Vizio’s color-rich M- and P-series 4K TVs go on sale

Vizio’s 2017 M-series TVs were intriguing when we saw them in April. In some ways, you’re getting better image quality than far more expensive sets. And now, you can give them a try — the company has started shipping its latest M- and P-series TVs in the US. The mid-range M line is actually more affordable than we first heard: it starts at $700 for a 55-inch model and tops out at a still reasonable $2,500 for a 75-inch variant. The higher-end P-series ranges from $1,000 at 55 inches to $3,500 for 75 inches. As we mentioned earlier in the year, there are some worthwhile upgrades (particularly in the M-series) — at least, so long as you didn’t want that included Android tablet from last year.

Both model lines now have support for over a billion colors and higher brightness, the combination of which promises a more accurate picture and higher contrast. That’s a particularly large upgrade for the M-series, which is now an affordable showcase for HDR material. You mainly want the P-series if you’re interested in finer-grained lighting and smoother motion — the M-series’ 32 local dimming LEDs and 120Hz effective refresh rate are good for the money, but you should see a difference if you jump to the 128 LEDs and 240Hz refresh rate of the P-series screens.

In both cases, the Android tablet has been replaced with both a more conventional remote and the promise of built-in SmartCast apps (yes, the TV is casting to itself) through an update now slated to arrive this summer. Vizio tells is that most people were either using their phones or yearned for traditional control, so it’s really just adapting to existing tastes. We can’t blame the company for giving people what they want, but it does mean that Vizio TVs are a little less unique.

Source: Newswire

Verizon now officially owns Yahoo (minus Marissa Mayer)

Last July, Verizon announced that it planned to buy the bulk of Yahoo’s internet business. Today, Verizon announced that the $4.48 billion acquisition of Yahoo is now complete. As a part of the completed deal, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer will step down.

The new company, which combines AOL and Yahoo brands such as HuffPost and Yahoo Finance, is called Oath. It will have former AOL CEO Tim Armstrong at its head. (It’s also the parent company of Engadget). Layoffs haven’t yet been announced, though it’s safe to assume cuts will happen. Last week CNBC reported that over 2,000 jobs were at risk of being eliminated as a result of the acquisition.

The question that we all have on our minds, though, is what will happen to popular Yahoo services such as Tumblr and Flickr? The press release mentions that Oath will house over 50 technology and media brands. However, it’s not clear which services will actually make the cut. While Yahoo may have lost its luster over the years, millions of people still use their products daily, so any changes could have a huge impact on consumers.

Source: PR Newswire

Apple Issues $1 Billion Green Bond Sale to Fund Renewable Energy

Apple today issued a $1 billion green bond to fund renewable energy generation, according to Bloomberg.

Apple reportedly said it plans to use the proceeds to finance projects involving renewable energy resources and energy efficiency, including advancing its goal of achieving a closed-loop supply chain, through which products are made using only renewable resources and recycled material.

By turning to the debt market, Apple is able to fund its sustainability initiatives without tapping into its offshore cash reserves. Those dollars would be subjected to a 35 percent corporate tax rate if they were repatriated in the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump has reportedly proposed offering a one-time tax holiday where companies like Apple can repatriate large amounts of foreign cash at a reduced tax rate of between 10 and 15 percent. But, as of this month, the relevant corporate tax laws have yet to be reformed in the country.

Apple’s bond offering comes just two weeks after Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris climate accord, an agreement signed by over 140 countries that vow to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to mitigate climate change. Apple CEO Tim Cook said Trump’s decision was “wrong for our planet.”

An excerpt of Cook’s internal memo to Apple employees:

Climate change is real and we all share a responsibility to fight it. I want to reassure you that today’s developments will have no impact on Apple’s efforts to protect the environment. We power nearly all of our operations with renewable energy, which we believe is an example of something that’s good for our planet and makes good business sense as well.

Apple’s preliminary prospectus supplement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission today confirms the bonds will mature in 2027. The sale was arranged by Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and J.P. Morgan.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tags: bonds, Apple environment
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New Mac Malware Discovered on Dark Web as Security Experts Remind Mac Users Not to Be ‘Overconfident’

Two new pieces of malicious software aimed at Mac computers have been discovered on the Dark Web, offered through Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) and Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) portals and estimated to have been up for around the past three weeks, beginning May 25. Originally spotted by Bleeping Computer, the two portals offer software called “MacSpy” and “MacRansom” as services for potential buyers, as well as any future support that may be needed for the malware (via Motherboard).

Both portals are the work of the same malware developer, but security firms Fortinet and AlienVault described the person behind the scheme as an “inexperienced coder,” pointing towards issues like the lack of digitally signed files, meaning the security measures on a standard installation of macOS would still be alerted to the malware. The researchers called MacSpy the “better-coded tool,” but said MacRansom was more dangerous since it “has the potential to permanently wreck user files,” if users of malicious intent ever wielded it.

Dark Web portal peddling some sort of (new?) Mac malware pic.twitter.com/02obWvG4mg

— Catalin Cimpanu (@campuscodi) May 25, 2017

Thankfully, the process by which crooks would have to go about getting either MacSpy or MacRansom will likely prevent either piece of malware from spreading. Both portals are described as “closed” offerings, meaning anyone wanting to actually purchase the services off the Dark Web would have to contact the author to receive demo packages, and then directly negotiate payment. As such, “none of these two appear to be part of any active distribution campaigns.”

All the same, as Mac-focused security researcher Patrick Wardle told Motherboard, the increasing intent of cyber criminals to infect Apple’s computers is “kind of a milestone.” Security reporter Ruben Dodge said that macOS and iOS have so many “less technical people” using the software that it’s simply too “ripe” of a target for criminals not to take notice. Although MacRansom and MacSpy aren’t expected to take off in that way, Dodge said “it’s only a matter of time” before another piece of malware or ransomware does.

Ruben Dodge: “There’s an ideological shift for Mac and iPhone as being seen as the more friendly OS for older people. […] It is a market that will be targeted. There are too many less technical people using it not to make it a ‘ripe’ target for threat actors.”

Patrick Wardle: “Apple continues to improve the security of them,” Wardle said. “But Mac users should just be cautions, should not be not be overconfident, and should not assume that just because they’re using a Mac they’re inherently safe.”

Malware attacks on Mac computers were up 744 percent in 2016, although that percentage was largely weighted due to adware bundling in software on MacBooks and iMacs, which is far less alarming than any potential wide-scale malware purchased by a criminal on the Dark Web. Still, Bleeping Computer pointed out in its report that Mac ransomware in particular — which holds user data ransom until a fee is paid — has been steadily growing over the past year.

The number of Macs has grown, and so has the number of Mac-targeting malware. The launch of MaaS portals, even if hard to use and engage with as MacSpy and MacRansom, will drive more crooks towards the Mac userbase, and will lower the entry bar for some individuals and groups that had no previous experience with creating Mac malware.

As a rule of thumb, in order to stay safe users should only download apps and programs from Apple’s own Mac App Store, and if an app is available only on a third-party website the developer behind the software should be trusted. Although Apple has long advertised the Mac as a truly anti-virus and anti-malware machine, Wardle reminds Apple fans to remain vigilant online: “Mac users…should not be overconfident, and should not assume that just because they’re using a Mac they’re inherently safe.”

Tag: malware
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Google Hires Veteran Chip Designer Away From Apple to Build Custom Chips For Pixel Smartphones

Google has hired veteran chip architect Manu Gulati, who worked at Apple for the past eight years, according to Variety.

Gulati is now a Lead SOC Architect at Google, where he began in May, according to his recently updated LinkedIn profile.

Gulati was “instrumental” to the company’s efforts to build custom chips for the iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV, according to the report.

Apple’s custom silicon ranges from the single-core A4 chip in the original iPad and iPhone 4 to the quad-core A10X Fusion chip in the new 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

At Google, his expertise is expected to help the Mountain View company design custom chips for its own Pixel smartphones.

Pixel smartphones are currently powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 821 processor, which is the same chip used in several other flagship Android smartphones. But reports claim Google plans to build its own chips, as it takes on the iPhone more directly in the premium smartphone category.

Gulati is listed as an inventor on over a dozen Apple patents related to mobile processors and integrated circuity. He has over 20 years of industry experience, including lengthy stints at AMD and Broadcom.

Tags: Google, Google Pixel
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Tim Cook confirms Apple is working on self-driving car tech

After months, and nearly years of speculation, Apple CEO Tim Cook has finally shed some light on the tech giant’s plans in the automotive sector.Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, Cook said, “We’re working on autonomous systems, it’s a core technology that we view as very important”.

• Apple Car: What’s the story so far on Project Titan?

However, the Apple CEO didn’t spill any information as to exactly what it is the company is working on. “We’ll see where it takes us, we’re not really saying from a product point of view what we will do”. So a car could still be in the pipeline for a future release, and an electric one at that. Cook expressed his admiration for the electric car industry, saying “It’s a marvellous experience not to stop at the filling station or gas station”.

• Apple shifts focus on Project Titan to self-driving car tech
• Apple will officially test its self-driving tech on this car in California 

Apple has previously been spotted testing self-driving cars around the San Francisco Bay area, and has also been seen to rent cars and fit their own camera technology to the top. It was thought at the time that these cameras would be used to help improve the Maps app with a Google Street View rival.

Bloomberg also reported about a year ago that Apple would be shifting its focus to self-driving car tech, after bringing back Bob Mansfield, a previous Apple executive, to head up its car division.

Seagate’s new PS4 hard drive tacks on 2TB of extra storage

Back in March, Sony released a PS4 update that finally let owners use external hard drives of up to 8TB with their consoles — and any extra space is great when the average installed game takes up 40 to 50GB. Hot on the heels of its new Xbox One external HDD, Seagate has unveiled its first storage device for the PS4, coming in at 2TB.

While that’s not quite as large as Seagate’s 8TB Xbox One storage device, Microsoft’s console has supported external HDDs since 2015, and you can bet this is just the opening salvo of PS4-designed ones. Using one custom-made for the console means the PS4 recognizes it immediately, sets up in under three minutes and won’t void the system’s warranty.

Seagate’s PS4 Game Drive, as it’s called, hooks up to the console via USB 3.0, meaning users can install games to and play them straight from the storage device. It works with both PS4 and PS4 Pro and will retail for $80 and be available later this month.

Source: Seagate

Eero upgrades its mesh WiFi system with more power

Last year, Eero launched an all-in-one WiFi solution that aims to rid your house of dead spots forever. Each Eero hub combines the functions of a router, a range extender and a repeater, and once you combine two or more together, you essentially create a wireless mesh network for the home. Since Eero’s launch, multiple other companies have jumped on home mesh networking — there’s Google, TP-Link, Linksys and Samsung, just to name a few. But that hasn’t slowed Eero down. Instead, it’s improved even more. Today, Eero is introducing two new devices: a second-generation Eero plus an entirely new product, the Eero Beacon. Oh, and It’s launching a brand new Eero Plus subscription service as well.

Let’s start with the hardware. The second-gen Eero doesn’t look like much — after all, it shares the same exact form factor as the original. But the design is the only similarity it has with the first-generation device. For one thing, it now offers tri-band support, which offers even more coverage than ever before. “It has double the bandwidth capacity,” says CEO Nick Weaver. “And double the range.” With an entirely new thermal management system, a new mechanical architecture and a new antenna array, everything inside the second-gen Eero has been completely overhauled. It uses a USB-C connector for both data and power and it has two Ethernet ports.

Next is the Eero Beacon, which is half the size of the regular Eero, and it plugs in directly into the wall. The Beacon isn’t quite as powerful as the second-gen Eero, but Weaver says it has 30 percent better performance than the first-gen version. “People really wanted something simple,” he says. “Over half of Eeros are plugged into places like kitchens and hallways where you don’t want to have a bunch of cords.” It should be said that there are other WiFi products on the market out there that have this form factor, but they’re mostly range extenders, not mesh networking devices.

Plus, the Beacon has one other feature that most other plug-in WiFi products don’t have: A programmable night light. Indeed, the Beacon actually has an ambient light sensor that comes on automatically every time the room gets dark. But if you want, you can actually go in the Eero app and program it so that the light goes on or off at a certain time each day. Or, you can just toggle it manually by tapping a button on the side. It’s a silly little feature perhaps, but it’s a touch of whimsy that’s pretty endearing, at least for a WiFi hub.

Both the second-gen Eero and the Eero Beacon also come bundled with Thread radio compatibility, an emerging low-power connectivity standard for the internet of things. The Thread protocol is especially useful for devices like smart lights, door knobs and locks, which often run on batteries and would therefore need a low-powered solution. And since Thread itself uses a mesh network to connect its products, the integration of Thread with Eero makes sense.

Still, it was difficult. “Doing the coexistence between 2.4 GHz WiFi and Thread was really challenging,” says Weaver. “It’s taken a better part of a year to get right and integrated.” Typically with a lot of these smart home products, you need a bridge or a hub; with Eero, that isn’t necessary. “Our view is that Thread is the future,” says Weaver. “Everything should be integrated into the infrastructure.”

If you’re worried you have to chuck out your old first-gen Eero, don’t. Both the second-gen Eero and the Eero Beacon are backwards-compatible with the first-gen models — just connect them to your existing network, and they should play well together right out of the box. And just like the current Eero hubs, the new hardware offers features like intelligent backhaul that switches frequencies according to network demand, over-the-air updates, data encryption, WPA-2 encryption and profile protections with one-time passwords. You can also shut off the WiFi of certain devices, which is useful if you want everyone in the family to come to the table for dinner.

Last but not least, Eero is also announcing a special subscription service for those who want a little more than just the standard security. It’s called Eero Plus, and it offers even more robust protections than before, with technology that actively blocks you from accessing sites with malicious ransomware, phishing scams and viruses. Importantly, it blocks your smarthome devices from being infected with them, which is good because a lot of IoT products are woefully vulnerable to such attacks. For parents, Eero Plus also offers more robust parental controls, which includes features like content filtering. Eero Plus will be available for either $9.99 a month or $99 a year.

The new Eeros will be available in a few different packages. The entry-level version bundles one Eero and one Beacon for $299, while the next step up bundles one Eero and two Beacons for $399. According to Weaver, the entry-level package is good enough for a 1-2 bedroom home, while the one with more Beacons is better for 2-4 bedroom homes. If you’re a pro-level user or if you just want access to an Ethernet port in every hub, you can get upgrade to the “Pro” WiFi system that bundles three second-gen Eeros for $499. You can pre-order them starting today from Amazon, Best Buy and Eero’s website. The Eero systems will also eventually be for sale at Walmart and select regional retailers. If you want to buy individual Eeros, you can also do so on Eero’s website. Eero will also finally be available in Canada for the very first time.

“We really look at Eero as more than just connectivity — this is about fixing the foundations of the home,” says Weaver. “Ultimately every home is going to have a brain, an operating system. We’ve been building blocks for delivering that.”

Logitech’s human-spotting Nest cam rival works outdoors

Back in 2015, Logitech took one look at Dropcam / Nest’s home security cameras and thought it could do better. It released Circle, a cute ball that could monitor your dwelling and even stream video for three hours untethered from the socket. Two years later, and the company is launching the Circle 2, which looks a lot more like Nest’s outdoor camera, and similarly works outside. Kinda. If you don’t live in a perma-dry state, you’ll need to plump for a weatherproof accessory to protect the cabling from the elements.

There are other accessories available, including one to mount the camera to a window to check out what’s going on outside or attach it to a wall outlet. In addition, you can grab a spare rechargeable battery for the wire-free version that’ll keep the hardware running while you re-juice its original power pack. Speaking of which, the cells are expected to run for up to three months at a time, so don’t worry if sockets aren’t close.

In addition, a future update will enable the devices to connect to both Amazon Alexa and Apple’s HomeKit, although there’s no word on when that’ll happen. Out of the box, you’ll get 24 hours of cloud video storage, with subscription packages available to push that up to 31 days. The wired version of the Circle 2 is available for $180, while its wireless sibling will set you back $200, and both will be available in July.

Source: Logitech

McDonald’s uses Snapchat to hire millennials

Snapchat isn’t just meant for sending ephemeral messages anymore. If you want to watch some shows, just check out its Discovery platform. In fact, you can even use it to apply for a grueling and thankless fast food job now that McDonald’s has teamed up with the app to hire 250,000 workers across the US this summer. Golden Arches has turned to the service to lure in potential applicants, since most of its hires are between 16 and 24 years old — half of Snapchat’s users just happen to fall in the same age range. The company will start sending direct invites to users today, and anyone interested can start sending in what it calls “Snaplications,” as well.

McD’s first launched the Snaplication filter, which shows you wearing a McDonald’s uniform, in Australia back in April. You’ll have to a record a 10-second video of yourself with the filter on and send it to the company. Once your video has been reviewed, McD’s will send you a link to the application page also within the app, so you can formally apply for a job.

Unfortunately, a Snaplication doesn’t take the place of a one-on-one interview, which begs the question: what is it for, exactly? While we can’t say for sure whether sending one in gives you an edge over another applicant, the company says it’ll take the videos into account. When the feature launched in Australia, the company’s COO in the country said they’re looking for “positivity” and “bubbly personality.” We’re guessing McD’s will look for hints of those in applicants’ 10-second video clips.

By the way, you may want to get used to encountering more of the fast food chain’s hiring efforts in your apps. The company also has plans to use Hulu and Spotify to reach out to potential millenial hires, though it’s still not entirely clear what kind of campaigns it’s launching with those services.

Source: Chicago Tribune