and getting rewarded. Also, parents can use the Marshmallow app to talk about smartphone usage habits with their children.

Perhaps more interesting is the ability to parents to allow children to set their own targets for limiting screen time; the app rewards them with Marshmallow points when the phone is used less than the allotted amount, and points are removed when the phone is used too much. The points, once accrued, can be put towards gift cards sold in the Marshmallow store.

The app is free, and available in the U.S. right now. It seems like an interesting concept that, if properly incorporated into a daily routine, could be useful to parents looking to monitor and limit their kids’ screen time. As a parent, would you use Marshmallow?

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You can now buy the Samsung Gear S3 smartwatch for under $300

A better deal on a great smartwatch.

Samsung’s Gear S3 was unveiled in late 2016, and it quickly became one of our favorite smartwatches. Slightly bigger than its Gear S2 predecessor, it has battery life for days and a great circular rotating bezel that, in the context of wrist watches, makes a lot of sense. But at $349, it was also an expensive proposition.

Now, 5 months after its debut, the Gear S3 Classic and Frontier have dropped to $299 permanently, which puts the series in better standing with the latest run of Android Wear devices, as well as the Apple Watch. In his review, Andrew Martonik said that it’s worth the price if you love doing a lot on your wrist instead of your phone:

The Gear S3’s hardware and design is great, so long as you can deal with the size of it. Its display and always-on watch faces are top notch. Notifications fully sync with your phone, keeping the bigger device in your pocket more often. S Health fitness tracking is good for casual observation of your activity throughout the hours you have a watch on. Samsung Pay is a fantastic technology, and is truly useful for quick purchases on the go.

Does it all add up to a smartwatch experience that’s worth $349 and potentially $10 more per month on top of that for LTE? Well right off the top, I’d say skip the LTE if you’re considering a Gear S3 — there just isn’t enough there to justify the price. But when it comes to buying the standalone watch, that’s a tougher decision. If you’ve already made the decision that $300+ is an acceptable price for a smartwatch, the Gear S3 is worth looking at for all of its redeeming qualities. For others who may not have spent much more than $349 on their phone itself, it’s a tougher sell — the Gear S3 is nice, but when you consider what you’ll actually use it for, it’ll be hard to spend the money. You may just land on buying last year’s Gear S2 or a fitness-focused Gear Fit 2 for far less money and end up being much happier.

Now that the watch is $50 cheaper, it may be an easier sell. The new price should be reflected at all major retailers, including Best Buy and Amazon. It also looks like the Gear S2 has been discounted a further $50 to $199, which is an even better deal if you’re looking for a similar smartwatch with a smaller footprint.

Samsung Gear S3 vs. LG Watch Sport: Which should you buy?

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Slip this thin 10000mAh power bank into your pocket for just $15

Our friends at Thrifter are back again, this time with a slim portable battery that puts 10000mAh of power into your pocket for less!

We continue to demand more and more out of our phones these days, and that means battery life sometimes takes a hit. No one wants to sit attached to a wall all day to keep their phone charged, and luckily you don’t have to. Aukey has recently released a new 10000mAh dual-USB portable power bank that is super slim, and right now you can pick one up for just $14.99 with coupon code AUKPBN51, a savings of $5. This power bank is 14mm thick, which is less than twice the thickness of a Google Pixel.

You can charge two devices at the same time using the cables of your choice, and at 10000mAh of capacity, you’ll be able to charge most phones and tablets anywhere from 2 to 4 times per charge of the power bank. The side of it has four LEDs to show you how much power is left at a glance.

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For more great deals be sure to check out our friends at Thrifter now!

Facebook promoted ads targeting teens with low self-esteem

It won’t shock you to hear that Facebook customizes the ads you see — in some cases, it’s vital. However, the social network’s Australian office appears to have pushed that personalization too far. The Australian has learned (subscription only) through a leak that Facebook was touting its ability to target teens with ads based on their feelings, including when self-esteem is low — say, when they’re feeling “stupid,” “worthless” or like a “failure.” It did promote ego boosts in those moments (such as “body confidence”), but it’s hard to deny the exploitative nature of selling products to teens at their most vulnerable.

Facebook hasn’t said whether or not this ad model has been used outside Australia, but it was quick to apologize when asked by The Australian for comment. The company is investigating the “process failure,” it says, and plans to take “disciplinary and other processes as appropriate.”

This doesn’t mean that Facebook violated the law, either in Australia or elsewhere. The leaked document only talks about aiming ads at teens 14 years old and up, which fits in with Australian regulations. Nonetheless, it’s bound to reinforce beliefs that Facebook still has work to do when it comes to responsible ad targeting. While it’s legal to pitch ads to teens, that doesn’t make it acceptable to take advantage of their weaker moments.

Via: Ars Technica

Source: The Australian (subscription required)

Get ready for a wave of TV mergers and buyouts

20th Century Fox is reportedly looking to buy Tribune Media, potentially sparking a wave of consolidation in the TV business. The news comes via Bloomberg, which believes that the media giant has entered into secret talks to buy the broadcaster. Tribune Media is a potentially prize asset, owning 39 stations in 31 markets, including affiliates for all of the big five TV networks.

What’s interesting here is not the rumored deal, but what will happen afterward, and how that’ll affect the TV that we watch. In the face of cord-cutting and dwindling profits, consolidation is one way that companies can try to stay alive. Of course, that means that consumers have less choice as the field of businesses you can buy from dwindles.

Tribune Media is almost certainly going to be the subject of a bidding war, with the Sinclair Broadcast Group also reportedly considering a move. Doing so would give Sinclair a toe-hold it doesn’t currently have in markets like New York, LA, Chicago and Cleveland. And one fewer broadcaster for everyone to deal with when it comes to negotiating fees.

The reason for this sudden interest in Tribune, and potentially a wave of further purchases, stems from a decision made on April 20th by Trump’s FCC chief, Ajit Pai. If you’re unaware, the rules around media ownership say that you can’t own stations that reach more than 39 percent of US households. The rule is designed to prevent one company from gaining undue influence over the flow of information to people.

But stations that use UHF to broadcast their channels were entitled to only count half of their broadcast footprint, a so-called “UHF Discount.” That meant that there were owners who reached more than 39 percent of US households, but were essentially given a free pass.

Back in the ’80s and ’90s, that made sense, since UHF was a weaker signal than VHF, but with the switch to digital, the positions were reversed. As a consequence, Tom Wheeler suspended the discount to ensure that broadcasters weren’t swallowing their rivals in pursuit of a monopoly.

Unfortunately, on April 20th, the FCC voted on party lines to restore the discount, potentially sparking a wave of new buyouts. With the news that Tribune Media is being eyed by both Fox and Sinclair, it’s clearly becoming true.

Source: Bloomberg, FCC

MacRumors 2017 Blood Drive

MacRumors is pleased to announce the Eighth Annual MacRumors Blood Drive, throughout the month of May 2017. Our goal is to save lives by increasing the number of life-saving blood and platelet donations. While most blood drives are specific to a geographic location, our blood drive is online and worldwide. MacRumors routinely reports on Apple’s support for charity, as summarized in our Help Center, and the MacRumors Blood Drive is our own community effort.

Over the past 7 years, the MacRumors Blood Drives have recorded donations of 381 units of blood, platelets, and plasma, and noted new signups for the organ donor and bone marrow registries. We’ve heard from many forum members whose lives were affected by blood, platelet, or bone marrow donations.

How to participate

1. If you are eligible, schedule a blood or platelet donation (see FAQ), in May if possible, at any donation center near you. Register for the bone marrow registry in your country and/or register as an organ donor in your state, province, or country (see FAQ). Then post in the MacRumors 2017 Blood Drive! thread to tell us about it and to accept our thanks.

2. If you aren’t eligible to donate blood for reasons of health, age, height/weight, a recent donation, or because you are deferred as a donor, please encourage someone else to make a donation, and let us know. If they donate, you belong on our Honor Roll! If you are a sexually active gay man deferred from donating, join our Blood donor eligibility discussion, with its debate over deferrals based on sexual orientation but not on monogamy.

3. Share our message and help this cause by convincing friends and relatives to participate as well. The Honor Roll lists this year’s donors. Please congratulate them for their altruistic acts to help strangers.

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