Olympus’ TG-5 rugged camera has 4K video in a compact body

With summer season just around the corner, now is the perfect time for new rugged cameras to start popping up. And what do you know, Olympus has introduced the Tough TG-5, a point-and-shoot with a 12-megapixel CMOS sensor, 25-100mm f/2.0 wide-angle lens (35mm equivalent), 4x optical zoom, 12,800 max ISO and the latest TruePic VIII image processor. If you’re looking to record your adventures, you can do so in 4K at 25 and 30fps, or 1080p at 25, 30, 50, 60 and 120fps (slow-motion videos, anyone?). Naturally, since this is a rugged camera after all, the TG-5 is waterproof, crushproof, dustproof and freezeproof.

You’ll also get built-in GPS, RAW+JPEG shooting, a 3-inch LCD and WiFi, which makes it easy for you to transfer your images to a smartphone. The Tough TG-5 is hitting stores in June for $450, while the waterproof case will be sold separately for $300.

AMD’s 16-core ‘Threadripper’ CPU is built for ultra-high-end PCs

AMD has unveiled Threadripper, a 16-core, 32-thread CPU that will take on Intel in one of its key markets: high-end desktop CPUs. The chip has been rumored for a while now, but AMD finally unveiled it at its analyst day, saying it would arrive by summer of 2017. The company may have wanted to get the launch in ahead of Intel, which will reportedly unveil a long-rumored 12-core Core i9 chip and new X99 HEDT (high-end desktop) platform sometime soon.

AMD didn’t reveal any other technical details (other than by a leaked presentation), so it’s hard to say which company’s new chips will perform best. As with AMD’s new Ryzen models versus Intel’s high-end Core i7-6900 chips, AMD’s model may be better at multi-threaded-friendly tasks like video editing or motion graphics, but short of Intel’s models for gaming. Knowing AMD’s history, it will likely have better pricing, too — Intel’s current flagship desktop chip, the 10-core i7-6950X Extreme Edition, costs over $1,700, so that won’t be hard to beat.

AMD did say that the chip, which uses the current 14-nanometer Zen architecture, is also coming with an all-new HEDT platform with expanded memory and bandwidth. “Ryzen Threadripper is targeted at the absolute ultra high-end of performance in desktop,” said AMD Senior VP Jim Anderson. The company will lay out more details and specs for the chip next week at Computex.

As for graphics, AMD will soon ship its first board based on Vega architecture, the follow-on to Polaris, sometime in June. However, the first model, the Radeon Vega Frontier Edition, is more aimed at data scientists and engineers rather than enthusiasts or gamers. However, its next-gen quad-core, 8-thread Ryzen mobile chips — launching in the second half of 2017 — will integrate Vega graphics and offer 50 percent better CPU performance, 40 percent better graphics and half the power consumption.

The prospect of high-end AMD chip and graphics is great news for PC enthusiasts. With Intel’s one and only rival finally putting up some worthwhile competition, it’ll not only give consumers more options but likely drive down chip prices overall. That does depend on how the chips fare against Intel, but we should learn those details soon.

Source: AMD, AMD Product Map (PDF)

There’s a new way to enjoy stunning drone footage from around the world

Why it matters to you

The new offering for drone fans aims to entertain viewers as much as inspire creators.

A cursory search on YouTube turns up a ton of drone footage posted by enthusiasts. Some is stunning, with carefully edited sequences offering viewers breathtaking journeys over famous landmarks or unique views of beautiful, rarely seen landscape. At the other end of the scale, however, you’ll find plenty of shoddy, less attractive efforts, though often you won’t realize till you’ve wasted time clicking on it and waiting for it to stream.

In an effort to show off just how amazing drone photography can be, and of course to unashamedly showcase its selection of remotely controlled camera-equipped copters, drone giant DJI has launched a new Smart TV app offering fans a place to go for guaranteed gorgeous footage.

Kicking off with Samsung Tizen TV and Apple TV platforms, the DJI Smart TV app gives viewers the opportunity to explore a growing range of aerial content and 4K videos captured from various locations around the world, and is organized into curated sections for a more enjoyable viewing experience.

DJI’s Paul Pan said the new app is a great opportunity “for people to be inspired, intrigued, travel to places they would have never imagined, and see the world in a whole new way,” while creators who upload content to the service now have “more ways to share their work with the world.”

Shenzhen-based DJI has been at the forefront of drone technology since its launch back in 2006. While it offers several consumer drones such as the foldable Mavic and Phantom 4 Advanced, it also sells pro-grade flying machines as well as a number of cameras and stabilizers.

Falling costs and ongoing improvements in drone technology mean that machines built by DJI and other firms are continuing to find new roles among both consumers and industry. But for many the most fun continues to come from shooting aerial videos, a skill that, as we’ve seen from efforts online, takes time to master. DJI’s new offering hopes to highlight the best of the burgeoning bunch.

Google Store now offering free $35 case with Pixel XL purchase

Everyone likes free stuff — especially from Google.

Now that Google seems to have some Pixel XLs back in stock on the Google Store, it’s running a limited-time promotion to hand out a free case with each purchase. If you go to buy a Pixel XL, you can just add one of Google’s silicone cases in a variety of colors to your cart and see a $35 discount applied automatically. There’s no specific end date on the deal, as it’s simply listed “while supplies last” — but as we know, that may not be long when it comes to the Pixel XL.

The deal is only available for the Pixel XL, and only for the $35 silicone case — which is interesting, because it could easily get away with letting people pick up the cheaper $30 hard plastic case for free instead. But either way, we can’t look this gift horse in the mouth. Perhaps the knowledge that the Pixel XL is in stock and you’re getting a free case will be enough for people to buy,

See at Google Store

Google Pixel + Pixel XL

• Google Pixel and Pixel XL review
• Google Pixel XL review: A U.S. perspective
• Google Pixel FAQ: Should you upgrade?
• Pixel + Pixel XL specs
• Understanding Android 7.1 Nougat
• Join the discussion in the forums!

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Samsung Galaxy S8+ India review: King of the hill

The Galaxy S8+ is the best Android phone available today.

The quick take

The Galaxy S8+ offers everything you want — and a few things you didn’t know you needed — in a package that looks downright futuristic. Combining top-of-the-line hardware with a gorgeous design and an incredible display, Samsung ticks all the right boxes. The phone isn’t without its quirks, but when seen as a complete package, you won’t find a phone that offers quite as much as the Galaxy S8+ for the price.

The Good

• Infinity Display is amazing
• Incredible design
• Class-leading performance
• Water and dust resistant
• Great camera
• All-day battery life

The Bad

• Fingerprint sensor location
• Fragile
• Bixby is pointless right now
• Smudge magnet

Samsung Galaxy S8+ Full review

The Galaxy S8+ comes at a crucial time for Samsung. The company is getting back on track from the Note 7 disaster, and although its profits weren’t hurt by the global recall of its flagship late last year, consumer trust in the brand took a big hit. Samsung is looking to regain that trust with its most ambitious phone yet.

However, competition in the high-end segment is stronger than ever. Google got off to a great start with the Pixel, and LG has mounted its fiercest challenge yet with the G6. Samsung put itself in a precarious position with the Galaxy S8: it obviously needed to innovate to push past its rivals, but it also had to be wary to not overextend itself in the process. After all, it was the company’s overzealousness in wanting to include the largest possible battery in the Note 7 that led to the phone’s downfall last year.

With the Galaxy S8, we’re starting to see the results of Samsung’s cautious approach. The brand outdid itself in a few areas, like the Infinity Display, but elsewhere, there’s a sense that it held back, opting not to make too many alterations just for the sake of change. In doing so, it created its best phone to date.

Samsung Galaxy S8+ Specs

Operating System	Android 7.0 Nougat
Display	6.2-inch AMOLED2960x1440 (529 ppi)
Processor	10nm Samsung Exynos 8895
Storage	64GB (UFS 2.1)microSD up to 256GB
RAM	4GB
Rear Camera	12MP Dual Pixel, f/1.71.4-micron pixelsOIS
Front Camera	8MP, f/1.7auto focus
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11ac MIMOBluetooth 5.0NFC, GPS, Glonass, Galileo BeiDouLTE Cat.16
Charging	USB-CFast chargingQi wirelessPowermat wireless
Battery	3500mAh
Water resistance	IP68 rating
Security	Fingerprint sensorIris scannerSamsung KNOX
Dimensions	159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1mm
Weight	173g
Colors	Midnight Black, Coral Blue, Maple Gold

About this review

I am writing this review after using the Exynos 8895 variant of the Galaxy S8+ (SM-G955FD) for two weeks in Hyderabad, India. A week into the review, Samsung released an update to fix the red tint issue, bumping the build number to G955FXXU1AQDG. The unit was provided for review by Samsung India.

Samsung Galaxy S8+ Hardware

The Galaxy S8+ is the most futuristic phone available today. The dual curved screen merges seamlessly with the edges of the frame to create a design aesthetic that elevates the S8 to a league all its own. Put the Galaxy S8+ next to handsets like the Pixel and the LG G6 — which also has an extra-tall display — and you’ll immediately notice the sheer beauty of the thing. This is a phone you’ll want to gaze at even while the display is off. The gold color variant in particular looks like it was designed for the robots.

To engineer the Infinity Display, Samsung had to get rid of most of the bezels around the top and bottom of the phone, and while I was initially apprehensive about accidental touches, Samsung did a much better job with palm rejection this time around. With no bezels to factor in, Samsung was able to cram a huge panel in a relatively small chassis.

Even though the Galaxy S8+ is offering a 6.2-inch display, the overall size of the phone isn’t much larger than a regular 5.7-inch phone — it is marginally taller than the 5.5-inch Pixel XL. The phone has Gorilla Glass 5 protection both at the front and back, which gives it an added resistance to tumbles.

The USB-C port at the bottom is flanked by the 3.5mm jack on the left and a single speaker to the right. The speaker gets sufficiently loud and doesn’t get garbled, even when you crank up the volume. The power button is located on the right, and the volume rocker is to the left of the phone. With the Galaxy S8+, Samsung has added a dedicated button below the volume rocker to invoke Bixby. For now, the Bixby button’s main purpose is to come in the way of you taking a screenshot.

The SIM card slot — which also houses the microSD card tray — is located at the top, and is sealed by a rubber gasket. The Galaxy S8+ is IP68 certified, making it dust and water resistant. Samsung removed the physical home button to make way for the Infinity Display, and the fingerprint sensor has been moved to the back panel, and is now located next to the camera sensor. This is the most controversial design change with the Galaxy S8+, and one that makes unlocking the phone more difficult than it should be.

The fingerprint sensor itself is quick to authenticate, but its limited surface area and awkward placement make it harder than usual to locate it with your finger — doubly so when you’re using the phone one-handed. More often than not, you’ll put your finger on the camera sensor, where you’ll end up smudging it. The lack of a noticeable indent also makes locating the fingerprint sensor difficult. Samsung was allegedly looking for a way to integrate the sensor directly into the display of the S8+, but the supplier working on the technology, Synaptics, couldn’t get it to work in time for the launch of the phone. Maybe in the Note 8 then.

The location of the fingerprint sensor is the most annoying trait in the Galaxy S8+.

There is one positive aspect of the fingerprint sensor being located at the back, and that is the ability to pull down the notification shade or access Samsung Pay quickly with a swipe gesture. It doesn’t make up for the fact that unlocking the phone is more difficult than it used to be, but Samsung has gone out of its way to introduce additional options to do just that. With the Galaxy S8+, you can use facial recognition and iris scanning to unlock the software.

The lack of a home button means that the ability to quickly launch the camera is also diminished. Samsung switched the functionality to the power button in international versions of the S8+, but the Indian unit doesn’t have the feature enabled. Samsung has instead opted to offer a panic button — a feature mandated by the Indian government on all phones — that’s accessible by three quick taps on the power button. What this means is that for Indian customers, there’s no easy way to access the camera. Which is a shame, because the camera is one of the best available today. But more on that later.

Talking about change, the S8+ offers a haptic engine at the bottom of the display that acts as a replacement for the physical home button. You’ll be able to press down on the area where the home button used to be to wake up the screen when the phone is locked, and you can also use it to go back to the home screen while watching a video on YouTube or playing a game. There’s also the option of customizing the sensitivity of the home button. It certainly doesn’t come close to the feedback of a physical home button, but Samsung clearly wanted to offer an alternative in its stead.

Moving a little further up, the 6.2-inch QHD AMOLED display on the Galaxy S8+ is amazing. The 2960×1440 resolution heralds a new age of 18.5:9 displays, and while it takes a while to get adjusted to the tall screen, the narrow width makes it that much easier to use the phone. You will not be able to reach all corners of the display, but it’s definitely not as unwieldy as I initially imagined it would be from initial renders of the S8.

Samsung has raised the bar for smartphone displays for a few years now, and the S8+ continues to build on that. Colors are vivid, black levels are excellent, and the screen goes up to 1000nits, allowing you to read the panel outdoors without any issues. However, the 18.5:9 ratio comes with a downside — letterboxing in games and videos. Samsung offers a workaround by allowing you to scale YouTube videos to the full width of the screen, but it will be a while before developers start taking full advantage of the tall panel.

The Always On Display feature has also picked up new functionality, and now offers six clock faces, music controls, more customization options, and colorful backgrounds. The Galaxy S8+ is also one of the first phones to offer HDR10 and Mobile Premium HDR certifications, allowing you to view HDR content from the likes of Prime Video and Netflix.

From an engineering standpoint, there’s nothing else quite like the Galaxy S8+.

While the front of the Galaxy S8+ is unlike any other phone on the market today, the same cannot be said of the design at the back. However, Samsung is doing a much better job of making various color options available globally. In India, you can choose from three colors — Midnight Black, Coral Blue, and Maple Gold. The black version looks great, but it also highlights smudges the most. The blue and gold options stand out more, and the blue, in particular, looks stunning. Thankfully, with all three options the front panel is black, which masks the litany of sensors located above the display.

The only uncertainty about the Galaxy S8+ is its fragility. With an abundance of glass at the front and back, it certainly isn’t the most rugged phone out there. In the two weeks that I’ve used the phone, it took a single tumble — onto a tiled surface from a height of five feet — and came away unscathed. However, that won’t always be the case. You should consider investing in a case, but definitely stay away from so-called premium screen protectors.

Performance

Coming to the internal hardware, the 10nm Exynos 8895 SoC on the Galaxy S8+ is a beast. The 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM is more than adequate to juggle several apps at once, and combined with the 64GB UFS 2.1 storage module, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C, and Category 16 LTE modem with Gigabit LTE, it’s easy to see that the S8+ packs plenty of punch.

That said, I did notice the occasional stutter, but that’s more to do with Samsung’s optimization (or lack thereof) than an issue with the hardware itself.

Samsung Galaxy S8+ Software

Much like its hardware design, Samsung overhauled the software experience over the last few years. The UI is now called Samsung Experience (version 8.1), and if you’re coming from the Galaxy S7 or S7 edge, there’s plenty to like.

For one thing, there isn’t a button for the app drawer anymore; you instead swipe up or down anywhere on the home screen to launch the app drawer. You can also swipe down on the fingerprint sensor to pull down the notification shade, à la Google Pixel.

Samsung has been offering a Multi Window mode for several generations now, and in the Galaxy S8+, you have the option to snap a particular portion of an app to the top of the display, and run another app at the bottom.

It’ll take you a while to go through all the features on offer with the Galaxy S8+.

One-handed mode is also back, but without physical navigation keys to invoke the feature, Samsung has changed things up a little. To enter one-handed mode, you’ll have to swipe up diagonally across the screen from either bottom corner. More often than not, you’ll end up pulling down the app drawer, so there’s an easier way to launch one-handed mode, and that’s by tapping the home button three times.

The elimination of the home button has led to one welcome move: customizable on-screen navigation keys. For years now, Samsung strayed from Google’s implementation of navigation keys — back button on the left, home button at the center, and the recents pane on the right — but with the Galaxy S8+, you can change the orientation of the buttons to suit your liking. You don’t have as many customization options as that on the LG G6, which lets you add up to four buttons, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.

With both variants of the Galaxy S8 offering dual curved screens, Samsung made changes to the way Edge panels work. The Edge feed has been removed, and you now have the ability to choose Apps, People, and Tasks edge panels. Each corresponding panel comes with a list of customizable shortcuts, and the optimization and quick tools panels are also present. There’s also Edge lighting, which creates a halo around the edges of the screen for incoming notifications. If you don’t like Edge panels, you can always disable them.

Samsung has had a shoddy track record when it comes to software updates in other regions, but when it comes to India, the company has done a magnificent job — at least in the high-end segment.

The Galaxy S7 and S7 edge have consistently picked up platform and security updates, and Samsung is continuing that tradition with the S8 and S8+. The phones picked up the May security patch this week, and the fact that there isn’t any interference from carriers — all phones sold in India are unlocked — makes things that much easier for the manufacturer. The phone is still running Android 7.0 Nougat, and while there’s no mention of when the Android 7.1.1 (or 7.1.2) update will be delivered, for now, Samsung is doing a great job when it comes to updates.

Bixby

If there’s one sore point on the Galaxy S8+, it is the state of Bixby. Samsung’s virtual assistant feels half-baked right now, and Bixby Voice — a key component for the service — won’t be available until later this year in the U.S., with an Indian launch coming a few months after that.

Bixby isn’t meant to take on Google Assistant. Instead, it is designed to make it easier for you to interact with your phone. For instance, you’ll be able to ask Bixby to find images from a particular location or a particular date, and it will surface that information with ease.

With Bixby Vision, you’ll be able to point your camera at an object, and the service will offer relevant information about that item. It worked well with QR codes, but when I pointed it at the retail box for the Galaxy S8+, it failed to identify it.

Bixby also lets you set reminders, see contextual information from third-party apps like Twitter, Uber, Foursquare, and more. Bixby on the Galaxy S8+ is a first look at what’s possible, and the assistant will get much better over time. For now, though, it doesn’t add a whole lot of value.

Samsung Pay

With Samsung Pay now officially available in India, the Galaxy S8+ is the first flagship with the feature enabled out of the box. The service is also available on the Galaxy A7 2017, but the phone itself isn’t all that great to use.

You don’t really realize how useful Samsung Pay is until you get started with the service. It has fundamentally transformed the way I pay for goods at offline stores. The service’s ease of use combined with its near-ubiquity makes it invaluable when making in-store purchases.

Samsung Pay transforms the way in-store purchases are carried out.

Samsung also nailed the rollout of Samsung Pay in India. Because of its integration with MST, the service works even on older card readers, and the South Korean company is leveraging its marketing budget to ensure retailers and customers are aware of the way it works. Out of the 20 locations where I’ve used Samsung Pay, only one cashier didn’t have an idea about the service.

The service is also incredibly convenient to use: to access Samsung Pay, you swipe up from the bottom of the screen, or use the fingerprint sensor gesture. The gesture isn’t enabled by default, but you can set it up from the settings (Settings > Advanced Features > Finger sensor gestures > Open Samsung Pay).

Everything you need to know about Samsung Pay in India

Once Samsung Pay loads up, you can select the card you want to pay with, and authenticate using a PIN or your fingerprint. For transactions carried out in India, you’ll still have to enter your credit or debit card PIN.

Samsung Galaxy S8+ Camera

Samsung didn’t make a big deal of the rear camera in the Galaxy S8+, and although the resolution is the same at 12MP, the phone has an all-new imaging sensor.

In addition to the new sensor, Samsung’s latest Exynos 8895 chipset has an improved ISP that takes multiple images every time you click the shutter button. It then automatically stitches the images into a single photo, one that offers a better dynamic range. The new ISP also allows for digital stabilization of 4K videos.

The Galaxy S8+ excels at taking great photos with a minimum amount of fuss. It is on par with the Pixel or beats it in a few scenarios, particularly when it comes to low-light imagery. Previous Galaxy S flagships had a tendency to oversaturate colors, but Samsung has toned down the image processing algorithms in the Galaxy S8+, leading to more natural colors.

The main drawback with the camera is the fact that there isn’t a way to quickly launch it on the Indian model. When it comes to the image quality, ease of use, and the sheer number of options available, it is one of the best out there.

Samsung Galaxy S8+ Battery life

The standard Galaxy S8 has a 3000mAh battery while the S8+ offers a 3500mAh battery. The added battery size makes a lot of difference in everyday usage. Over the course of the two weeks, I routinely saw around 18 hours of usage with four hours screen-on-time and 30% battery left to spare.

Even on days where I was using cellular data all the time and had the Bluetooth enabled, the battery managed to last until late at night. Samsung’s battery-saving measures contribute in this area, and you get regular reminders notifying you of apps running in the background that are consuming system resources.

With the Galaxy S8+, you’ll easily get a day’s worth of usage from the battery.

You can monitor apps’ usage per hour, and set limits on a per-app basis to cut down on undue battery consumption. The feature certainly comes in handy in finding errant apps that suck your phone’s battery in the background.

When you do need to extend battery life, there are two power-saving modes to choose from. The first mode — called “min” — decreases brightness by 10%, switches the screen to Full HD (if you’ve toggled QHD in the settings), throttles the CPU, and switches off Always On Display. The nuclear “max” option downgrades the display to 720p and further restricts background tasks.

The phone also features wireless charging, but the main drawback when it comes to the battery is the lack of fast charging. Samsung offers Adaptive Fast Charging, which made its debut in 2014. The technology is based on Quick Charge 2.0, and is limited to 9V/2A.

Samsung Galaxy S8+ Bottom line

Samsung ticks all the right boxes when it comes to the hardware, but that’s just one part of the story. The Galaxy S8+ is so much more than its spec sheet — it is a culmination of a grander design that cements Samsung’s position as the frontrunner in this space. With the Galaxy S8+, you’re getting a phone with a stunning design, a gorgeous AMOLED display that may just be one of the best ever put on a phone, class-leading camera, and top-notch internals. From the gorgeous design to the build quality and execution, Samsung got everything right with the Galaxy S8+.

A Samsung flagship isn’t complete without its fringe features, and although there have been many gimmicks in the past, that isn’t the case anymore. Wireless charging, Samsung Pay, and IP68 water resistance — just to name a few — all come in handy, and give the phone an added advantage.

The phone has its drawbacks: the location of the fingerprint sensor isn’t ideal, and the copious amounts of glass will lead to a constant worry regarding its durability.

Should you buy it? Absolutely

You should buy the S8 just on the merits of the screen and the camera, but there’s so much more on offer with the phone.

The ₹64,900 asking price of the Galaxy S8+ is by no means affordable, but you do get your money’s worth with the phone. Right now, the main competitor to the S8+ in India is the LG G6, which retails for ₹51,999. You’ll be able to get it for as low as ₹46,999 after cashback offers, making it a full ₹17,901 less than the S8+. For that amount, you can pick up a Moto G5 Plus.

LG has significantly raised its game with the G6, offering a phone that’s almost as good as the S8+. You get the same 18:9 ratio for the display, better resistance to the elements thanks to a MIL-STD 810G rating, 32-bit Quad DAC, and a dual-camera setup that has a slender lead over the S8+.

That said, the phone doesn’t quite have the same allure when it comes to the design when seen next to the S8+, and Samsung’s display technology is a step ahead. Samsung also scores a win in the hardware segment with the 10nm Exynos 8895.

There’s a reason the G6 is priced so low — LG needs the market share in the premium segment, and as such the manufacturer is willing to forego profits to build its brand in the country. Samsung, meanwhile, is the number one phone vendor in India, and it is using that position to its advantage.

If you’re in the market for the best Android phone, just get the Galaxy S8+.

See at Flipkart

Apple Pay Officially Launches in Italy

Apple Pay is now available in Italy, and iPhone users in the country are able to add eligible credit and debit cards to the Wallet app for use with Apple’s payments service in stores and online.

According to Apple’s Italian Apple Pay website, Visa and MasterCards issued by Boon, Carrefour, and UniCredit can be used with Apple Pay in Italy. The site says support for additional banks will be added later this year.

Rumors of Apple Pay’s expansion to Italy have been circulating for several weeks as Apple worked to add support for its payments service in the country, and the service has been listed as “Coming Soon” on the Apple Pay Italy site since March.

Apple Pay is available as a purchase option wherever contactless payments are accepted, with several official partners listed on Apple’s website including Auchan, Autogrill, Eataly, LaGardenia, H&M, Leroy Merlin, Limoni, OVS, Simply Market, Unieuro, and more.

Along with Italy, Apple Pay is also available in the United States, UK, China, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, France, Hong Kong, Russia, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, and Ireland.

Belgium, Germany, Taiwan, and South Korea could all see Apple Pay support in the near future based on current rumors.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
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IBM unveils its most powerful quantum processor yet

IBM’s two quantum computing platforms just took a leap forward in processing power. The company announced today that it has successfully built and tested its two most powerful quantum computers yet — the research and business-focused Quantum Experience universal computer and the prototype processor that will eventually form the core of its commercial IBM Q systems.

The new systems are now 16 and 17 quantum bits (qubits) of quantum volume, respectively, and both are a big jump from the previous 5 qubit processor that powered the Quantum Experience platform before. By thinking beyond ones and zeroes, the platform can already solve problems that were considered too complex for classical computer systems to handle — which means it can solve problems that we haven’t even thought of yet in fields like pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence, financial services and logistics. If you’re having trouble wrapping your head around the concept, IBM has you covered there: The company has provided a primer on the basics, as well as a beginner’s guide on the subject with Charles Bennet, a pioneer in the field. IBM hopes that getting more people involved will help discover new uses for the technology, which it plans to push to 50 qubits or more in the next few years.

The specialized hardware has only really been the domain of major businesses, research facilities and government research in the past, but today’s announcement means the technology is also rapidly becoming more accessible. The previous 5 quibit Quantum Experience machine has run more than 300,000 experiments since it opened to the public last summer. Today’s third-generation, 16 qubit processor will allow for even more complex computations. And with only so many people working in the field, the machine will likely have time to spare. On the other hand, developers, researchers and programmers who want to carve out some of that time for their own experiments can already request beta access through the Software Development Kit on GitHub. Or, you can just play around with the experiment composer here.

Facebook taps the Trevor Project to prevent LGBTQ youth suicides

Until Facebook has AIs that can detect suicidal ideation from users’ posts or the expressions of their faces on video, the social network will continue adding more suicide prevention tools. It even teamed up with a number of crisis and mental health organizations to provide support over its Messenger app. Now, the company has announced that The Trevor Project will also be on Messenger to serve as a suicide hotline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or questioning/queer youth. Teens might have Snapchat and Instagram, but some surveys show they haven’t abandoned Facebook altogether — the social network’s partnership with The Trevor Project could help save lives.

Anyone can chat with Facebook’s partners on Messenger if they need help, though volunteers from The Trevor Project aren’t quite available yet. They’ll start providing support sometime in the coming months. For now, you can tell anyone who might need someone to talk to that they can contact the Crisis Text Line, the National Eating Disorder Association, Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, among other organizations, on the social network’s chat app.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Facebook

Dying to watch ‘American Gods?’ Here’s how to stream it without getting cable

How do you fight gods? With other gods, obviously. Based on Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed novel of the same name, the new Starz new drama American Gods follows recently-released and widowed prisoner Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) as he travels with the mysterious Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane) across the country. The two of them have one mission: Gather a team of old gods to battle with a new crop of gods who have begun incorporating themselves into American life.

The highly anticipated series is currently airing on Starz at 9 p.m. PT on Sundays, but that doesn’t mean you need cable to watch. Times have changed, and a record number of people have cut the cord and cancelled their premium cable subscriptions. Like HBO and Showtime, Starz now allows fans to subscribe directly to the network via a standalone subscription service. Starz is also included in a few live TV streaming services. Some options let you watch episodes earlier than you can on TV, while others let you watch on multiple devices at once, and all of them are considerably cheaper than cable. Here’s what you need to know.

Watch via Starz app

Starz recently began offering its extensive library of movies and TV shows to non-cable subscribers with a standalone streaming app, a mere year after HBO launched the aptly titled HBO Now. For $9 a month, you can now watch Shadow’s fantastical adventures with the gods in all their gory, crystal-clear glory. One of the most attractive caveats of the app is the ability to download episodes for offline viewing, allowing you to watch virtually anywhere.

The Starz app also lets you watch American Gods episodes in advance of their televised airing. The network releases episodes at midnight on the Sunday they are set to premiere, nearly a full day before their televised airtime. So if you wake up on Sunday morning itching for some mythological battles, then the Starz app is perfect for satiating your hunger. The app allows you to stream video from one account on four different devices, more than any other streaming option available for American Gods. Below are the devices currently supported.

Apple iPad
Select 2014 Samsung Smart TVs with Smart Hub
Apple iPhone
Xbox One S
Apple TV
Xbox One
Apple iPod touch
Android phones
Android tablets
Mac
Amazon Fire TV
Kindle Fire
Sony Smart TV
Roku
Chromecast
PC
Nvidia Shield
Nexus Player
Razer Forge TV

Watch via Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video has begun offering add-on channels, including HBO and Starz, the latter of which is available at the same price as the standalone Starz app, at $9 per month. As with the Starz app, those who’ve subscribed to Starz via Amazon Prime Video get early access to new episodes of American Gods. You can also stream up to three videos from the same account, but you can only stream the same video to one device, so you’ll have to share a device if, say, you and your roommates get the AG hankering at the same time. Below are the devices currently compatible with Amazon Prime Video and, by extension, Starz.

Apple iPad
Select Samsung Smart TVs
Apple iPhone
Xbox 360
Apple TV
Xbox One
Apple iPod touch
Android phones
Android tablets
Mac
Amazon Fire TV
Kindle Fire
Sony Smart TV
Roku
Playstation 4
PC
Playstation 3
Wii
Wii U
Select LG Smart TVs
Tivo
Vizio Smart TVs
Amazon Fire TV Stick
Xbox One S
Wii

Watch via Sling TV

Dish Network’s live TV streaming service Sling TV, which now offers 30 live cable channels like CNN and ESPN for as low as $20 a month, has also begun bundling in premium channels like Starz. For that same $9 a month mentioned above, you can add Starz and watch the latest American Gods episodes live or on-demand.

The cost to watch Shadow dismantle unsavory gods on Sling TV will vary, however, depending on which package you get: Sling Orange or Sling Blue. Sling Orange costs $20 a month, but you can only stream to one device at a time, while Sling Blue lets you stream to three devices simultaneously, and get access to 15 additional channels for $25 per month. One thing you probably won’t have to worry about is how you’ll stream Sling TV, however, as the ubiquitous service is available on a litany of devices. See below for the full list.

Apple iPad (iOS 9 and later)
Roku (Roku LT and later)
Apple iPhone (iOS 9 and later)
Select LG Smart TVs
Apple TV (4th generation and later)
Xbox One
LeEco Smart TVs
Android phones (Android 4.4 and later)
Android tablets (Android 4.4 and later)
Mac (Lion 10.7 and later)
Amazon Fire TV
Kindle Fire
Chromecast
PC (Windows 7 or later)

Watch via DirectTV Now

Sling TV may have been the first to offer a-la-carte live television en masse, but several others are currently jockeying for position, including DirecTV Now. The service offers 100 channels for a mere $35 a month, and offers incentives like a year of free HBO. Lucky for American Gods fans, Starz was added to the DirecTV Now offerings a few months before the show’s premiere. The cheapest DirecTV Now package will land you 60 channels for $35 a month, and Starz can be added on for an additional $8 a month (a $1 savings each month). You will only be able to stream to two devices simultaneously, but if you’re an AT&T customer, you can stream to your heart’s content it counting toward your data limit. DirecTV Now is available on fewer devices than most of its competitors at present, however. See the full list below.

Apple iPad (iOS 9 and later)
Apple iPhone (iOS 9 and later)
Apple TV (4th generation or later)
Chromecast built-in TVs
Apple iPod touch (iOS 9 and later)
Android phones (Android 4.4 and later)
Android tablets (Android 4.4 and later)
Chrome (50 or later)
Amazon Fire TV
Amazon Fire Stick
Chromecast (Android only)
Internet Explorer (11 or later)
Safari (8 and later)

Astell&Kern’s $3,500 SP1000 hi-res player is all new from the inside out

Why it matters to you

Astell&Kern’s newest line of hi-res players kicks off with the gorgeous SP1000, which offers all new internals, a flashy design, and a brand new user interface.

As the beautiful city of Munich, Germany prepares to host 2017’s High End audio show, Astell&Kern has unveiled its all-new line of hi-res portable audio players, the A&ultima line. And while the name may look strange on the page, the debut player, the SP1000, is kicking off the new series in style.

Like all of Astell&Kern’s hi-res players, the SP1000 touts impressive specs to go along with its stylish new design. The player has been outfitted with dual AK4497EQ DAC (digital-to-analog converter) chips, with an individual chip dedicated to the left and right channels for better stereo separation, a redesigned user interface aims to put music playback front and center, and an Octa-Core CPU. A&K claims the powerful new CPU not only allows for swift boot-up speeds, but also near lag-free playback for massive hi-res tracks at up to 32bit/384kHz (if you can ever find anything at that resolution, that is). The player also offers native playback of DSD files up to 11.2MHz.

For connection, the SP1000 includes a USB 3.0 port for brisk data transfer to your computer (twice as fast as previous A&K players, according to the company), and boasts 256GB of internal memory, as well as support for up to 512GB of expansion storage with a microSD card. The SP1000 also features fast charging (two hours from empty), and an impressive 12 hours of playback time.

As for physical design, the player features a bezel-less, five-inch LCD screen to maximize space, and a new multi-function wheel on the side to control both volume and power. The SP1000 will launch in both stainless steel (a cool $3,500) and luscious copper (pricing not yet disclosed). Even at the low end, that’s near the top of A&K’s portable lineup, but the technology powering the new SP1000 should hopefully make it worth the investment for the most discerning listeners with deep pockets.

Pre-orders for the SP1000 open May 18, and the player is slated for full release in July. More A&ultimate players will be announced in the future.