Some Supporters of Apple’s Irish Data Center Have ‘Totally Lost Hope’ as Final Verdict Again Delayed

One year ago, Apple began a staunch defense of its proposed data center in Galway County, Ireland, as a group of locals attempted to derail construction by reciting various environmental concerns for the area if Apple successfully built the facility.

The delayed data center was supposed to be met with a decision this week, but now The Irish Times is reporting that a final verdict has been delayed yet again, with the Court Services confirming this week that the case will not be heard until October 12. While there are some residents opposing the data center, there remains a large group fighting with Apple to help bring jobs to the area.

Apple supporters marching last November, via Athenry For Apple Facebook page
According to local resident Paul Keane, who spoke with Business Insider, some of those on Apple’s side have “totally lost hope.”

But Local resident Paul Keane, who is a member of the Athenry for Apple Facebook group, said: “Some have totally lost hope and more are now more fearful of a complete loss of confidence in investment for the west and long term damage to the country simply because we couldn’t get our act together.”

The residents against Apple attempted to halt construction last November by claiming that the permission it was granted by independent planning body An Bord Pleanála was invalid. They alleged that An Bord Pleanála didn’t perform a proper environmental impact assessment of the proposed data center at Derrydonnell, located on the outskirts of Athenry, where the residents live. Apple successfully asked the High Court to fast-track the case, but a final decision was still set for months later, and now it has been pushed back even further.

When Apple announced the Irish data center in February 2015, it also announced one for Denmark. Construction for that site has completed, and now the center is ready to go live sometime later this year. Around 300 jobs would be created over “multiple phases of construction” at the Irish data center, which would help power Apple’s online services across Europe, including iTunes, the App Store, iMessage, Maps, and Siri.

Tags: data center, Ireland
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Before augmented reality becomes the next big thing, here’s what needs to happen

Everyone seems to be talking about Augmented Reality (AR). Last summer, the technology produced its first real success story in the form of Pokemon Go, which enthralled millions across the globe. Yet that may prove just a sideshow before the main event.

We’ve already seen how Apple’s ARKit can empower developers to produce wildly creative AR experiences – but rumors persist that Apple’s endgame involves an accessory not unlike Google Glass. Alongside Microsoft’s HoloLens, these head-mounted AR devices demand new ideas about how people use technology.

Done well, 3D gesture-tracking in AR could be as big a leap forward as the first generation of touchscreen interfaces ushered in by the original iPhone. There’s plenty of work to be done.

The Next Generation

“We firmly believe that virtual reality and AR is the next form of the computer, the next generation of smart devices,” said Dr. Yue Fei, the co-founder and chief technology officer of Bay Area human-computer interaction specialists uSens. He and his team think AR’s world-changing potential exceeds even that of VR. Why? Because it’s not as immersive.

uSens 3D hand-tracking demonstration

AR is a filter through which we see the world. It lets you to see your real surroundings and their device as one, which can have some powerful effects on the way we use our smartphones in an environment. AR allows your computer to use information about what’s surrounding you in real time without a display or similar physical interface, and that potential is unique.

Dr. Fei blitzed through examples of how AR could benefit people in the workplace. These aren’t scenarios where tech is being used for the sake of it, but situations where augmented technology could streamline and improve commonplace tasks.

Construction workers might catalogue tools on the job site, as we saw in a recent Microsoft presentation at the company’s Build conference. Maintenance workers could have access to a contextual manual, that gives them instructions tailored to the situation they’re working on, rather a generic how-to. A doctor performing surgery could have access to all manner of information without ever having to take their eye off their patient thanks to a heads-up display.

Hands Free

Smartphone-based AR asks you to hold the device with one hand, and use the other to interact with their touch screen. That puts limitations on what the software can do.

Historically, we’ve seen that people don’t like wearing things on their heads, especially in public – the well-documented failure of Google Glass indicated to many that the public wasn’t ready for this form of hardware. However, a pair of glasses outfitted with an AR display does free up both hands and allow more direct interaction. Glass was too far ahead of its time, but its core concept was sound.

Right now, the best comparison is VR, which typically uses purpose-built controllers to allow people to interact with their surroundings. This solution works fine in most situations, but it does have its limitations.

The well-documented failure of Google Glass indicated to many that the public wasn’t ready.

“Although they use controllers, the design of the game itself is already trying to mimic the real hand in the real world,” explained Dr. Fei, citing Job Simulator and I Expect You to Die as two prime examples. “In their brain, the user wants to do complicated actions, like grab a cup. But on the controller, you need to use the index finger trigger to simulate the action, and that breaks down the immersion.”

Even if you’re completely committed to enjoying a VR experience, it’s difficult to commit to the idea that pulling a trigger on a plastic controller is the same as picking up an object. Dr. Fei and his team at uSens are working on hand-tracking technology that should allow users to interact with virtual objects directly.

Given that VR hasn’t taken off as quickly as many would have hoped, there are concerns that AR could suffer the same fate. However, gesture-based control could offer a solution to this problem. In many ways, it’s the heir apparent to the touchscreen.

Shock of the New

It’s often difficult to get the public on board with new technology – but revolutionary technology seems the exception. A new idea, if intuitive, can go from almost unheard of to common in well less than a decade.

Touchscreens were not the norm ten years ago. They weren’t unheard of, but they were nowhere near as ubiquitous as they are today. Today, even the youngest and oldest are perfectly happy to pick up a smartphone or a tablet and interact with it, even without being shown what to do. The team at uSens believes that gesture-based AR controls are similarly approachable.

“When the iPhone came out, the very first one, people could interact with games in a way they never had done before, because you’re just using your hands, and it’s very natural to people,” said Will McCormick, the company’s marketing manager. “[With] traditional gaming, even when you’re playing Snake on a Nokia 3310, not everyone can do that. Because it’s still a game where you have to interact with a keyboard [or controller].”

Whether a game’s control scheme is straightforward or not, the very presence of a traditional video game controller can sometimes be off-putting to those who aren’t familiar with the hardware. You only need to look back to the bestselling Nintendo Wii for evidence that more natural methods of control can appeal to huge audiences.

McCormick told us of an AR tech demo based around painting, which uSens often shows visitors to its offices. “If you give someone a controller, if they’ve never used it before, there’s still some learning, they can be a bit intimidated, they’re not quite sure what to do,” he said. “But if you can just use your hands, and use your gestures to paint, everyone can do that. We’ve seen people from 18 to 80 years old in here try that out.”

Accessibility is going to be a crucial factor for AR. There’s a sense that once people try out the technology for themselves, its appeal will be obvious. Dropping the need for a controller accessory in favor of gesture-based control removes a barrier.

Back to Reality

Apple has made strides forward with its AR project this year, and the upcoming iPhone hardware refresh is rumored to introduce new sensors to benefit the technology. Microsoft, meanwhile, has been working on HoloLens for years, and its headsets look more impressive every time they’re shown off.

Even so, there are still major challenges at hand. “Right now, the HoloLens already has gesture recognition, but it’s pretty primitive,” observed Dr. Fei, noting that the hardware struggles to product a steady, accurate 3D position of a moving hand. “We have talked to a number of developers that feel that this is one of the biggest limitations of HoloLens, besides the field of view.”

Dr. Fei also offered up some criticism of ARKit. “Personally, I feel that the API is easy to use, and it’s good, but it’s only available for the iOS platform, and it’s only available for one language, Swift,” he said.

AR is in the same spot, struggling to find its ‘swipe to unlock’ moment.

The hand- and head-tracking technology being developed by uSens is very accurate, and is designed to be platform-agnostic. It’s a more specialized solution than Apple and Microsoft’s attempts, thanks to the company’s ability to focus on one element of AR infrastructure, rather than building a platform and hardware side-by-side.

However, uSens is like Apple and Microsoft in that it’s providing tools for the development of AR experiences. This is uncharted territory. Functional AR with gesture recognition control requires a new design language.

Consider the smartphone’s ‘swipe to unlock.’ Though now common in all manner of touchscreens, it’s a recent invention and, before it, numerous methods were used to do the same thing. AR is in the same spot, struggling to find its ‘swipe to unlock’ moment. “Right now, there is not a unified language – everyone is exploring what the GUI [graphical user interface] should be,” said Dr. Fei. “It’s trial and error, trying to make a better GUI, and it’s ongoing.”

Great GUI design will make AR more user-friendly, and it can even cover up some of the limitations of current hardware. Dr. Fei mentioned that the HoloLens suffers from a limited FOV, but that can be mitigated by a smartly composed GUI.

For instance, one of the biggest problems with a narrow FOV is that virtual objects might seem to disappear as you move your head across the scene, and that can be very jarring. However, by providing appropriate on-screen feedback, the software can keep you appraised of where the object is in relation to them, even if it’s not actually on-screen.

AR technology has come a long way in a relatively small amount of time, and now it’s almost ready for the masses. The next stage of its development will be difficult, given the challenges of turning capable hardware and promising APIs into features that will make you happy.

Still, there’s plenty of reason to be excited about the possibilities. If AR supplemented by gesture controls is truly as game-changing as touch interfaces turned out to be a decade ago, we’re on the precipice of the biggest addition to consumer technology since the advent of the smartphone.

Nintendo Switch Online: Everything you need to know!

Nintendo’s newest console, the Switch is giving you more content, provided you use Nintendo’s app.

Nintendo Switch Online, the new companion app for the Switch, has arrived, and there is plenty to parse out. Unlike the apps for PlayStation or Xbox, Nintendo has gone the game-specific route. You’ll now be able to enjoy more features, including inviting friends to play with you, provided you have the app open when you’re playing a compatible game.

There’s plenty to go over, and we have the details for you here!

• What does Nintendo Switch Online do?
• What games does it work with?
• How does the voice chat function work?
• How to invite friends to matches
• What else can I use the Nintendo Switch app for?

What does Nintendo Switch Online do?

The Nintendo Switch app works as an extra hub for content, at least for games that work with it anyway. Each game will offer different content through the app, in an attempt to give you access to everything you could want for gameplay. To access everything, though, you’ll need a few things.

Namely, a Nintendo Switch console, a compatible app, a Nintendo account, and a phone with the Nintendo Switch app loaded on it. For now, all of that online content is entirely free, but come 2018, you’ll have to pay in order to access it. After 2018 gets here, you’ll be looking at a subscription fee similar to Xbox Gold or PlayStation Plus.

Which games does it work with?

At the moment, Nintendo Switch Online has functionality with one game, Splatoon 2, and you’ll need to use the app to reach Splatnet. Splatnet is where you can invite friends to online lobbies, use voice chat features, and reach leaderboards, amongst other things.

For now, it’s just Splatoon 2, but you can be sure that down the line plenty more games will include functionality with the Nintendo Switch app.

How does the voice chat function work?

Different games will implement this feature differently, but generally, you’ll need to be friends with the people you want to chat with. You’ll also have to have the app open on your phone and the supported game open on your Nintendo Switch.

This means that if you want to voice chat on Splatoon 2, you’ll have to keep your phone on the Nintendo Switch Online app. No checking Facebook or playing a level of Best Fiends in between matches, or you’ll drop the connection for voice chat. It isn’t ideal, considering how many of us use our phones to multitask, but it is better than no voice chat at all.

How to invite friends to matches

Inviting friends to a match is slightly more complicated than we would have preferred, but there aren’t too many hoops to jump through. You’ll need to first create a match in the online lobby, and then send a notification to your phone. From there, you’ll need to switch to the app, where you can open the room you just created. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be able to invite friends to come and play with you, so long as you are connected to them through Social Media or have played with them recently.

If a friend is inviting you to a match, it’s slightly easier. You just need to accept the invitation through the app, and you’ll be able to join them for as many matches as you want to play.

What else can I use the Nintendo Switch app for?

As we mentioned earlier, each game will decide on what content becomes available through the Nintendo Switch app. Some features you can expect from different games, like voice chatting and inviting friends to multiplayer matches. Others will be game-specific, though, like Splatoon 2’s ability to purchase items at a special gear shop, leaderboards, and schedules of which stages will be available at which time.

The Morning After: Friday, July 28th 2017

Hey, good morning! Your Friday has landed. Yesterday, the iPod series was squeezed to one model, we welcome Doomfist in Overwatch and we might have just met the king of Chromebooks.

And then there was one.
Apple drops the iPod nano and shuffle

Apple has quietly discontinued the iPod nano and iPod shuffle, yanking their product pages from its website. Both MP3 players are hanging around retail stores, but not for long — if you’re feeling nostalgic, you’d better plan a shopping trip in the near future. The iPod touch, meanwhile, is sticking around and comes with more capacity, as $199/32GB and $299/128GB versions have replaced older 16GB and 64GB models.,

Now you have plans for tonight.Tesla will livestream the first Model 3 deliveries

Tune in at 11:45 PM ET, as Elon Musk and Tesla hand over the first Model 3 EVs at a special event. Musk himself will receive the first one, while the other 29 are promised to Tesla employees or people who own some of its other EVs. After that, Musk has promised to ship 100 Model 3s next month and around 1,500 in September, eventually ramping up to 10,000 per week.

Adding more users is hard.
Over a million Americans quit Twitter in just three months

Twitter thought that it had turned a corner at the start of the year, possibly thanks to our 45th president. Back in April, the company was crowing about a 14 percent bump in the number of monthly active users on the service — which had increased to 328 million.

Three months later and that number has remained exactly the same at 328 million, with any international growth offset by domestic losses. The company claims that it’s growing at 12 percent for the quarter compared to 2016, but Twitter’s audience is essentially stagnating.

Number 25.
This is how Doomfist invades ‘Overwatch’

The latest Overwatch character has arrived, and you can watch Jessica Conditt take him for a spin on our archived Facebook Live stream. Doomfist’s punch-happy antics are a welcome addition to the game’s pantheon of combatants, with a Rocket Punch charged attack that’s as tricky to pull off as it is powerful.

Cyber criminals will have to take their business elsewhere
Russian exchange chief charged over $4-billion-bitcoin laundering scheme

The US DoJ has charged Alexander Vinnik with 17 counts of money laundering. It claims that through his company, BTC-e, he’s suspected of laundering proceeds from the Mt. Gox hack, the Cryptowall ransomware attacks and even digital currency stolen from the Silk Road by federal agents.The BTC-e exchange has been fined $110 million in civil penalties, while Vinnik personally faces a $12-million fine and up to 55 years in jail.

A strong performer for less than $500.
ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 review

It’s ASUS’s first entry into the premium Chromebook space, and according to Nathan Ingraham “It’s not perfect, but it’s very close.” The $470 laptop could do better on battery life and Android app support is still iffy, but at 12.5-inches, it’s bigger and better than its predecessor. Inside, and Intel Core m3-6Y30 CPU keeps things moving smoothly, and it charges via USB-C.

It might not reach orbit, though.
SpaceX schedules Falcon Heavy’s maiden launch for November

SpaceX chief Elon Musk has revealed that the company is sending its Heavy lift rocket to space for the first time in November. The company was originally gunning for a summer launch, but in June, the CEO said that Falcon Heavy’s cores will take two to three months to reach Cape Canaveral. SpaceX will need a bit of time after they arrive to prepare the rocket — which will take off from NASA’s historic launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

It’s like Amazon Locker, but exclusively for use by tenants.
Amazon’s ‘The Hub’ is a delivery locker for residential buildings

Amazon already has lockers in various public locations that you can use to receive packages, but it’s now offering a more private option for multi-tenant dwellings. The e-commerce titan has launched a new service that offers to install ‘Hubs’ in condos, apartment buildings and complexes for use exclusively by people who live there. Once it’s installed, Amazon doesn’t care who uses it for delivery — you can use it to receive parcels from other websites, retailers and even from your relatives.

But wait, there’s more…

• Funny Or Die’s VR comedy puts you inside a robot racing toward obsolescence
• Nuviz has the first ‘decent’ heads-up display for motorcycle helmets
• Sony’s A7S II camera shot 4K video from outside the ISS
• US scientists have genetically modified human embryos
• Bipartisan Senate legislation would modernize digital privacy

Nintendo’s 2DS XL lands in the UK for £130

There’s nothing like a summer holiday spent chilling in an air-conditioned hotel room playing computer games. And if you’re looking for something portable enough to chuck in your hand luggage, Nintendo’s new 2DS XL might be just the ticket. Launching today in the UK, the £130 handheld ditches the wedge form factor of the original 2DS in favour of the classic clamshell style. It features a 4.88-inch primary screen like the 3DS XL, but packs it into a smaller package — sans stereoscopic 3D display, of course.

There are a few drawbacks to the new device, namely a stubby stylus and average speaker quality. But with access to the whole DS and 3DS catalogues and a £130 price tag, you can hardly argue. If value for money is of paramount importance, though, then remember you can grab a regular 2DS for around £60. Sure, the 3DS and 2DS families don’t seem anywhere near as cool as the Nintendo Switch, but between the much higher price, permanent stock issues and lack of game options, there’s definitely still space for the two handheld ranges to coexist.

Source: Nintendo (Twitter)

Sony raising the price of PlayStation Plus in Europe

Do you enjoy firing up your PS4, playing a few online matches and maybe checking out what free games and discounts are up for grabs? Well, we hope you really enjoy doing all that, because you’re about to pay that bit more for the privilege. Sony has today been sending out emails to PlayStation Plus subscribers in Europe, informing them that the cost of their subscription is going up on August 31st. In the UK, the monthly price is increasing from £6 to £7, the quarterly cost from £15 to £20, and an annual pass is rising from £40 to £50.

The story is the same elsewhere in Europe, where the monthly, quarterly and yearly prices will be revised to €8, €25 and €60, respectively. Sony hasn’t offered any explanation as to why the price of membership is increasing, but does recommend you check your auto-renewal settings if you’re not thrilled about the extra expense. If it’s any consolation, a similar price hike hit American subscribers last September, so we’re almost lucky it took Sony this long to balance things out in Europe.

At the time, Sony didn’t provide much of an explanation either, apart from that “The new pricing reflects the current market conditions while enabling us to continue providing exceptional value to our members.” If you reckon you’ll still be wanting a PlayStation Plus membership for the foreseeable future, it might be worth picking up an annual membership before the end of August and dodging the price hike for another year.

Via: Mark Brown (Twitter)

BBC Three to stream six weeks of Gfinity esports coverage

A couple of years ago, the BBC decided to stream the League of Legends World Championship quarterfinals in London. The live, online-only coverage was clearly an experiment designed to test the appetite of viewers and the feasibility of regular broadcasts. Now, the BBC is back with a weekly schedule of Gfinity esports coverage. Starting tonight (July 28th) at 9pm, BBC Three will stream Street Fighter V on Fridays, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on Saturdays and Rocket League on Sundays. The partnership only runs for six weeks, however, which like before suggests this is a trial-run for a more permanent block of programming.

The Street Fighter, Counter-Strike and Rocket League matches all form one competition called the “Elite Series.” It’s an unusual format for esports, which typically keeps each title separate (to date, there’s no formal heptathlon for esports). But that’s typical of how Gfinity operates. The esports organiser has its own physical “arena” in London and has always pushed for a broader, more inclusive range of competition. The Elite Series combines professional players and unknown rookies who have worked their way up through the amateur “Challenger” series. It’s an attempt to build “grassroots” esports and a higher caliber of players in the UK.

While admirable, it means the tournament doesn’t have the same clout as Dota’s The International or fighting game megathon Evo. The new partnership with the BBC does, however, have the potential to raise Gfinity’s profile in the UK, attracting larger audiences and, as a result, more players into its amateur and professional leagues. The big question, however, is why you would want to watch the competition on BBC Three; the channel is online-only, and Gfinity already streams on Twitch, which is available on almost every console, smart TV and set-top box imaginable.

Source: BBC, Gfinity

iPod Mini Appears on Apple’s Online Store Due to Glitch in the Matrix

An eagle-eyed MacRumors reader today noticed the iPod mini has made a nostalgic reappearance on Apple’s website in Singapore.

Apple’s online store says the iPod mini models are available to ship in 2-3 weeks, but we strongly advise against ordering. Apple discontinued the iPod mini over 12 years ago, and the product pages have an outdated design when accessed from a desktop browser, so this is certainly a glitch that will soon be corrected.

For now, the colors listed include Blue, Green, Pink, and Silver, with 4GB or 6GB of storage, indicating these are second-generation models released in February 2005. It was enough space for up to 1,500 songs in your pocket.

In September 2005, Apple discontinued the iPod mini after introducing the iPod nano, which itself was discontinued alongside the iPod shuffle yesterday. The internet-connected iPod touch is now the only product Apple sells under its iconic iPod brand, effectively marking the end of an era for the company.

(Thanks, Tony!)
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Huawei CEO drops first hints on Mate 10

Richard Yu promises high screen-to-body ratio and strong cameras for Mate 10, says Huawei will be ‘giving up’ on low-end phones.

In an interview with Bloomberg Technology covering the company’s growth over the past year, Huawei’s Consumer Business Group CEO, Richard Yu, dropped some early hints on what we can expect from its next flagship phone.

“We will have an even more powerful product [than the next iPhone]” Yu said in an interview. “The Mate 10, which has much longer battery life with a full-screen display, quicker changing speed, better photographing capability and many other features that will help us compete with Apple.”

A “full-screen display” likely refers to an almost bezel-free display, of the kind popularized throughout 2017. (AC understands that at least one of two planned Mate 10 variants will feature an impressive, near-bezelless screen.) Photography has been a major focus for Huawei over the past couple of years, through its partnership with Leica and move to a dual-lens strategy at the high end.

The details given by Yu don’t give too much away, but it’s likely the Mate 10 will also feature next-gen Huawei-made silicon — perhaps a Kirin 970 — with a probable shift to a 10nm manufacturing process enabling higher performance and lower power consumption.

At the other end of the smartphone spectrum, Yu suggested that Huawei would move away from very low-end handsets, due to unfavorable margins.

“We are giving up the very low-end devices because the margin in this is extremely low, and it’s not making enough profit for us,” Yu said. Huawei also intends to sustain the pace of an overseas expansion that’s already taken it into Europe and other more developed markets. “The priority is Europe, China and Japan, where the economy is healthy and people are able to consume them.”

Notably absent from that list is the United States, where Huawei has continually struggled to gain a foothold.

Last year’s Mate 9 debuted in early November, so there’s a good chance the Mate 10 will break cover sometime this fall.

Huawei Mate 9

• Huawei Mate 9 review
• Huawei Mate 9 specs
• Where to buy the Mate 9 in the U.S.
• Porsche Design Mate 9 unboxing
• All Huawei Mate 9 news
• Join the discussion in the forums

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Amazon

Amazon’s ‘The Hub’ is a delivery locker for residential buildings

Amazon already has lockers in various public locations that you can use to receive packages, but it’s now offering a more private option for multi-tenant dwellings. The e-commerce titan has launched a new service that offers to install “Hubs” in condos, apartment buildings and complexes for use exclusively by people who live there. Once it’s installed, Amazon doesn’t care who uses it for delivery — you can use it to receive parcels from other websites, retailers and even from your relatives.

The Hub is meant to solve a common problem for tenants in residential buildings, especially those with no concierge or frequently open management offices. It’s always accessible, always open and isn’t exclusive to Amazon packages. To access a box, simply type in your passcode on the Hub’s touchscreen panel.

Based on the service’s official website, landlords can customize a Hub for their properties. The locker has an indoor and an outdoor version and is available in four colors and several sizes, starting at 6-foot wide. If you’re determined to convince your landlord to get one, point them to the Hub’s portal to submit an application.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: The Hub