Watch the first footage from Kodak’s reborn Super 8 film camera

Even if you think that film has had its day, there’s no denying it evokes a dreamy nostalgia that digital video can’t match. Kodak got a lot of folks, including A-list Hollywood directors, excited about its hybrid Super 8 camera based on that idea, and has now revealed the first footage that seems to deliver on that promise. Shot by cinematographers like Nick Green and GQ fashion photographers, the video reveals the soft grain, organic-looking flares, low resolution and high contrast you (might) love with Super 8 film.

The Yves Behar-designed camera, which will cost between $2,500 and $3,000, has a 3.5-inch LCD, variable speed control and C-mount lens support. However, it was first revealed at CES 2016, and CES 2018 has now come and gone. During a discussion at the Las Vegas show this year, Kodak’s Holger Schwaerzel and Steve Parsons explained that the delay is partly because the technology behind film cameras has largely been forgotten at Kodak.

“Our biggest challenge has been rebuilding the engineering knowledge that’s been lost over the last few decades since the last Super 8 cameras were produced in volume,” said Parsons. “Our design engineers have had to re-learn lessons that at one time were common, accumulated knowledge in the industry, so there’s been some trial and error as we’ve gone through that process.”

Kodak promised that the Super 8 camera will be as easy to use as a DSLR, and unveiled a new online platform for film development called the Kodak Darkroom. That’ll let you purchase the film, processing and shipping all at once. You then just need to send it off, and Kodak will process and scan the film digitally, then upload the scans to Darkroom so you don’t have to wait to get the physical media back.

As mentioned, Kodak has let filmmakers test the camera, and engineers have incorporated their suggestions into the latest designs. Schwaerzel and Parsons say that has resulted in improvements — for instance, they’re still using the same cartridge design, but have made the film run steadier in the gate where the image is exposed.

That does beg the question as to whether Kodak will be ready with the camera in 2018, as promised, considering that at this point, they haven’t even tested their latest design. Kodak’s name also took a knock (and it’s stock went way up) when it unveiled a new blockchain scheme and very sketchy-looking bitcoin mining device.

Source: Kodak

Facebook’s News Feed change may amplify fake news

Facebook has been under fire since it was revealed just how big its “fake news” problem is. It’s been taking steps to combat the issue and reestablish users’ faith in the service. But now, it looks as though one if its most recent tweaks might have made things worse. The New York Times reports that in some countries where Facebook has been testing its latest News Feed changes, the tweaks have actually amplified fake news across the service. We’ve reached out to Facebook for comment.

The company has made no secret of the fact that it’s been changing the News Feed algorithm over the past few months. The idea has been to figure out how to deliver content that users want to see. The latest tweak, announced last week, involves prioritizing posts from friends and family over stories and videos from publishers. Unless a publisher is ready to shell out a significant amount of money, the main news stories you’ll see on your Facebook feed are the ones that your friends and family have shared.

It might sound good in theory, but the problem is that it hasn’t worked so well in test countries. Facebook has implemented similar News Feed tweaks in six countries, including Bolivia, Slovakia and Cambodia, though the company claimed that these changes are not identical to the worldwide changes it’s putting into place. The problem is when the only news people get is those pieces shared by friends, it’s the sensationalist (and often fake) stories that will be disseminated. “People usually don’t share boring news with boring facts,” Filip Struharik, the social media editor of Denník N, a Slovakian news site, told The New York Times.

This algorithm change is certainly a big problem for publishers around the world who rely on Facebook’s massive user base for their traffic, but there’s an even larger issue here. The company is making it harder for legitimate news organizations to share their stories (and thus counter any false narratives), and by doing so, is creating a breeding ground for the fake news it’s trying to stamp out in the first place. It’s a terrible situation, and Facebook appears to just be making everything worse.

Via: The Verge

Source: The New York Times

Microsoft is working on ‘building-scale’ VR for disaster simulations

Scaling up VR to areas larger than your living room is a focus for a number of game developers right now, but Microsoft is working on expanding the size capabilities of the tech for a much more important reason: disaster management. In a lecture video, the Microsoft Research team explains how it’s reconstructing entire buildings in a VR sphere to help occupants learn how to act in disaster scenarios, such as earthquakes or flooding.

Using a mobile robot equipped with a laser-range sensor, an RGB depth camera and a 4K panoramic image camera, the team can virtually reproduce the interiors of buildings in what it calls “Building-scale VR”. The mobile robot also scans individual physical objects by moving around them automatically. In the disaster simulations, both the building and objects can be manipulated, giving the VR headset wearer the opportunity to safely experience potentially dangerous situations, which according to the researchers is just as, if not more, effective than real world training. Future work will include large-scale experiments with indoor 3D maps of more complicated buildings, such as libraries and museums.

Source: Microsoft

Google Chromecast devices are messing with WiFi connections

If you’ve been having some issues with your WiFi connection, the culprit could be your Chromecast devices. There have now been multiple reports of users losing WiFi connections when Google devices with the “Cast” feature, like Chromecast and Google Home devices, are added to a user’s network. Initially, reports suggested that TP-Link Archer C7 routers were the only ones affected by the issue, but subsequent reports have noted that ASUS, Linksys, Netgear and Synology routers may also be impacted.

TP-Link has issued firmware fixes for the problem and explained in a statement that the issue lies in how these devices send information to routers when they’re awakened from their sleep states. Typically, devices like this send MDNS multicast discovery packets to routers at 20-second intervals in order to keep a live connection. “However, we have discovered that the devices will sometimes broadcast a large amount of these packets at a very high speed in a short amount of time. This occurs when the device is awakened from its ‘sleep’ state, and could exceed more than 100,000 packets,” said TP-Link. “The longer your device is in ‘sleep,’ the larger this packet burst will be.” This overloads the router and can affect your wireless connectivity. Rebooting is an option, but when you have to do that over and over again, that can get irritating very quickly.

A Google spokesperson told us, “We’re aware that a small number of users are having issues and our team is working quickly to share a solution.”

In the meantime, if you’re one of the users having these issues, check to see if there’s a firmware update available for your router.

Via: The Register

Uber forcing UK drivers to take breaks in the name of safety

In an effort to stop UK drivers working excessive hours, Uber’s going to start forcing them to rest up after pulling a decent shift. A new policy coming into effect next week mandates a driver must take a continuous six-hour break after racking up 10 hours of cruising either with a passenger in the back, or en route to pick one up. And these aren’t just guidelines. Uber will stop drivers logging into the app if they don’t take the necessary downtime, with a 10-hour counter resetting every time six hours or more are spent off the clock.

Uber first floated the idea last October when addressing a UK government committee that’s investigating gig economy working practices. Uber’s Head of Policy Andrew Byrne said of the obligatory breaks: “Licensed drivers who use our app really value the freedom and flexibility to choose if, when and where they work. And while drivers only spend an average of 30 hours a week logged into our app, we want to do our part to ensure they don’t drive tired. That’s why we’ve been sending drivers regular reminders to take rest breaks and why we’re now bringing in these new limits. On top of features like GPS tracking of every trip it’s another example of how Uber uses technology to help enhance driver and passenger safety.”

While this is the first time Uber has taken to micromanaging drivers across the UK, those in New York City have been working around a cap on hours since early 2016. Any New Yorker pulling more than a 12-hour shift — forbidden by taxi regulations — will have their account temporarily disabled. If they’re caught driving excessive hours again soon after that, Uber will kick them off the service permanently.

Uber is particularly keen to show the UK authorities safety’s of paramount concern, though. It’s currently trying to curry favor with Transport for London (TfL), the regulator that denied Uber a renewed private hire license for the capital last September. TfL concluded in its review the ride-hailing service was not “fit and proper” to hold a license, citing “a lack corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications,” among many other criticisms. Uber is still allowed to operate in London for the time being, however, while it exhausts the appeals process in the courts and works behind closed doors to get TfL back onside.

Via: Reuters

Airbnb Debuts ‘Pay Less Up Front’ Checkout Option to Lower Initial Cost of Bookings

Vacation and apartment rental service Airbnb this week launched a new way for its customers to cut down the initial cost of expensive bookings for an Airbnb location.

Called “Pay Less Up Front” and available on iOS, Android, and the web, the feature allows guests to choose to pay for part of their trip at the time of booking in the form of a 50 percent deposit “in most cases.” When their check-in date draws closer, the app will send the guest a notification and then they’ll have to pay for the rest of the trip.

The checkout update is Airbnb’s first major overhaul to guest payment options, and prior to the feature Airbnb users had to pay for the entirety of their trip immediately. In testing, the company said that 40 percent of its guests chose Pay Less Up Front and were willing to opt for higher-value bookings due to the payment plan. The update also satisfied hosts, who saw more booking activity on costlier listings and improved lead times to prepare locations for guests.

Pay Less Up Front helps our hosts as well. Given the ability to pay in installments, hosts won’t lose out on bookings from cash flow-sensitive guests who prefer not to pay the entire amount up front. What’s more, we’ve found that Pay Less Up Front encourages bookings further in advance: Compared with ordinary bookings, the Pay Less Up Front payment option led to bookings with nearly double the lead time, helping hosts to secure and manage bookings more easily.

There are two requirements for Pay Less Up Front: the total stay for the listing has to cost $250 or more, and it must be booked at least 14 days ahead of the check-in date. If these requirements are met, guests should start seeing Pay Less Up Front as a checkout option now on Airbnb’s iOS and Android apps, as well as on the desktop and mobile web versions of the site.

Tag: Airbnb
Discuss this article in our forums

2019 iPhones Could Have Smaller Notch as Apple ‘Looking Into’ Combining Face ID and Front Camera

A new report from South Korea’s ETNews insinuates that iPhones may have a smaller notch in 2019 or beyond.

The report, citing industry sources, claims Apple is “looking into” combining the front-facing camera and Face ID on next year’s iPhones, a move that could certainly reduce the size of the TrueDepth sensor housing.

According to industries, it is heard that Apple is planning to strengthen face sensing function starting from 2019 models. That is why it is planning to increase number of parts that will be used for iPhones and is looking into combination of a face recognition module with a camera module.

The confusing bit is that the report mentions a singular face recognition module, whereas Face ID is powered by an infrared camera, dot projector, and flood illuminator. The report doesn’t specify how Apple would manage to combine these components, so like many very-early-on rumors, this one isn’t entirely clear yet.

The notch is easily the most controversial attribute of the iPhone X’s design. While many early adopters don’t mind the small cutout at the top of the display, others have heavily criticized it, including The Outline’s Joshua Topolsky.

The “notch” on the new iPhone X is not just strange, interesting, or even odd — it is bad. It is bad design, and as a result, bad for the user experience. The justification for the notch (the new Face ID tech, which lets you unlock the device just by looking at it) could have easily been accomplished with no visual break in the display. Yet here is this awkward blind spot cradled by two blobs of actual screen space.

Unfortunately for those critics, it doesn’t look like the smaller notch will arrive in 2018, as new iPhones and iPads set to launch later this year are expected to have the same TrueDepth sensor housing as the iPhone X.

Back in November, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Face ID will be featured on a second-generation 5.8-inch iPhone X, a larger 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus, and a new mid-range 6.1-inch iPhone. Apple will also release at least one iPad Pro model with Face ID this year, according to Bloomberg News.

LG Innotek will reportedly supply all or the majority of 3D sensing modules for the next-generation iPhone and iPad models, based on an $821 million investment, which may have been funded at least partially by Apple.

Related Roundup: iPhone XTags: etnews.com, Face ID, TrueDepthBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums

Facebook VP: Messenger App ‘Too Cluttered’ and Will Be ‘Massively’ Streamlined This Year

Facebook vice president of messaging products, David Marcus, posted an update on Messenger today, outlining the app’s successes in 2017 and hinting at what the team has planned for 2018.

In the post, Marcus mentioned that the Messenger team knows the app has become “too cluttered.” Because of this, they have planned a big update for 2018, which will introduce a simplified and streamlined experience for Facebook Messenger (via The Verge).

Over the last two years, we built a lot of capabilities to find the features that continue to set us apart. A lot of them have found their product market fit; some haven’t. While we raced to build these new features, the app became too cluttered. Expect to see us invest in massively simplifying and streamlining Messenger this year.

In 2017 alone, Facebook Messenger added its 24-hour Snapchat clone “Messenger Day,” introduced location sharing, integrated AI assistant “M” into the app, added Apple Music and Spotify extensions, let users purchase products with a MasterCard chatbot, introduced PayPal P2P payments, and even announced a Messenger spin-off app for kids. The main Messenger app got a redesign in May 2017, with Facebook stating at the time that the changes helped “make Messenger simpler for you.” Now it appears that the company will try again to simplify the chat app in 2018.

Marcus didn’t specify which parts of Facebook Messenger might be removed in the streamlining process, but he did mention a few aspects that the company will continue to focus on in 2018. These include doubling down on “visual messaging” — i.e. gifs, stickers, videos, and images — and evolving customer service into a “Customer Care” experience so that users can easily contact companies to have basic troubleshooting and other questions answered.

Tag: Facebook Messenger
Discuss this article in our forums

Chinese scientists unveil plan to zap space junk with orbital lasers

There have been more than a few proposals for eliminating space junk, such as grabbing it, gobbling it and blasting it from Earth. The latest idea, however, may be the most dramatic… and the most effective. Chinese researchers have successfully simulated an orbital laser station that would zap small debris (under 4 inches long). The system would zap targets with 20 bursts of light per second for 2 minutes, either deflecting the junk out of harm’s way or sending it to a fiery end in the atmosphere.

The team has determined that it would be logistically feasible to launch stations like this. However, it’s not just a simple matter of building them — there are numerous questions to be answered. How many of these stations would you need, and where? Who builds them? And if China builds them, how does it reassure other countries that this is strictly for space junk rather than a weapon? This could easily require a significant amount of planning and international collaboration before it becomes more than a simulation.

Still, there’s plenty of incentive to make this happen. Space debris is becoming a serious problem, to the point where International Space Station crew members had to be ready to abandon ship. This won’t get rid of entire dead satellites and other large junk, but it could get rid of the many, many tiny objects that threaten active spacecraft.

Via: Huffington Post, Newsweek

Source: ScienceDirect

Google denies launching optimized version of Maps for China

Google’s presence in China has increased marginally in recent times, but those excited about a rumoured optimized version of Maps for the country will be disappointed to learn the claims are untrue. Earlier this week Japan news site Nikkei reported that Google had launched a China-specific version of Maps for the first time in eight years, along with an accompanying app for Chinese iPhones, but Google quickly shot this down. “There have been no changes to Google Maps in China. Maps has been accessible on desktop for years, but does not have an official presence in Android or iOS app stores in China,” a spokesperson said.

The full Google Maps app was withdrawn from the Chinese market in 2010, after the company refused to self-censor its search results. It’s maintained a limited presence in the country since, although there have been signs of softening attitudes lately. The Google Translate app was made available in the country last year, and a Go tournament was held in eastern China. More recently, Google announced its plans to set up an AI research center in Beijing. So while an incoming Maps app would be a significant step, at this juncture it wouldn’t be entirely unbelievable.

Source: Reuters