How to customize the Shelf in OxygenOS on the OnePlus 5T

How do I use and customize the shelf in the OnePlus Launcher?

OnePlus has a knack for leaving Android mostly untouched in OxygenOS, but one unique aspect of its custom software is the Shelf to the left of the home screens in the OnePlus Launcher.

Though OnePlus One users can’t access the Shelf, owners of any other OnePlus device can enjoy the convenient home screen add-on, so long as they stick with the default launcher.

Note: The Shelf is available on OnePlus devices as far back as the OnePlus 2, running OxygenOS version 3.0 or newer.

Why would you want to use the Shelf?

As a longtime user of the popular third-party home screen replacement Action Launcher, I’ve grown accustomed to the convenience of having a screen dedicated to my favorite widgets, without having to worry about app shortcuts or non-matching wallpapers getting in the way.

The Shelf in the OnePlus Launcher gives a similar experience, allowing you to sort your widgets into a vertically scrolling list to the left of your home screens (where Google Now would be on the Pixel Launcher). You can add custom widgets from any of your apps, and OnePlus throws in some widgets of its own; one for setting quick reminders, one displaying your ten most recent apps, one displaying recent contacts, and a dashboard breaking down system usage.

More: OnePlus 5T review: Come for the value, not the excitement

How to customize the Shelf

Swipe right from the first home screen to access the Shelf.
Press and hold on any widget, then drag it up or down to reposition it in the list.
Drag the white circle at the bottom of the widget to resize it.
Tap the red X button in the top-right corner of a widget to remove it from the list.
Tap the blue + button in the bottom-right corner of the screen to add a new widget.

That’s it! You can arrange the widgets any way you like, or if you just don’t like the Shelf you can remove it altogether.

How to disable the Shelf

It may be simple, but the Shelf is one of my favorite parts of OxygenOS. Still, it isn’t for everybody, and if you just can’t stand accidentally swiping to it from your home screen, luckily it’s easy to disable.

Press and hold on the home screen.
Tap Settings.
Swipe the toggle next to Shelf to the off position.

Just like that, the Shelf will no longer appear when you swipe right from the leftmost home screen — just remember that if the OnePlus Launcher isn’t to your liking, you can always download a third-party launcher in its place. That’s the beauty of customization.

Questions? Comments?

If you have any questions about the Shelf, or want to share you love (or disdain) for OxygenOS, we want to hear about it. Sound off in the comments below!

OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 5

• OnePlus 5T review: Come for the value, not the excitement
• OnePlus 5T specs
• Should you upgrade from the OnePlus 3T?
• OnePlus 5T vs. Galaxy S8: Beast mode
• All of the latest OnePlus 5T news
• Join the discussion in the forums

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Best watch face customization apps for the Huawei Watch 2

With Android Wear, you have tons of watch face options for your Huawei Watch 2!

The Huawei Watch 2 comes with a bunch of built-in watch faces, but they won’t all be to your taste. The good thing about Android Wear, though, is the ability to load custom watch faces and complications with just a few taps! Here are our favorite apps for downloading free and paid watch faces — or, in some cases, to build your own!

Facer Watch Faces

When it comes to options for watch faces within a single app, nobody does it better than Facer. You’ve got two main options — you can browse through hundreds of watch face designs or create your own.

There are watch faces featuring everything from Garfield to Star Trek, and you can browse through the catalog by genre and style. If you find one that you like you’ll be able to see a mockup of it in action to ensure that it’s the right fit for you before downloading.

The Facer Creator, which allows you to make your own watch face, is also easy and fairly intuitive to use even if you’ve never done something like this before.

Download Facer (free w/ IAPs)

Pujie Black Android Wear Watch Face Designer

When it comes to serious control over what your watch face looks like without having to get too overly technical, Pujie Black does a great job. It offers 20 preset faces that you can choose from to create a completely custom design that takes advantage of Android Wear watches’ OLED panels.

You get access to backgrounds, time styles, widgets, and more, and you can even build a customized watch hand if you prefer an analog look for your watch face. Highly recommended!

Download Pujie Black ($1.99)

WatchMaster

If you’re less interested in building the perfect watch face and you’d prefer to just browse through a collection of fantastic prebuilt ones, Watchmaster ought to be your go-to. The Watchmaster app gives you access to over 100 different watch faces from various different designers.

New watch faces are added every month, with many of them staying free as part of sponsorships with popular design companies. Premium watch faces will cost you a few dollars. WatchMaster also lets you preview any watch face before downloading.

If you find that you can’t pick just one, you can upgrade to WatchMaster Premium from inside the app, and get access to every watch face in the collection.

Download WatchMaster (free w/ IAPs)

Do you have a favorite?

While the Play Store has plenty of standalone watch face apps, finding an awesome collection makes it easier to swap between faces without taking up extra space on your phone for yet another app. These were our favorite apps for access to plenty of different watch faces, and the ability to customize different aspects. Is there another watch face collection that ought to be on this list? Let us know in the comments below!

Android Wear

• Everything you need to know about Android Wear 2.0
• LG Watch Sport review
• LG Watch Style review
• These watches will get Android Wear 2.0
• Discuss Android Wear in the forums!

Samsung smart TVs gain Amazon Prime Music support

Samsung has recently tightened its relationship with Amazon, partnering up on its HDR10+ tech meant to counter Dolby Vision HDR. Now, Samsung’s smart TVs will be some of the first third-party, non-Alexa devices able to stream Amazon Prime Music and Unlimited Music in the US and elsewhere, Samsung announced. The service will also work on all of Samsung’s audio devices, including sound bars and wireless speakers.

Amazon Prime Music has a limited choice compared to services like Spotify or Apple Music, but it has one huge advantage: It’s free if you’re already a Prime member, at least in the US and UK. Unlimited Music gives you more choice, but is a paid service with a discount for Prime members and Echo owners. Up until now, however, the services have been pretty much limited to your phone, PC, Amazon’s Echo or other Alexa devices from Sonos and others.

The music services will work on most Samsung Smart TV models, provided you’re in the US, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, France, Italy and Spain, for now. That could be because of limitations on Amazon Unlimited and/or Prime Music availability. Some countries like the US and UK offer both Prime Music and Unlimited Music, while other nations (France) only have the Unlimited option.

Recently, Amazon launched Unlimited Music more widely and Prime Video across the world. Hopefully, that same detente will apply to its Alexa and Echo devices, as well as Prime Music, which are still only in just a handful of countries so far.

Via: Sammobile

Source: Samsung

Hear us out: Human-robot relationships are totally a good thing

Make no mistake about it: here in 2017, relationships between humans and robots are a very real thing. Given the amount of time we spend with our devices, that’s no great surprise, either.

While the most attention-grabbing may be the plethora of stories about sex robots, there are plenty of other ways we’re interfacing with machines that’s totally different to any other point in history. Far from being some weird tech niche, developing relationships with our robots is going to be essential to us not only leading longer, happier lives, but also making smarter machines which can get the best out of both us and our machines.

Fortunately, it’s a challenge that robotics and AI researchers are already busy solving.

The lovability of robots

For starters, robots are made to be loved. That might sound trite, but there’s something fundamentally lovable about robots and computer software which attempts to approximate human intelligence, which is what a lot of AI is supposed to do.

If you saw the footage of Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot being kicked to test its balancing capabilities, there’s a good chance you felt a degree of sympathy for it. That’s because we tend to anthropomorphize and project emotions onto the more lifelike machines around us — in a way we’d never do with a regular desktop computer.

This effect was widely observed in the 1990s, when Tamagotchis and Furbies became the “must have” toys of the season. In one notable anecdote, one airplane passenger disembarked her flight, vowing never again to fly that same airline again, because the flight attendant told her to turn off her Tamagotchi for take-off — because she knew this would reset the device and thus “kill” her creature.

The effect isn’t just found in people who get strangely attached to toys, either. “U.S. soldiers have been known to form close bonds with their bomb-disposal robots, even though these robots are not particularly human-like in their features,” John Danaher, co-editor of MIT Press’ new book Robot Sex: Social and Ethical Implications, told Digital Trends.

New ways to build robots

This opens up entirely new opportunities when it comes to the deployment of new machines; applications which were unavailable at any other point in history. One example of how the emotional component of a robot relationship can be harnessed is in caregiving.

This opens up entirely new opportunities and  applications that were unavailable at any other point in history

While robots are never going to be an adequate replacement for emotional human relationships or contact, there are scenarios where they can have an invaluable role to play. For example, with a limited number of caregivers available, and a growing elderly population, robots or chatbots with natural language processing (NLP) abilities could prove to be excellent companions for older people.

They can remind folks to take their medication, help people with degenerative neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s by playing memory games, and even provide other forms of reassuring comfort.

The most famous therapeutic robot, more of a pet than an approximation of human company, is Paro the “therapeutic robot” seal. Designed with the elderly market in mind, Paro can make eye contact with users by sensing the direction of their voice, has a limited vocabulary of words for “understanding” people, and is able to fine-tune its behavior depending on how it is treated. Stroke it softly or more forcefully and its behavior will change to mirror that of the user. This provides comfort to its users by appearing to empathize with them.

Intuition Robotics’ ElliQ, meanwhile, is another robot designed with the elderly market in mind. A bit like a cross between a simple Amazon Echo and a robot version of the animated Pixar mascot, ElliQ uses AI and machine learning to maintain physical and mental health in its users, as well as offering companionship to older people.

“Given the general suspicions held by older members of the population surrounding AI, ElliQ is proactive rather than reactive,” Joe Lobo, a robot expert at AI and natural language processing company Inbenta, told Digital Trends. “It will learn the preferences and personality of the person to recommend relevant activities such as going for a walk, playing games or even calling members of the family. It will also remember important daily routines such as when to take medication or when there are upcoming hospital appointments.”

Helping teach social skills

In addition to the elderly population, robots could also prove invaluable communicative tools for people with autism. It’s easy to be cynical about the reductive relationship that a robot or AI can have with a person, but sometimes that is exactly what is needed.

Robots could also prove invaluable communicative tools for people with diseases like autism.

In 2014, three years after Apple’s AI assistant Siri debuted on the iPhone 4s, the New York Times published a story titled “To Siri, With Love,” describing how journalist Judith Newman’s 13-year-old autistic son had forged a relationship with Siri, which helped him develop his communication skills in the real world. Siri, Judith writes, is “wonderful for someone who doesn’t pick up on social cues: [the] responses are not entirely predictable, but they are predictably kind.” Is an AI that answers everything in a “predictably kind” way a realistic portrayal of human relationships? No way. Is it better in this case? You bet!

A few years on from 2014, there are now a number of companies focused on building AI tools which can help people with autism to develop real world communication skills. One company which has led this charge is the Wisconsin-based emotion tracking company Affectiva. Unlike Siri, which recognizes only words, tools developed by Affectiva can also incorporate other elements to cute effect — such as a video display which dispenses free chocolate samples when you smiles at the screen.

Recently, Affectiva’s technology was used in a smart glasses “life coach” which can gamify the social experience by helping identify people’s emotions, and provoke conversations with autistic users about what these might mean.

As chatbots and AI systems become smarter and more deeply embedded in our lives, the number of use-cases will explode. By forming bonds with these robots and AI systems, we can carry out tasks more effectively, while getting the same boost that we get from speaking to a likeminded person. Just like Paro mirrors its users, AI assistants could learn our speech patterns and which ones prompt the best responses, and learn to use them.

With AI increasingly used as a teaching aid, it may even be possible to introduce AI assistants early in a person’s life and have it grow and evolve with them — while transferring its personality from machine to machine, much as Siri is available on the iPhone, Mac, or Apple TV. The possibilities are endless.

The importance of reciprocity

So here’s one more billion dollar question: do robots need to be able to reciprocate in order for us to consider the relationships real? This is a difficult question. If we found out that our partner was a Truman show-style actor, being paid to act as though they were in love with us, it would be deeply traumatizing. The same thing would be true with our buddies.

But does it have to be true with robots? And does it matter?

Do robots have to act like they love us in order for us to consider the relationship real?

It’s a question that has been examined by people working in artificial intelligence for decades — and not just within the confines of science fiction stories. In the 1960s, researchers at MIT developed a computer psychotherapist named ELIZA, which was designed to carry out seemingly intelligent text-based conversations with users. By echoing fragments of a user’s language in a way that either seemed to support or question their statements, ELIZA was able to act like, well, a real psychotherapist.

So far, so good. But Joseph Weizenbaum, the researcher behind ELIZA, had an experience that’s not usually shared by people developing new technology: ELIZA worked too well. Although it had no actual “understanding” of what users were discussing, Weizenbaum was disturbed by the fact that it prompted people to reveal intimate details of their lives, including relationship difficulties or complex life issues. For Weizenbaum, there was something ethically troubling about it.

However, not everyone thinks this way. The Turing Test posits that, if a machine acts in an intelligent way, we should attribute intelligence to it. Is the same thing true with a robot relationship?

VCG via Getty Images

“I’m not entirely sure what reciprocity or mutuality really is and whether it is off-limits for machines,” said John Danaher. “I’m guessing people think of it as some inner mental state. But that’s problematic when it comes to human relationships. We never really know what another human being thinks of us. We only have their behavior to go on. If they consistently act as if they love us, we think there is mutual affection. I don’t see why robots couldn’t be behaviorally indistinguishable from human partners. It would require some pretty sophisticated technology – far more sophisticated than we currently have – but I don’t think it is impossible.”

On a technical level, it would be fascinating to see if we could ever develop a machine that cares for us in the same way that we might care for it. But it’s not necessary to create a meaningful relationship that can enrich our lives.

Even if it’s never going to be quite the same thing as a human relationship.

Unearthing oxygen-starved bacteria might worsen climate change

A recently-released federal report has finally credited humans with causing climate change, but we might have more to worry about than fossil fuel emissions. While we knew bacteria in earth’s soil releases almost a third of the carbon dioxide that reaches the atmosphere every year, a portion of this population has gone overlooked. A new study has found that bacteria which don’t require oxygen to produce CO2 occur in more areas than previously thought. And while its production is far lower than normal (aerobic) processes, that rate will likely increase if the surrounding soil was exposed to air or when the global climate warms up.

Stanford scientists forced bacteria into oxygen-starved (anaerobic) environments where they produced far less CO2, according to their study released today in the journal Nature Communications. In this mode, the bacteria decomposed far fewer carbon-rich lipid and wax molecules, which dropped carbon dioxide production by a factor of 10.

Of course, the model could shift the other way: If previously oxygen-deprived bacteria is exposed (say, if rigorous farming disrupts the soil), they could increase by tenfold the amount of CO2 they put into the atmosphere. Similarly, warming climate — or different irrigation patterns as humans adjust to changing weather — could accelerate soil bacteria’s carbon dioxide production.

Via: Phys.org

Source: “Anaerobic microsites have an unaccounted role in soil carbon stabilization”, Nature Communications

Snapchat’s new ad formats are designed to keep you watching

This week, Snapchat debuted two new ad styles meant to engage its users more and encourage less skipping, TechCrunch reports. So far, the app’s ads have largely consisted of short videos, which followed the last clip in a Story or were placed throughout Discover content, as well as sponsored Lenses that promoted some sort of product. Now, advertisers will have the option of putting together a Promoted Story or an AR Trial ad.

For Promoted Stories, advertisers will be able to create a more in-depth ad featuring three to 10 photos or videos that will work just like any other Snapchat Story. These ads will appear throughout a country for one day and will be labeled as sponsored content. Today, for example, US users will see an HBO Promoted Story featuring six Snaps that show what series or movies you could be watching on HBO instead of engaging in Black Friday shopping.

The AR Trial ads are like more active versions of Snapchat’s sponsored 3D World Lenses. In September, Snapchat released 3D World Lenses that promoted Blade Runner and Bud Light, but they were mostly just fun, not functional. The Bud Light Lens, for example, just featured an AR Bud Light vendor that you could place on whatever surface you liked. But the AR Trial ads are meant to let users get a better look at the product being sold. BMW’s new AR Trial ad will let you place its X2 vehicle in the area you’re viewing through the camera lens and then allow you to walk around it and even change its color.

Snap Inc. had a less than impressive third quarter, reporting just 4.5 million new users, and the company has said it will focus on attracting more users in the coming year. Those efforts include a redesign of the Android version of its app and some significant tweaks to the app overall. Some of those changes are meant to make it easier to navigate through all of the app’s offerings, which is not always intuitive and could help it increase its user base. And that, like these new ad formats, is likely to please Snapchat’s partners.

Via: TechCrunch

Talk with the first-ever robot politician on Facebook Messenger

Have you often felt that no matter what you asked politicians, they’d automatically reply with a stock response? Now you can address a real robot that plans on running for office — or at least, that’s what its creators intend. SAM is an AI chatbot ‘representing’ New Zealand’s constituents that you can talk with on Facebook Messenger right now.

Of course, SAM doesn’t currently hold any office — nor could it likely legally run for one, under current laws — and her (yes, yer) conversations are still very limited. But she’s an experiment to create a representative that listens to people and responds to their questions with facts and policy positions. Currently, you can ask her about a number of New Zealand’s issues from a pre-selected list of topics, though SAM’s capability will theoretically grow the more public opinion she ingests.

It’s fitting that SAM was built to represent New Zealand given its recent political upheaval, when Jacinda Ardern was sworn in as Prime Minister heading a three-party coalition government. While Arden’s appointment was somewhat surprising (she’s the third female PM and youngest in 150 years), her coalition started their administration with renewable energy goals and plans for a minimum wage hike. She’s also taken no lip from Donald Trump.

“SAM and Jacinda would likely get on very well as they are both receptive, interested in ideas, and like to engaged with contemporary issues and society,” SAM’s creator Nick Gerritsen told Tech In Asia.

But SAM could be the politician of the future, one that could theoretically field thousands of inquiries at once. While bots are only unbiased as far as they’re programmed to be, an AI chatbot could become a political asset or even influence. By New Zealand’s next election in 2020, Gerritsen hopes SAM is more advanced, though he wasn’t clear on whether she could legally run, telling Tech In Asia that “SAM is an enabler and we plan to operate within existing legal boundaries.”

Via: Tech In Asia

Source: Politician SAM

KGI: Improved iPhone X Shipping Estimates Due to Better-Than-Expected Production, Not Weak Demand

Steady improvements in iPhone X supplies that have seen shipping estimates fall to 1-2 weeks are due to better-than-expected improvements in production since the device’s launch, rather than any weakness demand, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who shared the information in a new research report obtained by MacRumors.

According to Kuo, who frequently shares accurate information from Apple’s supply chain, iPhone X production issues “have been well addressed” in recent weeks, with Foxconn’s production now at 450,000-550,000 units per day compared to just 50,000-150,000 a month or two ago as Apple geared up to launch the device.

Two of the primary bottlenecks that contributed to tight supplies of the iPhone X have largely been resolved, according to Kuo, with Career quickly making up for lost time after Murata was unable to provide LTE antenna components as originally planned and LG Innotek and Sharp seeing improved yields for the dot projector module of the TrueDepth camera.

(1) Hon Hai’s daily shipments of iPhone X have climbed to 450-550k units, up from 50-150k units 1-2 months ago; (2) shipments of Career’s LCP LTE antenna will likely grow 100% MoM in both November and December; and (3) production yield of Dot projection module, made by LG Innotek (KR) and Sharp (JP), has moved quickly above 80-90% or higher from below 60% 1-2 months ago.

As a result of the improved production, Kuo believes iPhone X shipments in the fourth calendar quarter could be 10-20 percent higher than he previously estimated, with some orders previously estimated as shipping in the new year being pulled in and shipped before the end of the quarter. That acceleration means Kuo is predicting that iPhone X shipments in the first quarter of 2018 will be flat or slightly lower compared to the fourth quarter.

Apple’s financial guidance for the current quarter points toward record performance, suggesting the company is confident any production troubles have been resolved and that demand for the high-end iPhone X will be strong throughout the quarter.

Related Roundup: iPhone XTag: Ming-Chi KuoBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
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Pornhub’s first store has a livestreaming bed camera, of course

Pop-up stores are all the rage, but Pornhub’s shop in New York City is offering something… unique. If you visit its just-opened location on 70 Wooster Street, you’ll see a bed with a camera that livestreams directly to the porn giant’s website. No, you can’t get away with what normally happens on a bed at Pornhub, but you are encouraged to “interact” with the camera. And let’s be honest: this is probably your best shot at appearing live on a porn site without having to explain a surprise career move.

The store itself (which, unsurprisingly, is adults-only) is also notable as Pornhub’s retail debut. And it’s mostly about fashion. You’ll see some sex toys and “aphrodisiac herbs,” but most of the wares are either self-branded clothing or apparel from Pornhub’s partners. The company knowingly set up shop next to high fashion brands, in fact. While no one would confuse the porn purveyor with its haute couture neighbors, the company clearly wants to be taken seriously.

If you’re curious enough to step inside, the New York pop-up will be open until December 20th. There will also be a “holiday-themed” store in Milan, Italy before long.

As for why Pornhub is making the move? The company’s Corey Price told New York Daily News that it has been expanding its clothing line and decided that real-world interaction at a pop-up store “would be cool” instead of limiting it to the virtual realm. We wouldn’t count on any permanent Pornhub stores, then, but this shows how internet giants of all stripes increasingly see retail as a key way to drive business.

Via: New York Daily News

Source: Pornhub (safe for work)

‘Ghost In The Shell’ VR arcade game is a four-on-four firefight

For everybody that’s watched Ghost in the Shell and thought to themselves, “yes, I too would like to experience tearing tanks apart with my bare hands,” your day has come. Well, sort of. Bandai Namco has partnered with VR Zone Shinjuku, a 40,000-square foot VR arcade center, to develop an eight player competitive shooter based on the GiTS universe and they’re calling it Ghost in the Shell: Arise Stealth Hounds.

The game is set on a 20m x 12m flat arena with the eight players split evenly into teams of four. Each competitor wears a custom VR headset and PC backpack as well as VR markers on their wrists, ankles and hips. The room’s motion tracking system uses these markers to translate the user’s movements into the VR experience. And while there aren’t any physical objects in the arena for the players to navigate, their headsets generate a virtual maze of obstacles that they must overcome.

Users will play as a rookie member of Major Kusanagi’s strike force on a mission to eliminate enemy combatants. In addition to running, ducking and jumping through the virtual halls, players will be able to exploit special powers like optical camouflage and cyberbrain hacking to complete their missions (fingers crossed for superhuman tank-tearing strength). The game opens to the public on December 9th.

Via: VR Scout

Source: VR Zone Shinjuku