The Raspberry Shake 4D is a tiny seismograph that lets you monitor earthquakes

Why it matters to you

If you believe that tracking tremors is only something that can be done from a laboratory, think again.

Thanks to a veritable pantheon of smart home devices, we are now able to track even the most minute of changes in our homes. Slight difference in temperature? Track it. Slight change in pressure? Track it. Uptick in radon levels? Track it. But for the big stuff — you know, things you can actually feel, like tremors — we somehow have not figured out how to keep tabs on. Until now, that is. Meet the Raspberry Shake 4D, a “professional personal Earth monitoring device” that puts you in the shoes of a seismologist and could even help you monitor for earthquakes.

Building upon the success of last year’s Raspberry Shake, which exceeded its initial Kickstarter funding goal by a 1,400 percent, the Raspberry Shake 4D makes use of four precision sensors to monitor the Earth’s vibrations, allowing users to observe the vibrations happening all around us — big or small. Capable of detecting a wide range of motion, this little device is capable of some pretty big things — indeed, things that were previously thought only possible with professional-grade equipment. But whereas real seismograph machines will set you back thousands upon thousands of dollars, this guy is just a few hundred on Kickstarter.

“The Raspberry Shake 4D is so sensitive that there is always something to see, even the fun stuff that you never thought possible — like rush-hour traffic, cheering crowds at a local concert or football game, and even noisy neighbors with thin walls,” said Branden Christensen the CEO of Osop, the company behind the Raspberry Shake.

The 4D version of the device features four times the input sensors of the original version and promises double the output. “Now it is possible to see double the range of vibrations across all dimensions (laterally and vertically) making the 4D the most powerful personal seismograph in existence,” claimed Ángel Rodríguez, the designer of the device.

So if you are looking to nurture a budding interest in geology and the ever-moving world around you, this may just be the device to get you started on your journey. The Raspberry Shake 4D is available for pre-order on Kickstarter for $300 and is slated to begin shipping in October.

Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time

Everyone likes apps, but sometimes the best ones are a bit expensive. Now and then, developers put paid apps on sale for free for a limited time, but you have to snatch them up while you have the chance. Here are the latest and greatest iOS app deals available from the iOS App Store.

These apps normally cost money and this sale lasts for a limited time only. If you go to the App Store and it says the app costs money, that means the deal has expired and you will be charged. 

Mnemosyne

Mnemosyne generates passwords from a passphrase of your choice and a user name. Generated passwords are never stored to the device; they are recreated from the passphrase that you memorize and your user name.

Available on:

iOS

Mango

Mango is the ideal tool for monitoring your calorie intake and physical activity routine on a daily basis. It’s the perfect app if you want to lose weight, or simply improve your eating habits.

Available on:

iOS

Aura

Aura’s powerful and beautifully designed tools will help you add frames, filters, text, and so much more to your photos, in the most creative and playful way.

Available on:

iOS

Beginner Runner

Get off your couch and start your journey toward running your first 5K feeling strong, confident, and ready for the challenge, all with Beginner Runner.

Available on:

iOS

OneHour Guitar Chord Method

Looking to learn the guitar? You might be able to do so by way of this app. It’s not a chord generator, but in one hour, it promises to have you throwing your chord dictionary into the fireplace.

Available on:

iOS

Equalizer+

Get the most out of your music with Equalizer+, the app that lets you customize the sound quality for your various music tracks.

Available on:

iOS

Don’t miss this chance to win a OnePlus 5 from Android Central!

We’re pretty big fans of the OnePlus 5 here at Android Central. We want you to experience this phone for yourself, so we’ve put together a little contest that will give one of you the opportunity to win a OnePlus 5, because who doesn’t like winning free phones? All the details are below, so get yourself entered now!

THE PRIZE: One Android Central reader will be taking home a new OnePlus 5!

THE GIVEAWAY: Head down to the widget at the bottom of this page. There are multiple ways to enter, each with varying point values. Complete all of the tasks for maximum entries and your best shot at winning! Keep in mind that all winning entries are verified and if the task was not completed or cannot be verified, a new winner will be chosen. The prize does not include service, and we cannot guarantee that the device will work on all carriers. International winners will be responsible for any customs fees incurred during shipping.

The giveaway is open until August 3, 2017, and the winner will be announced right here shortly after the closing date. Good luck!

Win a OnePlus 5 from Android Central!

OnePlus 5

• Complete OnePlus 5 review
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The OnePlus 5 is filled with great little software customizations to make it your own

It’s your phone, and you should be able to change things — no matter how small.

The OnePlus 5 receives appropriate praise for its clean software experience, but there’s more to it than simplicity. OxygenOS, as OnePlus calls it, integrates a ton of little useful customization options to let your OnePlus 5 look and act just how you like it. Now there isn’t so much customization in here as to let you change the entire experience, but there are things you can change on a OnePlus 5 that you typically have to load a custom ROM on your phone to get, and that’s great.

Here are some of the little things you can change on your OnePlus 5’s software to make it your own.

Status bar

Now this is a really nerdy thing, but one that’s wonderful: you can choose exactly which icons show up in your OnePlus 5’s status bar. Just head into Settings and then Status bar to get started.

Of course most people will keep the usual set of icons for the volume status, Bluetooth connection, Wi-Fi and such … but the best part about this is being able to turn off the more annoying and relatively useless icons. Things like the VoLTE status, Wi-Fi calling, NFC, and the headset indicator. If you don’t want to see them, you don’t have to. It’s rather magical and we seriously wish every phone did this.

On top of that, you can of course choose what battery indicator you want, show the active network speed, and change the clock to actually show the seconds as well.

Navigation buttons

Probably the best example of the software’s customizability is the navigation buttons. Not only can you decide between on-screen and capacitive navigation keys, but you have so many options beyond that simple choice. Head into Settings then Buttons to get started.

If you choose to go with the capacitive keys below the screen, you get the most customization options — and the most screen real estate, of course. You can of course swap the back and recents keys but also enable both a “long press” and “double tap” action for all three buttons. Each of the six actions can do things like open or close the menu, launch Google Assistant, turn off the screen, open your last-used app, and more. It will take a while to learn but can be extremely powerful and save you time.

For the software navigation bar, you can simply choose to swap the back and recents keys (if you’re perhaps used to Samsung phones), or enable the hardware home button so it works even though you have an on-screen button. That’s useful in full-screen apps. If you turn on the hardware home button, you also unlock the long press and double press actions for that button as well.

Gestures

OnePlus honestly had some troubles with its gesture control system early on, but has refined it to make it relatively useful for those who want extra “hidden” things they can do with their phone. Found in Settings then Gestures, you’ll see a few different things you can do by swiping your finger around on the screen when it’s turned off.

The basics are double-tap to wake, which we’ve seen on many phones, and music controls that let you swipe down with two fingers to play/pause media or draw an arrow to skip back or forward.

You then get five more gestures you can turn on and customize. By drawing an O, V, S, M or W, you can choose to perform actions like launching the camera, turning on the flashlight, or just launching any app on your phone. Between all five letters, you can do a whole lot without actually turning on your phone and tapping an app icon. That’s powerful.

Launcher, theme, and icon packs

If you choose to stick with the stock OnePlus Launcher, which closely mimics the Pixel’s launcher and is quite nice, you get a few nice features. One hidden nugget is the ability to swipe up anywhere on the home screen to access the app drawer but also swipe down anywhere to bring down the notification shade — no more reaching! In the launcher settings, you can turn off the notification swipe if you want but also turn off the Android Nougat long-press app shortcuts if you find them annoying.

OnePlus includes an important feature for those who love to tweak their phone: full icon pack support. Just pinch in on your home screen and select Settings. The stock launcher lets you choose between three different icon styles — standard, rounded or square — but also supports any third-party icon pacs you may have installed. That means you can get one of the hundreds of custom icon sets out there, install it, and have the OnePlus 5 switch to it seamlessly. They usually take a bit more work than that, so it’s great to see native support for this sort of niche tweak.

To complete the look with your icon pack, you can also choose between different themes at a system level as well. Under Settings and Display, select Theme and choose between the default theme, a light theme, or a dark theme. Yes, a default dark theme.

Notification LED

Knowing its target market, OnePlus still includes a notification LED on the top bezel of the phone — it also gives you great control over it in the settings. Under Settings then Display and LED notifications, you’ll find all of the available options.

You get to choose between eight different colors — dark blue, light blue, orange, green, red, yellow, purple, and pink — for the LED for basic functions like charging, battery full, battery low, and any general notification coming in. But you can also choose exactly which apps will light up that “general notification” color. You probably don’t care about the LED blinking for Android Pay or Dropbox, but you do want to be notified by Gmail or your banking app. Just scroll through the list and pick which ones you want.

Unfortunately you can’t pick different LED colors for different apps or get super granular and start addressing different apps with a different flash pattern, but a vast majority of people will be happy with the included settings.

The coolest part about all of these tweaks is that if you don’t want to change anything, you don’t have to! None of these settings particularly get in the way or interfere with just using the OnePlus 5 right out of the box. That’s great design right there.

OnePlus 5

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This $8 portable battery packs 10000mAh of power to keep your devices going

Our friends at Thrifter are back again, this time with a great deal on a portable battery pack you’re going to want!

Manufacturers have finally started putting more focus into the battery performance on smartphones, but often times with how busy we are they still don’t meet our needs. No one wants to sit connected to a wall to get extra power during the day, and luckily you don’t have to. Portable batteries are an investment everyone should make, especially when they are this inexpensive. Right now you can pick up a 10000mAh battery pack from Kmashi for just $7.99 with coupon code 5EX29OBFat Amazon.

This is a discount of $4 off its regular price and brings it around $1.50 lower than we normally see deal prices on it for. It has 2 USB ports so you can easily charge multiple devices at the same time (outputs at 2.1A), and the built-in LEDs show you how much power the battery itself has left. If you struggle to make it through the day with your battery life or need something for when traveling, you won’t want to miss this deal.

See at Amazon

For more great deals be sure to check out our friends at Thrifter now!

Best Tempered Glass Screen Protectors for HTC U11

Want to keep your HTC U11 in pristine condition? That means you’ll want to look into a tempered glass screen protector. The U11 has a slight curve around the edge of the screen, which makes pure edge-to-edge protection from a tempered glass screen protector difficult.

Nevertheless, if you pair a tempered glass screen protector with a quality case, you’ll get supreme protection for your new phone. Here’s a rundown of some of the best options for the HTC U11.

• Supershieldz
• Wimaha
• Orzero

Supershieldz (2-pack)

This two-pack of screen protectors from Supershieldz is compatible with cases and features a black border with precise cutouts around the fingerprint sensor, ear speaker, and camera. It features hydrophobic and oleophobic coatings to protect against sweat and oil from your fingerprints.

The adhesive is around the edges, which is less than ideal and may lead to issues such as a rainbow effect when the screen is turned off. If that’s not a dealbreaker for you, you can get two for under $10, and enjoy Supershieldz’s no-hassle lifetime replacement warranty.

See at Amazon

Wimaha (2-pack)

Don’t like the look of a black border on your screen protector? Consider this two-pack from Wimaha. As mentioned above, it does not offer full edge-to-edge protection, but does cover the entirety of the display and is compatible with cases for better protection.

This screen protector includes curved edges for a smooth touch experience and features cutouts around the fingerprint scanner and camera to avoid any weak points in the screen protector’s design. The package includes everything you’ll need to ensure a clean, bubble-free installation with both of the protectors included. Wimaha backs its product with a lifetime warranty.

Again, this is far from being the ideal edge-to-edge protection we all want in a screen protector, but unless phone manufacturers go back to a flat sheet of glass for screens, we’re going to be dealing with this issue for the foreseeable future.

See at Amazon

Orzero (2-pack)

Another option comes from Orzero, with another two-pack of tempered glass screen protectors with black borders. They feature hydrophobic and oleophobic coatings with rounded edges and include a complete package for a bubble-free installation.

It goes right up to the curved edge of the screen but leaves a bit exposed — perfectly covered by a case. You’ll want to take your time during installation to ensure all the cutouts are precisely lined up with the fingerprint scanner, ear speaker, and front-facing camera. Since it’s a two-pack, you’ll get two shots at getting it right, and it’s backed by Orzero’s lifetime replacement warranty.

See at Amazon

How do you keep your HTC U11 safe?

Have you tried out a different make of screen protector? Opting for a film protector for better coverage? Let us know in the comments below!

HTC U11

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Judge allows pacemaker data to be used in arson trial

Remember Ross Compton, that man from Ohio who was charged with aggravated arson and insurance fraud based on his pacemaker data? He and his lawyer tried to convince the court to disregard that evidence, arguing that it was obtained in an illegal search. Well, the judge that heard the case didn’t see it that way: he has decided to allow the suspect’s pacemaker results to be used as evidence against him in an upcoming trial.

Compton told the cops that when he saw his house burning last year, he packed his bags, tossed them out his bedroom window and carried them to his car. However, authorities got a hold of his pacemaker data and had a cardiologist review his heart rate, pacer demand and cardiac rhythms from that day. The doctor went on record to say that “it is highly improbable Mr. Compton would have been able to collect, pack and remove the number of items from the house, exit his bedroom window and carry numerous large and heavy items to the front of his residence during the short period of time he has indicated due to his medical conditions.”

Privacy advocates worry that the case could put the privacy of our medical records at risk. Compton’s lawyer, Glenn Rossi, told CNET that allowing someone’s medical information collected by a device to be used as evidence “further expands the government’s ability to access some of our most fundamental private information.” He added:

“We take the strong position that medical data regarding the inner functions of one’s body designed to assist a doctor in keeping a patient alive should be safeguarded against government overreach. As was argued to the court, what is next on this slippery slope as technology advances?”

Electronic Frontier Foundation staff lawyer Stephanie Lacambra said something similar when news first broke that authorities obtained Compton’s medical info:

“Americans shouldn’t have to make a choice between health and privacy. We as a society value our rights to maintain privacy over personal and medical information, and compelling citizens to turn over protected health data to law enforcement erodes those rights.”

Judge Charles Pater, however, doesn’t think the data’s use has bigger privacy implications:

“There is a lot of other information about things that may characterize the inside of my body that I would much prefer to keep private rather than how my heart is beating. It is just not that big of a deal.”

Compton is now scheduled to stand trial on December 4th and could be betrayed by his own heartbeat.

Via: CNET

Source: Hamilton Journal News

Audi knows millenials will have to deal with self-driving boredom

During Audi’s elaborate introduction of its new (Level 3 autonomous) A8 in Barcelona, it also talked about the 25th Hour, a research project it says will “define the premium mobility of the future.” Simply put, now that you’re not driving, what do you do in an autonomous car?

The automaker teamed up with the Fraunhofer Society to build a “driving” (it’s actually more just sitting) simulator to conduct tests on subjects to see how they react to different stimuli. The simulation recreated the feeling of riding in a car while it drives through city streets at night using large projections on the wall while displaying information on the “windows” of the vehicle.

The researchers then studied the brain activity of 30 millennial subjects from Hamburg, San Francisco and Tokyo as they were shown ads and social media updates and asked to perform random tasks. Unsurprisingly, the EKGs of the riders showed increased arousal (get your head out of the gutter) when bombarded with information and asked to execute certain activities.

While this seems like a “well, duh” moment, the reality is that automakers need to figure out what people will do in their car when they stop driving. Both Audi and BMW are already trying to figure that out, because it’s not like any other situation we currently encounter. Public transit is, well, public; driving with friends is a social experience. A single rider in an automated vehicle day after day, that’s something new.

As a luxury automaker looking toward the future and wanting to continue to sell cars, it’s important for Audi to determine what type of environment it’ll create — even if some of those potential customers will never actually be behind the wheel.

Autonomous cars will help us reclaim lost time. Audi said that on average people spend 50 minutes per day behind the wheel. What will we do with that time? Will we watch TV, work, connect to social media or something completely different? That’s what Audi’s trying to find out and in the process making sure it doesn’t create an annoying environment.

During Audi’s Tech Summit, I got a chance to do a less intense version of the test conducted on the millennials. I didn’t wear a skullcap with wires hanging every which way. Instead a heart rate monitor was attached to my wrists and fingers. I sat in the “car” with a few other journalists, and we went for a short “drive.” The demonstration went from relaxed to slightly annoying when I was asked to count the number of times certain letters appeared while being bombarded with ads on the displays.

My EKG readout showed a slight arousal blip during the test. That’s not that surprising: My day usually involves dealing with a ton of data and distractions while writing. So I chalk it up to what’s normal for me. But I did start to reach for my phone (they asked us not to do that) out of habit. Not doing anything is an odd feeling in our connected world. But doing too much is also not healthy. Audi and other carmakers need to find a happy medium.

Melanie Goldmann, head of culture and trends communication at Audi, said in a statement, “The results show that the task is to find the right balance. In a digital future, there are no limits to what can be imagined. We could offer everything in the car — really overwhelm the user with information. But we want to put people at the center of attention. The car should become a smart membrane. The right information should reach the user at the right time.”

The 25th Hour is a nice marketing term. Audi is planning on making self-driving cars just as luxurious as its current cars, just in a different way. Regardless of what finally ends up in our robot-chauffeured vehicles, carving out more free time in our hectic lives is wonderful. It’ll just be interesting to see how we use it.

Source: Audi

Luxury phone maker Vertu is calling it quits

Luxury phone maker Vertu is in the process of being wound up after an attempt to rescue the business from administration failed. The Financial Times reports that the firm, which apparently had debts of around £138 million, will close with the loss of around 200 jobs. The news comes as a surprise, given that the outfit recently signed a technology-sharing deal with Chinese giant TCL.

Vertu began life in 1998 as the ultra-ultra-premium arm of mobile giant Nokia, but as its parent company’s fortunes began to wane, so did its own. By 2012, Vertu was sold to EQT VI, a private equity group, which held the company until 2015. That year, the business was sold to Godin Holdings, a Hong Kong-based company that was apparently suffering through its own cash crisis.

Earlier this year, Murat Hakan Uzan purchased the manufacturer for £50 million ($64 million), pledging to help it reach its “full potential.” The Telegraph described Uzan as the “scion of an exiled and secretive Turkish business dynasty” and a member of one of “Turkey’s most controversial families.” Uzan had a fractious relationship with Nokia, too, after borrowing money from the company to launch a carrier in his homeland.

The Financial Times says that Uzan had attempted to buy Vertu back out of administration for £1.9 million, a bid that was subsequently rejected. Sources close to the businessman claim that he intends to retain Vertu’s branding, technology and licenses, and will look to “rebuild” the phone maker. That may not, however, include restoring the jobs of the people who hand build the devices at Vertu’s British manufacturing plant.

It is not the first premium handset maker that has struggled to survive in the mobile world, especially in the last few months. Sirin, which boasted of a Vertu-equalling ultra-secure phone for the jet set, stopped producing devices after less than a year. In a world that is increasingly dominated by Apple, Samsung and BBK (owner of Oppo, Vivo and OnePlus), it’s clear that a mid-tier smartphone coated in crocodile skin isn’t a good investment.

Source: FT

EU tells companies to stop stalking their employees’ Facebooks

Companies shouldn’t be allowed to inspect the Facebook and Twitter accounts of prospective job candidates, unless there is an appropriate “legal ground” for doing so, a European group dedicated to data protection has ruled. In a guidance “opinion” document, the Article 29 Working Party said employers should first consider whether the candidate’s account is meant for personal or business purposes. In addition, they should only reviews posts or “data” which is “relevant to the performance of the job which is being applied for.” Under no condition should companies force a potential employee to friend the recruiter or make their profile public.

The same rules apply to existing employees too. Companies shouldn’t force their workers to provide access to their social media posts. In addition, “screening of employees’ social media profiles should not take place on a generalised basis,” the group argues. Finally, the working party says employees shouldn’t be required to use a social media account created by their employee. If it’s required for work purposes, the employee should always have the right to set up an alternative, personal account and use it whenever they feel it’s appropriate. “And this should be specified in the terms and conditions of the employment contract,” the guidance reads.

The guidance serves as clarification for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a new set of laws that were passed in April and will take effect in May 2018. As The Telegraph reports, these rules will apply even after the United Kingdom has left the European Union. The “opinion” serves as a reminder, and a call for future participation by specifying exactly what’s expected of employers next year, and how the rules apply to new technology and modern workplace practices. The guidance is therefore structured as a series of scenarios whereby the interests of employers would need to be balanced by employees’ right to privacy.

Which all sounds great in theory, but enforcing the new rules could prove tricky. “All employers should be following these basic rules but, in practice, I’m not sure they do,” Peter Church, a technology specialist at law firm Linklaters told the BBC. “The GDPR might force employers to be a bit more diligent about compliance with the rules.”

Source: BBC, European Commission, The Telegraph