Watch Disney’s D23 video game event at 4PM Eastern

You probably don’t think of a Disney fan expo as a go-to source for video game news, but you might need to reconsider this year. The media giant is livestreaming a Video Game Showcase starting at 4PM Eastern, and it promises better looks at Disney-themed games than you might have had in the past. The event will center around Square-Enix’s elusive Kingdom Hearts III, Insomniac’s take on Spider-Man and EA’s much-hyped Star Wars: Battlefront II — those first two in particular haven’t had much screen time. Whether or not there are any big revelations, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to tune in. Hosts Jacksepticeye and Strawburry17 are streaming the event on their respective Twitch and YouTube channels, while Disney itself is offering a live feed through the D23 website as well as its Facebook games page.

Source: Disney, Twitch, YouTube

Lenovo made an augmented reality headset for ‘Star Wars’ games

Here’s something you probably weren’t expecting out of a Disney fan event: a Star Wars augmented reality headset. Lenovo and Lucasfilm have teased headgear that uses your smartphone to bring the space epic into the real world. There’s precious little to know about the hardware (not even a release date), but we already know a bit about the games you’ll play. Lenovo and Disney are teasing holochess, for a start, but there’s also a real-time ground battle game and Jedi Challenges, which will (naturally) have you wielding a lightsaber. In short: you’re about to live out a lot of Star Wars fantasies.

Source: Lenovo

After a decade on Macs, Windows 10 showed me what I was missing

I’ve been using an Apple MacBook, with MacOS, as my daily computer for more than 10 years. The last Windows computer I used for any length of time ran Windows XP, and it was past its sell-by-date at that point. So, when Huawei, the maker of the P10 and the Mate 9, two smartphones that I greatly admire, announced the MateBook X, it turned my head. I’m a fan of Huawei’s Android phones, but what would the MateBook X be like? Design wise, it has more than a hint of Mac in its DNA, which made me all the more desperate to find out. The trouble is that, to do so, I’d have to return to Windows.

I jumped head-first into Windows 10 on a notebook built by a company known for smartphones.

Fear of change is a common emotion, and modern tech seems designed to encourage that fear. Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and many other companies use ecosystems to their advantage. We buy hardware, software, and services that work together. Swapping to another ecosystem is always daunting.

What if that special file doesn’t work? What if I don’t understand how to do something important? What if my world completely implodes, and I can’t handle it?

“Change. Fear it,” the big-name companies whisper in our collective ears.

I decided to defy them, and jumped head-first into Windows 10 on a notebook built by a company known to most only for smartphones. This is my story.

I embraced the fear

My Fear Factor-style challenge was a simple one. Use the MateBook X as a replacement to my 2011, 11-inch MacBook Air, which is the laptop I take out and about with me.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

That’s a tall order. My Air sees far harsher use than my desktop Mac, and when I use it, I’m often short on time. Everything needs to work when it’s needed, without any fuss. The MacBook Air has done exactly that for the last five or so years.

The fear was there when I opened the MateBook X’s box and took out the shiny, golden laptop. Luckily, the computer made a good first impression. It’s thin, and its consistent thickness — compared to the MacBook’s wedge-shape — made it feel more modern, slender, and chic. It’s also incredibly light. Size and weight is important in a laptop that I will be carried all day, and the Huawei passed my initial inspection without issue.

Windows 10 started quickly, though it needed a few personal details and inevitable updates before it was ready to start working. Set-up went on without a hitch, and after about an hour, the MateBook X was ready to go.

The fear got me, and I viewed the space outside Apple’s walled garden as a terrifying wilderness.

Setting up a computer wasn’t the part I feared. I’m technically competent, so getting it working at a basic level, shouldn’t have been especially problematic anyway. No, problems were going to arise when I started making it suitable for everyday use. That meant apps and programs I was familiar with being installed, media synced and possibly converted over to a different file format, and my biggest worry of all — passwords and login data.

Without all that, I’d be very stuck indeed.

To be clear, I wasn’t looking for a carbon copy of my Mac in a different body, but I did want a carbon copy of my daily workflow. A Windows machine would never work for me if getting it set up to my standards required hours of effort.

Fortunately, that wasn’t the case. Within an hour, the Huawei was in the same state of operational readiness as my long-loved MacBook Air. Everything was shockingly easy, to the point where I didn’t even need to sign-in to the Microsoft Store to download apps.

It was Google which, to my surprise, proved the real hero. Syncing Google Docs, Calendar, Gmail, and Chrome with the new Huawei meant everything from appointments to passwords were ready and waiting on the MateBook X. I didn’t need to transfer anything manually, outside of music files, which was also effortless.

Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends

I was now living a dual life. I had a Mac at home, and Windows 10 on the MateBook X when out and about.

And I was loving it.

Windows 10 exceeds expectations

Over the next few days, I learned what I liked and didn’t like about the MateBook X, and about Windows 10. My favorite feature turned out to be Windows Hello with the MateBook X’s fingerprint scanner. It worked flawlessly, and was a huge time-and-effort saver over a password. The MateBook X’s 13-inch screen is stunning, with 2,160 x 1,440 resolution, and a very thin bezel. The glass panel is reflective, but not so much that I couldn’t work outside on a sunny day. The MateBook X’s keyboard is excellent, with precise motion, great spacing — highly reminiscent of the MacBook, in fact.

The MateBook X, and Windows 10, integrated into my work without any problems at all

I did run into a few hardware quibbles. The keyboard backlight wasn’t great, and at some angles the keys weren’t properly illuminated, making placement difficult. That’s an important point when you’re adjusting to a new computer. The trackpad felt small, and the response was sludgy rather than fluid. Pushing it down to click didn’t feel great either. Battery life didn’t disappoint, but couldn’t meet my MacBook Air’s still impressive 8 – 9 hours. I got about 7 hours, spread between standby and use.

Windows 10 was a wonderful, refreshing surprise. A decade had passed since I last used it for any length of time, and none of my memories were especially good. These past two weeks have changed that. Visually, for me, Windows 10 has evolved more in that time than MacOS, which awesome and surprising to see. It’s fresh and modern, and the task bar is genuinely helpful, which is more than can be said of the MacOS Dock. Even exploring the settings menu was easy, and using search to find how to perform certain actions was faultless.

I’m not blindly in love, though. Having to tell Word I wanted to edit a downloaded document before it would let me is annoying. The Start Menu, which was once simple, is now a big, muddled mess. Out-of-the-box, it’s difficult to know who would find it useful, because it’s just so full of Tiles doing … stuff. If I was living with Windows 10 for longer, then I suspect putting in the time and effort to personalize it would pay off; but it’d be preferable if it was simpler and better thought out straight away, which would encourage customization, rather than making it feel daunting.

Still, I found Windows 10 to be unexpectedly simple for beginners to pick up and live with daily. I’d gone into the experiment with low expectations. The fear got me, and I viewed the space outside Apple’s walled garden as a terrifying wilderness filled with monsters and bandits. I emerged after the two weeks relatively unafraid. The MateBook X and Windows 10 had integrated into my work life without any problems at all. It was as smooth as going from an old car to a new one. The feel is different, but not worse, and there’s even a few shiny new features to check out.

Don’t be afraid to change

Did Windows 10 and the MateBook X make me fearless? Once a reliable virus scanner — something I’ve never installed on my Mac — was up and working, yes, it did. I’d spent a decade considering Windows the enemy, after it irritated me enough that I jumped ship, but the ghost of Vista has been well and truly exorcised.

Huawei impressed, too. The MateBook X is a genuine MacBook alternative, worthy of the smartphone brand I’ve grown to admire.

The build quality, finish, and style all equal Apple’s efforts and I’m going to miss it when it goes back. News that Windows 10 is good won’t surprise those already using it, but for the many who haven’t considered it after being disappointed by versions of old, and are angry about the skyrocketing MacBook prices, take my word. Swapping to Windows isn’t the nightmare you expect.

How does cloning work, anyway? Your guide to real-world replication

It’s common knowledge that cloning has broken the bonds of sci-fi, and that labs around the world are experimenting with cloning techniques. But how exactly does cloning work, and why haven’t we heard more about it? More specifically, why haven’t clone armies overrun us yet? Here’s how researchers clone living organisms, and why it remains a complicated process.

Types of Modern Cloning

Caroline Davis2010 | Flickr

“Cloning” isn’t a very scientific word, so it’s no surprise that there are several different techniques that you could call cloning. That includes the common gene cloning, where biological materials are reproduced — and used for medical techniques or even meeting demand for red meat — as well as therapeutic cloning, which involves swapping nucleus DNA between eggs for a shortened development process.

But for the real, “that’s what I meant” style of cloning, we need to talk about somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). This is the type of cloning that takes the DNA of an adult specimen and reproduces it, so that an embryo with that same DNA is created. It’s the sort of science that inspired stormtroopers and dinosaurs in our favorite movies, and it’s probably exactly what you were thinking of. So let’s talk about how somatic cell nuclear transfer works.

Step 1: Extract DNA from a donor

First, scientists need healthy, durable cells from a donor — a.k.a. the organism they aim to clone. There are different kinds of cells in the average sexual organism, but somatic cells are the “neutral” type of cell that just hangs out doing its job with the typical two complete sets of chromosomes.

Somatic cells can’t be found among red blood cells, but white blood cells are somatic and a common source for DNA products. Skin cells and the traditional cheek-swab also work, but the cells have to be healthy and undamaged. That’s why it is usually impractical to try to clone ancient frozen or trapped animals: Their cells are almost always heavily damaged.

Step 2: Prepare an egg cell

Tara Brown Photography/ University of Washington

While one part of the scientific cloning team is working on extracting a plentiful supply of somatic cells from the donor, another part is working to prepare a viable egg cell. It doesn’t necessarily have to be an egg cell from the same species, but for greater chances of success, the closer the better.

When scientists find the right undamaged egg cells, they carefully extract the nucleus of the cell. The nucleus is what holds the single set of chromosomes that contributes to reproduction. But for cloning, they don’t want that DNA — they want an intact, empty shell that can house an embryo. So the nucleus and all its DNA is removed, while the rest of the egg is delicately preserved.

Step 3: Insert somatic cell material

Creative Commons

Remember, because somatic cells are complete, adult cells not used for reproduction, they have the full dual set of chromosomes, already present and ready for action. However, scientists need to get this DNA into the egg cell and prepared to grow into a new organism. So they — again, very carefully — remove the nucleus and insert it into the waiting, empty egg cell.

The goal is to combine them into a single cell again, which is not easy. Current successful techniques use a very light, directed flow of electricity so that the nucleus and egg cell bind together, and hopefully agree to their new living arrangement.

Step 4: Convince the egg that it’s fertilized and implant it

Now we have a cloned egg, ready to start growing! But, while the egg does have two sets of chromosomes and, in theory, everything it needs to grow into a copy of the donor organism, it hasn’t actually been fertilized — and it can’t be fertilized without ruining the cloning process.

So scientists try to convince the egg that it’s fertilized and should start growing. This is another area where there is a lot of experimentation with new techniques: Usually, the egg is subjected to chemical cocktails designed to trigger the growth process, often while being zapped with more electricity (sometimes science really is like the movies).

When the cell starts to divide, scientists move quickly onto the next stage, keeping the egg in similar conditions to the real reproductive process. If the egg starts to develop into an embryo that appears healthy, they typically implant that embryo into a living female organism to gestate. This is better for the egg and much less expensive than trying to grown an embryo externally in a lab.

Step 5: Repeat until viability

Closeup of the researched embryos

As you probably noticed, there’s a certain amount of uncertainty and delicate work involved in all the previous steps. Even small amounts of cell damage can be disastrous, and there’s no guarantee a doctored egg will develop correctly either inside or outside the carrying organism. In other words, viability is a major issue. There are a lot of failed attempts and embryos that just don’t develop correctly (often going awry when the embryo is only a small collection of cells), so it takes massive resources, plenty of time, and hundreds of attempts to create a successful clone. Successful live births are a rarity.

Even then, the process is not usually kind to the successful clones. They tend to suffer from shortened lifespans and other problems summed up by what you could call DNA whiplash. However, these problems have diminished as technology has advanced.

Where Cloning is Today

Juan Gärtner/123RF

The first true cloning using SCNT occurred in 1996 after 276 attempts: The famous Dolly the sheep. This was quickly followed by cloned calves in Japan, and then a number of other animals were added to the list, including cats, dogs, rabbits, rats, horses, and even a rhesus monkey.

Except for rumors, there is no evidence that a human has ever been cloned — primates are especially difficult to clone, and humans are the most difficult of all because of the complex way that our cells divide. Reports of human clones have either been debunked or dropped due to lack of evidence.

Full cloning like this also has relatively little value to the scientific community thus far. Gene cloning is far more advantageous when it comes to healthcare and profit, and much easier to accomplish. True cloning with SCNT has become something of a sideshow as a result: Today, most interest in the process focuses on the applications of stem cells from successful embryos, but that also remains an expensive, controversial process for now.

Best new songs to stream: Nine Inch Nails, Art Feynman, and more

Every week, there are thousands of new songs hitting the airwaves — and it’s just too much for your two ears to handle. With all those options, you can’t be wasting your time on tracks that deserve a thumbs-down click — you want the best new songs to stream now.

But don’t worry, we’re going to save you the hassle. We listen to some of the most-hyped and interesting songs each week, and tell you which are worthy of your precious listening time.

Here are our top five songs to stream this week. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to our Spotify page for a playlist of our weekly picks, which can also be found at the bottom of this post. Not sure which streaming service is best for you? Check out our post about the best music streaming services to better weigh your options.

Nine Inch Nails — Less Than

Nine Inch Nails‘ second EP in just over six months, a group of songs called Add Violence, will hit shelves in just a few short days. In anticipation, Trent Reznor and company released a video game-style music video to accompany the EP’s first single, Less Than. The song showcases Reznor’s catchy-yet-dark aesthetic, with a rolling bass line and deep drum groove that propels you through to a series of hook-laden choruses.

Art Feynman — Can’t Stand It

The most dance-inducing jam we heard this week comes from Here We Go Magic‘s Luke Temple, whose funky single Can’t Stand It was released this week under the alias Art Feynman. Hand percussion and a straight-eighths hi-hat groove join cool, punchy vocals and a warm bass line on the track. The result is a wave of sound that will have you dancing in the living room in no time flat.

Zachary Cole Smith — Cow (Sparklehorse cover)

DIIV frontman Zachary Cole Smith released this beautiful slide-guitar-laden cover of Sparklehorse’s Cow this week, along with a video that looks to be shot on a ’90s-era Handycam. There’s a very cathartic vibe to this version, the kind of introspective tune we found ourselves particularly enjoying as the summer sunset began to fade.

The Fresh & Onlys — Impossible Man

If you’re looking for something new to rock out to, you need look no further than The Fresh & Onlys’ latest single, Impossible Man. A classic Krautrock drum groove joins distorted guitars and doubled vocals, forming a song that feels like it will almost certainly end up in a montage sequence of a Sundance Film Festival hit. The Bay Area band will release its first new album in three years, called Wolf Lie Down, next month on Sinderlyn Records.

A. Savage — Winter In The South

Parquet Courts‘ songwriter Andrew Savage has been hard at work on his first solo album of late, recording the 10-song collection he calls Thawing Dawn over the past six months for a scheduled October release. Lead single Winter In The South capitalizes on his regular band’s speech-song aesthetic. it’s a rambling, country-ish tune with cool tremolo guitar tones and interesting saxophone backgrounds.

That’s it for now, but tune in next week for more songs to stream, and check out the playlist loaded with our recent selections below:

Pay what you want and learn how to develop your own Android apps

Android is the world’s most popular operating system with millions of apps available in the Google Play Store. New apps are released by indie developers every day. Do you have a brilliant idea for a new app? Don’t wait for someone else to make it — learn how to build and monetize your own Android apps.

Pay what you want for the Ultimate Android Development Bundle! Learn more

Right now, Android Central Digital Offers is letting you pay what you want for The Ultimate Android Development Bundle.

Here’s how these deals work. You can pay anything you want and get access to 44 lectures as part of the Android Mobile Apps: Beginner to Published on Google Play online course. Pay more than the average price and get all six courses in the bundle! They include:

• The Complete Android Developer Course: Go From Beginner To Advanced
• Android: From Beginner to Paid Professional
• How to Make a Freaking Android App
• Android App Development: Create Streaming Spotify Clone
• The Complete Android & Java Developer Course: Build 21 Apps
• Android Mobile Apps: Beginner to Published on Google Play

All combined, this is a $861 value, and you can currently get them all for under $20!

Pay what you want for the Ultimate Android Development Bundle! Learn more

Ready to make a change in your career and start creating your own Android apps? This bundle will teach you everything you need to know to get started. Get lifetime access to these valuable courses so you can always consult back to them as needed when you’re building your first apps.

Samsung’s latest Galaxy S8 BOGO deal scores you a free device with select trade-ins

Our friends at Thrifter are back again, this time with another Galaxy S8 BOGO deal from Samsung directly.

Samsung is back with another awesome Galaxy S8 promotion, this time offering a free one with a purchase of another if you trade-in your old device. The company recently ran an extremely popular deal like this for T-Mobile customers, but this time it works with devices for all carriers. This deal is only available on Samsung.com or through the Shop Samsung app, and lets you score a free Galaxy S8, or $100 Galaxy S8+ when you purchase another one, and trade-in your old device.

If you don’t want to be locked into a carrier version, you’ll be happy to see even the unlocked version is available this time. When buying the phones, both of them have to be from the same carrier, so no mixing and matching this time around.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to take an old flip phone, or your original Droid and trade it in for a free Galaxy S8. The company notes that the eligible phones include the Galaxy Note5, S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+, S7, S7 edge, iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, 7 or 7 Plus devices only, and it has to be in good condition. That means it powers on, no cracks in the display, it isn’t bricked or blacklisted, and there are no software locks on the device. If you’ve been holding out for a Galaxy S8, this deal may be enough to have you finally make the plunge.

These deals have sold out quickly in the past, so be sure to get yours now, before they are gone!

See at Samsung

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

Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint
Unlocked

Sit back and forget about Russia in this weekend’s comment thread!

Let’s take a break from the drama.

Even tech websites can’t escape the trap that is politics. We know every time we write an article about something tech-related and political, the proverbial stuff will hit the fan. Especially any opinion pieces. That’s not going to change how we feel about telling you important things you need to know, but it’s usually just not fun. That’s why it’s called work, I guess.

Anyhoo, resist the temptation to go off the rails in these comments. There’s plenty of other stuff to talk about! Like the wonder from Asia that is the KFC phone.

If you find out anything about importing this one to the states tell Jerry

Sprint is trying some interesting stuff, and the man behind the money — Masayoshi Son — is being pretty aggressive to keep the company going strong. It’s always great to see Sprint news that’s good. They’re a pioneer in this industry and introduced the first U.S. nationwide digital network, which was the largest of its kind. Here’s hoping some more money can bring back the days when Sprint was working on the future.

We’ve heard more about the Pixel 2, and while rumors and leaks are just that, we really do expect to see it in the not-too-distant future. We also know the Note 8 is close to a big launch, as well as things whispered that can’t be talked about from other companies. Cough. LG V30. Cough.

See? there’s plenty to talk about without saying a word on politics. Give yourself a break from the drama and let’s chat.

New in our buyer’s guide: The OnePlus 5 and two Surface devices

This month’s buyer’s guide additions fill almost every product category: We’ve got a smartphone, VR headset, games console, notebook and a 2-in-1. Those last two both come from Microsoft in the form of the Surface Laptop and the new Surface Pro. At the smaller end of the screen-size spectrum, we have the new OnePlus 5 the Nintendo Switch and Google’s Daydream View headset. Find all that in more in our buyer’s guide, and stay tuned for even more updates in the coming weeks.

Source: Engadget Buyer’s Guide

Recommended Reading: Spotify’s other playlist problem

Spotify Sweats Over
Bandwidth Problem as
Labels Vie for
Playlist Spots
Andy Gensler ,
Billboard

Spotify was forced to defend itself against allegations it uses fake artists to cut costs last week, but the streaming service is facing another playlist problem. Billboard reports on the limited amount of space that record labels have to promote tunes on the service. Labels want their tunes at the top of the streaming charts, so the pressure is on the most popular subscription option.