HP is turning trash into printer cartridges

All those printer cartridges from HP that usually cost an arm and leg will start helping to do some good in the world beyond your prints of kitten photos. During an event at its headquarters, HP announced that it is using recycled plastic from Haiti to manufacture select printer cartridges.

The initiative will help create jobs in Haiti and provide educational opportunities and scholarships for children. More importantly its goal is to get the kids that are collecting recycled bottles out of landfills and into schools. Plus, it helps support their parents and other adults with safety and job training. The partnership will also help provide medical care.

HP is teaming up with Thread, a company that already uses recycled bottles from Haiti and Honduras to create clothes. The fabric it produces is used by Timberland and Kenneth Cole. In addition to cleaning up the world and helping create a job market, Thread is trying to reduce child labor by creating an environment that employs older family members. Part of that includes starting a coalition that HP is part of.

The First Mile coalition which includes HP, Thread, Timberland, Team Tassy and ACOP helps get kids in school in addition to offering employment opportunities for adults and medical care. Of course it also reduces the amount of plastic bottles that end up in landfills and in our oceans. So maybe paying those high ink prices is worth it.

Source: HP

The ‘reinvented’ ‘Assassin’s Creed Origins’ feels mostly the same

Microsoft gave us the first glimpse of the upcoming Assassin’s Creed during its Xbox One X reveal at E3. A day later, Ubisoft discussed the details about how it took a year off from the franchise to “reinvent” the game. Well, after spending some time playing on that newly announced console, what Ubisoft is showing off this week isn’t a huge revelation, it’s a continuation.

There’s no need to dance around the obvious: Assassin’s Creed Origins looks amazing in 4K. You’ve heard us say that a lot this week about games on the Xbox One X, but the visuals really are stunning. The details of ancient Egypt on display here are a pleasure to take in. Sand, textures and other elements are crisp and clear, creating a visually compelling setting for the game. This 20-minute session also reminded me that I should just go ahead and buy that 4K TV.

The game doesn’t launch until October 27th, so Ubisoft is only showing a few pieces of the story here at E3. My session started in the desert, galloping on horseback towards a small port on the water. The gameplay feels mostly the same as other Assassin’s Creed games. There are lots of parkour-style acrobatics, sword wielding and close-up interaction with the villagers.

Since this is indeed a genesis story, you’ll be able to see details about where the rituals of the Assassin’s Brotherhood came from. The group hasn’t been formed at this point, because the ancient Egyptian warrior hasn’t started it yet. New to Origins is Bayek’s ability to summon Senu, an eagle that gives the protagonist an aerial view of enemies without having to scale a wall. And as you might have guessed, Senu is the living version of Eagle Vision — a mainstay of other games in the franchise.

In a portion of the campaign I played, Senu helped Bayek spot enemies on a couple of boats sitting in the harbor. This allows him to be as efficient as possible when trying to retrieve a couple of items. It’s certainly an interesting twist on Eagle Vision and one that makes a ton of sense for this origin story.

I was also able to take on some enemies in the game’s battle arena. Waves of fighters come at you, putting those warrior skills to the test. And yes, of course, there’s a massive guy you have to take care of at the very end. During this section of the game, the retooled combat system is on display.

When you’re fighting in Assassin’s Creed Origins, you’ll need to be a bit more precise with your strikes. Meaning, you have to time blows and their location a little differently to be successful in combat rather than mashing the attack button. Your enemies have this ability, too, which adds a layer of strategy to combat that previous games in the series lacked. The new combat system also harnesses adrenaline to power attacks. Build up energy while you fight and you’ll be able to deliver heavier blows.

The origin story for the Assassin’s Brotherhood and the combat refinements should make this game attractive to existing fans of the franchise. It could also be a solid starting place for newcomers looking to enter the game world in some kind of Star Wars-esque order. And unlike a lot of games being hyped here at E3, Assassin’s Creed Origins will be available to play this fall. We don’t have to wait long to see if Ubisoft overstated its case, or if this new installment in the franchise really is a rebirth of sorts.

Follow all the latest news from E3 2017 here!

Subway hopes touchscreens will bust up its sales slump

It couldn’t be that their bread used to contain the same chemicals as yoga mats. It certainly isn’t the fact that their high-profile spokesman of 15 years is now serving 15 more in federal prison on charges of sex with minors and child pornography. No, no, no. Obviously the reason that Subway’s sales have been in a three-year slump, one of the worst in company history, is that their restaurants aren’t sufficiently high tech.

To solve this perceived issue, Subway is introducing self-service touchscreen kiosks in its stores and rolling out a mobile app similar to what Panera Bread debuted in mid-2014. It also plans to install digital menu boards and offer free wi-fi at some locations.

“It’s really a vision and strategy in how we want to evolve,” Carman Wenkoff, Subway’s chief information and digital officer, told Bloomberg. “Customers are demanding a more complete experience.”

Subway’s woes aren’t entirely customer-side, either. The company is facing stiff competition from the rest of the fast food industry which is nearly universally moving towards healthier food options (the meat monstrosity that is the Carl’s Jr Baby Back Rib Burger notwithstanding), a market niche that Subway used to dominate. What’s more, many fast food chains are similarly upgrading their technology offerings for customers including many of the same things Subway is: free wi-fi, digital signage, mobile apps — McDonald’s will now even deliver your order to your door.

Whatever the cause, Subway saw a 1.7 percent drop in its US sales last year, the third straight year they’ve done so. As a result the company has already announced that it will be closing hundreds of locations. And, according to research firm IBISWorld, 2017 looks to be more of the same.

Source: Bloomberg

Line’s cute AI speakers are unimpressed by your mindless requests

We knew Japanese messaging giant Line was working on an AI assistant called Clova, and that it would first inhabit a clever-looking smart speaker called the Wave. What we only just discovered, however, is that Clova’s next physical avatars would include an unamused duck and a bear that always looks just a little disappointed.

In case you mostly chat on other platforms, these characters are based on a slew of stickers Line users can hurl at each other inside the app. Line hasn’t confirmed whether these Clova-powered speakers — collectively known as the Champ series — would embody their characters in different ways. Different voices, anyone?

Still, the laundry list of features Clova brings to the table is considerable, especially since Amazon’s Alexa doesn’t work in Japan yet. So far, we know that these speakers will let you manage calendars and to-do lists, check the weather, control compatible appliances and have “casual conversations” directly through the Line service.

Japanese Line fanatics won’t be able to get their hands on the Champ speakers until this winter at the earliest, but the wait is probably for the best. Remember that first Clova-powered speaker we mentioned? Line admits it’s going to soft-launch this summer with one of its major features — support for the company’s music streaming service — hobbled. A complete version of the Wave will go on sale in the fall, which means that users itching for a duck-flavored Champ should get access to the full extent of Clova’s features the moment they go on sale. Here’s hoping Google responds with a version of the Google Home that looks like a bugdroid — Mountain View’s smart speaker will touch down in Japan by the end of the summer.

Apple wants you to store your entire medical history on your iPhone

Why it matters to you

Having your own personal medical database on your smartphone could make receiving the proper care much, much easier.

Apple’s iOS Health app is mostly used for exercise and wellness monitoring and storing basic patient information in its current state. However, if a recent report is true, the company could be eyeing a massive shift with future versions of the app: full-on medical record-keeping and clinical data.

A handful of individuals with knowledge of the “secret” initiative inside the company have related to CNBC that Apple has been meeting with health care administrators and developers to build a system where users would be able to carry a complete copy of their medical history on their devices. Every blood test, prescription, diagnosis, or inoculation would be accounted for — empowering patients to easily and quickly share information between care providers.

Apple is reportedly looking to leverage its cloud storage capabilities and recent acquisitions of development talent in the health care space to make the project a reality. The company has hired top engineers and experts associated with the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources platform (FHIR), which is increasingly being used to exchange patient records.

Conquering the crisis of information sharing in the medical field would be a major boon to doctors and individuals alike, as a lack of data can lead to misdiagnoses and stalls in patient care. As it stands now, Apple’s Health software can be used to keep a snapshot of a person’s height, weight, and blood type as a sort of digital ID card, and import specific documents — though it can’t store much else.

There is no telling quite how much progress Apple has made in this project. It’s also worth stating that Google and Microsoft attempted similar programs years ago and ultimately failed. The difference is that many facilities already rely on iOS devices — so for them it shouldn’t require any new hardware or unfamiliar software.

Apple’s Health app was unveiled alongside iOS 8 in 2014, and already features a HealthKit API so third-party developers of fitness and wellness apps can make use of the data it collects.

Apple patent would enable wireless charging from anywhere in your home

Why it matters to you

With millimeter waves, the same technology you use to connect to the internet could one day power your phone.

Millimeter waves are one of the next great technologies in mobile computing. While they’re commonly associated with faster data transfers — 5G, when it eventually releases, should rely on millimeter waves in part for greatly improved throughput and coverage — they’re also being considered for battery recharging. Apple recently patented the development of a case which plugs into an iPhone’s Lightning port and receives power via millimeter waves.

The related patent application was filed in the fourth quarter of 2015 and unearthed this week by Patently Apple, meaning the project has been in the works for quite a while. The transmitter, as it’s described, is designed to be versatile enough to handle a number of uses. In addition to power, the antennas will also be able to deliver data, and can adjust their direction in real time to direct signals to devices as efficiently as possible.

Apple notes that phones aren’t intended to be the lone use case for millimeter waves. Wearables, like the Apple Watch, as well as smart glasses, appliances, and home audio and video equipment could all benefit from the emerging technology. Think of it this way: right now, we can transmit and receive data with systems like LTE and Wi-Fi, but we have to use wired connections or inductive chargers to deliver power. Millimeter waves are multifaceted enough to handle both.

As always with patents, though, you won’t see this happen overnight. 5G wireless networks incorporating millimeter waves aren’t expected to debut until 2020 at the earliest. No consumer devices support the technology quite yet, and if you remember the early days of LTE, chances are it’s going to take some time before we reach a point where millimeter waves are not only commonplace, but reliable. However, a removable case could be an excellent way for Apple to test the technology before it feels confident enough to fully integrate it into its devices.

Take your music on the go and save money with Bluetooth speaker deals

Bluetooth technology has opened the door for a lot of interesting gadgets and convenient ways to connect our smartphones to various devices. Perhaps the most popular Bluetooth technology today is wireless speakers, which make it easy to take your music on the go or to set up a small and lightweight home audio system.

Summer is the perfect season for parties, camping, and other outdoor activities where you can enjoy some tunes with your friends, so we’ve picked out some of our favorite Bluetooth speaker deals available right now that can save you up to $230 off retail prices.

Travel Inspira portable Bluetooth speaker

Kicking off our list is the attractive and super-compact Travel Inspira Bluetooth speaker, which delivers five watts of power and up to 10 hours of battery life. This portable speaker can also be used with non-Bluetooth devices thanks to its 3.5mm input jack, and one of the best features of the Travel Inspira is its handy slot which lets the speaker serve as a stand for your smartphone or tablet.

The Travel Inspira portable wireless speaker is currently priced at $18, but the checkout code LKRKI6QH knocks this down to $14.50 on Amazon, giving you a total discount of $85.50 off of the retail cost.

Amazon

Amazon Tap Bluetooth speaker

Amazon has been very busy lately with its ever-expanding family of smart home gadgets, and many of these devices – including the excellent Tap Bluetooth speaker – are currently on sale. The Amazon Tap features a 360-degree speaker which fills space with music in all directions, and its built-in Alexa capability gives you hands-free voice control. You can even use Alexa to perform internet searches, order food, and more, and the Tap can play music from either your connected smart device or any number of streaming services such as Pandora and Spotify.

The Tap Bluetooth speaker rings in at $100 on Amazon after a limited-time $30 discount.

Amazon

ThinkGeek mini vintage Bluetooth stereo

ThinkGeek has all sorts of nerdy and retro-inspired gadgets, and if you love all things vintage then this miniature Bluetooth stereo should be right up your alley. Its ’70s aesthetics are a throwback to the days of wood paneling and shag carpet, but despite its classic appearance, this little stereo packs modern wireless capability so you can connect your phone or other device and stream away. The small receiver measures in at 1.5 by 4 inches, while the speakers are 2 by 3 inches, making this compact stereo system shelf- and desktop-friendly.

Currently on sale for $15 off, the mini vintage Bluetooth stereo can be yours for just $35 from ThinkGeek.

ThinkGeek

Mighty Rock Miniboom wireless speaker

If you prefer futuristic aesthetics, on the other hand, then look no further than Mighty Rock’s sleek Miniboom Bluetooth speaker. The Miniboom utilizes dual audio drivers and a passive subwoofer which deliver impressive sound for a speaker this size, and the slick black plastic housing features red-colored backlit touch controls for a striking look.

The Mighty Rock touch Bluetooth speaker is listed at $26, but an ongoing promotion lets you take another $7 off the price for a total savings of $51. Simply select the promo from the Amazon product page, click “redeem,” and see the updated price of $19 at checkout.

Amazon

Comiso bamboo Bluetooth speaker

Style-conscious buyers will appreciate the classic charm of the Comiso bamboo Bluetooth speaker. This device looks awesome in any room and boasts dual 15-watt drivers along with passive radiators for crisp highs and punchy bass. The internal battery lasts up to 20 hours on a single charge, and the speaker comes in two equally attractive color options: Light bamboo wood paneling with light gray wraparound canvas, or dark bamboo wood with black canvas.

At just $70 on Amazon, the Comiso bamboo wireless speaker offers a solid savings of $230 off of its retail price.

Amazon

Ultimate Ears Roll 2 waterproof Bluetooth speaker

The Ultimate Ears Roll 2 is among the most popular wireless speakers out there and is one of our own all-time favorites. The Roll 2 is waterproof for 30 minutes at a depth of up to three feet, making it a great speaker to take it on your outdoor adventures without worry. It even comes with an inflatable flotation device so you can take it in the pool with you. The speaker also features a stretchable marine-grade bungee so you can easily strap it to your gear.

Currently on sale for a $31 discount, the UE Roll 2 waterproof Bluetooth speaker is available in a variety of colors and comes in at just $69 from Amazon.

Amazon

Twitter’s refresh aims to create a less confusing user experience

Why it matters to you

If you use the Twitter app often, the new redesign might make it more enjoyable to navigate and interact with followers.

The users spoke and Twitter listened by giving the app a refresh while still keeping the interface familiar. The new update is meant to create a more aesthetically pleasing and easier user experience.

For those with an iPhone, you will find the update looks similar to the Android version since it saw these changes last year. For iOS, users can now access their profiles, settings, and Moments in a side navigation menu — reducing the number of tabs to switch from at the bottom of the screen — creating a simple browsing experience.

Another update, for iOS specifically, is the Safari View Controller now opens in the Twitter app, giving you access to websites where your account information is already saved. You will also be able to change your settings to always open the supported links in Safari Reader view as well as the option to increase color contrast.

Aside from usability, Twitter also switched up the typography by adding bolder headlines and rounded profile photos. These changes are meant to highlight categories like “In case you missed it” and “Today’s moments,” creating a greater distinction between sections on your feed. The rounded profile photos should also help make it easier to recognize exactly whose tweets are showing up on your timeline.

Tweets will also now be updated instantly — whether it is a retweet, like counts, or replies — you will see conversations happening in real time (bringing a new meaning to the term “live tweeting”). However, this feature is currently only available for iOS and Android, so you will not be able to see it on your web browser or Twitter Lite.

The last addition to the app is also Twitter’s way of making new tweeters feel comfortable using the platform, by making the icons easier to engage with. Users had apparently been attempting to use the reply icon — represented by an arrow — as a way to delete a tweet or go back to a previous page. The arrow has been replaced with a speech bubble to make its purpose more clear.

Twitter is gradually rolling out the update starting on Thursday for iOS, Android, TweetDeck, and Twitter Lite.

Google Photos can automatically generate a Father’s Day album for you

Why it matters to you

Looking for a quick way to cook up a Father’s Day photo album? Google Photos might be able to help.

Father’s Day is right around the corner, in case you didn’t know, and Google wants to help you celebrate in the best way possible — with mementos. On Thursday, Google Photos, Google’s pic-centric cloud storage service, launched a seasonal feature that automatically generates an album of a father and kids from a picture collection.

The feature is launching in earnest ahead of Father’s Day, and it’s similar to the Mother’s Day feature that rolled out earlier this year. Once you’ve navigated to the designated webpage (photos.google.com/fathersday) and signed into your Google account, you’ll be prompted to select photos of a dad you’d like to include in a video montage. From there, you’ll be prompted to pick the kids that will appear alongside him, and you can choose as many as you want. Once you’ve finished curating, clicking the “Go to Assistant” button will spit out the finished product, which can be saved from the Google Photos Assistant feed or shared via Twitter, Facebook, and other social channels.

Before you head on over to the Google Photos page, note that the Father’s Day feature isn’t available everywhere. Only regions that support Photo’s new Face Grouping, which uses machine learning to identify people, family members, and similar faces, will see the new webpage. And as of now, that list excludes the U.K., Europe, and Germany.

But there’s no denying that the Photos experience has improved for much of the world recently. In May, Google rolled out two new features: Suggested Sharing, which allows users to share snaps with friends as their taken, and Sharing, a new in-app options menu that serves up suggestions on how to share photos with friends and family. More recently, Google launched Photo Book, a paid service that lets you select photos to have printed in a high-quality photo book.

Those are only the tip of the iceberg. Google Lens, a new service that uses AI to intelligently recognize a range of information including foreign languages and paintings, is baked into the latest version of Google Photos. AirPlay support lets you beam photos and albums to a plugged-in Apple TV. And AI-powered correction features automatically correct white balance, stabilize photos and videos, and generate collections.

For the privacy-conscious, there’s an even better new enhancement: private archiving. In the newest version of the Google Photos app for iOS and Android, opening or long-pressing on a photo, tapping the menu button on the top right, and selecting “Archive” moves pictures to a separate folder accessible from the left-hand menu.

Google Photos can automatically generate a Father’s Day album for you

Why it matters to you

Looking for a quick way to cook up a Father’s Day photo album? Google Photos might be able to help.

Father’s Day is right around the corner, in case you didn’t know, and Google wants to help you celebrate in the best way possible — with mementos. On Thursday, Google Photos, Google’s pic-centric cloud storage service, launched a seasonal feature that automatically generates an album of a father and kids from a picture collection.

The feature is launching in earnest ahead of Father’s Day, and it’s similar to the Mother’s Day feature that rolled out earlier this year. Once you’ve navigated to the designated webpage (photos.google.com/fathersday) and signed into your Google account, you’ll be prompted to select photos of a dad you’d like to include in a video montage. From there, you’ll be prompted to pick the kids that will appear alongside him, and you can choose as many as you want. Once you’ve finished curating, clicking the “Go to Assistant” button will spit out the finished product, which can be saved from the Google Photos Assistant feed or shared via Twitter, Facebook, and other social channels.

Before you head on over to the Google Photos page, note that the Father’s Day feature isn’t available everywhere. Only regions that support Photo’s new Face Grouping, which uses machine learning to identify people, family members, and similar faces, will see the new webpage. And as of now, that list excludes the U.K., Europe, and Germany.

But there’s no denying that the Photos experience has improved for much of the world recently. In May, Google rolled out two new features: Suggested Sharing, which allows users to share snaps with friends as their taken, and Sharing, a new in-app options menu that serves up suggestions on how to share photos with friends and family. More recently, Google launched Photo Book, a paid service that lets you select photos to have printed in a high-quality photo book.

Those are only the tip of the iceberg. Google Lens, a new service that uses AI to intelligently recognize a range of information including foreign languages and paintings, is baked into the latest version of Google Photos. AirPlay support lets you beam photos and albums to a plugged-in Apple TV. And AI-powered correction features automatically correct white balance, stabilize photos and videos, and generate collections.

For the privacy-conscious, there’s an even better new enhancement: private archiving. In the newest version of the Google Photos app for iOS and Android, opening or long-pressing on a photo, tapping the menu button on the top right, and selecting “Archive” moves pictures to a separate folder accessible from the left-hand menu.