What you need to know about net neutrality (before it gets taken away)

You’ve probably heard of “net neutrality” by now. It’s been in the news again as the FCC introduced a proposal last week to reverse regulations put in place in 2015. Yes, we just went over this two years ago, but in two weeks, those regulations could be undone. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wants to roll back the FCC’s current regulations that classify broadband internet as a utility-like tool for communication (like the telephone), categorizing it instead as an information service. This change would lift bans on throttling, blocking and paid prioritization, as well as reduce the amount of data companies would have to report.

Right now, the FCC’s proposal has been posted for public perusal and comment, and come Dec. 14th, the commission will vote on whether to adopt the new guidelines. If you want to have a say and leave your thoughts on the comment portal, you need to know what’s being debated, what the key terms mean and what’s at stake.

The heart of the debate (this time around) is whether to classify your broadband internet as a Title I Information Service or a Title II Common Carrier. Sound like incomprehensible jargon? Don’t worry, it gets even more confusing when you start digging into the hundreds of pages of legalese in all the regulations that have accumulated over the years. But let’s start with the most fundamental concepts.

What are Title I and Title II?

Title I and Title II are sections of the Communications Act of 1934, which allows the FCC to regulate wire and radio communication services. There are seven titles in the act, and Title II, called Common Carrier, spells out the legal guidelines for service providers operating under that classification. To be clear, there are titles in other acts as well, but it’s the 1934 act to which the FCC proposal is referring.

Title II service providers are more rigorously regulated and held to standards similar to your telephone, gas and electric providers. In 2015, the FCC passed the Open Internet Order (also known as the Title II Order), which classified ISPs as common carriers and expressly banned activities like throttling, blocking and paid prioritization.

A screenshot of the 2015 Open Internet order that spells out the ban on throttling, blocking and paid prioritization.

Title I, on the other hand, allows for what Pai calls “light-touch regulation,” which not only lifts that ban but also requires less reporting from companies operating in the sector. Technically, this categorization means service providers wouldn’t have to disclose how they were managing their networks, but the FCC’s proposal adds a transparency requirement that says they have to.

The transparency requirement, which is modified from the Open Internet Order of 2010, makes it mandatory for ISPs to disclose blocking, throttling, affiliated prioritization, paid prioritization, congestion management, application-specific behavior, device-attachment rules and security. Simply put, if ISPs are slowing down or speeding up specific data, they have to explain why.

In abandoning Title II obligations, though, the FCC would no longer require ISPs to report such details as “packet loss, geographically-specific disclosures and performance at peak usage times, among other things.” That refers to information like upload and download rates when the network is congested and the percentage of data dropped when there’s a bottleneck in the stream. The FCC said “these additional reporting obligations unduly burden ISPs without providing a comparable benefit to consumers,” and are “unnecessary and burdensome.”

There are built-in transparency requirements about problematic practices. But they don’t prevent ISPs from prioritizing content they like and throttling data they don’t, nor does it penalize them for doing so. ISPs just have to declare what they’re doing and explain why. This means they are free to carry out these activities, which were banned under the Title II order, so long as they disclose it. It would be like letting your partner get away with cheating as long as they explain why they did it.

Reverting to Title I classification places faith in ISPs to responsibly report what they’re doing, and who knows? Maybe they would comply. Just know that there’s already a long list of net-neutrality violators in the world, and most of these offenders are still in operation.

What’s so wrong about throttling, blocking or paid prioritization?

You’re really asking, what is net neutrality (again) and why is it important? Quick refresher: Net neutrality is the idea that, as its name implies, the internet and the companies that provide it should be neutral. Its speed or reliability should not be affected because of what you’re downloading or whether your service provider likes it.

This means that the data you consume over the internet should be treated equally — whether you are visiting Wikipedia, checking your email, watching porn or downloading manifestos. Your internet service provider (ISP) should not be allowed to slow down (throttle) your Netflix streaming or speed up data transmission from its own video-streaming service.

The crux of the issue here is fairness. It’d be like if your classmate was the principal’s child and he kept getting easier homework and tests because of his parent’s influence, and therefore, better grades. In this analogy, the principal would be an ISP like Comcast or Verizon, your classmate would be a subsidiary like NBCUniversal or Go90 (or even Engadget), and you would be an independent or third-party competitor like Netflix or ABC. Consumers would favor sites that loaded faster or offered a better experience, pulling traffic away from competing services and potentially putting them out of business. It could stifle competition, which would give consumers less choice over the services they can use.

Lack of competition is already a major issue when it comes to broadband services. In many parts of the country, people have only one or two options, and if you’re really lucky, there might be three. When you can’t pick an alternative, you’re forced to submit to a company’s pricing and features if you want service at all. Competition can also lead to better value, speed and ISP services for customers.

For example, if a cable company decided to do away with set-top-box rental fees to attract new customers, it could steal business from existing providers, which would have to come up with ways to retain their clients. This could lead to the entire industry doing away with set-top-box fees altogether.

Things get even trickier when you consider that ISPs are competing with each other and third parties not just on broadband, but streaming services as well. ISPs like Comcast and Verizon go up against Netflix and Hulu with their own apps (like Verizon’s Go90) that are frequently inferior. If they had the power to prioritize their own products and slow down the likes of Netflix and Hulu or charge more in addition to those companies’ own subscription fees in exchange for faster streams, it could force consumers to use inferior products.

Losing net neutrality could diminish competition (what little there is left of it), and give immense power to the few players in the industry, which is bad news for consumers all around.

Images: Aaron Bernstein / Reuters (Hon. Ajit Pai)

DxO’s snap-on Android camera is now available to pre-order

DxO One is a compact snap-on camera that drastically improves the quality of your smartphone photos, but only iPhone users have been able to benefit so far. It recently arrived on Android, however, and is now up for pre-order as a fairly attractive “Early Access Pack.” For $499, you get the camera, a protective shell and DxO’s PhotoLab software, effectively saving about $260. The caveats are that there’s still no shipping date, and the device only works on newer models that have built-in USB Type-C ports.

The DxO One is one of the few survivors of the “camera phone” era of a few years ago, with the most notable contenders at the time being Sony’s QX10 and QX100 models. DxO’s model likely struck a chord because of its more practical direct physical interface and relatively compact, pocketable size.

At the same time, you’re getting a large 1-inch, 20.2-megapixel sensor and f/1.8, 32mm equivalent fixed lens that gives you photo quality akin to a nice compact camera like Sony’s RX100 V — better than any small-sensor smartphone can manage. However, if you’re okay with pairing your phone wirelessly, you’d be better off spending a bit more on a dedicated camera like one of Sony’s previous RX100 III and IV models or Panasonic’s Lumix LX10.

Supported mobile phones are the HTC U11, Huawei Mate 9, Huawei P10, LG G6, LG V20, Moto Z, Nexus 5X, Nokia 8, Nubia Z11 mini, Samsung Galaxy A5 2017, Samsung Note 8, Samsung Galaxy S8 and Huawei Honor 9. You can also select “other” and specify your brand of phone, and hope for the best.

As mentioned, the DxO One for Android is on pre-order for $499 including the Outdoor Shell and cable back door, along with the DxO PhotoLab software. It’ll be able to do most of what the iOS version can, but some recently announced features like time lapse and Facebook Live streaming will come later.

Via: Android Central

Source: DxO

How ‘The Walking Dead Collection’ enhances the original season

Telltale’s original Walking Dead game was special, blending a gut-wrenching storyline with interesting, believable characters. Five years and two seasons later (four if you count 400 Days and Michonne) the adventure has started to show its age. So for The Walking Dead Collection — a new bundle that launches on December 5th — the developer has given everything a visual upgrade. To explain the changes, Telltale has released a video comparing the two versions during a pivotal scene — Lee and Clementine’s first meeting. (It includes some mild spoilers, obviously.)

At first, the differences might seem small. But don’t let that fool you — some serious work has gone into the update. In a blog post, the California studio has broken down some of the biggest changes, which include heavily revised character models. The team created new, higher-resolution meshes for all season one and two survivors, improving their facial expressions and clothing. Many scenes were also reworked with additional props and better textures. The tree house that Clementine starts in, for instance, now has a slew of wooden beams holding up the main platform. The tree, too, has additional branches and more convincing foliage.

Telltale upgraded the lighting and in-game camera “for a greater cinematic look.” A bunch of optimizations were also made to ensure all of the games — developed over many years and with slightly different engines — ran smoothly on a single disc. It sounds impressive, however Telltale games are known for their dreadful performance. The studio has recognized this, cutting jobs and promising to focus on fewer, higher quality titles in the future. The Walking Dead Collection is a chance to show how serious it is — and what fans can expect from the fourth and final season in 2018.

Source: Telltale (Blog Post)

Bungie details ‘Destiny 2’ DLC’s new weapons and armor

At the end of October, Bungie announced that the first DLC for Destiny 2, Curse of Osiris, would be available starting December 5th. Now, the company has discussed details of how exactly the release will work. Players can start preloading the expansion starting at 8 AM PST on December 5th. Xbox One users will need 44 GB of free space, while PS4 users will require 88 GB. PC users fall somewhere in between at 68 GB. You can follow @BungieHelp on Twitter for updates, including on downtime and the actual release time of Curse of Osiris.

The Bungie team also released a weapons and armor preview, for those who were disappointed that a look at the new gear was cancelled. You can see a glimpse of powerful weapons and new emotes.

Bungie opted not to do a Curse of Osiris livestream in the face of criticism it’s received from its user base. Players who have been immersed in Destiny 2 found that there wasn’t quite enough to do, and there are problems with the experience points system. Bungie has been tweaking its in-game economy based on player feedback, and it looks like it’s smoothing out the rough patches.

Source: Bungie

Spotify Launches Limited Time Holiday Offer: Get One Year of Premium for $99

Spotify today announced a new limited time holiday offer for new and existing Premium subscribers, allowing them to purchase a full year of the service for $99.00. The new price is $20 down from the $120 that users would pay by subscribing to the service on a month-by-month basis of $9.99 (via Engadget). The offer expires December 31, 2017, and after the 12 months is up Spotify will return users to their previous subscription billing at the then-current price.

The offer is only for new or existing individual plans (so Spotify Family plans are not eligible), can not be paid for with Spotify gift cards or prepaid cards, and will not be available to users who subscribe to Spotify through a third-party offer. Find more details about the yearly offer in Spotify’s terms and conditions right here.

With Spotify’s new offer, the company is matching Apple Music’s $99.00 12 month subscription that users have been able to purchase for just over a year, effectively netting subscribers 12 months of music streaming for the price of 10. Spotify’s deal doesn’t come in the form of a physical card, but the company does offer retail cards with credit tiers that are used to pay for subscriptions before the credit card on an account is charged.

Visit our Deals Roundup for more sales and discounts going on this week.

Tag: Spotify
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Spotify offers a year of Premium streaming for $99

For the holidays and Taylor Swift’s Reputation streaming launch, Spotify is offering new and existing subscribers of its Premium, ad-free service at a discount. You get a year of service for $99 up front, a discount of two months or $20 over the regular price. (That works out to $8.25 per month, $1.74 off the regular $9.99 monthly price.) The only catch is that the deal is not available to family plan members, and you can’t cancel after the 14-day cooling-off period, unlike with the regular monthly plan.

So far, this appears to be a one-time offer that expires at the end of the year. The company has far and away the largest streaming subscriber base with over 60 million subscribers as of July, 2017, double what Apple Music has (Spotify hasn’t released numbers since then). In June of this year, Apple quietly unveiled a permanent $99 per year subscription for existing users. Amazon Music Unlimited, meanwhile, is $7.99 for Prime members, which works out to about $96 per year.

Spotify recently made changes to benefit artists, limiting song access in the ad-supported version, and buying Mediachain, a company that helps it figure out who owns royalty rights. Despite the subscriber numbers and $2.2 billion in revenue last quarter, Spotify still ran an operating loss of around $120-240 million last quarter.

Given that, it makes sense for Spotify to launch a yearly streaming deal to get a shot of revenue over the holidays. If you’re an existing Premium user or having been thinking of signing up, you can grab the deal here until the end of the year.

Source: Spotify

Tesla’s giant battery farm is now live in South Australia

With a little lot of help from Tesla, Australia is now home to the world’s largest lithium-ion battery. Back in March, Elon Musk promised Atlassian CEO and billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes that he could create a 100MWh battery storage farm within 100 days — otherwise, his company would do the job for free. The Twitter pledge was in response to ongoing power shortages in South Australia, which were causing blackouts and political uncertainty about the country’s push toward renewable energy sources. The batteries were delivered in the summer — well ahead of the deadline — and installed last week. Today, the site is operational for the first time.

Tesla’s Powerpacks are connected to a wind farm in Hornsdale, owned by French renewable energy company Neoen. Jaw Weatherill, a politician and current Premier of South Australia, says it’s the first time the state has been able to reliably dispatch wind energy to the grid 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It was possible, of course, to capture this energy resource before — the problem has been controlling when, and how much of the resulting electricity is fed back into the grid. With a 100MWV battery farm, the state can now power more than 30,000 homes, regardless of the weather.

“The completion of the world’s largest lithium-ion battery in record time shows that a sustainable, effective energy solution is possible,” a Tesla spokesperson said. “We are proud to be part of South Australia’s renewable energy future, and hope this project provides a model for future deployments around the world.” Tesla has built similar battery farms before — a year ago, the company completed a 20 MW system in Ontario, California that can store up to 80 MWh of electricity. It took just 90 days for the company — that hopes to commoditize electric cars, trucks and home energy storage — to install the necessary 396 Powerpacks.

Via: The Verge

Source: Jay Weatherill

Which gaming console is right for you?

There are three main contenders in the video game console market, and each one has unique advantages and drawbacks. The PlayStation 4, for example, is easy to use: Sony has made a powerful console designed to appeal to as many players as possible, and its gamble has largely paid off. While Microsoft clearly wants just as many people playing Xbox One, it’s tackling the market via its ecosystem, which is more open than any of the other consoles. The Xbox One supports cross-play with Windows 10, and its built-in livestreaming architecture, Mixer, is an impressive tool. Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch is a strange treasure, packing less power than the other two systems but making up for this technical loss with an innovative hybrid design.

Here we break down the best and worst bits of the PS4 Slim, PS4 Pro, Xbox One S, Xbox One X and the Switch for anyone looking to buy into the video game universe this fall.

PlayStation 4

The PlayStation 4 is arguably the most popular console of the current generation, with Sony repeatedly outselling Microsoft’s Xbox One, since both systems debuted in 2013. The PS4 hit the market at $400, featuring an advanced AMD GPU, 4K video (not games, mind) and the promise of eventual HDR support — though this base model essentially doesn’t exist anymore. Three years after the PS4’s launch, Sony introduced two upgraded systems, commonly referred to as the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro.

The Slim lives up to its name: It’s a sleeker version of the base model, shaving about two pounds off the console’s frame while keeping the 1.84-teraflop AMD processing unit. It comes in 500GB and 1TB sizes and supports Blu-ray and DVD, just like the launch console. The Slim, however, starts at $300.

The Pro is Sony’s true mid-generation upgrade. It costs $400 and is heftier than the Slim by about three pounds. Its most notable feature is the ability to play games in 4K via an upscaling process called checkerboard rendering. This isn’t true 4K, but it’s damn close; it’s near impossible to spot any difference between checkerboard rendering and actual 4K gaming. The Pro doesn’t feature any beefy upgrades to the PS4’s CPU or memory (that’s what keeps it from representing a new console generation, according to its architect, Mark Cerny), though it includes a 4.20-teraflop AMD processor.

But what good is a 4K console if games don’t support anything higher than 1080p? Luckily, there’s a sizable lineup of titles optimized for the PS4 Pro, utilizing checkerboard rendering or other upscaling techniques to hit resolutions above 1080p. These games include indie darlings like Abzu, Outlast 2, No Man’s Sky, Resogun, Rez Infinite, Rocket League, Nex Machina and The Witness, plus AAA titles including Destiny 2, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Fallout 4, Overwatch, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Horizon Zero Dawn and Battlefield 1.

Superhot VR is one of the many virtual reality games available for the PSVR.

Over the past few years, Sony has effectively cornered the market on indie games, showcasing small studios during major press conferences and packing its digital store with irreverent, creative and massively popular independent projects. However, the company has seemingly shifted its focus recently, paying less attention to indie games to instead dive headfirst into virtual reality.

Compared with the Xbox One S, Xbox One X or the Switch, the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro have one clear advantage: VR. PlayStation VR is an impressive introduction to the possibilities of virtual reality, presented in a plug-and-play package. It’s only been around for a year, but there are more than 100 PSVR experiences in the PlayStation Store, with 60 more due out by early 2018. And the PSVR hardware itself is only going to get better: An updated version of the headset is already on sale in Japan.

What the PS4 Slim does well

• Virtual reality
• 4K video
• Blu-ray
• Indie games
• AAA games (exclusives include Uncharted, The Last Guardian, Persona 5, Bloodborne and Nier: Automata)

What it’s bad at

• No 4K gaming
• No UHD Blu-ray
• Dualshock 4 controllers have pretty terrible battery life

What the PS4 Pro does well

• Everything on the PS4 Slim list
• 4K gaming via checkerboard rendering
• Even smoother PSVR experiences

What it’s bad at

• No UHD Blu-ray
• Not particularly portable
• Dualshock 4 controllers have pretty terrible battery life

Engadget

Xbox One

If any company is going to bridge the gap between gaming consoles and PCs, it’ll be Microsoft. The Xbox ecosystem plays nice with Windows 10 via the Play Anywhere program: Participating titles support cross-play between Xbox and Windows 10, allowing console fans to boot up games with their PC buddies or simply play a title seamlessly across both systems. Plus, buying a Play Anywhere game for Xbox One automatically makes it available at no additional cost on Windows 10, and vice versa.

After Microsoft announced Play Anywhere at E3 2016, it had to clarify which games would actually support the new feature, changing it from “every new title published from Microsoft Studios” to “every new title published from Microsoft Studios that we showed onstage at E3 this year.” Fans were wary of the change, though today a handful of high-profile games are on the Play Anywhere list, including Cuphead, Tacoma, Forza Motorsport 7, Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Gears of War 4, Thimbleweed Park, Ruiner and We Happy Few.

This messaging problem has dogged Microsoft since the debut of the Xbox One. In the lead-up to the current console generation, Microsoft presented the Xbox One as an “always-on” system that would be constantly online, enabling easier updates, developer input and new types of connected gaming experiences. Customers were not impressed, arguing an always-on ecosystem would unfairly bar too many people from actually using the Xbox One, given the general unreliability of internet networks across the globe. In a series of confusing updates, Microsoft eventually reversed its decision to ship an always-on console. The company then had to play catch-up as the Xbox One’s release date — and the PS4’s — rapidly approached.

Today, there are two Xbox One models on the market: the Xbox One S and Xbox One X. While it’s easy to argue all consoles nowadays require a consistent internet connection to properly function, neither of these systems is always on. However, they take advantage of modern network capabilities to enable built-in livestreaming and cross-play capabilities.

The Xbox One S is the “slim” version of the original Xbox One. It’s 40 percent smaller than the base model, plus it has a UHD Blu-ray player and support for HDR gaming and video. The Xbox One X, meanwhile, is Microsoft’s main event. It’s the most powerful console on the market today (or ever, really), packing in a 6-teraflop GPU and 12GB GDDR5 RAM, compared with the PS4 Pro’s 8GB. Most notably, the Xbox One X supports true 4K gaming and video, and it has a UHD Blu-ray drive. Of course, players have to pay for this kind of power: The Xbox One X starts at $500. The One S comes in at $300.

The PS4 Pro, keep in mind, costs $400, and it supports VR. Though Microsoft is supremely interested in the future of augmented reality, the company currently doesn’t have an answer to PSVR.

Buying an Xbox One means buying into Microsoft’s ecosystem, which isn’t a terrible thing by any stretch of the imagination. Microsoft enables cross-play between Xbox and Windows 10, and its in-house streaming service, Mixer, makes it incredibly easy to go live on Twitch and other platforms — in 4K UHD, no less. Plus, the One S and One X can access a robust library of classic Xbox and Xbox 360 games via backward compatibility. That’s not to mention the upgraded, Bluetooth-enabled Xbox One gamepad, which has emerged as the gold standard of controllers.

What the Xbox One S does well

• Livestreaming via Mixer
• UHD Blu-ray
• 4K video
• Fantastic Bluetooth gamepad
• Backward compatibility
• Play Anywhere enables cross-play and seamless gaming with Windows 10

What it’s bad at

• No VR
• Less graphically powerful than the PS4 Slim
• No 4K

What the Xbox One X does well

• Everything on the Xbox One S list
• 4K gaming

What it’s bad at

• Most expensive console on the market
• Not particularly portable
• No VR

Engadget

Switch

The Switch is, in a word, wonderful. It’s not the most powerful gaming console available today — that’s the Xbox One X — nor does it support 4K, the most apps or the widest variety of games. Still, the Switch is everything Nintendo promised it would be, and then some: It’s a hybrid console, capable of playing titles up to 1080p on a television or up to 720p on its portable, 6.2-inch display.

The Switch exclusively features some of the best games of the year (and it was a good year for games, indeed), including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8 and Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. And then there are all the indie offerings — this is a new space for Nintendo, but so far, developers have largely been happy with the company’s approach to publishing. The Switch has signed on games like Shovel Knight, TumbleSeed, Stardew Valley, Rime, TowerFall, Travis Strikes Again, Floor Kids, Golf Story, Super Meat Boy Forever and Kentucky Route Zero.

The Switch comes with two tiny Joy-Con controllers, which function just fine as full gamepads, complete with Nintendo’s new HD Rumble technology. However, there’s no getting around the fact that these are super-small controllers, not ideal for large hands or extended play sessions. The Switch ships with a Joy-Con Grip in the box, allowing players to create their own full-size Frankenstein gamepad, though it’s worth noting the controllers don’t charge when hooked up to the connector. Here’s where Nintendo’s real hustle comes in: selling accessories. A full-size Switch Pro Controller costs $70, while the Charge Grip accessory, which allows the Joy-Cons to refuel while connected, costs $30. And then there are all of those adorable Amiibo figurines, which sell for about $15 a pop: The Switch has a built-in NFC reader just for them. The console itself costs $300.

It wouldn’t be a Nintendo system if there weren’t some strange form of digital-rights management built into it, and the Switch doesn’t disappoint on this front. The Switch is technically adequate for the current console generation — Zelda is beautiful on the built-in display, even at 720p — and Nintendo finally figured out that people like to watch Hulu through their gaming consoles, but there’s one glaring omission in the system’s feature set: no backup option for save files. The Switch has a slot for a microSD card, though it doesn’t allow players to save game data to external storage and the company itself doesn’t offer any online backup services, as the PS4 and Xbox One ecosystems do. This means if your save data is accidentally deleted or your console is stolen, lost or damaged, all the hours you spent soaring around Hyrule simply disappear.

The Switch doesn’t support VR or 4K, though the hardware itself remains an achievement. Nintendo attempted to make hybrid gaming happen with the Wii U, and its efforts failed spectacularly. The Switch, meanwhile, is truly comfortable as both a portable system and an at-home console. It’s the only current-generation console that makes sense to take out of the house. It’s perfect for plane, train, bus or car rides, bringing the living room gaming experience on the road in a real way.

What the Switch does well

• Portable and living room gaming
• Local multiplayer experiences
• Strong lineup of exclusive games
• Indie games

What it’s bad at

• Gamepads are expensive
• No backup save data
• Few media apps for now
• No 4K
• No VR

So, which console is for you?

There is no “best” console, at least not on a large scale. Each system excels and fails in its own special ways. The only determining factor is what you, as an individual, want to get out of a gaming system. Do you want the most games and players in an easy-to-use package? That’s the PS4 Slim — but go Pro if you want to show off your 4K TV. However, if your main goal is to run your 4K TV, UHD Blu-ray collection and homemade gaming PC through their paces, an Xbox One X might be worth the extra cash. For world travelers, daily commuters and party fiends, the Switch makes a ton of sense. Plus, it has a surprisingly rich library of high-quality games, everything from AAA to indie.

With three solid console lines, a flourishing PC scene, booming esports market and more titles than ever before, it’s a good time to be a video game fan — regardless of which system you choose.

The iPhone 8 goes up against a Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus

Before you start throwing down cash for new phones like a Grinch post heart-expansion, watch our video to directly compare more factors than just name brand and price on two of the most popular phones. The iPhone 8 and Galaxy S8 Plus are both less than $1000 (no thanks, iPhone X) but still expensive, beginning at $805 and $737, respectively.

Either would make a great gift to yourself or someone else, but it all depends on what you’re going for. The iPhone 8 looks a little ho-hum in terms of standard old design, but acts zippier because of the new A11 bionic chip, which Apple claims makes it 25% faster.

Alternatively, maybe you love Samsung or are just now open to one because of Apple’s no headphone jack policy. The S8 and S8 Plus have a slick design that our own phone reviewers absolutely love and its display (a dazzling 2220 x 1080) compared to Apple’s (a meh 1334 x 750) really put it at the top of the visual appearance heap.

And then there’s the camera test. While on paper the smartphone’s cameras seem very similar, (Apple with a 7 megapixel front-facing camera, 12 megapixel back; Galaxy S8 Plus with 8 megapixel front-facing camera, 12 megapixel back), in practice, the selfies from the Galaxy S8 Plus seem far superior.

After testing set-up, call quality, video downloading time, playback, visual appearance and cameras on each of the phones, we picked the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus as the winner of this particular head-to-head challenge. Let us know in the comments what we should test next!

Amazon Aims for Echo Speakers in Every Office With ‘Alexa for Business’

Amazon’s aim to bring its highly popular at-home Echo smart speaker into the workplace got underway on Thursday with the launch of Alexa for Business. The announcement, made at the company’s annual Amazon Web Services Summit in New York, sets the stage for Amazon’s vision to make its virtual assistant the essential office accessory, able to book conference rooms, launch meetings, and order stationery.

Alexa already has features amenable to an office environment, such as the ability to make calls, operate lights, and check security camera feeds. Now Amazon wants developers to build the virtual assistant into apps that manage work calendars, find open meeting rooms, and order supplies.

As an intelligent assistant at work, Alexa for Business makes starting a conference call as simple as asking Alexa to “start the meeting.” Alexa for Business can help workers manage calendars, keep up with to-do lists, and make phone calls. Around the office, Alexa for Business can handle tasks like notifying IT of an equipment issue, or finding and booking an open conference room—all with just a few words.

However, it’s unclear how many companies will want to buy Echo speakers for every conference room, given the potential security implications of an “always listening” device. Amazon says its Echo speakers don’t send anything to the cloud until users wake the devices by invoking them by name. However, Amazon does store requests in the cloud, which it says are used to help improve AI and develop new skills for the speakers.

Amazon sold “millions” of Alexa devices over the holiday shopping weekend, according to a company press release, with previous estimates suggesting it has sold more than 20 million Alexa devices over the last three years. RBC Capital Markets predicts that by 2020, Alexa device installations could reach 128 million. Over the same period, sales of the virtual assistants could result in more than $10 billion in revenues for Amazon, according to the firm.

Amazon has reportedly added hundreds of engineers to its Alexa program to maintain its edge over rivals like Google Assistant, Microsoft’s Cortana, and Apple’s Siri, all of which are in the process of building out their voice-activated offerings.

However, Apple will be even further behind after it recently delayed the HomePod’s release until early 2018. The device was originally slated to launch in December, but the delay means the $349 speaker won’t be ready in time for the holiday shopping season, which could lead customers to look at Echo or Google devices instead.

Tags: Amazon, Amazon Echo, Alexa
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