China cracks down on celebrity gossip social media accounts

The fans of 60 gossip bloggers on China’s social media platforms, including ones owned by Tencent and Baidu, will have to get their daily fix elsewhere. Chinese websites and tech titans have shuttered 60 accounts focusing on celebrity gossip after authorities told them in a meeting that they must take steps to keep those kinds of pages in check. According to Reuters, a post on the Beijing Cyberspace Administration’s social media account revealed the meeting and said that it expects websites in the country to “adopt effective measures to keep in check the problems of the embellishment of private sex scandals of celebrities, the hyping of ostentatious celebrity spending and entertainment and catering to the poor taste of the public.”

In addition, Chinese websites must also “actively propagate core socialist values, and create an ever-more healthy environment for the mainstream public opinion.” While the 60 accounts the authorities shut down weren’t exactly friendly online destinations — gossip websites in China love to dig for and expose celebrity scandals — the event demonstrates the fact that Chinese authorities have recently been keeping a closer eye on independent media. Just last month, they introduced a new set of restrictions for online platforms that severely restricts what they can publish.

Clearly, even big names like Baidu and Tencent, which you could think of as China’s Google, Facebook and Twitter, aren’t immune to their demands. Then again, that doesn’t exactly come as a surprise when China is known for extensive internet censorship. Since President Xi Jinping himself has reportedly been overseeing the measures his government is taking to control social media and online news portals, this likely isn’t the last mass shut down you’ll see.

Source: Reuters

Huge new Windows Insider build brings hot transparency effects, bolsters Edge browser

Why it matters to you

This new Insider’s build is a major feature update, and provides a preview of what will ship in the Fall Creators Update.

Windows Insiders should be very pleased that Microsoft has rolled out another update for Insiders in the Fast Ring today — and this one actually has some meat on its bones. Sure there are the usual bug fixes and minor tweaks, but Build 16215 has a couple new features to make your Windows experience a little more fluent.

See, that’s the name of the new design language Microsoft is using, and it’s clever. Like Google’s “Material Design” Microsoft now has “Fluent Design” — it’s more than just a breezy buzzword though. In Build 16215 we get a sneak peek at the new design language, and how it indeed makes Windows 10 a bit more fluid.

The new UI introduces a flat-color design to the familiar old notification center, that builds on the existing Windows 10 UI. It’s not a radical departure, but an elegant refinement that spices things up a bit by adding panes to the notification panel and smoothing out the taskbar a bit.

Build 16215 incorporates elements of Microsoft’s new “Acrylic” UI design, which you should see right off the bat if you have transparency enabled.

Moving on to other tangible updates in the latest Insider Build, Microsoft Edge continues to improve. Now users can pin individual websites to their taskbars, which can be helpful for accessing web apps or other essential and frequently used services — like the r/sneks subreddit.

See, now you can pin all your favorite subreddits right to your taskbar. It’s a shortcut to your shortcuts, but of course to use it you’ll have to actually use Microsoft Edge, a proposition which may or may not be worth the trouble.

Edge received a number of smaller updates. For instance, now users have the ability to highlight and annotate books right in the browser window, and smoothed out animations for opening new tabs.

Cortana also received some attention in today’s update, and she has a few new capabilities to fill out her repertoire. Now she’s able to provide insights to photos in your camera roll, by processing the images for relevant information — like a photo of an event poster, for instance.

It takes a little digging to actually enable this feature, though. Specifically, you’ll have to go to Settings > Cortana > Permissions & History > “Manage the information Cortana can access on this device,” to let Cortana peer through your camera roll.

Building on that feature set, you can also use a lasso tool to select portions of images on your device that you want Cortana to process for information — like a movie’s opening night. Again to enable this feature, you’ll have to dig through a lot of menus. First you’ll need to go to Settings > Device > Pen & Windows Ink > Press and hold > Cortana Lasso.

And finally, Microsoft lavished some attention on the handwriting recognition native to Windows 10. It’s an important set of improvements given the emphasis on the Surface Pen lately.

Introduced in today’s Build is the new XAML-based handwriting panel, which turns your handwriting into text directly on the screen. Just scribble down words into the panel using a Surface Pen, and once you lift the pen off the screen it will translate your handwriting into usable text.

You can also make corrections to your handwritten inputs using Windows Ink gestures, like slashing through a word to delete it, or slicing two words apart with a single stroke. Additionally, Microsoft has expanded the palm rejection capabilities of Windows Ink, so your hands shouldn’t provide as much interference as they used to if you happen to graze the screen by accident.

There’s a lot to unpack in today’s build, including a ton of behind-the-scenes improvements. So, for a full list of every tiny feature and tweak — and a host of bug fixes — head over to the Windows Insider blog.

Taylor Swift is getting back together with Spotify

Taylor Swift must have shaken off any bad blood left between her and Spotify, because you’ll soon be able to listen to her music on the service again. In fact, you’ll be able to access her entire back catalog not just on Spotify, but also on every existing streaming service when the clock strikes midnight on June 9th. Swift’s management team has announced on Twitter that she came to the decision to thank her fans and to celebrate 1989 selling over 10 million copies across the globe.

One of the world’s biggest pop stars has a history of slamming streaming services for offering low or non-existent royalties. She parted ways with Spotify back in 2014 for including her back catalog in its free tier. In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Swift explained her stance: “It’s my opinion that music should not be free,” she said, adding that “piracy, file sharing and streaming have shrunk the numbers of paid album sales drastically.”

Spotify chief Daniel Ek responded that a top-tier artist like Swift can earn as much as $6 million on the service. However, the artist’s camp laughed off that figure, stating that she only earned less than half a million for 12 months of domestic streaming. Shortly after cutting ties with Spotify, Taylor also criticized Apple Music for not paying artists and producers during subscribers’ three-month trial period. As a result, Cupertino began paying artists the royalties they deserve for those three months.

It’s unclear what changed between Swift and Spotify since then. The musician could have changed her stance and realized that being on streaming services could convert new people into fans. They could’ve also struck a secret deal. Whatever it is, Recode says her songs will be available to both free and paid users when they go live.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/kcpY03qHLp

— Taylor Nation (@taylornation13) June 8, 2017

Via: TechCrunch, Recode

Source: Taylor Nation (Twitter)

These are the best iOS 11 features Apple didn’t announce

Apple packed so much stuff into its WWDC 2017 keynote that many awesome features in iOS 11 weren’t even mentioned.

During the two-hour presentation at the mostly-annual developers conference, CEO Tim Cook and other Apple executives barely unveiled the new operating system for iPhone and iPad. Sure, we learned about phone-to-phone payments in iMessage, new augmented reality efforts, etc, which you can read all about from here, but the software is actually loaded with tonnes more tricks.

We know this because the company released a beta version of iOS 11 and developers are already testing it and discovering unannounced features. The company also quietly showed a slide (above) during the keynote that listed dozens of additions in iOS 11. Here are the best ones we’ve found or learned about so far. Keep checking back, too, as we’ll update this piece with more over time.

• Do these leaked iPhone 8 drawings reveal the phone’s final design?
• Apple made a pair of sneakers once and now you can buy them
• MacOS High Sierra: What’s in the new software for your Mac?

Best iOS 11 features Apple didn’t announce

Custom Control Center

control center is likeTHIS ISNT EVEN MY FINAL FORM pic.twitter.com/MlWqf0YIxv

— George Kedenburg III (@GK3) June 6, 2017

Apple mentioned the Control Center has been redesigned, but did you know it’ll also customisable? Although the layout can’t be changed, you can select what’s displayed via Settings. There are a tonne of new options including Low Power Mode, Notes, Text Size, Wallet, Screen Recording, and more. There’s even a new option to add Apple TV Remote controls to Control Center.

Type to Siri

type to siri in action pic.twitter.com/7mzZNYkzMA

— Mike Beasley (@MikeBeas) June 6, 2017

In the Accessibility menu under General in Settings, there is a new Type to Siri option. With this option, you can type out your question rather than say it aloud to Siri. You could technically type commands into Siri with iOS 10, but you had to tap on a spoken query and then edit it.

Markup screenshots

The screenshot editor is a nice addition to iOS 11 pic.twitter.com/kCqMOVmtFE

— Chad Whitaker (@chadwhitaker) June 6, 2017

When you take a screenshot, you’l be able to go full screen and have access to new tools for cropping and annotation. So, you can markup your screenshots with iOS 11 – no third-party app required.

Screen recording

Seems like there are a lot of options for additional control centre toggles (including screen recording) #iOS11 pic.twitter.com/kiBE0H217F

— Michael (@Malvix_) June 6, 2017

You will be able to record your screen with a simple tool in the iPhone’s redesigned Control Center. The new tool, called Screen Recorder, will be available if you customise your Control Center shortcuts via Settings. Then, just tap the red button to start recording. You can tap the title bar to stop recording, too, and the video will be saved to your camera roll like normal.

Dark mode

screen recording and dark mode… ios 11 is lit pic.twitter.com/UNKqbzIn3F

— ???? (@_itsjourdann) June 6, 2017

Apple offers a darker display mode, where it inverts colours, but that’s always negatively affected photos and other things you see on the screen. Now, a Smart Invert setting (Settings > General > Accessibility > Display Accommodations > Invert Colors) will turn light backgrounds dark, but it won’t do anything to images and icons. It’s basically an unofficial dark mode.

One-handed keyboard

This new keyboard feature for better one-handed typing is so useful for me, since I am always doing 2 things at once. Loving iOS 11 @Apple! pic.twitter.com/yJoBo4X7rO

— Crouton (@Cr3wBoss) June 8, 2017

There is a new one-handed typing keyboard in iOS 11, but it can only be found by holding down on the emoji key and selecting it from the menu. Keep in mind Microsoft introduced its own one-handed keyboard for iOS last year. While Microsoft’s keyboard was a half circle, Apple’s crowds the keys to the left or right, with the idea of making it easier to type with one hand.

Built-in QR code scanner

The QR code reader in iOS 11 knows when it’s a WiFi network and offers to join. pic.twitter.com/pCHwGi1abF

— Dayton Lowell (@daytonlowell) June 5, 2017

The Camera app has been updated with the ability to read QR codes. You can therefore scan the code with your camera to quickly open websites, access Wi-Fi networks, share your contact details, prove your ticket is valid, or whatever else the QR code is enabled to do.

Wi-Fi sharing

En iOS 11 ya no habra mas “Me pasas la password de tu Wi-Fi??” .. Ahora existe Shared my Wi-Fi password…!!! pic.twitter.com/XoO6Cq3ZI4

— Adrian Leal (@adrianlealmtz) June 7, 2017

Ever go to a friend’s house and see them spend 30 minutes trying to remember their Wi-Fi password? With iOS 11, that is no more. A new Wi-Fi sharing feature will notify you when a visitor wants to join your Wi-Fi network and it will automatically share your Wi-Fi password with them, too, as long as you approve their password request.

Automatic setup

Automatic Setup in iOS 11 … nice pic.twitter.com/X0UJHFMrYM

— Röstbrotkammer (@toastroom) June 5, 2017

One of the most annoying aspects about getting a new iPhone has been resolved, thank to Automatic Setup. By simply holding a new iPhone or iPad near an iOS device or Mac you own, you can transfer over all your preferences, settings, and even iCloud Keychain passwords.

Is that it?

There’s also that slide Apple quietly showed at WWDC 2017. While it’s loaded with many new iOS 11 features, there are a few worth pointing out: for one, Apple is opening up the NFC chip previously reserved for Apple Pay. It also revealed iCloud family storage plans are coming. Lastly, Apple will begin auto-filling passwords for apps, not just websites in Safari. 

When can you get iOS 11?

Developers can get their hands on iOS 11 now, while a public beta version will be made available in late June. The final version is still months away from release. Expect it to launch this autumn, and like all other software updates from Apple, it will be free to download and use.

Want to know more?

Check out Pocket-lint’s iOS 11 guide.

Softbank buys Boston Dynamics (and its robots) from Google

It’s been over a year since we heard that Google’s parent company Alphabet wanted to sell its robotics company Boston Dynamics, and now it has a buyer: Softbank. The Japanese company has been working on its own robots for years, including the helpful Pepper, and now they’ll be under the same umbrella as Handle, Big Dog, Atlas, WildCat and all the rest.

Google acquired the MIT spin-off in 2013, when Andy Rubin was still still leading its robotics efforts instead of building his own phone. Along with Japan’s SCHAFT (which dominated the 2013 DARPA challenge and is also being acquired by Softbank), it became a part of the reorganized X division under Alphabet, but clearly fell out of the company’s long-term plans.

The terms of the deal have not been revealed, however Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son said in a statement that “Smart robotics are going to be a key driver of the next stage of the Information Revolution, and Marc and his team at Boston Dynamics are the clear technology leaders in advanced dynamic robots. I am thrilled to welcome them to the SoftBank family and look forward to supporting them as they continue to advance the field of robotics and explore applications that can help make life easier, safer and more fulfilling.”

Boston Dynamics CEO and founder Marc Raibert echoed the feeling, saying that his company is “excited to be part of SoftBank’s bold vision and its position creating the next technology revolution, and we share SoftBank’s belief that advances in technology should be for the benefit of humanity.”

Developing…

Source: Softbank (PDF)

Zapping your brain with electricity can aid creativity — but there’s a catch

Why it matters to you

Study tells us more about the nature of creativity, and how it arises in the human brain.

Need to make someone more creative? How about zapping their brain with an electric current? No, it’s not the worst writers’ room scenario ever, but an experiment into brain stimulation carried out by researchers at the U.K.’s Queen Mary University of London and Goldsmiths University of London.

In a study involving 60 participants, a weak electrical current was applied to the scalp using electrodes. The currents were sufficiently low that they did not cause any harm or unpleasant sensations. When the transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) technique was used to suppress a key part of the frontal brain called the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, participants were shown to get better at carrying out “creative” tasks involving out-of-the-box thinking. However, since the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is a part of the brain heavily involved in much of our reasoning processes, they got worse at solving problems in which many items needed to be held in mind at once.

“We suggest that inhibiting this region could help thinking out of the box because this is the very same region which implements well-learned solutions to problems,” Dr. Caroline Di Bernardi Luft, from QMUL’s School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, told Digital Trends. “Most creative problems require people to break free of deeply rooted assumptions to be able to come up with something new, and this is precisely the process that we believe to have affected using cathodal tDCS.”

According to Luft, there are two surprising aspects of the work. The first is that it demonstrates that creativity is a cognitive skill, which can be broken down to smaller processes that can be specifically targeted. That suggests there is not one specific brain area that’s responsible for creativity, but rather that understanding it requires a broader understanding of the brain as a whole.

“The second surprising factor,” Luft added, “was that we were able to replicate the findings of a study with patients with prefrontal cortex lesions. These patients were more likely to solve hard ‘think out of the box’ problems, which was remarkable evidence that this brain region might hinder creative problem solving. By using tDCS, we were able to temporarily mimic such effect, without causing any lasting changes in brain activity.”

Her one word of caution? Despite the number of companies selling brain stimulation machines for home use, don’t try this yourself if you happen to need a jolt of creativity. “The effects might actually be the opposite of what the person using it is expecting as the stimulation can benefit certain cognitive functions and impair others at the same time,” she said.

The work is described in the journal Scientific Reports.

Chrome 59 gets faster at running JavaScript thanks to Ignition, TurboFan

Why it matters to you

If you visit websites that use lots of JavaScript code, then you’ll want to make sure you’re updated to Chrome 59.

Google Chrome was recently updated to version 59, bringing a number of new features to the most popular web browser on the planet. The most noticeable update in Chrome 59 is the new Material Design feature that’s been applied to the Settings page, but that may not be the most important change.

Instead, users might notice that Chrome is performing a little better, particularly on pages that make heavy use of JavaScript. That’s because the V8 JavaScript engine that Chrome and some other browsers utilize has made a fairly significant improvement in performance.

The performance increase comes from some new background components of the V8 JavaScript engine that interpret JavaScript instructions and then compile them into programs that can run in the browser. Dubbed Ignition and TurboFan, the interpreter and compiler have been in V8 for awhile but are now the exclusive components used in the pipeline for running JavaScript applications.

The performance improvements vary by system, with Android devices seeing the largest jumps. However, Chrome on the desktop should also see JavaScript-heavy websites run around 5 to 10 percent faster. As an added bonus, Chrome should use less memory on such sites, something that Google has been working to improve in Chrome across the board.

In addition to faster JavaScript and the new Material Design Settings page, Google added some other notable features and functionality. First, Chrome 59 on MacOS now supports the MacOS notification system. Next, the Image Capture API lets site developers access all of a camera’s settings when taking images. Finally, Chrome can now run “headless,” meaning it can support automated environments that don’t have displays, keyboards and mice, and user interfaces.

Apple recently touted the speed advantages of its latest Safari browser in the next version of MacOS, High Sierra, specifically comparing Safari’s JavaScript performance with Chrome’s. These latest improvements should help Google significantly in maintaining Chrome as a viable browser on MacOS, while stealing a little of Apple’s thunder.

Tap any location and this interactive globe will display photos you took there

Why it matters to you

This smart globe demonstrates that a bit of creativity can make looking through someone else’s vacation pictures fun.

Considering how much fun vacations are, there are few things less interesting than looking through a slideshow of someone else’s holiday snaps.

Could part of that reason be that boringly clicking through a series of folders does not exactly capture the globe-trotting fun of setting off on a voyage into the unknown? If so, then Caroline Buttet’s do-it-yourself solution may offer a bit of help. No, it is never going to entirely get around the problem that looking at pictures of someone else enjoying themselves just reminds you of how long it is since you took a vacay yourself — but it at least makes the experience a bit more fun for the viewer.

What Buttet has created is a touch-sensitive globe that displays the photos belonging to whichever country you tap. “Globe Trotter is a tangible picture viewer, especially designed to make vacation picture viewing more enjoyable,” she told Digital Trends. “It consists of an interactive globe that is linked to a computer via an Arduino, which interacts with a webpage. It allows the user to browse pictures ordered by country, by physically touching any country on the globe. The user can then spin the globe back and forth to view the images, like in a slideshow.”

Building a capacitive globe sounds like hard work. In fact, Buttet achieved the effect using a (relatively) simple hack: She stuck a thumbtack in each country, with the sharp end inside the globe connecting to a wire that links to the Arduino.

“Globe Trotter is just a proof of concept, and therefore there is still a lot of improvements that can be made,” she continued. “These include things like integration of geotags, automatic sorting of photos, and finding a way to make it wireless. I made the prototype just for fun, with no thought of commercializing it or anything like that. But lately I’ve started to get requests from people over the internet. If enough people are interested, maybe I’ll publish the code and go open source at some point.”

Latest AMD Radeon Software beefs up ‘Dirt 4’ and ‘Prey’ performance

Why it matters to you

Another version of AMD’s Radeon Software Crimson Relive Edition is out and you will want to update right away if you’re playing Dirt 4 or Prey.

The easiest way to get the most out of your PC is to make sure you are running the most current drivers for all of your components. This is doubly true with the GPU, where new drivers and software can dramatically improve performance and reliability and periodically add new features.

AMD’s Radeon Software Crimson Relive Edition software is no different, as it provides not only the core drivers for the company’s Radeon GPUs but also provides a host of added functionality. On Thursday, AMD updated the software to version 17.6.1, with the usual performance improvements for some popular titles along with a host of fixes.

First up is improved support for Dirt 4. Version 17.6.1 adds in multi-GPU support, along with up to 30 percent faster performance on the Radeon RX 580 8GB GPU when the game is configured with 8xMSAA turned on. That GPU’s performance in Prey is also a bit faster, with a four percent improvement.

AMD also listed a number of issues that have been resolved in Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.6.1. Here is the list, taken directly from AMD’s release notes:

• Virtual Super Resolution may fail to enable on some Radeon RX 400 and Radeon RX 500 series graphics products.
• HDR may fail to enable on some displays for QHD or higher resolutions.
• Flickering may be observed on some Radeon RX 500 series products when using HDMI with QHD high refresh rate displays.
• AMD XConnect: Systems with Modern Standby enabled may experience a system hang after resuming from hibernation.
• Fast mouse movement may cause an FPS drop or stutter in Prey when running in Multi-GPU system configurations.
• Adjusting memory clocks in some third party overclocking applications may cause a hang on Radeon R9 390 Series products.
• Graphics memory clock may fluctuate causing inconsistent frame rates while gaming when using AMD FreeSync technology.
• Mass Effect: Andromeda may experience stutter or hitching in Multi-GPU system configurations.
• The GPU Scaling feature in Radeon Settings may fail to enable for some applications.
• An error message “Radeon Additional Settings: Host application has stopped working” will sometimes appear when hot-plugging displays with Radeon Settings open.

As usual, you will want to keep in mind that most new software includes some known issues. Here is the list for version 17.6.1:

• Graphical corruption may be experienced in Tom Clancy’s: Rainbow Six Siege when MSAA is enabled.
• Adobe Lightroom may experience an application crash with GPU acceleration enabled on Windows 7 system configurations using Radeon RX 390 Series graphics products.
• A few apps may experience issues with Borderless Fullscreen mode and AMD FreeSync technology if other applications or game launchers are running on the primary screen in the background.
• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and World of Warcraft may experience flickering or performance issues the first time the game is launched on a system boot with AMD FreeSync technology enabled. Workarounds include exiting and restarting the application or task switching (alt+tab) in and out of the game to fix the issue.

As usual, you can head over to the AMD support site to download the new software.

Shooting 360-degree video with a GoPro is about to get easier with Fusion camera

Update on June 8, 2017: While details are still limited, GoPro has officially revealed the Fusion. The camera has similar design cues as the Hero5 Black, but the square-like dual-lens camera is wider and taller, and weighs roughly the same. The Fusion is targeted toward consumers and even pros looking to shoot a quick and easy spherical video. GoPro also released a video edited from spherical content taken with the Fusion, which you can view below. We will update as more details are announced.

Original article, published on April 17, 2017: Just ahead of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show on Saturday, GoPro has announced its first immersive video camera, called the Fusion. While the company has offered a 360-degree solution for some time in the form of the Omni cage —  which locks six GoPro Hero cameras together — the Fusion is a compact, single-camera device designed to be mounted in all the same ways as a normal GoPro.

Initial details on the new camera remain scarce, but one interesting tidbit is that it shoots 5.2K resolution, slightly above the now standard 4K. This is good news for immersive video enthusiasts, as higher resolutions tend to make a dramatic difference in 360 video, where all of those pixels are spread out over a spherical area. GoPro says this will also allow for HD-quality, non-360 video to be extracted from any angle, essentially giving Fusion users the ability to create both immersive and traditional fixed-frame content from the same camera, at the same time.

“Whether filming for VR or traditional fixed-perspective content, Fusion represents the state-of-the-art in versatile spherical capture,” said GoPro founder and CEO, Nick Woodman, in a statement. He did not elaborate on other ways in which the Fusion would be state-of-the-art.

What we do know is that work remains to be done to get the Fusion ready for the public. GoPro announced it will run an exclusive pilot program this summer, and is asking professional content creators to apply for it starting today. The goal is to field test the Fusion and produce content that GoPro can use to demonstrate its power before taking the camera to market. Assuming all goes well with the pilot program, GoPro expects to offer a “limited commercial release” by the end of 2017. No other details on pricing or availability have been given.

While the Fusion certainly seems interesting, our current sentiment can best be described as cautiously excited. We’re glad to see that GoPro is taking a single-camera approach to immersive content, but with so many 360 cameras popping up all the time from brands both big and small, the Fusion will need to deliver a trifecta of power, usability, and affordability to truly stand out from the crowd. For now, we’ll wait patiently for more details to emerge.