Amazon is blowing out prices on the original Surface Book, starts at $790

If you just love Microsoft’s innovative notebook-first 2-in-1, the Surface Book, then you’re probably eyeing the newest member. The Surface Book 2 ups the performance in a big way, while also upping the machine itself with a new 15-inch model. However, as with the original, the Surface Book 2’s pricing is also up — in the stratosphere, that is. Which is what makes Amazon’s blow-out prices on the original model so attractive.

The discounts start with the entry-level Surface Book, at $790 for a Core i5-6300U CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 128GB solid-state drive (SSD), and integrated Intel HD 520 graphics that is down 47 percent from the original $1,500 retail price. Other options include:

• Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, integrated graphics: $945
• Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, discrete Nvidia GPU (Microsoft’s custom version of the GeForce 940M): $970
• Core i7-6600U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, discrete graphics: $1,150
• Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, integrated graphics: $1,625
• Core i7, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, discrete graphics: $2,719

We liked the original Surface Book quite a bit, noting its good performance and great battery life. Of course, Surface displays are also excellent and the original model uses the same panel as the current Surface Book 2. That means you get outstanding brightness and contrast, solid color gamut support, and touch and Surface Pen support.

If your wallet is a little fatter, then you can always consider the Surface Book 2. That machine brings the line up to speed with up to the latest Intel eighth-generation quad-core Core processors, a choice of Nvidia GTX 105o or 1060 GPUs, and a number of other enhancements. But the pricing also starts at $1,500 for the 13-inch model with a seventh-generation Intel Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD, and ramps up to $3,200 for the 15-inch model with the eighth-gen Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD.

You’re giving up some power by going with the earlier model, but such things are relative. The original Surface Book will run today’s productivity apps just fine, while providing the same hybrid detachable tablet and clamshell notebook experience. And, unlike the Surface Book 2, a Surface Pen is included.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Is the Surface Book 2 a worthy sequel to the original? Here’s how it compares
• Battle of the 15-inch 2-in-1s: HP Spectre x360 vs. Microsoft Surface Book 2
• Microsoft Surface Book 2 15-inch Review
• Microsoft takes on Apple’s prestige: Surface Book 2 15-inch vs. MacBook Pro 15
• Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) review

LastPass fixes fingerprint security flaw in its Authenticator app

Password manager LastPass has an extra layer of protection for its Authenticator app, in the form of a fingerprint and/or PIN that ostensibly keeps people out of your passwords if they find your phone unlocked. Last week, a developer posted that he’d been able to bypass this security feature on the Android version of the app. As of right now, though, LastPass users can download an update to the app that fixes the issue and adds a one-time code when the fingerprint/PIN feature is first enabled.

This isn’t the first time LastPass has had to fix critical security flaws. In March of this year, the company had to fix some server-side issues and update its extensions. If you use LastPass on Android now, though, you’ll want to update your app to the latest version. If your phone was stolen or lost and you need to re-enable the multi-factor authentication feature, LastPass has a list of recommended steps.

Ultimately, this exploit helped clue the company in that its response process needs an overhaul, as well. The original developer was unable to successfully notify the company about the exploit, which is why he used Medium. LastPass has since revamped its procedures for reporting issues like this. “At LastPass, investigating and responding to security reports – and customer concerns in general – is our highest priority and we strive to always improve our internal processes,” said the company in a statement.

Source: LastPass, Google Play

NASA lends a hand to new American Girl doll with Mars aspirations

While the American Girl brand is well-known for teaching the past through dolls with fictional ties to important events, its latest aims to inspire youths to make history themselves. On the first day of 2018, the next American Girl will hit stores: 11-year-old Luciana Vega, who aspires to be the first person to reach Mars.

American Girl worked with NASA and a panel of scientists and astronauts to make Luciana’s story (and gear, like a Mars habitat and flight suit) as realistic as possible. They also contributed to an accompanying STEM-based educational program providing space simulations and quizzes in an American Girl app and educational website. The company is also partnering with Space Camp to provide a Luciana-themed program, which launches next summer.

“It is so important to find exciting new ways to inspire our next generation of space explorers,” Megan McArthur, NASA astronaut who serves on the project’s advisory board, said in a NASA blog post. “I always want to encourage girls and boys to pursue their dreams, no matter how big, and I think it helps to show how those dreams can become reality for any kid.”

To celebrate the doll’s release, American Girl is hosting launch events on January 1st at its retail locations featuring science demonstrations, spacecraft and some swag for the kids to take home. Lest you think American Girl’s doll dreaming of a future in the stars is out of left field, space-aspiring heroine toys have been on the rise. Lego released a much-anticipated set with a quartet of famous astronauts and scientists (including Sally Ride and Mae Jemison) earlier this year, but Barbie added Mars Explorer to its line of career options way back in 2013.

Source: NASA

FCC extends waiver for video game accessibility for the last time

The idea behind 2010’s 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) is to make sure that federal accessibility laws created in the ’80s and ’90s were updated to include new digital and communications technologies. The part of the Act pertaining to video games and advanced communications services (think gaming chat and the user interfaces around gamer communications) has been given a year’s waiver. As reported by Gamasutra, this is the third and final time games will be exempted from accessibility requirements. The new deadline is set for January 1st, 2019.

FCC grants games industry a final waiver, legal compliance date for in-game communication functionality (and means to navigate to & operate it) to be accessible to gamers with disabilities now set for one year’s time: games released on or after January 1st 2019 #gamedev #indiedev pic.twitter.com/AfzHQMHxLS

— Ian Hamilton (@ianhamilton_) December 27, 2017

The first multi-year waiver in 2012 was for “consoles, distribution platforms and software,” but the second one-year waiver was defined more narrowly for video game software only, and will expire on December 31st of this year. According to the FCC document itself, the Electronic Software Association (ESA) asked for the extension on behalf of its member developers. The FCC notes that while advocacy groups and commenters on the matter want accessibility in video game software, no one has actively opposed the extension itself.

The FCC says that it decided to grant the waiver for three reasons. One, video games are sufficiently similar in this regard to communications that they can be considered as a class unto themselves. Two, games are primarily made for the purpose of gameplay itself, not communications. Finally, the FCC allows that extending the waiver so that developers can find ways to make them more accessible is in the public interest. In addition, the FCC realizes that accessibility is already becoming ubiquitous, like with the text-to-speech capabilities built into Microsoft’s development kit and the accessibility features inherent in Nintendo’s smartphone companion app for Splatoon.

Via: Gamasutra

Source: FCC

Netflix’s ‘Bright’ nabs 11 million viewers in its first three days

It turns out betting on Will Smith paid off for Netflix. The company’s first blockbuster film, Bright, garnered 11 million streaming viewers in the U.S. over its first three days, according to Nielsen figures reported by Variety. To put that in perspective, Nielsen found that 15.8 million people watched Stranger Things 2 over the same period of time, and The Crown’s second season premiere saw three million viewers.

While Bright was widely reviled by critics, Netflix has reportedly already greenlit a sequel. As I argued yesterday, the hype behind the film matters more to the company than its quality. (Notably, Bright’s Rotten Tomatoe’s score now sits at 26 percent, while its audience score is a rosy 89 percent.)

Since these figures don’t come directly from Netflix (which doesn’t release any streaming stats), they may not be entirely accurate. Nielsen’s tracking methodology doesn’t include mobile gadgets and computers — it’s solely tracking what people are viewing on TVs. And of course, it’s only limited to U.S. viewers for now. For now though, Nielsen’s stats are a useful way to compare how audiences are responding to Netflix’s offerings.

The big takeaway? Netflix likely knew that its viewers would respond well to Bright well before its debut. That would explain why it was so quick to order a sequel. Unfortunately, the company likely won’t ever open up about the metrics that guides those decisions. We can expect to see more big bets from Netflix next year, though, as the company plans to spend $8 billion on original films and shows.

Via: Variety

Apple to Offer $29 iPhone Battery Replacements, More Battery Health Info in iOS

Apple this afternoon addressed customer concerns about an ongoing controversy over power management features in older iPhones, pledging to introduce more detailed information about battery health and reducing the price of battery replacements for all of 2018.

In a letter explaining its policies, Apple apologizes for the misinformation that’s been spread and says that it would never “intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades.”

At issue is a power management feature that was initially introduced in iOS 10.2.1 in the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6s, which was implemented to prevent unexpected shutdowns due to high power draw peaks. Apple’s lack of clarity about the feature has led to a number of lawsuits being filed in recent days claiming that Apple is purposefully slowing down older iPhones.

Apple explains the situation and the aging of batteries both in the letter and in a new support document.

A chemically aged battery also becomes less capable of delivering peak energy loads, especially in a low state of charge, which may result in a device unexpectedly shutting itself down in some situations.

To help customers learn more about iPhone’s rechargeable battery and the factors affecting its performance, we’ve posted a new support article, iPhone Battery and Performance.

It should go without saying that we think sudden, unexpected shutdowns are unacceptable. We don’t want any of our users to lose a call, miss taking a picture or have any other part of their iPhone experience interrupted if we can avoid it.

These power management features are implemented in the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, and iPhone 7 Plus, and will be added to future iPhones as required. They kick in when the battery begins to degrade and can be fixed with a new battery.

Apple says it began to receive feedback this fall from customers who were seeing slower speeds, which it initially thought might be due to software updates and minor bugs in iOS 11, but it now believes the continued chemical aging of the batteries in older devices is at fault.

To allay customer concerns and address recent customer feedback, Apple says it will implement several changes.

– The price for out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacements is being dropped from $79 to $29, starting in late January and lasting through December 2018. Apple plans to provide more information on the price drop in the near future, but it will apply to anyone with an iPhone 6 or later whose battery needs to be replaced.

– In early 2018, an iOS update will introduce new features to give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone’s battery, so they can clearly see whether the state of the battery is affecting performance.

Apple says its team is also always working on ways to make the user experience better, including how performance is managed to avoid unexpected shutdowns as batteries age.
Discuss this article in our forums

Relive your top Snapchats of the year with a Story for all of 2017

Self-deleting 24 hour Stories not enough? Snapchat will now let you create a Story just for 2017.  The feature allows users to create a Stories-like reel of their top public Snaps from the year.

While Facebook creates a video of the top memories, Snapchat’s variation of the tool more closely resembles Snapchat Stories. Accessible by clicking the Memories and looking in the “all” tab, the feature called “Your 2017 Story” puts those images into a Stories-like reel. Users have the option to edit what photos are included, and can then share the 2017 Stories inside their own Stories for the day or send to a friend.

The tool doesn’t resurrect those self-deleting Stories, but rather takes shots that were saved inside Snapchat over the past year.

Creating a tool to look back at the year isn’t something new — Facebook has done this for several years and now even does holiday memories and looks back at the end of the month. Snapchat’s variation will look familiar to anyone that has used the platform before since the tool just turns those shots into the Stories format for sharing.

The feature comes shortly after Snapchat launched a major redesign aiming to make the platform easier to use while also separating out actual friends from public accounts you follow.

For Snap Inc., its own 2017 Story might include a list of the updates the platform launched this year. Computer vision now helps users find appropriate filters faster, the search tool was simplified and Snaps no longer need to be sent with a time limit. A new computer program also makes it possible to DIY your own augmented reality world lenses.

2017 wasn’t all positives for the platform, however. While the move to the New York Stock Exchange got off to an impressive start, the latest results weren’t so stellar, prompting the program to launch that redesign. The company’s Spectacles also reportedly had large numbers of unsold glasses. The company is currently working to try to attract more users, with the latest official count hitting 178 million in November. Another focus for the company is on augmented reality as the company works to expand that puppy dog face mask to more uses, including sponsored lenses.

Editors’ Recommendations

• YouTube joins the party by launching its own version of Snapchat Stories
• Snapchat’s risky redesign could debut in early December, anonymous source says
• Could Snapchat finally get a web browser version? Leak suggests the possibility
• Sponsored Snapchat World Lenses bring brand characters to augmented reality
• DIY your own Snapchat World Lenses with new (and free) Lens Studio

Samsung’s Notebook 9’s S Pen challenges Google and Apple, sans batteries

Samsung already offers credible competition for Google’s Pixelbook in the Chromebook space, and now with its new Notebook 9 and included S Pen, it’s gunning for its Pen too. With 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt support, Samsung’s offering is already fully featured, but ditching the need for a battery could help it stand out from the crowd.

Although Steve Jobs famously decried the humble stylus on modern touch devices, the use of a digital pen or pencil for artistic and calligraphic input has made quite a comeback in recent years. Apple’s own Pencil and Google’s Pen are two standouts, but just as Samsung has provided credible competition for such tech giants in a variety of sectors, its new Notebook 9 Pen with included S Pen could do much the same in that input market.

The Notebook 9 is a refresh of previous models, with three different versions likely to debut at next year’s CES show. One of them, however — the “Pen” version — will include the new S Pen stylus peripheral built right into the body, according to Hexus.

It has a 0.7mm fine tip, with 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity. In comparison, the Google Pixelbook Pen has 2,000 levels of sensitivity, which might mean Samsung’s is a more versatile tool for artists. Apple’s Pencil has an unspecified number of pressure levels, while Microsoft’s Surface Pen also offers 4,096.

Tilt support is also offered with the Samsung S Pen, a feature that was much hyped among other technology companies with stylus devices earlier this year. We’re also told that when you pull the S Pen out of its dedicated holster that the notebook will automatically launch the Air Command app, which gives you quick and easy access to S Pen specific apps and functions.

The feature that could help Samsung’s S Pen really stand out is that it doesn’t require an external battery. Google’s Pixelbook pen requires an AAAA battery to operate, which are pretty cheap and can also be found in similar products like Microsoft’s Surface Pen, though they’re not a common type.

Not having to worry about batteries running out without a replacement is a nice feature for those who like to use their digital pen on the go.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Is Google’s Pixelbook a worthy competitor to the Surface Pro?
• Google’s high-end Pixelbook packs a punch, and it starts at just $1,000
• The Pixelbook nearly doubles Samsung’s Chromebook Pro in price. Is it justified?
• Wacom’s new Pro Pen 3D looks to draw in artists and creative professionals
• Is the Surface Book 2 a worthy sequel to the original? Here’s how it compares

New disease-finding electronic nose sniffs poop so scientists don’t have to

Your physician may soon have an impressive new technology for quickly and non-invasively diagnosing colon-related illnesses, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The secret? Using an electronic nose to sniff your stool.

Researchers from the Gandia campus of the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the La Fe Health Investigation Institute in Spain have developed a prototype of this electronic nose, called Moosy 32 eNose, which is able to tell whether either of these two diseases is active with almost 90 percent accuracy. Unlike the invasive tests used to diagnose colon-related illnesses today, the eNose can offer answers within just three minutes.

The Moosy 32 eNose is comprised of a special sensor designed by the researchers, which is able to detect specific volatile organic compounds that act as diagnostic markers. In addition, they can be used to reveal the severity of a disease. An algorithm is then employed to turn the registering of specific whiffs into diagnoses.

“Volatile organic compounds are created by physiological processes of human metabolism and are expelled as waste through feces,” Dr. Pilar Nos, head of the Digestive System Medicine Department at La Fe hospital, said in a statement. “The concentration of these components can be a differentiating marker between certain bowel diseases, and their accurate detection by way of non-invasive devices such as the electronic nose would be a great step forward for the detection and monitoring of the evolution of these diseases.”

At present, the researchers have completed tests involving 445 different samples. However, there is still work to be done in improving the algorithm’s detection ability. The investigators behind the project also want to expand the number of “scents” the system is able to register to additionally include diagnosing prostate cancer — or even potentially detecting microbial contamination in water or the ripeness of fruit.

This isn’t the first time we’ve covered “electronic nose” devices which could be used to sniff out problems. Last year, Digital Trends wrote about a similar project in which Belgian scientists developed a method for detecting extremely low concentrations of chemicals like pesticides and nerve gas — even if it was the equivalent of a single drop of water in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Editors’ Recommendations

• A language for legumes: Can the Internet of Food help us know what we eat?
• These are the top 40 games we’re looking forward to in 2018
• Don’t get deflated! Here’s how to check your tire pressure
• The ultimate Halloween cocktails list for getting your boo-ze on
• Kirio creates smart homes from scratch, and they learn as you live

What is bitcoin? Here’s what you need to know about it

Bitcoin. It’s a word that was once merely discussed as an academic idea among technology enthusiasts, then became a hushed mention among law enforcement tackling online drug trades — and most recently it’s the latest craze for those looking to make a quick buck. But what is bitcoin? Why are people so interested in it?

People buy bitcoin for all sorts of different reasons. It’s a store of value, a transactional medium, and an idea that some claim could change the future of economics entirely.

Most notably, it’s not a real, physical thing, but an entirely digital entity (no matter what the header image may suggest) with no middle-man controlling its use. To put it simply, bitcoin is a cryptocurrency.

A crypto-what?

Jaap Arriens/Getty Images

A cryptocurrency, of which bitcoin was the first and still the foremost, is an entirely digital form of currency. Think of it like the way you operate your online bank account or use credit-cards. You never have to physically have that money to own it or use it. The same is true with bitcoin — it’s just numbers in a wallet — but you can do a lot with them.

Bitcoin sits atop the public ledger that is blockchain technology, and is gradually created by a practice called “mining.” Although the specifics of mining go beyond the scope of this article, in effect, powerful computers run incredibly complicated mathematical formulas to provide the verification for bitcoin transactions, and at the same time create new bitcoins. The difficulty of this formula creates scarcity.

There’s also a hard limit on how much can ever be produced — 21 million bitcoins, to be specific. While we’re a long way to that happening, that limit makes bitcoin quite different from the dollars and pounds we are so used to. Many successors to bitcoin have decided not to use a hard-coded limit, so this trait is somewhat unique.

Independent, for better and for worse

Bitcoin differs from traditional currencies, like the U.S. dollar or British pound, in an important way — it isn’t backed by any central organization, or a physical item, like gold.

The value of a single bitcoin is based entirely on what people consider it to be worth. Much of that is related to what you can use it for and the quantity of product or service you receive in return. Of course, money’s value has long been based largely on a perception of worth. That’s why economic panics can cause a run on a bank, or inflation can go out of control. Yet there’s always been some underlying guarantor — usually a government — offering the promise of stability.

Bitcoin doesn’t have that. It was created independent of any government, and remains independent. Its value is dictated entirely by the market for it. It has soared to incredible heights, but has also experienced huge price shocks, and there’s been many accusations of insider trading, price manipulation, and other dubious tactics. Governments have strict measures to prevent these problems in their currency — though they don’t always work — but bitcoin, being independent, can’t implement such checks.

Bitcoin as a transactional medium

Anthony WallaceAFP/Getty Images

One of the core purposes of bitcoin, from its original creation, was as a transactional medium. That is, it’s used in place of traditional currency. When stored in a digital wallet like Coinbase, it can be sent to another wallet anywhere in the world to pay for goods or services, and over the years it’s been used for just that.

For those who don’t have the time or computational resources to mine bitcoin themselves — today you would need to spend thousands on hardware to hope for even a modicum return on your investment — they can buy it. There are a number of ways to do so, but typically it involves sending an amount of traditional currency to a person who owns bitcoin, who in turn sends the relevant amount of currency to your wallet.

One of the most highly publicized ways bitcoin has been used for transactions over the years has been for darknet drug sales. Thanks to the anonymous nature of the cryptocurrency, it’s been utilized to pay for illicit substances and other items over Tor-accessible websites like the infamous Silkroad. It’s also facilitated the rise in ransomware.

That’s not to say that bitcoin is used exclusively for illicit transactions, though. Indeed, it can also be used to give to charities, pay for gift cards, pizzas and airline travel, and it’s even found usage as a day-to-day way of paying for goods in countries with terribly collapsed or inflated currencies of their own.

Although there is much confidence among evangelists that these problems will be sorted, it may take some time and could mean that for the foreseeable future, bitcoin’s main purpose is instead as a store of value. That, of course, is where the comparison to gold comes from.

Bitcoin as a store of value

Vyacheslav Prokofyev/TASS/Getty Images

Back when bitcoin was first created, individual ‘coins’ had no intrinsic value. What they were worth was negotiated, with one person once offering 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas. Over time, though, as more uses for the currency have been created and it’s grown more popular, bitcoin’s value has risen in turn. While a single bitcoin was worth pennies in 2010, today it’s worth more than $13,000, having peaked at more than $19,000 at the end of 2017.

For this reason, over the past few years and most notably in 2017, people have begun to see bitcoin as a store of value. Although extremely volatile compared to more typical systems like stocks, shares, or gold, bitcoin has become a popular way for people to invest their money and for some, it’s paid dividends. Those who purchased bitcoin at the start of the year saw a near 20-fold return on their investment throughout it, leading some to suggest that bitcoin could be worth seven figures by 2020.

It is important to note that this extreme optimism has given rise to a lot of uninformed investment in what is still a relatively unproven digital medium. It is far closer to gambling in terms of its potential for financial gain and loss, and there have been many sad stories of people losing huge sums during big downturns in the currency’s value.

The lasting legacy

There are many people who have a lot to say about bitcoin, both bad and good. Some see it as a way to make a quick buck as it jumps up and down in value, while others see it as an entirely new economic model. It’s also possible that bitcoin itself, as impactful as it has been, will be most successful as the progenitor of underlying technologies like the blockchain and newer alt-coins like Ethereum.

The future of bitcoin is far from guaranteed, but its impact on the world of finances, online transactions, and on many people’s bank balances, cannot be denied. It’s been a force for good, for bad, and everything in between — and it will be well remembered, even if it doesn’t reach the heady heights that so many predict.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Ethereum vs. bitcoin: What’s the difference?
• Bitcoin is still soaring. What’s the limit?
• What is a blockchain? Here’s everything you need to know
• A language for legumes: Can the Internet of Food help us know what we eat?
• What does refurbished mean? What to buy refurbished, how to buy, and where