YouTube creators pen open letter to support net neutrality

The FCC is moving forward with its plans to undo the Obama-era rules put in place to protect net neutrality, and the parties that will be negatively affected have been scrambling to be heard. Take for instance, the 134 YouTube stars who’ve just penned an open letter to the FCC and the Congress to defend net neutrality. The creators argue that the current rules are “crucial to maintaining a level playing field for all creators” since they ensure “equal opportunity for success to anyone wishing to enter the market.”

Under the current rules, broadband internet is a Title II service, which means it’s classified as a utility and ISPs are required to treat all data equally. It’s what prevents throttling based on content, blocking of legal content and services, as well as paid prioritization. The FCC’s proposed rollback would reclassify broadband as a Title I service, which has much fewer regulations. A lot of creators would be greatly disadvantaged by the removal of Title II protections, the letter says, since it means ISPs can prioritize connections to media companies that can afford to pay for it:

“These regulatory changes will give ISPs immense influence over how we as creators can connect with each other and our audiences. If real Title II net neutrality is lost, we will lose the permissionless innovation that has made creativity on the Internet so great. Internet providers will have new influence over how we as creators can connect with each other and our audiences, which will have major implications for the diversity of voices available online.”

The creators stress that the rollback could affect all creators, no matter how many subscribers they have. In fact, the letter was signed by some of YouTube’s biggest stars, including Joe Bereta, half of the web sketch comedy duo Barats and Bereta, who has over 30 million subscribers. Benny Fine (20 million subscribers) of Fine Brothers Entertainment, known for the REACT series, also signed the letter, along with Dane Boedigheimer of Annoying Orange (15 million) and Ned Fulmer of BuzzFeed video (12.6 million).

The open letter says the creators will “fight for as long as it takes.” It also encourages people to participate in the July 12th “Internet-Wide Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality.” Their success depends on whether the FCC and the government will listen to their arguments, though, because the agency has made it clear long ago that it doesn’t care what we think.

Via: The Verge

Source: Creators for Net Neutrality

Samsung Predicts Best-Ever Profits in Last Quarter

Samsung tipped its best-ever operating profit on Friday, with likely record earnings in the company’s second quarter ending in June (via Reuters). The Apple rival predicted quarterly operating profit of 14 trillion won ($12.11 billion), a 72 percent jump from a year earlier. The estimate includes sales from the Galaxy S8 for the first time, but analysts pointed to Samsung’s components business as the main driving force behind the latest projected figures.

Samsung has yet to provide a breakdown of its performance over the April-June period, with a full earnings report due later this month, but the South Korean company is known to have benefitted from higher prices for the memory chips it supplies that go into servers and smartphones. Samsung expects revenue to be up 18 percent year-over-year at 60 trillion won. Shortages for both DRAM and NAND chips are expected to persist for the rest of the year, increasing the likelihood that 2017 could represent Samsung’s best-ever annual earnings.

Ironically, Samsung’s continued success is expected to hinge increasingly on the performance of its biggest rival. Apple has reportedly turned to Samsung for more NAND chip supplies for its upcoming phones, since Samsung has relatively stable yield rates and has scaled up its output while other chip suppliers have lagged.

Samsung is also being helped by its sales of OLED panels, which are expected to become the go-to display standard over the coming years. Apple has reportedly signed a two-year contract with Samsung for the supply of up to 92 million curved OLED panels, as it attempts to ramp up capacity for this year’s release of its high-end “iPhone 8”, before transitioning fully to OLED displays for all its phones in the second half of 2018.

Samsung said on Tuesday it would invest $18.6 billion to extend its lead in memory chips and next-generation displays. Meanwhile, sales of the upcoming Galaxy Note 8 will be closely watched in the third quarter, after its predecessor was pulled from the market last year because of fire-prone batteries. Samsung is expected to unveil the handset in August.

Tag: Samsung
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OnePlus 5 India review: Moving up in the world

OnePlus delivers a phone with a lot of potential, but you’re not getting as much value as previous generations.

OnePlus built its business model on selling phones at near-manufacturing cost. By operating exclusively online and relying on word-of-mouth marketing, the brand managed to cut down on the overhead that comes from maintaining an offline distribution network, passing on the savings to customers instead. That resulted in phones with top-notch specs that undercut “true” flagships by a significant margin, making OnePlus a favorite with the enthusiast segment.

The OnePlus One launched in India for ₹21,999 back in 2014, and the OnePlus 5 is now retailing for ₹32,999 for the 6GB version. To be fair, the price has been increasing with every generation: the OnePlus 2 debuted at ₹24,999, the OnePlus 3 started at ₹27,999, and the OnePlus 3T for ₹29,999.

As the company matured over the last three years, it has started targeting a wider set of consumers. OnePlus now counts Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador in India, and the company is also taking out ads and billboards around the country to aggressively promote its latest flagship. All of that factors into the overall cost of the phone.

However, OnePlus isn’t the only company offering enticing specs in this segment. Huawei is aggressively targeting the Indian market and has launched the Honor 8 Pro in the country, and LG is offering a series of discounts on the LG G6 to make it more competitive. Read on to find out if the OnePlus 5 is still the best phone in this category.

About this review

I (Harish Jonnalagadda) am writing this review after using the OnePlus 5 for two weeks in Hyderabad, India on Airtel’s 4G network. I’m testing the variant with 6GB of RAM and 64GB storage, and over the course of the review period, the phone picked up two updates, bringing several bug fixes and camera tweaks, and is currently running OxygenOS 4.5.3 on the May 1, 2017 security patch. The phone was provided to Android Central for review by OnePlus India.

Specs

OnePlus 5 Hardware

The first thing you’ll notice about the OnePlus 5 is its resemblance to the iPhone 7 Plus. There are only so many ways of putting antenna lines on a metallic phone, and at some point there are bound to be similarities. For what it’s worth, the OnePlus 5 is modeled after the OPPO R11, its sister company.

OnePlus, OPPO, and Vivo are owned by BBK Electronics, and while OnePlus occupies a lot of the mindshare in Western markets (and increasingly India), it is dwarfed in size by OPPO and Vivo, the world’s third and fourth-largest smartphone vendors respectively.

What that boils down to is that OnePlus doesn’t have the kind of access to components that OPPO and Vivo do. So when the company was conceptualizing the OnePlus 5, it decided to adopt the same camera setup that OPPO used in the R11 — a 16MP primary shooter flanked by a secondary 20MP telephoto lens.

The placement of the dual cameras is bound to limit the design choices, which is why the OnePlus 5 looks identical to the OPPO R11 from the back — with the antenna lines placed at the top and bottom of the phone. When it comes to the front, the device is a splitting image of the OnePlus 3T — put both devices next to one another, and you won’t be able to tell the difference. The OnePlus 5 has rounded edges, but the difference is subtle when you compare it to the OnePlus 3T.

What is different is the in-hand feel — the OnePlus 5 is much nicer to hold and use, and that’s down to the way the back curves seamlessly along the sides to meet the metal frame. The 2.5D curved glass at the front similarly flows outward to the edges. The anodized aluminum design certainly gives the phone a premium look, but at the same time it makes it slippery. You should pick up a case if you’re looking to buy the device.

Like the OnePlus 3T, the fingerprint sensor on the OnePlus 5 is quick to authenticate. The sensor is flanked by backlit capacitive buttons, and you can change the orientation of the home and overflow buttons based on your preferences. The power button is on the right and the volume rocker on the left, and both offer decent tactile feedback. The USC-C charging port is located at the bottom, and is flanked by the single speaker on the left and the 3.5mm jack on the right. There’s no microSD slot, but you can fit two SIM cards in the phone.

Overall build quality is great, but the paint on the camera sensor at the back is starting to chip away after just ten days of use. The sensor juts slightly outward and comes into contact with surfaces when laid flat on a table, but that doesn’t excuse the shoddy paint job.

The Alert Slider sits just above the volume rocker, and it gives you an easy way to mute notifications and put the phone on Do Not Disturb mode. While a hardware toggle certainly has its use cases, you lose out on the ability to set rules to automatically enable Do Not Disturb at night. So if you don’t manually toggle the Alert Slider to DND mode before going to bed, you will receive notifications throughout the night. It’s an annoying trait, and one that should’ve been fixed ages ago.

OnePlus hasn’t made any advancements when it comes to the display on the OnePlus 5.

Talking about issues that should’ve been fixed, the display on the OnePlus 5 doesn’t have the touch latency issues that plagued its predecessors. The panel itself is the same — a 5.5-inch Full HD Optic AMOLED display — but this time around, OnePlus added support for DCI-P3, which results in a wider color gamut than sRGB.

That said, the display on the OnePlus 5 isn’t markedly better than that on the OnePlus 3T. That’s because OnePlus retained the same Samsung-made panel from last year. You still get decent colors and viewing angles, but with the phone costing north of ₹30,000, you expect more in terms of upgrades over its predecessor. The difference is more noticeable when you consider that other phones in this segment, the Honor 8 Pro and the LG G6, both pack QHD panels.

The OnePlus 5 does offer a factory-installed screen protector, but it isn’t great — you’ll need to pick up an aftermarket screen guard. That screen guard is going to come in handy as the panel itself doesn’t hold up well to tumbles. I managed to shatter the screen on both the OnePlus 3 and 3T, with the latter resulting from a tumble of just two feet.

For context, the Pixel XL tumbled out of my hand onto the pavement and skidded across the surface of the road earlier this year, and came away with a single scratch. In both instances, the phones landed on the top right corner, which took the brunt of the impact, but it was just the OnePlus 3T that shattered. Considering a broken screen costs ₹8,500 to fix, you’re better off investing in a case and a screen guard. You’ll need it.

OnePlus 5 Software

In two weeks with the phone, it hasn’t slowed down at all. That’s amazing.

OxygenOS 4.5 on the OnePlus 5 is a continuation of what we’ve seen last year — an unencumbered software experience layered with a few useful additions. The OnePlus 5 comes with Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box, and the launcher itself is reminiscent of the Pixel: you’ll need to use a swipe up gesture to reveal the app drawer.

The Shelf once again takes up the leftmost home screen, giving you quick access to your frequent contacts and apps along with the ability to jot down a note. A new addition is Reading Mode, which automatically tunes the display’s color calibration to make it more conducive for reading. You can manually turn on the mode, or allow it to automatically launch whenever you launch a specific app.

There are numerous other tweaks — you get several gestures to choose from, including double tap to wake, music controls, shortcuts to launch an app, and more. OnePlus nailed the implementation of OxygenOS, providing enough features to make the skin stand out while at the same time not cramming features just for the sake of differentiation.

The result is that the OnePlus 5 absolutely flies. The Snapdragon 835 handles everyday tasks without breaking a sweat, and the 6GB of RAM is more than adequate for multitasking. In over two weeks, I haven’t seen the phone slow down once. The only other phone that offered a similar experience was the Pixel.

Battery life

The 3300mAh battery is slightly lower than that of the OnePlus 3T, but the node switch to 10nm with the Snapdragon 835 effectively evens things out. The phone manages to last a day with medium usage, which includes a few hours of browsing coupled with calls, texts, and social media. The OnePlus 5 averaged three hours of screen-on time, with overall usage spread over 18 hours.

When you need to top up, Dash Charge comes to the rescue. The fast charging standard works over 5V/4A, and manages to charge the phone by 50% in just 30 minutes. You’ll need to use the bundled wall charger and cable for Dash Charge to work.

OnePlus 5 Camera

The feature that OnePlus has highlighted the most with the OnePlus 5 is the camera. The phone’s tagline is, “Dual Camera. Clearer Photos.”, a slogan that’s inscribed twice on the retail box. Unlike Huawei — which uses a monochrome sensor paired with an RGB sensor — OnePlus went with the Apple approach for its dual camera setup: the primary 16MP shooter has an f/1.7 lens and electronic image stabilization (EIS), and the secondary 20MP f/2.6 sensor is used as a telephoto lens. The phone doesn’t quite manage to offer 2x optical zoom, however. The sensor goes up to 1.6x, and the other 0.4x is handled through software. The end result is 2x “lossless” zoom.

The OnePlus 5 has a DxOMark score of 87, putting it on par with the likes of the Huawei P10, Moto Z, and the Sony Xperia XZ; and just two points below the Pixel. While the camera is certainly capable of producing great photos, it isn’t always a guarantee that you’ll end up with one, unlike the Galaxy S8 or the Pixel.

With hardware becoming largely commoditized, camera prowess is one of the key differentiators in this segment. And in that context, the OnePlus 5 has a long way to go. The company rolled out a couple of updates with camera tweaks, but as it stands, the OnePlus 5 isn’t quite there yet, especially when it comes to low-light imagery. Photos taken in daylight come out full of detail, but the primary camera struggles in artificial and low-light conditions, introducing a lot of noise.

OnePlus 5 Bottom line

The OnePlus 5 continues to build on the manufacturer’s success. You get top-notch hardware and a software experience that’s unmatched in this segment, and Dash Charge will alter the way you charge your phone. The dual camera is promising, but we’ll need to wait and see if updates make a difference down the line. The phone would’ve been much more compelling had it offered a QHD panel.

The OnePlus 5 costs ₹32,999 in India for the version with 6GB of RAM and 64GB storage, and the model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage is available for ₹37,999. If you already have the OnePlus 3 or 3T, then it doesn’t make much sense to pick up the OnePlus 5. But if you’re looking to pick up a capable phone for under ₹35,000, it is an enticing option.

Should you buy it? Conditions apply

OnePlus had a free reign in this category last year, but that isn’t the case anymore. The Moto Z2 Play is available for ₹27,990, featuring a svelte 5.99mm chassis and a similarly clean version of Android that’s devoid of customizations. However, when it comes to everyday performance, the OnePlus 5 absolutely smokes it.

The LG G6 is a much better contender. The phone retailed for ₹51,999 in the country, but it’s available on Amazon for as low as ₹39,000. With Samsung effectively sewing up the premium segment with the Galaxy S8, LG is making a stronger case for the G6 by making it available for under ₹40,000.

The OnePlus 5 is great, but the LG G6 offers much more for the same price.

And it’s working. For just ₹6,000 more than the base variant of the OnePlus 5, you get a device with a higher-resolution screen with minimal bezels, a much better camera, Quad DAC, and water resistance. The G6 has passed 14 MIL-STD 810G tests, making it resistant to temperature extremes as well as salt, sand, dust, and water immersion. Unlike the OnePlus 5, you don’t need to worry about the way you handle the LG G6 — the phone is built to take a lot of abuse.

Then there’s the Honor 8 Pro. The phone will be available from July 13, offering a 5.7-inch Quad HD panel, Kirin 960 chipset, 6GB of RAM, 128GB storage, dual 12MP cameras, and a larger 4000mAh battery — all for just ₹29,999. The phone has its share of problems, mostly centered around the software — EMUI 5.1 is still heavily customized — but it is a viable alternative to the OnePlus 5.

If you value pure Android and consistently fast performance, then you’ll be satisfied with what the OnePlus 5 has to offer. You’re not getting the same value proposition as before, but the phone is still one of the best in this segment.

See at Amazon

‘PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds’ official launch pushed back

Just a couple of days after guaranteeing that his popular online shooter would be officially released within six months of its Early Access preview, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds creator Brendan Greene is backing off of that promise.

Brendan Greene (to RockPaperShotgun):

People tell us we’re not going to be out of early access in six months; challenge accepted. I can guarantee you, six or seven months and we’re out of early access. It’s the team. It’s a matter of honour, you know? We will finish this game in six months.

In an update posted to Steam tonight, Greene explained that “I’ve come to realize that restricting the window to a specific month could hinder us from delivering a fully featured game and/or lead to disappointment within the community if the launch deadline is not met.” As a result, he now says that “we are going push the full launch back a bit from the initial six-month timeframe, but want to assure you that we are still planning a full release before the end of Q4 2017.”

So whether you enjoy playing the game or simply watching it on streaming, you can set your expectations for a full launch appropriately. Many gamers have been frustrated by long beta periods for similar games like H1Z1 and DayZ, but the developer is clearly trying to break the cycle with this one, which includes a console launch on Xbox One.

When I spoke to producer Chang Han Kim at E3, he mentioned three categories that the team would focus on prior to launch: Stability, extra content like new actions, zombies and maps, and giving creators access to more tools. So far, the game’s strategy of appealing to streamers and their audiences has been a good one, now it’s just a matter of continuing to add polish before release.

Source: PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (Steam), PUBG

Jay-Z’s 4:44 album is no longer a Tidal exclusive

Just a week after Jay-Z released 4:44 as an exclusive tied to Sprint and his music service Tidal, it’s now available more widely. iTunes / Apple Music, Google Play Music and Amazon Music are all offering the album for listening now, with some including The Story of O.J. animated video. It has not appeared for listening on Spotify yet, but since most of his catalog is still missing from the service it’s not entirely surprising. The album has already been certified platinum by the RIAA, but for many, this their first opportunity to have a legit listen.

Source: Google Play Music, Apple Music, Amazon Music

Israel reportedly has US-made drones capable of launching grenades

Aerodynamics and physics dictate that you can’t quite strap an assault rifle onto a DJI Phantom and expect it to fly and hit a target. Florida company Duke Robotics has apparently devised a way to keep a drone steady while compensating for a gun’s recoil. “Though a system of flexibly connected pates, the TIKAD distributes the backward momentum in a way that keeps the vehicle stationary in the air,” Defense One writes. “A ten-pound robot gimbal allows six degrees of movement freedom and the ability to rapidly re-target the weapon and camera.”

Supposedly the system can keep a UAV steady whether it has a grenade launcher for a payload, or a pistol — so long as the weapon is under 22 pounds. The Israeli military reportedly has already bought a number of the TIKADs. Duke describes it as such: “The TIKAD allows us to utilize completely new capabilities against terrorist groups and reduce the number of deployed ground troops, and therefore, the number of casualties.” The remote drones would keep soldiers off the front lines and thus, safer, and you can bet that police departments will be interested in these UAVs as well. Almost a year ago to the day, law enforcement officials in Dallas used an armed bomb-drone to kill a gunman following hours of attempted negotiations.

North Dakota recently passed a bill that allows for weaponized drones so long as they aren’t “lethal,” for instance. Then there’s The Skunk by Desert Wolf that can fire 4,000 paintballs from a quartet of barrels mounted underneath, at a rate of 80 rounds-per-second. Now we have the ability to fire live ammunition from our unmanned aircraft. Yup, this is the future we live in.

Source: Defense One, Duke Robotics

VP Mike Pence visits NASA

In a speech during his visit, the vice president said: “And with the National Space Council, we will grab that destiny with both hands and go to work with each and every one of you.”

Source: NASA, White House

Judge sides with Twitter in lawsuit against the US government

The lawsuit Twitter filed against the US government over the right to fully disclose national security requests hasn’t been resolved yet, but at least it isn’t dead. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has allowed the case to go forward after the court deliberated the Department of Justice’s motion for summary judgment. The social network filed the lawsuit in late 2014, arguing that it should be allowed to post the exact number of national security letters and FISA court orders it gets in its transparency reports. As it stands, tech companies can only state the number of letters and orders they receive in big number ranges. That’s why you’ll see figures like 0 to 499, 500 to 999 and so on and so forth in their transparency reports.

Twitter says the inability to write the precise number of government requests violates its First Amendment rights. On the other hand, the DOJ and the FBI argue that allowing companies to reveal them would harm national security. Well, Judge Rogers didn’t see things the same way the government does, writing in the court order that “the Government has not presented evidence, beyond a generalized explanation, to demonstrate that disclosure of the information in the Draft Transparency Report would present such a grave and serious threat of damage to national security as to meet the applicable strict scrutiny standard.”

She has also granted Twitter’s request to expedite its lead counsel’s security clearance process, so that he can review classified materials relevant to the case. While that’s definitely a win for Twitter and other tech companies who want to disclose the government requests they get to the public, as well, the social network’s legal battle is far from over. The case’s next hearing is already scheduled to take place in Oakland on August 14th this year.

Source: US District Court of California

Facebook, Twitter and Snap all want rights to World Cup highlights

Three of the biggest social networks are trying to make a major move ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which is set to take place in Russia. According to Bloomberg, Facebook, Twitter and Snap Inc. (Snapchat’s owner) are looking to acquire rights for highlights from the tournament, offering “tens of millions” of dollars to Fox, the content owner in the US for the next three World Cups. Fox reportedly hasn’t decided whether any potential deal could be exclusive, but the company does relish the idea of Facebook, Twitter and Snap being able to reach audiences beyond the football (aka soccer) junkies.

With the FIFA World Cup being the most-watched sporting event in the globe, it’s no surprise that these tech giants want a piece of the pie. In 2014, for instance, more than 3 billion people watched the tournament that took place in Brazil, so having rights to even just game highlights would be huge for Facebook, Twitter or Snap. Fox, meanwhile, would bring in extra revenue by selling these rights, be it to a single buyer or all of them.

Not surprisingly, Facebook, Twitter and Snap aren’t commenting on the matter right now. But we’ll know soon enough who, if anybody, ends up sealing a deal with Fox to own a small part of FIFA’s beloved competition.

Samsung expects its record-breaking profits in 2017 will continue

After stumbling in 2016 Samsung appears to be back on track in 2017, as it just announced projected earnings for the second quarter that would show its highest operating profit ever. The company won’t provide a detailed breakdown for a few more weeks, but it’s estimating an operating profit of 14 trillion Korean won ($12.11 billion US). Analysts cited by Bloomberg and Reuters believe the figures got a boost from the well-received Galaxy S8, as well as the RAM, processors and display components Samsung makes.

This means the company is likely to continue the record-breaking streak from Q1, and that’s before it launches the Galaxy Note 8 later this year. Plus, it could be in line to build OLED screens for a new iPhone, which could be a lucrative endeavor. If things keep going like this, we may have to pull an old image out of the archives.

Source: Samsung