Apple Announces New Tianyi Square Retail Location in Ningbo, China Coming September 16

Apple has announced that its newest retail store will be opening on Saturday, September 16 within the shopping district known as Tianyi Square, located in Ningbo, in the Zhejiang province of China. As with all Apple retail grand openings, Apple Tianyi Square will open at 10:00 am local time.

Under the leadership of Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts, the company began aggressively expanding its retail footprint in China over the last few years. In January 2015, Ahrendts said that Apple’s goal was to open 40 stores in the Greater China region within two years, which it eventually accomplished ahead of schedule in June 2016.

Tianyi Square image via China Tour Advisors
Earlier this year, Apple Stores worldwide debuted a new “Today at Apple” program that introduced various classes and activities for visitors to take part in, each one focusing on a particular Apple software or hardware product. The company’s new stores also feature a next-generation design, putting an emphasis on community and the new Today at Apple programs with areas for these sessions separated from the retail portion of the stores.

Tag: Apple Stores
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Plex for Kodi is now free for everyone

If you’re all about a customized media center then you’ll be familiar with Plex or Kodi, but getting the best of both services meant having a Plex Plus subscription. Until now, that is, as Plex has quietly made its Kodi add-on free to everyone. Now you can run both media centers simultaneously without losing any customizations, enjoying what Plex calls “settings nirvana”, without paying for the privilege.

Some settings remain unavailable, though, such as audio fingerprinting, multiple users and parental controls, but these features are unlikely to be especially important to anyone who just wants an easier way to bring their content together. Interestingly, the add-on has been launched less than a week after it emerged Plex had taken legal action against unofficial versions, so this is the company recognizing demand and getting ahead of a potential issue down the line. A smart move with happy consequences for its users.

Via: Windows Central

Source: Plex

Europe rules employers must inform staff of email snooping

A landmark privacy judgement by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) could impact the scope of email monitoring in the workplace. The Strasbourg-based court ruled on Tuesday that employers must inform staff if they are spying on their work emails and communications.

The final decision in the long-running case of a Romanian man against his dismissal over his use of a work messaging account, saw the judges rule in favor of Bogdan Bărbulescu. The engineer was fired by his employer ten years ago after being presented with printouts of his private chats with his family. The judges found the company had infringed Bărbulescu’s right to privacy by not informing him ahead of accessing his communications. Some of the messages were described as being of an “intimate nature.”

European nations such as France have already taken steps to give citizens more rights concerning their business communications. Earlier this year, the country enacted a law requiring companies to negotiate times when staff can ignore email and other correspondence.

Although the ECHR cannot establish new laws, its decision could impact when and how monitoring is acceptable. The judges even issued a set of criteria that suggest probing the “degree of intrusion” into a worker’s privacy on a case-by-case basis. “A distinction should be made between monitoring of the flow of communications and of their content,” states the Q & A section of the judgement. “Whether all communications or only part of them have been monitored should also be taken into account, as should the question whether the monitoring was limited in time and the number of people who had access to the results.”

Source: European Court of Human Rights

London is now awash with bike-sharing schemes

How many bike-sharing schemes does London need exactly? Well, at least five if you ask the companies behind such services. Today, Ofo comes to the capital, following a limited trial in Cambridge that began earlier this year and a launch in Oxford last month. Initially, the Chinese firm has dotted 200 bikes around the London Borough of Hackney. Yesterday, European outfit Urbo announced it was also arriving in London this month, putting 250 bikes on the streets of the Borough of Waltham Forest.

Alongside London’s ‘Boris bikes,’ of which there are over 11,000, we now have four nigh-identical dockless bike rental services vying for custom in the capital. oBike was first, arriving in July, followed by Mobike, Ofo and Urbo this month. Unlike Boris bikes, the schemes don’t require riders to end their journeys at designated docking points. Finding, unlocking and paying for bikes is all handled via mobile apps, and there’s basically nothing that differentiates one service from another.

Choice is a good thing for consumers, of course, but all these new London players plan to put more and more bikes on the capital’s pavements as appetite for rentals you can park up almost anywhere grows. That is, if you can find a spot to legally lock the thing up. Dockless bike-sharing schemes have caused problems in Chinese cities saturated by thousands upon thousands of the things, leading to mounds of wheels and frames forming at popular hop-off points.

Urbo

Though the companies in question are operating on a much smaller scale in London right now, similar issues are starting to appear already. Wandsworth Council reported last month that it had impounded 130 oBikes for blocking pavements. Ofo had to seriously reduce the scope of its Cambridge pilot before even launching, too, after local authorities expressed concerns over the potential for pavement clutter.

As the Evening Standard reports, Hackney Council transport bod Feryal Demirci said of Ofo’s launch: “We are going to work with Ofo to make sure that users are given information on locations where they can park their bike in hot spot areas to prevent issues such as obstructing the footway and parking on busy, narrow pavements.”

Ofo, oBike, Mobike and Urbo all say they are in dialogue with councils, but even formal approval doesn’t mean much when the bikes can end up in any London borough. If any more dockless bike-sharing schemes launch in the capital, we might hit saturation point pretty quickly. It seems inevitable, then, that Transport for London (TfL) will probably start regulating these services before too long, just as it now does with Uber.

Source: The Evening Standard, Urbo

Scientists use molecular ‘sieve’ to purify water

Researchers have taken a major step forward in making previously undrinkable water drinkable, therefore tackling one of the biggest challenges faced by the planet — some 1.2 billion people lack access to clean drinking water (a number which is set to grow as populations increase). By modifying graphene oxide membranes, the international team of researchers has created what is essentially a molecular “sieve”. The selectively permeable membrane lets some molecules through while trapping others behind, producing water at various levels of cleanliness suitable for drinking or for industrial applications.

Even in the early stages of development, the membrane — which uses a simple spray-on technology – rejected 85 percent of salt and 96 percent of dye molecules, and represents a relatively inexpensive and much more environmentally-friendly alternative to current desalination methods, which are typically very energy intensive.

“Our dream is to create a smart membrane that combines high flow rates, high efficiency, long lifetime, self-healing and eliminates bio and inorganic fouling in order to provide clean water solutions for the many parts of the world where clean water is scarce,” says Mauricio Terrones, professor of physics, chemistry and materials science and engineering, Penn State. “This work is taking us in that direction.”

Via: phys.org, PopSci.com

Magic Leap is experimenting with light-bending nanomaterials

Mixed reality company Magic Leap is cagey with its tech, to say the least. However, it recently released a research paper in conjunction with Berkeley Lab that some hints on what it’s doing. The team developed new materials that can take in light from more angles than ever before and redirect it with minimal losses. That could help not only its mixed reality (MR) headset, which reportedly uses wave-guiding tech similar to the Hololens, but spark breakthroughs in holograms, invisibility cloaks and more.

Magic Leap isn’t exactly saying “we’re using this tech in our headset,” but one can infer that it’s at least looking at that. The company has described its “lightfield” chip, which uses waveguides to deflect light toward the users’ eyes, as a “three dimensional wave component that has very small structures in it, and they manage the flow of photons that ultimately create a digital lightfield signal.”

That’s a fancy way of saying that it projects synthetic images onto a chip, which bounces it toward your eye with minimal loss and more precision than a mirror. To do that, you need to use so-called meta-materials, which have nanoscale features that mess with light reflection and refraction. It’s the same principal or iridescence that gives color to butterfly or peacock wings — there are no pigments, just tiny features that refract light into specific color wavelengths. The same science is used for anti-reflective eyeglass coatings.

That brings us to the research. According to Berkeley Lab, the team developed two new ultrathin silicon-based optical chips by carving 20- to 120-nanometer “beams” into silicon using electron beam etching (above). That formed an infinitesimal “diffraction grating” like the type you might remember in high school science class. Those split and bend light into different colors depending on the beam pattern, much like a prism.

This has been done before, but in previous designs, light had to enter the surface at a right angle to avoid steep drops in efficiency, and was limited to infrared spectra. “We are now able to create silicon surfaces that can take in light from a large number of input angles and wavelengths with minimal loss of diffraction efficiency,” said Berkeley Lab’s director of Nanofabrication, Stefano Cabrini. Furthermore, being made of silicon, the chips can be fabricated using widely available technology.

The devices may or may not be used by Magic Leap in any yet-to-be-unveiled eyewear. However, there are other potential applications including water-repelling “smart surfaces,” data processing, holograms and so-called invisibility cloaks, Berkeley Lab says. Call me a grumpy mouse tech blogger, but I’d honestly settle for something, anything from Magic Leap.

Via: Berkeley Lab

Source: Nature

In its Oregon skunkworks, Intel is plotting to turn your laptop into a VR rig

Intel isn’t the first company to come to mind when you think of virtual reality. The processor giant is eclipsed by Oculus and AMD and Nvidia and HTC, which focus tightly on cutting-edge VR experiences. It’s not sitting in the shadows – Intel attempted a major breakout in VR with its innovative Project Alloy headset – but others have hogged the spotlight.

That’s OK with Intel, to a degree. The company isn’t in the business of making virtual reality headsets, and it doesn’t plan to enter. Yet Intel is heavily invested in virtual reality for a reason so obvious you may have forgotten – Intel processors power most VR experiences. Sure, AMD’s Ryzen is now available, but it’s only an option for a desktop niche. Most VR-capable PCs have a Core processor, and for Intel, that’s just the beginning. The company also wants to see Intel UHD Graphics power VR headsets.

Intel wants to be a part of the entire VR scene, from the most lavish desktop rigs to budget laptops. Making that more than virtual reality will take a lot of work, so we swung by Intel’s Hillsboro, Oregon campus to discuss the company’s plans in person with Kim Pallister, director of Intel’s Virtual Reality Center of Excellence.

Accelerating high-end VR

Right now, the virtual reality conversation is dominated by the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Owners of these devices tend to be die-hard fans who believe slipping on a headset will soon be an everyday experience, like pulling out a smartphone or booting a PC. They own powerful computers with the latest graphics from AMD or Nvidia – though those video cards are almost always paired with an Intel Core processor.

Intel’s dominance is likely to remain strong, despite the arrival of AMD’s Ryzen processor, but Core processors are just the tip of the iceberg. The company wants to not only accelerate VR but also find ways to free virtual reality from its many restrictions. According to Pallister, this begins with the cable.

Watch people get their first Vive demo. They usually say, ‘How do I get this cable off my head?’

“If you watch people get their first Vive demo, they usually say ‘Where are my feet?’ and then ‘How do I get this cable off my head?’” As Pallister told us, Intel has a way to solve that problem in WiGig, an extremely fast Wi-Fi solution developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance, of which Intel is a member.

Intel and HTC partnered to show a demo of WiGig in real-world use at E3 2017, and we had a chance to try it, loading up Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality for fifteen minutes of pure chaos. The demo was exactly what you’d hope for – VR, but without the wires. Having tried the game before, we knew what to expect from it, and we noticed absolutely zero latency despite the crowded Wi-Fi environment on the E3 show floor. Everything, from image quality to motion control accuracy, felt exactly as with a wired HTC Vive.

WiGig is the most exciting example of Intel’s attempts to improve high-end VR, but it’s not alone. Intel sees opportunities for many other technologies, such as RealSense – which was used to create the Project Alloy concept headset – and even Optane, the company’s high-speed memory technology.

“It turns out that for things like snapping […] into your application, that load time in VR is disorienting,” Pallister told Digital Trends. “There’s a time where it blanks out, and you’re floating in space like, what’s going on? So, reducing that actually increases the comfort level, and we think that’s a thing that will help push Intel Optane.”

AMD is also focusing on ways to improve video memory, as its new RX Vega cards make clear. While their approaches different, it’s clear both companies think lower memory latency is important for tomorrow’s PC entertainment. Virtual reality performance is often measured in frames per second; latency and load times must be improved to fulfill the dream of a seamless virtual world.

Bringing VR to the masses

As exciting as technology like WiGig and Optane may be to the hardcore geeks, they target a niche. Mainstream acceptance is VR’s real challenge, and so far, the technology hasn’t been up to the task. Intel wants to help change that, and it’s using an unlikely piece of hardware to do it – integrated graphics.

“There’s no reason Minecraft in VR isn’t feasible,”

Almost every PC – laptops, in particular – has an Intel UHD graphics chip. Most only have that. If virtual reality hopes to become mainstream, it needs to become compatible with what people already own, or plan to purchase. Intel thinks it can help.

“The PC industry […] works really well when there’s a good, better, best model, and people can pick the price-performance tradeoffs they want,” Pallister explained. In other words, you should be able to choose a price-performance tradeoff you’re comfortable with and still experience VR. To make that possible, Intel must pick its battles, optimizing integrated graphics with realistic goals in mind.

“We started to do a number of things to say, OK, what would it take to still hit a really high-quality experience, one that doesn’t make people nauseated or things like that, but dials down other areas, in terms of visual fidelity,” Pallister told us.

Intel UHD graphics won’t be powering a game like Elite: Dangerous in VR, but it could be used for other, popular applications. “There’s no reason Minecraft in VR isn’t feasible,” Pallister said. “The important part is that […] it’s still comfortable, cool, and immersive.”

Walking the walk

It’s easy for Intel to say it wants integrated graphics to power virtual reality, but the company is doing more than just talk. That became clear at IFA 2017, where Microsoft provided details about Windows Mixed Reality and several headsets were teased or announced.

Microsoft and Intel have worked closely over the past year to make Windows Mixed Reality possible. “We zeroed in on a collaboration with Microsoft and their Windows Mixed Reality headsets,” Pallister told us. “They’re more focused on how we get to a low-cost headset design […] and we work with them to see how we can deliver a set of experiences on it that will run on mainstream notebook graphics.”

The result is a headset like the Dell Visor, which starts at $350 without handheld controllers. Acer, Asus, Lenovo, and HP also have headsets in the works. All of them are more affordable than the Oculus Rift, yet most also offer a higher display resolution and support room-scale VR without the need for external sensors.

Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

These Windows Mixed Reality headsets will, of course, support the most lavish games, including VR games available on Steam. Yet they also offer an entry-level tier that focuses on desktops and laptops with integrated graphics, and will target a low-latency, 60 FPS viewing experience, instead of the more common 90 FPS.

While that may not be enough to handle a game like zombie shooter Arizona Sunshine, it’s plenty to power 360-degree experiences and games with simple graphics. Minecraft is the popular example, but Intel also showed us a high-resolution prototype of an experience built in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institute. It paired high-resolution captures of a museum hallway with motion controls for a detailed, up-close look at several paintings and sculptures. It felt similar to the applications commonly available for smartphone-based VR headsets, but with better image quality and support for room-scale use.

Intel thinks the standardization of experience offered by Windows Mixed Reality is good for everyone. Affordable headsets that deliver consistent quality should bring VR to more homes. “You really need to have that wide audience available so you can have an ecosystem that’s sustainable. Developers, if they’re going to make money off titles, they need to be able to sell units beyond a niche market,” said Pallister. “Bethesda needs to sell Fallout to that whole stack, so they can reach tens of millions of people, not tens of thousands.”

A turning point

Windows Mixed Reality powered by Intel integrated graphics could be a turning point for virtual reality. If it works as promised, it will massively expand the number of VR-capable PCs. The new 8th-gen Intel Core processors bring quad-core performance even to 13-inch laptops and 2-in-1s. It’s hard to imagine such thin systems powering a VR headset, but that’s the goal.

These new headsets will start to arrive through the last few months of 2017 – the Dell Visor, for example, should be on store shelves on October. That dovetails nicely with the launch of Intel’s latest generation of Core processor. Content is the only missing piece of the puzzle – while we already know that Steam will support Windows Mixed Reality, it’s not clear what else is coming to the platform.

Keep your eyes peeled for that information in coming months. If the content does come, it could turn even the humblest laptops – including the one you already own – into a capable VR machine.

Goodbye MIUI, Xiaomi’s Mi A1 is an Android One phone with Google Play

Why it matters to you

The Mi A1 uses Google Android One, not Xiaomi’s own user interface, representing a major departure for the brand.

Xiaomi has launched the Mi A1, a smartphone unlike any from the company before, because it doesn’t have the familiar MIUI user interface over the top of Google Android. Instead, the Mi A1 — as the name actually gives away — runs Google’s Android One software, and was the subject of rumor until now. It’s a first for Xiaomi, and while India seems to be the main target market for the Mi A1, it will also be sold in dozens of other countries around the world.

The Xiaomi Mi A1 has a higher specification than the majority of other Android One phones. Google designed the platform for use on affordable phones, and while the earliest models were relatively basic, newer Android One phones have become more technically impressive, and more expensive. The Mi A1 has a 5.5-inch touchscreen with a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, hidden under a piece of Gorilla Glass. It’s set in a 7mm thick aluminum unibody with neatly concealed antenna bands.

On the back are two camera lenses: A wide-angle and a telephoto. These work together to take portrait shots with a blurred background, and Xiaomi says its algorithm is adept at understanding edges in this type of shot, for a better defined, more natural image. The telephoto lens provides a 2x optical zoom. The camera app appears to be Xiaomi’s own, rather than the Google camera app we’re used to seeing on Android One phones.

A Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor powers the Mi A1, there’s USB Type-C charging for the 3,080mAh battery, a fingerprint sensor, and a choice of black — with a fingerprint resistant coating — gold, or rose gold color schemes. If this specification looks familiar, it’s identical to the Xiaomi Mi 5X, announced recently. The specifications continue to match up with 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage space, and a 5-megapixel selfie camera.

It’s Android One that’s the big news on the Mi A1, and its presence means the phone will receive an update to Android 8.0 Oreo before the end of 2017, and be on the list for Android 9.0 when it’s released in 2018. The Android One interface is stock, just like the Pixel phones, has Google Assistant, and comes without bloatware. It also has the Google Play store pre-installed, along with all other Google services. In China, Xiaomi’s MIUI uses Xiaomi’s own application store.

The Mi A1 will be sold in India from September 12 for the local equivalent of around $235, along with 40 more countries later in the month. These include Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Greece, Poland, Russia, Egypt, South Africa, Columbia, and Mexico. Android One phones aren’t officially sold in the United States or the United Kingdom.

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. 

Stress Guide

Developed by stress experts, this app is made to help you quantify your level of psychological or physical stress with the iPhone camera. The app also gives you personalized tips on how to cope with stress.

Available on:

iOS

Sketch Bench

Create cool and realistic sketches and paintings with this unique app. Complete lifelike drawings and beautiful paintings, all with this handy tool.

Available on:

iOS

Sigma

Sigma is the perfect companion for your school that will help you keep track of your classes and allow you to add homework into your week’s schedule with ease. With Sigma, you no longer need to carry an extra agenda.

Available on:

iOS

NiteFan

This app will allow you to choose between the sounds of four 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

GymTraining

Download GymTraining now to access free multi-day workouts that are guaranteed to kick-start your fitness. Get a professional-level workout and get your body into the best shape of your life.

Available on:

iOS

Drift

Drift is a simple, elegant, and beautifully designed travel planner that is solely focused on the places you plan to visit. It is perfect for a vacation itinerary and everyday to-do agenda.

Available on:

iOS

E-skin connected shirt promises to turn your body into a controller

Why it matters to you

The e-skin makes gaming an even more immersive, full-body experience.

Researchers from the University of Tokyo have turned the human body into a controller for virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. Dubbed e-skin, the connected shirt enables camera-free motion capture and tracking.

“Our vision was to revolutionize the apparel industry by creating printed circuit fabric,” James Eakin, chief marketing officer for Xenoma, the company behind e-skin, told Digital Trends. “E-skin apparel demonstrates the ability to create an array of sensors and electronics integrated into traditional textile materials which have broad implications for gaming, fitness, wellness, and industrial applications.”

The wireless shirt, which is on display at IFA 2017 in Berlin, allows wearers to move freely, stretch, and perform tasks like running and swinging. The shirt’s 14 strategically placed sensors — in areas like the shoulder, thorax, elbows, and wrist — allow it to pick up signals from these movements and translate them into actions in a connected program.

“Each of the strain sensors and stretchable conductive traces are electrically insulated to withstand sweat and moisture, while remaining comfortable, durable and machine washable,” Eakin said. “The e-skin Hub, which attaches to the front of the shirt, powers the circuit on the shirt and sends the sensor information in real-time over Bluetooth to a phone, tablet, smart watch or PC to be rendered or analyzed.”

The hub can also save log data and display as a graphical interface.

Xenoma launched a Kickstarter campaign for e-skin in August and has so far raised over $51,000 with one day left in its campaign. The early bird shirts are available for $479.

Beyond gaming, the e-skin may also be used for physical fitness and training. In fact, it can be programmed by developers to suit a number of applications, from correcting posture to correcting your golf swing. Eakin explained: “E-skin apparel has broad appeal in personalized training and coaching for helping to improve form and performance while reducing risk of injury. For instance, this could be integrated into analyzing specific body movement for running, yoga, golf, or cycling.

“Aside from the sports and fitness side, we are excited to explore telemedicine and industrial workers safety application fits as well. We think the possibilities for e-skin are endless.”