The OnePlus 5 got a whimsical French makeover

If you like your tech on the whimsical side, you’ll probably be interested in OnePlus’ latest collaboration with French designer Castelbajac. The partnership’s line of “Callection” products includes a limited edition version of the OnePlus 5, complete with colorful hardware buttons and a handwriting-adorned back cover. The OnePlus 5 JCC+, which is otherwise identical to the regular OnePlus 5, is available as a 128GB variant and is on sale for the standard device price of £500 ($680). The phone will be available from pop-up events in London and Paris on September 22, and online from October 2. But if that’s a bit too spendy, you can still own a piece of the Callection with a limited edition T-shirt (£30/$40) or tote bag (£25/$35), or by downloading a Castelbajac smartphone wallpaper from the Callection website.

Source: OnePlus

‘Final Fantasy XV’ multiplayer DLC arrives October 31st

Final Fantasy XV dominated last year’s holiday season, and impressively, the game’s managed to stay relevant throughout 2017. Whether it’s temporary events, side story DLC, mobile games or crossovers into other titles, it’s stayed on players’ radar. Like earlier extra content, Final Fantasy XV’s next release explores a gap in the main game’s story. Players will get to create their own custom character and fight monsters with their friends. That’s right — it’s multiplayer.

In Final Fantasy XV Multiplayer Expansion: Comrades (its glorious full title), players portray one of the royal police, the Kingsglaive, as they fight monsters across the kingdom — but it takes place after Chapter 13, so make sure to make it that far if you don’t want the main game’s story spoiled. Players will get to team up with up to three friends for multiplayer missions or take on solo quests, all as their own custom avatar. A future update will even let them run into Noctis’ bro crew (Gladio, Prompto and Ignis).

Comrades will be a paid expansion, available solo for an undisclosed price or included for players who bought a Season Pass for the game. The DLC goes live on October 31st. In the meantime, I suggest rewatching the trailer (above) to enjoy the song, the first that legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu has made for a Final Fantasy game since 2010.

Source: Final Fantasy XV Multiplayer Expansion: Comrades trailer (YouTube)

‘Golf’ Easter egg on the Switch may be a tribute to Satoru Iwata

It sounds like that hidden version of Golf on the Nintendo Switch may actually a tribute to the company’s late president, Satoru Iwata. A group of enterprising hackers (including “yellowS8” from our last report) discovered that unlocking it is limited to one day per year: July 11th, the day Iwata passed after battling cancer. You can’t just go in and manually set your system clock, mimic Iwata’s Nintendo Direct gesture and start hitting the links, though.

If you’ve ever connected your Switch to the internet, that’s going to negate your chance to play the other 364 days of the year, according to the Switchbrew wiki. ” The loaded date originates from network-time-sync’d time, regardless of whether the user has it enabled or not. When the system was never connected to the Internet, it comes from the user-specified date instead. This is loaded from the time service-cmds, with the actual time-sync being handled by NIM.”

So if you want the chance to play the classic game on your Switch, it sounds like the only ways to do it are either buy a new console and not connect it to the internet, or, wait around until next July. You can also peep the video below if you’d rather not go to all the effort.

Via: Ars Technica

Source: Fire3lement (YouTube), Switchbrew

Nest’s vision of the secure home is rooted in simplicity

Nest is officially in the home security business. At a press conference in San Francisco today, the company introduced a slew of devices: A video doorbell, an updated outdoor camera and a security system that includes a keypad base, a motion sensor and a keychain fob. And for a company that’s already so synonymous with the connected home, having it all integrated into one system makes a lot of sense.

In a demo room immediately after the event, Nest showed off how all of it could work together. It had the Nest Cam IQ outdoor camera set up in an outdoor porch setting, the Hello video doorbell connected near the door and the Nest Detect motion sensors strategically attached to doors and windows. The Detect can not only sense open-and-close movements; you can also stick it on a wall and it’ll detect motion in the room.

Communicating with the Detect is the Nest Guard, an all-in-one security base with a keypad as well as a motion sensor. It also has an NFC reader, which is great because you can unlock the security system using the Nest Tag, which is basically just a fob that you can attach to a keychain. Simply tap it on the Nest Guard and your security system will be disabled. The Guard security base is also the source of the alarm, which, as a group of journalists learned in the demo, is very, very loud. Yet, I also thought it had a pleasant musical tune, which is an unusual thing to think about a security alarm.

Controlling it all is your same ol’ Nest app that Nest owners are already familiar with. You can use it to enable or disable the Nest Secure system, and you can also have a reminder setting to, well, remind you to enable the security every night. You can also enable and disable the security just by entering a number in the keypad in the old-fashioned way. The Guard has an LED light that glows green when the alarm is set.

Of course, like with the old Nest app, you can use it to see the viewpoint of each camera in your home, whether it’s your old Nest cams or the new outdoor one. The same app will also work with Hello, the new video doorbell. The difference with the Hello, however, is you can see a person head-to-toe, thanks to its 4:3 video ratio. What’s more, you can pan the video to the left or right, to get a better idea of what’s at your doorstep.

And just like the other Nest cams, it has 24/7 live streaming and night vision, and you have the option of looking through hours and days of archival footage, as long as you pay the Aware subscription fee (for about $10 a month). It also promises facial recognition and person detection, so it’ll let you know if the creature at your door is a neighbor or just a curious dog. If it’s someone you know, say your husband or wife, then it might let you know he or she is home if you’re out and about.

One particular neat thing with the Nest Hello is that it doesn’t just work when the doorbell is rung. It’ll actually send you a notification just if someone approaches your door. This is particularly useful for when that delivery guy drops off a package without bothering to ring your doorbell. It also has a Nap Time mode, which shuts off the doorbell for a set period of time. If someone comes to your door during that time, you’ll get a notification on your phone instead. Oh, and it’ll also light up your doorstep when you arrive home. That’s a nice touch.

The new Nest Cam IQ outdoor has the exact same people detection and facial recognition tech, except of course this one is meant to be mounted outdoors, perhaps at the front porch or the backyard. It’s meant to be hardwired in, and is both tamper-resistant and weatherproof.

And though it wasn’t announced at this event, the whole system will also work the upcoming Yale smart lock. So, for example, if you’re coming home and you go to unlock your door with the Yale lock, this will automatically disable the Nest Guard security system without you having to do anything. Similarly, let’s say your mother rang your Nest Hello. You can recognize that she’s there, and unlock the door right from the app.

All in all, the Nest security package seems a whole lot more user-friendly than something like ADT or Simplisafe. There’s no need to hardwire your home with cables or wires, and it all works with portable Nest cams that you might already have.

As a reminder, the Nest Secure starter pack — which includes the Nest Guard, two Nest Detects and two Nest Tags, will retail for around $499. A starter pack that includes the Outdoor cam is available for $598. On its own, the Outdoor cam is $349 for one, or $598 for two. The Nest Secure as well as the Outdoor cams will be available in November this year. The price of the Nest Hello is yet to be determined, but it’ll be available early next year.

Fox ‘s new TV show ‘Ghosted’ will premiere on Twitter

Twitter is no stranger to TV tie-ins, but it’s kicking things up a notch this week. It’s partnering with Fox on a slew of streaming efforts to boost Fox’s fall show lineup, including premiering a show on Twitter. You can watch the first episode of the paranormal comedy Ghosted at 9PM Eastern between September 21st and 24th, days before its October 1st debut on TV — a “first” for Twitter, Fox says. Yes, this is ultimately an attempt to drum up buzz from fans and score strong early TV ratings, but it suggests that social video is becoming an important part of the networks’ strategy.

The Twitter campaign also includes a pre-show stream introducing each episode of Empire this season, starting September 20th at 7:30PM Eastern (half an hour before the TV show starts). Fox kicked things off in earnest on September 19th, when it ran a marathon of The Mick star Kaitlin Olson’s favorite episodes from her first season.

While this ultimately amounts to marketing, it could be a big coup when Twitter is still struggling to add more users and turn a profit. If Twitter’s deal with Fox pans out, it could become a go-to site for networks that want to draw attention to their shows or produce video that doesn’t fit neatly into a tight TV broadcast schedule. In other words: you might have a distinct reason to keep coming back to Twitter beyond following the activities of friends and superstars.

Via: Deadline

Source: Fox

Target’s app will soon guide you to the item you’re looking for

While Target has to keep up with Amazon to compete in a tough retail market, it may have just found something its competitor cannot do. The company is rolling out its previously tested Bluetooth-powered Beacons to give its customers a real-time map of their current store via the Target app. Now you can find your way to anything you need at Target using your smartphone just like you do when you’re driving and using Google or Apple Maps. The system will go live in about half of Target’s stores for the holidays.

Using the in-store new mapping tech seems super easy. You simply search for an item, then the Target app will tell you the precise aisle where the item is, and whether it’s on sale or not. According to TechCrunch, the Beacon system will also point you in the direction of any deals near you from the “Cartwheel” coupon section of the app.

According to Target’s chief information and digital officer Mike NcNamara, Target’s digital future in its actual stores. “They’re great places to shop, great places to ship from and an easy and convenient place for guests to return unwanted items,” McNamara says in a video. That’s a clear dig at Amazon, which is still looking to create more real-life retail space.

Update: You may also have noticed a shot of a customer scanning a barcode in Target’s promotional video, too. A Target spokesperson confirmed that, while the feature is currently used for reviews and pricing via Cartwheel, the company is planning on using it for mobile payments in the future.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Target

The world’s largest aircraft had a successful engine test

Back in May, we reported that the world’s largest aircraft, the Stratolaunch, had finally left its (giant) hanger and was preparing for tests. This week, the first of those was completed. All six of the massive rocket-launching plane’s turbofan engines were turned on and tested.

There were three phases involved in this test run. First, they used a supplementary power source to charge the engines, which they termed a “dry motor.” Second, they progressed to a “wet motor” by introducing fuel to the engines. Finally, they started each engine individually and tested whether or not they could idle. Each engine performed as expected.

The company was founded in 2011 by Paul Allen, and its aim is to provide low-cost access to space. Its main project, the Stratolaunch plane (which is so big, it has two different fuselages) has been delayed, as the first flight was originally scheduled for 2016. But now, it looks as though it’s back on track. Last year, Stratolaunch announced its partnership with Orbital ATK to deliver its Pegasus-XL rocket into orbit. Their aim is to provide flexibility for customers to want to launch small satellites. Northrop Grumman announced its acquisition of Orbital ATK this week, so it’s unclear how (or if) that deal will affect this contract.

Via: The Verge

Source: Stratolaunch

iOS 11’s Control Center buttons don’t fully turn off Bluetooth or WiFi

If you’ve updated to Apple’s new iOS 11, you might have played around with the new Control Center. You also might think that toggling Bluetooth and WiFi “off” in the Center might actually, you know, turn them off. Turns out, you’d be wrong. As noted over at Motherboard, hitting these buttons really only disconnects you from any WiFi or Bluetooth devices you might be connected to.

To be fair, Apple says this in its own documentation, but that doesn’t mean the toggles aren’t confusing to many users. The idea is that when you use the Control Center toggles, your iPhone will still be able to connect for AirDrop, AirPlay and Location Services. It can also stay connected to Apple’Pencil, Apple Watch and use Continuity features like Handoff and Instant Hotspot. If you want to turn off WiFi and Bluetooth for real, something that can help your iPhone use less battery and avoid some security bugs, you’ll need to drop into the Settings app.

We’ve reached out to Apple for comment on this matter and will update the post when we hear back.

Via: Motherboard

Source: Apple

Facebook tightens safeguards against hate-driven targeted ads

Facebook was caught more than a little off-guard when ProPublica discovered ads targeted at racists, and today it’s taking steps to prevent those hate-filled ads from showing up again. The social network’s Sheryl Sandberg has announced plans to tighten control of ads, including more human involvement. There will now be “more manual review” of ad targeting options to prevent promos based on hateful terms. Also, it’s developing a program that will encourage you to report abuses directly — you might not have to wait for a news story for Facebook to take action.

Sandberg notes that hate-fueled targeting has “always been in violation” of Facebook’s ad policies, but the company is now clarifying those policies and improving its enforcement mechanisms to reduce the number of ads that slip through the cracks.

The executive is quick to acknowledge that Facebook simply hadn’t anticipated the possibility that hatemongers might abuse ad targeting that way. “That is on us,” she says, adding that the site will be “unrelenting” in fixing future abuses. It’s a candid admission, but the question is whether or not it’ll be enough. As we saw with Russia-linked election ads, human review doesn’t automatically guarantee that Facebook (or anyone else) will intercept dodgy material before it’s too late. This is really just a start — Facebook will likely need to play it by ear and see just how well it can anticipate abuses.

Source: Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook)

Waymo wants $2.6 billion from Uber for a single trade secret

During a hearing today wherein Alphabet’s self-driving unit Waymo asked a judge to delay its upcoming trial against Uber in order to review new evidence, Reuters reports that one of Uber’s attorneys said Waymo is seeking $2.6 billion for the alleged theft of one of the trade secrets listed in its complaint. That’s a heck of a lot of money, especially considering that single trade secret — and it’s not clear which one it is — is one of nine total. What damages Waymo is requesting for the other eight weren’t disclosed.

The case centers around former Google employee Anthony Levandowski who left the company to start a self-driving truck business, Otto, which was later purchased by Uber. Waymo claims that over 14,000 proprietary design files were downloaded by Levandowski six weeks before he left Google — information that Uber then used in the development of its LiDAR circuit board. Uber has maintained that it had nothing to do with Levandowski’s actions and that none of the stolen files made their way over to Uber.

The judge didn’t rule on whether the trial would be delayed, but is expected to make a decision on October 3rd. The trial is currently scheduled to begin on October 10th, though Waymo’s attorneys have requested it be pushed to December 5th.

Source: Reuters