Great new OnePlus 5 render shows off a bit more style, dual rear cameras

This is our best look yet at the OnePlus 5’s hardware.

Landing right after the OnePlus 5 launch day announcement, we have our first great look at the phone thanks to a solid render offered up by Android Police. The render only shows us roughly the top half of the phone, but gives a few hints of what to expect while also discrediting some previous (admittedly weak-looking) renders.

We see a much more crafted and curved body with larger rounded corners, not unlike an iPhone 7 if we’re being honest, that seems to have a near-flat back and more sculpted 2.5D curved glass on the front. Dual cameras peek out on the back, expected to be 12MP units, and the physical mute switch remains on the left side above the volume rocker.

Assuming this OnePlus 5 leak is legit (and it seems to be), we’re still looking at a phone that will have pretty large bezels on the top and bottom of the display — though the side bezels seem to have shrunk down. It also lends weight to the idea that OnePlus will adopt a black color at launch, rather than holding it for a special edition as it did with the OnePlus 3T.

We won’t have to wait too terribly long before we see everything when OnePlus releases the phone on June 20.

OnePlus 5

• Latest OnePlus 5 rumors
• OnePlus 5 confirmed to have Snapdragon 835
• OnePlus 3T discontinued to make room for OnePlus 5

OnePlus

Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 currently on sale for $499, keyboard cover just $65

This is a steep discount, and we don’t know how long it’ll be around.

Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab S3 hasn’t been out for long, but there’s a big sale on right now across multiple retailers that has dropped its price to $499 (or a tad less in some cases). Amazon, Best Buy, Samsung and more all have the Galaxy Tab S3 for at least $100 off the original price, with Amazon posting the lowest price at $491.22.

Adding to the fun, Samsung has also cut the price of the keyboard cover in half to a far more manageable $65. That means you could pick up the tablet and keyboard for just $556 … which we have to say is a great deal.

See at AmazonSee at Best BuySee at Samsung

As one of the only high-end Android tablets that’s actually new, many may be taking a look at the Galaxy Tab S3 at this new lower price. At an original price of $729 for the tablet and keyboard it was a tough sell for many, but this may get it down into the range where it’s easier to justify picking one up.

More: Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 review

Though the Galaxy Tab S3 isn’t perfect, it’s a really solid big tablet that offers good hardware, a great screen, some nice tablet software features from Samsung and a respectable keyboard case. We have no idea how long this deal will be around, but considering it’s available across so many retailers it seems as though Samsung is trying to make a nice early-summer push with its newest tablet.

How to set up and use Kodi on your Android device

Getting Kodi set up on Android might take some time initially, but it’s worth it in the long run.

Update June 2017: Updated the section on using Kodi with Chromecast.

Kodi is a powerful open source media center, which is available across a multitude of operating systems, but its continued rise to prominence has come in large part due to its Android version thanks to “Kodi boxes” — essentially cheap Android TV boxes sold with the Kodi app pre-installed. This has garnered Kodi a lot of press and attention lately, because its open source add-on feature can be used for media piracy purposes.

But it’s an unfair situation because the piracy add-ons are unofficial, unsupported, and the Kodi box industry is unwelcome, according to the Kodi developers. The base app is perfectly legal, and what you do get is one of the best experiences for organizing and streaming media onto any device — even your phone. Bring your own content like you would with Plex — or even link to your Plex server within Kodi if you’ve already got one set up.

It’s entirely customizable, so let’s walk you through the basic setup.

Kodi is optimized for Android

Previously, when you downloaded Kodi on your Android device, you would be required to go into the Appearance setting and swap over to a more touchscreen-friendly skin. With the latest update for Android, the developers have swapped over to a much more user-friendly skin by default, so you’ll be able to just load it up and go.

Download Kodi from the Google Play Store

Once you’ve loaded Kodi up, you’ll find the navigation menu on the lefthand side with categories for Movies, TV Shows, Music, Pictures, Add-ons, and more.

Importing your media files

With Kodi, you can keep all your media organized and accessible in one place — from pictures and music to videos, sorted by movies and TV shows. It’s quick and easy to import your media into Kodi and simply a matter of setting a source for the media from your phone’s internal storage or a microSD card if your phone supports expandable storage.

Tap the type of media you wish to add. We’ll use Pictures for this example.

Tap Add pictures….

Tap Browse.
Find the folder containing the media you wish to add then tap OK.

Now when you tap the category from the main screen, you’ll find your source available with all your photos, music, or videos organized. If you’ve ripped your favorite TV box sets onto your computer and transferred them to a microSD card, they will be organized by season within Kodi.

Diving into Add-ons

Beyond your own media, you can also install a variety of handy add-ons from the built-in add-on browser or by adding them from remote add-on repositories. For now, we’ll look at what’s available from right within Kodi.

When you tap the Add-ons menu from the main menu of Kodi, you may find that all your Android apps have been automatically linked and displayed within Kodi. While it’s somewhat convenient to be able to jump right into another app from within Kodi, I’ve found it to be somewhat buggy and it’s caused Kodi to crash on more than one occasion.

You want to get to the add-on menu with all the different add-on types listed along the left side of the screen. There you’ll be able to tap the button to browse through the available add-ons.

You can find video add-ons for over 100 different TV channels’ online streaming catalogs and media sharing websites such as YouTube and Reddit, along with many international options. To install an add-on and see what it has to offer, simply select it and tap Install.

• Best legal add-ons for Kodi

Along with the add-ons found within the included Add-ons browser, you can go into the add-on settings and install from an online repository. Since those are often hosting add-ons that promote piracy, you’re on your own if you choose to go that route.

Using Kodi with Chromecast

Watching Kodi on a tablet or phone when you’re on the go is alright, but the best part is the way you can switch over to your Chromecast-enabled TV when you get home. While Kodi doesn’t support Chromecast directly, but you can cast your phone’s screen to the TV, you’re able to use your phone’s screencasting ability for a quick workaround or use LocalCast.

LocalCast is a great app for streaming content from your phone to a Chromecast, but it takes a few extra steps to get things working smoothly with Kodi. All you need to do is download and move an XML file into a Kodi folder on your device, and the next time you load a video in Kodi, LocalCast should launch giving you casting options to available Chromecasts.

Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from adding Kodi to a NVIDIA Shield or downloading Kodi for your PC or Mac and streaming your content that way from home. Simply put, Kodi gives you all the customization tools for Android to make it fit into TV setups around your home.

Questions?

Let me know in the comments below!

Best legal add-ons for Kodi

Kodi has a ton of quality — and legal — content available.

Update June 2017: Added info on the Plex add-on for Kodi.

Kodi is one of the easiest ways to cut the cord and say adios to your monthly cable bill. Formerly XMBC, Kodi is a front end that streams media. It’s also super easy to install on just about anything that runs Android. Even if it’s Android in name only, like Fire OS on the Amazon Fire TV stick. If it can install and run Android apps, you can install Kodi.

Installing Kodi is only the first step, though. A media streamer doesn’t do much without media to stream. Setting up your own storage space and connecting it to your Kodi install is easy, but there’s a whole internet out there filled with media to stream. You just have to know where to start.

YouTube

Of course, YouTube is on our best list. YouTube is a free service where anyone can upload media. That means some of it is the worst media you can imagine, but there are also plenty of gems you can stream to your TV using the YouTube Addon. And installing it is simple.

• Open the settings and click the icon labeled Add-ons.
• Depending on the version of Kodi you’re running, you’ll see an icon that says Install from repository or Get add-ons. Click it.
• Choose the Kodi Add-on repository
• Under Video Add-ons you’ll see YouTube listed. Click it to install.

Twitch

I love Twitch. I don’t know why, but watching interesting people stream interesting games or other non-gaming content is almost as fun as playing them. And the Twitch add-on for Kodi is a great way to watch them.

It’s easy to navigate and use, even with a remote if you don’t have a keyboard. It also supports your account login and you can chat and spam Kappa just like you can from a PC. Though you might want a keyboard for that. But seriously, check out Paul and the gang from Windows Central on Twitch and tell them kappa sent you!

Installing Twitch is done the same way as the YouTube add-on above. Just search “Twitch” instead of “YouTube.”

The master list

Instead of writing out hundreds of great add-ons through the official Kodi repository, I’ll direct you to the master list. You’ll find names you know like Hulu and Netflix as well as networks and programming you have never heard of. Every one of these add-ons is also 100% legal and above the board — nobody from your ISP is going to be sending you a nastygram.

You’ll install any of them the same way, right through the settings app on your Kodi box.

Official Kodi Video Add-ons

Our next three add-ons either aren’t listed in the official Kodi repository or are updated so often it’s better to get them from another source that’s quicker to add the new content. We’ll be using SuperRepo to install them.

Not everything at SuperRepo can make our legal list, but these are fine.

SuperRepo has tons of add-ons for Kodi. Some, like these, are completely on the level. Others fall into that gray murky area where ownership and copyright aren’t clear. That means you need to be careful and not just install every add-on that catches your eye if you want to comply with rules and laws.

And you really should comply with laws. Following even stupid laws you hate is a great way to stay out of trouble. But if you do dive in where words like legal don’t apply, use a VPN. Comcast or Time Warner or whoever you get your internet from is watching you.

To install the SuperRepo repository:

• In the System category, open the File Manager.
• Click the Add source icon.
• Click the list (it might say “none”) to open a text box where you can add a new source.
• Type http://srp.nu in the text box, and give it the name SuperRepo. Click Done.

Now you’ll see Super Repo in your file manager. The files you see will all install an add-on just by clicking on them.

USTVNow

This is the first one to find in your new SuperRepo source. USTVNow is an online version of the cable channels you’ll find through your cable company. CNN, NBC, Cartoon Network and a ton more are available and you’ll always be able to find something to watch. You’ll also find USTVNow in the official Kodi repository, but for faster updates and all-around better service, we recommend using the SuperRepo source.

USTVNow (the name is a clue) is for people in the U.S. only and requires an account. You can set that up, as well as stream to your computer, at USTVNow.com.

FilmOn TV

FilmOn TV is a service that offers both free and premium content. Good, current content. Whether you’re looking for UFC matches, catch up on your favorite cable show or watch a-list movies you’ll find them at FilmOn TV. You can also watch over 600 live TV channels or set up a recording to watch a show at your leisure. Paired with USTVNow, FilmON TV makes cord-cutting easy.

You will need to set up an account at FilmOn.com.

Dbmc (Dropbox)

Dbmc isn’t a full Dropbox client. It’s a way to view or listen to stuff in your Dropbox. You can be boring and productive while looking at TPS reports or you can watch any video you have collected and uploaded into Dropbox. It’s also a great way to build a slideshow of your photos on the big screen.

Dbmc is also available through the official Kodi repository, but we’ve found the SuperRepo version to be quicker on the updates.

Of course, you need a Dropbox account.

Plex for Kodi

Plex is often viewed as a Kodi competitor, offering a great way to organize and watch your favorite content whenever and however you please with apps available for nearly all your devices. If you want the conveniences of a Plex Media Server but if you’re already quite comfortable using Kodi’s interface as your ultimate home theater media center you can combine the two services.

Plex Pass subscribers are able to preview a custom Plex add-on for Kodi that allows you enjoy all the features and customization that Kodi provides with the convenience and simplicity of using Plex to organize all your media. It truly is the best of both worlds.

Learn more at Plex.tv

What are your favorite Kodi add-ons?

If you’re using Kodi and have a favorite of your own that’s not on our list, shout out in the comments so everyone can check it out!

Uber fires more than 20 employees for harassment

For months now, Uber has been dealing with accusations that it has a rampant problem with sexual harassment amongst its employees, and today it sounds like the results of an investigation have lead to terminations. Both Bloomberg and the New York Times are reporting (and we have since confirmed) that the company has fired “more than 20” employees for harassment in the workplace — including sexual harassment — with more expected to follow.

The law firm Perkins Coie has so far looked into 215 separate, specific claims of workplace harassment (including discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation and other forms of harassment) and decided not to take action in 100 instances. But the “more than 20” terminations came from that group of 215, and Bloomberg reporter Eric Newcomer tweeted that there are more cases under investigation — which means there will likely be more firings before all is said and done. There’s no word yet on the ranks or positions of those who’ve been fired, but it seems likely Uber will make a statement sooner than later.

Sexual harassment claims have followed Uber around for some time now, but things reached a tipping point this past February when former engineer Susan Fowler wrote an explosive account of her time at the company and the multitude of ways she was harassed in her year at the company. One week later, the company’s senior VP of engineering Amit Singhal resigned amid accusations of harassment when he worked at Google.

Arianna and Liane to press: there is no systemic sexual harassment, just Susan.

External lawyers: there are 215 cases of sexual harassment. https://t.co/sZl0bnLccs

— Susan J. Fowler (@susanthesquark) June 6, 2017

Since then, lawyer Eric Holder (with his firm Covington & Burling) and board member Arianna Huffington have led an investigation that some believed wasn’t independent enough to produce results. (Perkins Coie, who conducted investigations into specific claims that led to today’s firings, was hired in addition to Covington & Burling.) And a number of high-ranking employees have fled the company during a toxic year as the company tries to clean itself up. Just earlier today, the company announced that it had hired Frances Frei (an expert on gender equality from the Harvard Business School) as the company’s senior VP of leadership and strategy.

This comes after Frei assisted in the investigation into Uber’s harassment problems. Whether she’ll be able to straighten the company out remains to be seen, but a first round of firings could be a positive step in the right direction — even though there’s certainly more work to be done.

Update, 2:55PM ET: An Uber spokesperson has confirmed the firings, noting that they came from an investigation from law firm Perkins Coie into specific reported cases of harassment from Uber employees. The spokesperson also noted that the second investigation being led by Eric Holder isn’t into specific cases of harassment but more about how to change the overall culture at Uber that’s driving the problems the company is experiencing.

Source: Bloomberg, New York Times

Amazon, ACLU back net neutrality ‘day of action’ on July 12th

Many tech advocates and companies aren’t happy that the FCC is planning to gut net neutrality, and they’re determined to make their voices heard. The non-profit group has declared July 12th a “day of action” where companies and organizations will show support for a fair and competitive internet. It’s not certain just what those protests will entail, but there are plenty of recognizable names involved. Amazon, Etsy, Kickstarter, Mozilla, Reddit and Vimeo are among the companies throwing their weight around, while groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Greenpeace are also showing solidarity.

Many of these outfits aren’t strangers to this kind of public demonstration. There was a similar effort back in 2014. The difference, however, is the likelihood of finding receptive ears.

The earlier protest was held when Tom Wheeler was FCC Chairman and proved to be a staunch supporter of net neutrality. It’s a different story under new Chairman Ajit Pai. He’s a vocal opponent of many forms of internet regulation, and appears determined to implement net neutrality rollbacks at all costs, facts and public input be damned. The day of action may make the tech world’s position clear, but it’ll likely amount to symbolic resistance (much like the March for Science) rather than the practical variety.

Via: The Verge

Source: Battleforthenet.com

‘Battleborn’ is free, but you’ll need money to make the most of it

We all had high hopes when Battleborn was shown off at E3 in 2015. The first game from the studio that brought us Borderlands mixed MOBA and FPS genres to create something that looked even more dynamic and fun than previous arena-based shooters like Team Fortress 2. Unfortunately, Blizzard’s Overwatch eclipsed 2K’s friendly shooter and left Battleborn far behind. Last year, the publisher offered a price cut and a new hero in hopes of attracting new players and encouraging game owners to return to the action. Today, in what might seem like a last stand for the arcade shooter, Battleborn is available as a free trial for new players on PS4, Xbox One and PC via Steam.

Interested players can download Battleborn and have unlimited access to all the multiplayer modes and maps without any time limits or level caps. There will be a weekly rotation of six free heroes from the full roster of 30, letting you try out different heroes each week. Any level or hero level progression will be permanent, which is great if you end up playing the same character in a subsequent week.

If you’re a new player, you’ll get matched with other low-level new players as part of a special matchmaking queue. Once you reach a command rank of 20, though, the Novice Queue will go away and you’ll join the rest of the players in the main matchmaking lobbies. In addition, free trial members will be able to practice their basic skills with new training modes, including an Incursion tutorial, which will show you the ropes of the player vs. player competitive arena, and The Dojo, which lets you try out all 30 heroes against AI enemies.

Once you’ve invested some time in the Battleborn free trial, you can unlock various other modes that come with the full retail game, like the single-player story mode, other, non-free heroes and experience boosters for in-game credits that you can earn or buy with Platinum, the currency you can purchase with real money. If you want, you can also upgrade the whole game at once. You’ll get credit for any content you bought separately, as well, so there’s no penalty for a la carte purchases. If you already own the game, you’re automatically given Founder Status, which grants you bonus content like “Legendary” gear, 1,000 Platinum and 50,000 Credits, loot packs and a special “Founders Crown” for your heroes to represent as they fly into battle. There isn’t any end date planned for the free trial and it’s available now on console and PC, though you can only access the trial via the web (Xbox One, PS4, Steam); at least on PS4, the Try Now button isn’t in the console PSN store.

Source: 2K

Apple doesn’t need your personal information to succeed

In 2014, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook wrote an important letter about how the company makes money. He wrote, “a few years ago, users of Internet services began to realize that when an online service is free, you’re not the customer. You’re the product.” If you missed it, that’s a dig at Google which makes most of its money selling ads complete with incredibly rich data about its users. At its WWDC keynote this week, the company continued to remind its customers (and Google) that it doesn’t need your data to make money.

Unlike Google, Facebook and Amazon, Apple makes its money with hardware and to a lesser extent, services like iTunes, App Store and Apple Music. So when it introduced new features for High Sierra’s Safari that kill autoplay videos and stop cross-site tracking, it was for you (the customer).

It certainly wasn’t for the industry. Autoplay videos are used by advertisers to get your attention about their products. Media companies (Engadget included) use autoplay videos to encourage video views which usually include ads. And of course, there’s Facebook with its push for auto-playing videos from, well, everyone.

While Chrome has become the go to browser for many Mac users over the years, the macOS High Sierra version of Safari will also keep you from being tracked by advertisers. Ever looked up a product and then spend the next four days seeing ads for said thing on every site you visit? Yeah, that’s tracking. The updated browser will use machine learning to identify advertisers and other businesses that keep tabs on your browsing habits. It’ll then remove the data, so as you move from site to site, you won’t be dragging what you saw on one page with you for the rest of the week.

Then finally, there’s the Siri-powered HomePod. Like Google, Apple saw the Amazon Echo and decided to jump into the home assistant/speaker space. Unlike Google and Amazon, the HomePod will anonymize and encrypt your voice queries to Apple. The company will know someone is asking a certain question, but it won’t know exactly who that is thanks to the anonymous Siri ID assigned to the speaker.

Of course, at $349, HomePod is far more expensive than the offerings from Google or Amazon. Apple assures us it’s a top notch speaker, but you’ll have to decide for yourself when it’s available in stores for testing, or more likely when an audiophile gets a hold of one and writes 5,000 words about its “real-time acoustic modeling.” Although our Chris Velazco seems to like it after a quick listen.

Apple also spent most of WWDC keynote talking about new Macs and iPads which are incredibly important to the company’s bottom line. These Safari and HomePod features are just icing on the cake because Apple doesn’t really care what you search for or how often you ask Siri for the number to a pizza place. For years, any premium paid for Apple products was because “it just worked.” Now the company is positioning itself as alternative to companies that are basically data-mining your life for money. If you’re concerned about your privacy, it might be a worthy investment.

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!

Facebook Live closed captioning makes videos more accessible

Facebook announced today that it’s extending video closed captioning to Live broadcasts. The move is part of the company’s attempt to make Facebook more accessible to those with disabilities.

Closed caption settings have already been available for non-live videos and, last year Facebook rolled out an automated captioning tool to make adding transcripts even easier. That tool came under fire recently during Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard commencement speech wherein it appeared to caption pure gibberish throughout his talk. However, as The Verge reported, that mishap turned out to be Harvard’s fault, not Facebook’s.

Facebook has been pushing to make its site accessible to all users, an effort that includes accessibility training for its team. And last year, following a similar move by Twitter, it launched a tool for the visually impaired that let screen readers — software that converts text into speech — describe photos.

According to Facebook, one in five videos posted to the site are now Live broadcasts, meaning a major portion of videos will now be accessible to the hearing impaired for the first time. Closed captioning for Live is available now for those who want to include it.

Source: Facebook

WhatsApp adds photo filters and albums to make chats more visual

Just a few months after WhatsApp added Snapchat-style image updates and Siri-integration, the Facebook-owned messaging app is evolving again on iOS. With a new update, available now, WhatsApp gets even more visual, adding filters, albums and reply shortcuts to make it easier to communicate with your buddies.

Now you can add one of the five new filters to your imagery, with pop, black and white, cool, chrome and film ready to add more pizazz to your photos, GIFs and videos. In addition, the new album feature groups any four photos or videos into easily-digested layouts. Your friends can open the albums and swipe through the single posts, too. If you’re a fan of group chats, you know keeping track of replies in the fast-moving conversations can be tricky, so WhatsApp has added a new quick-reply feature. Simply swipe the message you want to respond to and it will pop down to the bottom of the chat window for a threaded reply.

According to TechCrunch, these features are iOS-only for now; an Android update may happen in the future, though there isn’t a specific timeline to do so. Adding more visual messaging options could help WhatsApp stay relevant with teens, who seem to be the demographic that use messaging apps the most.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: WhatsApp/iTunes