Razer’s FPS-oriented mouse comes with a thumb ‘clutch’

Razer’s Basilisk, a high-DPI mouse meant for first-person shooter gaming, has an interesting new gimmick: a clutch. Positioned for your thumb, it lets you press and hold it to do tasks like change the DPI for more speed (the default setting), pick up items or push-to-talk. That should let you multitask a bit better while still firing a weapon or maneuvering.

Razer says that you can “switch between high DPI close-quarters fighting and low DPI precision shooting,” depending on whether you’re using a handgun or a sniper rifle, for instance. You can swap in clutches of two different lengths, depending on your hand size, or install a rubber cap if you don’t want to use the clutch at all.

Otherwise, the Razer Basilisk (yes, Razer names its mice after reptiles) should be a solid gaming mouse, particularly for FPS games, thanks to the 16,000 DPI sensor borrowed from the Lancehead Tournament Edition model. It also has a dial that lets you adjust the scroll wheel resistance to fit your preferences. It’s now available at Razer’s online store for $70.

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New Star Wars Toys Added to Apple’s Online Store, Including R2-D2 and BB-9E Droids

A collection of Star Wars toys, including Sphero’s new R2-D2 and BB-9E droids, are now available to purchase from Apple’s online store.

R2-D2 and BB-9E can be controlled with an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch. More details can be found in our earlier coverage of the droids.

• BB-9E App-Enabled Droid by Sphero — $149.95
• R2-D2 App-Enabled Droid by Sphero — $179.95

Apple’s new Star Wars accessories page also has a trio of Star Wars quadcopter drones by Propel, and a kit for creating your own Star Wars droid.

• Propel Star Wars T-65 X-Wing Starfighter Battle Quadcopter Drone — $179.95
• Propel Star Wars Tie Advanced X1 Battle Quadcopter Drone — $179.95
• Propel Star Wars 74-Z Speeder Bike Battle Quadcopter Drone — $179.95
• littleBits Droid Inventor Kit — $99.95

Apple is also hosting free Star Wars–themed sessions at many of its retail stores starting today through Saturday, September 9.

The new Star Wars toys and sessions are in celebration of Force Friday II, which begins today and runs through this weekend. It’s all to promote Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which debuts in theaters December 15.

Tags: Star Wars, Apple retail
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Apple CEO Tim Cook and Other Leaders Sign Letter Asking Trump to Protect DACA Program

Hundreds of chief executive officers, chief operating officers, chairmen, presidents, and other business leaders have added their signatures to an open letter asking President Trump to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

The program protects young adults brought illegally into the U.S. — called “Dreamers” — and grants them the “basic opportunity to work and study without the threat of deportation,” through the opportunity of gaining legal work permits (via Recode).

Signatories include Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Emerson Collective President Laurene Powell Jobs, and many more.

Trump is expected to announce a policy change today in regards to DACA, where it’s believed that under the new policy the government will cease granting work permits to new Dreamers entering the U.S. Current Dreamers will reportedly be able to stay in the country until their permits run out, but would then find themselves unable to renew their work authorizations.

That would allow the nearly 800,000 individuals currently protected under DACA to remain in the U.S. for around two years, but the new letter implores Trump and the U.S. government to preserve DACA entirely.

Unless we act now to preserve the DACA program, all 780,000 hardworking young people will lose their ability to work legally in this country, and every one of them will be at immediate risk of deportation. Our economy would lose $460.3 billion from the national GDP and $24.6 billion in Social Security and Medicare tax contributions.
Dreamers are vital to the future of our companies and our economy. With them, we grow and create jobs. They are part of why we will continue to have a global competitive advantage.

Immigration and work-visa programs have been a hot topic between technology companies and the new Trump administration throughout 2017. The new letter ends with a call on Congress to pass legislation that “provides these young people raised in our country the permanent solution they deserve.” You can read the full letter right here.

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.

Tags: Tim Cook, Donald Trump
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Apple Eyes Lease at The Culver Studios, Bidding on Drama Starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon

Apple is reportedly seeking to move its original content division to an iconic California studio where movies like Gone With The Wind and The Matrix were shot, in order to serve as a base for its big push into Hollywood production.

According to the Financial Times, Apple is interested in leasing space at The Culver Studios, which was built by silent movie pioneer Thomas Ince and counts RKO, Howard Hughes and Cecil B DeMille among its former owners. The studio is close to Sony Pictures’ studio lot in Culver City, as well as Beats, the audio group Apple bought two years ago.

Image via Wikipedia

Leasing at The Culver Studios would give Apple room to expand, as it hires top Hollywood talent, according to three people familiar with the discussions. The site has 13 soundstages up to 32,000 sq ft in size that can accommodate TV show shoots and full-length feature film work. But Apple is mainly looking for office space, albeit in an iconic location that signals their ambitions to become a big player in Hollywood.

Apple and The Culver Studios declined to comment on the report, but the move makes sense given that Apple recently set aside $1 billion to acquire and produce original television content over the next year to compete with the likes of Netflix and Amazon.

That budget is said to be controlled by Hollywood veterans Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, who were hired by Apple in June from Sony to oversee content acquisition and video strategy. Apple also recently hired former WGN America President Matt Cherniss to oversee development of the company’s worldwide video unit. Erlicht and Van Amberg oversaw the production of hit shows like Breaking Bad and The Crown, while Cherniss previously worked with the two to bring the Sony shows Underground and Outsiders to WGN.

One of the first acquisitions Apple is said to be vying for is a “high-profile drama” starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, set on a morning TV chat show, according to FT. The company is reportedly bidding against Netflix and others for rights to the drama, according to people familiar with the discussions, indicating that Apple is looking to procure premium productions similar to those found on HBO.

At the same time, Apple is struggling to catch up with its rivals in the original content space and is still looking to get at least one hit under its belt, with recent video efforts “Planet of the Apps” and “Carpool Karaoke” released on Apple Music generally failing to excite audiences. Meanwhile, the company’s Apple TV set top box has lost market share to rivals like Roku, Amazon’s Fire TV, and Google’s Chromecast due to its high price and lack of 4K content.

Despite challenges, the scale of Apple’s new budget and hiring efforts are said to be making some in Hollywood believe that this time the company is more committed to breaking into the film and TV industry. Apple is also rumored to be releasing a new Apple TV with support for 4K content and HDR video output at its upcoming media event on September 12.
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Judge Rules That Yahoo Data Breach Victims Have Right to Sue Company

Several months after Yahoo warned users of a third data breach that occurred between 2015 and 2016, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California has said that breach victims now have the right to sue the company, allowing them to pursue breach of contract and unfair competition claims (via Reuters). Previously, Yahoo argued that these individuals lacked grounds to sue the company, but Koh has now rejected that claim.

This leaves “well over 1 billion users” open to sue the company, all of whom were affected by one of three total data breaches that began to gain notoriety in September 2016, when the company disclosed that “at least” 500 million Yahoo accounts were compromised in a late 2014 cyber attack. A second attack was disclosed in December 2016, regarding a user information leak that happened in August 2013, and then the third and presumably last warning about a previous attack came in February 2017.

This outlined a period of data breaches that began in 2013 and lasted until 2016, with Yahoo waiting more than three years to reveal information about any of the attacks. Breached info related to names, email addresses, telephone numbers, birth dates, hashed passwords, and both encrypted and unencrypted security questions and answers.

Because each affected user now faces the risk of identity theft, Koh ruled in a 93-page decision that plaintiffs can now amend previously dismissed complaints to gain new legal ground against Yahoo.

“All plaintiffs have alleged a risk of future identity theft, in addition to loss of value of their personal identification information,” the judge wrote. Koh said some plaintiffs also alleged they had spent money to thwart future identity theft or that fraudsters had misused their data. Others, meanwhile, could have changed passwords or canceled their accounts to stem losses had Yahoo not delayed disclosing the breaches, the judge said.

“We believe it to be a significant victory for consumers, and will address the deficiencies the court pointed out,” John Yanchunis, a lawyer for the plaintiffs who chairs an executive committee overseeing the case, said in an interview. “It’s the biggest data breach in the history of the world.”

Yahoo’s disclosure of the security breaches came in the midst of its acquisition by Verizon, and ended up affecting the carrier’s offer. After an initial offer of $4.83 billion, Verizon ended up purchasing Yahoo’s core business assets for $4.48 billion in order to limit potential liability. The deal closed this past summer and at the same time, Verizon announced plans to lay off about 2,100 Yahoo employees.

Tag: Yahoo
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Marshall upgrades its speakers with multi-room audio

Marshall is adding much-needed connectivity options to its speakers.

Marshall teamed up with Zound Industries a few years ago to roll out speakers designed to look like its guitar amps, and the company is now rolling out new connectivity options. The new speakers will now offer multi-room audio through Marshall’s Wireless Multi-Room System, which allows you to control the music playing in any given room though the Marshall app.

The speakers now sport Chromecast built-in, AirPlay, and Spotify Connect in addition to Bluetooth 4.2. Three speakers are being upgraded with the new connectivity options — the $349 Acton, $449 Stanmore, and $599 Woburn. That’s a $100 increase from the standard Bluetooth-only editions of the Acton and Stanmore, and a $50 hike from the regular version of the Woburn.

Alongside the wireless connectivity options, all three speakers feature a 3.5mm jack, and the Stanmore and Woburn also come with an RCA jack. There’s also a new control dial that lets you choose from seven presets, giving you easy access to your favorite Spotify playlists.

The new speakers are now up for pre-order, and will be available in stores starting September 21.

See at Marshall

Gboard now lets you use stickers and Bitmoji

Gboard lets you install sticker packs and use Bitmoji with latest update.

The latest update to Gboard adds support for stickers and Bitmoji, giving you more ways to express yourself in conversations. Once you’re on the latest version of Gboard, you’ll see a tab for stickers in the emoji pane. You’ll be able to download stickers from the Play Store — there are both free and paid options available — and install the Bitmoji app if you don’t already have it on your phone.

Google has teamed up with its partners to make sticker collections available on the Play Store. These include the likes of Mickey Mouse, NBAmoji, Disney Princesses, Hello Kitty, Garfield, Star Wars, and more. You’ll also be able to create sticker packs with your own selfies, like with Allo.

You’ll be able to use the stickers and Bitmoji in any app that supports image pasting, and Google also mentioned that it will roll out new sticker packs in the coming weeks.

Here are the Sony phones that will be updated to Android 8.0 Oreo

Sony will deliver the Android 8.0 Oreo update to 10 phones.

Sony unveiled the Xperia XZ1 and XZ1 Compact earlier this week at IFA, with the phones running Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. The company also shared the list of phones that will be eligible to receive the Oreo update.

Here’s the full list of Sony devices that will pick up the Oreo update:

• Xperia XZs
• Xperia X Performance
• Xperia X
• Xperia XZ Premium
• Xperia XZ
• Xperia X Compact
• Xperia XA1
• Xperia Touch
• Xperia XA1 Plus
• Xperia XA1 Ultra

Oreo brings a slew of new features, including picture-in-picture support, background limits, notification channels, systemwide autofill API, and so much more.

There’s no timeline as to when Sony will start rolling out the updates to its phones, with the company only stating that the timing would vary by region. We should hear more in the coming months. Is your Xperia device set to pick up the update? Let us know in the comments below.

Android Oreo

• Android Oreo review!
• Everything new in Android Oreo
• How to get Android Oreo on your Pixel or Nexus
• Oreo will make you love notifications again
• Will my phone get Android Oreo?
• Join the Discussion

Samsung may launch the Galaxy S9 as early as January

Samsung could be accelerating its timetable for the Galaxy S9 to combat the iPhone 8.

Samsung usually unveils its Galaxy S flagships at Mobile World Congress, which takes place at the end of February. That wasn’t the case this year, with the company delaying the launch of the Galaxy S8 to roll out additional safety measures following the Note 7 debacle.

If a report out of South Korea’s The Bell is to be believed, Samsung is looking to launch the Galaxy S9 earlier than usual, possibly even in the month of January. The publication says that the unveil will be followed by a global launch sometime in mid-February.

The Bell is basing its hypothesis on display shipments — display panels are usually shipped out two to three months before a phone’s launch, and Samsung Display is set to kick off shipments of OLED panels for the Galaxy S9 in November. For the Galaxy S8, the panels started shipping out in January.

Samsung sold over 20 million units of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ globally, with the company seeing a 15% uptick in flagship sales from the previous year. An accelerated launch window allows Samsung to make the Galaxy S9 available in stores by the end of February, giving it a decent headstart over the competition. Not that Samsung needs it, judging by the sales figures.

The upcoming iPhone launch, however, could have influenced Samsung’s decision to move up the launch of the Galaxy S9. The iPhone 8 is expected to sport a bezel-less screen, and while Samsung has a flagship that’s set to become available later this year in the Galaxy Note 8, it looks like the company wants the Galaxy S9 to join the fight as soon as possible.

Not much is known about the Galaxy S9 at this point, but the phone is rumored to sport a similar dual-camera setup as the Note 8.

Android Oreo brings big improvements to your phone’s security and privacy

Oreo is the most secure version of Android yet.

Every time Android gets an update, there are changes that we can’t see. There is a lot going on behind the home screen and it takes an army of developers to keep a piece of software as intricate as Android running. With Android Oreo, some major changes are in the background that bolsters user security and privacy.

As users, we are mostly concerned with what we can see or do ourselves; things like being mindful of installing random apps or not opening email attachments from people we don’t know. But the heavy lifting goes on behind the scenes and work to prevent any of the malicious content we might run across from gaining a foothold is a priority. Oreo has a long list of changes and features on this front.

• Android Oreo no longer supports SSLv3 (Secure Sockets Layer version 3.0). SSLv3 is outdated and has been proven insecure, and at the recommendation of the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force; a group that sets a sort of standard for internet communication) it’s been completely dismantled in favor of a newer communication security method, TSL (Transport Security Layer) 1.2.

In addition, when you try to connect to a server that isn’t correctly using TSL 1.2 Android Oreo will no longer attempt to fall back to a previous version as a workaround. Your phone running Oreo just won’t connect to unsafe web servers, and that’s awesome.

• Android 8.0 applies a Secure Computing filter to all applications. The list of ways an app can directly communicate with the kernel has been reduced. These have traditionally been a popular method to attempt a kernel exploit to gain admin-level privileges. It’s harder than ever for any type of malware to get root.

• WebView objects now run in multiprocess mode. Any apps that get content from the Web now show that content in its own isolated sandbox, where it has no access to any app data. A website that tries to steal your information will find no information to steal!

• Apps that are running can no longer assume other apps are in a generic location and will need to ask the system itself to pass data along to their actual source directory. Not knowing where to find an app means it’s much harder to exploit any vulnerabilities in it.

• Android Oreo now handles your unique identifying data differently. Prior to Android 8.0, a unique Android ID was generated when a device was first set up. This ID was constant, and developers could use it to verify a user when retrieving data from the cloud. With Oreo, an ID based on the app developers signing key (a tool used to verify an app is original and hasn’t been tampered with) our Android Advertising ID (a function of Play Services and something we can erase or opt out of) and the actual device ID. Every instance of the Android ID is now different and isolated to the app that generated it.

This ups the ante on user privacy, as a developer can’t track users of one app with another app or share user data based on ID with any other apps.

This applies to every app, not just apps targeted to Android O. But there is a caveat: apps installed prior to an Android O system update will still use the old ID. You’ll need to uninstall and reinstall them if you want to use a unique and safer way to verify your identity.

• The “unknown sources” system of installing apps from outside of Google Play has been completely revamped.

More: Here’s why sideloading apps is safer with Android Oreo

Google does other things to help cut down on malware and security scares, too. We’ve recently seen [Google Play Protect]https://www.androidcentral.com/google-play-protect-uses-machine-learning-detect-and-remove-harmful-apps) as a new branding for retail devices covered by Google’s machine learning-enabled application scanning service, and monthly patches for security exploits help update Android itself against new security issues.

We still should be mindful of what we install, but it’s good to know that the Android security team has our backs.

Android Oreo

• Android Oreo review!
• Everything new in Android Oreo
• How to get Android Oreo on your Pixel or Nexus
• Oreo will make you love notifications again
• Will my phone get Android Oreo?
• Join the Discussion