RIP, Cassini: 25 spellbinding Saturn images from NASA’s self-sacrificing probe

The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft has spent nearly two decades in space collecting invaluable data and unprecedented close-ups of the Saturnian system. The craft has logged nearly 5 billion miles on its cosmic odometer, and the library of Cassini images contains more than 400,000 images and counting.

Cassini sports 18 unique scientific instruments and is 12,593 pounds making it one of the largest and heaviest space probes ever constructed.

From the drawing board onward, the Cassini mission was set to be one of the most ambitious unmanned missions ever launched into the cosmos. Tricked out with 18 unique scientific instruments, the spacecraft hit the launchpad at a not-so-svelte 12,593 pounds, making Cassini one of the heaviest and largest interplanetary probes ever constructed. In fact, only the two interplanetary spacecraft (Phobos 1 and Phobos 2) launched by the Soviet Union were more massive.

Once hurled into the solar system, Cassini spent the next seven years braving the unforgiving vacuum of space before even reaching Saturn. A system glitch, meteorite, or haphazard collision with any number of orbiting hunks of space junk could’ve killed this $3 billion dollar mission before it even started. Fortunately, this was not Cassini’s fate, and on July 1, 2004, the probe finally arrived at its destination. The spacecraft would spend the next 13 years investigating the enigmatic gas giant and relaying data back to us earthlings nearly 900 million miles away.

After successfully executing more than 2.5 million commands including 162 targeted flybys of Saturn’s moons, Cassini boasts a rather lengthy list of accomplishments. Outside of discovering previously unknown moons (no big deal) and observing massive hurricanes at both Saturnian poles, the craft also detected the elements necessary to potentially host living organisms on the ice-spewing satellite, Enceladus.

NASA illustration of Cassini on final dive towards Saturn.

Unfortunately, in the cosmic scheme of things, nothing lasts forever, and even the stalwart Cassini is not exempt from the inevitable. Protecting these aforementioned potentially life-sustaining “ocean worlds” is the central purpose of the so-called Grand Finale that will culminate with a final “suicide dive” into Saturn’s tumultuous atmosphere. This subsequent series of dives toward the planet will prevent Cassini from possibly contaminating one of these potentially life-sustaining moons with sturdy microbes that may have survived the journey from Earth.

The craft began the first of these plunges in August and earlier this week Cassini received its “goodbye kiss” from Titan, a final flyby and consequential gravitational nudge toward Saturn. The steadfast craft is expected to crash into the planet’s atmosphere on September 15, 2017, transmitting data to the bitter end.

Of the more than nearly half a million images the probe has snapped during its 20 years adrift in the solar system, these are 25 of our favorite. Godspeed, Cassini.

If you’re craving more stunning glimpses of our celestial neighbors and beyond, we’ve also curated a gallery of the best photos of outer space.

Meet Rembrandt in this Samsung Gear VR experience

The best thing about VR experiences is that they can take you to fantastical places — or meet people you’ll never get to meet in real life, like Dutch master Rembrandt. Oculus has teamed up with virtual reality studio Force Field for a Samsung Gear VR experience that takes you back to 17th century Amsterdam. Meeting Rembrandt recreates the artist’s home and surroundings, using a live actor to play the artist against computer-generated environments.

It’s quite different from the Vincent Van Gogh experience The Night Cafe, which gives you the power to jump into the world in his oil painting. Meeting Rembrandt puts you right in the middle of the most notable events in the artist’s life instead. You can even interact with him in his atelier and see the creative process behind his most famous painting, The Night Watch.

“It’s as if you are actually there, up-close with Rembrandt, in his atelier, in his house, as he interacts with you and lets you understand why his work was so controversial in that day and age,” Force Field chief Arthur Houtman said.

The experience is now available on Oculus’ Gear VR store for free. Since it was made for Samsung’s VR platform, you’ll of course need the tech titan’s headset and a compatible phone like the Galaxy S8 or Note 8 to run it.

Source: Oculus

Nike’s ‘NBA Connected’ jerseys tap into the game with NFC tags

Nike is the new apparel maker for the NBA and tonight it officially rolled out updated jerseys for the teams. They’re specially constructed to keep players cool and allow for freedom of movement, but there’s a new feature for fans too. They’ll debut the new NikeConnect system, which relies on a mobile app of the same name that reacts to NFC tags embedded in the jerseys. The hook is the ability to unlock “premium content” like “pregame arrival footage, highlight packages and top players’ favorite music playlists.” One hook that may work for gamers is the inclusion of specific boosts for NBA 2K18 players that are unlocked by buying that player’s jersey in real life.

For most fans the experience of wearing team apparel on gameday (whether they’re in the stadium or at home) is enough to make them feel plugged in, but this is an attempt to take things a step further. The NikeConnect system will be a part of the $110 “Swingman” replica jerseys and $200 authentic jerseys when they go on sale September 29th, but we might wait and see if Nike’s “Therma Flex Showtime Warm-up Jacket” can bring the offseason’s fabled Hoodie ‘Melo to life in the regular season before making a purchase.

Source: Nike

LG E7 OLED TV unboxing and setup: Get this 4K TV performing for you

The LG E7 OLED TV is a 4K HDR TV that does just about everything and has the best picture quality on the market. To top things off, it is also easy to unbox and set up. In this video, we take a look at the LG E7 OLED TV unboxing and setup to show you exactly what to expect when you get your new TV.

Unboxing Tips and Cautions

Looking at the top of the box can make the unboxing of the LG E7 OLED TV seem confusing, but the diagram can also be quite helpful. The instructions tell you to take the lid off the box, insert foam, and use that as a support structure for the TV while you’re mounting the stand on the TV. If you follow the pictured directions step by step, you will have a much easier time mounting the stand.

What’s in the box

• Product and set up literature.
• Break out cables.
• 2 Batteries.
• Magic motion remote.
• 4 screws.
• Stand.
• Decorative piece.
• Cord organizer.

One of the great things that LG does with the packaging of this TV is put everything, except the stand, in an accessory box. This makes it really easy to find all the small pieces, such as screws and batteries, that you need to assemble your TV.

Items that aren’t included

Several items are not included with the TV. You will need to buy HDMI cables to connect your TV to other devices. The easiest way to ensure you have HDMI cables is to buy the AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI cables at the same time you buy your TV. If you do not buy the AmazonBasics HDMI cable, make sure that the HDMI cables are rated as “high speed” cables so they can accommodate the large amount of data 4K HDR content requires.

Additionally, the TV does not come with any wall mounting hardware. For information about wall mounting check out our wall mounting guide video.

Set up TV

To put the TV together, lay it on its front with the back exposed. Then slide the stand into the bottom of the TV and secure it in place with four screws. After the stand is secure, cover the screws with the decorative piece that snaps into place. There will be a small square that extends from the center of the decorative piece, that is where you put the small black cord organizer – it also snaps into place.

Looking at the back of the TV, you will see that the power cord is hard-wired in the bottom left corner. All you have to do is plug the cord into the wall. Moving over to the right-hand side, you will see where all of the connections go. The side bay has two HDMI inputs, one ARC HDMI input (for easy connection to a sound bar), and one USB input. The rear-facing bay has one HDMI input, two USB inputs, one digital optical output, an Ethernet connection, and one input for break-out cables.

Design Features

If you are looking at your TV from the side you might have a hard time seeing it. That is because it is about as thick as an iPhone at the top. It does get wider, to about 2.4 inches, toward the bottom where the hardware is stored. Because the TV is so thin, it would look great mounted on the wall. For more information about mounting a TV check out this article.

The screen for the LG E7 OLED TV is what makes this TV stand out from other LG OLED TVs. This is because the OLED panel is fitted to a solid sheet of glass. The resulting impression is that there is a see-through bezel all around the black screen where the glass extends.

The second thing that makes this OLED TV stand out is the grille at the bottom of the screen. This grille hides a series of speakers and acts as a built-in sound bar. As a result of this addition, you will get clearer and bigger sound, better stereo separation, and virtual surround sound.

The stand does not detract from the look of the TV at all. In fact, it is quite small when you compare it to the whole TV. At just 24 and 1/4 inches wide and eight inches deep, this silver stand makes it easy to place the TV on a small entertainment stand.

Set up the connections

When you first power on your TV, the LG WebOS Smart TV system takes you through a setup wizard. First the TV will scan for TV channels via the connected antenna or cable box. Then you will be asked to use your magic motion remote to connect the TV to your Wi-Fi router.

Adjusting settings

While you are still setting up your TV we suggest you adjust your settings. In regard to picture presets, we suggest selecting either expert bright room or expert dark room, depending on where you place the TV. For most TV users, the expert bright room will be preferred, unless you have a dedicated darkened home entertainment room. There are no presets for you to alter or turn off, as this setting is set up perfectly right out of the box. You can have a professional calibrator adjust the TV to get slightly better color, but for most people that is not necessary.

NBC CEO claims Facebook has ‘no respect’ for pro content

NBC CEO Steve Burke talked to The Information about the current state of the media industry and seemed very unimpressed by Facebook’s video efforts. While the social network just launched the Watch section it’s trying to flood with video Burke finds it lacking. At least, lacking in comparison to the social network NBCUniversal has $500 million invested in, Snapchat. The “unsustainable” Facebook “doesn’t allow us to put ads in and sell them,” while Snapchat does.

We guess that means NBCUniversal won’t pull in a large portion of the $1 billion Facebook reportedly plans to spend on original content next year, but there’s always a chance today’s competitors can become tomorrow’s partners. Oh, and if you’re wondering whether or not the Comcast-enmeshed NBC could pull a Disney and sell its content via streaming it seems unlikely — he’s more interested in the possibility of $50 internet packages with add-on a la carte channels.

Source: The Information

Virgin Mobile’s US stores get the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus a week late

Virgin Mobile’s US stores will get both the standard iPhone 8 and Plus models on September 29th. That’s a full week after every other major American carrier gets the device, which is rough for Virgin Mobile in particular since it now only offers iPhones.

The carrier gave no reason for the delay, which also affects preorders: Its customers can reserve an iPhone 8 or 8 Plus on September 22nd, when the other big American carriers start getting their shipped. It’s possible that Virgin Mobile got bumped lower in priority, as that delayed schedule is in line with Apple’s global shipments to Greece, Poland and Russia, Apple Insider observed.

Virgin Mobile’s website states that customers can reserve the iPhone X on October 27th, when everyone else can, but it’s not clear if that smartphone’s delivery will also be delayed.

Via: Apple Insider

Source: Business Wire

Now Essential’s Android phone will work on Verizon too

Despite being a retail exclusive at Sprint, the Essential PH-1 has arrived as an unlocked device. However, as mobile fans are unfortunately familiar with, certification with one particular network is always tricky. Tonight Essential announced that its flagship phone is compatible with the Verizon network, just a day after it went on sale in Sprint stores, so owners can drop a SIM in and go on all of the major US carriers. According to Andy Rubin, devices may need to reboot first, but that’s it.

We’re excited to share that Essential Phone is now compatible with the @Verizon network. #ThisisEssential

— Essential (@essential) September 16, 2017

Update: Verizon certification complete. Thanks for your patience. Might need to reboot your phone. Happy Friday!

— Andy Rubin (@Arubin) September 16, 2017

Source: Essential Products (Twitter)

T-Mobile confirms the new Apple Watch will get LTE speeds

The Apple Watch Series 3 comes with built-in LTE, but as MacRumors pointed out, T-Mobile’s add-on $10 wearable plan limits devices to 512kb/s connections. Tonight T-Mobile CEO John Legere announced its plan for the Watch will include unlimited 4G LTE, saying that “We always listen & act!” That should help keep things even among the US carriers for anyone picking up a new iPhone and/or wrist-worn accessory. Of course, according to a T-Mobile spokesperson, the most data-intensive app on the Watch is high quality Apple Music streaming, which tops out at about 256kbps.

Source: John Legere (Twitter)

Apple’s Craig Federighi: Uncertainty About Face ID Will ‘Melt Away’ Once People Get iPhone X

Apple software engineering chief Craig Federighi today joined Daring Fireball’s John Gruber on an episode of The Talk Show, where he likened uncertainties over Face ID to the concerns that customers expressed when Touch ID first launched in 2013 in the iPhone 5s.

Honestly, we’re just all counting the days that customers can finally get their hands on these. Because I think just like with Touch ID, initially people thought oh, ‘Apple’s done something that’s totally not going to work and I’m not a believer and I’m not gonna use this feature.’

Now everyone’s worried because they can’t imagine life without Touch ID. We’re going to see exactly the same thing with Face ID.

In a discussion that revisited the on-stage gaffe that saw Face ID fail to authenticate his face during Tuesday’s event, Federighi said he was shocked when it happened because the feature normally “just works.” He went on to say he understands the uncertainty, but that it will “melt away” once people experience the product. “You don’t even think about it,” he said.

Federighi went on to say that as much as Apple loves Touch ID, Face ID is “that much better.” He confirmed that Apple believes Face ID is the future of biometric authentication, with the caveat that there are settings where different biometric techniques or combinations of biometrics could make sense.

Much of the rest of the discussion covered the same topics that were discussed in Federighi’s earlier interview with TechCrunch. Federighi reiterated that most sunglasses work with Face ID, aside from some that have coatings that block infrared. One way around that, he says, is to turn off the “attention aware” feature that requires eye contact for Face ID to unlock.

He also explained why users need to swipe to get past the lock screen of the iPhone X, rather than it opening directly with a facial scan – it’s so you can still glimpse at the time, check your notifications, or get to the flashlight without the iPhone opening up to the Home screen. The swipe and scan are simultaneous with no real waiting period or delay.

One last little tidbit — with the feature that allows you to disable Face ID temporarily by pressing the side button and the volume buttons, it also takes a screenshot because the gestures are the same. Apple’s looking into fixing that by deleting the screenshot when a press and hold gesture is detected.

Federighi’s full interview with John Gruber can be listened to on The Talk Show.

Related Roundup: iPhone X
Tag: Face ID
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5 iPhone X case deals to protect your tech and save you up to 61 percent

Apple has just unveiled its newest flagship devices, the iPhone 8 and the high-end iPhone X, and people are pretty excited. The iPhone X in particular is the company’s most advanced smartphone yet, with a CPU that’s faster than the MacBook Pro’s processor and puts current AMD and Qualcomm offerings to shame.

It goes without saying that many Apple heads around the world are pumped about the iPhone X, and while there’s no denying that it’s an expensive device, you can score a solid deal on one with Apple’s trade-in program. You can also save some cash with these iPhone X case deals: We’ve picked out five of the best ones currently available from Case-Mate and Amazon, with something for everybody, at discounts of up to 61 percent off.

Mood iPhone X case ($42.50)

Remember mood rings? Like those popular novelty items from the ’80s and ’90s, the Mood iPhone X case from Case-Mate features a striking temperature-activated surface that changes colors when you hold it. Admittedly, the colors may or may not actually reflect your current mood, but the case is nonetheless attractive and offers great protection for your iPhone with its dual-layer scratch- and impact-resistant design. Case-Mate is currently offering a 15 percent sitewide discount with free shipping, so you can score the Mood case for $42.50 and take $7.50 off. Just use offer code DIGITALTRENDS15OFF at checkout.

Case-Mate

Compact Mirror iPhone X case ($51)

The unique three-in-one design of the Compact Mirror iPhone X case does triple duty as a phone cover, compact mirror, and wallet. The leather outer shell features a folding flap that hides a small mirror, and the flap itself contains a handy pocket with enough space for a few credit cards and dollar bills. The Compact Mirror case is currently available in black and rose gold, and Case-Mate’s 15 percent sitewide discount brings it down to $51 for a savings of $9. Just use offer code DIGITALTRENDS15OFF at checkout.

Case-Mate

Wallet Folio iPhone X case ($51)

Case-Mate’s Wallet Folio iPhone X case is a more traditional folding cover that employs a two-part design: An interior shell keeps your phone secure while the surrounding shell, crafted from genuine leather, provides an extra layer of protection as well as slots for IDs, cards, and cash. Normally $60, the Wallet Folio, can be yours for $51 with free shipping from Case-Mate. If these iPhone X case deals didn’t tickle your fancy, however, then be sure to check out the complete Case-Mate lineup. Just use offer code DIGITALTRENDS15OFF at checkout.

Case-Mate

Youmaker Shockproof Kickstand iPhone X case ($18)

For the ultimate in drop protection, look no further than the Shockproof Kickstand iPhone X case from Youmaker. This sturdy cover boasts military-grade shock protection and features a convenient pop-out kickstand and includes a removable belt clip. Whether you’re an active person who takes your iPhone on all of your outdoor adventures, or you’re just a butterfingers who drops your stuff a lot, the Youmaker Shockproof Kickstand cover is easily the most durable of the iPhone X case deals on our roundup and can be yours from Amazon for just $18 after a 28 percent discount of $7.

Amazon

Tozo Ultra-Thin iPhone X case ($9)

Sometimes less is more. If all you want is a minimalist cover to keep your device free of everyday scuffs and scratches, then the Tozo Ultra-Thin iPhone X case is just the ticket. This protective case is just 0.35mm thick and is made from a semi-transparent polymer with a sleek matte smoked grey surface that wards off unsightly fingerprints. The Tozo Ultra-Thin skin also offers the biggest savings of these iPhone X case deals: A 61 percent discount means you can grab it for just $9 from Amazon and take $14 off of its list price.

Amazon

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Looking for more great deals on mobile gadgets and other electronics? Check out our deals page to score some extra savings on our favorite tech.

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