Smile! Dentacoin wants to become the Bitcoin of the dental industry

Of all the technological leaps Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have enabled, arguably their biggest impact has been the creation and proliferation of blockchain technology. The blockchain has many manifestations, though, and a new one is looking to leverage it to create a new outlook for…the dental industry.

Yes, that’s right. It’s cryptocurrency for your teeth.

Called Dentacoin, it pitches itself as a way to improve dental health, cut out insurance companies as middle men, and foster cooperation between dentists and patients. But can a currency with so specific a role possibly hope to compete in a space with 700+ other crypto coins, including the granddaddy of them all, Bitcoin?

If your response to that question was a huff of derision, you’re not alone. A cryptocurrency used exclusively to pay your dentist seems rather ridiculous, and it goes against the broad goal of ‘digital cash’ that most cryptocurrencies aim for. Why would you trade real world money, which can be used to pay for anything, for something that can only be used for dental care?

This smile is no joke

Your laughter would be met with a stony – if well maintained – smile from Dentacoin’s founders, and its associated foundation. Highlighting the blockchain’s ability to offer a decentralized infrastructure that is free from political pressure and regulatory interference, they believe that Dentacoin could pave the way to a brighter future for all.

That’s a big claim for a system that gives you some money back on your next scale and polish, but its proponents claim that the immediate benefits of Dentacoin are simple and direct.  Dentistry patients will be rewarded Dentacoins for taking part in surveys and reviews of dental practices and procedures, which they can then use to pay for future treatments or dental products. In return, those dental practices receive detailed feedback from their customers, and can use that information for market research purposes.

It sounds more like a supermarket reward point system.

On top of that, the blockchain itself can operate as a trusted contractual agreement between patients and practices, ensuring that the public can see who is paying who for what services. In other words, Dentacoin wants to combine paid surveys with an unalterable review platform.

While it’s leveraging new technologies to complete this, the core concept seems less than revolutionary. Indeed, it sounds more like a supermarket reward point system, or a gift card. Why couldn’t a dentist just have its own reward card complete with tooth stamps for a free checkup?

Although the blockchain system’s ability to identify a ‘verified customer’ does offer more concrete proof of real patients leaving reviews, customer feedback is not impossible to find as it is, and there’s no sign that fraudulent reviews are an industry problem. While pitched as a benefit to patients, it looks as though paranoid dentists are the true target audience.

Who takes Dentacoin? Not many dentists, it turns out

According to Dentacoin’s backers, as many as 6,000 people are already making use of the Dentacoin system – but only two dental practices in Europe accept it as a currency. You could be sitting on a Dentacoin gold mine, and the best you could hope for is a choice of two practices, very likely located on another continent. Although the chicken and egg problem is pervasive in all new technological platforms and services, it seems to be a fatal flaw of this already limited system.

There’s also the issue of where the monetary value in Dentacoin comes from. A closed loop financial system is only as good as its users’ ability to cash out, to trade it for real money in both directions. Dentacoin makes that difficult.  Any disruption in trust will undermine that.

For now, Dentacoins are centrally produced and controlled, to ensure they’re given out fairly. Where it becomes more difficult to justify is years down the line, when stockpiles of Dentacoins have been created at various tooth drillers. The Dentacoin whitepaper suggests that at that point, the dentists themselves can then reward patients for surveys and feedback with those tokens. How can a review system possibly operate fairly, when it will rely on the companies being reviewed to, effectively, pay for the reviewers’ services?

Worse, the currency is likely to be volatile. As we have seen with Bitcoin and Ethereum, many factors outside the market itself can have an impact on a cryptocurrency’s implicit value, which could destroy collections overnight, or create potential Dentacoin millionaires – who would then have few avenues for spending the currency. There’s a limit to how many cavities you need filled.

Another little currency with big problems

These problems are only a concern if the coin becomes popular, and most believe it won’t even come close to achieving. As host of the Bitcoin news show, Vortex, told DigitalTrends, altcoins like Dentacoin “do not have the capability to scale to global audiences because blockchains are inherently slow and expensive despite the extraordinary claims made by these founders.”

A lack of market share only enhances a cryptocurrency’s volatility, which in turn makes it susceptible to the influences of individuals and small groups. Big investments or sales of the coin would lead to huge changes in its value, making it dangerous for investors, and ripe for exploitation.

“None of these app coins have enough market share to provide any real liquidity.”

“None of these app coins currently have enough market share to provide any real liquidity for proper investors,” Vortex said. Their books are razor thin, so anyone can come along and either pump or dump the market price very easily, which leaves the chain quite open to attacks and manipulation.”

Dentacoin’s existence underscores the difficulties that still face cryptocurrency’s efforts to gain mainstream legitimacy, yet also shows why investors have flocked to the original digital coin – Bitcoin. Stability matters, and struggling alternatives like Dentacoin only underscore that fact.

At best, Dentacoin is a misguided attempt to leverage a vogue technology to over complicate systems already in place. At worst, it could wipe the smile off the face of naive investors – and patients.

Microsoft Modern Keyboard with Fingerprint ID review

Long before Microsoft started making its Surface line of PC hardware, and even before it launched its Xbox gaming platform, it was churning out a well-received line of mouse and keyboard accessories. Now that the company is a bona fide PC maker, it hasn’t slowed down in producing mice and keyboards aimed at a wide range of users. In our Microsoft Modern Keyboard with Fingerprint ID review, we look at a new keyboard that offers up an interesting twist.

The Microsoft Modern Keyboard, as we’ll refer to it from now on, is almost identical to the Microsoft Surface Keyboard that was introduced in 2016. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to tell them apart, as there’s only one key that distinguishes them. That key makes a real difference, though, as it includes an embedded fingerprint scanner that supports Windows 10 Hello for password-less logins.

There’s currently no way to wirelessly connect the Modern Keyboard to any platform other than Windows 10.

There’s another difference that merits mention, and Microsoft’s naming convention creates some real confusion. You might think that the Surface Keyboard is intended to be used with Microsoft’s Surface PCs, while the more generically named Modern Keyboard is intended for more widespread usage. Both keyboards support Bluetooth LE, and so you’d be forgiven for making this assumption.

In fact, it’s the opposite. The Surface Keyboard works wirelessly with a wide variety of platforms including Windows 10, Android 4.4.2 and later, and MacOS 10.10.5 and later. The Modern Keyboard, on the other hand, only works with Windows 10 machines unless you plug it in via USB — and we’re not only talking about the Windows Hello support. As we’ll see later, there’s currently no way to wirelessly connect the Modern Keyboard to any platform other than Windows 10. You’ll want to keep that in mind while you’re shopping for a new keyboard.

You’ll notice the final difference when you’re paying your credit card bill. The Surface Keyboard is priced at an already-high $100, but the Modern Keyboard is pushing into serious luxury territory, at a hefty $130. That’s a lot to pay for what looks like a simple keyboard, but Microsoft has a few tricks up its sleeves.

Solid, Surface-like Build

Like the Surface Keyboard, the Modern Keyboard is a solidly-build accessory that will remind you of the Surface Pro and Surface Book. The keyboard’s chassis and deck sport a silver-gray color scheme that’s reminiscent of the Surface Book, and the keys are similarly shaped, although darker in color, and the lettering is white instead of black. Unfortunately, the keyboard isn’t backlit, so the white-on-gray lettering makes the keys difficult to read in some lighting conditions.

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

The Modern Keyboard’s frame is constructed from a durable aluminum that provides plenty of rigidity. It’s a surprisingly small and thin keyboard as a result, with almost no bezel surrounding the full-size key layout that includes a 10-key numeric keypad, and a copious amount of special function keys. It looks professional when paired with any system, although it’s not going to match up perfectly with a desktop setup that’s made up of a black case and a black monitor.

It utilizes a sealed rechargeable battery that promises four months of use per charge, another area where it differs from the Surface Keyboard, which uses replaceable disposable batteries. Both keyboards have a battery hump on the bottom that serves to prop up the keys at a comfortable — but non-adjustable — angle.

The basic design and construction of the Modern Keyboard goes toward justifying its $130 price. It also lines up with what Apple charges for its very similar Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad.

Crisp and precise keyboard action

Of course, a keyboard’s style isn’t its most important characteristic. A keyboard has one job — to let its user quickly and comfortably enter copious amounts of data into a PC, or other device. A keyboard can look great and be built like a tank, but if its key mechanism is poorly made, it’s a failure.

It’s quiet enough for use in a busy office, but each impression provided a satisfying snap.

Fortunately, Microsoft has nailed that aspect with the Modern Keyboard. We found the Modern Keyboard offered a light keystroke that’s nevertheless springy, and provided some nice tactile feedback. It’s quiet enough for use in a busy office, but each impression provided a satisfying snap. It doesn’t provide the same kind of confidence that you’ll get from a real mechanical keyboard, but it’s far from mushy. We think the best way to characterize the Modern Keyboard is “precise.”

While it’s pleasant to use, the Modern Keyboard is not an ergonomic keyboard. Check out Microsoft’s Surface Ergonomic Keyboard if you want the same basic look and feel, with an eye to proper hand and finger positioning. The Modern Keyboard has no such ergonomics. Nevertheless, the pressure needed to work the keys is comfortable enough to make for fast and prolonged typing with minimal fatigue.

Simple setup that’s (almost) Windows 10-only

As said, the Modern Keyboard only works wirelessly with Windows 10 machines. In fact, it has an unusual configuration routine for a Bluetooth keyboard that locks it into Microsoft’s platform. Instead of pairing the Modern Keyboard with a PC using the typical Bluetooth pairing process, you first connect it with the included USB cable and follow a simple setup process through toast notification. That routine both configures the Bluetooth connection, and lets the PC know the keyboard has a fingerprint scanner.

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Once you’ve run through the setup process, you can unplug the keyboard and use it wirelessly, or keep it plugged into USB and use it as a wired keyboard.

As of now, there’s no way to kick off a Bluetooth pairing operation to make it work with other, non-Windows 10 platforms, and we’re told by Microsoft that the Bluetooth implementation it uses is only compatible with Windows 10. We expected the password-less login capability to only work with Windows Hello, but we’re surprised that its Bluetooth connection won’t work with any other platform, including Windows 7.

Windows Hello setup is easy enough

An additional step in setting up the Modern Keyboard is configuring Windows Hello. And the good news is, the process is just as easy as it is with other Windows Hello devices. You simply register your biometrics — in this case, your fingerprint — with the system, and as usual you can come back later and improve recognition and register additional fingers.

Simply depress the Windows Hello key with the registered finger, and voilà!

Once it’s configured, Windows Hello with the Modern Keyboard is just as efficient as always – which is to say, it allows you to very quickly and easily sign into your Windows 10 PC without needing to type in a complicated password or simpler PIN. In the case of the Modern Keyboard, the fingerprint scanner is located underneath an extra key and requires you to depress the key to register a scan. That slows things down for a split second, but provides total control over the login process.

That process is very simple, indeed. If your PC is locked, then you simply depress the Windows Hello key with the registered finger, and voilà! You’re logged in with no additional muss or fuss. Note that if your PC is asleep or if the displays have turned off, then the Windows Hello key will wake things up, but then you’ll have to depress it again to scan your fingerprint and log in.

Conclusion

The Microsoft Modern Keyboard with Fingerprint ID is a high-quality, well-built keyboard that offers a comfortable and precise typing experience. It’s also rather expensive at $130, with some of that extra cost being justified by Windows Hello support that’s easy to setup and works flawlessly. The keyboard fits in well in professional environments, and it exudes quality and class.

At the same time, the Modern Keyboard is currently Windows 10-only, something that we don’t know will ever change. We’ll update this review if Microsoft plans to support more platforms. In the meantime, if you want the same keyboard design and mechanism and don’t care about Windows Hello support, then you can always pick up the Microsoft Surface Keyboard for $100, or spend the extra money for the improved ergonomics of the Surface Ergonomic Keyboard.

Here’s our bottom line. The Modern Keyboard provides a superior typing experience, a robust and attractive design and build, and modern biometric security. All that makes it well worth the extra money, and if you’re a Windows 10 user who can fit it into your budget, then you should pick one up.

Enter now to win one of two Nomad Goods prize packages

The Thrifter crew is back with another sweet giveaway for you. Be sure to enter now!

Everyone loves having a bunch of extra gadgets and accessories to go with their favorite phone, but not everyone loves paying for it. Our friends at Thrifter have partnered up with the awesome folks at Nomad to bring you, the best deals community out there, a chance to win one of two prize packages. There is one bundle for the Apple-loving folks out there, and one for the Android users, with some truly great products in each of them.

Leveraging the wild success of its initial Indiegogo campaign, Nomad has remained in the spotlight by continually pushing out some of the most innovative and well-designed tech accessories on the market.

Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll find in each of the prize packages.

Apple Bundle:

• Sport Strap – $49.95 Value
• Pod – $29.95 Value
• Battery Cable (Lightning) – $49.95 Value
• NomadPlus – $19.95 Value

General Tech (Android) Bundle:

• USB Charging Hub – $49.95 Value
• PowerPack – $119.95 Value
• Carabiner – Micro USB – $19.95 Value
• Universal Cable – $34.95 Value

Entering to win these prizes is as simple as following us on Twitter, visiting our Facebook page, and subscribing to our Newsletter.

Enter now to win one of two prize packages from Nomad Goods!

iDevice dimmer switches work with Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri

Using your voice to control things around your home is one of the cooler aspects of the future we live in. But, unless you have the right phone or smart speaker, that functionality can be crippled or nonexistent. Platform-agnostic devices for smart homes are all too rare, which is why iDevices’ dimmer switch is so intriguing. The company’s hardware works with Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri right out of the box. No, I never thought I’d say a dimmer switch would be interesting either, but here we are.

Other features are include what you’d expect, like customizable dimming, an LED night light and a form factor that fits into existing standard wall boxes and rocker plates.

What’s more, the new dimmer switches don’t require a hub for any of their functionality. iDevices says that there are plenty of more in-wall items coming along these lines. Hopefully other manufacturers recognize that platform agnosticism is the way of the future.

Source: iDevices

Meet Jon Hamm’s latest character in AR before the movie debuts

Jon Hamm and Lois Smith take on the future of personal assistants in Marjorie Prime, a movie set to release on August 18th. Co-starring Tim Robbins and Geena Davis, the film explores Marjorie’s failing memory of her late husband, Walter, with a digitally recreated 40-year old version of him. Now you, too, can meet Walter as a hologram before the movie debuts via iOS or Android and developer 8i’s Holo app.

You can add Jon Hamm’s Walter to the Holo augmented reality app and then place the dapper little guy anywhere you want to aim your camera. As with the other “holograms” that come with Hol, you can move him around on your phone’s screen and even rotate them, thanks to the full volume 3D capture technology. Each of the figures in the Holo app, including Hamm’s Walter, move and speak, too; you can make your own little video with them right in the app. Movie tie-ins with VR and AR aren’t anything new, of course, with movies like Dunkirk, Blade Runner 2049 and Spider-Man: Homecoming (which also had its own Holo entry) all getting the modern technology equivalent of a toy off of a kids’ menu.

Source: 8i/YouTube

Apple starts removing Apple Pay from white nationalist sites

Apple has suspended support for Apple Pay on a handful of websites selling white-supremacy clothing and accessories, joining a cascade of technology companies currently cutting off hate groups online. Apple Pay no longer works on at least two websites selling clothes, bumper stickers and other items stamped with Nazi imagery and hate speech, Apple confirmed to Buzzfeed. One site sells a sticker depicting a car running down a group of people, complete with the words, “Nobody cares about your protest.”

Apple Pay guidelines state users may not incorporate the transaction system into a website that “promotes hate, violence, or intolerance based on race, age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.”

Apple isn’t the only tech company taking another look at its clientele this week. After a protest against neo-Nazis turned deadly in Charlottesville, Virginia, this weekend, Google, GoDaddy, Spotify, Discord, GoFundMe and PayPal all took steps to shut down white supremacist outlets, including notorious neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer. Twitter even suspended an account that provided updates for the site.

After extensive convos w/ @ColorOfChange – @PayPal will stop processing payments for a set of hate groups & leaders https://t.co/SMCuYQzpAi

— Rashad Robinson (@rashadrobinson) August 15, 2017

Source: Buzzfeed

Horror adventure ‘The Black Mirror’ revived for modern gamers

Despite being released long after the point-and-click game genre’s heyday, 2003’s The Black Mirror became a gothic horror hit long before the unrelated British sci-fi anthology show. THQ Nordic tapped German developer King Art Games to revive the original game into modern adventure title, which is due for release on November 28th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

The game puts you in the shoes of protagonist David Gordon as he explores his spooky family manor, Black Mirror, soon after the death of his father. It’s not the first time King has taken a stab at the franchise: In 2009, they created concept art for a full sequel, The Black Mirror II, which set the look for a third game released the following year that closed out the trilogy. It’s not THQ Nordic’s first rodeo with gothic darkness, either, given its experience with the Darksiders franchise.

The last few years have seen a steady resurgence of interest in point-and-click legends. The old LucasArts game Full Throttle recently made it to iOS, the latest in a line of Tim Schafer reduxes. But more broadly, players are gobbling up remade versions of decades-old titles, from the relatively recent Modern Warfare Remastered to the resurrected PS2 cult classic Phantom Dust. If Crash Bandicoot can ride the redux train, then nostalgia is truly selling well.

Apple Pulls Apple Pay Support From Websites Selling White Nationalist and Nazi Apparel

Apple has disabled Apple Pay support on websites selling white nationalist and hate group apparel and accessories, reports BuzzFeed.

While Apple did not provide a comment on its decision to pull Apple Pay from the websites, an Apple spokesperson pointed out Apple Pay guidelines that prevent the payments service from being used on sites promoting hate, intolerance, and violence based on race, age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.

On Wednesday, Apple confirmed to BuzzFeed News that it had disabled Apple Pay support for a handful of websites that sold sweaters with Nazi logos, t-shirts emblazoned with the phrase “White Pride” and a bumper sticker showing a car plowing into stick figure demonstrators. […]

Apple removed Apple Pay capabilities from little-known sites including AmericanVikings.com and VinlandClothing.com, the latter of which sells apparel with Nazi logos.

Apple’s efforts to block Apple Pay from white nationalist websites comes following a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where white nationalists and supremacists clashed with counterprotestors over the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue located in Emancipation Park. The event culminated in the death of one person and the injury of 19 others after a white nationalist drove a car into a crowd of people.

While Apple has not made an official statement, Apple CEO Tim Cook shared two tweets earlier this week calling the events “heartbreaking” and condemning violence and racism.

Heartbreaking scenes in #Charlottesville. Violence and racism have no place in America.

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) August 12, 2017

We’ve seen the terror of white supremacy & racist violence before. It’s a moral issue – an affront to America. We must all stand against it

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) August 14, 2017

In addition to Apple, many other sites have been cracking down on white nationalist and white supremacist organizations. PayPal has also pulled payment support from some of the sites in question, while Uber, Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, and Airbnb have made efforts to quell white nationalist activity on their platforms.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
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Hands-on with the Nokia 8

HMD Global has just unveiled what will be the very first Nokia flagship running Android: the Nokia 8. Historical significance aside, does the Nokia 8 represent the return to form that legions of Nokia fans have been waiting for? Well, it certainly looks and feels a whole lot like a 2017 flagship and like many flagships, it has a killer feature to set itself apart. Let’s dive right in.

See also:Nokia 5 review

Nokia 5 review

17 hours ago

As Nokia has been known to do in the past, they’re putting the major emphasis on the camera – or should I say cameras – and the addition of some unique tricks should make it a great choice for content creators and the Instagram generation. HMD themselves have described the Nokia 8 as the ‘ultimate device for documenting your life’, which will certainly appeal to a specific audience.

But will that be enough to compete with existing heavy hitters?

Design and history

For those not in the know, HMD Global is a Finnish company that acquired the Nokia brand license just eight months ago and has already given us the Nokia 3, 5 and 6. This is their first stab at a real flagship though, and having just reviewed the Nokia 5, I was eager to see how a high end model would hold up and whether HMD would be able to fly the flag proudly for the Nokia brand (no pun intended!).

To look at, the Nokia 8 is off to a good start. The Nokia 8 has most of the hallmarks of a modern flagship, while continuing the design language of the last three models. It has an attractive and very slim all-aluminum design with an average thickness of 7.3mm. It’s 4.6mm at its thinnest point and 7.9mm at its thickest.

The design supposedly curves like this in order to pack maximum performance into a sleek body and HMD says you ‘won’t find a straight line’ in the design. The Nokia 8 comes in matte silver, matte blue, polished blue and an eye-grabbing polished copper, colors which adorn the back of the device but not the front.

On the front is a 5.3-inch QHD 2,560 x 1,440 IPS LCD display with 700 nits of brightness. It certainly looked very vibrant, bright and crisp in my brief testing period (admittedly only indoors). There’s also a fingerprint sensor around the front on an indented home button – which is my personally preferred placement, but your mileage may vary.

While rather stunning from the rear, the Nokia 8 is also something of a fingerprint magnet and is very slippery. Those bezels are also starting to look a little bit like last year compared to some other top-of-the-range phones now available.

The Nokia 8 is also not waterproof but rather only splash-proof with an IP54 rating. That’s something that some users have come to expect from flagships (much like bezel-less displays) so this might be a blow for some. While the Nokia 8 is a great looking phone, it’s not Galaxy S8 great…

Performance and software

Specs-wise, the Nokia 8 puts up a good showing and is able to trade blows with other flagships. It’s powered by a 2.45 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 and is backed up by 4 GB of RAM. This duo should make it more than capable of handling even the most demanding tasks.

See also:The best OEM specific features

The best OEM specific features

April 28, 2017

What might also help out here is some advanced cooling that makes use of a copper pipe and graphite shielding in order to disperse heat evenly across the phone. That means there should be no ‘hot spot’ under stress which will reportedly allow you to push the performance harder for longer.

Another thoughtful design choice was placing the antennae at the top and bottom of the phone, which should prevent them from getting covered by your hand while you use it. This should also allow for some of the best signal sensitivity in the industry and potentially better battery life. We’ll have to get back to you on this in the full review though.

The Nokia 8 comes with 64 GB of internal storage. There will be both a single SIM and a dual SIM version, with the second SIM tray accepting an SD card to expand storage by up to 256 GB. The battery is a 3,090 mAh cell with Quick Charge 3.0 via USB Type-C, but better signal sensitivity and a stripped-down Android experience means this should last you a decent amount of time.

You can expect an entirely clean Android experience from the Nokia 8 and Nokia promises owning one will be one of the fastest ways to get Android O.

Which brings us to software. You can expect an entirely clean Android experience (Android 7.1.1 out of the box) with no additional customization or bloatware. Everything from the dialer and keyboard to the contacts uses Google’s Mobile Services and HMD explains that it wouldn’t have been adding anything by making changes ‘just to be different’.

The stock Android experience also means that the device will receive quicker updates; Nokia promises that owning the Nokia 8 will be one of the fastest ways to get Android O in your hands. Reportedly, the new OS is already being tested on the handset. Personally, I quite like to see customizations from OEMs to add a little unique flavour to the experience, but I know I’m largely in the minority there.

The camera and ‘bothie’ mode

Saving the best for last, the star of the show here is the camera. The Nokia 8 camera is the result of a partnership between HMD and Zeiss and is the core experience the phone is designed around.

The rear shooter utilizes two sensors: one color and one monochrome. The two images are then combined into a single shot with greater contrast using ‘Image Fusion Technology’. This is essentially what we have seen from several other handsets recently, such as the Honor 9 and Huawei P10. There’s also a two-tone flash and both apertures are f/2.0.

Related: Who is Carl Zeiss?

Both rear sensors are 13 MP, but in a unique twist, so too is the front-facing camera which, in fact, utilizes the exact same camera module. That means you also get auto focus, which is another rare feature for a selfie-camera (though it was something we also saw in the S8, slightly dodgy though the implementation there was). The reasoning behind this is to support what the company sees as the Nokia 8’s ‘killer feature’: the ‘bothie’.

Both rear sensors are 13 MP, but in a unique twist, so too is the front-facing camera, which also has auto focus.

Nokia wants this phone to be the ‘ultimate device for telling your story’. Thus, it’s bothie feature allows users to snap photos or record video using footage from both the front and rear cameras, split down the middle 50/50.

This ‘bothie’ mode is intended to allow users to ‘tell the whole story’. Whether shooting in this mode or just recording regular video, both can be streamed directly to Facebook Live or YouTube natively from the camera app. I found the Nokia 8 camera to be a good shooter capable of some detailed, contrasty shots, but I was unable to get the photos off the device, so we’ll need more time to test before we can make a final verdict.

I was a little disappointed not to see more features in the camera app (which was developed in-house) and particularly at the lack of manual settings. Though perhaps you’ll be able to tweak these with a third party solution, as with the Google Pixel.

The Nokia 8 is the first time we’ve seen Ozo Audio on a mobile device, which is usually reserved for Hollywood VR cameras.

What also makes the Nokia 8 a good choice for content creators is top-tier audio recording, with the phone using Ozo Audio. This is an audio solution found in VR cameras previously only used by Hollywood and is the first time we’ve seen it on a mobile device.

Using multiple microphones, it can capture a high dynamic range and record binaural audio. This means that someone watching your Facebook livestream with headphones will be able to hear stereo sound with no need to own specific software themselves. In theory, the audio quality should be able to match the video when capturing your story on the move and if you’re someone who enjoys live streaming, this will be a big boon.

Summing up

For a killer feature, I’m not sure that the bothie mode is really anything that couldn’t be accomplished on any other device with the right app (*cough* gimmick *cough*), but having the feature so readily available means that more users will be likely to try it and it is a good way to showcase what the phone is really all about.

Whether bothie video becomes something content creators will adopt into their videos will remain to be seen. I personally don’t see how having my gurning mug take up half the screen is going to add value to my videos… but your mileage may vary there.

More to the point though, a 13 MP front-facing camera with auto focus is a compelling feature and one that will no doubt appeal to vloggers, backpackers or anyone else who enjoys turning the camera on themselves. And when you couple that with the sleek design, the ‘pure’ Android experience and the top of the range specs, I’m sure there will be a large audience for the phone.

The Nokia 8 will be available globally on September 6 for a price of 599 EUR (details on US pricing to come). We’ll have the full review ready for you then, so we can find out if this is a truly competitive flagship from Nokia and whether the Nokia 8 really is the ultimate phone to document your life with.

Why is Technological Advancement is important in Every day Life?

In every day-to-day life, people depend on vehicles to get from point A to B, reliance on vehicles is seen as a necessity in today’s developing world. Used for safety, work and play, vehicles need to be strong, reliable and durable electronic assemblies put in place. The chassis arrangement of every vehicle is very complex. They can either have a staying power or break easily. There is need for regular technological advancement on the assembly designs to make sure they stay strong.

It takes a lot of concentration and efficient assembly lines to make a good reliable vehicle. A vehicle needs good tools that will guarantee efficiency. Electronic assembly tools used in every vehicle should be rightfully put in their place and collaborate with the mechanical design of the vehicle. The tools used should allow easy placement of components and allow shaping of the board for installation. Anything less than this will lead to using extra costs because of breakages.

Class 3 PCB assembly designs are some of the best technological advances recently introduced into the market. Classes 3 PCB are among the strongest and the toughest designs. They can withstand extreme temperatures, moisture and chemicals. Besides these, 3PCB can also withstand systems within systems that are very complex or other boards.

Assembly tools should provide a good system that captures and manages elements of electronic designs that are capable of saving both time and costs. They should enable reuse of sub-circuits with lifecycle management and have good components and designs that can withstand time when improving the new parts.

Meeting all the regulatory compliance standards of vehicles electronics designs, like leaving paper trails, documenting everything and fulfilling all the requirements needed is very important to vehicle owners. Electronics and PCB designers to maintain the trust of the vehicle drivers and raise their confidence while on the road should do this task thoroughly. A certified after-market product or vehicle requires a lot of audit trails, testing and documentation. The auto products mostly used are costly and need to be serviceable. The whole exercise to be complete, you will need to generate many Documents. The task of getting these documents ids not easy because they have to be of very high quality.

Technological advancement means never having to worry about the ambiguity of documentation paper trail. This can only be possible by good management of projects in version control. Proper use of templates for production outputs, reports, schematics and PCB documents would also be one other reason not to worry about ambiguity. Proper documentation makes it easier for the engineering team to trace audit trails rom each design update and ECO.  Document revisions to ASME Y14.35, along with lifecycle management and design releaser maintained by the industry’s best practices.

Majority of the people buy vehicles for their elegance, beauty, safety and reliability. When you are fitting the body and chassis electronics, you have to fit everything with the fact that a vehicle is an emotional purchase in mind. Remember to think of the consumers comfort too in terms of space when you are trying to find space for all the electronics. The electronics should not change the shape of the vehicles. Let them follow the curves as they are made and let the beauty of the vehicle not get interfered with.

It is easier nowadays with the advanced technology to make the PCB assembly fit into the curves of the chassis. The latest LED technology allows designers to spend less time in modeling of the bends, mechanical enclosures, body lighting, in-dash and folds. This has further been made possible by the use of rigid-flex and flexible PCB design and not forgetting the 3D.