NASA plans to send astronauts on a yearlong Moon mission to prepare for Mars
Why it matters to you
A one-year lunar pit-stop could be hugely helpful in NASA’s mission to make humans a multi-planetary species
Earlier this week, at the Human to Mars Summit in Washington DC, NASA unveiled the juicy the details of the agency’s plan to finally send humans to Mars — and according to official statements, that plan apparently involves sending astronauts to the moon for a full year to prepare.
This will happen in two phases. The first phase includes launching four manned vehicles to cislunar space — an orbit between the Moon and Earth — to transport building materials, a research module, a power source and an airlock, according to Space.com. Each of these missions will occur between 2018 and 2026 with the second phase set for 2027.
Then NASA will launch the Deep Space Transport (DST) vehicle to cislunar space. This will be followed by a crew who will live in this lunar habitat for one year. The leap to Mars — currently slated for the 2030s — will launch the DST using the planned Space Launch System (SLS).
This tight timeline is wholly dependent on the completion of the SLS which is already three years behind schedule with the first launch currently slatted for 2019. If the rocketry is delayed yet again NASA may have to extend this ambitious timeline or partner with the private sector currently building other heavy rocket models such as SpaceX’s promising Falcon Heavy vehicle.
With a rather lofty schedule already loosely set and banking on a roughly trillion dollar price tag over the course of 25 years, this extensive mission timeline has a lot of loose ends and budget constraints to tidy up. Buzz Aldrin recently even proposed giving the private sector the keys to the ISS to free up more money for this preliminary mission to Mars.
To paraphrase the late, great Notorious B.I.G., it looks like we’re “going going, back back to”… the Moon.
Get your Netflix binge on at 30,000 feet with Gogo’s doubled Wi-Fi speeds
Why it matters to you
If you’ve ever bought in-flight Wi-Fi before, you’ll know the speeds likely weren’t worth the high cost. That may be changing soon thanks to new systems Gogo is implementing in select flights.
If you’ve ever used airplane Wi-Fi, chances are your blood pressure just went up a couple points just thinking about what you got versus what you paid. Historically speeds have been slow, connections spotty, but prices high. While the price may not be changing for the better, the service is — the days of just reading emails are gone. Now you can stream your video and music services at 30,000 feet almost as easily as you do 30 feet from your in-home router.
Gogo, the internet service provider with about 70 to 80 percent of the in-flight Wi-Fi market, has changed the type of satellite it’s using for your connection as well as how it uses that signal. The company says users will now see double the performance compared to its current top tier in-air service.
When flights first started offering internet connections, they were getting a signal from Air-to-Ground systems, meaning flights grabbed data as they passed cell towers on the ground. The speeds on those flights would make you pine for the days of your AOL dial-up connection. Within the last few years, Gogo’s competitors, such as ViaSat, Panasonic, and Inmarsat, began launching satellites offering better speeds and coverage. To retain its hold on the market, Gogo launched its own satellites and a service called 2Ku back in 2015. About 170 planes on several airlines were outfitted with 2Ku systems, including Delta, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Air France. About 1,600 more planes are scheduled to also get the upgrade. Those 2Ku systems, being used today, offer at best a 15mbps download speeds per seat.
But Gogo said it now has a new high-throughput Intelsat satellite plus a new next-generation modem to further help with speeds. The company claims each plane now gets 100mbps of download speeds, or roughly 30mbps per seat. That’s plenty for streaming anything from full-length movies on Netflix to your favorite playlist on Spotify. We experienced some lag logging into those services — for example, on a test flight we noticed each page or service took as much as 30-seconds or so before fully loading. Once locked in though, everything looked and sounded as you would expect with any high-speed connection.
Gogo will start upgrading the current 170 2Ku planes the second half of this year. It says it’s working with airlines to figure out how best to alert passengers which flights will have the higher speed internet connections.
Get your Netflix binge on at 30,000 feet with Gogo’s doubled Wi-Fi speeds
Why it matters to you
If you’ve ever bought in-flight Wi-Fi before, you’ll know the speeds likely weren’t worth the high cost. That may be changing soon thanks to new systems Gogo is implementing in select flights.
If you’ve ever used airplane Wi-Fi, chances are your blood pressure just went up a couple points just thinking about what you got versus what you paid. Historically speeds have been slow, connections spotty, but prices high. While the price may not be changing for the better, the service is — the days of just reading emails are gone. Now you can stream your video and music services at 30,000 feet almost as easily as you do 30 feet from your in-home router.
Gogo, the internet service provider with about 70 to 80 percent of the in-flight Wi-Fi market, has changed the type of satellite it’s using for your connection as well as how it uses that signal. The company says users will now see double the performance compared to its current top tier in-air service.
When flights first started offering internet connections, they were getting a signal from Air-to-Ground systems, meaning flights grabbed data as they passed cell towers on the ground. The speeds on those flights would make you pine for the days of your AOL dial-up connection. Within the last few years, Gogo’s competitors, such as ViaSat, Panasonic, and Inmarsat, began launching satellites offering better speeds and coverage. To retain its hold on the market, Gogo launched its own satellites and a service called 2Ku back in 2015. About 170 planes on several airlines were outfitted with 2Ku systems, including Delta, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Air France. About 1,600 more planes are scheduled to also get the upgrade. Those 2Ku systems, being used today, offer at best a 15mbps download speeds per seat.
But Gogo said it now has a new high-throughput Intelsat satellite plus a new next-generation modem to further help with speeds. The company claims each plane now gets 100mbps of download speeds, or roughly 30mbps per seat. That’s plenty for streaming anything from full-length movies on Netflix to your favorite playlist on Spotify. We experienced some lag logging into those services — for example, on a test flight we noticed each page or service took as much as 30-seconds or so before fully loading. Once locked in though, everything looked and sounded as you would expect with any high-speed connection.
Gogo will start upgrading the current 170 2Ku planes the second half of this year. It says it’s working with airlines to figure out how best to alert passengers which flights will have the higher speed internet connections.
How to move apps to your SD card on the Galaxy S8
Save some internal storage by moving apps to your SD card.
With 64GB of internal storage on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ most people won’t need to use their SD card for more than media storage, but if you’re finding a crunch on internal storage you can move apps there, too. Not every app can be moved to the SD card, but if you shuffle a few around it could make a difference for you.
Thankfully, apps won’t move to the SD card unless they know they can do so without issue. So long as you have a good SD card in your phone, you’ll be good to go. Now here’s how to move the apps.
How to move apps to your SD card
Open Settings.
Scroll down, tap on Apps.
Scroll to find the app you want to move to the SD card and tap it.
Tap on Storage.
Under “Storage used” tap Change.
- You’ll notice that a majority of apps won’t support moving to SD card. If there’s no “change” option, it simply can’t be moved.
Tap the radio button next to SD card.
On the next screen, tap Move and wait for the process to complete.
- To move the app back to internal storage, simply go through the same process again and select “internal” in the settings.
As noted above, you’ll see that most apps can’t be moved to the SD card. This is for good reason: many apps know that they can’t keep high levels of performance when they’re on the SD card, or need special permissions only allowed by being on the internal storage. If the app can’t be moved, just move on and see what others can be moved instead.
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
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- Join our Galaxy S8 forums
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BlackBerry KEYone: Seeing the forest for the trees
The BlackBerry KEYone isn’t trying to be the best phone ever — just the best BlackBerry ever. It’s succeeded, and given the faithful something to use and abuse all over again.
It’s easy to forget that on-screen keyboards weren’t always as good as they are today. In fact, for years they kinda sucked. Those were the years in which BlackBerry ruled for pounding out message after message. It also was the only real source for secure(ish) messaging. And the cult following that became what we all know (and, yes, love) as CrackBerry was born.
A lot has changed since then, of course. The iPhone changed everything, actually. Android got good and spread everywhere. And the BlackBerry faithful — you fine folks — were left with a choice. Adapt, or languish.
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I was never a BlackBerry guy, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate a good physical keyboard back in the day. My first smartphone was a Treo 750. I had an HTC Touch Pro 2 — angled screen and all. I rocked a Motorola Q9h like it was nobody’s business. The OG Moto DROID after that. But proper capacitive displays and multitouch — along with increasingly good text prediction — led me to give up the keyboard for the larger displays.
That leads us to the BlackBerry KEYone. It’s as retro as it is forward-looking. It by nearly all accounts a very solid phone. We tend to overuse the word “workhorse,” but not in this case. The internals give great battery life. The Android operating system gives flexibility.
This is the phone BlackBerry fans have deserved for years.
And the keyboard is a gift. It’s not a necessity anymore. We’ve all gotten by just fine without them. And the world has mostly moved on from BBM to other forms of secure messaging, be it iMessage or Whatsapp or Facebook Messenger or Signal or something else.
But the rebirthed BlackBerry Mobile (with Alcatel parent company TCL on board as the manufacturer) has given us something special here. Maybe not a phone you have to have, but one that a good many people truly want to have. A phone with a keyboard. A phone with more special sauce tucked into those little plastic things than we’ll probably ever see anywhere else. I really am in love with the fingerprint sensor in the space bar, to say nothing of swiping all over the thing to move the cursor around. (And a phone running Android — which really is the only way this was every going ton happen anyway.)
Nobody else has ever done that. No other company will ever do that, because they don’t have to.
And I’d be remiss in not mentioning the fact that BlackBerry has consistently been the only other company to keep its phones on current software, second to only Google itself. (Yes, Apple, too, but you know what I mean.)
Add all that up. You have some seriously solid hardware. While not cutting edge, it’s definitely built to last. You have software with customizations that folks will want, and updates that we should all require. And you have a keyboard experience that takes us back to the good old days when we actually needed keyboards.
This isn’t a phone for everyone. It’s not trying to be. It’s not going to be.
It’s a phone for people who love BlackBerry. It’s a phone for people who still want to love BlackBerry. And for those folks, BlackBerry Mobile and TCL have nailed it.
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Allo’s next trick: Turning your selfies into emoji
The new features takes advantage of Google’s machine learning abilities to make a set of stickers based on your face.
Feel like your feelings could better be expressed through emoji that look like you? Well, you’re in luck if you’re an Allo user. The latest update comes with a feature that turns your selfie into a reusable sticker.
The feature was announced in an official Google blog, and then confirmed in an interview between Google’s Jason Cornwall, Communications UX Lead at Google, and FastCo Design. Starting today, you’ll be able to shoot and save your own emotive stickers to use within Allo conversations. Google’s image-recognition algorithm will analyze your face and map each of your individual features to a preset selection of images illustrated by artist Lamar Abrams, who is best known for the Cartoon Network series Steven Universe. Then, you can choose the emotion that best suits your mood.
“The goal isn’t accuracy,” Cornwell said about the ability. “It’s to let someone create something that feels like themselves, to themselves.” Google estimates that there are 563 quadrillion possibilities. Once you create your stickers, you’ll have 22 different moods to choose from.
The FastCo Design article continues with some background on Google’s objective behind the sticker-making feature:
The project represents a long-running priority at Google—to figure out new ways that it can apply ML to broader and broader swathes of experience. The logic, for Google, is alluring: Google leads the world in ML, so if it can make ML into a must-have feature for apps and websites, then its products will be able to leapfrog competitors. Along those lines, Allo has become a test bed for all kinds of novel ML applications. “What we’re doing with Allo is trying to find all the ways that ML can make messaging better,” says Cornwell. “From saying the right thing at the right time to conveying the right emotion at the right time.”
Unfortunately, I don’t see the update available in the Google Play Store at the time of writing, which is quite a bummer. A sticker-making feature that uses Google’s Machine Learning abilities is rather impressive, and I’m curious to see the end result in real time.
You can read the rest of the article, which includes background on how the stickers were designed, at FastCo Design. As for the app update, keep checking in the Google Play Store.
Verizon spent $3.1 billion for a 5G company that AT&T was going to buy for $1.6 billion
Verizon is getting spendy on some big 5G acquisitions, because it doesn’t want to be behind again.
When Verizon decides it wants something, an extra $1.5 billion is no problem. According to the Wall Street Journal, America’s biggest cellular provider has agreed to spend $3.1 billion — $1.5 billion more than AT&T’s initial purchase offer — to acquire Straight Path Communications, which has one of the largest battle chests of potential 5G spectrum in the U.S.
The interesting part about this deal is that in April AT&T actually announced the acquisition on its website, claiming that with Straight Path, and a previous purchase of FiberTower back in January, it would have the spectrum necessary to roll out one major part of its impending 5G network (its real one, not the fake kind). Specifically, Straight Path controls hundreds of megahertz of so-called millimeter wave spectrum, up in the 28GHz and 39GHz range, which allows for immense amounts of data to be passed very quickly over short distances. Along with more medium and low-band spectrum, millimeter wave will comprise much of the 5G backhaul where wired options, such as cable or fiber, can’t reach.
Clearly Verizon saw the value of such spectrum, since it nearly doubled AT&T’s initial offer and spent nearly eight times what the stock was worth back in April. This is very good news for Straight Path investors — at least the ones that stayed with the company through an FCC investigation that targeted unused spectrum. Straight Path ended up paying a small fine to the regulator, but also inked a deal to pay 20% of the cost of the licenses; new suitor Verizon will have to pay those fees, along with a $38 million breakage fee to AT&T.
Considering the first 5G networks, which won’t incorporate this millimeter wave technology, are not expected to roll out for another two to three years, it’s interesting to see Verizon spending so generously on spectrum that may only be integral to next-generation networks in half a decade or more.
How to connect an accessory to Samsung Health
Connecting an accessory to Samsung Health makes tracking your progress easier than ever.
Samsung Health aims to be your one-stop-shop for tracking your health and exercise. While it contains plenty of features within the app to track things, you can also connect compatible accessories that will help you in this endeavor. Whether you’re hoping to know what your fastest mile is or precisely how far you biked, you can do it all by connecting the right accessory. It’s also an extremely easy process, and we have the details for you here.
Why connect an accessory to Samsung Health?
Connecting your Samsung Gear S3 Smartwatch, or Gear Icon X earbuds to Samsung Health can definitely enhance how well Samsung Health works. This is because the app is actually set up to connect to activity trackers, bike sensors, smartwatches, heart rate monitors, and plenty more.
Samsung Health really does aim to be an all-in-one place for you to build healthy habits, and then track them. To this end, they’ve included compatibility with a slew of different devices you may be using to aid you in a variety of ways. Whether these are smart scales to check your weight, glucose monitors to check your sugar levels, or just an activity tracker to get the stats from your morning run, this is a pretty big deal.
This makes tracking your progress easier than ever.
Being able to have all of your health information in one place, and to see the improvement day after day and week after week may be the motivation you need to get serious about your health. While the devices that you’ll be able to connect are primarily Samsung’s own, you can see a full list of supported devices within the accessory page inside of the app.
Now one thing to remember is that if you are connecting a Samsung Accessory, you’ll need to go ahead and install Samsung Gear Manager first. Your phone won’t connect to your smartwatch if the Gear Manager isn’t on your phone.
Once you have an accessory connected then you’ll be able to track specific information without having to manually enter it into the app. This makes tracking your progress easier than ever, especially if you tend to forget to input information after a workout.
How to connect an accessory within Samsung Health
Open Samsung Health.
Tap the overflow icon that looks like three vertical dots in the upper right corner.
Tap Accessories to open the accessories page.
Tap the Accessory you want to connect to Samsung Health.
Tap Register in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
Tap Connect to pair your accessory to your phone.
Have you connected an accessory to Samsung Health?
Connecting an accessory to Samsung Health lets you keep better track of information like your run, heart rate, weight, and plenty more. This makes it easier than ever to track your progress as you try to get healthier, without having to think about it or constantly input information. Have you made the jump and connected your smartwatch, or another accessory to Samsung Health? We want to know about it! Leave us a comment below!
Verizon debuts its own chatbot on Facebook Messenger
The Fios customer service bot will answer your questions and help you find things to watch.
Probably the worst part about customer service is having to talk to someone on the phone when things go awry or you have a quick question. But would you rather have the conversation over Facebook Messenger?
Verizon has introduced the Fios chatbot on Facebook Messenger. You can use it to do things like search for content to watch, manage your DVR, and add channels to an existing package. It works for Verizon Fios internet service, too, so if you’re wondering what the throughput is on your internet speeds, you can simply ask the chatbot to test the connection.
“The Fios chatbot is focused on entertainment content now,” said Miguel Quiroga, head of digital for Verizon’s Fios consumer business, in the official press release. “It will continue to evolve based on how people use it. In effect, our customers will be ‘co-creating’ the platform with us.”
Automated customer service isn’t a new concept, just as chatbots aren’t new either. Facebook on its part recently announced its plans to double down on chatbots in an effort to give them substantial credence over time.
If you’re a Verizon Fios customer, you can try out the Fios chatbot on Facebook Messenger right now. Search for Fios, and then select “Get Started” as the first chat entry to start the process of linking your account.
Windows 10 Fall Creators Update: Everything you need to know
Microsoft has announced its next major Windows 10 update.
Remember, Microsoft already revealed it will update Windows 10 twice a year – in the spring and in the autumn – with new features and noteworthy upgrades. The last major update, which arrived in March, was the Creators Update. While at Build 2017, Microsoft confirmed the autumn update will be called the Fall Creators Update, and it includes a focus on bringing Windows experiences to iOS and Android devices.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Fall Creators Update.
- Microsoft unveils the Surface Laptop, a Windows 10 S device
- Microsoft will now release major Windows 10 updates twice a year
- Windows 10 S is a streamlined version of Windows for education
What is the Fall Creators Update?
Technically called the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, it is an upcoming major software upgrade for existing Windows 10 users. Microsoft is detailing the update for the first time while at Build, its annual developers conference. The company has announced six key additions included in the update: Story Remix, Timeline, Pick Up Where You Left Off, Clipboard, OneDrive Files On-Demand, and Fluent Design.
What does Fall Creators Update include?
Story Remix
- Microsoft Story Remix lets you edit movies on iOS, Android, or Windows
Story Remix is a new Windows 10 app. But it’s not just any app. It’s basically a successor to, or even a replacement for, Windows Movie Maker, an app that let you create videos on a Windows XP or Windows 7 machine. Story Remix works in the cloud and essentially lets you pull in images and video from any device – whether iOS, Android, or Windows. In other words, it provides a true multi-platform experience.
Coming to #Windows10, Story Remix will help you find inspiration and explore new ways to create great stories. #MSBuild pic.twitter.com/xliM5Nnrcg
— Windows (@Windows) May 11, 2017
You can grab media from multiple devices and get started right away working on your video. It reminds us a lot of Apple’s new Clips app. You can even start making an video with Story Remix on an iPhone, but if you want to finish creating it on a Windows 10 PC, you can do that too. The app also supports 3D models and lets you pin objects in scenes. It therefore combines Microsoft’s Remix 3D and Paint 3D technologies.
It seems to borrow a little from Snapchat’s augmented reality effects. And, like all video makers meant for the average consumer, you can add soundtracks, including ones from Microsoft’s Groove music service. From what we can tell, this app is aimed at everyday people and not professional video editors. It will launch with the Fall Creators update.
Timeline, Pick Up Where You Left Off, and Clipboard
Microsoft introduced a feature called Timeline. It will be built into the Fall Creators Update. With Timeline, you can go back to an earlier snapshot of your system and restore open programs and documents. You can therefore go back in time to find what you were working on, scrub through your history of open apps and documents, and restore a session. It essentially lets you rewind your system to a previous time.
Introducing Timeline. Easily jump back in time to continue where you left off. #Windows10 #MSBuild pic.twitter.com/e3gxhXnp6W
— Windows (@Windows) May 11, 2017
Timeline also works with the new Pick Up Where You Left Off feature that lets you resume sessions and apps on multiple devices. Microsoft wants app developers to link their desktop apps so users can resume experiences on an iPhone or Android device. It’s even adding a cloud clipboard that will sync across Windows, iOS, and Android, so you can copy from a PC and paste it on a phone.
These features remind us of Apple’s Time Machine and Universal Clipboard tools.
Cortana will help you pick up where you left off, even as you switch from PC to phone. #Windows10 #MSBuild pic.twitter.com/71JsD5xtEh
— Windows (@Windows) May 11, 2017
OneDrive Files On-Demand
- OneDrive Files On-Demand will finally only download your files when you need them
OneDrive Files On-Demand will store all of your data in the cloud and only download it when you actually want to use relevant files. You can choose to keep everything in the cloud, with OneDrive only downloading the required data when needed. A new status icon will show whether a file is available locally or needs to be downloaded from the cloud first, in case you need to use the service offline.
Save your disk space with OneDrive Files On-Demand. Use File Explorer to access your cloud files whenever needed. #MSBuild pic.twitter.com/PhafHk2WEX
— Windows (@Windows) May 11, 2017
Fluent Design
Microsoft debuted a new look and feel to Windows 10: Fluent Design System. It was previously codenamed Project Neon and is part of Microsoft’s effort to leave the Metro user interface behind. The name refers to the tools developers have to create applications, and in this instance, can bring game-like features to interfaces, such as layering, elements that pop out at you, and more motion and design options.
Introducing the Microsoft Fluent Design System! Draw the right focus to the right thing at the right time. #MSBuild pic.twitter.com/tzHRAb4Pm0
— Windows Developer (@windowsdev) May 11, 2017
Is that it?
Microsoft hasn’t revealed all the features in the Fall Creators Update. We suspect the company will announce more details over the summer.
When will Fall Creators Update be out?
The Fall Creators Update should release in September 2017. We will keep you posted when we learn of the exact release date.
Is the Fall Creators Update free?
Yes, the update will be free for existing Windows 10 users.
Want to know more?
See our Build 2017 guide for more news from Microsoft’s conference. You can stay tuned to Pocket-lint’s Microsoft hub for what’s next at Build 2017 as well. Microsoft even has some information available about Build 2017 announcements on its news hub.
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