Uber tests 24/7 support hotline with its most frequent customers

While Uber tries to mend its company culture and make things easier on drivers, it’s also building out support for its most loyal customers. The company confirmed to TechCrunch that it’s running two different pilot programs for its heaviest users: One is a call hotline available 24/7, while the other offers ‘specially trained experts’ for the in-app support feature.

TechCrunch couldn’t pin down what threshold qualifies certain users for either program, though one of its reporters noted they’d been inducted with an email thanking them for riding over 10,000 miles with the service. Those granted entry could find a shortcut to either the premium support number or chat experts in the Uber app’s help menu, depending on which pilot program.

It’s unclear how large either beta program is or how long they will run, but figuring out how to support its most loyal customers is a sound business move on the company’s long road to rehabilitating its image. We’ve reached out to Uber for details and will include them when we hear back.

Source: TechCrunch

You can tip Twitch streamers right from the mobile app

Bits are a staple of Twitch streaming. They’re a way to back a streamer if you can’t afford a full subscription, or want to offer some additional support. Until now, though, you couldn’t easily buy them on your phone — you had to either go through the web or wait until you got to a PC, by which point it might be too late. That won’t be a problem for much longer, as Twitch is rolling out Bit purchases in its mobile apps. If you want to celebrate a streamer’s victory, it’s now just a few taps away… for an extra fee.

Since Apple and Google both take cuts of in-app digital purchases, Twitch is charging extra to make sure you’re sending a similar amount of money its way. It’ll normally take about $10 to buy 500 bits where it would normally cost $7, for example. This is more about convenience, especially for younger viewers who don’t have credit cards. If you’d rather save money, the web option will still be around.

The feature will take a “couple of weeks” to roll out to 40 countries, including the US, UK, Australia and much of Europe (there are differences: bits are available only through iOS in China, for example). Also, Twitch is keen to remind viewers that there’s more in the pipeline. You can soon buy bits with PayPal, and subscription gifting will be available if you want to treat a friend.

Source: Twitch Blog

Apple Expands ‘Everyone Can Code’ Initiative to Students Around the World

Apple today announced that its “Everyone Can Code” initiative is being expanded to more than 20 colleges and universities outside of the United States. RMIT in Australia, Mercantec in Denmark, Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen in the Netherlands, Unitec Institute of Technology in New Zealand, and Plymouth University in the UK are some of the schools that will teach Apple coding classes.

All participating schools will offer Apple’s App Development with Swift Curriculum, which is a full-year coding course designed by Apple engineers and educators. The course aims to teach students how to code and design apps for the App Store, and it is open to students of all levels and backgrounds.

“We launched the Everyone Can Code initiative less than a year ago with the ambitious goal of offering instruction in coding to as many people as possible. Our program has been incredibly popular among US schools and colleges, and today marks an important step forward as we expand internationally,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are proud to work with RMIT and many other schools around the world who share our vision of empowering students with tools that can help them change the world.”

According to Apple, RMIT University in Australia will offer one of the broadest implementations of the App Development with Swift Curriculum, making the course available through both a vocational course taught on campus and RMIT Online. RMIT also plans to offer scholarships to school teachers who want to learn to code and a free summer school course at the RMIT City campus.

Apple introduced its App Development with Swift curriculum in early 2017, with the materials available as a free download from the iBooks Store. At the time the initiative was introduced, six community college systems serving 500,000 students across the United States agreed to offer the Apple-designed course. Later in the year, the course expanded to 30 more community college systems in the U.S. before becoming available internationally.

App Development with Swift is offered as part of the Everyone Can Code initiative. Under the program, Apple also offers coding curriculum to students in elementary school, middle school, and high school.

Tags: education, Swift, Swift Playgrounds, App Development with Swift
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This ridiculously bright LED is like a miniature sun you can hold in your hands

Light-emitting diodes have played a part in a number of the cool projects we’ve covered over the years here at Digital Trends, but rarely have we been quite so in awe of an LED as we are of Yuji LED’s mighty “Daylight 5600K.” A totally different animal to the kind of diminutive LED light you’ll find used as the flash on the back of a smartphone, the $500 Daylight 5600K pumps out a massive 500 watts of light. That’s $1 per watt, and more than enough light to illuminate a decent sized garden at night.

The Daylight 5600K is the subject of a new YouTube video by popular U.K.-based vlogger DIY Perks. Based on the fact that the video has already garnered upwards of 600,000 views on YouTube within a couple of days of it being posted, we’re not really going out on a limb when we conclude that other people are going to be equally interested in it.

“The idea behind the video was to show how far LED technology has come,” Matthew Perks, the creator of the video, told Digital Trends. “One of my favorite aspects of the particular 500w LED I tested is its colour rendition. Honestly, it is up there with the nicest ‘daylight balanced’ light sources that I’ve come across, and because of this it makes it usable for lighting applications that require a ‘nice’ looking light source, like installations or studio lighting. Hopefully the video will bring attention to this, and inspire people to come up with some innovative lighting solutions.”

As Perks notes, array-style LEDs like this one are a bit different from the usual LEDs you’ll find in a flashlight, or the aforementioned flash on a smartphone, because they’re made up of a grid, or array, of much smaller diodes. Each one emits light, and due to the fact that they are packed so tightly together they appear to be a single unit.

“The biggest surprise for me was when I took it outside to test it out,” he continued. “I was blown away with how well it lit up my surroundings, and it was surprisingly empowering. It might have been night, sure, but I had a small sun in my hand and I could see everything with detail all around me. Very cool indeed!” Who are we to argue?

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We’re all wizards now — ‘Pokémon Go’ developer sets its sights on Harry Potter

Niantic, the developer of 2016’s breakout augmented reality hit Pokémon Go, announced its follow-up: Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, set in J. K. Rowling’s wizarding world of Harry Potter. Niantic is developing the AR title in partnership with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s Portkey Games label, promising more details about the game in 2018.

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will follow the same basic principle as Pokémon Go: That the real world hides magical secrets just beneath the surface, though details on any particulars of what the game looks and plays like are nowhere to be found currently. “By exploring real-world neighborhoods and cities across the globe,” Niantic’s press release reads, “players will go on adventures, learn and cast spells, discover mysterious artifacts, and encounter legendary beasts and iconic characters.”

Pokémon Go and Niantic’s first major AR game, Ingress, both relied on a faction-driven metagame to connect players and structure the whole experience. Niantic’s release focuses on the individual role-playing experience of going on adventures, collecting items, and learning spells, but gives no indication of any larger structure. Rowling’s obvious analog in the world of Harry Potter is the house system at Hogwart’s Academy, where a sentient hat sorts students into one of four student houses based on their personalities.

Late summer 2016 was utterly defined by Pokémon Go for a lot of people, especially if they lived in a major city, sparking a flurry of interest in AR games. Players, critics, and bystanders were all enchanted by what seemed like a wholly new type of game, using the tools of video games to get people engaging with the real world around them. Unfortunately, the magic wore off pretty quickly, and a lack of features available at launch (such as any meaningful way to interact with other players) meant that the player base rapidly atrophied except for all but the most diehard trainers. Steady updates up through the present have made for a more rewarding game than what most players experienced at launch, but a rushed release and chronic server issues meant that most players left before they would ever see it.

The success of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will depend on whether the game can sustain a critical mass of its early adopters. The massive release of Pokémon Go no doubt taught Niantic a lot, and as a global brand Harry Potter may have stronger cache than Pokémon, so it will be interesting to see whether Niantic can not only make lightning strike twice but cultivate that spark into a steady blaze.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Daniel Radcliffe talks ‘Jungle’ survival and lessons gleaned from Harry Potter
• ‘Pokémon Go’ may get its own social network
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• Everything we know so far about ‘The Last of Us Part II’

No home button, no problem: Here’s how to take a screenshot on an iPhone X

The short answer is: Press the Volume up and Lock buttons on your phone at the same time to capture a screenshot. For a more in-depth explanation on how to take a screenshot on an iPhone X using alternative methods, read on.

Since the iPhone X has ditched Touch ID in exchange for Face ID, the process of taking screenshots is a little different than with previous iPhones. While it might take a little to get used to at first, you’ll have it down in no time. With iOS 11, you can also do even more with screenshots by marking them up with a variety of different coloring tools and sharing them across social media, text messages, and email.

Taking screenshots with physical buttons 

Step 1: Locate the correct buttons — Since there is no home button, you will want to locate the Volume up button and Lock button on your iPhone X. This would be the top button on the left side of the phone, and the large button located on the right side. The configuration might feel foreign at first, but there is not too much of a difference.

Step 2: Capture the screenshot — To take a screenshot, you have to press both buttons simultaneously. The screen will then briefly flash and your screenshot will appear in the lower lefthand corner. If your phone isn’t in silent mode, you will also hear a shutter sound when the screenshot is taken.

Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends

Step 3: Edit the screenshot — If you don’t dismiss the screenshot by swiping to the left, it will disappear automatically after a few seconds and save to your camera roll. Tapping on the screenshot will also pull up options to edit it. There are options to crop or magnify the image and you can also mark it up with a variety of coloring tools.

Step 4: View and share the screenshots — If you don’t dismiss the screenshot by swiping to the left, it will disappear automatically after a few seconds and save to your camera roll. Tapping on the screenshot will also pull up options to edit it. There are options to crop or magnify the image, and you can also mark it up with a variety of coloring tools.

Taking screenshots with AssistiveTouch

Step 1: Turn on AssistiveTouch — With AssistiveTouch, you can perform more complex touch-based actions. This includes pinching, activating 3D Touch, or multi-finger swiping. To turn it on, go to “Settings > General > Accessibility” and toggle “AssistiveTouch.” If you’re using AssistiveTouch for strictly for screenshots, then it can be set as the only action.

Step 2: Bring up the AssistiveTouch menu or tap the button — You can choose to have the screenshot action in the Open Menu option — which is the traditional format where the menu opens up after pressing the AssistiveTouch button. To customize the menu, go to “Settings > General > Accessibility > AssistiveTouch” and tap “Customize Top Level Menu.” There, you can tap an icon to change it or add an additional one by pressing the plus sign icon in the bottom right-hand corner. A list of different choices will come up and you can scroll down to add “Screenshot.” You can then choose if you want the menu to open up through single-tap, double-tap, long press, or 3D touch. If you’re only using AssistiveTouch for screenshots, you can set the action of taking a screenshot to any of those custom actions as well.

Step 3: Capture the screenshot — If you chose the Open Menu format, you have to press the AssistiveTouch button to open the menu and tap the “Screenshot” option. If you chose to only have AssistiveTouch perform screenshots, then you can tap on the button depending on the custom action you chose. With both settings, your iPhone display will briefly flash white which signals the screen capture worked successfully. You will hear a faint shutter noise as well if your device isn’t on silent mode.

Step 4: View, edit, and share the screenshots — With AssistiveTouch, photos are saved the same way as with screenshots taken using physical buttons. It will automatically save to your Screenshots photo album regardless of if you dismiss it by swiping to the left or let it disappear. By tapping on it, you can crop, magnify, or mark up the image, and then share it across social media or text messages.

Looking for ways to get the most out of your iPhone X? Master your new device, check out our iPhone X tips and tricks.

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Battle of the beautiful: How does the Pixelbook stack up to the MacBook Pro?

The new premium Chromebook from Google is here, and it’s called the Pixelbook. It’s a flashy laptop with a bold design that might make you question your resolve to buy the 13-inch MacBook Pro you had your eye on. However, that decision might not be as clear cut as you think.

In some ways, these computers were built with the same kind of person in mind — someone who wants a computer that looks as good as it runs. In other ways, particularly in terms of software and operating system, these are two very different laptops that can serve very different purposes.

Before you make the jump to Chrome OS or open up your wallet for Apple, check out our Pixelbook vs. MacBook Pro comparison.

Specifications

 MacBook Pro

 Google Pixelbook

Dimensions
11.97 x 8.36 x 0.59 (in)
11.4 x 8.7 x 0.40 (in)
Weight
3.0 pounds
2.4 pounds
Keyboard
Full size backlit keyboard
Full size backlit keyboard
Processor
Up to seventh-generation Intel Core i7
Up to seventh-generation Intel Core i7-7Y57
RAM
8GB or 16GB
8GB or 16GB
Graphics

Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640

Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650

Intel HD Graphics 620
Display
13.3-inch LED-backlit display with IPS technology
12.3-inch LED-backlit display with IPS technology
Resolution
2,560 x 1,600 (227 ppi)
2,400 x 1,600 (235 ppi)
Storage
Up to 512GB PCIe-based onboard SSD
Up to 512GB NVMe SSD
Networking
802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2
802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2
Ports
Thunderbolt 3 USB-C (2) – non-Touch Bar version

Thunderbolt 3 USB-C (4) – Touch Bar version

USB-C 3.1 (2), headphone jack
Webcam
720p FaceTime HD camera
720p webcam
Operating System
MacOS High Sierra
Chrome OS
Battery
54.5 watt-hour
41 watt-hour
Price
$1,299+
$1,000+
Availability
Now (Apple Store)
Base model now (Google Play Store)
Review
6/10
Hands-on

Design

Good news: laptops no longer look like black slabs, devoid of personality. Whether you’re looking at machines from Dell, Microsoft, or HP, design has finally become an important aspect of laptops across the board.

The Pixelbook and the MacBook Pro are two of the most beautiful and unique laptops ever made. The 13-inch, late-2016 MacBook Pro looks fairly similar to previous iterations, especially from the outside. It has the classic unibody, aluminum chassis that has become iconic of the MacBook line. Once you open the machine, however, you’ll see the narrowed-down bezels, expanded TouchPad, shallow keys, and thinner body. Some models also offer the Touch Bar, a small OLED touchscreen that shows contextual options. 

Google’s Pixelbook is a new design that matches the look of the Pixel smartphones. On the lid, you’ll find the same two-tone color scheme of aluminum and glass, with some similar design language happening on the inside across the keyboard and palm rests. The only part of the design that feels out of place are the chubby bezels that surround the 12.3-inch screen.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Switching back and forth between the two laptops, the two most notable differences are the bezels on the display and the overall weight of the laptops. The MacBook Pro weighs 3.02 pounds, which is nothing to sneeze at, while the Pixelbook weighs just 2.43 pounds. It’s not quite as the light as the 12-inch MacBook, but it’s impressively light nonetheless.

It’s admittedly difficult to pick from these two, and we do think both are nice systems. However, we have to go with the classic MacBook Pro. While the Pixelbook is handsome, it has a few small quirks, like a slippery glass panel on the display lid that can make the laptop hard to keep in your hand. The MacBook Pro feels more mature.

Winner: MacBook Pro

Features

The Pixelbook is a laptop with a 360 degree hinge, meaning the lid can be folded around to tent mode, and even all the way around to tablet mode. That also means that the Pixelbook has a touchscreen and a stylus (though the latter is a $100 option), two features the MacBook Pro is lacking.

Unlike the rest of the computing industry, Apple has resisted the trend of touchscreen laptops, and instead introduced the Touch Bar as a solution to that problem. The Touch Bar is a small, OLED touchscreen that shows contextual options. However, it hasn’t been supported as well as Apple may have hoped. 

Though Chrome OS isn’t designed with the touchscreen in mind, the addition of Android app capabilities do make a case for touch as an input method on the Pixelbook. To make things even sweeter, the Pixelbook has an extremely impressive display with a pixel density even better than the MacBook Pro.

In terms of port selection, the two computers look forward to a USB-C future, leaving behind the world of USB-A, power, HDMI, SD card, ethernet, and every other port you have on your old computer. That’s probably going to rule out some people from wanting either of these laptops, but Google and Apple seem to be aligned on their stance toward port selection. The base Pixelbook and MacBook Pro both have two USB-C ports, but the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar has four ports. 

Winner: Pixelbook

Performance

The Pixelbook comes with a standard Intel Core i5-7Y57 processor, upgradable to a Core i7. While still a capable processor, it’s not the standard Core i5 processor that you see in many Windows, and some Mac, laptops. Still, the Core i5-7Y57 is a good match for the Pixelbook. If you want to play graphic-intensive games or edit 4K video, you probably won’t be interested in a Chromebook to begin with. In the tasks Chromebooks are actually made for, the Pixelbook won’t skip a beat.

Meanwhile, the MacBook Pro does actually use a standard Core i5 processor and can be configured up to an Intel Core i7 with a “Turbo Boost” up to 4.0GHz. While you’ll have to turn to the 15-inch version for a discrete graphics card, the 13-inch MacBook Pro doesn’t disappoint in performance. In fact, in our single-core test on GeekBench 4, the MacBook Pro scored better than all its competitors, including hard-hitters like the Surface Book with Performance Base and the Lenovo Yoga 910. As our review points out, gaming on the MacBook Pro still isn’t up to par, but creative professionals should be happy with what they’re getting on this laptop.

While both machines can do what they claim, the MacBook Pro is the more capable laptop in terms of performance. Throw in incredibly fast hard drive performance, and the MacBook Pro is the clear winner in this category.

Winner: MacBook Pro

Battery Life

Laptops in the Chromebook and MacBook lines are both known for their endurance. While some of the standard benchmarks don’t work in Chrome OS, for our review of the Pixelbook we did run the Basemark browser benchmark to see what it could do. The Pixelbook saw surprisingly good results, lasting four hours and ten minutes, and beating competitors like the Surface Pro and 12-inch MacBook.

The MacBook Pro’s battery life is on par with similar 13-inch laptops of its ilk, but it doesn’t exceed expectations. Apple used to be the leader in this category with its laptops, but its numbers have remained the same as competitors’ have risen.

Here’s what matters in the end: both the Pixelbook and the MacBook Pro claim a 10-hour battery life. From our tests, the Pixelbook hits that mark more reliably.

Winner: Pixelbook

Software

The software experience on these two laptops are quite different. The MacBook Pro runs MacOS, a full-fledged desktop operating system, while Chrome OS is a pared down software experience that has limited functionality. You can’t open up Chrome and just download your favorite software application with Chrome OS. Your access is limited to what’s available in the browser and in the form of extensions in the Chrome Web Store. In addition, Google has also expanded app access to the Google Play Store.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

You can do more with these options than you might assume, especially with the addition of Android app compatibility. For some, the idea of getting access to the wealth of Android apps and games on a laptop might sound enticing, especially since it’s something Apple has hesitated to do with its own App Store and MacOS. However, there’s doubting the fact that MacOS is a much more expansive system that Apple is constantly updating and working on. We haven’t seen that kind of commitment from Google quite yet.

Winner: MacBook Pro

Price & Configurations

Both of these computers are not inexpensive for what you get. In both cases, you can find alternatives such as the excellent Dell XPS 13 or Samsung Chromebook Pro. What you are paying for with both the MacBook Pro and Pixelbook is the premium design, brand name, and exclusive features.

The lowest-priced MacBook Pro is the $1,300 non-Touch Bar 13.3-inch version with 128GB of SSD storage. The entry-level configuration of the Pixelbook starts at $1,000 and comes with 128GB of SSD storage. Both laptops at that price utilize the Intel Core 7th-gen i5 CPU and come with 8GB of RAM.

Winner: Draw

Overall Winner: MacBook Pro

Digital Trends

The Pixelbook is an impressive attempt by Google to show the world that it’s serious about Chromebooks. Everything from the build quality and the display to the details of the keyboard have been meticulously designed to please.

But despite the fact that Chrome OS has come a long way from where it was (and that Apple stumbled on the launch of the Touch Bar), the MacBook Pro is a much less limited computing experience — especially for only $200 more. So as long we’re talking about the non-Touch Bar model of the 13-inch MacBook Pro, it’s going to get our vote. 

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PSVR’s latest demo disc is a free download on the PlayStation Store

If your PlayStation VR has been collecting dust for awhile, Sony might have a few reasons for you to jack back in. Starting today, the contents of the demo disc that comes with new PSVR bundles are up for grabs on the PlayStation Store for free. Headlining the offerings are samples of the mousey Zelda-esque adventure Moss, horror offering The Persistence and Star Child, the 2.5D side-scroller from Playful. None of those are out until next year, so if you want to try something brand new, those are good places to start.

The rest of the demos are games that have come out in the past year, but you might’ve missed. Like Job Simulator, Thumper, Fantastic Contraption and Starblood Arena. Unfortunately, Crytek’s excellent prehistoric adventure Robinson: The Journey isn’t available here, but the cartoony Dino Frontier is. The full list is below.

• BattleZone
• Dino Frontier
• EVE: Valkyrie
• Fantastic Contraption
• Job Simulator
• Moss
• Raw Data
• Rez Infinite
• Starblood Arena
• Star Child
• The Persistence
• Thumper
• Tiny Trax

Source: Road to VR

Aluminum foil can actually improve your wireless signal

If you’ve ever thought of resorting to aluminum foil to redirect your home’s poor WiFi signal, it turns out you’re not actually that far off the mark. EurekAlert reported today that researchers at Dartmouth College have discovered that 3D printed signal reflectors, consisting of a thin layer of metal and plastic, can drastically and cheaply improve the wireless signal around a home.

These experiments were based off the idea of using an aluminum soda can behind a router in order to direct the signal away from deadening walls and other obstructions. The team was able to analyze a space and create a custom reflector that would optimize the WiFi signal in that room. They then fed their data into a custom program called WiPrint that designed an optimal plastic reflector and created it using a 3D printer. The last step is to cover the object in aluminum foil and place it on the router. You can see a demonstration in the video below.

This solution solves multiple problems with WiFi signals. First of all, it’s inexpensive; if you have access to a 3D printer, it will only run you about $35. Directional antennas cost a lot more than that. Second, it allows you control over your WiFi signal, which has more benefits than you think. Not only does it make sure you have signal in the rooms you need it in, but it allows you to cut off signal where you don’t. This improves physical security, ensuring neighbors (and unsavory types) can’t access your network.

The next step for the team is to figure out how to design reflectors that are made of a different material than 3D printed plastic. The idea is to eventually create an object that can actually change shape if the room’s layout changes. This may not expand the coverage area of your router, but it will ensure that you’ll get stronger signal in the areas you need it most.

Source: EurekAlert

FBI Didn’t Ask Apple for Help Unlocking Texas Shooter’s iPhone in First 48 Hours [Updated]

In the aftermath of a deadly shooting at a Texas Church on November 5th, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies failed to immediately ask Apple for help unlocking shooter Devin Patrick Kelley’s iPhone, reports Reuters.

According to a source that spoke to Reuters, the FBI did not contact Apple for about 48 hours after the shooting, missing a critical window where the iPhone in question might have been easier to unlock.

If the iPhone had Touch ID enabled, the shooter’s finger might have been able to be used to unlock the device. But that unlocking method would have needed to be used within a 48 hour window, as Touch ID is disabled after 48 hours have passed since it was last activated or when the iPhone is powered off.

Christopher Combs, head of the FBI’s San Antonio field office, said on Tuesday that the shooter’s smartphone is being transferred to the FBI’s crime lab in Quantico, Virginia as authorities have not been able to unlock it.

Little is known about the shooter’s smartphone at this time. Sources told the Washington Post that it’s an iPhone, but it’s not known which iPhone it is nor which version of iOS it’s running. It’s also not known if Touch ID was indeed enabled on the phone at this point.

As we learned with the San Bernardino case, Apple will not provide authorities with the tools to unlock the iPhone, but the company can and will provide iCloud data if compelled by court order. It is not known if Apple has already received a court order asking for iCloud information.

Update: Apple has provided a statement on the situation with the smartphone owned by the Texas shooter.

We were shocked and saddened by the violence in Texas last Sunday, and we join the world in grieving for the families and the community that lost so many loved ones.

Our team immediately reached out to the FBI after learning from their press conference on Tuesday that investigators were trying to access a mobile phone. We offered assistance and said we would expedite our response to any legal process they send us.

We work with law enforcement every day. We offer training to thousands of agents so they understand our devices and how they can quickly request information from Apple.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tags: FBI, Apple-FBI
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