2017 June | AIVAnet

2

Jun

Google teaches kids to code with scenes from ‘Wonder Woman’

Google has an interest in teaching kids how to code. After all, they’re going to be the next generation of engineers and developers inventing and supporting Google’s products. Yesterday, the tech giant announced that they’d teamed with Wonder Woman to inspire teen girls to learn coding.

Made with Code, a Google initiative that encourages teen girls to pursue coding, has released a new Wonder Woman-based coding project. With this system, users can code three different scenes from the Wonder Woman film, which arrives in theaters today, utilizing introductory programming techniques.

Using drag and drop blocks of code that comprise actions, objects and variables, those new to coding can see how the different aspects of code fit together to create a finished product. Young coders can use these code blocks to help Wonder Woman overcome obstacles in her path and reach her goals. It’s not the first time Made With Code has partnered with a new film to teach girls to code; it did so previously with Pixar’s Inside Out.

Google is also releasing an updated version of DC Legends, a game available in the Google Play store, with exclusive movie content and special events inspired by the Wonder Woman film. Additionally, over 100 teen girls were treated to an advance screening of the film as a collaboration between Google Play, Made with Code and Warner Brothers. Through these initiatives, Google’s goal is to help young women realize that coding can help them empower Wonder Woman — and themselves.

Source: Google, Made with Code

2

Jun

Relive monster dunks and other NBA finals highlights in VR

The NBA has been bolder with virtual reality than most other leagues, producing weekly VR games on its League Pass on-demand network with NextVR. If you’re interested in checking it out without paying for a pass or the $7 à la carte price, NextVR is offering highlights for each game of the finals between Cleveland and Golden State. All you need is a GearVR or Google Daydream headset, plus the NextVR app, available on Google Play or Oculus Stores.

In case you haven’t tried it, NextVR’s NBA broadcasts aren’t that much different from regular ones, except that they’re in stereoscopic, 180 degree VR. The company has up to eight 6K RED 3D camera rigs strategically positioned behind the basket, at the scorer’s tables and floating mid-court. Announcers describe the action, and directors display graphics and choose the best camera angles, while keeping in mind that it’s easy for VR viewers to get seasick.

The highlight packages will feature “play-by-play calling of the most dynamic one-on-one drives, deep three point shots, and the biggest dunks from the rematch of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors,” according to the PR. That should be pretty fun to watch on its own (the production quality looks great on the GearVR), and also help viewers decide if they want to make a deeper plunge and watch entire games.

2

Jun

Where to buy HTC’s U11 and Sony’s Xperia XZ Premium in the UK

Over the past couple of days, two new flagship smartphones have landed on UK shores — HTC’s U11 and Sony’s Xperia XZ Premium — and both have their merits. HTC’s latest marries powerful innards with elegant looks, all the AI assistants and quirky edge pressure sensors that let you interact with the device in new and interesting ways. Sony’s Xperia XZ Premium, on the other hand, is all about top-tier specs and couple of stand-out features, including a 4K HDR display and 960FPS slow-motion video capture. As you’ll discover, one has proven far more popular with carriers and retailers than the other, but if you’re interested in either handset, we’ve got the low-down on where to pick it up.

HTC U11

Cheapest contract (with upfront)	£48 (£50)	£25.49 on EE (£220)	£20.49 on EE (£385)
Cheapest contract (lowest upfront)	£53 (£10)	£50 on Voda (£0)	£38 on EE (£0)
Unlocked (SIM-free)	—	£600	£647

HTC’s new flagship isn’t getting much love from the UK’s major carriers. EE’s on board and the device is listed as ‘coming soon’ on O2’s website, but it’s slim pickings at the moment. MVNOs are no keener, with only giffgaff ranging the handset (whenever stock arrives, anyway).

An unlocked model is also pretty hard to come by, but Carphone Warehouse is the place to go. It’ll sell you a U11 for £600, while HTC’s own site and Amazon are asking £650 for the handset.

Sony Xperia XZ Premium

Cheapest contract (with upfront)	£35 (£130)	£43 (£100)	£32 (£129)	£25.49 on EE (£200)	£20.49 on EE (£390)	£25.49 on EE (£150)
Cheapest contract (lowest upfront)	£44 (£10)	£48 (£10)	£44 (£49)	£40 on Voda (£0)	£35.49 on EE (£0)	£37 on O2 (£0)
Pay-as-you-go	—	—	£650	—	—	—
Unlocked (SIM-free)	—	—	—	£650	£648	£639

Networks are much more enthusiastic about Sony’s new Xperia XZ Premium, even if Vodafone still has the device listed as ‘coming soon.’ As is becoming more common, though, only resellers have contract options that don’t demand an upfront payment.

MVNOs Sky Mobile and Virgin Media are also ranging the handset, but (as usual) Tesco Mobile has the most attractive deal at £36 per month and no upfront payment for a 2GB data allowance.

There’s no killer deal to be found if you’re after an unlocked Xperia XZ Premium. Mobiles.co.uk is your best shout with its £639 price tag, and Mobile Phones Direct isn’t far behind at £643. Elsewhere, however, you’re either looking at £649 or a quid either way.

2

Jun

Snapchat’s first episode of MTV’s ‘Cribs’ lands June 3rd

MTV is finally ready to debut its first Cribs episode for the new generation — and, yes, it’s broadcasting the show on Snapchat, just like it promised last year. The reimagined reality show will offer sneak peeks of celebrities’ houses on Snapchat’s Discover platform, where each episode will be live for 48 hours before vanishing. As much as we’d love to see Mariah get in a tub in front of a camera again, MTV will kick things off on June 3rd by featuring DJ Steve Aoki’s Las Vegas home. The episode will show his rare collector’s items, custom-made playroom and pool, which is the deepest in the city.

The next episode airing on June 10th will feature professional skateboarder Nyjah Huston’s LA pad, while the June 17th episode will show 2015 Superbowl MVP Von Miller’s Texas-inspired house in Denver. Another thing to look forward to are the arcade machines and poker tables in Miller’s tricked-out basement. If Cribs isn’t your jam, maybe MTV’s other Snapchat show is — the network is also launching comedy series Girl Code on the platform on July 27th.

2

Jun

‘Need for Speed Payback’ adds higher stakes and familiar ideas

On paper, Need for Speed Payback sounds a lot like Grand Theft Auto V crossed with a modern Fast and the Furious movie. Tale of revenge? Check. Three distinct protagonists with differing skillsets? Check. Heist missions? You see where I’m going with this. There aren’t a ton of other details to go on, but Electronic Arts says that the arcade racer will once again be open world and will feature “jaw-dropping set pieces.” Like a submarine surfacing in an ice floe?

The big difference with Payback, though, is that it doesn’t sound like taking anything other than first place will impede your progress through the narrative. “With Need for Speed Payback, it’s no longer just about being the first to cross the finish line or racing to prove to be the best, it’s about building the perfect ride, getting behind the wheel and playing out an action driving fantasy,” according to a press release.

While the latter three details there have been kind of standard for the series for an awfully long time, the notion of coming in second place and still advancing through the story is somewhat unique. 2015’s Need for Speed flirted with something like this, but ultimately in order to progress you needed to take the gold to keep pushing the game forward. That doesn’t mean there won’t be a focus on winning. In fact, you’ll be able to bet on your own performance in a given race, potentially multiplying your winnings from a given event.

As you can see from the box art, the other difference between this and 2015’s game is that you can race around during the daytime as well. While the sounds minor, it’s a pretty big deal and may help the races from feeling repetitive. Oh and of course series hallmarks like cop chases and car customization will return, too. The game will be released November 10th on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but if you want an early peek ahead of E3 next week, that’s what the trailer below is for.

2

Jun

Waymo will battle Uber with its own self-driving trucks

Google was one of the first companies to show off self-driving car tech, but it’s pretty late into the autonomous truck game. Well after companies like Daimler, Komatsu and Uber unveiled their own platforms, Waymo has started testing a single truck on public roads, it told Buzzfeed and Reuters. “Self-driving technology can transport people and things much more safely than we do today and reduce the thousands of trucking-related deaths each year,” it said in a statement.

The work is preliminary at the moment, as Waymo referred to it as “a technical exploration into how our technology can integrate into a truck.” Others, meanwhile, are into more advanced testing — Daimler, Volvo and others participated in an advanced autonomous “platooning” convoy challenge, for instance.

However, it may be arch-rival Uber that most motivated Waymo. The two companies are locked in pitched court battle, with Waymo having sued Uber for allegedly stealing some of its self-driving ideas. Uber’s tech comes via its purchase of Otto, a self-driving company founded by Anthony Levandowski, one of Google’s key self-driving executives. Earlier this week Uber fired Levandowski, shortly after federal prosecutors recommended an investigation into the alleged IP theft.

Despite all the problems, however, Uber has a lead over Waymo in the self-driving truck game, having done a 200-mile beer run in Colorado with no driver intervention. It also arguably has a big head start in logistics, having already developed an extensive ride-sharing network for its Uber passenger service.

Source: Reuters, Buzzfeed

2

Jun

Apple Park’s Senior Arborist Recalls Meeting Steve Jobs, Sourcing 9K Trees Over 7 Years

Although Apple Park has opened to a small group of employees, the site’s buildings and landscaping remain in ongoing construction around the campus. In a new interview with Backchannel, Apple Park’s senior arborist, David Muffly, has provided insight into the work it’s taken to choose, locate, and plant 9,000 trees at Apple Park, as well as detailed his first interactions with former Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

Jobs discovered Muffly’s work during walks he would take around a large satellite dish on Stanford’s campus, admiring as he went hundreds of native oak trees along the path. He made Apple headhunters find the arborist responsible for planting the trees, leading to Muffly, who at the time was working a job pruning lemon trees in Menlo Park.

David Muffly
The two were said to have hit it off “within 20 minutes of meeting,” where Jobs described what would see a grand opening seven years later as Apple Park. Muffly and Jobs met in 2010, and in 2011 Muffly was granted the official title of “senior arborist” at Apple.

Within 20 minutes of meeting, it was clear that the arborist and the technologist were on the same wavelength about trees. Jobs told Muffly that he wanted to create a microcosm of old Silicon Valley, a landscape reenactment of the days when the cradle of digital disruption had more fruit trees than engineers.

In one sense, the building would be an ecological preservation project; in another sense, it’d be a roman a clef written in soil, bark, and blossom. Muffly, who had been sensitive to the native growth of the region for years, got it immediately. “That’s what I’ve been doing — planting fruit trees, oak trees,” he said.

Eventually, Muffly was shown early design drawings of Apple Park and the arborist realized the full scope of the project. While thousands of workers would be focusing on the construction of the campus’ architecture, he and a small team of landscaping experts would face the full brunt of responsibility for what Jobs considered one of the most important parts of the site: the trees.

And he began to get a sense of the massiveness of the project — hundreds of architects and untold numbers of contractors would wind up working on the building, an edifice that might well become as iconic to California as the pyramids are to Egypt. But the campus itself was meant to be a statement on nature. And that would be his job.

Yeah, there’s that building, he thought. But there’s a lot more trees than buildings. There’s going to be, like, 5,000 people making that building. And it’s going to be just me and my friends doing the trees. “So right off the bat, I was like, Whoooaa. This is as real as it gets.”

Muffly eventually began working with Philadelphia-based landscape architecture firm The Olin Studio to make Jobs’ vision a reality at Apple Park. The team agreed that Apple Park should be stocked with trees and greenery “that might thrive in drought conditions brought about by climate change,” as well as diversifying the variety of trees on the campus with native trees as the backbone of the ecosystem and then less common genetics dispersed throughout Apple Park.

As Muffly worked with Jobs in the early planning of Apple’s new campus, before the late CEO’s passing in 2011, he was impressed with Jobs’ knowledge of trees. “He had a better sense than most arborists,” Muffly said, and at his official pitch to the Cupertino City Council, Jobs promised an increase from the 3,700 trees on the site to 6,000 before the project’s completion.

To fill the revised goal of 9,000 trees on the site, Muffly eventually scoured Christmas tree farms across California.

…When Muffly began his work, he realized that nearly all the (non-indigenous) existing trees would have to go. “It was all junk trees and parking lots here,” he says. “So it was a long process. Over the next year or so. I surveyed the trees and picked out about a hundred of them that I felt were worth moving. And we had to stretch to get a hundred out of the [roughly 4,000] existing trees.”

Muffly looked at the redwoods at some abandoned Christmas tree farms up on Skyline, but the soil was too rocky to grow them to Apple’s specifications. “So I sent all my little tree elves to help me, telling them we need big trees we can transport to the site. Next thing I know we’re finding these in two abandoned Christmas tree farms in the Mojave Desert, Yermo, and Adelanto. Who knew there were Christmas tree farms in the Mojave?” Apple actually bought the Yermo site.

All of the landscaping work for Apple Park eventually created shortages for other companies attempting to buy trees in the area, with a report by the San Francisco Chronicle earlier this year stating that, “Buying trees is a surprisingly cutthroat business.”

In a behind-the-scenes look at Apple Park last month, one architect reminisced about Jobs’ particular fondness for trees: to the late CEO, “trees were the most beautiful bits of art,” said architect Stefan Behling. “He used to say, ‘The most amazing thing about trees is it doesn’t actually matter how rich you are: You can never buy a really old, beautiful tree.’”

You can read the full Backchannel interview with David Muffly right here.

Tags: Apple Park, Steve Jobs
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2

Jun

Samsung Dex Station review

Research Center:
Samsung DeX Station

Visiting your company’s satellite office? Carrying your work laptop can be cumbersome, which is why Samsung’s alternative is its smartphone — the Galaxy S8 — paired with the Dex Station. The little hockey puck-like docking station turns the company’s latest flagship into an Android desktop operating system, like Microsoft’s Continuum for the not-so-popular Windows Mobile platform.

It’s surprisingly effective, though there are a few kinks. It’s worth a buy if you do travel to other offices a lot, and don’t want to carry your laptop around. But for every workstation, you’ll need a mouse, a keyboard, a monitor, and the Dex Station. If you don’t have those peripherals lying around, acquiring them can be quite expensive — especially if you don’t have the Galaxy S8 as well.

Let’s take a deeper dive.

The docking station

The all-black docking station looks like a generic computer peripheral, which is good because it blends in well with most desktop workstations. Push the top down and the other end slides up like a kickstand — this reveals the USB Type-C plug where the Galaxy S8 will dock.

The pushed-up kickstand doubles as a built-in cooling fan to prevent your smartphone from getting too hot. It does the job, as we’ve hardly felt the S8 get anywhere near hot.

samsung dex station review hands on wm Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

On the back of the Dex Station, you’ll find two USB Type-A ports, along with a Type-C, an HDMI, and an Ethernet port. The HDMI port plugs into your monitor, and the Type-C port charges your phone via the. The rest are free for plugging in other peripherals, but you can also use the smartphone’s Bluetooth capability to connect wireless devices like keyboards, and speakers.

Speaking of speakers, you won’t be able to connect wired desktop speakers — you’ll have to opt for a Bluetooth speaker, or wireless headphones. You can’t plug in earbuds into your phone, because the S8’s headphone jack is on the bottom. With no speaker connected, the audio comes out of the phone — it gets loud, and doesn’t sound bad at all.

Plugging the phone in isn’t the easiest process as it can take some finagling to get the position right. But once docked, you’ll see the Dex interface crop up on the monitor in less than 10 seconds. Unplug your phone, and it will take under 10 seconds to get your normal home screen back. The delay is small enough that it doesn’t make much of an impact, but if you wanted to grab your phone to send a quick message and put it back — the delay may be a little annoying.

The interface

The desktop version of Android — at least, Samsung’s version — looks a lot like desktop operating systems such as Windows 10 and Google’s Chrome OS on Chromebooks. A few app icons sit on the desktop home screen, and the bottom left houses navigation buttons: Apps, recently used apps, and Home. On the right is a system tray, where you can access notifications, along with your regular status bar icons such as battery life, Wi-Fi, the date, time, and more.

Apps open quickly, web pages load really fast — we can’t complain about performance.

Apps open quickly and web pages load really fast; we can’t complain much about performance. We haven’t seen any web slow down that we wouldn’t see on another device. We’re surprised at the speedy, mostly lag-free performance — and it’s all thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor powering the S8.

But you can’t do everything you’d expect to do on a desktop computer. Only a certain number of apps are compatible in this desktop mode — that means they open in a full-screen window, they are resizable, and you can right click in them to perform actions like on a traditional desktop. Most of Samsung’s apps are supported, such as Calendar and Email, along with certain third-party apps like Adobe Lightroom and Microsoft Word.

If there’s an app you use and it’s not supported, we found it better to use the web version (if there is one available) rather than using the Android app. Unsupported apps are still accessible, but they open in a small, phone-like window, and you can’t make it bigger or resize it.

Even if your app is supported, it will clearly just be the smartphone version ported over to a bigger size. Adobe’s Lightroom app, for example, suggests gestures as quick actions, and the interface isn’t the most intuitive on such a large monitor. It’s manageable, and a good resource for when you need to edit a few photos, but it’s not as easy-to-use as the traditional Lightroom desktop app.

Still, it’s nice to be able to quickly jump into apps such as Facebook Messenger to respond to friends (chat heads are also available, though limited to a certain quadrant of the screen), or Google Photos to share a photo. You can even perform phone-only functions like placing calls, and texting. Thankfully, keyboard shortcuts are supported in Android, so you can Alt+Tab to switch between apps, Control+C to copy and Control+V to paste text, and more.

We mostly browsed the internet using the Samsung Internet app, which is likely all you need. Why not Chrome, or another Android browser? Because, for now, Samsung Internet is optimized better.

Samsung’s internet browser

Samsung’s internet app performs like most desktop browsers, even supporting extensions and ad-blockers. It consistently opens up every website in desktop mode, can handle multiple tabs, and it’s fast — especially scrolling on web pages. You can also save passwords for websites like Chrome’s Autofill — this is done with Samsung Pass, and it will ask you for fingerprint, iris, or facial authentication. We recommend the latter two, because fingerprint authentication is awkward when the phone is docked.

To nitpick — the browser doesn’t look modern, and it doesn’t have features on other browsers like pinning tabs, or even the ability to pull out a tab to make a new window.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Regardless, we found our web experience with the Samsung Internet browser more than satisfactory. It’s not necessarily a browser we’d want to use or for long periods of time, but it does the job for work.

Warranty information, price, and availability

Samsung offers a standard 1-year limited warranty on the Dex Station from the date of purchase. You’re protected from manufacturing defects, but accidental drops and damages won’t be covered.

It costs $150, and you can buy it directly from Samsung.

Samsung DeX Station Compared To

samsung dex station review insta air prd

Insta360 Air

samsung dex station review lg hi fi plus product image

LG Hi Fi Plus

samsung dex station review ampy move usb charger

Ampy Move

samsung dex station review vortex

Vortex Kid’s First Robot

samsung dex station review tangible play osmo

Tangible Play Osmo

samsung dex station review neo smartpen n

Neo Smartpen N2

samsung dex station review dash dot press image

Wonder Workshop Dash & Dot

samsung dex station review galileo motrr

Motrr Galileo

samsung dex station review typo press

Typo keyboard case

samsung dex station review moga pro press image

Moga Pro

samsung dex station review hasbro my d viewer front angle iphone

Hasbro My3D

samsung dex station review iomega superhero

Iomega SuperHero

samsung dex station review blackberry presenter g

BlackBerry Presenter

Callpod Chargepod

Griffin Elan Holster

Our Take

The Dex Station is a great option for people who own a Galaxy S8 — moreso for people who travel to various offices, and don’t want to be weighed down by a laptop. You’ll need to have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse set up beforehand though, so you’re ready to go when you arrive.

If you have an S8, the Dex could also be a handy place to dock your phone at home for use as a supplemental desktop workstation, alongside your laptop or computer (if you have a spare monitor, keyboard, and mouse).

Is it worth buying the Galaxy S8 for the Dex Station? Again, if you’re the type who frequents other offices and doesn’t want to carry a laptop — and you’re interested in Samsung’s latest flagship — then yes. We’ll have to wait and see whether more app developers will add full support for the Dex interface, but don’t expect major improvements here any time soon.

Is there a better alternative?

The cost of using the Dex Station is $150, but seeing as you need the Galaxy S8, you’ll have spent $900 just to get started. If you don’t have a monitor, keyboard, or mouse, then you’ll need to shell out for those peripherals too.

You may be better off grabbing the $450 Samsung Chromebook Plus (or Chromebook Pro), which is very lightweight, or another Windows-powered Ultrabook. While you’ll have to carry it around, you can at least get a full desktop experience for a cheaper, or comparable price.

How long will it last?

The docking station itself won’t move from your desk, so we don’t expect it to see any accidental damage from drops like a smartphone. Since it’s mostly just a dock, we think it will last at least four years, but the Galaxy S8 should last you three to four years before it’s completely shot.

Should you buy it?

Yes. If you already own a Galaxy S8 and you often travel to other offices, it may be worth your time to grab a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and the Dex Station to get some casual work done without needing to lug around a laptop. Heavy-duty PC users should steer clear.

2

Jun