2017 September 23

23

Sep

Make your watch unique and love it even more with the best Apple Watch faces

Chances are, you won’t know how to do everything when you first get your Apple Watch. That being the case, you’re probably wondering how to personalize it and make it your own. When we first reviewed the Apple Watch, we loved everything that it could do and all the accessories you could get for it. There’s a range of third-party accessories and beautiful straps available for Apple’s iconic wearable — whether talking last-gen devices or the newly-unveiled Apple Watch Series 3 — all of which will ensure your Apple Watch looks good on a child, your grandparents, or a body-builder.

Watch faces are part of this equation, and allow you to configure your watch to fit your individual style and needs. Read on and discover the best Apple Watch faces.

Don’t forget that some of the best Apple Watch apps allow you to expand the capabilities and face complications of your Apple Watch.

How do I add faces to my Apple Watch?

To add faces to your Apple Watch, open the Watch app on your iPhone, tap Face Gallery at the bottom, and choose your faces. Once you’re finished configuring the watch face, just tap Add.

You can also press down on the watch face and swipe left until you see New, then add a new face.

Note: To delete a watch face, press down on any face, scroll to the left or right until you find the face you want to delete, and swipe up on the face. Then, tap Remove to delete it.

Work

Siri

Siri’s watch face gives you personalized information throughout the day. It works like a scrolling Rolodex of data gathered from your Calendar, Alarms, News, Reminders, and it can even remind you to breathe. These are all options that you can turn on and off in the Watch app using your iPhone. Once you set up what sort of information you want Siri to display, you can set up the face just like any other and choose your complications.

Utility

The Utility face gives you the flexibility to choose four complications and four different types of dials. If you want to keep the face of your Apple Watch simple and legible, this is an excellent choice. It also showcases your most important complications at the forefront without feeling crowded.

Modular

If you crave even more information than the Utility face has to offer, then the Modular face is the way to go. The offering is without a doubt one of the most flexible faces currently available for the Apple Watch. It offers five complications, features a digital display for easy reading, and keeps everything tidy, even though it crams ample information into a single spot.

Fitness

Activity

The Activity face is the go-to Watch face for fitness buffs, one that works via activity rings. The Move ring — represented by the red band — shows you how many calories you’ve burned so far, while the green and blue rings show you how many minutes of activity you’ve completed so far and how often you’ve stood up and moved about for at least a minute, respectively. You can also configure it to show you “roll” hours. Instead of standing and moving, it will show you hours in which you’ve pushed (in case you are in a wheelchair). You can also configure it with up to three different complications.

Chronograph

This Watch face is perfect for runners or those who need a digital chronograph. The hands tell you the total time, and there’s a second flyback hand for monitoring lap times. You can customize the timescales to measure both short and long periods, too, and the face syncs with the Stopwatch app so you can keep better track of your lap times.

Fun

Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope is a beautiful app with patterns that intertwine and change throughout the day — it’s also designed for relaxation purposes. When you turn the Digital Crown, the patterns move. The faster you turn the crown, the faster the patterns will move. Needless to say, you can use this to get yourself into a relaxed state if you’re having a stressful day.

Toy Story

The Apple Watch is known for having one of the largest selections of third-party cases and straps of any watch in existence. This makes it possible to turn the Apple Watch into a device fit for kids. This Watch Face showcases the main characters from the Toy Story franchise. You can currently choose from Woody, Buzz Lightyear, or Jessie, and the characters will animate and wave at you.

Mickey & Minnie Mouse

This watch face will take you back to your childhood, allowing you to to choose either Mickey or Minnie Mouse. The characters move their hands to indicate the time, but they move their body naturally, tapping their feet as they do. It is a modern take on an old classic. The face also lets you to use up to three complications at once, including Reminders.

Motion

The Motion face is a gorgeous app that reacts to your touch. It has three collections that you can choose. The Butterfly collection has 25 different species that move just like real butterflies. Every time you raise your wrist, a different butterfly will appear. The Flower collection has nine different flowers that animate themselves blooming. The third, the Jellyfish collection, has six different species of jellyfish, and depicts a different one every time you raise your wrist. Each one of these collections features a natural animation that can keep you entertained for days.

Astronomy

For the astronomy aficionados, here’s a face that displays the time and showcases a real-time model of the Earth, Moon, and our Solar System. The Earth shows you the transition between day and night. You can also follow the moon phases, or you can choose the Solar System view to see the position of the planets on any day of the year. Rotating the Digital Crown will show the passage of time, too, so you can track the alignment of the planets or the next full moon.

Timelapse

Time-lapse is an elegant face that shows you six landscapes and cityscapes from around the world. Every time you look at it, the face will show you that city or landscape at your time of day. You can also add up to two complications to this face, which makes it one of the simplest available.

Minimalist

Numerals

If you were looking for the most minimalistic of faces, then this might be the one for you. The Numerals face displays hour and minute hands, a second hand, and the hour in the upper-left corner. You can change the colors and the font of the number, too, but that is about as much as you can do with this face. You can add one complication at the bottom, or you can leave it barebones.

Simple

The Simple face is one of the most flexible faces, in that you can make it as bare or as useful as you want. You can set it up to showcase just hour and minute hands, or you can add up to five complications. The Simple face is similar to the Modular face, but this one is more elegant, showing you an analog watch face instead of digital. So if you want to strip your face to the bare essentials, this offering will give you the most style.

X-Large

As we’ve said before, the Apple Watch can fit youngsters as well as seniors. If you’re planning to buy an Apple Watch for someone who finds it hard to read small text, this face can be a life saver. It will show you the digital time in bold, and utilizes an extra large font that envelops the face of your watch. You can also add one complication, but it will take up the middle of your display and still show you the current time on top.

23

Sep

Think your ISP is cheating you? The best internet speed tests help you find out

Internet service providers like to make a lot of claims about upload and download speeds when you sign up, but do you ever wonder how those numbers compare to the speeds you’re actually getting once your connection is set up? These alternative browser-based speed tests will help you determine your upload and download speeds, as well as identify other issues with your network, such as packet loss, latency issues, or physical connection problems. Here are several of our favorite internet speed tests, each of which is dependent on the kind of data and interface you’re looking for.

Speedof.me

Speedof.me is an HTML5-based speed test that’s lightweight and designed to replicate real-world browsing and downloading conditions by requesting a series of files of increasing sizes and recording the speed at which they’re downloaded. Not only does the site display a graph of speeds achieved in real-time, but also allows you to track your results against previous tests. Rather than selecting a location, the website calculates the quickest and most reliable server from 88 available servers, and all files are downloaded and uploaded in sequence — rather than simultaneously — to imitate real internet browsing conditions.

Test your bandwidth at:

Speedof.me

TestMy.net

If you’re looking for a test that offers more data than the average speed, TestMy.net runs a series of tests and provides a lot of useful comparison data. There are separate options for both download and upload tests, so be sure to try them both.

When it’s done, the results rate your speed compared to other recent users, so that you can get a good idea of where you stand. TestMy.net also displays a graph with your connection over time, so that you can see if you had trouble sustaining a good connection the whole time. If these numbers are a little unfamiliar to you, there’s also plenty of documentation and easy-to-understand guides that can help you better identify what the problem is with your internet connection.

Test your connection at:

TestMy.net

Speedtest.net

Ookla’s bandwidth diagnostic software shows up on a number of the other speed test sites listed here, but the most full-featured iteration of the test is on Speedtest.net, which is owned by Ookla. The tech used here is both intelligent and speedy. It picks five nearby servers (out of a list of more than 1,000), runs a full test, and returns upload and download speed, latency, and packet loss.

You can fill out a survey after the test, answering questions about the claimed speed of your ISP and monthly connection costs, which allows Ookla to amass an impressive database of consumer connection information, which can be viewed and broken down by region — in the U.S., this is a major variable in Internet speed — on their NetIndex site. The site uses a flash-based applet, but it’s lightweight and didn’t seem to have a noticeable impact on testing speeds.

Test your connection at:

Speedtest.net

Bandwidth Place

Another HTML5-based speed test, Bandwidth Place, pushes aside anything that might get in the way of accurate results and is lightweight enough to run on a large number of devices. The site has been around since 2002, but it adopted the new HTML protocol in early 2013 to expand its compatibility, and allow easy access from mobile devices.

Server selection is either done by lowest available ping, or by using specific locations and servers that allow you to see how distance alters your latency and speeds. In addition to offering internet speed information, Bandwidth Place also provides news about broadband services, and offers regarding more comprehensive connectivity options.

Test your connection at:

Bandwidth Place

Fast.com

Fast.com is a simple site run by Netflix — and we mean really, really simple. The site automatically launches a speed test and brings up a giant number to show you just what your MBps look like. Of course, Netflix largely intends this to be used for people who want to test if their current speed can handle Netflix content, especially high-def and 4K (even on your PC) content, which may benefit more from higher download speeds. That said, you can use the test nearly anywhere, and for anything. If you’re not interested in any of the charts or latency data — you just want a simple speed number — then Fast is made for you.

Test your connection at:

Fast.com

FCC Speed Test for Android

Have an Android device but still want to see how good your connection is? Check out this simple Android app, which allows you to conduct multiple speed tests using both your mobile data and Wi-Fi network. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, packet loss, and a host of other metrics. This sort of app is particularly useful for when you need to find a strong Wi-Fi connection within a large area — which, in turn, makes it even more useful when traveling. Although the app is intended Android phones, you can download it for multiple platforms.

Download it now from:

Google Play

ISP Speed Tests

If you want an accurate and somewhat more “personal” speed test, instead of the general tests available across the internet, we advise you to check out your internet service provider. Many ISPs offer their own speed tests, typically to their customers but sometimes to everyone (Verizon Xfinity has its own speed test, for example). There are dozens of these ISP tests out there, making them a worthwhile alternative for most people. The easiest way to find them is to just visit your ISP’s official website and look for them — or to Google “[insert your ISP] speed test” and see what comes up.

Search Engine Tests

Finally, one of the quickest ways to get a simple speed test conducted is to go to Bing.com or Google.com, type in “speed test,” and then select the first search result that pops up. Neither tools offer much detail, but they have the advantage of being fast and easy.

In Google’s case, that means the tool provided by Measurement Lab (M-Lab), which is a collaboration between New America’s Open Technology Institute, Google Open Source Research, Princeton University’s PlanetLab, and other organizations. M-Lab’s tool can be kicked off just by clicking on “Run Speed Test” and a small window will open providing simple download and upload scores.

Bing has its own tool, which runs in line when you click “Start.” It will tell you your current IP address (which can be helpful if your ISP regularly changes yours), your ping time, and then download and upload speeds.

Updated with the addition of Bing and Google speed test options.

23

Sep

Innovative suction robot is designed to hitchhike on the side of a shark

Why it matters to you

This innovative underwater robot could help track sharks and other aquatic creatures, or simply save energy by riding them.

When you think of badass underwater robots, a new creation from researchers at China’s Beihang University and Harvard University has to rank pretty darn high. What they have developed is a fish-inspired suction cup robot, designed to hitch rides on passing sharks and other aquatic animals, without hurting them. (Or, you know, hopefully without being munched in the process.) The technology could prove an invaluable tool in helping marine biologists better understand and track their subjects, or simply providing a new form of underwater robot locomotion that requires less energy expenditure.

Li Wen, a researcher on the project from Beihang University, says he was inspired to develop the project while working on 3D-printed shark skin research at Harvard University in 2012. While trying to find a good image of a shark for his academic paper, he noticed that, attached to the shark in one picture, was a small creature called a remora — or suckerfish.

“We are amazed by the structure of remora’s suction disc, which lets it hitchhike on a variety of hosts,” Wen told Digital Trends. “[As a result], we decided to start this bio-robotic remora project. There are several applications for this remora disc robot. For example, we can use this bio-robotic disc as a tag to monitor marine animals. We can also use this disc to grip large, flat objects underwater, or integrate it with an underwater robot, therefore allowing it to hitchhike to save power.”

Although there are plenty of innovative underwater robots, developing materials that are capable of gripping to things underwater is a major challenge in its own right. In the past, we covered other intriguing attempts at solving this problem, such as a U.S. Navy project which aims to replicate the proteins in mussels to create underwater glue. In the case of the remora disc robot, researchers could have found a workable alternative method, however.

In tests, their artificial suction cup — which incorporates 1,000 carbon fiber “spinules” to help it stay connected — was able to withstand the forces that would be exerted on it by a shark swimming at a speed of five feet per second. The suction disc can be attached to a wide variety of surfaces, including shark skin, and removing it requires forces of more than 340 times its weight.

“So far, we haven’t tried hitchhiking this robot on a swimming shark or a live dolphin yet, but that is certainly interesting and challenging,” Wen said. “We are working towards a more reliable underwater attachment device to meet [this] real-world application.”

A paper describing the work was recently published in the journal Science Robotics.

23

Sep

Weekly Rewind: Free Lyft rides, new Nest products, legendary Porsches

A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top tech stories, from what Nest’s big product announcement to the best Porsches ever made — it’s all here.

Behold the majesty of our world with the 46 best drone photos

Drone costs have dropped substantially over the past few years, and during this span, we have seen the technology increase exponentially. While early designs were more of a backyard novelty (and often a nuisance) than anything else, the latest drone models are loaded with advanced cameras and stabilization technology that allows for more practical uses. Designed with extended operational range, long gone are the days of simply buzzing — and often caroming — about the backyard or neighborhood. The best drone photos can attest to this.

As the demand for drones has increased, so too has the market, as manufacturers look to cater to each specific industry niche. While pint-sized quadcopters are well-suited for navigating narrow indoor environments, there are hundreds of more powerful brutes on the market designed to handle the gustier conditions often involved with aerial photography. We should know — we have tested dozens of drones over the years and curated a comprehensive roundup of our favorites.

Read: Behold the majesty of our world with the 46 best drone photos

Here’s what HEIF and HEVC are, and why they’ll improve your iPhone with iOS 11

Apple’s iOS 11 is officially here, you will notice several new camera and photo features. But one change you may not be aware of is Apple’s adoption of the HEIF and HEVC formats, and you may not be aware of its benefits and limitations immediately. HEIF and HEVC promise to deliver improved resolution and more manageable photo and video file sizes, but those are just the start. You should know that not every hardware and software support these two formats yet. So, as you’re familiarizing yourself with iOS 11, here’s what you need to know about HEIF and HEVC.

Read: Here’s what HEIF and HEVC are, and why they’ll improve your iPhone with iOS 11

How fast? How far? Chips inside the NFL’s new footballs track every last stat

During Monday night’s showdown between the New York Giants and the Detroit Lions, I looked up from my seat and saw Jamal Agnew maneuver though a sea of Giants ready to take his head off, en route to a stunning 88-yard punt return touchdown at Metlife Stadium. Seconds afterwards, he deflated a stadium full of fans. I looked down at a Microsoft Surface tablet and saw who kicked the ball, how fast it traveled, and even how fast Agnew was running.

Are you ready for some football … tracking? The NFL has placed coin-sized radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips from Zebra Technologies inside footballs for every game this season to provide a deeper dive into statistics — information the league has never effectively captured. The advanced stats the NFL will collect from players and footballs could be used in fantasy football, but the NFL tracking footballs might not be as dramatic as some might hope.

Read: How fast? How far? Chips inside the NFL’s new footballs track every last stat

These are the 15 best Porsches ever made

Even among the crowded world of German sports car manufacturers, Porsche has legendary status. For almost 100 years, the company has been building some of the most captivating and awe-inspiring performance machines on Earth; so much so that its iconic 911 has become the benchmark by which other supercars are judged. It’s hard to name one model as our favorite, however, so for this list, we’ve compiled 15 of the best Porsches ever assembled. Some are classics of yesteryear and some are hot off the assembly line, but they all have one thing in common: they’re fast as hell.

Read: These are the 15 best Porsches ever made

Amazon reportedly working on Alexa-powered smart glasses and security systems

Leave it to Amazon, one of the world’s largest retailers, to seek to disrupt augmented reality and home security. The Seattle, Washington-based retailer is actively developing Alexa-enabled “smart glasses,” according to an exclusive report in the Financial Times, alongside a “smart” security camera.

Amazon’s smart glasses, which are said to resemble an off-the-shelf pair of spectacles, pack a microphone, a wireless chip of some kind, and an earbuds-free bone-conduction system that pipes Alexa’s voice straight to your inner ear. It’s reportedly being spearheaded by Babak Parviz, the founder of Google Glass, who joined Amazon in 2014, and could launch as soon as “year-end.”

Read: Amazon reportedly working on Alexa-powered smart glasses and security systems

Nest Secure hands-on review

Nest is back, and it’s back with a vengeance. The company recently took the wraps off of the Nest Thermostat E, but that did not mark the end of Nest’s 2017 announcements. Instead, Nest saved its biggest product unveilings for an event in San Francisco, where it revealed a lineup of security-focused products.

The star of the show is the Nest Secure, the company’s new smart alarm system that works in concert with a series of door and window trackers called Nest Detect, a key fob called Nest Tag, and Nest Guard, the brain-center of the whole system. It’s built to be super intuitive, super secure, and relatively easy to install. We were on the ground at the event, and managed to get some hands-on time with the new Nest Secure product lineup.

Read: Nest Secure hands-on review

Budweiser and Lyft want you to get home safely for free

Getting home this weekend is about to get a lot easier, and it’s thanks to a surprising source. While Budweiser isn’t generally in the business of making you a more responsible driver (quite the opposite, in fact), the beer maker is now ensuring that you can have your fun while being safe. For the second year in a row, Budweiser and Lyft are teaming up to stand against drunk driving by giving you a free ride home.

The two companies are offering up to 150,000 total round-trip rides starting today and lasting through the end of the year. So even if you don’t have a designated driver, you can still rest assured that you’re not putting anyone in danger when you make your way home at the end of the night.

Read: Budweiser and Lyft want you to get home safely for free

Why Google bought part of HTC’s smartphone team for $1.1 billion

It’s official: Google has agreed to acquire a select team of engineers from HTC’s smartphone division for $1.1 billion in an all-cash deal. Under the terms of the unusual arrangement, the search giant won’t get a direct stake in HTC — instead, it’ll gain “non-exclusive” licensing rights to HTC’s current and future intellectual property. The engineers are people who have already worked with Google to develop its Pixel smartphones, and they will soon become “fellow Googlers.”

Analysts seem confused about the real purpose behind the deal, however.

“It remains a complete mystery to me as to what Google is paying money for,” noted Richard Windsor, a former Nomura Securities analyst and the force behind Radio Free Mobile.

Read: Why Google bought part of HTC’s smartphone team for $1.1 billion

Equifax confirms it suffered a separate data breach in March

Following the massive data breach that Equifax disclosed to the public in early September, news of a second, earlier attack at the credit agency has emerged. Although originally just a rumor from anonymous sources, Equifax confirmed the secondary hack on September 19, which took place in March, though the firm denied it had anything to do with the larger hack. Adding insult to injury, Equifax has now inadvertently contributed to a phishing campaign by sending its customers to phishing site rather than its own breach notification portal.

Read: Equifax confirms it suffered a separate data breach in March

23

Sep

Weekly Rewind: Free Lyft rides, new Nest products, legendary Porsches

A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top tech stories, from what Nest’s big product announcement to the best Porsches ever made — it’s all here.

Behold the majesty of our world with the 46 best drone photos

Drone costs have dropped substantially over the past few years, and during this span, we have seen the technology increase exponentially. While early designs were more of a backyard novelty (and often a nuisance) than anything else, the latest drone models are loaded with advanced cameras and stabilization technology that allows for more practical uses. Designed with extended operational range, long gone are the days of simply buzzing — and often caroming — about the backyard or neighborhood. The best drone photos can attest to this.

As the demand for drones has increased, so too has the market, as manufacturers look to cater to each specific industry niche. While pint-sized quadcopters are well-suited for navigating narrow indoor environments, there are hundreds of more powerful brutes on the market designed to handle the gustier conditions often involved with aerial photography. We should know — we have tested dozens of drones over the years and curated a comprehensive roundup of our favorites.

Read: Behold the majesty of our world with the 46 best drone photos

Here’s what HEIF and HEVC are, and why they’ll improve your iPhone with iOS 11

Apple’s iOS 11 is officially here, you will notice several new camera and photo features. But one change you may not be aware of is Apple’s adoption of the HEIF and HEVC formats, and you may not be aware of its benefits and limitations immediately. HEIF and HEVC promise to deliver improved resolution and more manageable photo and video file sizes, but those are just the start. You should know that not every hardware and software support these two formats yet. So, as you’re familiarizing yourself with iOS 11, here’s what you need to know about HEIF and HEVC.

Read: Here’s what HEIF and HEVC are, and why they’ll improve your iPhone with iOS 11

How fast? How far? Chips inside the NFL’s new footballs track every last stat

During Monday night’s showdown between the New York Giants and the Detroit Lions, I looked up from my seat and saw Jamal Agnew maneuver though a sea of Giants ready to take his head off, en route to a stunning 88-yard punt return touchdown at Metlife Stadium. Seconds afterwards, he deflated a stadium full of fans. I looked down at a Microsoft Surface tablet and saw who kicked the ball, how fast it traveled, and even how fast Agnew was running.

Are you ready for some football … tracking? The NFL has placed coin-sized radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips from Zebra Technologies inside footballs for every game this season to provide a deeper dive into statistics — information the league has never effectively captured. The advanced stats the NFL will collect from players and footballs could be used in fantasy football, but the NFL tracking footballs might not be as dramatic as some might hope.

Read: How fast? How far? Chips inside the NFL’s new footballs track every last stat

These are the 15 best Porsches ever made

Even among the crowded world of German sports car manufacturers, Porsche has legendary status. For almost 100 years, the company has been building some of the most captivating and awe-inspiring performance machines on Earth; so much so that its iconic 911 has become the benchmark by which other supercars are judged. It’s hard to name one model as our favorite, however, so for this list, we’ve compiled 15 of the best Porsches ever assembled. Some are classics of yesteryear and some are hot off the assembly line, but they all have one thing in common: they’re fast as hell.

Read: These are the 15 best Porsches ever made

Amazon reportedly working on Alexa-powered smart glasses and security systems

Leave it to Amazon, one of the world’s largest retailers, to seek to disrupt augmented reality and home security. The Seattle, Washington-based retailer is actively developing Alexa-enabled “smart glasses,” according to an exclusive report in the Financial Times, alongside a “smart” security camera.

Amazon’s smart glasses, which are said to resemble an off-the-shelf pair of spectacles, pack a microphone, a wireless chip of some kind, and an earbuds-free bone-conduction system that pipes Alexa’s voice straight to your inner ear. It’s reportedly being spearheaded by Babak Parviz, the founder of Google Glass, who joined Amazon in 2014, and could launch as soon as “year-end.”

Read: Amazon reportedly working on Alexa-powered smart glasses and security systems

Nest Secure hands-on review

Nest is back, and it’s back with a vengeance. The company recently took the wraps off of the Nest Thermostat E, but that did not mark the end of Nest’s 2017 announcements. Instead, Nest saved its biggest product unveilings for an event in San Francisco, where it revealed a lineup of security-focused products.

The star of the show is the Nest Secure, the company’s new smart alarm system that works in concert with a series of door and window trackers called Nest Detect, a key fob called Nest Tag, and Nest Guard, the brain-center of the whole system. It’s built to be super intuitive, super secure, and relatively easy to install. We were on the ground at the event, and managed to get some hands-on time with the new Nest Secure product lineup.

Read: Nest Secure hands-on review

Budweiser and Lyft want you to get home safely for free

Getting home this weekend is about to get a lot easier, and it’s thanks to a surprising source. While Budweiser isn’t generally in the business of making you a more responsible driver (quite the opposite, in fact), the beer maker is now ensuring that you can have your fun while being safe. For the second year in a row, Budweiser and Lyft are teaming up to stand against drunk driving by giving you a free ride home.

The two companies are offering up to 150,000 total round-trip rides starting today and lasting through the end of the year. So even if you don’t have a designated driver, you can still rest assured that you’re not putting anyone in danger when you make your way home at the end of the night.

Read: Budweiser and Lyft want you to get home safely for free

Why Google bought part of HTC’s smartphone team for $1.1 billion

It’s official: Google has agreed to acquire a select team of engineers from HTC’s smartphone division for $1.1 billion in an all-cash deal. Under the terms of the unusual arrangement, the search giant won’t get a direct stake in HTC — instead, it’ll gain “non-exclusive” licensing rights to HTC’s current and future intellectual property. The engineers are people who have already worked with Google to develop its Pixel smartphones, and they will soon become “fellow Googlers.”

Analysts seem confused about the real purpose behind the deal, however.

“It remains a complete mystery to me as to what Google is paying money for,” noted Richard Windsor, a former Nomura Securities analyst and the force behind Radio Free Mobile.

Read: Why Google bought part of HTC’s smartphone team for $1.1 billion

Equifax confirms it suffered a separate data breach in March

Following the massive data breach that Equifax disclosed to the public in early September, news of a second, earlier attack at the credit agency has emerged. Although originally just a rumor from anonymous sources, Equifax confirmed the secondary hack on September 19, which took place in March, though the firm denied it had anything to do with the larger hack. Adding insult to injury, Equifax has now inadvertently contributed to a phishing campaign by sending its customers to phishing site rather than its own breach notification portal.

Read: Equifax confirms it suffered a separate data breach in March

23

Sep

Weekly Rewind: Free Lyft rides, new Nest products, legendary Porsches

A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top tech stories, from what Nest’s big product announcement to the best Porsches ever made — it’s all here.

Behold the majesty of our world with the 46 best drone photos

Drone costs have dropped substantially over the past few years, and during this span, we have seen the technology increase exponentially. While early designs were more of a backyard novelty (and often a nuisance) than anything else, the latest drone models are loaded with advanced cameras and stabilization technology that allows for more practical uses. Designed with extended operational range, long gone are the days of simply buzzing — and often caroming — about the backyard or neighborhood. The best drone photos can attest to this.

As the demand for drones has increased, so too has the market, as manufacturers look to cater to each specific industry niche. While pint-sized quadcopters are well-suited for navigating narrow indoor environments, there are hundreds of more powerful brutes on the market designed to handle the gustier conditions often involved with aerial photography. We should know — we have tested dozens of drones over the years and curated a comprehensive roundup of our favorites.

Read: Behold the majesty of our world with the 46 best drone photos

Here’s what HEIF and HEVC are, and why they’ll improve your iPhone with iOS 11

Apple’s iOS 11 is officially here, you will notice several new camera and photo features. But one change you may not be aware of is Apple’s adoption of the HEIF and HEVC formats, and you may not be aware of its benefits and limitations immediately. HEIF and HEVC promise to deliver improved resolution and more manageable photo and video file sizes, but those are just the start. You should know that not every hardware and software support these two formats yet. So, as you’re familiarizing yourself with iOS 11, here’s what you need to know about HEIF and HEVC.

Read: Here’s what HEIF and HEVC are, and why they’ll improve your iPhone with iOS 11

How fast? How far? Chips inside the NFL’s new footballs track every last stat

During Monday night’s showdown between the New York Giants and the Detroit Lions, I looked up from my seat and saw Jamal Agnew maneuver though a sea of Giants ready to take his head off, en route to a stunning 88-yard punt return touchdown at Metlife Stadium. Seconds afterwards, he deflated a stadium full of fans. I looked down at a Microsoft Surface tablet and saw who kicked the ball, how fast it traveled, and even how fast Agnew was running.

Are you ready for some football … tracking? The NFL has placed coin-sized radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips from Zebra Technologies inside footballs for every game this season to provide a deeper dive into statistics — information the league has never effectively captured. The advanced stats the NFL will collect from players and footballs could be used in fantasy football, but the NFL tracking footballs might not be as dramatic as some might hope.

Read: How fast? How far? Chips inside the NFL’s new footballs track every last stat

These are the 15 best Porsches ever made

Even among the crowded world of German sports car manufacturers, Porsche has legendary status. For almost 100 years, the company has been building some of the most captivating and awe-inspiring performance machines on Earth; so much so that its iconic 911 has become the benchmark by which other supercars are judged. It’s hard to name one model as our favorite, however, so for this list, we’ve compiled 15 of the best Porsches ever assembled. Some are classics of yesteryear and some are hot off the assembly line, but they all have one thing in common: they’re fast as hell.

Read: These are the 15 best Porsches ever made

Amazon reportedly working on Alexa-powered smart glasses and security systems

Leave it to Amazon, one of the world’s largest retailers, to seek to disrupt augmented reality and home security. The Seattle, Washington-based retailer is actively developing Alexa-enabled “smart glasses,” according to an exclusive report in the Financial Times, alongside a “smart” security camera.

Amazon’s smart glasses, which are said to resemble an off-the-shelf pair of spectacles, pack a microphone, a wireless chip of some kind, and an earbuds-free bone-conduction system that pipes Alexa’s voice straight to your inner ear. It’s reportedly being spearheaded by Babak Parviz, the founder of Google Glass, who joined Amazon in 2014, and could launch as soon as “year-end.”

Read: Amazon reportedly working on Alexa-powered smart glasses and security systems

Nest Secure hands-on review

Nest is back, and it’s back with a vengeance. The company recently took the wraps off of the Nest Thermostat E, but that did not mark the end of Nest’s 2017 announcements. Instead, Nest saved its biggest product unveilings for an event in San Francisco, where it revealed a lineup of security-focused products.

The star of the show is the Nest Secure, the company’s new smart alarm system that works in concert with a series of door and window trackers called Nest Detect, a key fob called Nest Tag, and Nest Guard, the brain-center of the whole system. It’s built to be super intuitive, super secure, and relatively easy to install. We were on the ground at the event, and managed to get some hands-on time with the new Nest Secure product lineup.

Read: Nest Secure hands-on review

Budweiser and Lyft want you to get home safely for free

Getting home this weekend is about to get a lot easier, and it’s thanks to a surprising source. While Budweiser isn’t generally in the business of making you a more responsible driver (quite the opposite, in fact), the beer maker is now ensuring that you can have your fun while being safe. For the second year in a row, Budweiser and Lyft are teaming up to stand against drunk driving by giving you a free ride home.

The two companies are offering up to 150,000 total round-trip rides starting today and lasting through the end of the year. So even if you don’t have a designated driver, you can still rest assured that you’re not putting anyone in danger when you make your way home at the end of the night.

Read: Budweiser and Lyft want you to get home safely for free

Why Google bought part of HTC’s smartphone team for $1.1 billion

It’s official: Google has agreed to acquire a select team of engineers from HTC’s smartphone division for $1.1 billion in an all-cash deal. Under the terms of the unusual arrangement, the search giant won’t get a direct stake in HTC — instead, it’ll gain “non-exclusive” licensing rights to HTC’s current and future intellectual property. The engineers are people who have already worked with Google to develop its Pixel smartphones, and they will soon become “fellow Googlers.”

Analysts seem confused about the real purpose behind the deal, however.

“It remains a complete mystery to me as to what Google is paying money for,” noted Richard Windsor, a former Nomura Securities analyst and the force behind Radio Free Mobile.

Read: Why Google bought part of HTC’s smartphone team for $1.1 billion

Equifax confirms it suffered a separate data breach in March

Following the massive data breach that Equifax disclosed to the public in early September, news of a second, earlier attack at the credit agency has emerged. Although originally just a rumor from anonymous sources, Equifax confirmed the secondary hack on September 19, which took place in March, though the firm denied it had anything to do with the larger hack. Adding insult to injury, Equifax has now inadvertently contributed to a phishing campaign by sending its customers to phishing site rather than its own breach notification portal.

Read: Equifax confirms it suffered a separate data breach in March

23

Sep

Kodak Moment’s chatbot suggests the best Facebook photos for printing

Why it matters to you

Kodak’s chatbot (and updated app) is aiming to help make the decision on which photos to print easier.

Thanks to smartphones, more photos are snapped every day than ever before, but very few of them ever actually make it from digital pixels to printed images. Kodak Moments is working to change that by digging up the “best” old photos using a new algorithm and a Facebook bot. In an update launched earlier this week, the Kodak Moments app now uses the new machine learning framework on iOS 11 to recommend the best shots from the camera roll. A similar feature is also available through the Kodak Moments chatbot, which finds the best photos from your Facebook profile for printing.

According to Fast Company, the new Made For You feature curates images from the camera roll, putting them together into “Moments” before recommending prints or photo products. Designed from a machine learning program developed by Kodak Moments, the program uses factors like location, time, and facial recognition to find what the program thinks are the best memories. The system also analyzes the photo quality.

The chatbot inside the Facebook Messenger app, called Kodak Moments Assistant, works similarly. Starting a message to “Kodak Moments Assistant” gets the process started. Users have to allow the program access to their profile, then the artificially intelligent program analyzes those Facebook photos. The program uses factors like total engagement, tagging, location, and relationships to suggest photos to print.

The suggested photos pop up inside Messenger, along with links to see more photos with the same people or to print the shot. Below that, an option for “Show me more moments” appears to generate more suggestions. Users can also upload photos to the chatbot for printing.

Once the photos are recommended, those shots may be printed through Kodak. According to the app store description, photos (and products like albums) may be printed and shipped or picked up at a kiosk.

Kodak Moments is the app owned by Kodak Alaris. The app is now in version 5.6, available on Google Play and the App Store.

Kodak’s Messenger bot may be unique, but the company isn’t the only one attempting to use AI to sort through large amounts of digital photos. Google Photos can also suggest images through an AI algorithm, along with the photo sharing and stock media app EyeEm.