A closer look at Apple’s new HomePod

The first time I got close to one of Apple’s HomePods was in a secluded meeting room at WWDC. Sonically, at least, it blew away the competition. After seven months — not to mention the introduction of other impressive smart speakers — Apple invited me to spend another hour with a near-final HomePod, and it still sounds like the one to beat. There’s much more to the HomePod than just its stellar sound quality, though, and my time spent with Apple’s new speaker provided answers to some key lingering questions. But first: the basics.

What is the HomePod?

Here’s a quick refresher if you aren’t up to date. The HomePod is Apple’s first smart speaker, and it looks like a 7-inch-tall Mac Pro covered in mesh fabric. It’s highly understated in its design; unless your home is particularly rustic, it’s hard to imagine a place where this rounded, low-key body would attract much attention. And, more important, it’s packed to the gills with high-end audio components: A series of seven tweeters are arranged around the bottom, while a 4-inch woofer pushes out meaty mids and lows from the top. Throw in the brain of an iPhone 6, which helps acoustically analyze the speaker’s surroundings to optimize sound based on what’s around it, and you’ve got a surprisingly powerful little speaker.

Apple

How do you set it up?

This is pretty sweet: As with the AirPods, all you have to do is hold an iOS device (running the latest version, of course) up to the HomePod. From there, the iDevice will recognize there’s a HomePod in front of it and begin the setup process. You’ll be asked (among other things) whether you want the HomePod to take phone calls, access your messages and so on. These are “personal requests,” and they work only when the iOS device used to set things up is on the same WiFi network. Once you’ve zipped through Apple’s questions, you’re just left waiting for setup to complete. From start to finish, the process took about a minute.

How does it sound?

As mentioned, there’s a ton of components crammed inside the HomePod, and they come together for an audio experience that’s almost shockingly good. Apple ran the HomePod through a handful of test tracks, ranging from Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” to the Hamilton soundtrack, and each of them sounded remarkably warm and crisp. More impressive is how the HomePod seemed to layer and highlight different components of each song; it always seemed to emphasize vocals, but I could easily make out the attack of a pick on guitar strings and the warm, lingering sound of a bass being plucked. For me, musical quality often takes a back seat to convenience, but there’s something special about picking up on fresh nuances in a favorite song or being reminded that they were always there, waiting to be heard. The HomePod is especially good at this.

And since it adjusts the way it blasts out music depending on where it is and what’s around it, I was able to wander around a room and hear a song sound the same no matter where I was standing. With most speakers, there’s a sweet spot where everything sounds just right. The HomePod, however, endeavors to build a sweet zone. There are some exceptions, like when you’re standing near a wall the HomePod has its back to, but the sound in those cases is still well worth listening to. This intelligent approach to audio playback isn’t exactly new, though: Google’s Home Max has a feature called Smart Sound that also adjusts audio playback depending on where it is in the room.

Apple

What’s the catch?

For one, Apple Music is the only music service the HomePod natively supports; you’ll have to use an AirPlay connection if you’re a Spotify or Pandora person. Features like stereo pairing and multiroom audio won’t be available until software updates get pushed later this year. Other smart speakers, like Sonos’ new One, can sound almost as good at times (and are on sale at the moment). And, of course, there’s Siri.

How well does Siri work?

About as well as it does on your phone. Depending on your feelings about Siri, though, that might be a deal breaker for the HomePod. Throughout my demo, Siri did most of the things you’d expect an assistant in a tube to do: It played back a handful of news stories from NPR (though Fox News and CNN are also available) and quickly unfurled and retracted connected blinds in front of a window.

Thanks to the metadata embedded into Apple Music tracks, Siri was also great at playing playlists for specific moods and offering up information about songs and artists we listened to. Since the HomePod also works as an extension of your phone, I could ask it to read messages I’d just received or start writing one to send to a friend. For paranoiacs concerned about having yet another intelligent microphone at home, it’s easy enough to get Siri to stop listening — just ask. More important, Siri was always quick to react to commands, even when the HomePod was blasting tunes at 90 percent volume. With rare exceptions, Siri interpreted and responded correctly to every request on its first try. That’s a good sign.

Chris Velazco/Engadget

How does Siri compare with Alexa and Google Assistant at home?

That’s a tricky question, considering the limited time I spent with the HomePod. Based on first impressions, though, Siri often felt limited as compared with its rivals. It can’t, for instance, tell your voice apart from others. Sure, that means anyone at your next party can change up the music. It also means people talking to Siri can influence the stored musical preferences Siri uses to choose tracks for you. (Thankfully, you can disable this in settings.)

On a broader level, I’ve been spoiled by the wide variety of actions and skills available for competitors like Google Assistant and Alexa. Google and Amazon have had a tremendous head start in getting developers to build experiences around their connected speakers, and Apple could have trouble making up ground. Encouraging developers to embrace SiriKit is a start, but so far Apple hasn’t confirmed which third parties are working to make their apps HomePod friendly.

Making the switch from another smart speaker could be problematic for other reasons. I spend more of my life talking to Alexa and chatting up Google Assistant than I do interacting with Siri. How could I not? Amazon and Google made it to market much sooner than Apple did, and you could trick out an entire home with a handful of Echo Dots or Home Minis for the same price as one HomePod. They’re everywhere, and ubiquity breeds familiarity. Some people might not be willing to trade the assistant they know and appreciate for something new and different, no matter how much better that hardware may sound. That’s totally valid, and I see that being the case for a lot of people.

Lenovo’s VR Classroom kits come with Daydream headsets

Lenovo will soon release its VR Classroom setup, which will let teachers guide their students through virtual field trips. Each kit comes with the first standalone Daydream VR headset, Lenovo’s Mirage Solo with Daydream, which arrives preloaded with over 700 Google Expeditions VR field trips as well as three exclusive Jane Goodall “Wild Immersion” videos. The VR field trips allow classrooms to explore the world and in order to help facilitate the learning experience, the videos include stopping points during which teachers can add more information or answer questions as well as talking points for teachers. Additionally, online lesson plans will be available to assist teachers in getting the most from the kit.

Along with headsets and software, the kit comes with a Lenovo Tab 4 PLUS 10-inch tablet, a Ruckus R510 commercial router, a cart or case depending on the size of the kit being purchased, training videos, expert consultation and monthly webinars.

Google Expeditions got started in 2015 as a limited-release learning platform, and it saw a wide release the following year. Last year, Google debuted a solo mode that made it easier for people to experience Expeditions outside of a classroom setting.

Lenovo’s VR Classroom will be available this April in the US and the fall for Canada. There are three kit tiers — a three-student pack, a 10-student pack and a 24-student pack — with the lowest tier starting at $2,899.

Source: Lenovo

Researchers create tiny robots powered only by moisture

Tiny robots that can move on their own stand to have a variety of uses in fields ranging from medicine to the military. But having to supply them with constant power is a bit of a hindrance, especially when that power poses a safety hazard — you can’t really have robots running around a human body if their batteries are at risk of exploding. However, in a new study, researchers turn to plants in order to get around this problem and the result is a tiny, inchworm-like robot that runs on humidity.

What inspired the researchers behind these little robots were plants like Pelargonium carnosum, the seeds of which can screw themselves into the ground, and pine cones that open and close depending on the humidity in order to ensure their seeds spread as far as possible. These plants are able to do this because they have multiple layers of cells, some of which are affected by moisture and some of which aren’t. When the plants come in contact with moisture, those layers that are responsive to it tend to stretch or swell and since other layers don’t, it results in some sort of useful motion — either a spinning motion that can drive seeds into the ground or an open and close motion that can keep seeds in place until conditions are optimal for dispersal.

The researchers mimicked these plants by developing a dual-layered material made from nanofibers. When that material came in contact with moisture, one layer swelled while the other stayed the same, causing the material to move. When it dried, the moisture-responsive layer shrank back to its original state, resulting in movement in the opposite direction. And with that motion, the team was able to create tiny robots that can move along a surface kind of like an inchworm or wriggle like a snake. They researchers say such devices could be used for military or industrial applications or even in the medical world. To demonstrate, they loaded one of these “hygrobots” up with an antibiotic and had it inch across a petri dish filled with media. Afterwords, when most of the dish’s contents were covered with bacteria, the strip along the bot’s path was completely bacteria-free.

The research team is now working on giving these robots a greater range of motion and equipping them with sensors that will let them respond to particular gases. The study was published this week in Science Robotics.

Images: Shin et al., Sci. Robot. 3, eaar2629 (2018)

Via: The Verge

Source: Science Robotics

‘Monster Hunter: World’ beginners guide

Monster Hunter: World isn’t subtle. You are here to hunt monsters. It sounds simple, but there’s a lot that goes into it — tracking, getting geared up, studying the creatures, and preparing for your bouts. What’s more, the New World is packed with gargantuan creatures including dragons, dinos, and great aquatic beasts. Many have weak points, hunting patterns, defensive tactics, preferred prey, et cetera, that you at least need to be somewhat familiar with to take them down. It’s Dark Souls on safari.

There aren’t too many shortcuts here, nor is it generally feasible to rush a hunt. If you go in without the right know-how and without the right gear, you will get stomped and ground to dust in seconds. You need to spend the time out in the field learning all that you can, then head back to base to get yourself ready. To help you figure out how to best elder dragons and ginormous wyverns alike, we assembled our best hunting tips in this handy-dandy Monster Hunter: World beginners guide.

Find some weapon styles you like

The first and perhaps most important step to becoming a great monster hunter is familiarizing yourself with all the basic weapon types. It takes some doing, but, mercifully, Monster Hunter: World makes this part pretty easy.

After the opening, you will be dropped off in Astera, your primary base camp for the game. Here, you have access to your own private quarters. From there, you can access your full inventory — including one of each of the 14 weapon types — and equip them by selecting “Change Equipment” and then your weapon of choice.

From there, talk to your housekeeper (a cat person just to the left of your main storage). They let you access the training grounds where you can practice with any of the basic gear. This is critical, though, because your weapon dictates almost everything about your play style.

• Greatsword: Arguably the traditional Monster Hunter weapon, The greatsword has high damage output, but limited mobility and speed while attacking.
• Insect glaive: The glaive allows you to vault on top of monsters to attack their head/spine
• Light bowgun: The light bowgun has special arrows let you set explosive traps that can be remotely targeted and detonated
• Sword and shield: Good for beginners. The sword and shield offer a good mix of damage output and basic protection.
• Bow: Large, mid-ranged weapon that emphasizes stealth. You can modify arrows for different effects.
• Dual blades: Light and fast, dual blades quickly dish out moderate damage and can charge for additional attacks.
• Heavy bowgun: The monstrously powerful heavy bowgun severely limits mobility but can wipe out weaker monsters in one shot.
• Longsword: The longsword has moderately high damage output, with greater speed and precision than its greater cousin.
• Hunting horn: A support weapon, the horn lines up roughly with standard bards. Fairly useless on its own, but helpful in groups.
• Charge blade: A complex, powerful weapon, as its name implies, the charge blade allows its wielder to charge up a special, devastating attack.
• Switch ax: The switch ax combines an ax and a sword into one bizarre, though versatile weapon.
• Gunlance: Large piercing weapons, gunlances can also fire explosive rounds, but only at close range.
• Hammer: The hammer is a heavy weapon that relies on huge combos.
• Lance: The lance offers exceptional attack range for a melee weapon, and comes with a shield to shore-up defense.

Earlier entries in the Monster Hunter series were (somewhat notoriously) tough for new players to dip into, but World offers quite a few concessions to help you figure out what to do. Every weapon has a newbie-friendly rating. In general, smaller, close-range weapons are a bit easier to handle and offer the best physical damage resistance. Ranged weapons and even longer spears and lances and the like will be a bit more challenging and offer better protection from elemental and ranged attacks from your foes.

Try them all and see what feels right. So far, we’ve primarily used the insect glaive. It’s a more complex, albeit highly mobile weapon that focuses on juggling minor attacks and vaulting oneself into the air for flashy combos and aerial maneuvers. No matter what you choose, the important thing is to practice with as many as you like and find ones that feel good to you.

Don’t just get comfy with one style either. Some monsters have some different needs or weak points, so it pays to have a main weapon and a couple of backups in case you need to change tactics for later hunts.

Whichever way you go, keep in mind that while this is by far the most significant choice in the game, you won’t ever be locked into one style. Play around with different types, and revisit easier areas to get some more real-world practice with your backup weapons when you can so that you’re ready for whatever beasts you encounter.

Follow those scout flies!

Monster Hunter itself will tell you this quite often, but World still undersells just how reliant you are on your environment. Everything comes down to what you’re doing in the field, away from your base camp. You need to keep an eye out for footprints, mucous, eggs, and all kinds of clues just to hunt your prey. Then, there are countless passages, hidden routes, crafting materials, traps, etc. that can aid you mid-fight. Making good use of as many of these as you can is key to besting great beasts, and it’s a lot to keep track of (especially at first).

Once again, though, World has learned from its predecessors and offers an invaluable system for helping you manage it all — your scout flies.

Kept in a cage on your belt, Scout flies automagically spring forth and help you track nearby points of interest. Monster tracks will send them buzzing while crafting supplies and other noteworthy finds yield lesser flickers. In either case, though, you want to pay close attention and keep an eye out for what they track.

If you’re going to rely on scout flies, though, you have to “train” them. When you’re tracking a creature, especially a larger one, you will likely find older tracks first. You can use those to help the flies “learn” what you’re looking for, and as you gather observations, they can, in time, lead you straight to the monster’s lair or nest. This is particularly helpful when dealing with flying enemies, or foes that like to flee from battle. Often, you have to track a beast several times to fully take it down. Training your flies to catch the “scent” early and direct you straight away saves a lot of time late in the hunt.

The flies’ flow intensity is largely governed by how well you’ve studied that creature or item before. The more you use your flies, the better they become. Initially, though, you need to be on the lookout for everything from herbs to stone ores. While not as immediately useful as some old dung, for instance, will help you down the line with upgrading your tools and crafting new potions, foods, weapons, and armor.

Plus, even when they’re trained, scout flies never become a suitable replacement for paying close attention to your environment. They are a great hint, but not every clue will be obvious.

How to prepare

Before you set out after a monster, you need to prepare yourself for the hunt. There are a lot of steps to keep track of, but, once again, the move to more accessible design all around has dramatically helped ease the strain on newer players. All you really need to do is follow a few basic steps.

First, you want to research the mission. Sometimes you will be given quests to fell or capture a single, large monster. These are the most straightforward, at least as far as planning is concerned. If you know the monster you are hunting, check your field guide. This is a compendium of all the data collected on the various monsters of the new world thus far. You can do this either by opening up the start menu and selecting “Hunter’s Notes,” or by checking in with the Ecological Research station. Either way, if you collect enough info, you can start forming a plan. The Barroth, for instance, is an aggressive, armored tyrannosaur-like beast found in the second major area. Its description tells you that it hunts ants — giving you a clue to look for when searching for tracks or markings that will lead you to it. With a bit more data, the guide will also reveal which parts of the monster may be harmed or “broken” for added damage/rewards. Going back to the Barroth, we also learn that it is armored, using thickened mud to form a temporary shell and that this shell can be weakened with water-based projectiles.

From here, you can expect the fight to be a slow one — or take a while, at least — and you can probably bank on it being tough, and you have to keep pelting it with water attacks to get to the monster’s weak points. That’s our basic plan. Now, here comes the real prep work.

Scout the shops for useful items, see which weapons and armor you can upgrade, and settle on a broad attack style. When facing off against our first, we leveraged the fact that it was weak to poison, and that would charge blindly at foes to make a plan and gear up accordingly. We stocked up on the ingredients for gunpowder, ran to the shop to get barrels, and made contact-bombs to lay out for when the Barroth charged. We also upgraded our insect glaive with poison attacks so we could reliably chip away at the monster’s health regardless of whether or not the attacks themselves were getting through the beasts tough mud casing. We didn’t have much in the way of water projectiles, though, so we ignored that section and focused on what we could easily do without having to backtrack for other resources.

Don’t be afraid to improvise, but straying too far from your plan is a recipe for disaster.

Every major bout will run somewhat like this. But, because so many monsters have different traits, no one strategy will work for them all. It’s up to you to figure out the weaknesses and then piece together your own organic strategy as the fight progresses. Don’t be afraid to improvise, but straying too far from your plan is a recipe for disaster. Also be sure to check out the Canteen before you head on an expedition. These meals can give you significant bonuses, and keep your stamina high so you can lay on the beat down without letting up.

If, after all that, you still don’t feel quite ready, fear not, you can always get help from other players. This process is remarkably simple and is seamlessly integrated into the quest system. When you’re just about ready, head to the quest board or to your handler (both are always marked in Astera with glowing red symbols). From there, you simply need to sign up for the quest itself and you can freely accept help from other random players. You can, just as easily, make your session private so that only friends may join in. But, in either case, if others come to help, you’ll face a much easier battle at the cost of a percentage of the total loot (in-game payouts are split amongst the combatants).

If you do bring someone else along, it will help to run through the core plan with them before heading out. If all that shakes out, you’ve got the foundations for a great hunt!

Keep an eye on your surroundings

On top of tracking your prey and gathering all the items you’ll need to be successful down the road, you will want to pay special attention to how each area is layered and laid out. Maps in Monster Hunter: World are not simple — they are multi-level behemoths with curves and hidden paths all over.

The terrain can be extraordinarily tough to follow and learn, but once again, it pays to be mindful. As your fights with bigger beasts progress, you or someone on your team will need to duck out and resupply. Even if everything is going perfectly, your weapon won’t be able to hold its edge. At the very least, youl have to find a place to safely withdraw from battle so you can pull out a whetstone and sharpen your blade, lance, or what have you. That is where your understanding of the map comes in.

If you know where the monster’s nest or hunting grounds are, you can lay traps and steadily steer combat toward them. Getting your prey caught up in vines so you can wail on its legs and/or wings until they break is a morbid, but an incredibly useful tactic. Where possible, do everything you can to restrict mobility and guide enemies toward areas where you have the upper hand.

You want to have a strong, functional internal map of the area. You won’t need to know everything, but you should have a rough idea of where major clearings are, or where you can lose larger monsters in tunnels to recuperate as needed. You will have an in-game map to help you, but looking at it doesn’t pause the action, so if you’re pulling out your planner to figure out a quick getaway, you are already doomed. Conversely, if you know exactly where to go, you can lead your prey on a chase toward a much larger creature that can whittle down your foe — just be careful you don’t get stomped in the process.

Resupply!

It’s easy and even necessary to restock potions and antidotes mid-bout. If you or your prey has managed to get away, don’t hurry back into the fray. Take your time. Sharpen your weapon, poke around for medicinal herbs, and see what else you can craft before you set out again. Think of it as regrouping your own little army. Or, if it’s clear, you won’t be taking the creature down, you can use that pause as a break to head back to camp and change tactics or gather more information on the monster and its weaknesses before tackling it again.

No hunt is a failure

If you need to retreat, or you’ve been knocked out too many times — that’s OK. No hunt is a complete misfire. The beauty of Monster Hunter isn’t only in the victory, but in the steps you take to prepare for it. You cannot charge into fights half-cocked ready to slay the ultimate dragon from the word go.

Each trek, each expedition is a learning experience. You should consider any outing where you learn something a success. If you’re gathering clues, observing your prey, and collecting gear and items, you haven’t failed. You’re just getting ready.

Now, with that said, you definitely want to get the most out of each expedition. So try to decide beforehand how much you want to do before heading back to base. You will be warned by special flies that glow an eerie red if you’re coming upon a bigger monster. That’s both a warning for you to try and avoid detection unless you’re ready to throw down and an opportunity for you to check in with yourself to see if you’re ready to tackle it. Even if you aren’t totally set, it could help to try and spar with a bit to get a sense for how it attacks and how you’ll need to move as these can yield clues for where it’s squishy bits are and what weapons might be helpful.

Once you’ve learned enough, you can head back to base and check in with Ecological Research to get an up-to-date field guide on various monsters, including vulnerable spots, weapon and elemental weaknesses, as well as behavioral clues. These are indispensable tools and you are advised to use them and leverage them at every opportunity.

Beware the puns

OK, so this last one isn’t technically a tip, but seriously … if you’re not used to the series or its brand of campy humor, this one could be a little tough. Everyone and everything will spout puns at you at every opportunity. Bestial buffoonery, hunting humor, and kitty quips abound. So be ready, and take it all in stride. You’ve got dragons to slay!

Editors’ Recommendations

• ‘Monster Hunter: World’ review
• ‘Dauntless’ hands-on preview
• Prowl the Ancient Forest in this weekend’s ‘Monster Hunter World’ beta for PS4
• Master ‘Assassin’s Creed Origins’ with our beginner’s guide
• Start 2018 right with the best new games of January

How to convert WMV files to MP4, whether online and offline

Although Windows Media Video (WMV) files have their place, they’re nowhere near as supported as the MPEG4 (MP4) format. Fortunately for anyone who’s sitting on a batch of WMV files, there are a wide array of great video converters available today with support for all sorts of video formats.

To convert WMV files to MP4, all you need to do is use one of our favorite converters listed below. Some are offline, others are online and you’ll be able to select a number of different settings for your output file, but the end result will be the same: a streamlined MP4 file which can be played on just about anything.

If you have any MKV or MOV files kicking around that you also want to convert to MP4, we have guides for that too.

Software converters

Handbrake (Windows/MacOS/Linux)

Handbrake seemed on its last legs back in 2006 when the software’s initial creator, Eric Petit, dropped off the face of the Earth, but development carried on with the help of a few ambitious folk who were driven to update and revise the existing software for a changing world. The open-source video converter now boasts one of the most expansive software packages for ripping and converting video files for playback on a number of popular devices and platforms. The interface is sleek and well-designed, if a little intimidating, offering a variety of customizable, borderline-advanced features that take a bit of getting used to before you can really capitalize on their capabilities and intuitive uses. However, the HandBrake guide and forums are always available if you need help without having to spend ample time fumbling with the program.

Other noteworthy features include an abundance of video editing tools for splicing, adjusting framerate, adding subtitles, and assorted video effects, all of which can be viewed in a live preview window. Experienced users can even queue multiple encodes for quicker batch processing and expedited results sans tedious manual input. Handbrake simply can’t be topped when converting files to MP4 or MKV format, but it also isn’t for beginners unwilling to learn the software. In late 2016, a new version of the software, 1.0.0, was released with completely redone presets, including new presets for the latest mobile devices, new MKV presets, and VP9 video encoding.

MediaCoder (Windows/MacOS)

MediaCoder is a capable program loaded with terrific conversion features. The interface, though bewildering at first glance, is relatively straightforward once you learn your way around, offering a boatload of customizable features for converting video to a specified output format of your choice. Whether you want to batch process a number of AVI files to MPEG or compress files for a reduced memory footprint, MediaCoder can handle it.

You’ll find additional settings for modifying the output –including the ability to convert video to grayscale, quarter-pixel, cartoon, or high-quality mode — as well as bitrate adjustments for both the audio and video components of your file. Speed and resulting quality are grade A with quick conversions and an emphasis on maintaining the original quality across formats.

MediaCoder is an exceptional piece of software, but it’s geared more towards the tech aficionado instead of the first-time user trying to make a zippy conversion. But if you prefer to focus on the details and your primary interest is in quality and low-loss transfers, MediaCoder is a safe bet (plus, it now comes in an iPad edition for mobile users).

The only real issue we came across with the latest version is download servers could be particularly slow. The application isn’t huge, so it’s not the end of the world, but if you’re in a hurry, open a few download links to find the fastest server for you.

iSkysoft iMedia Converter Deluxe (Windows/MacOS)

It’s important to note that iSkysoft iMedia Converter Deluxe is indeed, a paid product that requires some investment to use. You can use it for a year for $40, or you can buy a single lifetime license for around $60. That’s not exactly cheap, but you get a full video conversion app in return, and we mean full. The software offers support for more than 150 formats, with free, continual access to updates for any future formats as well. Online video support includes YouTube, Facebook Video, Vimeo, and VEVO, while devices range from HTC and LG support to Apple TV and Xbox.

If you want to try the app out, there is a free-trial version, but you’ll be restricted to converting only one-third of your chosen video.

Editing tools, as you may expect, are both far-ranging and competent. You can add whatever metadata you wish, crop video, trim edges, merge videos, rotate shots, and more. If you don’t like the look, you can also change brightness, contrast, and saturation. If you’re working on a truly impressive production, you can also change the volume, add effects, and put in subtitles — all with powerful acceleration and lossless techniques designed to speed up conversions without losing any data. On the professional side — and for a price — this is one of the best converters for high-quality production available.

Web-based converters

Cloud Convert (web-based)

Not everyone wants to download a stand-alone application to fulfill their video converting needs. Luckily, Cloud Convert is one of the best online tools for simple file downloads and conversions. The free-to-use site lets users select files — ranging from FLV and MLV files to 3GP and MPEG4 – from their Google Drive or Dropbox account, or drag them directly into the browser window from their desktop. The entire conversion process takes place in the cloud, and output settings — like aspect ratio, codec, bitrate, and resolution — can be tweaked from the web app’s sparse interface prior to converting the files. Cloud Convert will email you the resulting file, but it can also drop the file into your Google Drive or Dropbox account if you prefer.

The web-based service lacks the feature set and speed of standalone programs for Windows and MacOS, but it’s proficient in converting a range of files without deviating from its intuitive interface. Batch converting and folder monitoring help users tackle larger projects without messing around with more complicated software.

Clip Converter (web-based)

Clip Converter was one of the first online converters, and it remains highly accessible and efficient. The free website handles MP4, 3GP, AVI, MOV and MKV formats.  You can typically download video files at the highest resolution available, or less if you’re worried about space, but audio is limited to 320 kbps, or the highest quality available. Options for converting files into mono or stereo are included, as are the convenient option to embed ID3 v2 tags. There’s built-in support for YouTube, Vimeo, and other popular video sites, which makes the software ideal for social media purposes.

Performance is remarkably solid, often converting video files in less than 30 seconds once you insert the URL for your desired video into the dark-grey entry field. The interface is a bit outdated and conversion options are restricted to a select few, but navigating the site is self-explanatory, and the web-based software doesn’t require additional software downloads or leave a heavy footprint on your computer. However, like any free piece of software on the web, you’ll have to endure advertisements and the occasional browser timeout.

Online-Convert (web-based)

 The video component of Clip Converter houses options for converting files to FLV, MP4, MOV, and more than 20 other popular formats, with additional options for changing the screen size, audio quality, bitrate, and other minor adjustments. Furthermore, you can use the search function in the top-right corner of the page to quickly check if Online-Convert is capable of making your desired conversion. There’s also specific converting options for just amount every device imaginable.

While most users will experience little trouble uploading and converting video files, the site does require you to opt for a premium membership if you need to upload a file larger than 100MB, or simultaneously convert four files at once. Nonetheless, the site is stable, relatively devoid of ads, and provides a wide variety of format options without requiring you to download additional software or unwanted browser extensions. Plus, what other site on our roundup includes a hash generator.

Updated 01/25/2018 by Jon Martindale with new screenshots and recommendations.

Editors’ Recommendations

• How to convert your videos from MKV to MP4 in a few quick steps
• How to convert MOV files to MP4
• How to convert M4A files to MP3 format for listening on any device
• How to convert a PDF file into a Word document
• How to send large files for free

98 percent of construction projects go over budget. These robots could fix that

“Hey, look busy. Our robot boss is trundling over here!” That’s a sound that you may very well hear on the construction sites of the future, thanks to a lidar-equipped robot and matching drone developed by the company Doxel. Emerging from stealth this week with a $4.5 million funding round, Doxel hopes to revolutionize the construction industry using robots to scan construction sites to make sure that work is progressing correctly.

Far from a simple robotic camera, however, Doxel’s smart robots harness cutting-edge deep-learning technology to make informed judgements about how well work is going. If things fall behind schedule, a construction manager will receive a smartphone notification reading, “Mechanical team productivity has dropped below threshold” or similar. In other words, simply trying to look busy on site won’t be enough to fool these smart management bots.

“We make use of drones and rovers as data-capture mechanisms; drones for outdoors and rovers for indoors,” Saurabh Ladha, CEO and co-founder of Doxel, told Digital Trends. “The vast majority of construction involves indoors and that is where we deploy lidar in addition to an HD camera. The lidar captures depth data. Once the data is captured, our deep learning kicks in to automatically inspect quality and measure installed quantities. The diversity of objects found in construction and the degree of noise, clutter, and occlusion you find in such environments had made the automation of this process nearly impossible. Doxel’s A.I. capabilities means that job sites are automatically digitized, that project quality undergoes ongoing inspection, and that progress is measured in real time. Our dashboard then offers automatic real-time budget, schedule, and quality reports. We help to keep molehills from becoming mountains.”

Ladha observes that many construction projects — as many as 98 percent of large ones — can go significantly over time and budget. Being able to spot these trends early means that changes can be made in order to ensure things progress as efficiently as possible.

“We are currently working with large construction companies such as DPR Construction, as well as a large healthcare company building hospitals and medical office buildings,” Ladha said. “We sell Doxel as a service: everything from capturing data to delivering insights, and the service is sold on a monthly fee basis. Having just come out of stealth, our plans are to grow the business. The construction industry has struggled with productivity and we believe we can help to turn that around.”

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You’ve got mail! This gadget will text you whenever you receive a letter

Devices like Amazon Key, the smart (and slightly creepy) delivery service that lets Amazon couriers actually open your front door to drop off packages, makes it easy to monitor deliveries when you’re away from home. But what if you’re not having a package delivered by Amazon, but rather just want to keep an eye on your mailbox to know if you receive any letters? That’s something a new Kickstarter smart device wants to help with.

Called Mynder, it’s a small battery-powered device that fits inside either a community mailbox or home mailbox. When mail is delivered, Mynder will detect its arrival and send you a message to let you — or the whole family — know. It promises to be easy to set up and use, and works on very little power so that you’ll only have to recharge it around once a year.

“I live in Nova Scotia, Canada,” creator James Mallett told Digital Trends. “I’m originally from the U.K., and moved here 12 years ago. In the U.K., mail is delivered straight to your door, whereas in Canada a lot of mail is delivered to community mailboxes, which was new to me. Our mailbox is at the end of our road, about a mile away, and I drive past it every day. However, for a lot of people their mailbox can be much farther away and they don’t necessarily go past it on route to work.”

Mallett started working on this project after a really bad winter in which it was difficult to get to his community mailbox. “It got a little frustrating to say the least stopping by the mailbox every day and finding out that there was usually no mail,” he said. “At the same time, Canada Post announced they would be moving away from home delivery to community mailbox delivery only, so it seemed like a good time to invent Mynder.”

If you would like to get your hands on the smart gizmo, you can pre-order a unit for $64, which Mallett says is around $57 off the eventual retail price. He’s aiming to crowdfund $40,500 to bring his product to life, although right now he has only raised a fraction of that. With 56 days left to run on the campaign, if you want to join the smart mailbox revolution, head over to Kickstarter to pledge your support.

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Best Solar Chargers for Your Android Phone

What’s the best solar charger for my phone? Wait, there are solar chargers for my phone?!

Our yellow Sun is what gives Superman his powers, so of course it can also keep your phone charged while you’re on the go! It’s almost weird, right? Using nature to keep technology working. What a beautiful melding of the old and the new! If you can’t find an outlet (because you’re camping or whatever) then grab a solar charger and take advantage of the biggest battery Earth has!

Note: Yes, the Sun is powerful. No, the Sun will not charge a solar battery bank/charger or your phone as quickly as a wall outlet. You will have to be patient with these.

• Anker PowerPort Solar Lite
• Dizaul
• Voltaic Systems Amp
• Ayyie
• Goal Zero Nomad 7
• RAVPower 16W solar panel

Anker PowerPort Solar Lite

The Wirecutter’s top choice for best battery bank also belongs at the top of our list. Anker makes excellent charging products and the PowerPort Solar Lite fits in well. This 15W charger is very thin (0.7 inches folded or 0.2 open) and lightweight (12.5 ounces), making it perfect for long treks where lightening your load is imperative.

This solar charger is so efficient that you can charge two devices simultaneously, and it can charge at up to 2.1 amps in direct sunlight, making it about as fast as regular chargers under ideal conditions. Without an actual battery, you don’t have to wait for the PowerPort to charge up — just grab it and hit the trails.

Comes with a 3-foot Micro-USB cable and is priced around $50.

See at Amazon

Dizaul

Diuzaul’s solar charger is one of Amazon’s best sellers and 73% of its reviews are 5 stars. Its size makes it ideal for camping or hiking, and it’s waterproof, so if you’re traversing waterfalls, you won’t kill it. The 5,000mAh battery is handy just in case you have to hide from a bear in a cave (worst place to hide, by the way) — just don’t expect it to charge quickly. By opting for a smaller solar charger, you do compromise on the size of its solar panels, meaning it’ll take quite a while to charge fully (even in direct sunlight). That being said, if you’re looking for a portable option that can hold on to a charge in battery form, then definitely check it out (it’s only $20).

See at Amazon

Voltaic Systems Amp

Voltaic Systems’ Amp solar charger is a neat little device that features a removable 4,000mAh battery, which can be charged by sunlight or via USB. The Amp has two solar panels that are waterproof and covered in a self-healing plastic that can withstand some abuse (kind of like some screen protectors). About 3.5 hours in direct sunlight should fully charge your phone (according to Voltaic Systems), which is pretty quick for most solar chargers, but that is probably under ideal conditions, so you’ll wanna be patient with this one, as with all solar chargers.

Designed for the rugged life, the solar panels and battery are housed in a rugged and lightweight, water- and UV-resistant fabric made from recycled soft drink bottles.

If you need your solar charger to withstand a bit of the rough and tumble, go with the Amp. You can grab it off Amazon for about $99.

See at Amazon

Ayyie

At about the size of a larger phone, the Ayyie solar charger is another awesome option made with portability in mind. This charger is perfect for the happy wanderer, being water, shock, and dustproof, and it features a two-LED flashlight with multiple settings, including S.O.S. Five indicators will show you the status of the internal 10,000mAh battery, and once full, you’ll be able to charge most phones at least twice. Again, a smaller unit means smaller solar panels, so it’ll take a long time to fully charge the battery on Sun juice alone.

See at Amazon

Goal Zero Nomad 7

This foldable solar charger is rugged and made for the adventurous. It won’t weigh you down, since it has no internal battery, but it will charge your phone quite quickly, usually within an hour or two — very fast for solar charging.

You can simultaneously charge USB and 12V devices via the three ports, and when you’re finished, it folds up nice and flat for easy portability.

It’s also weather-resistant, making it perfect for camping and any other outdoor activities that might keep you away from a power outlet for a while. Check it out on Amazon starting at $80.

See at Amazon

RAVPower 16W solar panel

This foldable solar panel charger from RAVPower features two USB ports, so you can charge a couple devices simultaneously, and RAVPower promises that 21.5% to 23.5% of solar power is transformed into free energy, hopefully meaning a faster charge.

You can fold this charger up and toss it in a backpack or laptop bag, and it’s waterproof, so you can take it with you absolutely anywhere and keep your devices topped up. It even features four hooks. So you can hang it where you need to in order to take in as much sun as possible. Check it out on Amazon for about $50.

See at Amazon

Got a favorite?

Do you have a great solar charger for your phone? Let us know which one in the comments below!

Updated January 2018: Updated pricing for each item and added the super compact RAVPower solar panel.

5 great Microsoft Android games with Xbox Live integration

Did you know there are a handful of Android games that support Xbox achievements?

Much like Windows Phone in its heyday, Microsoft has bought a number of its mobile game titles to Android, complete with Xbox Live integration. For some games, that simply means profile authentication for roaming progression, but for others, it means synchronicity across different devices, Xbox achievements, and even sharing to the Xbox Live social feeds.

There’s not a huge amount available right now, but the games Microsoft does have available for Android are compelling, and the volume will probably grow in the future, given the death of its own mobile efforts.

• Minecraft
• Microsoft Solitaire Collection
• Wordament
• Snap Attack
• Age of Empires: Castle Siege

Minecraft

With Microsoft recently announcing Minecraft has hit a staggering 74 million players, you can bet that a significant portion of those players come from the Android version.

While playing a 3D game using on-screen touch controls is a bit of a chore, Minecraft has done a lot to its control schemes to make digging, crafting, and building as intuitive as it possibly can be. Players on Minecraft for Android can purchase dedicated realms that allow friends from iOS, Android, PC, Xbox One, VR, and even Nintendo Switch to play together in a single shared world.

Minecraft continues to be a phenomenon, and it’s available for $7.99 on Android.

Download Minecraft ($7.99)

Microsoft Solitaire Collection

Here’s a game that needs no introduction. Solitaire was originally developed for early versions of Windows to help train people to use a computer mouse. Decades later, and the game remains a staple time waster for millions.

The Solitaire collection includes classic options like Klondike, Spider, Freecell, Tripeaks, Pyramid, and more, complete with Xbox Live integration for leaderboards and roaming progression data across other supported devices (including Windows 10 PC, and phones).

Solitaire on Android comprises a collection of similarly-themed solo card games that favor skill, observation, and a bit of luck. And hey, it’s free to play too.

Download Microsoft Solitaire Collection (free)

Wordament

Wordament is a massively multiplayer competitive word-finding game, where players are given a random grid of characters and tasked to find as many words as possible, swiping to connect letters.

Once the grid has spawned, you simply swipe across the available letters to create words. The bigger the words, the better the combos. The rarity of your selections also boosts your score, depending on how many others competing against you selected the same words.

Wordament is free to play and comes with leaderboards, Facebook integration, complete with dozens of supported languages.

Download Wordament (free)

Snap Attack

Snap Attack combines elements of Wordament with Scrabble, in yet another multiplayer competitive word game from Microsoft.

In Snap Attack, you compete against thousands of other players to craft words using randomly generated characters. Snaps The bigger the words, the more points scored, and the more likely you are to win. Snaps are valid in words read from left to right or top to bottom, depending on the language.

Snap Attack is also free to play, complete with Xbox leaderboards and Facebook integration.

Download Snap Attack

Age of Empires: Castle Siege

Age of Empires: Castle Siege is a strategy game spin-off of the popular medieval PC RTS titles of the same name. In Castle Siege, your goal is to build a personal civilization, while invading others to steal resources to bolster and grow your own.

Age of Empires: Castle Siege can share progress across Windows PC, phones, iOS, and Android using your Xbox Live credentials, allowing you to play across multiple devices. As a free to play title, Castle Siege is a little bit aggressive with accelerators and micro-transactions, but it can be good fun even without spending a penny.

Download Age of Empires: Castle Siege (free)

While Microsoft’s offering on Android isn’t exactly huge, given the popularity of Minecraft, hopefully Redmond will continue to look at ways to bring more of their titles to the platform. It’s a little odd that the twin-stick shooters Halo Spartan Strike or Assault never found their way to Android, despite being available for iOS and Windows 10 Mobile, but oh well.

Don’t forget to grab the official Xbox app for Android too, and in the meantime, let us know what your favorite Android games are, Xbox-enabled or not, in the comments!

MrMobile’s two-month take on the Huawei Mate 10 Pro

The Mate 10 Pro was supposed to make Huawei a household name in the United States, with an AT&T logo on its back and a prominent place on store shelves. But thanks to the last-minute collapse of that deal, the Mate 10 Pro is instead stuck in the same no-carrier purgatory that relegated its predecessors to North American footnotes. The result is a smartphone that seems fated to retread the footsteps of those forerunners, however great it might be. The good news is that you’ll still be able to buy the phone unlocked here in the States when it hits shelves in February. The bad news (for Huawei) is that if you do, you’ll probably be one of the few.

I’ve been using the Mate 10 Pro for two months and I’ve got a pretty solid handle on the highs and lows, so after you absorb the official Android Central take, join me for the MrMobile review! We’ll bounce from Boston to Las Vegas (and even take a flight through the Grand Canyon in a helicopter!) before we settle on a buy/don’t buy for this prettiest (and saddest) of all Huawei phones.

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