Hulu’s live TV service is now available on Amazon Fire TV

Beginning today, Hulu’s Live TV beta service is available on Amazon Fire TV and Amazon Fire TV Stick and those using Hulu through those devices will also be automatically upgraded to the recently redesigned user interface. The redesign and Live TV both launched in May and, at the time, were only available on Apple TV, Xbox One, iOS and Android mobile devices and Chromecast.

With the retooled Hulu user interface, you can create personal profiles and pick your favorite shows and movies. You can also easily add shows you’re watching to your favorites list and Hulu will sort your lineup by timeliness and relevance to your interests. Amazon Fire TV and Amazon Fire Stick users will now have access to these new features and be able to subscribe to Live TV, currently in beta, which gets you live and on-demand programming from over 50 channels for $40 per month. Add ons like premium channels, extra cloud DVR storage and unlimited screen access are also available for extra fees.

Hulu says they will continue to bring these features to more devices soon.

Source: Hulu

Bitcoin’s long-overdue upgrade is all things to all people

Bitcoin backers have welcomed a code upgrade that will improve the virtual currency’s usage and scalability. The upgrade, known as SegWit2x, represents a compromise between two competing schools of thought on Bitcoin’s future. There had been some anxiety that the community would not get behind the new standard, but Bloomberg reports that 93 percent of miners “locked in support for BIP91, the first necessary step in implementing SegWit2x.”

As its popularity has grown, so too have transaction fees and processing times. Scalability has largely been restricted by the limits of the blockchain; the transaction ledger that lives on thousands of servers around the world. One faction, Bitcoin Unlimited, believed the answer lied in increasing the code limit on how much data a block can hold. This would make it faster and cheaper for users, but more expensive to run a server. The competing proposal came from Bitcoin Core. It advocates moving smaller transactions outside the blockchain, leaving Bitcoin as a long-term store of value, rather than an everyday payments network.

The SegWit2x upgrade draws on both ideas. Some data will be moved outside of the main network, while block size will be doubled to 2MB. While the move is set to go live later this year, the news appears to have sparked renewed confidence in Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency jumped to $2,628 in trading on Thursday, adding around $316 over the course of just 24 hours. It’s now around 15 percent off its all-time high of $3,019, which it reached in June.

Via: Bloomberg

Source: Coindesk

New Editorial Content Begins Appearing Within App Store on iOS 11 Beta

A few testers on the iOS 11 beta have noticed that new editorial content appeared within the App Store this week, related to information about HBO NOW, Pokémon Go, and new App of the Day and Game of the Day cards. MacRumors forum member mariusignorello posted about the new content recently, pointing out other changes as well, like updated carousels on the Apps and Games tabs. Previously, the App Store on iOS 11 remained on the date of Monday, June 26 for many users without any new content added.

One of the major new additions to the App Store’s Today tab on the iOS 11 beta is a How To guide for “The Best Way to Binge Game of Thrones.” In the article, the editors discuss the popularity of the HBO series, and go on to list four of their favorite moments from the show so far. Each moment gets a description of where users can find it in each season and episode, as well as a spoiler-filled description of what goes down. When they’re done reading, the bottom of the card links readers to the HBO NOW app on the App Store.

The second article is gaming-focused, giving App Store browsers a Gaming 101 guide on “How to Game: Pokémon Go.” The article includes “tips for leveling up faster,” and includes four total tips surrounding Pokémon evolution, capture mechanics, and daily streaks. Like the Game of Thrones card, the bottom of the Pokémon Go tips card links readers to the App Store page for the game, as well as a share sheet to send the story to someone via Messages, e-mail, Twitter, and more.

There’s a new “Our Favorites” app collection card, which encourages readers to download a few gaming apps that are focused on playing with friends since they all have in-game chat or work as a Messages app. This story is much shorter than the previous ones, focusing more on providing readers with a straightforward list of apps following a brief description of what the collection is about.

The last pieces of new content include new App of the Day and Game of the Day cards. The App of the Day celebrates the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Comic-Con in San Diego with a digital coloring book app called Marvel: Color Your Own. The editors give a brief description of the app, as well as a promotion for using Apple Pencil to get the most out of coloring in the Marvel characters. The same setup is seen in Game of the Day, which is currently an app called Framed 2.

Apple unveiled the iOS 11 App Store redesign on June 5 during its WWDC keynote, showcasing the new look as a way to unify the App Store’s design with other iOS 11 apps, and making it easier for users to browse and find new apps. During the presentation, Apple senior VP of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, said that, “We are taking everything we’ve learned from the App Store over the past nine years and putting it into a stunning new design. Every element of the new App Store is richer, more beautiful and more engaging.”

Take a closer look at the redesigned App Store on iOS 11 with our hands-on preview.

Related Roundup: iOS 11
Tag: App Store
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Sony’s high-speed ‘eye’ gives robots 1,000 fps vision

Sony is known for making great sensors that serve as a camera’s eye, but it apparently designs eyes for robots, as well. The Japanese tech giant has announced the release of a high-speed vision sensor that will allow industrial robots to detect and track objects at 1,000 frames per second. Robots used in factories aren’t typically the most sophisticated. Their operators usually have to plot their movements using a program, since they’re only meant to do specific tasks in the factory again and again. This high-speed vision sensor, however, could lead to autonomous machines that can quickly react to an object’s movements in real time.

That’s made possible by the fact that the chip itself can process images and can instantly tell the machine what it’s seeing — there’s no need to send the images over to a separate computer for processing. In the video above, for instance, you’ll see the system identifying different currencies at a glance, tracking different fingers individually as they move and inspecting items without having to stop the conveyor belt for a closer look.

Once it makes its way to actual factories, the sensor could instantly identify malfunctions that would’ve affected production. It could also prevent accidents and get rid of machines’ limitations. The best thing about it, though, is that it’s not just a concept waiting to be manufactured. Sony will begin shipping samples to potential customers in October 2017.

Source: Sony

Amazon’s discount policy is being investigated by the FTC

Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods requires a wink of blessing from the Federal Trade Commission, but that might not be a done deal. Reuters is reporting that the FTC is taking a particular interest in how Jeff Bezos’ online retailer prices, and discounts, its products. According to sources close to the probe, there is a suspicion that the company has offered misleading information to consumers during sale seasons.

Consumer Watchdog is a pro-consumer advocacy group founded by Harvey Rosenfield, who spearheaded California’s Proposition 103. One of its members, John Simpson, has posted a report claiming that Amazon uses artificially-inflated reference prices to make its Prime Day discounts seem more generous. Like saying that the slow cooker you bought for $30 was actually going to set you back $150 the day before (and after).

The only problem is that, according to the watchdog, the prices are doo-doo, and Amazon is pulling the figures out of a hat. But this isn’t the first skirmish between the pair on this issue, with the retailer previously pledging to change its reckless ways. A June 2017 study, however, says that 61 percent of the 1,000 listings checked had reference prices higher than any price Amazon had charged in the previous 90 days.

Amazon has already rebutted the allegations, telling Reuters that Watchdog’s study was “deeply flawed,” and “flat out wrong.” Despite the denials, it’s clearly bothering the folks at the FTC, which is now making informal, but serious, enquiries at the retailer. If deceptive practices are found, it could pose a serious roadblock on Amazon’s road towards owning Whole Foods — and by extension, the US grocery market.

It will be interesting to see how the FTC proceeds, given how commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen prefers a light touch form of regulation. Not to mention that Bezos, as owner of The Washington Post, has raised the ire of the current administration on more than one occasion. Although we can’t imagine anyone using higher office as an excuse to settle a petty squabble between feuding billionaires.

Source: Reuters, Consumer Watchdog, FTC Letter (.PDF)

Intel accuses Qualcomm of abusing its mobile chip monopoly

Qualcomm’s dispute with Apple over patents on its chip tech recently took a nasty turn when it asked the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to ban iPhone sales in the US. In response to a request from the ITC, Intel has now made its own statement, accusing Qualcomm of abusing its monopoly position and not licensing “standard-essential” patents at a fair rate as required by law. Of course, if anyone knows how to spot abuse of a chip monopoly, it’s Intel.

The dispute started when Apple sued Qualcomm for “abusing its clout” in the mobile chip industry. It got more combative when Apple began withholding patent royalties via suppliers like Foxconn. It argued that Qualcomm hasn’t licensed its tech under “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory” terms, claiming that it’s charging five times more than all of its other licensors combined. (The US Federal Trade Commission filed a separate lawsuit against Qualcomm, and both South Korea and China slapped hefty fines on Qualcomm over its trade practices.)

Qualcomm, for its part, said Apple “unilaterally declared the contract terms unacceptable; the same terms that have applied to iPhones and cellular-enabled iPads for a decade.” It then turned around and sued Apple’s suppliers that use Qualcomm patents to claw back the royalties.

Intel got involved in the dispute because its LTE modems, used in some of Apple’s latest iPhones, allegedly infringe on Qualcomm patents. Qualcomm has demanded that Apple replace those parts with chips that use its own baseband modems. (Intel’s LTE modem is reportedly used on GSM-radio iPhone 7 and 7 Plus models from T-Mobile, AT&T and the rest of the world, while Qualcomm radios are used on CDMA models by Sprint and Verizon in the US).

Apple’s iPhone 7 and 7 Plus (AOL)

Intel accused Qualcomm of further anti-competitive practices — namely, offering Apple lower licensing fees for using its chips exclusively. “These arrangements foreclosed rivals like Intel from competing for Apple’s vital business,” it said.

Intel believes that Qualcomm has a more sinister aim with its Apple patent dispute: Crushing Intel in the mobile chip market. “Qualcomm did not initiate this investigation to stop the alleged infringement of its patent rights; rather, its complaint is a transparent effort to stave off lawful competition from Qualcomm’s only remaining rival,” it states. “These arrangements foreclosed rivals like Intel from competing for Apple’s vital business,” it said.

Overall, Intel believes that the ITC needs to consider Qualcomm’s pattern of what it calls “abusive” legal practices. “This twisted use of the Commission’s process is just the latest in a long line of anticompetitive strategies that Qualcomm has used to quash incipient and potential competitors and avoid competition on the merits.”

There’s a lot of irony in this, of course. In the ITC claim, Intel is depicting itself as the poor victim of a mobile chip monopolist, even though it was fined $1.4 billion by the EU for abusing its own PC chip monopoly with AMD. Nevertheless, its claim to be an underdog is effectively correct: Next to Qualcomm, Intel has a pitiful share of the mobile chip market. The ITC is set to study the complaint in August, and a trial is expected sometime next year.

Via: CNET

Source: Intel (PDF)

Wisconsin Resident Sues Apple For Over $75,000, Claims Defective iPhone Caused House Fire

Wisconsin resident Xai Thao and her home insurance provider State Farm have jointly sued Apple for over $75,000 this week, claiming the company sold Thao a defective and dangerous iPhone 4s that started a fire in her home last year.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. district court, alleges the house fire was the direct result of the iPhone’s battery short-circuiting and heating up. Thao nor anyone else ever changed the battery in the iPhone, according to the complaint.

On or about April 1, 2016, the iPhone failed, starting a fire in Thao’s home. Preliminary investigations show evidence of a significant and localized heating event in the battery area of the iPhone as well as remnants of internal shorting, indicating that an internal failure of the iPhone’s battery caused the fire.

The complaint reiterates that the design, manufacture, and sale of the iPhone 4s created a “dangerous, unsafe, and defective” condition.

If designed improperly, lithium-ion batteries do have the potential of short-circuiting and catching fire, as Samsung learned the hard way with its recalled Galaxy Note7 last year. But, that hasn’t been a widespread issue with the iPhone 4s since it launched in 2011, so this is certainly an isolated incident.

Thao and State Farm are seeking at least $75,000 in damages from Apple, but the exact amount is to be determined if and when the case is heard.

Tag: lawsuit
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Ready player one? Razer may be working on a smartphone made for gamers

Why it matters to you

More companies building smartphones means more choice for us, especially when the resulting devices target a particular niche like gaming.

Gaming company Razer is rumored to be working on a smartphone designed to appeal to hardcore gamers. Although only a rumor at the moment, it’s not a huge surprise. Razer acquired smartphone startup Nextbit Systems back in January, and while it said at the time Nextbit would be a standalone division, it’s entirely possible the two are working on the project together.

The gaming phone’s development will apparently be funded by Razer’s initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, with a projected company valuation of between $3 billion and $5 billion, according to anonymous sources speaking to Bloomberg. The IPO is planned for sometime around October, but there’s no indication of when Razer’s gaming phone will be released.

Razer is best known for its gaming peripherals, such as mice and keyboards, along with sleek, stylish laptops. It has also dabbled in the world of wearables, with varying degrees of success, which promoted the company’s Insider community and desire to connect millions of game players around the world together. It was one of the most tempting aspects of its wearables, and tapped into the traditional tribal-like nature of serious online gamers.

Growing niche, not without competition

With the continued rise in mobile gaming’s popularity, both at home and in the competitive world of esports, Razer may find more people are keen to join a central community and connect with like-minded people today. A smartphone that doubles as a powerful games machine would seem to be the ideal platform, especially coupled with Razer’s zVault digital wallet and zGold virtual currency, which gamers can earn-as-they-play, and pay for new equipment in the future. However, this is speculation on our part, as Razer hasn’t confirmed it’s making a phone.

If it is developing a gaming phone, it won’t be the first, and also faces competition from another startup which may have very similar plans. Acer, which like Razer has a very strong gaming brand under its Predator name, has already produced striking gaming tablets, and shown off the Predator 6 gaming smartphone. However, this was back in 2015 and since then, outside of checking out a non-working prototype, the phone has been a no-show.

Startup Wonder is also most likely building a phone. It’s potentially the centerpiece of a larger ecosystem of gaming products, if CEO Andy Kleinman’s comment about the Nintendo Switch almost-but-not-quite bridging the gap between mobile and gaming, is anything to go by. Wonder’s first device may be out before the end of the year. Companies including Sony and Nokia have made phones suitable for gaming in the past.

Nothing is official about Razer’s smartphone plans yet. We’ll keep you updated right here.

4 crazy VR experiences you can try right now, and 1 jawdropper worth waiting for

So you’ve got a VR headset — a $400 Rift, perhaps — and are keen to find the latest, coolest experiences to play on it. You’re not alone — we are too! To find them we attended VRLO in London, where virtual reality companies come together to demo their latest products, and wow us with the newest innovations.

It wouldn’t be fair if we didn’t share the cool things we tried there, so here are the five coolest experiences we saw. We’ve concentrated on those you can try out today, but one coming soon was so mind-blowing, it just had to be included.

Finding Haka

When done right, virtual reality documentaries are engrossing and engaging. Finding Haka is the perfect example, transporting you to New Zealand to see a young rugby player learn the famous Haka ritual, and learn about its history. We won’t give anything away about the story, as it’s best watched without hints; but do look out for some great editing, impressive use of camera angles, and some effects that we’d not seen in a 360-degree documentary before.

Finding Haka is the work of SurroundVision and filmed for Sky Sports. It’s Sky’s first full-length VR movie, and was apparently a real labor-of-love for the production crew — and is available to watch through the Sky VR app for iOS and Android. It’s not just for rugby fans either! It’s powerful and exciting stuff.

Try it now from:

Google Play iTunes

Fantasynth

Described as an “audio-reactive experience,” Fantasynth sees you glide through a world that comes alive with bright neon colors, jets of flame, and geometric shapes. Set to the trance track Chez Nous by N’to, it’s worth listening to wearing a great pair of headphones, and if you have one, a bass rumble backpack. We particularly loved the reflections on the ground, giving the world a metallic, futuristic look. We’re not the only ones either, it was listed as an official selection at the SIGGRAPH 2017 conference, where the world’s best computer graphics and interactive visual techniques are showcased.

You’d best to sit down while watching, as the movement can make you a little dizzy. We watched on an Oculus Rift, and it can be downloaded through Steam VR, and the Oculus Store.

Try it now from:

Steam VR Oculus Store

Horizons

Ever played the PlayStation classic Rez? It’s one of our favorite PlayStation VR releases, and Horizon VR’s is directly influenced by it. The scrolling audio experience uses the Google Daydream controller to guide you around a futuristic and often surreal world, interacting with elements and passing goals to change the music playing in real-time. We loved it, especially the stage which used Bonobo’s Outliers as the theme.

Horizons is available through the Google Play Store, and is playable only on the Google Daydream headset and a compatible Pixel phone.

Try it now from:

Google Play

Ghost in the Shell

Whether you liked the live-action Ghost In The Shell film or not, you have to try the VR experience, created by Rewind — which organized VRLO — and Here Be Dragons studios, alongside Paramount, Oculus, and Dreamworks. It’s a scrolling video experience set around the famous building dive scene in the movie, and it’s nothing short of spectacular. From the stunning design of the camouflaged figure-hugging body suit, to the neon brilliance of the city, it’s a visual feast.

We tried it out on the Oculus Rift, and the Touch controllers can be used to slow the action down, giving you a chance to check out every detail. It’s rendered in real-time on the Rift, and looks incredible. The video is also available for the Gear VR, and even on Facebook as a 360-degree video, though it’s best seen on the Oculus Rift.

Try it now from:

Gear VR/Oculus Rift

Home: A VR Spacewalk

You’re going to have to wait a short while for this one, but believe us, it’s worth it. Created by Rewind for the BBC, you become an astronaut tasked with repairing a piece of the International Space Station, and must spacewalk to complete your mission. It’s built for the HTC Vive, and uses the controllers to great effect. It’s even possible to play in a haptic feedback chair, and to monitor your heart rate in real-time.

It’s genuinely one of the most dizzying, exciting, awe-inspiring, and downright frightening VR experiences we’ve had in a long while. Like all the best VR experiences, there are moments you’ll remember in “the real world,” such as opening the hatch and pulling yourself out into space, only to see the Earth far below you.

We’re not the only ones gushing over it either. Home: A VR Spacewalk has won numerous awards, including a Silver Lion at Cannes, a BIMA digital award nomination, and an invitation to be part of BAFTA’s VR Committee Summer Showcase.

Although you can watch a video summarizing the experience, it’s nothing compared with actually doing it. Rewind is still putting the final touches to the build, and is waiting for a final release date, but we’ve been assured it’s coming out in the near future.

India’s Jio is effectively giving away its 4G-enabled feature phone

The JioPhone will come with unlimited data for just ₹153 a month.

Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani has unveiled the JioPhone, a feature phone with 4G and VoLTE connectivity that “reinvents the conventional feature phone.” The phone will be up for purchase from September, and you’ll need to pay a deposit of ₹1,500 ($25) to get your hands on a unit. Where things get interesting is that the deposit is fully refundable after three years, making it essentially free.

The JioPhone will come bundled with apps like JioCinema, JioTV, and JioMusic, giving customers access to the carrier’s digital catalog. For ₹153 a month ($2.50), Jio is giving free voice calls, texts, as well as unlimited data and unfettered access to Jio’s content library. There’s also a ₹309 plan ($5.0) that will give JioPhone customers the ability to mirror the screen to a TV via a cable.

Alongside Jio’s own apps, the JioPhone will offer access to Facebook, and there’s also a custom web browser through which customers will be able to browse the web. The phone will also have voice commands, and will be able to recognize 22 local languages.

With the JioPhone, Jio is aiming to end India’s “digital inclusion.” Out of 780 million active phones in the country, over 500 million are feature phones that offer little to no access to the internet, and it is this segment that Jio is actively targeting with its latest device. Ever since making its debut ten months ago, Jio has fundamentally changed the way Indians consume data, with the country now surpassing the U.S. and China for mobile data consumption.

Indians are now consuming 1.2 billion GB of cellular data per month, with Jio serving 85% of that traffic. The carrier has picked up 125 million subscribers in just under a year, and by rolling out a feature phone that will be available across the country, Jio is looking to significantly increase its userbase.

Jio is kicking off a beta test on August 15 — India’s 70th Independence Day — where it will make the JioPhone available in a few batches, and the device will go up for pre-order on August 24. General availability is kicking off from September, with Jio aiming to manufacture 5 million phones a week to meet the inevitable demand.