HP Spectre X2 (2017) review: A more refined Surface clone

The HP Spectre X2 is, in many ways, the ideal way to counteract Microsoft’s Surface lineup. It retains the slick, high-end style that we loved from the original model, while improving things a bit to make it much more user friendly. Its unique design is a way for HP to show it can make premium devices on par with the likes of Apple. But while it’s a better Surface Pro competitor than before, there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

Hardware

Like HP’s recent Spectre laptop, the X2 is almost in love with its bold style. Its black-and-copper, all-aluminum aesthetic evokes something like a high-end wristwatch more than it does a PC. It’s a wonder to behold, and it feels pretty great too, thanks to that smooth metallic case. The X2 is just as sturdy as the last model, with no sign of flexing in its body. You can feel the confidence of HP’s designers at every angle.

The X2’s copper kickstand accents the tablet portion of the PC — its bright, mirrored finish is particularly striking against the jet-black case. Thankfully, HP dumped the annoying kickstand quick-release button from the last model, which was endlessly frustrating. Now you can just pull out the kickstand from either side, similar to the way the Surface works. That lets you control it much more easily than before. The kickstand can also go all the way down to 165 degrees now, as with the Surface Pro — a full 15 degrees more than the last model.

HP wisely chose to include the X2’s keyboard cover and stylus inside the box, which gives it a leg up over Microsoft. (Surface Pro shoppers will have to purchase both accessories separately this year, tacking on at least another $230.) The X2’s keyboard shares the same black-and-copper aesthetic as the tablet, and it sports an extra-wide touchpad. While it’s pretty slim, it also features a layer of aluminum, which makes it more rigid than the Surface and other hybrid laptops. HP significantly improved the magnetic connection between the keyboard and stylus too — we had no problem holding up the entire system by the keyboard alone.

The X2’s stylus offers 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, and there’s a convenient holster for it right alongside the keyboard. That’s not as slick as the Surface’s ability to magnetically pin its stylus next to the screen, but it’s far more secure, so you won’t end up losing the X2’s pen in your bag.

On its own, the X2’s tablet weighs in at 1.68 pounds. With the keyboard, the whole package jumps to 2.5 pounds, just a tad more than a fully equipped Surface Pro. While the slate portion is a bit heavy compared with the iPad, it’s fine for browsing the web or reading the occasional digital comic. Altogether, it’s portable enough that you might not even notice it in a backpack or messenger bag, which is what I want from every ultraportable.

Among other small changes, HP moved the X2’s speakers from the sides to the front. They sound decent for a laptop, but they certainly won’t replace a decent pair of external ones or headphones. There’s a 13-megapixel camera on the rear of the tablet, along with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with Windows Hello infrared capabilities (for logging in with your face).

As for ports, the X2 features two USB 3.1 Type-C connections (which can handle both external displays and charging), a microSD slot and a headphone jack. HP also includes a USB-C-to-USB-A dongle in the box, for connecting your older gear. While it might be annoying to carry that around, it’s nice to see HP make the transition to USB-C, especially when Microsoft is still refusing to adopt it on the Surface lineup.

Display

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

The Spectre X2’s screen is also a significant leap over that of its 1080p predecessor. The 12.3-inch display packs in a 3,000 x 2,000–pixel resolution, amounting to 293 pixels per inch. Basically, that means you won’t notice any fuzziness around text and images, even if you really try. The Surface Pro, in comparison, sports a 2,736 x 1,824 resolution. You likely won’t notice the difference between them, but they’d both count as “Retina” displays, in Apple’s parlance.

Quality-wise, the X2’s display looks good when viewing photos, text and movies. Personally, I still prefer the way colors pop on the Surface Pro’s Pixelsense screen, but most consumers will be satisfied with what HP is offering. The X2’s display is also bright enough to use in direct sunlight, although you’ll have to deal with plenty of reflections, thanks to its glass screen.

HP shaved off a bit of the bezel around the screen, which allowed it to fit in a slightly bigger display. Another useful change: It now features a 3:2 aspect ratio, which makes it a bit taller than the previous model’s widescreen. That makes the X2 better suited for viewing webpages and working on documents, but in exchange you’ll have to live with black bars when watching movies.

Keyboard and pen

The best thing about the Spectre X2 is its keyboard. It’s simply great to type on. There’s a surprising amount of travel for such a slim machine, and it offers a satisfying amount of responsiveness (unlike the mushy keys on the ASUS Zenbook 3). We also praised it in the last model, so there wasn’t much for HP to change. Still, it’s nice to see thin hybrid laptops packing in keyboards that are better than the ones on some full-size notebooks.

Thanks to its sturdy design, the X2 also felt great to use in my lap. It’ll take you a while to find a comfortable kickstand position, but it’s possible. I had no trouble typing out most of this review with the computer balanced on my lap — even on an uncomfortable park bench.

Unfortunately, the X2’s touchpad is a lot more finicky. While it’s usually smooth, it sometimes requires multiple clicks and swipes to get it to do what you want. And if your fingers have a little bit of sweat or grease on them, it gets even worse. This is something we complained about with the last model, and it’s unfortunate that HP hasn’t made much progress here.

As for the X2’s stylus, it’s … fine. It’s not nearly as full-featured as Microsoft’s Surface Pen, and it doesn’t mimic the feeling of putting pen to paper as well. But it was adequate for some quick note taking and doodling. If you’re a serious artist, you’ll definitely want to invest in something better.

Performance and battery life

Thanks to Intel’s seventh-generation Core processors, the Spectre X2 feels just as speedy as any other modern ultraportable. It’s no longer stuck with the weak, low-powered chips from a few years ago. The X2 had no trouble keeping up with my workflow, which involves having dozens of browser tabs open, along with Photoshop, Slack, Spotify and a plethora of other apps. Naturally, it’s not much of a gaming machine, but it’ll run things like Minecraft just fine.

Unfortunately, HP didn’t make any significant leaps when it comes to battery life. The X2 lasted for 7 hours and 45 minutes in our testing, just an hour longer than last year’s model. That’s an improvement, but it can’t hold a candle to the Surface Pro, which clocked in at 13 hours and 40 minutes. These days, it’s just a bit hard to stomach an ultraportable that can’t even reach 10 hours of battery life.

Battery life

HP Spectre X2 (2017)
7:45
HP Spectre X2 (2016)
6:45
Surface Pro (2017)
13:40
Surface Laptop
14:49
LG Gram (15.6-inch, 2017)
10:42
Lenovo Yoga 910
16:13
Apple MacBook Pro 2016 (13-inch, no Touch Bar)
11:42
HP Spectre x360 (13-inch, 2015)
11:34
Apple MacBook Pro 2016 (15-inch)
11:00
Apple MacBook Pro 2016 (13-inch, Touch Bar)
9:55
ASUS ZenBook 3
9:45
Apple MacBook (2016)
8:45
Dell XPS 2-in-1
8:34
Microsoft Surface Pro 4
7:15
HP Spectre 13
7:07
Dell XPS 15 (2016)
5:25 (7:40 with the mobile charger)

Configuration options and the competition

The Spectre X2 starts at $1,150 with a seventh-generation Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. And don’t forget, that includes a keyboard and stylus. You can also spec out the X2 all the way up to a Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and 1TB SSD for $1,970. The Surface Pro, meanwhile, starts at $799 for an underpowered model, and those accessories will cost you even more. If you want a Surface Pro on par with the X2, you’d have to shell out for the $1,299 model. HP isn’t trying as hard to undercut Microsoft’s pricing this year, but it’s still offering a decent value.

If you’re looking for a hybrid laptop, you’ve got more options than just HP and Microsoft. There’s the Thinkpad X1 Tablet, which offers more of a business spin, as well as notebooks with flippable screens, like Dell’s XPS 13 2-in-1. Really, though, if you’re chasing the dream of having a tablet that works as a tablet, the Surface Pro is currently your best bet, despite the higher cost. And if you don’t mind having less battery life, you’ll likely be able to find some good deals on the Surface Pro 4 as well.

Wrap-up

Overall, the new Spectre X2 brings along some much-needed improvements, but a few issues hold it back from being a must-have. HP seriously has to do something about its battery life, especially now that Microsoft offers twice as much with the Surface Pro. And the touchpad problems, which we’ve criticized with the last model, are simply inexcusable. HP has proven it can build showstopping, stylish machines. Now it needs to make sure they’re as easy to use as the competition.

Microsoft 365 is yet another stab at attracting IT love

Microsoft has a new pitch for businesses: Microsoft 365. It’s a single offering that combines Windows 10, Office 365 and the company’s Enterprise Mobility + Security package into something IT departments can easily subscribe to and deploy. Announced today at the company’s Inspire partner conference, Microsoft 365 is basically just a catchier name for its “Secure Productive Enterprise,” but there’s more of an emphasis on companies of all sizes. It’ll be available in two variants: Microsoft 365 Enterprise, which covers larger organizations, and Business, which is meant for small to mid-sized firms.

At its most basic level, Microsoft 365 serves to unify everything the software giant is offering to businesses. In particular, the company says it’s a response to customers who want a “comprehensive approach to secure productivity,” instead of looking at things like managing devices, security and Office apps as separate problems. At this point, it’s a small gesture by Microsoft, but it could help to convince stubborn IT departments that it’s worth going all-in with the company’s services.

Microsoft 365 Business will be available for preview on August 2nd. Unfortunately, there aren’t any details about the Enterprise version’s availability yet.

Amazon slashes the price of its smart speaker in half

Prime Day, the Amazon-invented holiday that celebrates the holy tradition of buying things from Amazon, is back again for a third year. As usual, the event will showcase a number of deals that will run through the day, and the company is offering its usual massive discounts for its own branded hardware. Topping the bill is the Echo smart speaker which, for the 30-hour event, is selling for $90, half its usual price.

If you want to dip your toe into the world of a smart speaker without spending that much, the Echo Dot is also available for just $35. Reading fans, meanwhile, can pick up the Kindle Paperwhite for $90, or snag a Fire 7 for $30 — and purchase any of the above devices, and you’re entitled to buy four months of Amazon Music Unlimited for $1. You can begin throwing your money at the high altar of Bezos from 6PM PT tonight, and can continue to do so all the way through to tomorrow.

Source: Amazon

Which countries support Google Home?

Google Home is slowly rolling out internationally. Is your country next?

Google Home has been helping out Americans with scheduling, playing music, and bringing their connected home together since November of 2016. While this accessory started out in the States, it’s been slowly rolling out across the world. The United Kingdom and Canada are the two newest additions, but there are definitely more to come.

We’ve got the details for you here!

• Countries where Google Home is currently available
• Countries Google Home is expanding to in Summer of 2017

Countries where Google Home is currently available

Google Home released back in November of 2016 as Google’s approach to a connected home. It was initially only available in the United States, before rolling out to the United Kingdom in April 2017, and then adding Canada in June. Here are the countries in which it is officially sold:

• United States
• United Kingdom
• Canada

Countries Google Home is expanding to in Summer of 2017

While Google Home isn’t available worldwide quite yet, it has begun rolling out to more countries. This summer we ought to see it hit four more countries, before the weather cools back down in Autumn. This means if you’re living in Australia, France, Germany, or Japan, you are in luck. We don’t have a specific release date for all of them, so keep your eyes peeled for when this awesome accessory becomes available near you!

• France (August 3)
• Australia
• Germany
• Japan

Questions?

Do you still have questions about whether Google Home will work in your country? Are you bummed your region doesn’t have a release date yet? Let us know about it in the comments below!

See at Google

Google Home

• Google Home review
• These services work with Google Home
• Google Home vs. Amazon Echo
• Join our Google Home forums!

Google Store Best Buy Target

Grab the NVIDIA Shield TV for £169 in the UK

Get a £20 discount on the Shield TV for one day only.

As part of Amazon’s Prime Day sale, the retailer is offering a £20 discount on the NVIDIA Shield TV, bringing it down to £169. That’s for the model with 16GB of internal storage. If you’re looking for the Pro variant with a 500GB hard drive, you’ll have to shell out £279.

The Shield TV is the perfect set top box if you’re interested in the Android TV ecosystem. You get 4K HDR streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video and Netflix, and access to NVIDIA’s growing catalog of Shield-exclusive games. The package also includes a game controller and a remote controller that lets you control the user interface with your voice.

Interested? Head down to Amazon to get your hands on the Shield Android TV.

See at Amazon

Common Galaxy S8 problems and how to fix them

If you’re having trouble with your phone, we’re here to help.

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are great phones, but no device is perfect and there’s a chance you may be having some issues with yours over time. Lower than expected battery life, performance issues, running out of storage, problems with radios and more can all affect the Galaxy S8 just as they do any other phone, but all of these issues have potential fixes.

While it’s difficult to diagnose every problem you could be having with your Galaxy S8 or S8+, we’ve grouped together some of the most common issues and have some tips to help you fix them.

Bad battery life

No matter how good battery life is on a phone, people will always want more. Here are a handful of tips for making the most of the 3000 or 3500mAh battery you have to work with.

• Use Power saving mode. Turning it on from the notification shade quick settings or the Device maintenance settings, the “mid” Power saving mode will reduce your screen resolution, lower brightness and stop apps from waking up in the background. You shouldn’t use this mode all the time, but if you’re low on charge it can be a life saver.
• You can find battery-intensive apps by going to Device maintenance and tapping on Battery usage to see what’s taken up the most power over the course of the day. If something’s out of the ordinary, keep an eye on it and see if it continues to cause problems.
• Uninstall unused apps, as they may be waking up in the background and using battery without your knowledge. If you haven’t used an app in a while, there’s no need to keep it around when it could be using up your battery.
• It may look really cool, but you can save lots of battery by turning off Always On Display. Go to Settings, Lock screen and security and tap the toggle next to Always On Display. A compromise can be to limit the hours it runs (via these settings), rather than having it on the whole day.

More: How to fix Galaxy S8 battery life problems

Running out of storage

Samsung made a great move in putting 64GB of internal storage in the Galaxy S8 and S8+, meaning you have even more runway for using the phone without worrying about storage. Still, some people are going to hit that limit sooner or later. Here are some tips for cleaning up your internal storage:

• Offload photos to a cloud management service like Google Photos. The service offers unlimited backup of slightly compressed high-quality uploads, plus 15GB of free full-quality backups. After the photos are uploaded, you can save space by removing them from your phone.
• Use the Galaxy S8’s built-in Device maintenance feature, found in the settings. Tap on Storage and see what it can offer to clean out — just be aware that it may clear some cached images and temporary files that will just have to be downloaded again when you use some apps.
• Delete unused apps! You may have gone on a download spree when you first bought your phone, only to end up using 20 of the 200 apps you installed. Scroll through your apps and find a few that you don’t use — long press the app icon and tap Uninstall to remove it from your phone. You can always download it again later.
• Get an SD card, and start to store non-critical data like music, movies, photos and videos on the card. You can move some apps, but the best way to save on storage space is to move big media files first.

Problems unlocking the phone

One of the most contested changes about the Galaxy S8 and S8+ was moving the fingerprint sensor to the back of the phone next to the camera, and the cascading effect it created in making the phones difficult to reliably unlock. Here are a few tips for keeping your Galaxy S8 secure while also letting you quickly access it.

• Re-train the fingerprint model. Chances are you hastily set up your Galaxy S8 at first, and maybe didn’t spend enough time setting your finger on the sensor to get a proper read. Go into the fingerprint sensor settings and tap Edit to remove them, then tap Add fingerprint to start over.
• Put a case on your phone. As weird as it sounds, putting a case on your Galaxy S8 gives definition and physical separation to the fingerprint sensor, making it easier to locate and more accurately place your finger on the sensor.
• Turn on Iris scanning in the Lock screen and security settings. After registering your irises, be sure to turn on the “Iris unlock when screen turns on” setting to make sure the phone starts looking for your irises as soon as your screen is active. This can dramatically speed up the unlocking process.
• Use Smart Lock, also found in the Lock screen and security settings. Smart Lock can keep your phone unlocked through a variety of methods, including when it detects you’re at a trusted place or connected to a certain Bluetooth device (like a smartwatch). With these methods, so long as you unlock your phone every four hours it can stay unlocked via these methods.

More: Smart Lock on the S8: Everything you need to know

Home screen launcher isn’t right for you

Samsung’s launcher has really improved in the past few generations, but still may not be right for you. But fear not — you can change it, and there are many great launchers out there that are simpler, more feature packed, or just offer some customization options you can’t get in the default launcher.

We have a list of the best Android launchers, but there are dozens out there that fill all sorts of needs. Start with our list, then head to the Play Store to search for “launcher” and find one you like. You can always switch launchers or go back to Samsung’s at any time.

Read: The best Android launchers

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS problems

Dealing with wireless problems can be extremely frustrating, whether you’re talking about Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or GPS. There are so many variables involved that it can be tough to tell whether the issue is on the phone’s end or somewhere else. The basics of troubleshooting these issues are as follows:

Make sure you turn off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, wait a few seconds and turn it back on. If that doesn’t fix the problem, head to the next step.
Restart your phone. Sometimes all that’s needed a quick kick to the reset button and you’re good to go.
If Wi-Fi problems persist, try forgetting the network by long pressing on the network name and tapping Forget network. Then tap the network again to re-enter the password and re-connect.
If Bluetooth problems persist, try unpairing the device from your phone and re-pairing. To do that, tap on the cog icon next to the product’s name and hit Unpair. Put the device you’re connecting to in pairing mode and connect again.
If you’re worried you may have tweaked settings inadvertently and want to start over, go to General management, Reset and then tap Reset network settings.

If the problems persist at this point, chances are they are related to something else in the chain, like the wireless router or Bluetooth accessory you’re trying to use. Follow troubleshooting steps for those devices and start fresh.

Note: There appears to be a Bluetooth problem with some Galaxy S8 units that causes intermittent dropouts and skips on certain Bluetooth devices, particularly wireless headphones and car units. Samsung has said that it is looking into the issue but there is no known fix or scheduled software update at this time.

Wrong screen temperature/color

Initial reports of Galaxy S8s having very warm or red-tinted displays were wildly overblown, but that doesn’t mean you have to stick with the display exactly as it came out of the box. To tweak how the display looks so it’s closer to what you want, follow these steps:

Open the Settings.
Tap on Display.
Tap on Screen mode.
First, consider the four presets — adaptive, AMOLED cinema, AMOLED photo or basic — to see if one pleases your eyes.
If none of the presets work for you, tap on Color balance to adjust the screen manually.

• Move the red, green and blue sliders until you see the right coloration of your display, and tap the back button to return.
• You can also tap Restore in the top-right corner to go back to the defaults.

How to factory reset the Galaxy S8

Sometimes after lots of troubleshooting and work, you just can’t find out what’s causing your phone problems. When all else fails, it may be a good idea to just factory reset your phone and start fresh. Back up your important data, and perform these quick steps to reset your phone to the way it came out of the box:

Open the Settings.
Scroll down and tap General management.
Tap on Reset.
Tap on Factory data reset.

• You’ll also notice there are a few other options for just resetting settings or networking settings, which could be worth trying first.

Scroll down and tap the Reset button, then wait for the process to complete.

Other issues

What are your main issues with the Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+? We’ll keep this article updated as new information becomes available!

Update July 2017: Article refreshed with the latest information to keep your Galaxy S8 or S8+ in tip-top shape.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

• Galaxy S8 and S8+ review!
• Galaxy S8 and S8+ specs
• Everything you need to know about the Galaxy S8’s cameras
• Get to know Samsung Bixby
• Join our Galaxy S8 forums

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An excess of ‘failed’ stars is a bad sign for alien life

We know for a fact that life can exist on planets that orbit yellow dwarf stars like our sun and are optimistic about the chances for smaller red dwarf systems like Trappist-1. When it comes to their awkward brown dwarf cousins, however, astronomers don’t think life is possible — they’re too small and cool to support it. So it’s a bit of a bummer that astronomers have discovered as many as 100 billion brown dwarfs in our galaxy, out of a maximum 400 billion stars in total.

Brown dwarfs are too hot and big to be planets, but don’t quite qualify as stars as they lack the mass to fuse hydrogen to helium in a “main sequence” reaction. It’s thought that they glow and emit infrared light, plus a very small amount of visible light, thanks to less energetic fusion of deuterium (2H) or lithium, provided their mass is above a certain threshold. Because they can’t sustain a stable fusion reaction, they’re often called “failed” stars.

Despite the reduced of opportunity for life, the discovery is still exciting. Astronomers always thought that brown dwarf stars were out there, but never actually imaged one until 1994 thanks to improved infrared telescope imaging. In 2013, a NASA team used the infrared cameras on the Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes, and found that there are up to 70 billion of them in the Milky Way galaxy.

Astronomers from the University of Hull thought that figure seemed high, so they scanned a young, massive cluster 5,000 light years away using Europe’s ground-based Very Large Telescope (VLT). Surprisingly, they found that the density of brown dwarfs could be even higher, with up to 100 billion of them in the Milky Way. That’s a lot, because researchers think our galaxy only holds up to 100 billion to 400 billion stars of all types, total.

The study has yet to be peer-approved and makes a few assumptions, but other researchers that checked the data think it’s plausible. For one thing, small celestial objects are much more common in the universe than large ones — by far the most prevalent type of star in the Milky Way is the tiny Red Dwarf like the one that powers Trappist-1.

As mentioned, brown star systems are unlikely to support life, so nobody should get excited about the existence of more alien-hosting stars than thought. On the other hand, the discovery could help explain some (but not nearly all) of the missing matter in the universe, which could aid scientists working on the dark matter puzzle.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: Arxiv

The Morning After: Monday, July 10th 2017

Hey, good morning!

Say hello to the new Tesla Model 3 — just don’t expect to buy one all that soon. We also have accidental voice commands stopping robberies and China’s latest space-exploration experiment.

It’s a modest start to much larger plans.
Tesla makes its first Model 3

After months of waiting and no shortage of hype, Tesla’s first Model 3 is finally rolling off the production line. Elon Musk has revealed that the initial production unit is ready (no, not the one in the picture) pending a “final checkout.” It’s safe to say that owners would be part of a very exclusive club, at least initially, given that a mere 30 Model 3s will reach buyers by the end of July.

The feature will work for other ‘skills’ in the future.
Alexa notifies you when Amazon has shipped your package

You can add one more device to the pile of gadgets vying for your attention, now that Amazon has switched Alexa’s notifications on. The e-commerce titan first revealed on its developer site back in May that visual notifications were coming to its speakers. Now, the feature is live, though in very limited capacity. For the moment, it can only tell you about packages out for delivery.

We don’t know why they called it ‘Lunar Palace 365.’
China starts 200-day simulation of living on another planet

Four university students in Beijing have begun a 200-day isolation experiment, Lunar Palace 365, where they’ll live solely on the resources they would have on the Moon or Mars. That means generating life-giving oxygen from plants, recycling urine to produce drinking water and generally making the most of limited supplies.

An accidental voice command saves the day.
Smart home gadget ends a violent dispute by calling police

Inadvertent smart speaker commands aren’t always bad. New Mexico police report that a smart home device (incorrectly labeled at first as a Google Home) intervened in a domestic violence incident by calling 911. When Eduardo Barros asked “did you call the sheriffs?” as he threatened his girlfriend with a gun during a fight, the device interpreted it as a request to call emergency services. They overheard the altercation and called both negotiators and a SWAT team, who arrested Barros over assault, battery and firearms charges after a stand-off.

But wait, there’s more…

• Recommended Reading: Rebooting a hero in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’
• After Math: Bigger and better
• Honda bets on luxury over range with the electric Clarity
• Latest Windows 10 preview takes the headache out of high DPI

Sky is shaking up the way you pay for and watch sport

Televised sport is big business — just ask Sky and BT Sport. Between them, the two companies have spent billions in order to secure access to the world’s biggest sporting leagues and major events, resulting in a significant markup for consumers. The rising cost of Sky Sports, for example, has led many to cut the package altogether or seek more dubious alternatives like the so-called Kodi box (although it’s the add-ons, not the software facilitating illegal streams).

Sky is keenly aware of this, so today it announced a new plan to make its sports coverage more accessible. It’s expanding the number of Sky Sports channels to 10, which will cater for individual sports and allow customers to subscribe to each one on their own.

From July 18th, the normal Sky Sports bundle will include dedicated channels for the Premier League, football (EFL, La Liga, SPFL and UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifiers), cricket, golf and Formula 1 (which already exists). Two channels — Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Arena — will focus on rugby union, rugby league, boxing, netball, darts, NFL, tennis and WWE, while the Sky Sports Main Event channel will host “the biggest events in one place.” Sky Sports News and Sky Sports Mix will remain available for all Sky customers.

The 10-channel package will stay the same price at £27.50 a month (although this can rise to £49.50 per month as a complete bundle) and Sky says that will stay frozen for at least one year. For existing subscribers, the new package will update automatically and the new channels will replace the ones already listed on EPGs across the UK.

The revamp means that from next week, sports fans can decide whether they want unfettered access to various sports or fancy something a little more focused. For the first time, supporters of a Premier League team, for example, can ditch the overall package and pay £18 per month for access to the Premier League channel. The two-channel bundle costs £22, while a third increases the monthly subscription to £26.

Sky says the new line-up is “designed to grow this customer base and offers flexibility to subscribe to individual channel packages at a new price.” The company has experimented with à la carte options before via its Now TV service and is now incorporating the same thinking into its broadcast offering. In a related announcement, Sky said the updated channels will come to Now TV and that the prices of the passes will remain the same.

Given that all ten channels (in theory) cost £1.50 more than three individual choices, Sky will hope that the majority of its customers will continue to subscribe to its main package. However, it could tempt new customers who want to watch one or two individual sports or major events but are put off by the higher monthly cost.

It may also convert those who illegally stream sports coverage and don’t currently pay a penny for UK broadcasts. The upcoming Premier League season will be a bumper season for Sky, and the promise of 126 live matches for £18 a month could be a more tempting prospect than trying and failing to find a reliable internet stream.

Source: Sky

The endangered Great Barrier Reef is not in danger, says UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization had voted not to add Australia’s Great Barrier Reef to its list of sites in danger. The baffling decision was taken despite the reef’s currently perilous state, where back-to-back coral bleaching events threaten more than two thirds of its length. Even worse, is that UNESCO published a paper just last month, saying that if nothing was done, the Reef would die in a century. The cause of this spectacular act of cognitive dissonance is political, thanks to hard lobbying from Australia’s government.

The Great Barrier Reef is a wonder of the natural world, and is pegged to benefit Australia’s economy to the tune of $56 billion. If it was added to the danger list, the country would be forced to take drastic action to protect it, which could threaten its short-term profitability. Not to mention that Australia is building a $4 billion coal mine which will ship tonnes of climate change-causing material through the Reef itself. Building the mine, and cutting a shipping canal through the reed to support it, is likely to cause extraordinary harm to the local ecosystem.

As Reuters explains, UNESCO’s decision prevents “political embarrassment and potential damage to the country’s lucrative tourism industry.” It also serves as an endorsement of Australia’s current plan to maintain the Reef’s ecosystem through its own, lighter-touch methods. UNESCO did, however, say that it held some concerns about the health of the Reef, urging the country to improve water quality in the surrounding area. Although, given that climate change is the biggest factor as to its current condition, backing a coal project next door will seem like adding insult to injury.

Source: Reuters