Tim Cook Says Apple Has Raised Over $3 Million for Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts

Apple CEO Tim Cook today sent out an email to Apple employees addressing Hurricane Harvey and the devastation that it’s wrought in areas of southeast Texas and Louisiana.

Cook says Apple has helped raise over $3 million for relief efforts, both through its own donations and donations from Apple customers.

Apple on Sunday began accepting donations from its website and iTunes Store, with the money going directly to the American Red Cross to support people affected by catastrophic flooding. Cook’s full email is below, courtesy of BuzzFeed.

As you know, Hurricane Harvey is having a devastating impact on Texas and Louisiana. Our thoughts are with our employees in the storm zone and the millions of people whose lives have been disrupted by rain, wind and floods. I want to update you on some of the things Apple has been doing to help, and ways that you can get involved.

On the ground, Apple’s global crisis management team is working to support our employees directly affected by the flooding in Texas. The team is in close contact with Apple employees in the Houston area, and they’re actively doing everything they can to assist, including moving some employees and their families to safety. Apple employees in the Houston area have generously been helping people displaced by the flooding by opening their homes to team members and their families, and in some cases, assisting in rescue operations. We’re also proud that the US Coast Guard is using Apple products in those efforts, with nearly two dozen USCG helicopters specially equipped with iPads to help coordinate search and rescue teams.

As Harvey was making landfall, we put in motion critical donation programs. Apple is making it easy for customers to donate directly to the American Red Cross through the App Store, iTunes and apple.com, and we’re matching employee donations two-for-one. Thanks to your generosity and that of our users, Apple has helped raise more than $1 million in just the past few days. That’s in addition to the $2 million Apple pledged to the Red Cross over the weekend.

Though our stores in the Houston area are still closed today, we’re working hard to get as many as possible open tomorrow to serve people who have been impacted by the storm. Our teams are eager to help with problems large and small, and they know there are lots of people in that area who need it.

I was in Austin the day before Harvey came ashore, and the team was already bracing for the storm and the long recovery. Today that work continues. At our Austin campuses, we are kicking off a donation drive in partnership with the Central Texas Food Bank and Caffè Macs to collect food, diapers and personal hygiene items — all things that are critical in the aftermath of a storm of this magnitude.

Because Texas is home to more than 8,700 of our coworkers, the storm’s impact is felt by all of us. There’s still much to do, and Apple is committed to help.

Hurricane Harvey made landfall on Friday night and was initially classified as a Category 4 hurricane, but was downgraded to a tropical storm. Over the past few days, several areas in Texas and Louisiana have seen heavy rain and flooding.

Apple customers can continue to donate to the American Red Cross using Apple’s tools. Users can donate $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, or $200, with donations processed as normal iTunes purchases.

Apple also donated $2 million to the Red Cross over the weekend, and is matching employee donations two-for-one.

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Best Buy plans to send sales consultants to more homes this fall

Best Buy, the company that’ll sell you overpriced HDMI cables and charge a premium for making basic adjustments to your TV, wants to put its sales people in more houses. The Associated Press reports that the expanded service will be free, and this fall will move beyond the five test cities where it’s currently available. The retailer says that in its tests, customers spend more when a sales person comes to their homes versus what they do in stores.

For now, it’s being offered at brick and mortar locations where the chain’s blue-shirts will suggest things like in-home TV recommendations and smart home consultations. It’s something Amazon has tried with its own smart home setup service.

The dark side of this is that people might feel pressured to go with whatever the salesperson is pushing. After all, pulling out your phone to start comparing prices in front of a salesman is akin to swiping through Tinder while your last match sits across the table from you.

However, AP says that the sales people will be salaried or paid hourly, so they might not be as high-pressure as someone making rent exclusively from how much they’re able to sell. If you’re that keen for having a salesperson come to your house, though, maybe see what your locally-owned TV shop has to offer instead.

Via: The Verge

Source: Associated Press

Pad & Quill Announces New Attaché Leather Messenger Bag

Pad & Quill today introduced its latest product, the Attaché Leather Messenger Bag, which is designed as an upgrade to its popular standard messenger bag.

Like all Pad & Quill products, the new Messenger Bag is made from high-quality full-grain bridle leather by hand and outfitted with nickel and copper hardware.

It features a padded laptop pocket that can accommodate a laptop up to 15 inches, like Apple’s 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro models, and it includes a padded, secure pocket designed for the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro. The pocket will accommodate 9.7-inch and smaller iPads as well, but not the 12.9-inch model.

Expandable pleated front pockets on the bag offer space for an iPhone, cables, and other accessories, and at the back, there’s a quick access newspaper pocket.

Inside, the entire bag is lined with a soft suede, and it’s built with UV-resistant Marine-grade stitching for durability. A zipper pocket holds valuables, and two additional bucket pockets inside the bag hold other essentials. There’s a main pouch for books and other accessories, and a set of pen holders.

The bag measures in at 14 inches wide by 12.5 inches high, and it’s 5 inches deep with a weight of five pounds. It comes in several colors, including whiskey, chestnut, and chocolate. All Pad & Quill bags feature a 25-year leather warranty.

Pad & Quill’s new Attaché Leather Messenger Bag is available for pre-order from the Pad & Quill website for $495. Orders will ship out in mid-September.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Pad & Quill and may earn commissions on purchases made through links in this article.

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Samsung gets sweaty with Gear Fit2 Pro and Sport watches, IconX wireless earbuds

Why it matters to you

If you’re in the market for a device to help you during your next workout, Samsung has just updated its fitness lineup with three new products.

Samsung may have announced a major smartphone just last week, but its IFA press conference is all about wearables. They’re all fitness-focused, from the Gear Fit2 Pro and the all-new Gear Sport, to the second generation Gear IconX wireless earbuds. We got some brief hands-on time with these devices, so let’s take a closer look.

Gear Sport hands-on review

The Gear Sport is the most interesting of the trio, because it’s a smaller, more design-focused Gear S3. It packs the same 1.2-inch circular AMOLED display, but it has a much smaller frame. That’s possible, because Samsung took out the Magnetic Secure Transmission technology that allows you to make payments with Samsung Pay at virtually any terminal with a card reader. Only Near Field Communication (NFC) is on-board, which means you can still use Samsung Pay, but at more limited locations. If Samsung Pay through MST is important to you and you didn’t think the Gear S3 was too large, then it may make more sense to go for it. The Gear Sport does feel far more comfortable to wear, though, and we think it looks much nicer.

The Gear S3 is known for its unique rotating bezel, and the Gear Sport has the same functional bezel. It lets you interact with the watch: Just twist the circular frame to the right from the watch face to see your app widgets, and left to see your notifications. Samsung told Digital Trends the tactile sensation and sound of rotating the bezel has improved, and it’s immediately noticeable. Rotating the bezel feels fun and satisfying, and the clicky sound is more pronounced but not too loud.

The Gear Sport is water resistant up to 50 meters — in both swimming pools and open water. To match this feature, Samsung has partnered with Speedo to offer a pre-existing app called Speedo On, which allows you to measure laps, time, stroke type, and more. It’s also MIL-STD-810G certified, meaning it can withstand its fair share of drops, and extreme temperatures.

But there are plenty of other smartwatch features the Gear Sport can do, especially with its improved user interface through Tizen 3.0. It can let you interact with your notifications, , and you can even control Internet of Things devices through Samsung Connect, which utilizes Samsung’s SmartThings home platform. The watch is designed to be a helpful companion, even when you’re not exercising. Kate Beaumont, Samsung’s director of strategic product planning, gave an example of the Gear Sport reminding her to stretch while buckled in for a flight. It’s also contextually aware of times when you’re driving, and automatically silences notifications.

With 4GB of internal storage and Spotify support, you can also save playlists for offline listening. On-board GPS also means you can use fitness apps to map your runs. These two features, including the NFC for contact-less payments, mean you should be able to leave the house without your phone and wallet when you’re out for a run. No LTE-supported version has been announced, so you’ll still need to be tethered to your phone via Bluetooth 4.2 for notifications.

There’s also an option to continuously monitor your heart rate via the heart rate monitor. The Gear Sport has a 300mAh battery, which Samsung claims should last four days. We’ll certainly test that claim in our review, but it seems extraordinarily high for a smartwatch.

The Gear Sport will be available from a variety of retailers, including Best Buy, Amazon, and wireless networks like Sprint and U.S. Cellular, starting September 15. It comes with a blue, black, or grey silicone band, which felt nice, soft, and comfortable. There will also be a hybrid sport band, which has leather on top and silicone on the bottom; colorful classic leather options, and “premium” Nato straps in mixed colors. Pricing for the watch or the interchangeable bands has yet to be announced.

Gear Fit2 Pro hands-on review

If you don’t need a full-on smartwatch, but want to enjoy the Gear Sport’s more fitness-minded features, the Gear Fit2 Pro might be more your speed. This tracker matches the Gear Sport’s 5 ATM water resistance (50 meters) rating, and offers the same swim monitoring functionality via the Speedo On app. It also has GPS tracking, and Samsung has partnered with Under Armour to offer a more tailored experience for apps like Endomondo, MyFitnessPal, and MapMyRun.

You’ll find the same continuous heart-rate tracking as on the Gear Sport, as well as the ability to add your calorie intake, and automatic activity detection. The Fit2 Pro has 4GB of internal storage too, and also supports the offline Spotify playlists feature.

Unlike last year’s Gear Fit 2, the Fit2 Pro now has a buckle, making it a little easier to put on and it won’t fall off your wrist as easily. The silicone strap felt comfortable, and the device is lightweight. The body felt a little cheap, but the 1.5-inch AMOLED screen looks vivid and bright.

You get all these features for a surprisingly low price of $200. The devices won’t ship until October, but you can pre-order it on August 31.

Gear IconX hands-on review

Samsung’s new Gear IconX earbuds have been updated to be lighter and more ergonomic than the outgoing model. If you have a Galaxy S8 smartphone or plan on picking up a Galaxy Note 8, the headphones are also Bixby-compatible. Simply tap and hold the side of the earbud to summon the virtual assistant, and you can ask it to perform functions like sending a message to a friend.

But one of the biggest changes to the IconX over last year’s model is battery life. We found the original model to have poor battery life, which was due to the heart-rate monitor. Samsung’s solution to fix this? It has taken out the heart-rate monitor, and the company claims the new IconX can last six hours of music streaming.

With the Gear IconX, you don’t need a dedicated fitness tracker to keep tabs on your running routines. The earbuds come with Running Coach, which can issue real-time updates about your journey on the fly. It tracks basic fitness metrics, like calories burned, step count, and distance traveled.

Like the Gear Sport and Fit2 Pro, the IconX also pack 4GB of storage for music, and you can add your own tunes and manage playlists via the Gear manager app. There’s a neat charging cradle that can offer an hour of usage with just 10 minutes of charging, thanks to support for Quick Charge.

Like the previous model, the new Gear IconX runs $200, and it will be available in October. It comes equipped with medium-sized ear tips, but there are other sizes available in the packaging.

Update: Added more details following Samsung’s IFA press conference.

Watch a rocket-propelled katana sword slice through a drone like hot butter

Why it matters to you

Ever wonder whether the best technology of feudal Japan could take out one of the best drones of today? This video will answer that very question.

Sometimes the technology we get to cover includes astonishing breakthroughs in AI that suggest the secrets of the human brain are finally in the process of being unlocked, and that we’re soon to live in a world populated by genuine artificial intelligence. Other times we write about rocket-powered katana swords slicing drones in half. Today is one of those “other times.”

The creative destruction in question is the work of YouTuber David Windestal, who decided to not only build said rocket-propelled sword, but to use it to answer the age-old question: Who would win in a battle between a DJI Phantom drone and an ancient Japanese sword? The answer, apparently, is us the viewers.

“The idea behind the Rocket Knife series was to re-create the Mythbusters episode where they cut a car in half using a rocket sled,” Windestal told Digital Trends. “I thought it was so inspiring, and a very worthy challenge to create on a smaller scale. Making the rocket and sled was difficult and time consuming to get right, but very rewarding. Each episode, we ask what the community wants to see cut, and the drone was the most requested by far. The knife wasn’t tall enough, so we ramped it up to a katana sword. The hope was that the drone would be cleanly cut in half — but we failed by a literally a centimeter.”

The rocket was calculated to burn for 0.3 seconds and have 120 pounds of thrust, which was achieved using a mixture of sorbitol and potassium nitrate. At first, Windestal said he had problems with the rocket being too powerful for the purposely lightweight sled. However, after a bit of fine-tuning, he was able to achieve his slightly terrifying goal.

“The calculated speed of the sled was within 2 percent of the calculations, and the impact energy is over 3000 joules,” he noted. For those keeping track at home, those are drone-slicing levels of speed and power.

Which just leaves the question of why YouTubers apparently hate drones so much. There’s no definitive word on this, but we’d certainly like to know. Maybe it has something to do with the recent NASA study revealing that drones officially make the most annoying sound out of any vehicle.

Domino’s and Ford are working together on driverless pizza delivery

Why it matters to you

Don’t want to interact with anyone when it comes to your pizza? Driverless delivery may be for you.

Soon, you may not have to tip your pizza delivery driver anymore but not because the fast food industry is going tipless — rather, because it’s going driverless. That is right, your pies could soon be coming your way in autonomous delivery vehicles. That is, if you are ordering from Domino’s. According to The Verge, the pizza franchise partnered with Ford to test self-driving pizza delivery cars, hoping to gauge how well (or poorly) pizza enthusiasts respond to and engage with this newfangled technology.

Over the course of the next few weeks, some Domino’s customers in Ann Arbor, Michigan, will have the option of getting their pizzas delivered in a Ford Fusion Hybrid autonomous research vehicle. Alas, the car won’t be entirely without a driver (so you should probably still tip). All cars will be operated by a Ford safety engineer, and will actually have quite a few other passengers in the form of additional researchers who will be tasked with examining the last 50 feet of the drive and the customer experience.

So what happens in the last 50 feet? Apparently, if you opt for the driverless option, you will be provided with a unique code (the last four digits of your phone number) to unlock the Heatwave Compartment (which keeps your pizza warm) located in the back of these autonomous cars. Additional instructions will be relayed to customers by way of screens and speakers on the outside of the cars. Those who participate in the test can also track their order through a Domino’s app.

“We’re interested to learn what people think about this type of delivery,” Russell Weiner, president of Domino’s USA, said in a statement. In particular, researchers will be focusing on how customers feel about actually having to come outside to pick up their pizza, how trusting they seem of the car, and how they operate the screens to retrieve their order.

“How will customers react to coming outside to get their food?” Weiner added. “We need to make sure the interface is clear and simple.”

Get excited, pizza fans. This could herald a new era in the reception of your favorite food group.

Jackery’s PowerBar is the portable charger for all of your mobile devices

Why it matters to you

With its large 20,800mAh battery, multiple USB ports, and a built-in AC outlet, the Jackery PowerBar can charge pretty much anything, anytime, and anywhere.

Mobile power source manufacturer Jackery has given outdoor enthusiasts and frequent travelers a new weapon in the never-ending battle to keep their electronic devices charged while on the go. The company has just launched a crowdfunding campaign for its latest battery pack, which promises to deliver plenty of power — along with a wide array of charging ports — in a rugged, compact package. Best of all, the new charger also includes a standard AC wall outlet, greatly extending its functionality as a portable power station.

With its massive 20,800mAh battery, the Jackery PowerBar has enough capacity to recharge most smartphones anywhere from five to 10 times, or a tablet as many as four times. Its built-in AC outlet even allows it to fully power up a 13.3-inch MacBook Pro or Microsoft Surface Pro 4 without ever plugging them into an actual wall outlet. The device will also charge drones, cameras, headlamps, GPS units, or just about anything else with a rechargeable battery as well.

In addition to its AC outlet, the PowerBar is equipped with a standard USB, a USB 3.0, and a USB-C port, allowing it to charge as many as four devices at the same time. And since it uses smart charging circuitry, the battery pack can automatically sense the amount of power a device requires and supply it with optimal voltage levels. This helps to prevent overcharging, which can cause damage to electronic gadgets.

Other nice touches include a digital screen that accurately displays the percentage of battery life that the PowerBar has at any given time, and an included USB-C charger for keeping the device charged while on the road. Similar products that we’ve seen recently used a proprietary adapter instead, forcing travelers to carry an additional item with them when leaving home. The PowerBar is even compatible with Jackery’s solar panel, allowing it to be recharged while off the grid, too.

Here at Digital Trends we’ve gotten our hands on a preproduction model of the PowerBar and can attest to how well made it is. The product feels incredibly solid in your hands and is built to withstand plenty of abuse. The built-in AC outlet makes it larger than most other battery packs, though, and it tips the scales at 1.5 pounds. That might make it a tough sell for those who like to travel extremely light, but for those who require plenty of mobile power, it is probably worth the additional ounces.

Jackery is hoping to raise $50,000 to get the PowerBar into production, and if successful, it should begin shipping in November. It is expected to sell for $199, although early bird backers can pre-order one now at a substantial discount. Find out more on its Indiegogo page.

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

Everyone likes Apple 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. 

MovieSpirit

Through MovieSpirit, you can combine various media elements such as video, photo, music, text, and voice with your creative ideas. What’s more, you can add a range of effects and be the filmmaker you always intended to be.

Available on:

iOS

Gif Me

Gif Me! is the best way to create and share short video in animated GIF or MP4. It’s easy: capture a small moment with your built-in camera, and share it on social networks. You can apply an image filter, too.

Available on:

iOS

iSchool

i-School is a study organizer and Timetable Schedule Planner, both for schools and universities. It’s very minimalistic but has everything you need.

Available on:

iOS

NiteFan

This app will allow you to choose between the sounds of 4 different fans to help you fall asleep when your head hits the pillow. Play one type of fan or mix them together to create your own custom fan sound.

Available on:

iOS

Make a Face

Make a Face is photography software to create unique, animated composite pictures and videos of faces.If you like creating interesting photos and animations of the faces of your friends and family, this is the app for you.

Available on:

iOS

NoLocation

Location data is stored in every photo you take with your iPhone. When your photos are shared on the internet, anyone that sees them can see exactly where they were taken. NoLocation is here to fix that problem.

Available on:

iOS

An AI read all the previous ‘Song of Ice and Fire’ books, and then wrote its own

Why it matters to you

Can’t wait for the next Song of Ice and Fire novel? An AI has generated several chapters based on the previous books in the series, though they tend to not make a lot of sense.

When it comes to information processing, computers tend to be way faster than we are. The same thing may be true when it comes to generating new plotlines for A Song of Ice and Fire, the series of novels better known to TV fans as Game of Thrones. After all, with six years having elapsed since his last book, 2011’s A Dance With Dragons, was published, author George R.R. Martin certainly appears to be in no rush to publish its follow-up — which is why the producers of the TV show are currently coming up with their own storylines.

That’s where the work of one computer science-savvy fantasy fan enters the picture. Colorado-based software engineer Zack Thoutt has trained a recurrent neural network (RNN) to predict events for the as-yet-unfinished sixth novel in the series, The Winds of Winter. As with the real-life writers on the TV show, the data set the RNN is gleaned from the roughly 5,000 pages of existing novels in the series. It was then set to generate chapters, with Thoutt kicking each one off by giving the AI a “prime word” to riff on, before letting it go off in its own direction.

The results read like a fascinating — oftentimes weirdly nonsensical — parody of Martin’s own style. For example, here’s an excerpt from chapter four (the network has so far generated five chapters in all):

“The great sept of old wyk had set around the King’s gate back, and blackened arms but the direwolf in its fork. A hundred yards east, Ser Jorah lingered to where the banners wending their descent down a long ways of rain. The marsh was ladling out beef-and-barley stew, cold as shy of three colors, chunks of butter.”

It also suffers a few chronology errors, such as writing in characters who have already died in previous books. Nonetheless, the generated chapters are intriguing examples of computational creativity in action. And there are enough murders along the way to keep even the bloodthirstiest Game of Thrones happy!

Our serious question, though — if neural networks get as good at generating text as they’re getting at carrying out other tasks, who deserves the author credit: the AI, the original author, or the person who trained the neural network?

FFXV: Monsters of the Deep – All You Need to Know

It’s almost time to go fishing!

Final Fantasy XV introduced us to Prince Noctis, and the world of Eos, and the addicting minigame of fishing. While the Final Fantasy XV itself has concluded, there is definitely more to come, in the form of FFXV: Monsters of the Deep. This game will bring us back to Eos, but there aren’t tons of details quite yet.

Read more at VRHeads