Seagate could release the first 20TB hard drive by 2019

Why it matters to you

As the top end of hard drive technology surges forward, less high-end models should become cheaper.

In October, Western Digital unveiled a new version of its helium-filled high capacity hard drive with a 14TB capacity. Now, Seagate has announced plans to release a 20TB hard drive by 2019, establishing the next battleground for the two companies as they jockey for position in terms of storage space.

Seagate has developed a new technology that is being referred to as Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR). It uses a minuscule laser — smaller than a grain of salt — to heat the recording surface, drastically reducing the amount of energy it takes to magnetize the necessary components, according to a report from Tom’s Hardware.

HAMR is apparently very scalable, with Seagate being able to increase its areal density by 30 percent annually over the last nine years. It currently stands at two terabytes per square inch, which is twice the density of leading hard disks that use Perpendicular Magnetic Recording technology.

Conversely, Western Digital uses a technique called Microwave Assisted Magnetic Recording, which uses microwaves in the place of lasers, according to a report from Tech Radar. The absence of lasers makes its drives more reliable, according to the manufacturer.

Of course, Seagate has good reason to take a bet on HAMR — it could potentially allow the company to get ahead of its rival Western Digital. The former expects to be fielding 40TB drives as early as 2023, while the latter expects it will be at least 2025 before it can do similar.

Both companies are obviously going to maintain that their own implementation of the technology is the best available, and so these projections might turn out to be more optimistic than realistic. Still, it seems clear that both Seagate and Western Digital are confident that they can continue to push the limits on hard drive technology over the next few years and beyond.

Western Digital remains on top for the time being, but Seagate is already prepping a 16TB hard drive that is set to make its debut in 2018 – and competition will no doubt remain fierce from there on out, as neither company wants to let the other establish a clear lead.

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Mental health algorithm can tell if you’re depressed by analyzing your tweets

Why it matters to you

Algorithm that identifies signs of mental health issues could help people get the help they need sooner.

As well as being an instantaneous method for sharing news and views with millions of people around the world, could Twitter also be a way of helping predict mental health issues such as clinical depression? Absolutely, claim researchers from Harvard University, Stanford University, and the University of Vermont. With that goal in mind, they analyzed data from hundreds of Twitter users to see if they can detect changes in language, which may correlate with depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Their newly developed algorithm suggest that not only is such a thing possible but that it could actually highlight telltale signs 100 to 200 days before clinical diagnosis — thereby making it a valuable predictive tool.

“We recruited individuals who were active on social media, and had been diagnosed by a psychiatrist as having depression or PTSD,” Chris Danforth, a researcher on the project from the University of Vermont, told Digital Trends. “Using a subset of their tweets, we trained an algorithm to identify differences between their behavior and that of a control population on Twitter who had not been diagnosed. Our main finding is that there are predictive markers distinguishing the two groups, and this is often true well before individuals are first diagnosed with these mental health problems.”

In the case of clinical depression, some of the linguistic markers included the fact that sufferers tend to be more likely to use negative words such as “no,” “never,” and “death,” and fewer positive ones such as “happy” and “photo.” It may sound obvious that an unhappy person will use unhappy words, but analysis of the posts people make on social media over time could turn out to be far more revealing in this capacity than the words a person uses in a short appointment with a doctor. That is, if a person is even willing to seek the help of a medical professional.

“We hope that our research will eventually help improve mental health care, for example in preventive screening,” Katharina Lix, another researcher on the project from Stanford, told us. “We could imagine clinicians using this technology as a supporting tool during a patient’s initial assessment, provided that the patient has agreed to have their social media data used in this way. However, before we get to that point, the technology needs to be validated using a larger sample of people that’s representative of the general population. We want to emphasize that any real-world application of this technology must carefully take into account ethical and privacy concerns.”

A paper describing the work was recently published in the journal Scientific Reports.

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Mechanical keyboard maker accused of keylogging as customers examine software

Jump on Amazon to perform a search for mechanical keyboards and the cheapest solutions you find are sold by manufacturers you likely don’t know. MantisTek is one of these lesser-known keyboard makers and is now under fire for allegedly tracking the typed keys of those who own its GK2 mechanical keyboard, aka keylogging. This alleged tracking is done through the included software, which sends information to a server maintained by the Alibaba Group.

Typically, the software can be used to customize the keyboard’s RGB illumination, lighting effects, and macro assignments. But a few owners are reporting that the software sends data to an IP address owned by Alibaba. A post stemming out of Asia provides a few more detailed bits, reporting that MantisTek’s “cloud driver” is the responsible component sending data to a specific address: 47.90.52.88.

If you enter that address in a browser, a Chinese login page appears along with a link to Browse Happy. The page translates to “Cloud mouse platform background management system,” and is maintained by Shenzhen Cytec Technology Co., Ltd., which may or may not be a rechargeable battery maker located in Shenzhen, China (Cytec doesn’t appear in a web search, but Cytac does).

According to the report, the keyboard’s software sends keypress statistics to two destinations at that IP address: “/cms/json/putkeyusedata.php” and “/cms/json/putuserevent.php.” An analysis shows that all information is crossing the internet in plain text, meaning its unencrypted and exposed to anyone snooping on your internet connection. That means hackers — in addition to MantisTek — can grab anything you type, including email addresses, bank account numbers, and login credentials.

The best defense against MantisTek’s alleged keystroke snooping is to not use the GK2’s included software. Based on the product information, you can adjust the illumination and lighting effects manually on the keyboard using a combination of keys. You can do the same when recording macros.

But if you wish for the software to remain installed, then block CMS.exe in your firewall to prevent the software from sending and receiving information over the internet. To do this in Windows 10, type “Windows Firewall” into Cortana’s search field on the taskbar, click on “Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security.” After that, add a new Inbound and Outbound rule for CMS.exe.

Mechanical keyboards with virtually no security issues (that we know of) are typically manufactured by high-profile companies such as Razer, Corsair, Logitech, Roccat, Microsoft, Cooler Master, Thermaltake, and a few others. But even with these products, installing software should only be necessary if you want access to the keyboard’s core features. The less software you install, the happier your PC will be.

To be clear, Alibaba isn’t collecting information from owners of the MantisTek GK2 mechanical keyboard. The company provides cloud services, aka Alibaba Cloud, including an elastic compute service, a virtual private cloud, an analytic database, and anti-DDOS services. The “cloud driver” may be silently collecting information for analytic purposes rather than intentionally collecting sensitive information

Still, keylogging is unacceptable no matter the root intention.

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You can finally use Google Assistant to identify songs

Rolling out now to all devices with the Google Assistant.

When you take a step back and really look at it, the Google Assistant is pretty damn amazing. Google’s AI that lives on our phones, tablets, watches, and other gadgets can create calendar events for us, send text messages, control our smart home devices, carry on contextually-aware conversations, and so much more.

However, up until this point in time, the Assistant has been unable to identify songs.

Thankfully, after over a year of waiting, Google is finally rolling out this functionality. This is something that was discovered shortly after the Pixel 2’s unveiling, and it works a lot like how it already does when doing a voice search with Google Search.

Bringing up the Assistant and asking “What’s this song”, “What song is playing”, or something along those lines will then trigger it to start listening for whatever song is playing. Once it identifies the song, you’ll get a pop-up card that shows the name of the song, who it’s by, lyrics, and links to listen to it on YouTube, Google Play Music, Spotify, or do a Google Search for more information.

If Google Assistant already hears a song playing after you prompt it, you’ll be able to tap a button titled “What’s this song?” that will trigger it to start listening. Furthermore, if you have a song playing through your headphones or on another device with Spotify Connect, asking what song is playing will automatically pull up info for the title without having to first listen for whatever’s playing.

Song identification is currently working on my Pixel and Pixel 2, and be sure to let us know in the comments below if this feature has made its way to your device yet.

How to set up and customize Google Assistant

Pixel phones get a little something extra in the November security patch

Google shows us why they built a separate monthly patch page for Nexus and Pixel phones.

Google is an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and with the release of the November security patch notes, we see it acting like one. When you buy a phone like a Verizon-branded Galaxy S8, you’ll get a few small updates that address performance and stability tweaks. Verizon has a web page that details these small updates so you can see exactly what was changed if you’re the type of person who likes to know more than the blurb you see on an update screen. This is a good thing, as once people are using a phone there is always a thing or two that can be improved, and waiting for a full system update to happen might take a while. It’s how you keep customers happy!

While the Google Pixel and Pixel 2 phones aren’t really tied to any carrier, Google is doing the same thing. It has bundled a handful of small feature changes with the November patch that will soon be rolling out to all Pixel and Pixel 2 phones.

There’s nothing here that a big change, but together they will matter to a lot of people. A quick look at what to expect.

• The warning you get that your headphones may be too loud has been tweaked to appear at the correct volume for places that have a special requirement for it. Safety first!
• Bluetooth should work better for older devices that don’t support AVRCP 1.4, and pairing with a headset should be faster or have fewer errors.
• Bluetooth connections with cars is a mess. That’s been a hallmark of Android since the beginning. We see several fixes for media data and general connection wonk when using Bluetooth in your ride. Hopefully, these fixes filter down to all devices as they were ported back into AOSP.
• Instant Tethering with BLE (Bluetooth Low-Energy) devices has been improved.
• Autofocus when taking a video and the overall speed of the front camera has been improved.
• YouTube should have fewer problems when you switch from Wi-Fi to your data connection. This is a big deal for Project Fi users who are in an area where they may jump between hotspots using Google’s open Wi-Fi “VPN” service.
• The Three network needed some adjustments for the phones to better use it, and those were made. Yes, carriers have a lot of input into every phone, even a Nexus, Pixel, or iPhone.
• The ubiquitous application stability patch is here, too.

One thing not initially noted by Google, but discovered after the update started to roll out, is the inclusion of new display profiles aimed at addressing concerns over the Pixel 2 XL’s screen colors.

So this certainly isn’t a huge list of highly critical bugs, but it’s one of those small updates that will just make things a little better like we see from other manufacturers. We know a few previous monthly patches have also had a Pixel-specific fix or two in them, but it’s nice to see them all broken down like this. That’s what the web page was made for, after all.

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Google Play Movies now offering UHD content in the UK

Users in the UK can finally purchase 4K content from Google Play.

Google brought 4K UHD content to its Play Movies service for the U.S. and Canada last year, but it hasn’t expanded that content much further until now. Starting today, users in the United Kingdom can finally join in on the 4K revolution and purchase movies in ultra-high definition (though at a premium over 1080p, of course).

In Google’s support page, HDR is mentioned a number of times for U.S. users, but it’s important to note that that’s not coming to the UK (at least, not yet). To watch UHD content, users will need a Chromecast Ultra or “some models of Android TV,” as well as a 15 Mbps download speed. Of course, you can also view your content on your computer through the Purchased section on YouTube — and any UHD content can be played back at lower resolutions, as well.

Of course, the biggest problem with 4K content is that most people still don’t have a way of viewing it, with 1080p TVs still commonplace in most households, and most computer monitors and smartphone displays topping off at QHD. Luckily, Black Friday is right around the corner, and TVs are always some of the most heavily discounted items — so why not keep an eye on the deals?

Learn more about Google Play Movies and TV

Shared lists and games might be coming to Allo

Big things are in the works for Allo.

As much as I love using Allo, Google’s messaging service is still nowhere near as popular as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, etc. Allo already has a lot of compelling features that are a lot of fun to use if you actually give the platform a chance, and with the recent discovery of “Allo Activities”, it looks like that point will soon be even more prominent.

The team at Android Police recently got their hands on screenshots and a video of these Activities, and while the presence of these new features has yet to be confirmed by Google, everything we’re seeing here does look legit. So, what exactly are Allo Activites?

Whenever this is introduced, a new + icon will appear in your Allo toolbar above the area where you compose a message, and tapping on it will reveal various activities that you can launch. Tapping on this will reveal options for attaching a file or sending your location to whoever you’re talking to, and while these two features have been present in Allo for some time, there’s a lot more here that we’ve never before seen.

One of the new activities is titled as “Shared List”, and as you can probably guess, this is a built-in list within Allo where you can add items to share between you and the person/people in your conversation. Although you can already share to-do lists with people through a variety of other apps, having the ability to do so right within Allo is a nice touch for those that use it.

Along with the Shared List, Allo Activities will also introduce games for the first time in Allo history. There appear to be four games, including Quick, Draw!, Group Chess, Pet Hotel, and Toadal Pondage. They look to be fairly simple, and after tapping on whatever one you’d like to play, it’ll load within your conversation before popping up.

We don’t know when Allo Activites will officially launch (or if they ever will), but this seems like a smart move on Google’s part. As solid of a messaging service as Allo already is, there’s still not a big enough argument to be made for getting people to convert from platform’s they’re already comfortable with. However, if Google plays its cards right with Activites, it could turn Allo into more than basic messaging. Stay tuned.

Allo: Everything you need to know

Google Photo Books now available in Canada

Google’s physical photo books are now available in Canada.

One of the more surprising announcements at this year’s Google I/O conference was Google Photo Books: you would be able to order a physical photo book intelligently picked from your Google Photos library. Photo Books became available soon after and now have now expanded to the great white north.

Canadian users can now order their own Photo Book, starting at $17.99 for a soft cover book with 20 pages. Users can pick their desired photos, or let Google’s algorithms do their thing. Suggested photo books are typically generated after taking a lot of photos during a trip, or of certain subjects like kids and pets.

Are you interested in ordering a Google Photo Book? Let us know down below!

Learn more about Google Photos!

Google Pixel 2 XL adds new display profiles, UI changes to address burn-in in latest update

This is a nice little treat.

The fervor around the Google Pixel 2 XL’s display has died down somewhat following Google’s detailed explanation of how it plans to handle the screen going forward, and now we’re seeing software hitting the phone that reflects Google’s intentions. With the latest update, nominally carrying the November security patch, Google has made changes to improve the Pixel 2 XL’s display.

First, it has implemented a change to the color profiles. Now rather than simply toggling on “vivid colors” in the display settings, you have three options: “boosted,” “natural” or “saturated.” It looks to us like the “boosted” option is more akin to the old “vivid colors” option of before, which didn’t seem to make a huge difference in the look of the display, while “natural” is self-explanatory and “saturated” makes the biggest difference to our eyes.

Even with “saturated” set, don’t expect the Pixel 2 XL’s display to all of a sudden come alive and look like a Galaxy Note 8 with “adaptive display” turned on. You’ll get a bit more color than the other two settings and an all-around punchier range, but it’s clear that Google’s intentions are to keep the Pixel 2 XL looking accurate rather than eye-pleasing and unnatural.

The latest update is also making changes to other display aspects, focused on limiting the amount of burn-in the Pixel 2 XL’s display suffers from. These changes include a small reduction in the maximum screen brightness, as well as a navigation bar that now fades out after periods of inactivity. Both of these changes were previously included in the Android 8.1 Developer Preview, but it’s great to see Google already implementing them in stable builds.

In an explanation on the Pixel User Community, Google says that further enhancements for the Pixel 2 XL’s display will come alongside the December security patch as well. The updates, while of course focused on fixing complaints around the Pixel 2 XL, is also available on the standard Pixel 2.

How are you finding your Pixel 2 XL’s display after the latest update? Let us know in the comments!

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Create and share Google Maps lists on the web from your desktop

This past February, Google made it possible to create lists of your favorite local spots in the Maps mobile app. A little later, the company added a sharing feature so you could send your lists to friends and family from your phone. Now Google is bringing the experience to your computer, as well.

Making it work on your PC is pretty simple. Just find a place on Google Maps via your favorite browser, click on Save, and add it to a new or existing list, which now sync across platforms. To see what you’ve saved to your lists, simply go to Your Places in Google Maps (mobile or web). If you want to share a list, all you need to do is tap or click on the three dots to find the feature. If you want to research and plan a trip, or just make a list of your favorite local hot spots, you’re good to go — no matter the type of device you’re on.

Via: 9to5Google

Source: Google