VR Stabilizer plug-in brings 360 stabilization to Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects

After launching the first consumer-friendly 360 video stabilization tool inside PowerDirector 16, the Taiwan-based CyberLink is now bringing the tool to fans of Adobe’s video editing platforms. On Wednesday, December 6, CyberLink announced the CyberLink VR Stabilizer, a Windows-only plug-in for Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects.

Video editors control the level of stabilization using two sliders in the plug-in for both rotational and translational camera movement. Using those parameters, the program then examines 360 or virtual reality footage using those preset guides and removes shake from the video. For more advanced control, keyframe support offers more control of pitch, yaw, and roll.

CyberLink says the plug-in mixes a high-quality tool for professional editors with consumer-level simplicity, adapting the tool from their video editing program designed to be easy enough for anyone to use. While 360 video is quickly growing, the company says they saw a need for a stabilization solution that didn’t require a several-hundred-dollar investment or extensive time editing the shots. The developer says that the plug-in integrates seamlessly with Premiere Pro and After Effects existing workflow, while helping editors save on time and costs.

“With the cost of VR headsets rapidly decreasing, more creative professionals are considering 360-degree videos and VR as a medium to share their stories,” said Dr. Jau Huang, chairman and CEO of CyberLink. “We want to bring CyberLink’s intuitive editing experience to these professional creators so they can seamlessly take their audiences on new immersive adventures without having to break the bank.”

The plug-in expands CyberLink’s PowerDirector 16 update geared towards 360 videos by bringing one of the headlining tools into Adobe’s industry-standard editing platforms. The plug-in is powered by the same algorithms, stabilizing for both rotational and translational camera movement. Along with PowerDirector, Cyberlink also has an action camera focused video editor, Action Director 3. The Adobe plug-in joins the developer’s list of other video plug-ins to expand PowerDirector.

Video editors will need to be using a Windows system to access the plug-in. The stabilizer also requires the 2017 version or later of Premiere Pro CC or After Effects CC. Beginning December 6, the plug-in is available for purchase from both the CyberLink Online Store and Adobe Exchange, Adobe’s platform for downloading plug-ins.

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Russell’s Favorite Tech of 2017

Russell’s Favorite Tech

The way I use a lot of my tech changed quite a bit this year. I’m working out a lot more than I used to, my priorities shifted from being hyper portable to being as capable as possible, and of course I’ve been playing with a whole lot of VR and AR. Those changes meant altering a lot of my routines as well as a lot of my day-to-day tech.

It’s fun to look back over the year and see how those changes impacted how I interact with my world, and so I wanted to share all of the things I enjoy using the most with you.

Samsung Galaxy S8

As fond as I am of Google’s new Pixels, 2017 is the year Samsung did a lot of things right with the Galaxy line. The standard Galaxy S8 offered me enough battery life to be enjoyable in every situation, and the new display setup is still downright futuristic. The cameras are excellent, and it now supports both Google Daydream and Samsung’s Gear VR. This would up being the phone I used the most this year, which is a first for me.

$649 Buy now

Aftershokz Trekz Titanium

I prefer to be able to hear the world around me when I’m running, so these “headphones” are what I use to help with that. Even when not working out, these are great to use in the kitchen or working around the house.

$125 Buy Now

Daydream View (2017)

Google has nailed every part of the comfortable, portable VR experience with this latest update. On top of being extremely comfortable and easy to stow in a bag, the headset now has a passive heat sink to keep any phone running smoothly. if I’m not at home, this is the headset I reach for.

$99 Buy Now

Chromecast Ultra

Chromecast support is basically everywhere now, so I just started carrying a Chromecast in my bag for when I travel. When I’m at home though, the 4K-ready Chromecast Ultra is what I use for the best quality streams.

$70 Buy Now

Mod-1 Headphones

When I want to lose myself in sound, I grab these headphones. They can be wired or wireless, have a battery that gets me through a full work day, and collapse down for easy travel when need be. They also sound way better than any other headphones in this price range, which is nice.

$99 Buy Now

HTC Vive

Of all the VR experiences to exist today, HTC Vive is still my favorite. Being able to use an entire room for VR out of the box is incredible, and the games available today are more fun than I’ve had in years.

$599 Buy Now

Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro

When I started going to the gym every day, it became important to track my activity. I wanted something not quite as big as a smartwatch but able to handle sweat and the occasional bump. This fits those requirements perfectly.

$199 Buy Now

Razer Blade (2017)

Apple wasn’t going to release a VR-ready laptop anytime soon, so I moved back to Windows. Razer’s laptops look nice, feel plenty durable, and come with all sorts of gaming power. It’s by far my favorite laptop of this past year.

$2099 Buy now

iPad Pro 10.5″

Yep, I use an iPad. Not the cheaper model, either. There are no Android tablets that can do what the iPAd PRo can do. The speakers are insanely good, there are actual tablet apps I can use, and the battery on this thing will go for days.

$649 Buy Now

LG V30+ is finally coming to India on December 13

LG is finally bringing its second flagship of the year to India.

LG has just sent out invites to the launch of the LG V30+ in India on December 13. The V30+ made its debut back at IFA, and features the same design as the V30, with the only difference being 128GB of internal storage.

Other than that, you’re looking at a phone with a 6.0-inch QHD 18:9 screen with Gorilla Glass 5, Snapdragon 835, 4GB of RAM, microSD slot up to 2TB, dual 16MP + 13MP rear cameras, 5MP front shooter, IP68 dust and water resistant, MIL-STD 810G certified, Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.0, and a 3300mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0.

The V30+ also has wireless charging and a 32-bit Quad DAC. On the software side of things, the phone runs Android 7.1.2 Nougat with LG UX 6.0+ out of the box. We’ll know pricing and availability details next week, but LG has been very aggressive with the pricing of the LG G6 in India, with the device selling for the same amount as the OnePlus 5T.

Who’s excited for the launch of the V30+ in India?

LG V30

• LG V30 review: The no-BS flagship
• Top LG V30 camera features
• Full LG V30 specs
• LG V30 vs. G6 vs. GS8
• The V30 is the first phone to support 600MHz spectrum
• Join our LG V30 forums

Do the Pixel 2’s bezels still bother you?

In a world of slimmer and slimmer bezels, here’s how the Pixel 2’s dated design is holding up.

Although they share more similarities than differences, there’s no denying that the Pixel 2 has a much more dated design compared to its XL sibling. Despite using a lower-quality display panel, the Pixel 2 XL’s 18:9 aspect ratio, smaller top and bottom bezels, and rounded corners make it the more futuristic-looking phone.

As an owner of the smaller Pixel 2 for a little over a month, I’ve never once been bothered by its larger forehead and chin, but then again, that’s just one person’s opinion. Here’s what some of our forum users have to say about the phone’s appearance.

BaMaDuDe87
12-04-2017 07:21 PM

“

Went to pick up the Pixel 2 tonight and just couldn’t do it. The front of this phone looks like an old iPhone to me. Really wanted a slightly smaller form than my current Note 4, but good night the black space on the front of the phone is outrageous. Guess I’ll give LG another go and grab the 2XL.

Reply

mmcclure0453
12-04-2017 08:56 PM

“

I’ve had the Pixel 2 since release and the bezels are a non issue for me. I’m coming from an S7 edge and an iPhone 6s. Screen real estate is fine. Battery is incredible. I unplug from the charger at 7am. I use mine quite a bit during the day at work and usually come home with about 70% left on the battery. I use it a lot in the evenings to finish out the work day and also surf the net, text, and…

Reply

sixty_four
12-04-2017 10:48 PM

“

I was initially put off by the bezels but after using the phone, I find the bezels help with one-hand operation. It’s a well-balanced device and the navigation buttons are easy to hit because they’re not near the physical edge of the phone.

But it sounds like visual aesthetics are more important to you than me so get what appeals to you.

BTW, “bezelgate” suggests scandal or deception. …

Reply

bbycrts
12-05-2017 02:56 PM

“

I had an Essential phone (from a Pixel) because of the damn sexy bezel-less design. I’m back now with a Pixel 2. No other phones have worked as well for me as the Pixels have. I was lured in by beauty, but I have stepped back due to just plain quality of operation.

Reply

Now, we want to hear from you – Are the Pixel 2’s bezels still a dealbreaker?

Join the conversation in the forums!

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

• Pixel 2 FAQ: Everything you need to know!
• Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL review: The new standard
• Google Pixel 2 specs
• Google Pixel 2 vs. Pixel 2 XL: What’s the difference?
• Join our Pixel 2 forums

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Project Fi

Keep the holiday party going with 24 hours of battery life from this $24 Bluetooth speaker

That’s just $1 per hour of playback!

Anker is well-known for making high-quality accessories, and its Bluetooth speakers are no exception. The original SoundCore is one of our favorite speakers, and right now you can find out why for yourself for just $23.95 at Amazon. It offers an amazing 24 hours of playback per charge, which is about three times the battery life than most other speakers in this price range offer.

Normally, the SoundCore sells for $29.99, and this price beats a previous price drop by $1.

• SUPERIOR SOUND QUALITY: Experience your music in full-bodied stereo realized through dual high-performance drivers and a unique spiral bass port (patented). Less than 1% total harmonic distortion ensures enhanced clarity and fidelity.
• INCREDIBLE BATTERY LIFE: 24-hour / 500-song playtime powered by a built-in high capacity Li-ion battery and Anker’s industry-leading power management technology.
• BLUETOOTH 4.0 TECHNOLOGY: Compatible with all Bluetooth-enabled devices. Instantly connect to your smartphone or tablet from up to 66 feet away. SoundCore reconnects automatically to the last device used. Built-in mic for hands-free calls.

You can also opt for the Anker SoundCore 2 for $39.99 if you crave the latest and greatest.

See at Amazon

Here’s what the Honor 7X cameras can do

We took a deep dive into the camera app on the Honor 7X, breaking down what each mode does and how you can be more creative with it.

If you’re in the market for a new, inexpensive but powerful phone, chances are the Honor 7X has crossed your sights, and with good reason. On top of other benefits like solid build quality and fast performance, Honor’s parent company Huawei has established itself as one of the leading brands in smartphone photography, so you would expect some of that to trickle down to the 7X.

Our full review of the Honor 7X goes into detail with its camera capabilities, but a large part of being able to take good photos is knowing how to operate your camera, so we’ve broken down every nuance of the Honor 7X’s camera software.

What each camera mode can do

Swipe right from the camera viewfinder to open the Honor 7X’s long list of camera modes. It’s intimidating at first, but once you figure out what each mode is good for it becomes a lot easier to navigate. You can choose from the following options:

Photo: This is the default shooting mode, and just like on every other phone it’s the mode you’ll probably stay in most of the time. It automatically handles settings like exposure and ISO for you, but of course, you can adjust focus by tapping on the screen. After tapping, you can also manually set exposure by dragging the sun icon up or down.

Pro photo: This is where you gain access to much more granular controls over your camera. From here, you can adjust ISO, ranging from ISO 50 to ISO 1600; adjust shutter speed, from 1/4000 of a second to 8-second exposures; adjust exposure value, from -4 to +4; choose between manual focus, auto-focus servo, or auto-focus continuous; and adjust white balance, with a number of presets or the option to choose between 2800K and 7000K.

Video: This one’s pretty obvious — use this mode if you want to shoot video. You don’t get much control here, other than toggling flash and beauty modes or switching cameras. Just tap the shutter button to start recording, and tap again to stop.

Pro video: If you do want some control over your videos, jump into Pro Video mode. It’s still not as in-depth as something like the LG V30, but you get the same controls over focus, white balance, and exposure as in Pro Photo mode, as well as the ability to choose between single-, center-, and matrix-metering.

HDR: High dynamic range photos are all the rage these days. You know how sometimes when you’re shooting in auto mode, the sky will blow out or you’ll lose the darker parts of the shot in a blob of noise? HDR aims to alleviate that a bit, and as long as you have a steady hand you should be able to bring back some of those shadows and highlights.

From left to right: Filters, Panorama, Light Painting

Panorama: As soon as you jump into panorama mode, a narrow strip appears on the screen with a smaller preview of your viewfinder and an arrow pointing right. Once you tap the shutter button, slowly move your camera from left to right until you’ve filled the entire strip, after which the camera will begin stitching together the images you’ve captured and create an elongated panoramic photo.

Light painting: This mode makes use of long exposure captures to create interesting artistic effects. Once you enter light painting mode, you’ll be given four options — tail light trails, light graffiti, silky water, and star track. Each of these effects works best in low light, and you’ll want to either use a tripod or prop the Honor 7X against a wall, as even the slightest movement can ruin a shot.

Time-lapse: You’ve probably seen a time lapse before if you’ve ever watched a video from Casey Neistat or other filmmakers. They’re those sped-up shots that usually keep the camera in one spot to draw attention to the objects in motion; cars, planes, clouds, etc. They’re easy to capture on the Honor 7X, just tap the shutter button to start recording and tap again when you’re done. The camera will automatically create a time lapse out of your footage — easy as that!

Slow-mo: If you’d rather slow things down than speed them up, try taking a video in slow-mo. Once you’ve got some footage, jump into the gallery. It’ll play back at normal speed at first, but you can adjust the in and out points for the video to slow down and really fine-tune that dramatic effect.

Woof. This bites.

Filter: These filters are a lot like the ones on Instagram. You can choose from Mono, Impact, ND, Valencia, Blue, Halo, Nostalgia, and Dawn, and there’s an intensity level adjustment from 1 to 32 with each filter.

Effects: Ever wish you could use Snapchat’s face effects outside of the app, but only with the rear camera…? Yeah, this probably isn’t for everyone, but if you want to snap a quick silly photo of your friend with cat ears or … well, mostly just different cat ear effects, here’s where you do it.

Watermark: Again, this one is a lot like what Snapchat and Instagram Stories have been doing for a while. There are some contextual stickers that make use of your current location, as well as the date, time, and weather, or if you prefer there are some more general-use stickers as well.

Audio note: This is an interesting mode that lets you record up to 10 seconds of audio to attach to a photo. Maybe you want to record a voiceover, or you’re at a concert and you want to remember what the band was playing when you took a photo. Whatever the case, just take a photo and the shutter button will turn into a microphone. After your 10 seconds are up, you’ll see a speaker icon in the upper-right corner when viewing that photo in the gallery.

Document scan: This mode is especially useful if you need to keep track of receipts or handwritten notes. The camera starts searching for anything that looks like a document, and highlights what it finds with a blue border. Once you take a photo, it’ll take a moment to process the image and then crop it into a clean, flat image.

More: If all of these different shooting modes somehow aren’t enough for you … well, you can download even more, though for now the list of extras is limited to Good Food mode, which saturates photos a bit more for a punchier look.

Tips and tricks for the Honor 7X camera

Use the assistive grid

One of the first things almost every photographer learns to use is the assistive grid. You’ve probably heard of the “rule of thirds” before, which helps you figure out how to frame your shots. You can choose from the typical rule of thirds grid, the phi grid that helps you find the “golden ratio,” or even a Fibonacci spiral. Which one you use will depend on the shooting situation and your personal preference, but it’s great to see a camera app with more than one grid option available.

Enable Ultra Snapshot

There are few things more frustrating than missing a shot because you weren’t able to get into your camera fast enough. Ultra Snapshot helps with that by quickly launching your camera by double-tapping the volume down button while your screen is off. You’re even able to take it a step further by enabling it to take a photo automatically after launching, which is actually the default setting. Sure, it can be annoying when you don’t want to take a photo right away, but it’s always better to have too many photos and delete some later than to miss your shot completely.

The Honor 7X’s camera settings.

Take wide aperture photos

One of the best parts of a dedicated DSLR or mirrorless camera is the shallow depth of field that having a wide aperture lens allows you. This can create a more dramatic effect in your photos, and help the subject really pop out as the only object in focus. The Honor 7X attempts to mirror that effect with its dual cameras, widening all the way to f/0.95 to achieve a razor-thin focal plane.

Try out portrait mode

Yep, even $200 phones have portrait mode now. Just tap the portrait mode icon at the top of the viewfinder, and the next time you take a picture of a person, the background behind them will blur and some beautification will be applied to the subject’s face. If you’d rather tone some of this down, you can disable the bokeh (background blur) effect or reduce the beautification.

Have fun with moving pictures

You can tap the icon second from the right at the top of the camera app to enable moving pictures, which essentially take short video clips that attach to your photos. While browsing through the gallery, you’ll just see a typical photo, but the same icon you tapped to enable the feature will be in the upper-right corner. Tap it and the video will play, audio and all, then go back to the original photo. It’s a little clumsy, and it’s obviously intended to copy Apple’s Live Photos feature, but it’s still fun from time to time.

Use your fingerprint scanner to take photos

This feature may not be immediately obvious, since the toggle for it isn’t actually in the camera app at all, but if you’re ever holding your phone in a way that makes it difficult to reach the shutter button, it may be easier to reach the fingerprint scanner to capture a photo instead. From the Settings app, make your way over to Fingerprint ID, then just enable Take photo/video under the Touch and Hold Gesture tab. Something important to note is that since this doesn’t use your fingerprint, you aren’t limited to only using fingers recognized by the scanner; any of your fingers, or even your friends’ fingers, will work just fine.

Need more guidance?

Did we miss anything? If you’re still having trouble with the camera app, ask away in the comments below — we’ll be around to answer any questions.

Portal Knights console game now available on Android for $4.99

Portal Knights brings big screen RPG action right to your phone.

Gaming on Android has come a long, long way over the years, and a prime example of this is the new release of Portal Knights. Developed by 505 Games, Portal Knights is an action RPG with a large 3D sandbox, 4-person local multiplayer, and a lot more.

If the game sounds familiar to you, that’s because Portal Knights was first released onto Steam Early Access for PC in February of 2016. Portal Knights then made its way to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in May and was then followed up by a release on the Nintendo Switch in November.

You’ll certainly notice a downgrade in graphical performance on the Android port compared to its console counterparts, but all the main gameplay components are still here. You can travel back and forth between randomly generated worlds, battle enemies and large bosses, take part in random events, mine resources, and build a custom home for your character.

Portal Knights will only work on Android 6.0 or later, and in order for the game to load and run larger maps, you’ll want to make sure you’re using a device with at least 2GB of RAM.

Portal Knights is available on the Google Play Store now for $4.99.

HQ Trivia is coming to Android just in time for Christmas

Best music player apps for Android

Get the best music experience on your Android phone or tablet with these great apps

Over the years music fans have gradually changed how they listen to their music, and what they listen to it on. With the rise of the smartphone, it’s only natural that now the one device we carry with us everywhere is also our primary media player. On Android, we’re also fortunate that there’s a huge community of developers that create apps that can better the experience we’re provided by the folks who made our phones.

The Google Play Store has many music-related apps to choose from, but some do stand out from the crowd. It’d be impossible to look at all of them, so here we’ve chosen some that we think are some of the best there is. Let’s take a look.

DoubleTwist Cloudplayer

We’ve talked about DoubleTwist a lot around these parts and with good reason. DoubleTwist became a favorite of Android users that had deep roots in the iTunes ecosystem and still is. The base app has been replaced on this list by Cloudplayer, a newer offering that looks great and has hooks into some of the most popular cloud storage services to deliver your music.

We’re not talking about hooking into streaming services, either. Create your own cloud streaming library with your own music, a Dropbox, OneDrive or Google Drive account, and DoubleTwist Cloudplayer. Access to these is unlockable via an in-app purchase, but the basic app is free. And the basic app will also play your lossless FLAC files.

That in-app purchase also unlocks AirPlay support and the equalizer tools to help you get the most from your music. And like the older app, you can still use it to listen to radio and podcasts, too, as well as now having support for both Android Wear and Android Auto. A pretty well stocked one stop shop for all your audio needs.

Find DoubleTwist on Google Play

Google Play Music

Not just a music player, but we have to include Google Play Music. While it doesn’t have the deep customization or power features of something like Poweramp, it offers what many others do not; that huge cloud library for your own music. After all, without the music to listen too, what good is a killer music player?

That’s not to say Google Play Music isn’t a good music player, because it is. Being a Google product it integrates perfectly with your device – including the sweet lock screen artwork. But the real value is in that cloud storage. It means you can take your music collection with you on whichever Android and iOS device you own. Sure, you need to offline some of that from time-to-time, but it’s always with you.

Google also has its own store and streaming service built into the same app making it a superb one stop shop for all your musical needs. What it lacks in features compared to others it makes up for the inconvenience.

Check out Google Play Music for yourself!

Shuttle Music Player

Shuttle is perhaps one you’ve not heard of before, but one that’s definitely worth your attention. Unlike a heavy duty app with has tons of settings and customizations, Shuffle offers a portion of that with a much more lightweight look and feel.

It comes with a sleep timer, gapless playback, a choice of a few different themes, built-in equalizer and much more. And for the Materiyolo kids out there, it’s pretty much perfect in how it looks. It comes in free and paid versions, but with the paid version just $0.99, it also represents fantastic value for money.

Grab Shuttle from Google Play

Amazon Music

Google isn’t the only provider on Android offering an all-in-one store, cloud and player solution. Amazon has its own thing going on and combines its Prime Music streaming service with its music store and a decent looking music player all in one. If you’re a Prime subscriber in selected markets you’ll have Prime Music and so you’ll need this on your phone. Amazon also offers you a cloud locker, much like Google, to access music you already own on any of your devices, and the app will play anything you have stored locally.

It doesn’t offer some of the techy stuff that audio nerds will find in some other apps on this list but it does give you lyrics. Sing along while you’re on the bus to work!

Take a closer look at Amazon Prime Music

GoneMAD Music Player

GoneMAD boasts over 250 customizations, so needless to say we’re not going to talk about them all, here. Add to this over 1000 themes and what you’ve got is a music app that really can be tailored to suit your own personal tastes. On the techy front it boasts gapless playback, support for a whole bunch of formats including lossless audio, smart playlists, an equalizer, multi-window and much, much more. You can even go back to the old UI if you don’t like how it looks right now.

The app is free to download for 14-days and after that, if you like it and want to keep using it, you’ll need to buy the full version. And you might just want to do that.

Check out GoneMAD on Google Play

Rocket Music Player

Rocket is another hugely popular music player for Android with a bunch of good reasons to choose it. You’ve got a stylish minimalism mixed with a 5-band equalizer, folders support, Chromecast, video and podcasts and much much more.

That’s just in the free app. If you upgrade to Premium you also get a bunch of different themes, support for lossless audio, a 10-band equalizer and a whole bundle of other features to perfect your audio experience.

Grab Rocket Music on Google Play

Pulsar

Not everyone has the budget to pay for a monthly subscription to get access to a decent music player, which is why Pulsar makes our list. Absolutely free, this pared down, Material Design app aims to get you to your music without any hassle involved.

Pulsar is absolutely free and even better, free of all advertisements. It doesn’t offer many in-depth features but does include a pretty solid equalizer. It automatically syncs missing album artwork, has a home screen widget, Chromecast and Android Auto support, and access to Last.fm for playing the radio if that’s your gig.

Find Pulsar on Google Play

Apple Music

An entire generation grew up depending on Apple for their Music needs thanks to iTunes. While you may not have a lime green iPod anymore, you can still access your library from your Android phone with Aplle Music.

Your subscription will give you access to streaming music services, but your Library will still hold all the music you already know and love. You can purchase and download music right to your phone, edit which items show up in your library when you open it, and you can add music to your Library if you listen to them while music is streaming.

For anyone who has already bought into the iTunes ecosystem, this is a great option to keep everything nice and streamlined. And for $9.99/month after the free trial, the streaming features are highly competitive.

Check out Apple Music on Google Play

Your picks?

There are plenty of great music players available for Android, but these are our picks for the best of the best. Do you have a suggestion that should have made this list? Is your favorite player here? Let us know about it in the comments below!

Updated December 2017: We’ve updated this post with new music player apps that are awesome on Android.

IKEA and Sonos are collaborating on a new range of products

Whether it’s turning the heating on via a smartphone app or charging said smartphone by simply flinging it onto a table, home automation has a lot of appeal — it’s convenient, fun to play with and makes it a lot easier to be lazy. The main barriers to take-up, however, have been price and accessibility. Gear can be expensive and sometimes complicated. But furniture retailer IKEA — arguably the antithesis of cost and complexity — has slowly been bringing home automation to the masses with its Home Smart range, and is now turning its attention to sound products, in collaboration with Sonos.

The retailer, which introduced wireless charging products in 2015 and smart lighting in 2016, says it recognizes the important role played by music in the home, and wants to “democratize” music by making it even easier for people to play any song, anywhere in the home, without interrupting the flow of daily life. Although exactly how this will be done is yet to be seen. Bjorn Block, IKEA Home Smart business leader says they want to “combine IKEA home furnishing knowledge with Sonos’ expertise” so the outcome could be standalone items, or technology integrated into existing furniture. We’ll find out in 2019, when the range hits stores.

Source: Ikea

Girl Scouts launches computer science program to encourage STEM careers

Back in 2012, the Girl Scouts Research Institute conducted a survey, called the Generation STEM report, in which they discovered that 74 percent of teen girls are interested in STEM. However, that fades through middle and high school, in large part because their exposure to STEM isn’t in a way that informs or supports their career decisions. Now, the Girl Scouts is launching its first computer science program, aimed at girls in grades 6–12. It’s sponsored by defense contractor Raytheon.

The goal of this program is to encourage girls to consider and pursue careers in fields such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics and data science. By educating girls in these topics, the thinking goes, they may have more confidence to pursue theses fields later in life. This first phase of this program will function as a pilot in select cities early next year. It’s planned to be fully implemented across the country in the fall of 2018.

The Girl Scouts and Raytheon are also introducing the Cyber Challenge, where girls in the computer science program will team up to show off their coding skills. The pilot of that program will happen in 2019.

This is just another chapter in a history of the Girl Scouts promoting and supporting STEM among their members. Last year, the organization teamed up with Netflix to get kids more interested in STEM. And in 2017, the Girl Scouts introduced badges in cybersecurity, robotics and computer science.