Apple’s Early Version of HomePod Stood Three Feet Tall and Packed Dozens of Speakers

While the HomePod was only unveiled five months ago, a team of Apple audio engineers developed several speaker prototypes as a side project over the past five years or so, according to Bloomberg.

HomePod was originally a side project cooked up about five years ago by a group of Mac audio engineers, who wanted to create a speaker that sounded better than the ones sold by the likes of Bose, JBL, and Harman Kardon. Side projects aren’t uncommon at Apple, where employees are encouraged to follow their muse so long as their day jobs come first.

The report claims one of the prototypes stood three feet tall, roughly five times as tall as the current HomePod, and was equipped with dozens of speakers. Another supposedly looked like a flat panel with a mesh screen on the front.

The side project was reportedly canceled and revived several times. It wasn’t until 2014 that development of the speaker began to ramp up within Apple’s accessories division, which also worked on the wireless AirPods.

Apple’s focus was on creating a speaker with premium sound quality through the use of beam-forming speaker technology. The report claims Apple tested many variations of the speaker in specially designed audio chambers.

That same year, the report adds that Apple engineers were “blindsided” when Amazon launched its Echo speaker integrated with its voice-activated personal assistant Alexa, which is considered a hit with customers.

The Apple engineers jokingly accused one another of leaking details of their project to Amazon, then bought Echos so they could take them apart and see how they were put together. They quickly deemed the Echo’s sound quality inferior and got back to work building a better speaker.

Despite the Echo launching, Apple has maintained its focus on the HomePod being a high-quality speaker, which is exactly how Apple’s marketing chief Phil Schiller positioned the product at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

The Siri team was told that the HomePod was about music and quality sound, one of the people said. Yes, the speaker would be voice-activated but it wouldn’t be positioned as a personal assistant.

As of this year, the report claims the HomePod was just one of four or five areas that Apple’s Siri team was working on, given the company apparently sees it as more of an accessory than a core product like the iPhone.

Given the HomePod will be mostly limited to streaming Apple Music, controlling HomeKit accessories, and sending messages through an iPhone, the report claims Apple will be “playing catchup” with Echo-like devices.

Apple could still eventually add features to the HomePod. These might include its own app ecosystem and support for competing music services. Even so, until that happens, Apple will still be playing catchup in a category invented by a company better known for e-commerce than hardware.

Apple will be even further behind after it delayed the HomePod’s release until early 2018, after originally promising it would launch in December. The delay means the $349 speaker won’t be ready in time for the holiday shopping season, which could lead customers to purchase an Echo or Google Home instead.

Related Roundup: HomePodTag: Amazon Echo
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‘Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition’ is coming to PC

BioWare’s Dungeons & Dragons-based RPG Neverwinter Nights (NWN) is getting an enhanced edition for PC. The revamped game from Beamdog — a studio that cut its teeth on remasters of PC classics, such as Baldur’s Gate and Planescape: Torment — will be up for pre-order tomorrow for 20 bucks.

As with the publisher’s past upgrades, NWN packs a graphics bump, including UI and menu scaling up to 4K. But, as you can see in the trailer above, the enhancements don’t exactly make for a comprehensive overhaul. You’ll also be able to access saved games, modules, and mods from the original, so you can pick up where you left off, and catch up on what you missed. Plus, Beamdog is throwing in the Pirates of the Sword Coast, Infinite Dungeons, and Wyvern Crown of Cormyr modules, and two soundtracks.

The bugbear’s out of the bag! Join us at noon PST Nov. 21 on #Twitch (https://t.co/MTxjfuCw5K) as we introduce #Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition to the world. #NWNEE pic.twitter.com/FKph5I9mgE

— Beamdog (@BeamdogInc) November 21, 2017

The cheap and cheerful price should be enough to lure nostalgic gamers looking for another Dungeons & Dragons fix. You can tune into Beamdog’s Twitch livestream tomorrow at 12pm PST to presumably find out the release date, and more.

Source: Beamdog (Twitter)

Leica’s CL gives an iconic design the modern tech it deserves

Up until recently, Leica built lovely, expensive cameras that no-one ever called “state-of-the-art.” The TL2, however, recently marked a change in direction. Not only was it relatively cheap for a Leica at $1,950, but it was endowed with modern features like 4K video. It’s pushing that idea further with the CL, its new $2,795 flagship 24.2-megapixel APS-C mirrorless that looks and feels more like an old-school Leica, thanks to a new body and manual dials. At the same time, it’s got the tech you’d expect in a modern camera, including an all-new electronic viewfinder.

Leica’s aim with the TL2 was to bring modern performance and specs to the T, its first APS-C camera. It replaced the sensor and electronics wholesale, endowing it with a new 24-megapixel sensor, 4K video, a touchscreen interface and relatively fast autofocus performance. “Everything the customers asked for, we gave it to them in July with the TL2,” Leica Product Manager Maike Harberts told Engadget.

What it was missing, though, was a Leica-like tactile feel, which is where the CL comes in. The new model has the same electronics as the TL2, but looks much like the German company’s more traditional M or Q full-frame models with a smooth, low-profile metal body and manual dials.

More importantly, it has a new 2.36 million dot electronic viewfinder (EVF) built expressly for it. “It’s for people who love to take the camera to their eye, adjust the most important values and just be in the zone and take pictures,” explained Harberts. In exchange for that manual functionality, the CL has a smaller 3.0-inch touchscreen with menu functions driven by the D-pad. Touch options are reserved for reviewing and zooming in on photos.

Looking at the numbers, the Leica CL has the same 24.2-megapixel sensor, 49-point contrast autofocus and Maestro II series processor that’s on the TL2. That gives the CL 10 fps burst shooting speeds in both mechanical and electronic shutter modes, letting you capture around 33 RAW images before the buffer fills.

ISOs range from 100 to 50,000, while the shutter speed goes up to 1/8000th of a second in mechanical mode and 1/25,000th electronically. The electronic shutter makes nary a peep, which is good news for street or golf photographers. Unfortunately, there’s no optical image stabilization on either the body or TL lenses. The only way to get it is by using a full-frame, stabilized SL lens, which can be mounted without an adapter, but will cost you a hell of a lot more than a TL lens.

AOL/Steve Dent

For video, you get (yay!) 4K at 30 fps, or 60 fps 1080p, but no microphone input (boo!), so you’re limited to the onboard mic or an external recorder. It’s fair to say, however, that not many folks in Leica’s intended market will be using the CL for anything other than casual video.

You also get WiFi — the only way to transfer pictures directly from the camera, since there’s no USB port — and a single UHS-II-supported SD card slot. The TL2 didn’t have great battery life, and the CL is even worse, letting you shoot about 220 photos on a charge. In other words, order at least a spare battery or two.

I’ve had a few days to play with Leica’s CL, equipped with a brand new 18mm f/2.8 pancake lens. Together, they make a combination that’s ideal for street photos, something Leica is famous for, so that’s what I tested in my Paris neighborhood.

Built in Germany, the body is magnesium with anodized aluminum top and bottom covers. If you’re into that classic Leica style, it’s hard to call this camera anything but “gorgeous,” especially if you add the optional leather half case. It’s pretty light at 403 grams with a battery, less than Sony’s A6500 (453 grams) and the Fuji X-T2 (503 grams). With the pancake lens, it’s about as light an APS-C interchangeable-lens camera can be, and I could (just) fit it in my jacket pocket.

The top left button/dial combo is reserved for aperture or shutter, depending on the mode, but the right-hand dial can be programmed for shutter, exposure compensation, ISO and five other settings. The two dials and their buttons let you change most settings, but it’s not quite as nice as having, say, five dedicated dials like you get on the X-T2. There are also three rear buttons (“play,” a programmable “function” and “menu”) and a D-pad. There’s a small, backlit screen on top that shows essential settings like shutter speed, aperture and exposure compensation.

The camera was fairly easy to learn, and I could indeed shoot without taking it away from my eye. The EVF is as bright and fast as promised and delivers accurate colors. The rear display is visible in sunlight, but it’s not tiltable like on most of the CL’s rivals. That’s unfortunate, especially for low- or high-angle street photos, but then again it would add weight and take away from the camera’s solid-slab-of-metal feel.

Thanks to the silent electronic shutter, it was easy to be discreet while shooting. That said, the mechanical shutter makes a very satisfying sound, so I was sort of torn between the two. Given the lack of stabilization, you may want to go with the electronic mode in low light to reduce vibration.

That lack of stabilization isn’t a huge issue on a wide lens like the 18mm; I could shoot sharp photos at a shutter speed as low as 1/25th of a second. On a longer, heavier lens it would be, though, and shooting hand-held video is pretty much impossible unless you have steadier hands than I do.

With the color set for “natural” (there’s also “vivid,” “standard” and two black and white settings), the Leica CL produced accurate colors that were just on the side of “warm” that I prefer, with fairly punchy contrast. I took most of the photos at ISO levels of between 1,600 and 6,400, and found noise levels to be very acceptable. When you push it up to 12,800 and beyond, however, images start to get a bit crunchy. The CL’s DNG images carry a decent amount of image data (14 bits), so it’s easy to pull details out of sections that are too dark or too bright.

In sum, the CL isn’t terribly different from the TL2, but Leica is clearly pitching it at Leica-philes who prefer the classic form and dials. The biggest addition is the built-in electronic viewfinder that goes a long way to transforming it into a rangefinder-like model beloved by fans of the brand. What’s missing compared to rivals is image stabilization and USB transfers, items that probably aren’t deal-breakers for most wannabe Leica buyers.

The $2,795 price tag for the CL (in anodized black only) isn’t cheap, but it is still less than most Leicas, making it feasible for well-off amateurs and professionals. Leica glass is also notoriously expensive: The 18mm f/2.8 pancake lens (in black or silver) is now Leica’s cheapest TL lens at $1,295, while the 18-56mm f/3.5-5.6mm model is around $1,695, and you can get the CL in a kit with those lenses for $3,795 and $3,995, respectively. The Leica CL mirrorless arrives at the end of November.

Now you can send PayPal invoices over Facebook Messenger

PayPal has spent the last few months adding more integrations to make sending money easier. Sure, some are gimmicky (like ‘friendship gift cards’), but a new feature to keep track of group purchases is nifty. The platform also started allowing folks to send cash over Facebook Messenger — and now you can send invoices on it, too.

To do so, just open the ‘Extensions’ tray in Facebook Messenger, select PayPal, and create the invoice. The buyer hits the button marked ‘Pay with PayPal’ and completes the transaction using the platform’s One Pay system.

Sure, it’s just a plugin that routes existing PayPal functionality through Facebook Messenger’s chat. But it’s a lot more convenient to bring services into an existing conversation than send a buyer off to an external site. It’s certainly useful for more professional exchanges, especially to preserve purchases within a chronology of interactions, a la Slack. But there’s nothing stopping you from using PayPal to invoice for self-employed or private business.

Source: PayPal

Misfit’s latest hybrid smartwatch focuses on classic style

If it wasn’t already evident that Misfit is on a fashion kick with its smartwatches, it is now. The Fossil-owned badge has unveiled a new hybrid smartwatch, the Command, that promises to track your fitness while looking appropriate for formal wear. It delivers notifications and tracks activity (including step count, calories, distance and sleep) much like the Phase did, just without screaming “I am tech.” The steel bracelet model in particular wouldn’t be out of place at a formal event, even if people won’t mistake it for a Montblanc.

This may also be the Misfit watch you want if you can’t stand the thought of charging your wristwear. The Command has the longest battery life of any of the company’s watches, lasting for up to a year before you need to replace its cell. It helps that the timepiece is water-resistant to 164 feet, too. And as you’d expect, you can swap the 20mm straps if the stock options don’t quite fit your style. Misfit is selling the Command in black, black copper, blue and steel variants.

You can pre-order the Command now at a starting price of $150, which is a solid price for a pseudo-analog smartwatch that hopes to rise above the rest through good looks. With that said, the Android Wear-packing Vapor smartwatch only costs $50 more. If you’re more interested in functionality than looking the part at a gala, it’s probably worth the premium.

Source: Misfit

Apple Taking Action After Students Worked Overtime to Assemble iPhone X at Foxconn

Apple and its manufacturing partner Foxconn have confirmed instances of students working overtime to assemble the iPhone X, and both companies are now taking remedial action, as reported by the Financial Times.

A technician inspecting iPhone components at a factory
Apple conducted an audit and confirmed “instances of student interns working overtime at a supplier facility in China,” according to the report. “We’ve confirmed the students worked voluntarily, were compensated and provided benefits, but they should not have been allowed to work overtime,” it added.

Foxconn said that “all work was voluntary and compensated appropriately,” but admitted that the interns “did work overtime in violation of our policy,” which reportedly prohibits interns working more than 40 hours per week.

The statements from Apple and Foxconn come after six high school students told the Financial Times they routinely work 11-hour days assembling the iPhone X at Foxconn’s factory in Zhengzhou, China.

“We are being forced by our school to work here,” said Ms Yang, an 18-year-old student training to be a train attendant who declined to use her first name for fear of punishment. “The work has nothing to do with our studies.” She said she assembled up to 1,200 iPhone X cameras a day.

The students, aged 17 to 19, reportedly said they were told that a three-month stint at the factory was required “work experience” that they had to complete in order to graduate from Zhengzhou Urban Rail Transit School.

Foxconn is believed to hire a significant number of seasonal workers each year to assemble the latest iPhone models in time for the busy holiday shopping season. The report, citing an anonymous Foxconn employee, said there can be up to 300,000 workers producing up to 20,000 iPhones per day.

As part of its supplier responsibility efforts, Apple requires its manufacturing partners like Foxconn to limit working hours to no more than 60 hours a week, with a mandatory rest day once every seven days.

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.

Related Roundup: iPhone XTags: Foxconn, supplier responsibilityBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
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Apple Has Removed Skype From App Store in China to Comply With Local Law

Microsoft has confirmed that Skype has been “temporarily removed” from the App Store on iPhone and iPad, according to a statement given to The New York Times.

Apple told The New York Times that it was forced to remove a number of voice and video calling apps from the App Store in China to comply with laws in the country.

We have been notified by the Ministry of Public Security that a number of voice over internet protocol apps do not comply with local law. Therefore these apps have been removed from the app store in China. These apps remain available in all other markets where they do business.

Skype has been unavailable on the App Store since at least late October, according to users on Twitter and other websites. The service appears to function normally still for users who have already installed the app.

Skype is the latest victim of China’s strict internet filters, colloquially known as the Great Firewall. Earlier this year, Apple was forced to remove many VPN apps from the App Store in China due to regulations, while other apps affected in the past or present include WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter.

Microsoft wouldn’t comment on why Skype is also unavailable on at least a few major third-party Android app stores. Many of Google’s services, including Gmail and YouTube, have been blocked in China for several years.

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: App Store, Skype, China
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How did we get here? 9 major milestones in the history of killer robots

The idea of robotic warfare has been a sci-fi staple for ages. Decades before Terminator invoked a hellish world pitting man against machine, the 1920s play which introduced us to the word “robot” predicted the end of humanity at the metallic hands of murderous bots.

Lately, however, the topic has became a much bigger issue as science fiction has become science reality. The likes of Elon Musk of Tesla and Mustafa Suleyman of Google have written to the United Nations urging a ban on the development and use of autonomous “killer robots” such as drones, tanks, and machine guns.

But while the pace of this “third revolution in warfare” is speeding up, interest in similar weapons dates back years. Here are nine important milestones that set us on the path to where we are here in 2017.

Da Vinci’s Robotic Knight

If you’re looking for the point in history at which the idea of robotic troops on the battlefield became a possibility, you have to go all the way back to Italian Renaissance polymath Leonardo Da Vinci.

In the late 1400s, Da Vinci designed and built a robotic knight that was capable of sitting down, standing up, walking, and moving its head and arms. All of this was performed via a series of gears and pulleys.

The designs for this bot were rediscovered in sketchbooks during the 1950s, and roboticist Mark Rosheim used them to build a working prototype in 2002.

The first Tesla electric vehicle

In 1898, inventor Nikola Tesla showed off the world’s first wireless remote control vehicle (a small boat) at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Tesla’s demonstration involved maneuvering the boat without touching it, as well as it turning on-board lights off and on.

Later, he unsuccessfully attempted to sell the “teleautomaton” device, alongside a proposal for similarly radio-guided torpedoes, to the United States military. Tesla had big plans for the technology.

According to Margaret Cheney’s biography Tesla: A Man Out of Time, he described the device as not just a wireless torpedo but the, “first of a race of robots, mechanical men which will do the laborious work of the human race.”

Russian Teletanks

When you think about robot-controlled tanks being deployed in a wartime scenario, you probably picture something from the year 2040, not the year 1940 — but that’s exactly when the Soviet Union was using its “Teletanks.”

Made up of existing T-26 light tanks, kitted out with hydraulics and control, the unmanned Teletanks could be piloted from more than a kilometer away. Operators were able to remotely steer the vehicles, fire their machine guns, and even deploy a flame thrower. While they didn’t have any autonomous sensing capabilities, or even the ability to relay audio back to their operators, Teletanks were one of the earliest examples of warfare robots in action.

Until they got out of radio range and shuddered to a halt, that is!

Here comes Goliath

Okay, so starting a list entry with “the Nazis were ahead of their time with some of their ideas” doesn’t sound great. But how else to describe their invention of remote controlled robot, Goliath?

A mobile landline that was used by the Third Reich during World War II, Goliath was controlled using a wire — theoretically making it more reliable in military scenarios. Moving rapidly on two tracks, the device could be steered into the path of oncoming vehicles to blow them up.

It certainly isn’t impressive by today’s standards, but at the time, Goliath was an impressive early use of robots in a war zone. Both electric and gasoline versions were made, with a production run of more than 7,000 manufactured. For obvious reasons, not many of these are still around today.

The arrival of semi-autonomous guns

Today, autonomous guns for shooting down aircraft, drones and other unauthorized objects is something a number of groups are actively exploring. It was also a subject that cybernetics creator Norbert Wiener worked on during World War II.

Fascinated by the idea that the receiving and processing of information might trigger the creation of intelligent behavior, Wiener works with colleague Julian Bigelow on a project designed to improve the accuracy of anti-aircraft guns.

To achieve this, they develop technology which can automatically correct a gunner’s aim by predicting where his target is going to be next, and adjusting the sights accordingly.

Smarter weapons

In the late 1950s, seeking new and unorthodox weaponry to use in the Vietnam War, the U.S. Air Force introduced the use of laser-guided weapons and autonomous unmanned surveillance aircraft, designed to shoot film until they ran out of fuel.

These machines still required human intervention in deciding which targets to attack, but the use of tools such as “smart bombs” prefigured the modern usage of drone attacks in war zones.

Send in the drones

One month after 9/11, the United States demonstrated that robots can indeed be used as lethal weapons by launching the world’s first deadly airstrike from an MQ-1 Predator drone.

Now on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, this Predator drone was the earliest example of a military tool that has been heavily used by the U.S. since then. Today, the most widely deployed military drones in the world are the Predator and larger Reaper drone.

Robot ground troops

Alongside the use of aerial drones, the conflict in Afghanistan also ushered in the rise of ground-based robots — such as the tank-like PackBots, used to search caves for targets and booby traps. Many of these robots were developed by an MIT spinoff called iRobot, best known for building the Roomba floor-cleaning robot.

From around 150 robots in 2004, the number of ground-based robots grew to 12,000 just four years later. According to a recent report, the U.S. military will have more robots on the battlefield than humans by 2025. It already has more drone operators than traditional pilots.

Other ground-based robot projects include the likes of the Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR) — a bot able to power itself by eating organic matter, which fortunately turns out to be vegetarian.

The AI revolution

In the past several years, big breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) have led to a number of military-related robotics projects. These have included the likes of US Mechatronics’ automated sentry gun, as well a machine called MIDARS: a four-wheeled robot equipped with cameras, radar, and weaponry able to patrol sites.

What makes many of these projects different is that, rather than simply being remote controlled by human operators, a growing number are capable of acting on their own. For the first time, the label of “autonomous weapon” is starting to live up to its billing.

Whether that turns out to be a good or bad thing remains to be seen. Either way, it’s going to transform the future of warfare.

Editors’ Recommendations

• ‘Slaughterbots’ video is a real plea from scientists to ban killer A.I. bots
• Australian tech expert issues dire warning about the dangers of killer sex robots
• Portable CNC cutter robot is a must-have for any MakerLabs
• Chinese knock-off of Boston Dynamics’s Spot robot looks virtually identical
• Robot farmers have successfully planted and harvested barley by themselves

OnePlus 5T is now up for sale on Amazon India for ₹32,999

OnePlus 5T is available in an early access sale on Amazon India.

The OnePlus 5T is now up for sale on Amazon India. The sale is limited to Prime members, and gives customers a chance to get their hands on the device before general availability kicks off on November 28.

The OnePlus 5T features the same great hardware as the OnePlus 5, but with a new 18:9 display up front with minimal bezels. Elsewhere, you’re looking at a Snapdragon 835, 16MP + 20MP dual cameras at the back, 16MP front camera, Bluetooth 5.0, aptX HD, Wi-Fi ac 2×2 MIMO, and a 3300mAh battery with Dash Charge. The secondary camera at the back is now optimized for low-light shooting conditions.

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

As a refresher, the 6GB/64GB variant of the OnePlus 5T costs ₹32,999 in the country, with the model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage retailing for ₹37,999. If you’re using an HDFC debit or credit card, you’ll receive a ₹1,500 discount on the device. Other offers include ₹250 Amazon Pay credit when you start streaming on Prime Video, ₹500 toward Kindle e-books, up to 1000GB for Idea customers, and 12-month damage insurance from Servify when you set up a Kotak account.

Head to Amazon from the link below to get your hands on the OnePlus 5T.

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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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Save 20 percent on used products at Amazon Warehouse (UK)

Take a look at Amazon UK’s used product range to save a further 20 percent on already discounted prices.

Purchasing new products isn’t always the best way to save money and bag a stellar deal. Existing owned products can be an afterthought but should be considered, especially on returned products that haven’t been used at all. Amazon’s own Warehouse, which houses all returned and used products, is offering a further 20 percent discount on the already applied Warehouse price drop.

Some enticing deals include hard drives, monitors, laptops, and much more. Just be sure to remember to add products only sold by Amazon Warehouse Deals in order to take advantage of the further 20 percent savings. This promotion is also not tied to a minimum purchase requirement.

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