The Morning After: Wednesday, August 9th 2017

It’s Wednesday morning, and your password philosophy is wrong. Oh and we know even more about that new iPhone.

Ooops?
New guidelines will try to fix the password mess

Bill Burr, a manager at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), wrote a password primer in 2003 that recommended many of the rules we have now: special characters, capitals and numbers. Sadly, it wasn’t updated as regularly as he intended and created the mess of hard-to-remember logins we’re dealing with now. Now, NIST has a set of draft guidelines that are intended to be more secure, mostly because they will be easier for people and businesses to implement and use every day.

Disney’s big day

In: Internet ESPN, Out: Disney movies on Netflix (eventually)

Disney had big news to go along with its most recent earnings results: It’s pulling out of a deal that brought its newest movies to Netflix before other streaming services or cable channels. That exit won’t take effect until the start of the 2019 theatrical slate, which will coincide with the launch of its own streaming service. Meanwhile, the standalone streaming version of ESPN is set to launch next year with MLB, NHL, MLS and other sports on board.

What do you want to know next?
The iPhone 8 might launch in September after all

Apple might not like leaks, but it’s suffering hard this time around. Next up, a September launch for the iPhone 8, perhaps, and a render that suggests the phone will be (almost) all screen. Gaze upon what might be.

Say goodbye to spark plugs
Mazda says it’s nailed the compression-ignition gasoline engine

While Mazda marches forward with its electric cars, it’s not giving up on the gasoline engine. In fact, it’s made a major breakthrough this week that most of the major carmakers have been chasing: compression-ignition. Why should you care? Because it could offer major increases to fuel mileage. See? You should care.

The real-time motion capture behind ‘Hellblade’
How a tiny team in Cambridge, England, brought Senua to life

For years, movie and video-game studios have used mocap to bring digital characters to life. From detective Cole Phelps in L.A. Noire to the powerful Caesar in Planet of the Apes, the technology has delivered some truly moving, actor-driven performances. Normally, however, motion-capture scenes are processed by an animator hours, days or weeks after they’ve been captured on set. It’s a time-consuming process. Now games developer Ninja Theory is using a unique setup that allows them to preview in-game scenes in real time. Pre-visualisation, or pre-vis, has existed before in the industry, but it’s typically limited to body tracking. Full-character modelling is rare, especially at the kind of fidelity Ninja Theory is shooting for with its next game, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. Nick Summers leapt into a bodysuit to learn more.

Even if it won’t be a Sharp phone.
Sharp’s edge-to-edge AQUOS S2 is a glimpse at your next phone

Andy Rubin’s Essential Phone may have wowed us with its edge-to-edge display recently, but let’s not forget that Sharp has been driving this design with many of its previous Android phones — 28 of them, to be precise. The Japanese brand has unveiled its 29th release, dubbed AQUOS S2, which, funnily enough, looks rather familiar. From afar, the S2’s screen and the Essential Phone’s screen share the same front-camera notch at the top. The next smartphone battle is likely to center around these all-screen phones. Let’s see what the competition has in store.

But wait, there’s more…

• Watch the most impressive ‘Game of Thrones’ VFX reel yet
• Federal scientists: US already feeling effects of climate change
• Valve is releasing a ‘Dota’ card game called ‘Artifact’ next year
• Your new car might be as hackable as the first iPhone
• Intel’s push for petabyte SSDs requires a new kind of drive

Nissan’s next Leaf will be $5,000 cheaper than the Model 3

If you want a cheap EV and are willing to settle for less range, you might end up with a Nissan Leaf and not a Chevy Bolt or Tesla Model 3. According to a (now pulled) leak on car sales site Autobytel, as seen by our sister site Autoblog, the 2018 Nissan Leaf will cost $29,990 for the base model with a 40 kWh battery — $5,000 less than either the base Bolt or Model 3. With two-thirds the capacity of either model, however, the incoming Leaf will have a range of around 150-160 miles, significantly less than its rivals.

According to the spec sheets (which merit some skepticism until the EV is officially unveiled next month) the Leaf will pack 147 horsepower and 236 pound-feel of torque. That a lot more than the 107 horsepower of the 2017 Leaf, but much less than the Bolt’s 200 horsepower and 266 pound-feet — making the Leaf more of a grocery-getter than a track star. There’s no word yet on how much power Tesla’s base Model 3 will make, the but the upmarket model will reportedly have a stellar 258 horsepower, more than plenty for a 3,837 pound car.

The Leaf S will reportedly cost $29,990, the mid-level SV $32,490 and the upmarket Leaf SL $36,200. Those models will have different trim levels, varying probably from basic to fancy. The upmarket model is likely to have Nissan’s next-gen ProPilot self-driving system, which Engadget previewed earlier this year in London.

Blurry spy photos of the 2018 Leaf have recently appeared, taken apparently during a commercial shoot (below) and at the factory. They show a sleeker, but still relatively conventional vehicle — not the swoopy, futuristic concept that some folks were hoping for.

Source: Autoblog

OneDrive 9.1 for iOS Adds Paper Scanning, Offline Folders, and Expiring Share Links

Microsoft released a “completely rewritten” version update of OneDrive for iOS on Tuesday, promising bug fixes, performance improvements, and several new features for Office 365 subscribers.

Version 9.1 of OneDrive now offers users the ability to scan as many paper documents as they want and save the pages into a single PDF, with options to crop, rotate, or delete the scanned pages.

Microsoft says this version of the app is also bringing Offline Folders to the cloud service for the first time, although the feature is being rolled out over the next couple of days. Once enabled, users can tap and hold on important folders and then tap the new offline command to make them available with or without internet access.

In addition, this update offers improved sharing capabilities, including the option to create links that expire on a specific day, providing temporary access to a file or folder. To set up such a link, tap and hold on a file, tap share, and then select Link Settings.

Lastly, work or school account holders can try out a new personalized view in the Shared tab called Discover, which offers up interesting or relevant documents based on who they work with and what content they work on.

OneDrive is a free download for iPhone and iPad available from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Tag: OneDrive
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Firefox 55 Browser Gains Screenshot Utility, WebVR, and New Performance Features

Mozilla released Firefox 55 for macOS on Wednesday, touting new performance settings, faster speeds, several new features including a screenshot utility, and the addition of WebVR support.

Firefox 55’s major front end feature is Firefox Screenshots, accessed via a new screenshots icon on the toolbar. The feature allows users to capture a region of a web page by clicking and dragging a selection manually, or allowing Screenshots to capture one for them simply by hovering over the page element.

It’s also possible to capture a full page view without scrolling, and selections can be saved to an online Screenshots library, shared, and downloaded. Mozilla says Firefox Screenshots will be a gradual rollout so not everyone will see it immediately.

Meanwhile, WebVR is the big platform feature shipping in Firefox 55 that allows users with an HTC Vive or Oculus Rift to experience VR content on the web. Although the feature is currently only available to Windows users, there’s good reason to believe that macOS support is on Mozilla’s roadmap, given that Apple developers have recently joined the WebVR open community initiative.

In addition to the above, Firefox 55 promises users a dramatic performance improvement in session restores with large numbers of tabs, an option to fine-tune browser performance with e10s multi-settings, a new click-to-activate Flash Player, search suggestions in the Awesomebar enabled by default, and a modernized update system.

Firefox 55 is a free download for macOS and can be directly from the Mozilla website.

Tags: Mozilla, Firefox
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Apple’s ‘iPhone 8’ May Mute Notification Sounds When the User is Looking at the Screen

The HomePod firmware that Apple pushed out to public servers over a week ago continues to reveal tantalizing tidbits of information about unannounced Apple hardware, and this time the plaudits go to iOS developer Guilherme Rambo for discovering lines of code that suggest the upcoming “iPhone 8” will automatically suppress notification sounds when a user is looking at the screen.

What @jsnell talked about on the last @_upgradefm is true: the iPhone will suppress notification sounds if you’re looking at it pic.twitter.com/eFzKUfZYDx

— Guilherme Rambo (@_inside) August 8, 2017

Apple’s redesigned OLED iPhone is believed to include a front-facing 3D sensor capability, likely powered by acquired PrimeSense technology, that enables Apple’s new facial authentication feature.

As a possible extension of biometric authentication, the line of code beginning “TLAttentionAwarenessObserver” implies that the same infrared depth sensors may be used to mute audible notifications when the user is giving the phone their full attention and looking directly at the screen. Previously uncovered code within the HomePod firmware suggests the “iPhone 8” will also be able to scan the user’s face even while the device is lying flat on a table.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that the sound suppression feature will show up in Apple’s upcoming OLED iPhone, due to launch next month, but if it does, it’s likely to be user-configurable as an Accessibility consideration. If anything it highlights another potential use case for Apple’s face detection feature, which could replace Touch ID fingerprint authentication entirely on future iPhones.

While many observers remain skeptical that Touch ID can be replaced by a facial recognition system that’s equally secure, rumors have suggested Apple’s facial recognition technique captures more data points than a fingerprint scan, making it even more secure than Touch ID.

(Thanks, Dean!)

Related Roundups: iPhone 8, HomePod
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Panasonic’s self-driving wheelchairs are now trundling around a Tokyo airport

Why it matters to you

For those with limited mobility, technology like this can transform lives.

The country that brought us the autonomous chair is now testing out a self-driving wheelchair for people with limited mobility.

Panasonic wants to have lots of its electric wheelchairs in place at major airports across the country in time for the Olympics, which is coming to Japan in 2020. Trials have just launched at Tokyo’s Haneda international airport, which is also working to introduce other improvements to make the place more accessible to visitors.

A traveler in need of physical assistance can summon Panasonic’s wheelchair in a couple of taps using its dedicated smartphone app. It might be needed as soon as a passenger exits a plane, or when they arrive at the airport for a flight. In the case of the latter, the wheelchair will find its way to the passenger and take them to the appropriate check-in desk. After that, it’ll wheel the passenger around the airport according to their requests, with the journey eventually ending at the gate. The wheelchair will then tootle off by itself to help another traveler.

When the airport closes at the end of the day, the high-tech wheelchairs will drive themselves to a designated part of the premises for maintenance and storage, Panasonic said.

Similar to the kinds of features we see with self-driving cars, Panasonic’s autonomous wheelchair uses mapping software and built-in sensors to stop it from bumping into people, suitcases, and all the other obstacles you’d expect to find at a busy airport.

The wheelchair will be tested at Haneda until March 2018 with a view to having a final version ready in time for the sporting extravaganza coming to Japan three years from now.

Self-driving chair

In 2016 Japanese car giant Nissan unveiled a self-driving chair, called the ProPilot. While many thought it was a joke when they first heard about it, or a publicity stunt to showcase the company’s self-driving car developments, the automaker insisted the ProPilot was an actual product concept.

Nissan demonstrated how the chair could be useful for customers waiting in line outside a busy restaurant. With, say, six chairs arranged in a line, the customers can simply sit and wait until they reach the front of the line. When someone vacates the first chair to enter the restaurant, the empty seat automatically drives to the back of the line so a new person can sit down, while the remaining five seats, and the people sitting in them, automatically trundle to the front of the line outside the entrance to the restaurant.

The company suggested the ProPilot could “eliminate the tedium and physical strain of standing in line.”

Nougat makes steady gains in August distribution numbers, but so does Marshmallow

Nougat is gaining momentum, but the going is slow.

The latest Android distribution numbers put Nougat adoption — including both 7.0 and 7.1 — at 13.5%, an increase of 2% from a month prior. Android 7.0 Nougat is installed on 12.3% of active Android devices, while 7.1 accounts for 1.2%.

An interesting trend over the last two months has been the rise of Marshmallow devices. After holding steady at 31.2% in both May and June, Marshmallow saw a modest increase to 31.8% last month. The OS picked up a 0.5% increase in August as well, bringing its share to 32.3%.

With Lollipop falling to under 30% (it’s now at 29.2% for both 5.0 and 5.1), Marshmallow is the most widely-used version of Android globally. And although KitKat is down a percentage point from July, it still occupies a share of 17.1%.

Elsewhere, Gingerbread, Ice Cream Sandwich, and Jelly Bean account for 9% of active devices, a minor decrease of 0.5% from last month. With the Nougat update now rolling out to more devices and manufacturers offering budget phones with Android 7.0, the operating system will hopefully pick up some much-needed momentum in the coming months.

Android O is on the horizon, but the update will be limited to the Nexuses and Pixel devices initially, with the likes of the Galaxy S8, Moto Z2 Force, and OnePlus 5 taking a few months at least to receive the update.

Android Nougat

• Android 7.0 Nougat: Everything you need to know
• Will my phone get Android Nougat?
• Google Pixel + Pixel XL review
• All Android Nougat news
• How to manually update your Nexus or Pixel
• Join the Discussion

MetroPCS’ prepaid deal gives you two unlimited lines for $75

With the upcoming school year about to kick off, MetroPCS is rolling out a new plan for the entire family. Starting today, you can get your first line of unlimited LTE data (courtesy of T-Mobile), talk, and text for just $50. On top of that, every subsequent line you add to the package will cost you $25 each (for up to four extra lines). That means you can get two lines for $75 — which MetroPCS claims is its best-ever deal on unlimited.

Now, before you get too excited, there are some caveats. Just like Verizon’s $80 monthly plan, MetroPCS’ deal will sadly neglect your phone’s HD prowess. Instead, you’ll only be able to stream at 480p, which may be fine for younger kids, but could disgruntle older members of your clan. And, like most networks, hotspot and tethering don’t come as standard on the $50 base rate plan. If you want to use your mobile data to connect other devices to the Internet, you’ll have to fork out $10 more for 8GB of 4G LTE hotspot data per line.

A glance at the small print also indicates that the company uses data prioritization. In short, if you use a lot of juice on things like HD video and music streaming (38 GB per month, to be precise) you could suffer slower speeds until your next payment cycle.

Additionally, while being under T-Mobile’s umbrella gives MetroPCS customers access to perks like its scam-fighting tools, it also comes with disadvantages. For example, the carrier’s parent company prioritizes its own customers’ data connectivity speeds over MetroPCS users. However, you may find that’s only a problem if you live in an area suffering from network congestion.

To sweeten the deal, MetroPCS is throwing in a $100 rebate for each line you switch to its service (up to five lines). The offer is currently plastered all over the MetroPCS home page, so it’s hard to miss. Or, you can just stop by one of the retailers physical stores.

Verizon owns Engadget’s parent company, Oath (formerly AOL). Rest assured, Verizon has no control over our coverage. Engadget remains editorially independent.

Source: T-Mobile

Google is about to tell websites they serve annoying ads

You might encounter fewer and fewer pop-up ads, thanks to Google’s new initiative. The big G will begin telling websites in the next few weeks if they serve ads that people tend to find annoying. Those websites can then visit their Ad Experience Report for more info and screenshots of the advertisements in question.

We singled out pop-ups, because it’s no secret that they’re universally hated. According to research conducted by the Coalition for Better Ads, they’re usually what drive people to stop visiting a website or to install ad blockers — and ad blockers mean loss in revenue. Mountain View will also notify websites if their mobile versions are too cluttered. The coalition’s research found that mobile versions typically suffer not just from pop-ups, but also from a high density of ads for such a small screen.

Google explained:

“Replacing annoying ads with more acceptable ones will help ensure all content creators, big and small, can continue to sustain their work with online advertising. This is why we support the Coalition’s efforts to develop marketplace guidelines for supporting the Better Ads Standards and will continue working with them on the standards as they evolve.”

If the websites Google warns take action and follow the company’s advice, then you can expect fewer intrusive pop-ups and more subtle in-line advertisements in the future.

Source: Google

‘Fallout’ is bringing the wasteland to tabletop gaming

Multiplayer in Fallout on PC and consoles probably isn’t going to happen. So, if you want friends to join you in the wasteland you’re going to have to go old school. The folks from Fantasy Flight Games have devised a tabletop board game that’s suitable for up to four players. You can apparently play solo too, according to Game Informer. There’s a heavy emphasis on decision making (a callback to the older Fallout games on PC), and newer elements like the VATS system for combat are on offer as well.

Storytelling plays a significant role here too. Narratives are pulled from the Bethesda-made games and their expansions, including Fallout 4. If you’re looking for a different way to deal with a super mutant encampment or a rad roach infestation and Fallout Shelter isn’t cutting it for you anymore, maybe this will when it’s released in a few months. Need a video-game board-game fix before then? There’s always Dark Souls.

Source: Game Informer