Microsoft pegs Windows 10 Fall Creators Update release for October 17

Why it matters to you

You can finalize your plans for updating all of your Windows 10 PCs to Fall Creators Update, now that Microsoft has officially announced its release date.

Windows 10 Fall Creators Update won’t be much of a surprise when it arrives, given months of Windows Insider previews unveiling its major features and functionality since it was announced earlier this year. The only real news that’s been awaiting its revelation is a released date, and today Microsoft announced that Fall Creators Update will arrive on October 17.

That’s a bit later than the September release that many Microsoft watchers expected. But it is definitely the fall, and so at least the title remains valid, if perhaps a bit boring. While the update itself isn’t as major as some of Windows 10’s earlier versions, it’s nevertheless full of some features that will make both creative types and regulars users happy.

As a recap, here are some of the new and enhanced features arriving with Windows 10 Fall Creators Update:

• Enhanced Windows inking: Support for inking in PDFs. Smart Ink with artificial intelligence to automatically create shapes and turn simple shapes into complex objects.
• Fluent design: Windows 10 will get better looking and better optimized for specific types of machines with the introduction of the new Fluent Design system.
• Reimagined photos app: The Story Remix app and its features are being rolled into the Windows 10 Photos app, and not all of the features announced at Microsoft’s Build 2017 event will arrive by Fall Creators Update. But new ways to remix experiences with photos, video, music, 3D, and inking will make their way into the app with the update’s release.
• OneDrive files on demand: One of the most-requested features of Microsoft’s cloud storage service, the ability see all OneDrive files while only downloading the files you need, will finally arrive via the new Files On-Demand feature.
• Gaming enhancements: Microsoft continues to improve the Game Mode feature, focusing on improving gaming performance in Windows 10.
• Improved security: Windows Defender is being made smarter and more effective in Fall Creators Update.
• Accessibility advancements: Microsoft just introduced Windows 10 Eye Control, which uses eye tracker hardware to let users who can’t use a keyboard or mouse control Windows 10 and get real work done. The company is targeting those suffering from conditions like Lou Gehrig’s disease with the new feature, and in our testing, it held real promise for anyone with accessibility requirements.
• Windows Mixed Reality: Technically speaking, the software foundation for Windows Mixed Reality arrived in Creators Update in the spring. However, Microsoft’s OEM partners are delivering the required low-cost headsets in October, marketing Fall Creators Update as the first where users will be able to experience Microsoft’s vision of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) at lower prices than ever.

Friday’s news comes at a great time, as the Windows 10 ecosystem has received a real boost with some excellent new machines and accessories introduced at IFA 2017. If you’ve been waiting patiently for Fall Creators Update to help take advantage of all the hardware that will be rolling out soon, at least now you know how much longer you’ll need to wait.

Here are all the announcements we expect to see at Apple’s September 12 event

It’s that time of year again. Apple will hold a press conference on September 12 to announce the new iPhone. The Cupertino, California-based company is no stranger to fall launch events. But rumor has it that the iPhone won’t be the only product on stage.

Here’s everything we expect to see at Apple’s September 12 event, which takes place at the company’s new Apple Park campus.

New iPhones: iPhone 8, iPhone 7S, and iPhone 7

iPhone 8 graphic found in HomePod software

If you’ve been waiting with baited breath for the next iPhone, you may have several to choose from. Apple’s expected to announce no more than three different iPhone models at its September 12 event: The iPhone 7S, iPhone 7S Plus, and iPhone 8.

The iPhone 8 may have a different name, such as the “iPhone X” or “iPhone: Decade Edition,” but it will be the headliner as it’s meant to pay tribute to the iPhone’s 10th anniversary. Expect a top-to-bottom redesign of the iPhone 7.

It might ditch its predecessor’s unibody for glass, ceramic, plastic, stainless steel, or a combination of the four. That’s  to accommodate a wireless charging feature that’ll recharge the iPhone 8 when it’s situated on a compatible pad, and to improve the phone’s overall water and dust resistance.

The iPhone 8 is also said to have an OLED (organic light-emitting diode) edge-to-edge screen that boasts deeper blacks, richer colors, and higher contrast than the iPhone 7’s LCD screen. A cutout near the top fits an earpiece, a front camera, proximity sensors — similarly to the Essential Phone — and a touchscreen “function area” replaces the iPhone’s physical home button with a virtual one. Gone is TouchID on the iPhone 8, replaced with a sophisticated facial recognition system that authenticates Apple Pay purchases, unlocks the iPhone, and mutes notifications when you’re gazing at the screen. The rear cameras have reportedly gotten an upgrade too — they’ll be vertically oriented on the iPhone 8’s rear instead of horizontally as they are now.

But all that technology won’t be cheap. The iPhone 8 is expected to retail for $1,000 for the lowest-end storage configuration, 64GB, and may go up to $1,400.

If that’s too rich for your blood, the iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus are shaping up to be an attractive alternative. They’re rumored to retain the same design, dimensions, and screen size (4.7 inches and 5.5 inches), but sport glass backs compatible with the same wireless charging standard as the iPhone 8.

In any case, pricing of the iPhone 7 and 7S Plus is expected to start at $650 and $750, respectively — in line with the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus’s MSRP.

New Apple Watch: Apple Watch Series 3

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

New iPhones might not be the only thing Apple has up its sleeve — or its wrist. Apple’s expected to take the wraps off the next generation Apple Watch, tentatively called the Apple Watch Series 3. It reportedly won’t look all that different from the Apple Watch Series 2 or Apple Watch Series 1, but the devil’s in the details.

Cellular connectivity might be in tow, meaning you may find support for 4G LTE to at least one Apple Watch Series 3 model. This which would let wearers upload fitness data to the cloud1, stream tunes from Apple Music, and place and receive calls without the need for a tethered iPhone. It’s a feature that has already been available on several Android Wear smartwatches.

Modular wrist straps are another possibility. Along with an ultra-bright “micro-LED” display and longer-lasting battery, the Apple Watch Series 3 is said to support interchangeable bands with biometric sensors. One such prototype is a noninvasive blood glucose monitor that Apple CEO Tim Cook has tested personally, reportedly.

Pricing of the new Apple Watch isn’t rumored to change dramatically, but the LTE-enabled models could cost slightly more. We expect to see watches starting at $270.

4K Apple TV

The Apple TV, Apple’s Siri-touting set-top entertainment box, is getting a little old in the tooth. It’s not surprising the company is readying a follow-up.

The new Apple TV may be the first to support 4K and high-dynamic range (HDR) and the first with tvOS 11.0, the next major version of Apple’s TV-centric operating system. On a technological level, those are major leaps forward. 4K video is four times the resolution of 1080p, the current-gen Apple TV’s cap. HDR standards like Dolby Vision and HDR10, which the new Apple TV is rumored to support, meanwhile, are capable of delivering significantly more vivid, vibrant colors.

There might be more to the new Apple TV than support for 4K and HDR. It might have a larger hard drive, which seems especially likely given the size of 4K video files. A faster processor is a given too — the current-gen Apple TV uses the A8 chip, which launched on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus way back in 2014.

iOS 11

It’s pretty much a given we’ll see iOS 11, the newest version of Apple’s iPhone and iPad operating system, officially released at the September event. After all, it’s been available in beta since early summer — but Apple’s likely to highlight iPhone 8-specific features.

One of the most notable is the “function area,” the bottom-center region of the touchscreen that replaces the iPhone 8’s physical home button. The latest rumblings suggest it’ll disappear from view when you’re not using it, expanding the screen’s height. When you pull it up by dragging from the bottom of the screen, you’ll get contextually-dependent buttons a la the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro.

Other changes have to do with iOS’ status bar. On the iPhone 8, where it’s cut off in the middle by the phone’s “notch,” Apple has reportedly moved the Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, time, and battery indicators to the  right or left of either side.

iOS 11 has other tweaks reportedly designed to take advantage of the iPhone 8’s hardware. A redesigned video player shifts the position of the volume, exit, and size controls to the upper left and right corners, slightly inset from the edges so as to avoid intersecting with the iPhone 8 screen’s cutout. And a new calculator with a darker interface seems to be optimized for the iPhone 8’s rumored high-contrast OLED display.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Among iOS’s other headliners is Apple’s augmented reality (AR) platform, ARKit; a redesigned App Store; the ability to send payments to friends via iMessage; a new Apple Files app that ties into third-party services like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Box; and new multitasking features for the iPad.

Expect Apple to announce the official launch of iOS 11 on September 12, if not sooner.

HomePod

Jeremy Kaplan/Digital Trends

Apple gave the world a glimpse of the HomePod, its Siri-equipped answer to Google Home and the Amazon Echo, at its WorldWide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June. It promised more to come in December, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see the HomePod make another appearance at the September event.

We don’t know much about the HomePod yet, here’s what we do know: It’s 7 inches tall and covered in acoustically treated mesh, and houses a 360-degree array of seven tweeters and a 4-inch, upward-facing woofer. An A8 processor powers its spacial awareness feature, which lets the HomePod automatically tune itself to any room. And if two HomePods are connected to the same Wi-Fi network, they’ll work together via Apple’s new multi-room AirPlay 2 standard.

Siri on the HomePod works just like it does on the iPhone and iPad. Six microphones pick up the wake phrase, “Hey Siri,” from anywhere in a room, and native HomeKit integration lets you turn on lights and trigger scenes with simple voice commands.

The HomePod starts at $350, and it isn’t expected to ship until the fourth quarter of this year. But Apple might announce pre-order availability during the event.

AirPods 2

When Apple did away with the 3.5mm headphone jack in the iPhone 7, it positioned its Bluetooth-enabled AirPods as an alternative to wired adapters. They might not be perfect, but that hasn’t stopped them from becoming some of the most popular wireless headphones on the market.

Apple could announce a follow-up to the AirPods during its September event, and if it does, they might have built-in biometric sensors. An Apple patent granted in July describes earbuds with EKG, impedance, and heart rate rate monitors.

The new AirPods might also improve on its predecessor’s sound quality. Another recent Apple patent shows a technique for minimizing occlusion, the booming echo effect you sometimes get when talking while wearing noise-canceling earbuds.

The jury’s out on whether or not Apple will unleash revamped earbuds on the world in September. But you can bet that when the second-gen Airpods eventually hit the market, they’ll sound better and do more than the current generation.

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 quantifying 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

C-Time

Your time is precious. C-Time is the app that helps you see how much of your valuable time you spend at certain places, or doing certain things.

Available on:

iOS

BlackCam

BlackCam helps you to take stunning black-and-white photographs with live preview. The app features live contrast, brightness, and exposure sliders.

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

Sketch Me

Turn your photos into drawings, cartoons, or sketch images in one click, creating instant works of art. The app features 19 effects that promise to be easy to use.

Available on:

iOS

Relax Rain

Designed with simplicity in mind, Relax Rain is the simplest way to enjoy the relaxing and soothing sound of rain falling. Open up the app and sounds start playing automatically so you can relax and unwind.

Available on:

iOS

State-of-the-art scanning technique digitizes humans, sticks them in VR

Why it matters to you

The new technique may make virtual worlds even more immersive with lifelike human models.

Using an array of high-resolution cameras, scientists at Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI) in Berlin, Germany have developed a state-of-the-art scanning technique to capture realistic images of a person and transmit them to a virtual reality environment. The technology, which will be on display at IFA 2017 in Berlin, may make human actors in virtual and augmented reality experiences even more lifelike.

“Today you usually use animated avatars to model a person,” Ingo Feldmann, head of the Immersive Media and Communication group at Fraunhofer HHI, told Digital Trends. “So you create a model of a person in a 3D map and somehow capture the motion from a real actor and then you try to animate this model.”

The method developed by Feldmann and his team instead record high-resolution video using industrial stereo cameras, which capture an image with two lenses, much like a pair of human eyes. The array is made up of 32 of these cameras (Feldmann was tight-lipped about about the camera models) allowing it to record a subject’s movements in 360 degrees, creating a detailed and dynamic representation.

“We film the person directly in 3D,” Feldmann said, “in what we call volumetric video. There are cameras arranged around this actor … and these cameras create 2D images. From these images we create a 3D structure or model that looks completely natural. There are no animations, it’s the real person, and they can be inserted into a VR or AR experience.”

Of course, there’s a lot that goes into inserting the recorded video into a virtual world but, to make the task easier, the researchers created algorithms that can quickly extract the video’s depth data to calculate how the 3D figure should appear. Feldmann said the camera array is capable of capturing some 300 million triangles per person — far too many for a VR device to accommodate — so they must also reduce the complexity of the model.

“We have to adapt the resolution to the device,” he said.

The scientists have now opened a studio at Fraunhofer HHI where people can come to record models for VR and AR.

IFA 2016 was host to another state-of-the-art scanner, Botscan, which used 70 high-resolution DSLRs to capture an incredibly detailed, albeit static, 360-degree image.

Google Play Music and YouTube Red are the best deal in streaming right now

You get a lot of video and music subscriptions vying for your money.

From music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music to video services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video, there’s more and more subscriptions anxious to get your money every month, but one of the best values in subscription streaming isn’t one subscription, it’s three.

It’s Google Play Music All Access! It’s YouTube Red! It’s YouTube Music! It’s all three in one!

Three services, one goal

The oldest service in this little subscription pack is Google Play Music All Access, which launched back in 2013 with the service’s last major overhaul. Google Play Music All Access gives allows you to mix your free personal library of 50,000 songs with Google’s subscription library of 40 million songs. You can store your music offline for convenient playback without blowing your data cap, and you can use Play Music on up to 10 devices.

If you can get it, YouTube Red is a must-have subscription.

YouTube Red was the next addition in 2015, allowing you to ditch the ads on YouTube as well as view YouTube Red-only Originals programming. While Red’s original programming has been expanding and improving, it’s still safe to say that the best two features of YouTube Red are the three features you can use with regular YouTube videos: ditching ads, saving videos offline for playback later, and background play — the ability to listen to YouTube videos while you do something else on your phone. For people who use YouTube to listen to music, this feature was crucial.

For music-listening YouTubers, there was another addition a few months after YouTube Red: YouTube Music, a dedicated Android and iOS app for browsing and listening to eligible musical YouTube videos. While YouTube Music is technically available for free users, there’s not much to do in the app unless you’re a YouTube Red subscriber. YouTube Music’s app has a more immersive UI, and more importantly, a dark UI. The stations in YouTube Music are also more customizable than the ones in the main YouTube app.

Standout features, overlooked services

This app is practically invisible.

While YouTube remains one of the most popular video sites in the world, Google Play Music is to most an afterthought behind Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. Even among YouTube users, YouTube Music is seldom used, if users remember it exists at all. Each of Google’s services on their own doesn’t always live up to a $10/month price tag, but when combined, they earn their keep and then some.

For instance, even if you run out of devices for Google Play Music, YouTube Red and YouTube Music don’t have device limits, ensuring that you’ll still have some music capabilities. YouTube Red allows you to make and download playlists almost as easily as Google Play Music does, and the playlists containing compatible videos appear in both YouTube Red and YouTube Music, allowing you to make playlists on YouTube’s desktop app and listen on the YouTube Music Android app.

Then, of course, there’s Google Play Music All Access’s Family subscription, which allows users to pay $16/month for up to six users instead of $10 for one. In addition to sharing access to the All Access subscription, the other members of your Family Library also get YouTube Music and YouTube Red, eliminating their ads and enabling offline/background playback. Even though my family doesn’t use Google Play Music as frequently as I do, they’re more than happy to be rid of YouTube’s ads and take advantage of offline playback.

Merger on the horizon

Google having this ill-advertised three-for-one subscription isn’t exactly helping subscription numbers, and of course having to support three separate apps with different libraries, capabilities, and UIs divides Google’s efforts and keeps users from having a unified library. There’s been talk in the past of Google merging the services into one, and earlier this summer, Google confirmed its intentions to merge the services. In fact, the music teams for Play Music and YouTube were merged early this year, but for now the user face three separate but linked services with their own perks and pitfalls.

Regardless of the confusion surrounding Google’s Play Music All Access/YouTube Red subscription, it’s hard to deny the benefits of the bundle when you see them all together:

• Access to 40 million songs in Google Play Music All Access, as well as up to 50,000 personal uploaded songs from up to 10 devices and from most internet browsers
• Combine personal, uploaded music with All access tracks in playlists and personalized radio stations
• Download all your favorite music for offline playback
• Watch billions of hours of videos on YouTube from creators big and small around the world without ads on your phone, computer, or TV
• Listen to YouTube videos while completing other tasks on your phone, or with the screen off, with background playback
• Save YouTube videos locally to play offline
• Watch YouTube-original shows and movies
• Listen to or watch millions of musical YouTube videos
• Explore new music through customizable radio stations
• Take your favorite musical YouTube videos offline with Offline mixtape and offline playlists

Really, if you live in a country that offers Google Play Music and YouTube Red, you’d be crazy not to subscribe to all that. Even Netflix doesn’t offer that much for $10/month, and we all know you can find way more stuff to watch on YouTube.

See at Google Play

R2-D2 and BB-9E are available now, Same Day Prime delivery in some areas

Everyone’s favorite robot, and a sneak peek at something new.

Force Friday came with a special surprise from the folks at Sphero. Last time we were all amazed and excited by a Droid we could drive with our phone. This year for Force Friday, we got two new droids to play with. One is the eternally iconic R2-D2, and the other is an evil “upgrade” of the BB-8 we fell in love with during The Force Awakens. While we can speculate on how big a roll this BB-9E is going to play in The Last Jedi, we know for sure that it’s too cool to not own one.

And that’s the good news! Not only can you order R2-D2 and BB-9E from a bunch of different retailers right now, but Amazon is offering Same-Day Delivery in a lot of areas!

Each of these droids are available for $179, and the included app lets you do everything from drive around and pester your cat to watch your favorite Star Wars movies with your Droid and enjoy live reactions during the best scenes. Amazon’s Same-Day Delivery usually has a cut-off at noon, so if you’re looking to get these robots you better get on it now!

See R2-D2 at Amazon

See BB-9E at Amazon

Best Force Friday deals

Force Friday has returned with more deals than you can shake a lightsaber at.

Last year we saw Force Friday on September 1, a day filled with tons of great deals on Star Wars merchandise. It’s returning this year with tons of great new deals from retailers you already know and love. We took the time to find you the best deals out there, so you can snag the items you want without trying to find the best place to do it.

Keep reading for all the details!

Star Wars Boba Fett helmet backpack

Boba Fett is one of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy, and now you can carry him around with you where ever you go. This backpack weighs about two pounds, and has adjustable straps so that you can get the perfect fit. Best of all it’s available for $59.99 which is $40 cheaper than it usually is.

See at Kohl’s

Star Wars Tie Advanced X-1 1/72 scale

When it comes to models, there are plenty of awesome Star Wars fighters and ships that you can choose from. Few are quite as memorable as the Tie fighter though, and on Force Friday, it’s more affordable than ever. This 1/72 scale model is available for $24.99 instead of its regular $29.99 price tag.

See at Gamestop

Star Wars alarm clock

Not everyone has an easy time waking up for work, or an early morning run. If you’re not an early riser, or you’re in the market for a new alarm clock, then feast your eyes on this glorious BB-8 droid built to make sure you aren’t late for work. It’s usually $29.99, but you can pick it up on Force Friday for $7.99

See at Best Buy

Black Series Imperial Stormtrooper Voice Changer Helmet

Plenty of folks have dreamed of being in the action of Star Wars, running from enemies, shooting back at your foes, and dressing up as storm troopers. If you’ve been looking for an amazing helmet for your collection, now is definitely the time. The Black Series Imperial Stormtrooper helmet is a replica of the Storm Trooper helmets from Rogue One, and it includes a voice changer that will let you sound like one of those troopers. Usually available for $79.99, you can pick it up for $43.99

See at Best Buy

Mr. Potato Head Star Wars Darth Vader

Mr. Potato head is easily one of the most recognizable toys on the market, and just about everyone has played with one at one point or another. Now you can snag a special Darth Vader potato head, complete with a full Vader get up and a light saber. Generally, this toy runs for $19.99, but you can pick it up Friday for $9.99

See at Best Buy

Star Wars cordless wall clock

While wall clocks are certainly not as popular as they once were, having one that shows off your favorite movie series is easier to rationalize. This wall clock is 13.5 inches and features artwork from the original trilogy featuring many fan favorite characters. It’s available for $7.99 which is a drop from the usual price of $20.99.

See at Best Buy

Kylo Ren ultimate FX lightsaber

Plenty of Star Wars fans have spent years wishing they had a lightsaber of their very own, and now they’re in the unique position of raising a new generation of Star Wars fans who want the same thing. Those kids are in luck though, because you can snag Kylo Ren’s lightsaber on sale. It lights up, makes lightsaber noises, and is built to look just like Kylo Ren’s own lightsaber. Usually available for $59.99 you can pick it up on Force Friday for $29.99

See at ToysRUs

Kylo Ren 17-inch Animatronic figurine

Kylo Ren is currently the villain that is most recognizable for Star Wars in the new trilogy. This Animatronic figure brings the character to life, with 31 points of articulation, and a motion activated lightsaber. Generally, you’d have to shell out $99.99 for this figure, but this Friday you can snag one for just $49.99.

See at ToysRUs

Air Hogs XL Millenium Falcon drone

Drones are awesome, and nobody can deny that the Millenium Falcon is epic as well. Now the two of them come together with the XL Millenium Falcon drone. It features light up Chewie and Han Solo figurines in the cockpit can be controlled up to 250 feet away, and a 6-axis gyro. Usually you’d be looking at spending $299.99, but on Force Friday it’s available for just $108.28.

See at Walmart,cta.shop

Air Hogs remote control X-Wing

Some of the most exciting scenes in the Star Wars franchise come when X-Wings are diving through canyons, and dog fighting against imperial enemies. The Airhogs remote control X-Wing lets you bring those scenes to life, with an X-Wing drone of your very own. It’s got a foam padded body to help shield it from tough landings, ducted fans embedded in the wings to let it fly, and a 250 foot range. You can snag it for $21.48 instead of it’s usual price of $59.86.

See at Walmart

Air Hogs Star Wars Speeder Bike

Zooming through the forests of Endor on a Speeder Bike, this RC Speeder Bike drone will allow you to pivot through the air. Built to look like the Speeder Bikes from the movies, this drone features a sturdy build to help protect it from crash landings, an adjustable height-lock technology to give it a stable flight, and a 200ft range. You can snag it for $39.31 instead of it’s usual price of $84.48.

See at Walmart

Air Hogs Star Wars Star Destroyer drone

Of the many ships featured in Star Wars, some of the most awe inspiring are the massive Star Destroyers. This drone brings them to life, with a Star Destroyer drone of your very own. Built to look just like the Destroyers from the franchise, and is built to be sturdy in case of any accidental crash landings. It features 2.4GHz remote control up to 250ft, LED thrusters, and gyro stabilization to keep it steady. It’s available for $22.97 instead of the normal $109.97.

See at Walmart

Force Friday II: Find the Force with the help of the Star Wars app

Force Friday is even bigger this year than the last time. Use the Star Wars app to find all the cool stuff near you!

Force Friday is a special merchandising event that signifies the official launch of a new line of official Star Wars themed goodies. The first one took place in August of 2015, leading up to the release of Star Wars: A Force Awakens. This year, Disney is going all out with dozens of sponsored events, incredible licensed merchandise, and even a treasure hunt wherein fans can seek out their favorite characters in augmented reality (AR) at participating retailers. It’s called Find the Force and it runs Sept. 1 – 3.

The official Star Wars app is your go-to place for finding everything you need for a day of AR character hunting fun. Sure, there are some amazing toys and swag releasing throughout the weekend, but the real fun is in finding the Force around you.

If you already have the official Star Wars app make sure it is updated to the latest version so you can use the newly added Find the Force augmented reality feature. Once updated, you’ll see Find the Force on the Home page. Tap it to find out more about it.

What is Find the Force?

It’s a treasure hunt in AR. When you visit a participating retailer and scan the Find the Force QR code, a Star Wars character will appear in the camera’s viewfinder. You can have your friend stand next to the AR character for pictures and videos, or just take a snapshot without real-life friends.

When you Find the Force using AR, you’ll collect data chips, which are basically achievements for finding the characters. There are 15 Star Wars characters to collect. You don’t have to find 15 different QR codes though. Different characters are unlocked every day. So you can visit the same location across all three days to unlock a different one each time. Though, you’ll probably have to visit a few different locations across all three days in order to find all 15 characters (at least five locations).

Where can I find Find the Force QR logos?

Some codes can be found at physical locations, while others are available online. Different locations will unlock different characters. That’s the fun of a treasure hunt!

Find the Force takes place all over the world at Disney stores, Toys “R” Us, Best Buy, LEGO stores, and many more. Disney has an official list of participating retailers and websites you can check to see which locations in your area have the Find the Force logo. Across the U.S., the most notable stores that are participating in the campaign are Disney Store, Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Toys “R” Us, Staples, Petco, JC Penny, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Gamestop, but there are dozens more that will feature Force Friday events and merchandise.

If you aren’t going to be able to make it out of the house for the entire weekend, you can also try to hunt down all 15 characters online. These websites have Find the Force QR logos on their Star Wars pages. Hold your phone up to the logo and scan it to see what new character you’ve unlocked. Remember to visit every day over the weekend to see new characters.

• Walmart
• ThinkGeek
• The Northwest
• The Exchange
• Tee Turtle
• Staples
• Selk’Bag
• RoomMates Décor
• Regal Robot
• Pottery Barn Kids
• NEX, Navy Exchange
• Marvel Comics
• Mattel/Hot Wheels
• IDW Publishing
• Hot Topic
• Her Universe
• Hasbro
• Gamestop
• FYE
• Fantasy Flight Games
• Fanatics
• Entertainment Earth
• Cufflinks
• Brookstone
• Boxlunch
• Best Buy
• Bed, Bath, and Beyond

How else can the Star Wars app help me Find the Force?

Your treasure hunt isn’t over just because you’ve found all 15 characters. There’s actually one more special AR event that you might be able to check out if you live close enough. There are 20 iconic locations around the world that will unveil a unique Star Wars scene when you visit one.

If you are within a mile of one of the geographic landmarks, you can point your phone at the sky to see the scene play out. The special scenes are available until September 3. Time to plan a road trip!

Here’s a list of the landmarks and their map coordinates.

• Central Park | USA | 40.781,-73.966

• CN Tower | Canada | 40.781,-73.966

• Coca-Cola London Eye | UK | 51.501,-0.124

• Copacabana Beach | Brazil | -22.973,-43.185

• Eiffel Tower | France | 48.862,2.288

• Gamla Stan | Sweden | 59.325,18.071

• Golden Gate Bridge | USA | 37.807,-122.469

• Gran Via | Spain | 40.420,-3.706

• Grand Canyon | USA | 36.061,-112.109

• Ha’Penney Bridge | Ireland | 53.346,-6.263

• Hollywood Sign | USA | 34.127,-118.326

• Lumpini Park | Thailand | 13.729,100.542

• Memorial de America Latina | Brazil | -23.527,-46.663

• Merlion Park | Singapore | 1.286,103.854

• Niagara Falls | Canada | 43.083,-79.078

• Piazza del Duomo | Italy | 43.773,11.255

• Schloss Charlottenburg | Germany | 52.520, 13.295

• Sydney Harbour Bridge | Australia | -33.861,151.221

• Victoria Harbour | Hong Kong | 22.294,114.169

• Yoyogi Park | Japan | 35.672,139.694

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Best Screen Protectors for the Galaxy Note 8 … So Far

What are the best screen protectors for keeping my Galaxy Note 8 scratch-free?

The Galaxy Note 8 is shaping up to be one heck of a flagship. With a slightly larger screen than the Galaxy S8 Plus, it’s the largest Samsung phone of 2017… and also the most expensive. You’re definitely going to want to keep that screen in pristine condition.

We’ll be updating this article with the best screen protector options for the Note 8 as we go, but here are your best options that are available so far!

amFilm Tempered Glass Screen Protector for Galaxy Note 8

Tempered glass is typically your best bet for a screen protector, but the curved edges of most new phones make it difficult for accessory makers to deliver full edge-to-edge protection. amFilm has a tempered glass solution which uses slightly curved slabs to achieve the perfect fit for the Note 8.

You receive everything you need for a clean and accurate installation, including an installation guide tray along with the prerequisite wet/dry wipes and dust removal stickers. The adhesive portion of the screen protector is around the edges with a dot matrix on the display itself which helps maintain the touch sensitivity so you can use your finger or S-Pen flawlessly.

You can order this kit for just $14 and be one of the first to get this screen protector kit when it starts shipping on Sept. 6.

See at Amazon

Spigen NeoFlex Screen Protector for the Galaxy Note 8 [2-pack]

Spigen typically offers a quality line of tempered glass screen protectors for the latest flagship phones, but for the Note 8 they’ve opted for a flexible screen protector made of TPU.

It’s a wet installation here, which typically guarantees reliable adhesion without any bubbles or that dreaded halo or rainbow effect. Spigen gives you everything you need for a perfect installation — a dust removal sticker, the solution spray, a silicone squeeze card. You also get two screen protectors which is especially important with non-tempered glass screen protectors that are more prone to collecting scratches. Let the NeoFlex take the daily abuse and wear and tear so your Note 8 screen does not, then replace it with the back up when it’s time for a fresh one.

If you have any issues with the installation process or the quality of the screen, Spigen offers a lifetime warranty on its products so reach out to them and they’ll gladly send out a new one. As you’d expect, these $9 screen protectors are case friendly, and Spigen actually recommends installing them with your case on the phone for the best fit.

See at Amazon

LK Flexible TPU Screen Protectors for Galaxy Note 8 [3-pack]

LK offers the best value with a 3-pack of screen protectors made of TPU and PET materials for just $9. It’s a dry installation here, so there’s no need to mess with messy spray. They are case-compatible and easy to install if you follow the included instructions. LK (which stands for Lightning Knight) backs their products with a lifetime warranty and no-hassle replacements which is super rad.

While other screen protectors have a big cutout around the top for the front-facing camera and ear speaker, LK has opted for precise cutouts around each which should help you when lining things up. If you mess up, simply try again with one of the included spares — that’s the benefit of buying your screen protectors in bulk.

See at Amazon

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AI writes Yelp reviews that pass for the real thing

On any given day, hordes of people consult online reviews to help them pick out where to eat, what to watch, and products to buy. We trust that these reviews are reliable because they come from everyday folk just like us. But, what if the feedback blurbs on sites ranging from Amazon to iTunes could be faked — not just by nefarious humans, but by AI? That’s what researchers from University of Chicago tried to do, with surprising results. Not only did the Yelp restaurant reviews written by their neural network manage to pass for the real thing, but people even found the posts to be useful.

As part of their attack method, the researchers utilized a deep learning program known as a recurrent neural network (RNN). Using large sets of data, this type of AI can be trained to produce relatively high-quality, short writing samples, writes the team in its paper. The longer the text, the more likely the AI is to mess up. Fortunately for them, short-length posts were ideal for their Yelp experiment.

They fed the AI a mixture of publicly available Yelp restaurant reviews, which it then used to generate its own fake blurbs. During the second stage, the text was further modified, using a customization process, to hone in on specific info about the restaurant (for example, the names of dishes). The AI then produced the targeted fake review.

Here’s a typical post by the robot foodie about a buffet place in NYC: “My family and I are huge fans of this place. The staff is super nice and the food is great. The chicken is very good and the garlic sauce is perfect. Ice cream topped with fruit is delicious too. Highly recommended!”

Not too shabby. Here’s another about the same restaurant: “I had the grilled veggie burger with fries!!!! Ohhhh and taste. Omgggg! Very flavorful! It was so delicious that I didn’t spell it!!” Okay, so that’s not perfect, but we all make errors now and again.

As it turns out, these were good enough to evade machine learning detectors. And, even humans couldn’t distinguish them as fake. Furthermore, people ranked them as high up on Yelp’s “usefulness” scale as real reviews.

These days sites use both machine learning and human moderators to track down spam and misinformation. This approach has proven successful in catching crowdturfing campaigns — when attackers pay a large network of people to write fake reviews. But, the researchers warn, current modes of defense could come up short against an AI attack method like theirs. Instead, they claim the best way to fight it is to focus on the information that is lost during the RNN’s training process. Because the system values fluency and believability, other factors (like the distribution of characters) can take a hit. According to the team, a computer program could snuff out these flaws, if it knew where to look.

The paper warns that in the wrong hands, this type of attack could even be used on bigger platforms, like Twitter, and other online discussion forums. The researchers conclude that it is therefore critical that security experts come together to build the tools to stop it.

Via: Business Insider