Facebook’s ‘ticker,’ aka creeper feed, is no more

Facebook has killed one of its oldest features, the “ticker,” that let you see at a glance what your friends were doing or sharing. First launched in 2011, it used to appear to the right of your news feed (on the web app) showing likes, comments and other friend activities. As TechCrunch noticed, Facebook’s help community had been posting about the ticker’s disappearance, when a verified employee chimed in to say that “this feature is no longer available.”

Facebook hasn’t explained exactly why it chopped the ticker, though we’ve reached out for comment. The social network is generally ruthless with features that don’t increase user engagement, and by extension, ad revenue.

It’s hard to remember now, but Facebook’s feeds used to display posts in chronological order, much like Twitter (mostly) still does. The algorithmic feed, launched in 2011 eliminated date-ordered posts, surfacing what it thinks is more relevant information, instead. Facebook-owned Instagram made the same change early last year.

The ticker was introduced along with the algorithmic feed, so that you could still monitor your friends’ activities in real time. Though often called the “creeper” feed, it didn’t really do anything that the news feed didn’t before.

The algorithmic feed is ostensibly good for users, but like any algorithm, it can be gamed. That has become especially apparent with Facebook over the 18 months, when Russian operators bought ads in an attempt to influence US election results. They correctly surmised that discord increases engagement, and paid for posts that played social factions off against each other. As a result, at least 126 million Americans were exposed to articles that likely influenced election results to some degree.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Facebook

Google’s high-quality Home Max speaker goes on sale for $399

Google launched its high-quality Home Max speaker with Google Assistant in October, and the last we heard (via a Best Buy leak), it was set to arrive on December 11th. That date was spot on, it turns out, as the Home Max has indeed gone on sale at both Best Buy and Verizon. It’s still not up on Google’s own store (the “buy” button still says “join waitlist”), but it just seems like a matter of time now.

The Home Max speaker sports a pair of 4.5-inch high-excursion woofers and custom tweeters, putting it in the same class as serious audio products like the Sonos Play:5. We had a brief hands-on with it during the launch, under controlled conditions, and found it to be “extremely loud, well balanced and crystal clear, with well-defined bass.”

Google Home Max, as mentioned, costs $399 and comes in charcoal and white with both Chromecast and the voice-controlled Google Assistant. That’s $100 less than the Sonos Play:5, which doesn’t have either of those two features. Sonos did say that Google Assistant was coming to the Play:1 in 2018, but the company hasn’t said if it’ll come to any other products.

Source: Best Buy, Verizon

Verizon’s NFL streaming isn’t restricted to its own customers anymore

Verizon and the NFL signed a new $2 billion, five-year deal today. In it, Verizon traded its previous status as the exclusive US wireless carrier for NFL games for the exclusive rights to livestream games to any device, whether a cell phone, a computer or a streaming device attached to a TV. The new deal kicks off in January 2018, and brings the NFL playoffs fo Yahoo and Yahoo Sports.

The key here is that the in-market games (this doesn’t cover Sunday afternoon out-of-market games) are available to anyone, regardless of carrier or service provider. Verizon has the rights to stream these games through its Oath properties (such as Yahoo Sports), which apparently it sees as more valuable than restricting these games to its current, paying customers. Previously, Verizon’s deal with the NFL only covered mobile streaming.

This is a big shift in Verizon’s thinking. The company seems to be using the NFL deal as a traffic driver to sites such as Yahoo Sports. The agreement also covers access to NFL highlights and news throughout the year. Presumably, all of this will be available within the Yahoo Sports app.

Via: Variety

Source: Verizon

You Can Now Get an iPhone X Delivered in Just a Few Days

iPhone X shipping estimates continue to improve on Apple’s online store amid the busy holiday shopping season.

Apple’s flagship smartphone is now available for delivery within two to four business days on average in the United States, meaning that online orders placed today will arrive at your doorstep by Wednesday to Friday.

The improved timeframe applies to most AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and SIM-free iPhone X models, while T-Mobile variants are estimated for delivery by December 19, or roughly six business days from today.

The same two to four day delivery estimate is quoted in several other countries where the iPhone X is sold, including Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Elsewhere, December 19 is a common estimate.

iPhone X inventory continues to improve at Apple retail stores around the world as well, with pickup available today in many locations.

Shortly after iPhone X pre-orders began on October 27, shipping estimates for the device extended to 5-6 weeks around the world, but Apple has been able to improve supply earlier than some anticipated.

According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the improved iPhone X shipping estimates are due to better-than-expected improvements in production, rather than a lack of demand for the new device.

All in all, if you are looking to purchase an iPhone X in time for Christmas, there is still some time on your side. If you’re debating between buying an iPhone X, iPhone 8, or iPhone 8 Plus, read our comparison guide.

Related Roundup: iPhone XBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
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Apple’s Alleged Throttling of Older iPhones With Degraded Batteries Causes Controversy

A Reddit post over the weekend has drawn a flurry of interest after an iPhone 6s owner reported that a battery replacement significantly increased the device’s performance running iOS 11. The ensuing discussion thread, also picked up by readers in the MacRumors forum, has led to speculation that Apple intentionally slows down older phones to retain a full day’s charge if the battery has degraded over time.

According to TeckFire, the author of the original Reddit post, their iPhone had been very slow after updating to iOS 11, especially compared to their brother’s iPhone 6 Plus, so they decided to do some research with GeekBench and battery life apps, and ended up replacing the battery.

MacRumors’ Geekbench scores for iPhone 6s before and after battery drain

Wear level was somewhere around 20% on my old battery. I did a Geekbench score, and found I was getting 1466 Single and 2512 Multi. This did not change wether I had low power mode on or off. After changing my battery, I did another test to check if it was just a placebo. Nope. 2526 Single and 4456 Multi. From what I can tell, Apple slows down phones when their battery gets too low, so you can still have a full days charge.

Just over a year ago, Apple launched a repair program for iPhone 6s owners after some users reported their devices were unexpectedly shutting down. Apple said the problem was down to a manufacturing issue affecting a “very small” number of iPhone 6s devices, and offered battery replacements free of charge to owners of devices within a limited serial number range.

Around two months later, Apple released iOS 10.2.1 and said the update resulted in an 80 percent reduction in unexpected shutdowns on iPhone 6s and a 70 percent reduction on iPhone 6 devices. However, Apple explained this was about fixing a more widely reported issue caused by uneven power delivery from older batteries, and claimed it was separate from the manufacturing fault that had caused it to recall a select number of iPhone 6s devices.

This weekend’s Reddit thread – running to over 500 comments as of writing – appears to have kicked off a wave of speculation about whether the two shutdown issues are in fact related, and that Apple’s fix involves dynamically throttling the phones’ maximum clock speeds relative to battery output (voltage), to prevent them from drawing too much power and shutting down.

Reports that the performance of iPhone 6 series models can be improved by replacing the battery aren’t entirely new, but the suggestion that Apple is intentionally throttling the performance of older devices, for whatever reason, is bound to cause controversy. We’ve contact Apple for comment or clarification. In the meantime, users interested in checking their phone’s performance are also using the free CpuDasherX app to compare running clock speeds. Let us know your findings in the comments below. Lastly, it’s worth noting that DIY iPhone battery replacements or repairs performed by a third party will void any Apple warranty still covering said devices.

Related Roundup: iOS 11Buyer’s Guide: iPhone 8 (Buy Now)
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Apple Seeks to Block Shareholder Proposals on Environment and Human Rights Given Its Existing Focus on Those Issues

Apple is said to be “pushing back” on multiple shareholder proposals that deal with issues like Apple’s greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, and human rights, discovered in letters the Cupertino company sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission in November (via Reuters). At least four proposals were argued as relating to “ordinary business,” with Apple further stating that they are “not necessary” due to the company’s day-to-day focus on those issues.

Apple’s letters state that this means the proposals can be left off of the proxy it is expected to publish in early 2018, ahead of its annual shareholders meeting where these proposals would be heard. Apple says these are areas it “routinely reviews” and therefore they do not represent “significant policy issues” that it classifies as requiring a shareholder vote.

Still, some activists argue that the move by Apple “could sharply restrict investor rights,” with the company using a newly enacted guidance put in place by the SEC on November 1 in its attempt to block the proposals.

While companies routinely seek permission to skip shareholder proposals, Apple’s application of the new SEC guidance shows how it could be used to ignore many investor proposals by claiming boards routinely review those areas, said Sanford Lewis, a Massachusetts attorney representing Apple shareholders who had filed two of the resolutions.

Were the SEC to side with Apple, “this would be an incredibly dangerous precedent that would essentially say a great many proposals could be omitted,” Lewis said.

Apple’s letter is reported as specifically citing the new SEC guidance. Some of the four shareholder proposals include calls for Apple to establish a “human rights committee” that could focus on tackling topics like censorship within the company, as well as asking for further reporting by Apple on its ability to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and other environmental pledges.

Apple’s letters to the SEC offered details as to why the shareholder proposals and resolutions are unnecessary. This included references to recent updates in its 2017 Environmental Responsibility Report, where the company pledged to end mining and switch to 100 percent recycled material for its products.

In the case of the measure on greenhouse gas emissions, filed by Jantz Management of Boston, for instance, Apple argues it already has taken many steps to improve the sustainability of its operations such as switching to greener materials and helping suppliers use more renewable energy.

Apple’s 2017 shareholders meeting was held on February 28, with that date being confirmed on January 6, so we’ll likely know more about the 2018 meeting early in the new year.

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: reuters.com, SEC
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The Eve V crowdsourced tablet proves you really can design your own PC

When you boot the Eve Technology Eve V detachable tablet, you’re met with a splash screen that says, “Design by them us.”

The implication is that this is your tablet, made for you according, to your own specifications (or at least, someone like you). It’s a whimsical nod to the “crowdsourcing,” or “crowd development,” process that was used to create the Eve V’s design, and that has kept the machine in the technology news cycle since it was first conceived back in 2015.

The concept grew out of Eve Technology’s experience with its first product, the T1 tablet, and its buyer’s vocal ideas for how the machine could be better. That kicked off the embrace of crowdsourcing. Now that the Eve V has sold out its first flash sale in three hours, and units are shipping to early Indiegogo buyers, we can look back on the machine’s timeline to see how successful the crowdsourcing process is at giving buyers exactly what they wanted.

Bottom up, not top down

What, exactly, is this “crowdsourcing” concept? We asked Eve Technology’s CEO, Konstantinos Karatsevidis. He told Digital Trends it means, in essence, allowing people who are going to actually use a PC determine what it looks like, how it’s designed, and what components go into making it work. It’s not Microsoft, or Lenovo, or HP deciding what features users want based on some combination of research, corporate intuition, and profit objectives, but rather a democratic process aimed at delivering what users want, as expressed in an active community of more than 4,000 like-minded people.

That meant hosting hundreds of conversations at the Eve community site, opened in early 2016, where users made suggestions, commented on ideas, debated which features are more important, and decided which components should be selected to enable them. Votes were held, and the winners incorporated into the Eve V’s design.

Along the way, as Karatsevidis, puts it, “The biggest challenge is that we didn’t want to influence the discussion towards our own interests.” Eve Technology acted as a focus group moderator, helping the community accomplish its purpose, while working hard to avoid influence on the outcome.

The result is the Eve V, a device that our review found offers similar design and build quality to the industry standard, Microsoft’s Surface Pro, at a lower price. Most notably, the Eve V challenges the Surface Pro with a display that is just as bright, equal in contrast, and with wider and more accurate color support. It’s an impressive achievement for a niche 2-in-1 built in low volumes.

Breaking traditional models

Achieving quality with such unusual methodology wasn’t an easy task. In fact, Karatsevidis said, “If (at the beginning) we could have known everything, like how challenging the whole industry is, maybe we would have never started.” The display we lauded in our review represented one such challenge — the first version presented to Eve Technology by its partner original device manufacturer (ODM) was subpar.

Crowdsourcing is a democratic creative process conducted by a community of like-minded people.

That decision was a departure from Eve Technology’s strategy of selecting components, rather than letting the ODM make the decisions, which Karatsevidis said is the traditional model used by other PC makers. The ODM chose wrong, selecting a display that was competitive with the Surface Pro that was the benchmark at the time, but not superior to it. Eve Technology decided to delay the Eve V while they searched for a better alternative, finally settling on the display that so impressed us in our review.

The delay wasn’t without a cost. The Eve V is shipping after the introduction of the newest Surface Pro, which upped the detachable tablet game. In particular, the new Surface Pen technology built into the latest Surface machines offers features and functionality — 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt — that the Eve V can’t match. It would’ve been competitive if it had shipped earlier in 2017, as planned.

In the end, though, the delay doesn’t bother Karatsevidis all that much. “Maybe the delay wasn’t so bad,” he said, “because the display we had (before the delay) was basically the same as you’d see in the Surface Pro 4 and Pro. This one is a little bit better if you look at the spec sheet, and (to really see the quality) you need to compare them side by side.”

Mediating between desire and design

One can’t be faulted for wondering how such a small team — Eve Technology only recently grew to nine people — could design and ship a complex piece of personal computer technology. The answer is that the company acts as a middleman between Swedish design firm Propeller Design and the Eve community, and between the design firm and the ODM. The community voiced its desires, which Eve Technology translated to the design firm, and then the final design specifications were communicated to the manufacturer

Eve Technology wasn’t alone, either. It had early help from Intel and Microsoft, who provided some technology grant funding to go with cash from a Finnish government developmental program, and the investments made by more than 4,000 Indiegogo buyers.

In fact, it was these two mammoth companies that helped Eve Technology navigate the ODM world and select the right partner to manufacture the Eve V. That was vital assistance, helping the small company avoid many of the obstacles it faced when creating the T1 tablet — which included nearly being scammed a few times along the way.

Intel’s interest in the project is obvious, while Microsoft’s involvement was thanks to that company’s extreme compartmentalization. The Windows 10 team was excited to see a new, dynamic company create an interesting new product to show off the operating system’s capabilities, though the Surface team was not quite as excited about funding a competitor to the Surface Pro.

Perhaps Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was the tiebreaker, having expressed an interest in the Eve V according to a story last year by Business Insider. And indeed, Nadella has received one of the first Eve V’s shipped, as promised. As far a we know, he hasn’t yet voiced a preference for it or the Surface Pro.

Democratic compromise

The Eve V uses seventh-generation Intel Core Y-series processors rather than either the faster U-series CPU, or Intel’s latest eighth-generation quad core models. But it’s not due to timing, or the power savings and thermal advantages afforded by low-power processors. It certainly wasn’t based on price, Karatsevidis stressed. Contrary to what some might believe, the Core Y-series chips cost the same as their U-series siblings.

Eve V built around Y-series CPUs because that’s what the community decided. It was the most hotly contested decision, in fact, with numerous discussions and debates over the tradeoffs between faster performance and better battery life, and over the value of a simpler and more reliable thermal design. Eve Technology didn’t weigh in on the decision. As with every aspect of the Eve V’s design, the community voted, discussed, and voted again until a winner emerged.

In our testing, we found the Eve V is slower than the Surface Pro, but it also provides better battery life. Given that tablets aren’t usually primarily used for hardcore processing tasks like video editing but rather are more often carried around for highly mobile productivity, it’s a reasonable tradeoff. That’s the result of a carefully nurtured consensus.

EVE

The Eve V is a bit thicker than the Surface Pro, and that’s thanks primarily to the larger battery capacity. It’s not as large a difference as it was when the Eve V was being designed, mind you. The Surface Pro 4 had a 41 watt-hour battery which increased to 45 watt-hours in the Surface Pro, versus the 48 watt-hours in the Eve V. But that, too, was a community-driven decision, based on a desire to compromise a bit on thickness and weight to work longer away from a charger.

All of this doesn’t mean that the Eve community got everything it asked for, though. One example is, again, the display, where using OLED technology was the community preference. At the time, only a few companies were making OLED screens at the required size, and the Eve Technology team decided that procuring one for the Eve V wasn’t possible. Consensus couldn’t overcome reality.

What does it mean for product support?

We voiced concern in our review about whether a small company can consistently manufacture a quality product, and then support it after the fact. Karatsevidis believes that rather than being a hindrance, Eve Technology’s smaller volume affords an advantage that larger companies can’t match.

Eve Technology wasn’t alone, however. It had early help from Intel and Microsoft.

Specifically, the company has implemented quality checks with the Eve V that are only possible because it’s not being produced in such massive volumes. It’s put through a gauntlet of three third-party companies that look for defects, helping ensure that every Eve V that ships is problem-free.

As for technical support, Karatsevidis is confident that their outsourcing model will keep things manageable. In this case, that means leveraging the existing Windows Update process to deliver component drivers that are provided by the manufacturers as part of their own technical support processes. Each of the components used in the Eve V are industry standard, and already in use in other machines.

What’s next

The measure of crowdsourcing’s success is whether Eve Technology will stick with it for its next project. And the answer is a most definite “yes.”

“Our idea behind crowd development is that we would like to generally ask people what the next project should be. We don’t want to stick to only one category of product, so maybe it could be another 2-in-1, or a smartphone, or a laptop, or an electric car, or whatever,” Karatsevidis said. “I think the next project, we don’t know exactly what it will be, but it will be somewhat in a similar space.”

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Already, discussions are underway on that next project, with Eve Technology pumping the brakes only slightly to ensure that the result is a product that’s realistic. According to Karatsevidis, “The only constraint we have for the community is that we don’t want to go for some super crazy idea right now. Let’s not look at smartphones or cars or TV sets. We’re not there yet. Let’s just stay in the computer category.”

If you’re a fan of crowdsourcing, or of Eve Technology specifically, you won’t have too long to wait to see what’s next in the pipeline. The company plans to announce its next project in the first half of 2018.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Eve Technology Eve V review
• First flash sale for crowdsourced Eve V Windows 10 tablet sells out in 3 hours
• Long live the black box! How ThinkPads have thrived for 25 years
• Tesla Model 3: Performance, specs, and news
• Forget Wi-Fi hotspots, the Surface Pro with LTE Advanced can get online anywhere

OnePlus is giving away 10,000 Star Wars: The Last Jedi tickets to its fans in India

OnePlus fans in India will be able to watch the upcoming Star Wars movie for free.

OnePlus is celebrating its third anniversary in India, and to mark the occasion the company is giving away 10,000 complimentary tickets to its fans for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which is hitting theaters on December 15. The company is also set to launch the OnePlus 5T Star Wars edition in the country on December 14.

OnePlus fans in nine cities across India will be able to avail the promotion: Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore and Kochi. The tickets will be rolled out in two phases on December 13 and December 15 on OnePlus’ website and on Paytm.

Anyone that has purchased a OnePlus device over the course of the last three years is eligible for the offer. All you have to do is register your OnePlus device’s IMEI number, select the city, and pick a time for when you want to see the movie. You’ll receive a ticket code that can then be redeemed on Paytm for the ticket.

You’ll be able to choose tickets for showtimes on December 16 and 17 at PVR and Cinemax theaters at these locations:

• Mumbai – PVR Phoenix Mills – Lower Parel
• Pune – PVR Pune – Market City
• Hyderabad – PVR Kukatpally Forum Sujana Mall
• Chandigarh – PVR Elante Mall
• Chennai – PVR Ampa Sky Walk Mall
• Kolkata – Cinemax Mani Square Mall
• Delhi – PVR DLF Mall of India
• Bangalore – PVR Forum Mall – Koramangala
• Kochi – PVR Lulu International Shopping Mall

OnePlus is also rolling out pop-up stores at the aforementioned nine cities, giving its fans the ability to go hands-on with the Star Wars-themed variant of the OnePlus 5T. The first round of tickets will be available on Wednesday, December 13, starting 10 a.m.

Considering the massive demand that’ll inevitably follow, we recommend you register your OnePlus device right now with your account if you haven’t already done so.

Register your OnePlus device

The Morning After: Monday, December 11th 2017

Welcome to your Monday morning news missive. An anniversary Street Fighter game that crams in 12 (vaguely) different titles, a hacked way of cranking up the sound quality on your cheap Google Home Mini and Welcome To Night Vale gets its own TV show. It’s a good start.

The 30th Anniversary Collection arrives in May.
‘Street Fighter’ anthology brings online play to classic brawlers

Street Fighter turned 30 this year, and Capcom is marking it in — belated — style. Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection arrives May 2018 and not only includes a bunch of pre-3D titles but also adds online multiplayer. It’ll be available on the PS4, Switch, Windows PCs and the Xbox One. No Street Fighter: The Movie, the game, though. Sad.

Pump up the digital-assistant volume.
Mod gives Google’s Home Mini speaker its ‘missing’ line-out jack

Google’s Home Mini speaker has one key disadvantage over Amazon’s Echo Dot: no line-out jack. If you want more powerful sound without buying a higher-priced model, you have to stream to a Chromecast-equipped speaker system. However, that didn’t deter SnekTek — the site added an aux audio port to the Mini through a clever homebrew mod. To say this required some delicate surgery would be an understatement, however.

Its research has come a long way in a short time.
Apple AI chief reveals more progress on self-driving car tech

Apple is now more than eager to share how much progress it’s making on self-driving car technology. AI research director Ruslan Salakhutdinov made a presentation this week that revealed more of what the company’s autonomous-driving team has been up to. While some of the talk was familiar, there were new examples of how far the fledgling project had come.

To start, Apple has crafted a system that uses onboard cameras to identify objects even in tricky situations, such as when raindrops cover the lens. It can estimate the position of a pedestrian even if they’re hidden by a parked car. Other additions include giving cars direction through simultaneous localization and mapping, creating detailed 3D maps using car sensors and decision-making in urgent situations.

The bigger mystery of the project is how Apple will commercialize its self-driving know-how. At the moment, its next goal is to produce driverless employee shuttles. The company isn’t currently expected to sell its own cars, but licensing its work to others would be unusual when Apple typically prefers to develop everything in-house.

But wait, there’s more…

• Recommended Reading: making a shed a top-rated destination on TripAdvisor
• FX will turn podcast hit ‘Welcome to Night Vale’ into a TV show
• New ‘Ready Player One’ trailer reveals more of the real-world

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Google’s Assistant will help ‘sync’ your smart home devices

Smart homes can be tricky to manage, especially if you’ve invested in a bunch of different brands. If you have a Google Home, good news: You can now use the Google Assistant to clean up and “sync” any misbehaving devices. Let’s say you have some Philips Hue lights in your living room — you set them up and everything works great. A few months later, you buy some extra bulbs for the kitchen, but your Home doesn’t seem to recognise them. You could, of course, start poking around the appropriate apps, but now there’s a voice command that will do it for you: Sync My Lights.

You can swap “lights” for another device type and it’ll work just as well. Or mutter “sync my devices” for a full spring clean. In short, the command forces Google to check all of your Home-linked apps and services for new hardware. It’s a small, but useful update if you’re frequently adding or adjusting devices that haven’t been built by Google or Nest. One day, every smart home will be smart enough to keep track of these things — until then, you can fix the occasional mistake by yelling at Google’s Assistant.

Via: Android Police

Source: Google Support