US Cyber Command may be splitting off from the NSA

It sounds as though the United States’ Cyber Command will break off from the National Security Agency and be more aligned with the military in the future. The move would “eventually” cleave Cyber Command from the intelligence-focused NSA and instead align it more with the military, according to the Associated Press. “The goal is to give Cyber Command more autonomy, freeing it from any constraints that stem from working alongside the NSA,” AP reports. The NSA’s core task of intelligence gathering sometimes is at odds with military cyber warfare operations, hence the proposed separation. Prior to this, the two had clashed on getting intel from Islamic State networks (the NSA’s task) and attacking (Cyber Command’s).

But there are concerns that splitting off from the NSA could come at a cost. Specifically, Cyber Command’s access to the intelligence agency’s resources including some of the top mathematicians in the country and a “gigantic” super computer, according to AP’s sources.

The moves to start the separation had begun under President Obama, and now the nitty gritty of how the “divorce” (our word) will proceed is up in the air. The result of that is uncertainty over staffing, resources and leadership.

Currently both groups are led by the same person, Admiral Mike Rogers, but the shift could see new leadership for the NSA transfer to a civilian. Cyber Command may remain under military leadership under the Army’s Lieutenant General William Mayville. Mayville served as director of operations for the Joint Staff.

This comes after the Cyber Command has gained a bigger seat at the table during military operations and an increased focus on using cyber warfare in places like Russia and the Middle East.

Source: Associated Press

This iOS app makes creating and editing guitar tabs a breeze

One of the more tedious tasks of playing in a cover band is managing lyric and chord sheets. When you play a typical four-hour gig in a local bar, memorizing all that music is not always going to happen. You’ve got to study each song and learn your particular parts, sure, but having a cheat sheet with the verses and the chords on an iPad can really help keep you on track while you also manage your guitar, pedal effects and vocal performance. Gathering all this song data from the internet (or writing it out yourself) can take time. For me, the process usually involves finding the right transcription of the chords in the correct key online, copying the relevant bits from the web page and then creating a PDF on my computer for upload to Dropbox and my iPad so everyone can access it. An upcoming app called TabBank, currently in beta and set to release on July 27th, aims to simplify this process quite a bit, with a simple way to create and import chord sheets and tab right on an iPad or iPhone.

Launching the app, you’ll see a fairly basic interface without any clutter to get in the way. You’ll get the option to create a new chart or read through the Getting Started guide, which explains that TabBank uses its own version of the ChordPro standard file type to edit your sheets. If you’re typing out your own music, you simply enter the chord name in brackets in front of the word you want it to appear over on the final product. You can even define new chords the app doesn’t already know with a line in the file that tells the app what strings and frets to use when previewing, like Cm7b5: x3434x. Tabs can be created with rows of dashes that represent the guitar strings; they will be formatted a bit more nicely when you’re done, and you can add hammer-on and pull-off notes as well. You can also format the font size into small, medium or large styles, and choose the from three different styles used for chords and lyrics.

What makes TabBank extremely useful for me, however, is the way it pulls in tab and chord sheets from the internet. You’ll need to install a mobile Safari extension, and then navigate to any of your favorite portals, like Ultimate Guitar or E Chords. Once you find the version of the song you want to import, you hit the Share button in Safari and TabBank will pull in just the relevant portion of the music, ignoring all the ads and other cruft usually found on such sites. The song will then appear below the Create New Chart section in the main screen. You can tap the title and get a nicely formatted tab or chord chart in seconds, and you can edit it right in TabBank, as well.

You can tap on any chord or tablature and TabBank will play it back with a basic MIDI guitar sound paired with a visual of the notes on a guitar neck. It might be helpful for newbies who need to know how to play a given chord, but it’s fairly bland when you’re trying to figure out a solo or rock riff. I pulled up AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” and, while accurate, the playback only sort of sounded like it should. This is more a limitation of MIDI and written tablature, though, and not a problem with the app itself.

Once you’ve written out your chord sheet or imported one from your favorite website, you can export either a PDF or ChordPro file, which you can then share out to any other apps you like. It was incredibly easy to send a PDF to the app I use to manage lyric sheets and set lists on stage, Deep Dish’s GigBook.

So far, TabBank seems like a great tool to use if you want to manage your guitar tab and chord sheets on your iPhone or iPad. Being able to get music from the web, edit it on my device and then send it to the setlist app I use saved me quite a bit of time; I look forward to using the app from here on out. The app should be out on the App Store July 27th, where it will be a free download with some in-app purchases to add printing and exporting PDFs and saving tabs from the web.

Former Apple Executive Says Company Stalling in Design Innovations Following Death of Steve Jobs

A recent report by The Wall Street Journal has taken a look into the smartphone design war happening between Apple and Samsung, suggesting that the latter company has begun edging out the former with the design of the Galaxy S8.

According to Hugh Dubberly, formerly of both Apple and Samsung, Samsung isn’t ahead of Apple because it has “gotten better” at designing smartphones, but because Apple has “fundamentally changed” following the death of former CEO Steve Jobs.

Some design experts wonder if the Galaxy S8’s visual leap says more about Apple and its chief executive, Tim Cook, whose operational skills contrast with the visionary talents of his predecessor, Steve Jobs. “It’s not so much that Samsung has gotten better, but Apple has fundamentally changed,” said Hugh Dubberly, a former Apple creative director and former member of Samsung’s global design advisory board. “The pipeline that Steve [Jobs] started is over.”

While smartphone innovation has “plateaued” over the last few years, analysts said that consumers are focusing more on the aesthetic of a smartphone to determine if they will buy the device or not.

How a smartphone looks now accounts for about half a consumer’s purchase decision, with the assessment formed in roughly one second, according to Charles L. Mauro, president of MauroNewMedia, a product-design research firm that has done consulting work for Apple and Samsung. Mr. Mauro says peer-reviewed research reveals aesthetics matter much more than previously believed, as older surveys pegged looks as influencing only 7% of a phone purchase.

The report cites recent data accumulated by Consumer Reports, which compared 2016’s iPhone 7 to 2017’s Galaxy S8. The newer Galaxy S8 bested the iPhone 7 in categories like battery life and design, while most of the iPhone 7’s shortcomings are rumored to be addressed in the iPhone 8 later this year.

According to analysts, the iPhone 8 needs “a new distinguishing feature,” with The Wall Street Journal referencing a fingerprint sensor embedded under the display as a potential game-changing addition — although recent rumors have suggested Touch ID could be nixed from the iPhone 8 altogether.

The S8 is nudging the bar higher as Apple seeks to impress with its 10th anniversary iPhone this fall. For Apple to outdo Samsung on design, analysts said, it would need a new distinguishing feature, like a fingerprint sensor beneath the display rather than a physical home button.

Apple and Samsung’s smartphone design war has been raging for years, heating up in 2011 when Apple sued Samsung and accused the company of copying the design of the iPhone and iPad and committing patent infringement in the process. Last December, the Supreme Court reversed a decision to award Apple $399 million in damages related to the case, which it was originally awarded by a lower court, and the case will now returned to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

For the next devices, Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 8 in the traditional September timeframe, and the smartphone is believed to include a 5.8-inch OLED screen with an edge-to-edge display, glass body, wireless charging, facial recognition, and no physical Home Button. Samsung is rumored to announce the Galaxy Note 8 in August, potentially launching with a curved display that is “marginally larger” than the 6.2-inch display of the current Galaxy S8+, while also including two rear cameras.

Tag: Samsung
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Pioneer’s Rayz Lightning-Equipped Earphones Gain ‘Hey Siri’ Support

Pioneer today announced that its Rayz line of Lightning-equipped earphones designed for the iPhone are receiving a major update that adds “Hey Siri” functionality along with other new features.

Enabled through new firmware and an update to the Rayz app that’s being released today, the earphones can now activate Siri with the standard “Hey Siri” command even while the iPhone is tucked away in a pocket. That means Siri can respond to requests without the need for users to take the iPhone out of a purse, bag, or pocket.

“Today we are pleased to announce that users can say ‘Hey Siri’ while using Rayz earphones to easily make a call, send a message, listen to music and much more, even when iPhone is in their pocket,” said Munenori Otsuki, CEO of Pioneer & Onkyo U.S.A. Corporation. With support for Siri, Rayz Lightning Earphones automatically recognize “Hey Siri” commands and allow our users to do so much more using just their voice.”

First announced in February, the Rayz Plus earphones feature a built-in Lightning port for charging an iPhone while listening to music, smart noice cancellation, smart buttons, sensors for auto play/shutoff, and a smart mute function that was added in June.

Today’s update also introduces AutoPause improvements, status beeps that indicate when Smart Mute is active, and native language support for Chinese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Pioneer’s Rayz Plus earphones can be purchased from Amazon for $149.95 in Bronze and Graphite. Apple also sells the Pioneer Rayz Plus in Rose Gold and Black. The slimmed down standard version of the Rayz, priced at $99.95, is not yet available for purchase.
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Apple Highlights New Batch of Emoji Coming to iOS, macOS, and watchOS Later This Year

After first giving iTunes an emoji-themed makeover, Apple is continuing its celebration of World Emoji Day with a preview of all-new emoji characters coming to iOS, macOS, and watchOS later in 2017.

The new emoji previewed today by Apple include Woman with Headscarf, Bearded Person, Breastfeeding, Sandwich, Coconut, T-Rex, Zebra, Zombie, Elf, Star-Struck, Exploding Head, and more. All of the emoji shared today were previously included in the new Unicode 10 standard released in June.

The new emoji make it easier for users to express themselves with greater diversity, additional animals and creatures, new smiley faces and more.

Apple didn’t specify a launch date for the new line of emoji characters coming to iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches this year, but it’s expected that they will arrive sometime around the public launch of iOS 11 this fall, or soon thereafter. World Emoji Day celebrations are also extending to the iOS App Store, where Apple said that it has highlighted apps that showcase fun things to do with the smartphone characters.

Tag: emoji
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Subway Refreshing Store Designs With Self-Order Kiosks That Support Apple Pay

Subway today unveiled an all-new “fresh forward” redesign coming to 12 pilot locations at its restaurants throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, which includes self-order kiosks in select locations that support checking out via Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. Subway has long supported Apple Pay as a payments option during the traditional check-out process in its restaurants.

The new kiosks will allow customers to browse Subway’s full menu, craft their sandwich order, and then check out with a credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, or Samsung Pay.

There will be a designated food preparation and pick-up area for orders made through the new kiosks, on the Subway mobile app, and with Facebook Messenger’s Subway chatbot. The company said that this will help speed up food preparation time for both digital orders and for customers waiting in the basic check-out line.

Digital: Self-order kiosks in select locations, digital menu boards and, as always, Apple and Samsung Pay options. Guests enjoy a speedy Subway® experience with a separate food preparation area and a designated pre-order pick-up location for kiosk, mobile app, delivery, catering and bot for Messenger orders.

The Subway redesign will also include dining areas with USB charging ports so customers can fuel up their smartphones and tablets while they eat, as well as complimentary Wi-Fi, menu changes, and new decor.

The “fresh forward” Subway design is launching today at the following locations: Tamarac, FL; Orlando, FL (2 locations); Winter Park, FL; Chula Vista, CA; Knoxville, TN; Palmview, TX; Hillsboro, OR; Vancouver, WA; Beauport, QC; Granby, QC; and Manchester, U.K.

Subway said that, “Many elements of the new brand identity will be worldwide by the end of 2017.”

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
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‘Final Fight’ boss Abigail to join ‘Street Fighter V’ roster

The EVO 2017 championship — which is the premier, annual tournament for fighting games — took place this weekend. The event culminated in the Street Fighter V finals, which saw Japanese god Tokido battle through the loser’s bracket with his signature Akuma to defeat American Karin main Punk and take this year’s title. That wasn’t all the crowd had to be hyped about, though, with Capcom using the occasion to reveal the next SFV DLC character and first addition from the Final Fight franchise: Comically oversized brawler Abigail.

The Final Fight series never really took off in the same way Street Fighter did, but it’s not exactly a dead franchise. Interesting characters from the old games, such as Guy, Cody and Rolento, have joined the roster of several Street Fighter titles. Abigail will be the first bruiser of Final Fight origin to appear in SFV, though, which has thus far been populated by returning Street Fighter characters or entirely new ones. Abigail was a non-playable boss in the Final Fight games he appeared in, so this will be his first ever appearance on the character select screen. He’s also the first Canadian combatant to be playable in any Street Fighter title.

Abigail and his Metro City Bay Area stage will be added to SFV on July 25th. He’s the fourth of six new DLC characters dropping as part of the Season 2 roster update, which started with Akuma at the end of last year. SFV hasn’t exactly made the splash Capcom would’ve hoped, but Street Fighter will never not be popular among the competitive fighting game community and eSports fans alike. Adding new and previously unplayable characters, as much as everyone hates DLC, at least keeps the game fresh for casual players, and mixes up the meta for the professional contingent.

Source: Capcom (YouTube)

Play ‘Runescape’ seamlessly between your PC and phone

If you’re an avid player of MMORPG RuneScape, then you should be paying attention to publisher Jagex’s announcement today. The UK-based game developer revealed that RuneScape and Old School RuneScape will be coming to both mobile and tablet devices.

The games will feature fully interoperable play between PC and mobile devices; you can start your game on your computer and pick up seamlessly on your phone or tablet when you have to step away from your desk. Or you can play entirely on your mobile device; if you previously had a saved PC game, but now prefer mobile, you can pick up that computer game and play entirely on your tablet or phone going forward.

Jagex’ Chief Operating Officer Phil Mansell says, “We believe in taking our games to wherever our players want them; recent player surveys showed an overwhelming 90% of active players and 64% of former players telling us of their very high intent to play on mobile.” That’s a high volume of players, especially considering that the ability to play on a phone or tablet might draw former players back to RuneScape. It’s nice to see game developers listening to their audiences and adding features that players will really use.

Introducing Engadget’s 2017 back-to-school guide!

We’re now about midway through summer — ergo, it’s time to rain on your beach party and talk about the upcoming school year. Don’t worry, though: With most US colleges opening their doors in late August, and public grade schools waiting until after Labor Day, you have plenty of time to stock up for the semester if you haven’t begun shopping yet.

For this year’s back-to-school guide, we decided to go in a different direction. Earlier this year we announced that Engadget would mostly focus on three main coverage areas — gear (consumer electronics), gaming and entertainment. So it made sense, then, to organize our back-to-school shopping advice in a similar way. In our guide, which lives here, you’ll find buying advice for products like computers, mobile devices, accessories, apps and home (er, dorm) items.

We also have recommendations for gamers, whether your medium of choice is a laptop, games console or VR headset. Lastly, for the partiers among you (and really, what is college for, if not partying?), we picked our favorite audio and home theater products, as well as a handful of streaming services worth subscribing to.

Happy shopping, and may you enjoy your all-night study sessions, communal bathrooms and jello-shot hangovers as much as you do your new gear.

Source: Engadget’s 2017 Back to School Guide

Apple Celebrates World Emoji Day With an Emoji-Themed Makeover for iTunes Movies

Today, July 17, is celebrated as World Emoji Day thanks to this day being marked on the iOS “calendar” emoji. In celebration, Apple has updated the iTunes Movies storefront with a new emoji-filled carousel that uses the popular smartphone characters to describe recent film releases, as well as older movies.

Some of the films referenced include Kong: Skull Island, Beauty and the Beast, Get Out, Stephen King’s It, Logan, Arrival, and more. The iTunes emoji makeover is simply a visual overhaul of the store with no sale prices appearing on any of the participating films.

Apple often updates the iTunes Movies storefront to coincide with new film releases, most recently offering a LEGO makeover to celebrate the digital release of The LEGO Batman Movie. Earlier in June, a few decade-based film collections were put on sale on iTunes to give users the chance to get bundles of films together at lower prices.

(Thanks, Kenneth!)

Tags: iTunes, emoji
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