WiBa Power Bank Offers Fully Wireless Solution for Charging Your iPhone X, 8 and 8 Plus

There are already Qi-based wireless chargers on the market that include a built-in battery pack for wire-free charging on the go, but the upcoming WiBa Power Bank from accessory maker Avido goes one step further by offering wireless iPhone charging and wireless charging for the power bank itself.

The WiBa Power Bank features a 5,000mAh battery that can be used to charge an iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, or other Qi-compatible smartphone or device. It uses Qi wireless charging, so you don’t need to connect it to your iPhone with a Lightning cable.

Two slim metal plates attach to the back or the case of the iPhone to make sure that it stays magnetically attached to the Power Bank when charging, and there’s a built-in USB port if you need to charge non-wireless devices.

To charge the WiBa Power Bank, there’s an included Charging Dock that looks identical to the Power Bank. Place the Power Bank on the Charging Dock and it too will charge up wirelessly with no need for a micro-USB cable. The Charging Dock itself will need to be plugged in to the wall, though. Conveniently, the Charging Dock can charge the Power Bank or any other Qi-enabled device, so it can be used for direct iPhone charging, too.

You can put an iPhone on the Power Bank and the Power Bank on its Charging Dock to charge everything all at once, with the charged up Power Bank then available for use when outside the home. When traveling, if you don’t want to bring the Charging Dock, a USB-C cable can also be used to charge the Power Bank directly.

Avido says the WiBa Charging Dock is “Fast Charge compatible,” but it’s not clear if that means it works with the faster 7.5W charging in the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X, and there’s no explicit mention of these devices, so it may only charge at the standard 5 watts.

The WiBa Wireless Power Bank will cost $99.95 when it launches later this year.
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Apple to Announce Q1 2018 Earnings on February 1

Apple today updated its investor relations page to announce that it will share its earnings results for the first fiscal quarter of 2018 on Thursday, February 1.

The earnings report will give us our first real look at iPhone X sales, as well as sales of the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus throughout the holiday quarter. The iPhone X did not go on sale until November 3, and it was not included in Apple’s fourth quarter earnings report.

Guidance for the first fiscal quarter of 2018 includes expected revenue of $84 to $87 billion and gross margin between 38 and 38.5 percent. It will be a record setting quarter even at the low end of the guidance range, as Apple saw $78.4 billion in revenue in Q1 2017.

Apple’s quarterly earnings statement will be released at 1:30 p.m. Pacific/4:30 p.m. Eastern, with a conference call to discuss the report taking place at 2:00 p.m. Pacific/5:00 p.m. Eastern. MacRumors will provide coverage of both the earnings release and conference call on February 1.

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Spotify faces $1.6 billion lawsuit over song licensing

Spotify is no stranger to facing lawsuits accusing it of offering unlicensed songs, but the latest could prove to be very costly. Hollywood Reporter has learned that Wixen Music Publishing, which manages the song composition rights for artists ranging from Neil Young to Zach de la Rocha, has sued Spotify for copyright damages of at least $1.6 billion. Wixen claims that the streaming service is using tens of thousands of songs without proper licenses and the compensation to match. The plaintiff had already objected to proposed $43 million settlement in another case in May, so this wasn’t coming entirely out of the blue.

We’ve asked Spotify for comment. However, it hasn’t been sitting idle. The company has questioned whether or not Wixen actually has permission from its artists. It may be allowed to negotiate on behalf of musicians, but that doesn’t mean it’s allowed to sue on their behalf. Spotify could also try an argument it has used in another lawsuit, where it claimed that streaming doesn’t imply distribution or reproduction rights.

There’s a chance lawsuits like this might become moot in the US. A bipartisan House of Representatives bill, the Music Modernization Act, would simplify licensing by putting songs in a public database and granting companies blanket mechanical song licenses tied to market worth. Instead of having to hunt down all the parties involved in licensing a track, Spotify and its rivals would have a one-stop shop. The timing of the lawsuit (December 29th) isn’t coincidental — the Act would clear licensing actions taken before 2018 unless a lawsuit was already in progress. Wixen largely accepts the bill, but felt it had no choice but to sue if it wanted to have any chance of getting the licensing revenue it wants.

A successful lawsuit would be severely damaging to Spotify. It’s still losing money after years of operation, and its entire revenue in the first half of 2017 amounts to $2.2 billion. It would go deep into the red and would likely have to raise subscription fees to have a hope of staying afloat. As such, we’d expect Spotify to fight the case tooth and nail, or at least look for a much smaller settlement.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Panasonic built a robot gentle enough to pick tomatoes, but not exactly graceful

Planning on finding a new job for 2018? You can cross “tomato picker” off the list now that a new tomato-harvesting robot has made its debut at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan.

Built by Panasonic Corp., the robot is designed to be used on farms. Running on a rail, it employs cutting-edge artificial intelligence image-recognition algorithms to identify the position, color, and shape of tomatoes, and then harvests only those considered ripe enough. To do this, it uses a “special end effector” which allows it to pick the tomatoes without damaging them in the process, which is crucial since the tomatoes in question are intended to be sold to customers and eaten. (Although judging from the end of the video above, it’s not above making the occasional mistake.)

According to Panasonic, the robot is able to pick its soft red fare at a rate of around 10 every minute, or one tomato every six seconds. While that may not be a whole lot faster than a human carrying out the same task, the robot is able to improve on human efficiency due to the fact that it is able to work continuously — meaning it can work night shifts and holidays while not needing to take any sick days or vacation time.

This isn’t the first time we’ve covered robots and artificial intelligence in the agriculture industry. Previously, we’ve written about everything from self-driving tractors to robots that are designed to monitor crops. Perhaps the closest parallel to Panasonic’s new tomato-picking robot is a robot created by Belgian engineering company Octinion that’s designed specifically for determining when strawberries are ripe and then picking them without causing any damage.

Panasonic has reportedly been working on its tomato-picking robot for some time. During that period, the company has managed to significantly improve the speed and accuracy of the robot’s arm, ensuring that it not only picks the tomatoes faster, but does so in a way that is unlikely to harm them. There’s no word on when the robot will be officially rolling out to farmers, but given that it is already being shown off in public, we doubt it’s too long before we’ll be enjoying robot-picked tomatoes in our salads and on our pizzas.

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Lab-grown SuperMeat may be the vegetarian option of the future

The vegetarians of 2018 and beyond may have a bit more variety in their diet than vegetarians of the past. Thanks to companies like SuperMeat, even those who have sworn off of meat can still have the occasional piece of fried chicken. And it’s not made of tofu or seitan or any other filler — rather, this chicken is grown in a lab.

The Israeli biotech firm recently raised $3 million in seed funding to help it create “high-quality meat produced independent of the animal’s body.” While SuperMeat’s products will, in fact, be meat, they won’t be harvested from animals out in the field. Rather, the idea behind “clean meat” is to grow real animal cells (in the case of SuperMeat, chicken cells) by feeding them the nutrients needed to produce muscle and fat, just as a real animal would do to sustain itself. That means that companies like SuperMeat could theoretically obviate the need to raise or slaughter animals altogether.

The company claims that its technology, if successful, could drastically reduce the environmental footprint of most carnivores and omnivores. In fact, the company claims that clean meat as a whole will require 99 percent less land, 90 percent less water, and emit 96 percent less greenhouse gas. Moreover, because these meat products would be grown in controlled conditions, customers shouldn’t have to worry about food-borne illnesses, bacterial resistance, and other problems.

While it may be confusing to think of SuperMeat’s clean meat as a real vegetarian option, the company hopes to convince non-meat eaters of the benefits of its products. “Our cells are grown in safe and controlled conditions that mimic perfectly animal physiology, allowing them to form meat naturally as if they were inside the body of an animal,” SuperMeat said. “Clean meat is no different from the rice, milk, tomato, meat, and broccoli of today’s world. All of the food products we know and love underwent some human intensive intervention, and without such, they would be impossible to consume.”

Of course, we’re still quite a ways away from seeing any of SuperMeat’s products in local grocery stores. For one, it’s difficult to actually grow meat that is palatable, and doing so at scale to actually compete with existing animal farms presents a whole new challenge. SuperMeat estimates that it’s still around three years away from actually selling its products. But when it does, its meat is slated to be “less costly” than what you might find today.

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Best DualShock 4 Controller Charging Docks for PS4 2018

• Best Overall
• Best Third-party
• Best on a budget

Best Overall

PowerA DualShock 4 Controller Charging Station

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The PowerA DualShock 4 Controller Charging Station is the only officially licensed charging dock for your PlayStation 4 controllers. It works off of AC adapters to make it easy to plug your controllers in and get a charge without any additional hassle. With a design that makes it easy to plug in your controllers and one that doesn’t take up much room, this dock fits easily onto an entertainment system. From the design to the size, this dock makes it easy to keep your controllers charged and ready for you when it’s time to game.

Bottom line: The PowerA DualShock 4 Controller Charging Station is the officially licensed charge dock, which means it’s the dock that you can trust with the solemn duty of charging your controllers. Additionally, it’s a small dock that is easy to fit into even a crowded entertainment system.

One more thing: This charging dock can charge up to two DualShock 4 controllers at the same time.

Why the PowerA DualShock 4 Controller Charging Station is the best

PowerA DualShock 4 Controller Charging Station makes it easy to keep your controllers stored and charged for when you need them.

There are plenty of great reasons that this controller dock is the best, and they all combine to deliver an absolutely stellar product. The design means that you can slot your controllers directly down and into the cradle, which means that properly plugging your DualShock 4 controller in is a breeze. You’ll hear an audible click when you plug your controllers in, as well as seeing your controller light up orange while charging. That same design also takes up as little room as possible.

Since you may well already have an overcrowded entertainment center, this means that it won’t be taking up too much room. It’s designed so that you don’t have to think about what you’re doing; just drop your controller in and go about your day. When you plug in your controller, you’ll hear an audible click and see the lightbar on the back of controller glow yellow to indicate a good connection While many other docks have a few more features, they don’t combine to form the excellent product that PowerA has delivered.

Best Third Party

Nyko Charge Base – PS4

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When it comes to third-party accessories, Nyko is well-known for delivering quality products that work exceedingly well. Its DualShock 4 charging dock is no exception to that either. The dock is small and easy to drop a controller into when it’s time to charge, and, like the official DualShock 4 Controller Dock, it can easily handle both of your controllers at the same time. It’s got a low profile design that you set your controller into when it’s time to charge, meaning that it’s easy to settle just about anywhere on your entertainment center. While it is a bit pricier than some of the other options, it does it job very well, so it’s worth it.

Bottom line: Nyko’s charge dock is easy to use, can hold two controllers at once and has a low profile design that makes it easy to fit just about anywhere.

One more thing: When your controller is done charging, you’ll see an indicator light go out, letting you know that your controller is good to go for hours of gameplay.

Best on a budget

PDP Energizer 2X Charging Station for PlayStation 4

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When it comes to finding great accessories that fit into your budget, things can be a bit difficult. Thankfully, this controller port is both easy to use and affordable, even when you don’t have much money to spare. The PDP Energizer 2X Charging Station for PlayStation 4 can easily handle two controllers at once and lets you smoothly slot them into the charging port. Indicator lights will let you know that your controller has a proper connection for charging, which makes checking on your charge status at a glance an easy task. This charging station isn’t quite as sturdy as some of its competitors, but for just $20, it’s a solid purchase.

Bottom line: The Energizer 2x Charging Station delivers a great product without a steep price tag. It can charge two controllers at once, has convenient LED indicators, and is easy to fit in your crowded entertainment center.

One more thing: The indicator lights will shine red when charging and then switch to green when your controller is fully charged.

Conclusion

There are plenty of charging docks that are available for your DualShock 4 controllers, and, thankfully, many of them are fantastic at their jobs. While they often have similar features and functions, there are definitely some docks that work better than others. That’s why we recommend the PowerA DualShock 4 Controller Charging Station. It offers all of the features that you might want, as well as a design that makes it easy to pop your controllers in and out of without any frustration. It’s affordable, easy to use, and the officially licensed PlayStation 4 charging dock for DualShock 4 Controllers. All of these things combine to deliver a stellar dock that can get the job done without any issues in the process.

Best Overall

PowerA DualShock 4 Controller Charging Station

See at Amazon

The PowerA DualShock 4 Controller Charging Station is the only officially licensed charging dock for your PlayStation 4 controllers. It works off of AC adapters to make it easy to plug your controllers in and get a charge without any additional hassle. With a design that makes it easy to plug in your controllers and one that doesn’t take up much room, this dock fits easily onto an entertainment system. From the design to the size, this dock makes it easy to keep your controllers charged and ready for you when it’s time to game.

Bottom line: The PowerA DualShock 4 Controller Charging Station is the officially licensed charge dock, which means it’s the dock that you can trust with the solemn duty of charging your controllers. Additionally, it’s a small dock that is easy to fit into even a crowded entertainment system.

One more thing: This charging dock can charge up to two DualShock 4 controllers at the same time.

January 2018: We’ve updated this post with new information so that you know you’re always getting the best charging dock for your DualShock 4 controllers!

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Your web browser’s password manager is helping ad companies track you across the web

The Same Origin Policy has one fatal flaw, and of course, ad companies have found a way to exploit it.

There are a few things you’ll hear in every conversation about internet security; one of the first ones would be to use a password manager. I’ve said it, most of my coworkers have said it, and chances are you’ve said it while helping someone else sort out ways to keep their data safe and sound. It’s still good advice, but a recent study from Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology Policy has found that the password manager in your web browser you might use to keep your information private is also helping ad companies track you across the web.

It’s a frightening scenario from all sides, mostly because it’s not going to be easy to fix. What’s happening isn’t the stealing of any credentials — an ad company doesn’t want your username and password — but the behavior a password manager uses is being exploited in a very simple way. An ad company places a script on a page (two called out by name are AdThink and OnAudience) that acts as a login form. It’s not a real login form, as in it’s not going to connect you to any service, it’s “just” a login script.

When your password manager sees a login form, it enters a username. Browsers tested were: Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Edge, and Safari. Chrome, for example, will not enter the password until the user interacts with the form, but it enters a username automatically. That’s fine because that is all the script wants or needs. Other browsers behaved the same, as expected.

Once your username is entered, it and your browser ID are hashed into a unique identifier. You don’t need to save anything on your computer or phone because the next time you visit a site that is using the same ad company you get another script acting as a login form and your username is once again entered. The data is compared to what’s on file, and et voilà a unique identifier has been attached to you and can be (and is being) used to track you across the web. And this works because this is expected and “trusted” behavior. Besides a roadmap of your internet habits, data found to be attached to this UUID also includes browser plugins, MIME types, screen dimensions, language, timezone information, user agent string, OS information, and CPU information.

The set of heuristics used to determine which login forms will be autofilled varies by browser, but the basic requirement is that a username and password field be available

It works because of what’s known as the Same Origin Policy. When content from two different sources is presented it is not to be trusted, but once a source is trusted all content for the current session is also trusted (trust in this sense means you’re purposefully viewing or interacting with the content). You’ve directed your browser to a webpage and interacted with a login form on that page, so it’s all treated as being trusted while you’re on the page. In this case, though, the script was embedded into a page but is actually from a different source and shouldn’t be trusted until you’ve clicked or interacted in some way to show you intended to be there.

If the offending page elements were embedded in an iframe or another method that matches the source and destination of the data, the automatic-ness of this exploit (and yes, I’ll call it an exploit) wouldn’t work.

A list of known sites embedding scripts that abuse login manager for tracking

There’s a very good chance that the web publishers using ad services that exploit this behavior have no idea of what’s happening to their users. While that doesn’t exempt them from responsibility it is ultimately their product being used to harvest data from users without their knowledge, and that should make every site administrator concerned (and possibly very irate). As a user, there’s not much we can do other than follow the same “incognito” web browsing practices used when we want to stay a little more private on the web. That means to block all scripts, block all ads, save no data, accept no cookies and basically treat each web session as its own sandbox.

The only true fix is to change the way password managers work through the browser — both built-in tools and extensions or other plugins. Arvind Narayanan, one of the professors who worked on the project, puts it succinctly:

It won’t be easy to fix, but it’s worth doing

Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Mozilla all shaped the web into what it is today, and they are capable of changing things to meet new issues. Hopefully, this is on the short list of changes.

January 2018 security patches for Nexus and Pixel have arrived

DIY-ers can do it today, OTA files expected shortly.

January 2018’s security patch is available for supported Nexus and Pixel devices. Factory images for the Pixel and Pixel 2 family, the Pixel C, the Nexus 6P, and Nexus 5X are available at the Google Developer site and can be manually installed today, and OTA updates are expected to begin shortly.

There were no major vulnerabilities addressed in this month’s patch, but as usual, all the little things mean a lot and it’s recommended that everyone with an eligible device accept any OTA update.

• Find the factory images here

We’ve covered flashing a factory image in depth and it’s where to start if this is your first time.

How to manually update your Pixel or Nexus

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Bug causes Galaxy S8 and Note 8 screen to turn on randomly while charging

This doesn’t seem to be widespread, but it’s definitely annoying.

When you charge your phone, you typically just plug it in or place it on a wireless charging pad and forget about it. It’s a process that you don’t really think about on a daily basis, but when something goes wrong with it, it can prove to be awfully irritating.

For some users of the Galaxy S8/S8+ and Note 8, the display on their phones is randomly turning on for no apparent reason while charging. There are reports of this happening on Reddit and Samsung’s own community forums, and while it’s an issue that doesn’t seem to be very widespread, it does sound like a bugger.

One owner of the S8+ says that the screen turns on every ten seconds while charging, and there are a couple videos making their way around that show this odd behavior in action. The screen randomly turns on, turns off, and then turns on again for a seemingly endless number of times.

Factory resets and wiped caches don’t seem to have helped at all, and while some users claim this only happens while wireless charging, there are others saying the issue persists whether they’re charging wirelessly or with a cable.

Samsung has yet to address what’s happening here, but if/when this happens, we’ll let you know.

If you own a Galaxy S8/S8+ or Note 8, have you noticed this behavior?

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This $22 repair kit comes with 77 tools to help you fix nearly any gadget

Stop living with that cracked phone screen.

We have all been there before, and no one likes it. Your gadget exits its warranty time, and then something starts happening. You can replace it, which is costly, or try to fix it yourself, which you may not have the tools to do.

This Ohuhu 77-piece professional repair kit will give you just about every tool you’ll need to complete nearly any repair, and right now you can pick it up for just $21.99 when you use the coupon code OHDRIVER at checkout. This is a savings of $6 on the well-rated toolkit, and brings it down to its lowest price in the past year.

Features include:

• Adjustable Length and Angle: The telescopic, flexible shaft can be adjusted to 4 different lengths and a variety of angles. You’ll be able to reach into even the most difficult nooks and crannies
• Extreme Durability: This screwdriver set is built to last. Made of CRV steel and armed with a hardness of HRC52 56, this kit can endure years of wear and tear. The point of a handle has strong magnet to prevent losing bits
• 77 Handy Functions: Standard screwdriver sets are a thing of the past. This set includes 58 interchangeable bits, a utility knife, an anti-static wrist strap, anti-static tweezers, a SIM card ejector pin, an LCD suction cup, a triangle plectrum, plastic and metal spudgers, a stainless steel ruler, and a cleaning brush
• Pack and Go: The included nylon bag pack to stores parts in one place, keeping you organized and mess-free
• Jack of All Trades: Enjoy versatility like never before. This bit kit includes the parts you’ll need to repair iPhones, iPads, Tablets, Laptops, PCs, Smartphones, Watches, Glasses, Cameras, PS4/Xbox controllers, and so much more. The Ohuhu 77-in-1 Screwdriver Kit does it all!

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